I suppose that to start, you will want to know a bit about me. Well I am 42 years old, just on 6 foot tall and tip the scales around the 16 stone mark, so I am not your typical image of a cyclist. Imagine Chris Hoy with a beer gut, or a not so hairy biker in a push bike, and you get the idea. I’m not built for speed, unless it’s to get to the bar for a last drink before they close, or over a distance of less than 20 feet. I sit behind a desk all day Monday – Friday, and apart from
walking my dogs, I don’t do a huge amount of exercise. I am a social cyclist; I cycle to the pub to be social!
I have in the past however done a few charity bike rides, Wembley to Berlin in 2006, Twickenham to Paris in 2007,
both for Scope, and Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2009, a ride that I organized myself and cycled solo with my parents backing me up in a motor home.
Back when I did those rides the charity rides were all a lot more sedate. Yes you’d cover up to 100 miles in a day, but you had the day to do it. Participants of all ages (in fact we had several in their 60’s) were organized into groups of similar ability and pace and off you went. The Paris ride in 2007 took 3 days, now they do them in 24 hours! Maybe because so many charities do cycle rides now that a ride has to be more extreme and punishing to make it stand out and garner the riders enough sponsorship in these hard times, or maybe it’s because more and more people are cycling that they need to be tougher.
This brings me on to the Amsterdam 300.
When I reached John O’Groats in 2009 I had a Steve Redgrave moment and said that if anyone saw me contemplating a long cycle ride, that they had my permission to shoot me! I had just cycled 1067 miles in 10 days on my own, and had had enough.
Well time has passed and I actually miss the challenge of preparing and undertaking a challenging ride. I’m still on the Scope mailing list and when I received the info about the Amsterdam 300 I thought why not drag my sorry ass off the sofa one last time.
So you have decided to take on a daunting
charity bike ride, what do you need?
First of all a bike will help. My first
ride to Berlin I did on a very cheap and basic mountain bike that cost me £70.
It did the job but wasn’t the most comfortable of things.
You need a bike that is comfortable for you;
any bike shop will help you choose the right one from the myriad of bikes out
there. Prices range from the £70 type up to thousands of pounds for a carbon
composite bike that weighs about the same as a couple of bags of sugar! I have
a very comfortable Giant SCR3 that is now 3 years old. It’s going in for a
service so will be as good as new.
You will need a cycling helmet. These are
essential pieces of kit as they protect your head should you fall off! There
are loads on the market. Aerodynamic shapes, more vents, less vents, different
colours and styles, and vastly varying price ranges. Shop around and get one
that is a comfortable fit for you.
Now you need your cycling clothing. There
are loads of shoes, shorts and jerseys around.
The one thing you need to bear in mind is
that you will be spending a longtime cycling so you need to go for comfort.
Proper cycling shoes are a must. With
cleats attaching you to the pedals they make for more efficient pedaling as you
are using both legs all the time. You may find it a bit weird at first as you
get used to clipping your feet onto the pedals and may struggle to unclip one
foot quickly when you stop (cue embarrassing fall), but as you get used to them
they turn into a godsend. On the Berlin ride I wore normal trainers and
suffered for it, the next ride I had a basic pair of cycle shoes that cost me
about £40 on E-Bay and they made a massive difference. The most important thing
is comfort, I have now moved on through several pairs and basically you get
what you pay for, but for that extra expense your feet feel better after long
stints in the saddle. I now wear Sidi cycling shoes, more expensive but
definitely worth it.
Cycling shorts are another must. You might
not have the figure for body hugging lycra, but with padding in the right area
to ensure your comfort whilst riding they are essential. If you are going to
spend all day in the saddle you definitely don’t want a sore backside. Once
again there are tons to choose from, full length, ¾ length or normal short
length, one piece bib suits, or simply just the shorts. Again get what you feel
comfortable with and what is best for the time of year. You won’t want full
length if cycling in the summer.
Gloves – good cycling gloves relieve some
of the pressure on your hands. I only have a partial thumb and little finger on
my right hand, so I can’t really change my hand positioning much. A good pair
of gel gloves, cycling gloves with gel packets in the palms, makes a long ride
more comfortable. Again there are lots to choose from, full fingered,
fingerless, so go for what you feel comfortable in.
Cycling jerseys are very good. They are designed
to remove sweat from the body, have pockets in the rear and are very
comfortable. They also come in loads of colours and designs. Here you can have
fun if you wish. I have brought several wild and wacky jerseys, from one that
looks like an X-ray of my torso, to a long-sleeved one that looks like a tuxedo
to a replica Lance Armstrong Tour de France Yellow Jersey – as if I’d ever get
the real thing! Again it’s all down to personal choice. I’ll post some images
as I go.
I also have a bike mounted GPS – I can
program routes and time myself, also race myself from previous times I cycled
the same route, the closest I have got to a training partner.
I am also buying a helmet camera, one to
record the ride for posterity and also to provide some video updates of the
training. There might be some good footage, you never know. I wish I had one
when I got side swiped by a caravan on a ride and went flying through the air,
You’ve Been Framed would’ve loved it!!
So you’ve got your kit. What now.
Now it’s time to hit the road.
I’ll be updating this on how my training is
progressing but how much or how little training you do is up to you. Most
organized rides will send you a training plan saying that by this date you
should be able to cycle this far etc. But you do what you can to get to a stage
you are happy. If you can, see if you can get a training partner. It’s easier
to cycle with someone so that you can push and encourage each other, but also
it helps pass the time. A long ride on your own can be quite sole destroying,
especially if you are struggling with the elements or the terrain. Most of us work Monday to Friday and have
other commitments outside work, such as family (although you might like a break
from them on a regular basis), but you can fit it in. The good thing is that
this is a great way to get really fit and in shape, and if you maintain it to
some level afterwards these rides can actually change your life.
All you have to do is start small and work
up. It’s no good trying to do 100 miles on your first cycle as you’ll probably
kill yourself, or be so put off by it that you give up. The targets will seem
daunting when you start but the more you train the closer and easier the target
looks.
I never changed my diet before or curbed my
drinking etc (you need some pleasures in life!), but it does help. This time as
my fiancée is starting a New Year diet, I have decided to join her. As they say
“Every Little Helps”.
