About me and some initial thoughts and tips

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”.