Update!

2008-09-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I wrote on here, things have been busy and I apologise for not having a chance to sit down and write, and also I haven't uploaded any pictures lately, I'll get onto it next week!

So I got a story about the ride in the local paper (Camden New Journal), I will scan it in, hopefully tonight, and upload it for you all to see! Sara Newman wrote the article and I have to say it's come out really well and I am very happy with it!

Other than that have been on a few more training days, but the big one is coming up tomorrow, another cycle to Brighton! I must say my muscles are aching already at the thought of it! 8am start, better get a good nights rest and eat plenty of food tonight (what a GREAT excuse!).

I will upload some more photos next week, and by the way, it is less than TWO WEEKS till the ride...

Oh, and I also want to sy a MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Mr Andrew Burpitt who completed the UK Iron Man on the 7th of this month and raised a fantastic £1700 for my dads fund, what a star! (www.justgiving.com/andrewburpitt1)

Ok, until next week, Ou Revoir! (I need to work on my French)

Annabel

Essex training ride, 65 miles, Audley End 13/07/08

2008-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday was another training day to get me and the team ready for the London to Paris ride.

I am training with the charity Yes To Life, as there are more people coming on the ride raising money for the charity, so it is great to have company!

I got up at 5.30, and prepared everything for the ride. Well, I had a cup of tea and threw some energy foods into my bag and then had a little rest. The memories of the Brighton training day were still fresh in my mind and the thought of the hills still make my legs quake. I don't think I have ever been as exhausted as when I got back from Brighton that day. Amazing to think really that there are so many fundraisers based on a cycle to Brighton....and we were just training! The Paris trip is becoming and ever more daunting prospect...

Anyway, me and Robin cycled to Tottenham Hale train station to catch our train down the Audley End in Essex, the start of yet another epic training ride.
In Audley End we met up with fellow hard core bikers (ermm...) Kelton and Alex. I was the only girl on the ride today so that made me feel I had even more of a challenge ahead with my 5 foot nothing stature shadowed by the general long legged muscle machines that surrounded me.

The day was sunny, warm and bright, a perfect day for cycling and it started off very well. A couple of minor wrong turns, but in general a smooth ride. I felt like I had been transported back the the 15th Century riding through all the beautiful little thatched villages that engulf this part of the world.
Not too hilly either.
We were riding for a couple of hours and came across a dead end, which we realised was just a little further than the turning we meant to take. We went back and the direction that the map pointed us in, meaning that we were staring at a bridal path going off into the trees. We all have road bikes. These bikes are to mud, grass and rocks like darts are to balloons and beach balls.
Well, it was the way we had to go so we had to try it. Robin and Kelton went racing off ahead and Alex very kindly was staying behind to make sure I got through ok. It started off ok but half way through the mud got dense, the grass got higher and horses had churned up the ground like some sort of chocolate meringue.
Needless to say the road bike's practically completely slick tyres did not fare well against the thick sticky mud and sharp rocks. I had no grip and eventually the wheels were just spinning in the mud and I was going nowhere. Kelton fell foul of the mud and fell off his bike, was quite funny though!
After we had navigated almost all the dreaded path the final part came where the mud was so thick and there were so many deep pools of water that I just had to get off and step into it while I carried my bike, I was caked in mud and soaking wet.
I spent the rest of the day with wrinkly toes like when you spend far too long in the bath. Gross.

By this point we were all quite weary and in need of a break, so we cycled to the next town to get some refreshments. We all wanted lunch but we'd only gone 20 miles so we had to do another ten before lunch so at least in the afternoon we only had 30 more to go. Me and Alex spent a while picking out our mud caked shoes like cleaning mud from a horses hoof. Kind of satisfying, and it made my shoes so much lighter!

It was soon time to set off again, with bellies full of coffee, coke, peanuts and stale fruit gums (eurgh). Oh, and this funny banana and strawberry energy food, it's like hot baby food, I couldn't tell whether I loved or despised it to be honest!

We cycled another 10 miles or so and finally came to Newport (NOT South Wales!), where we stopped off for a well earned lunch and a collapse on the grass...
I had a beer and some pan fried cod, I thought the beer might be a bad idea but oh how I wanted one!
When we set off again I must almost I thought I'd over done it with the beer, but moments later I got my second wind (or, you know, maybe just wind?!), and soon was beating the boys cycling up the hills. Alex later commented that maybe we all should have eaten the cod and had a pint, it seemed to do the trick!

The rest of the 30 miles became increasingly hard. The pace was much faster than the last ride, and although there weren't so many hills, each one I encountered proved a tough challenge, more mentally than anything, telling myself to get up them and carry on. I was in quite a bit of discomfort by the time we'd reached about 50 miles, since the latter part of the ride was more hilly.
And it was warm!
I was sweating like crazy and starting to feel that sick feeling like you used get when you've run far too fast and far at PE class in school, being forced on a cross country run in the freezing cold and caked in mud.
By this point Kelton had been picked up, that was the end of the line for him as far as this ride went, but me Robin and Alex persevered. It was starting to get later, maybe about 5 in the afternoon, and we were getting closer to our last refreshment break before the 'home stretch'. Helions Bumpstead was the place and we stopped off for some tea and tons of chocolate (could we be more English? Well, Alex is Canadian...) which made us all feel good! We stumbled across a huge party for a Christening. There we are, sweating, muddy, dishevelled, surrounded by merry fresh faced people dressed to the nines.
I swear we didn't stick out...

The thought of another 10 miles till we got to Audley End and the train ride home seemed daunting and do-able all at the same time. My legs were really feeling it by now and each pedal stroke felt like I was pushing the earth down with my feet!

Still, a few hills and some beautiful open country roads later and we hit suburbia, a site for sore eyes, I finally felt like we were coming back to reality after thinking for so long the end wasn't in sight! Just the other side of Saffron Waldon was Audley End station, our final port of call. Racing into the car park I jumped off and threw myself on the floor in utter relief, exhaustion and happiness. Another training day under the belt and also a great feeling of achievement once again. Paris here I come!
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Oh yeah... I had to ride another 5 miles home when I got off the train in Tottenham. I literally couldn't sit down I had the sorest bum on earth!

For the Life of Brian

Update!

Essex training ride, 65 miles, Audley End 13/07/08