140 Miles on the Bike in 2 days

Evening! Im writing this blog laid in bed with my feet up feeling the effects of a grueling 67 mile ride with Ben that was quite different to the one of last week!

The start of this blog replicates pretty much last weeks update. This week at work has yet again been a combination of driving (700miles not including Coventry) and pretty long days out with the team but all has ended pretty well with the team finishing No.1 on a period focus we have every month. On the back of this we have £400 to spend on a day out so will let you know how we get on and what we decide.

This weekend we had planned to do back to back long rides, this time down in Coventry at Bens. Ben has planned this route after doing several stages himself but not all at once. We were really proud of our ride, time and average speed but didnt want to led into a false sense of security as the ride we did last week, although 65 miles was relatively flat. The challenge Ben had set this early Sunday morning was a 67 mile route that took in the surronding countryside arou8nd Coventry, including Foss Road (the longest Roman built road in England).

The route Ben had done looked as follows:

1. BT Towers (approx 1-2 mile cycle to coombe abbey then clear countryside)

2. Brinklow village

3. Kings Newnham (short climb to a farm top)

4. Little Lawford road (fast rolling descent approx 1mile)

5. Harbourough Magna (steady queit rolling roads to the village)

6. Pailton (possibly via Easenhall back roads)

7. Monks Kirby (fast exit from Pailton 1mile stretch)

8. Claybrooke Parva/Magna (country back roads to villages in a loop)

9. The Fosse Way (Most famous Roman road in England! Runs all way to Bath)

10. Withybrook (mega country lanes rolling virtually never seen a car!)

11. Fosse Way

12. Bretford

13. Kings Newnham lower village = continue down to Church Lawford village

14. Cross and down to A45

15. Dunchurch

16. Draycote Water (Lunch stop 30-45mins?) X2 5mile loop velodrome style if we feel up to it to clock up the miles)

17. Draycote Water to Kites Hardwick

18. Leamington Hastings to Birdnigbury

19. Frankton to Streton on Dunsmore

20. Streton = Fosse Way

21 . Wolston

22. Binley Woods to Binley = Home to BT Towers

67 Miles

Summary of the Ride:

1/ 67 Miles done

2/ Average Speed of 16.9mph

3/ Completed in 4hrs

Credit to BT, the circuit we did was great. Great in the respect of it pushed us again to new limits and was quite different to last week. The roads were very quite, with some really challenging hills. My preparation going into this ride wasnt that good in terms of training and diet. For me the build up to any ride like this you have to be well prepared in both training and diet for the ride so you can reach your full potential. Once again I felt we worked really well together as a team in terms of taking the lead and the other in the slip stream for half a mile at a time. This ensured that at the more difficult areas and also the sections we could get ahead of ourselves, we did just that.

The wind played a major part in the ride as well. It was very windy in places, no more so than at Dracote Water. What a beautiful this is. A 5 mile cirucit of this against the wind at full pace (after 45 miles) was a real test of both our legs. By the end of it we were both ready for the bacon and egg sandwich that awaitied us!

Another learning from the ride today was that on race day we must try and limit our stops to only toilet ones. In your mind sometimes all you want to do is stop and have a break but in practice, when we did this for 10 mins we would seize up quite quickly and it would then take us a couple of miles to get back in the rythmn.

Overall, a really enjoyable ride and with 2 weeks to go one which we both really needed.

Objectives for the next two weeks are:

Light training every night this week (minimum of 20 mins on the turbo) and light wieghts.

Big ride at the weekend at some point (70 miles)

The week after will be one of taking it easy with just maybe a couple of 20 mins cycle to keep the legs stretched and ticking over.

PS. Ben G - Thanks for letting me borrow your Trek over the last few weeks. Although the frame might be a little too small i just love the bike and feel I can just keep pushing and pushing. I promise to look at getting one soon!

Other great news is that BT and Anoushka are having a baby girl in about 7 weeks. Congratulations, cant wait for you to join the world of parenting!!!!!

This week has a been combination of both good and bad. Work has been one of those weeks where the to do lists and the priorities have just got bigger and longer and on top that the new dasboards came out for the sales managers and the TSR's for the seconf half of the year which has meant disecting the information out of there to ensure they are correct but at the same understand where we are and where we need to be and what we need to do to get there so yeah, pretty challenging week. Good news on the sales manager dashboard front is that I am currently 2nd out of 31 sales managers nationally. We still have the rest of the year to go but the quicker you get out the blocks the more effective you can be later on in the year driving the specifics.

The weekend has been a great one. With the ever closing bike race on the 6th Sept coming up, me and my best buddy Ben made a big milestone this weekend. Dr Ben lives in Coventry and the nature of his job can be quite long hours so from that point of view we have both been doing similiar amounts of training. Last weekend we both did 30 miles on Saturday and Sunday so we seemed to be both going in the right direction.

Saturday morning saw my alarm go off at 05:45am although i felt like i was awake for the majority of the night due to heat and the prospect of doing a 60 mile ride with Ben in the morning. I had planned the route from Bens mum and dads house in Willerby which saw us take in the following route.

1/Willerby - Cottingham - Skidby - Walkington - North Newbald - Sancton - Market Weighton - Holme Upon Spalding Moor - Bubwith - Wressle - Howden - Gilberdyke - North Cave - South Cave - Brantingham (Spout Hill!) - Elloughton - Willerby.

In the run up to the 94 mile race on the 6th Sept, me and Ben this year have done no more than around 30 miles on the bike in one ride. We used to ride every week when we were at home, trips to Lakes where we would do 70 miles (with my front brake rubbing on the front wheel for 50 of those miles). Resistance training I called it! I had this ride at been about 64 miles so quite a big jump from what we have done recently and 10 years on from those biking days in Hull we where both wondering how our bodies would react!

I could detail the ride stage by stage but in trying to keep my blogging short and sweet, Ill just highlight key areas.

1/ 65 miles Completed

2/ 3hours 40mins

3/ Avg Speed 17.6mph

4/ We thought we had prepared well by taking onboard plenty of fluids, energy bars / gels / shots! but what one key learning was that at around 40 miles we had nothing really substancial to eat like a tuna sandwich etc. We had plenty of energy in the form of taurine / glucose / caffeine but nothing really substancial in the way of protein for the hours we had been on the bike and more importantly the calories that we had burnt. On the day of the race we will be looking at burning 4,000 calories so it is vitally important that we get that extra protein before its too late. Big learning curve.

5/ The big positive for me was how well we both worked as a team as we are both very similiar strength and stamina wise on the bike. For sections we took it in turns leading for a mile while the other had a rest and so on. One of the highlights for me was when we left my mum and dads, 7 miles from Bens. As soon as we set off my legs were really struggling and we headed for a long stretch of road called Great Gutter Lane. Its relatively flat but really open and if you hit a head wind the legs really take a battering over the 5 mile stretch. The wind was behind us though and this seemed to give us the energy to give a massive push. For this 5 mile stretch we averaged the 30mph mark non stop. It was amazing, the bikes just glided and it was a great end to what had been a fantastic ride.

Our next planned ride together is next weekend. Me and the girls are driving down on Saturday and we are going out again, early in the morning to do the same amount of miles.

Objectives for this ride.

1/ Ride 70 miles minimum

2/ To complete in less than 3hours 45mins

3/ Increase our average speed to 18mph.

4/ Take onboard key proteins at the half way stage and energy bars / gels / shots ongoing to prevent muscle and energy fatigue.

My aim is to do 3 nights this week on the bike trainer for 30 mins at a time to keep the legs ticking over and really maintain the focus on the diet to ensure I am well prepared again for 6 days time...................

Link to our Prostate Cancer Charity Team X-Treme website is

www.prostatecancercharity.org.uk/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=276730

Slack on the blogging front...........

Hey all, its been seriously slack on the blogging front on my part. Why? well just a number of reasons. 1/ Work over the last few months has just been manic and spending so much time during the day on the laptop dosent really want me entice me to then spend another hour updating the blog. so going forward my aim is to try and update ongoing, short and sweet.

So whats happened over the last few months???????

Charity Bike Ride for Prostate Cancer - Me and my best buddy Ben had originally set out to do coast to coast in one go. Thats around 140 miles from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Whilst surfing the net BT came up with a great idea of doing a different ride for Prostate Cancer instead that the professional riders do on the tour of britain. It is an actual leg of 94 miles we are doing so the last few weeks have been a real focus in getting into shape, focusing on the diet and the training in which both have been successful. We are doing this on the 6th Sept and to make any donations then please visit www.prostatecancercharity.org.uk/personalpage.aspx?registartionID=276730

It really has given me the bug again for training and even more so to get on the bike. Last weekend I covered just under 60 miles by doing two 30 mile rides. I felt really comfortable with both rides and am really looking forward to this weekend and meeting up with Ben to do a ride we have set out to do (64miles) so will update on sunday to see how we got on. We are aiming for 4 hours door to door.

The Girls! - Nyah and Ciara are growing faster than ever. Nyahs personality is really starting to come through and she is picking up on so much. Ciara is now starting to stand up and its not going to be long till she will be taking her first steps. We have taken the girls swimming, on the bikes and on longs walk which Nyah is always leading the way!

Retirement - My father in Law Dave has retired after an amazing 50 years services with his company. If that wasnt enough he is going back to work part time after a couple of offers so that should still keep him busy.

IOM TT - This was a couple of months ago now but me and my Dad had a great time. On the back of our 7th year visiting the island we decided to do it differently this and we went over on the bikes without the engines. We stayed a mile out of Ballaugh with a lovely family. It was amazing to do the visit on the bikes as it just gave such a different dimmension to the island and its beauty, not to mention the racing. We viewed from the Gooseneck which was awesome. Guy Martin was unlucky not to get his first win on the island, John McGuniess was denied his 2nd victory on the week in the senior after his chain came off on the last lap. Spaking to him the following day he said that cost around £50k! Steve Plater as the man of the week for me. Only been a relative newcomer to some of the more experienced riders to win two races was a fantastic achievement. We will certainly do the bike run again next for our 8th year!

Career - I have been made permant as middle manager which I am made up with. My new team are based around the North East in Newcastle and Teeside so after a strong to finish to the half year finishing 8th out of 34 Sales Managers I am aiming for that No.1 position by the end of the year. Watch this space..........

How do you make a proper cup of tea? Milk in first or last? First of course........ an imulsion is a much better combination than a mixture right??????????

2nd Birthdays / Pregancies / Wedding Anniversary / Back Training

Wow, this chapter is going to include a serious amout of updating. Its been nearly 6 weeks since I last updated the blog. I usually update the blog on the weeks events every Sunday but this just hasnt happened recently. Alot has happened in this time and I would first of all like to congratulate my best buddy Ben and his wife Anoushka on finding out Anoushka is due at the begining of October. Its great news for them both and me and Nikki are over the moon for them. Ben should cope with Fatherhood alot better them me as he is used to getting about 6 hours sleep every night so getting used to 4 hours a night wont be to difficult for him! You guys will make awesome parents and it will be great for the girls to have a little Thurlow to play with.

We have also celebrated Nyah's 2nd birthday! Nikki had arranged for some of Nyah's friends to come round for a party. I came home about 4:30pm to a house that looked like a bomb had hit it! Kids running around the house, food everywhereand crayon marks all over. You could hardly move for the amount of toys but everyone looked liked they where having a great time and lots of fun.

We have also celebrated Pam and Mikes wedding anniversary. We had arranged for James and Lauren to stay at ours and we had booked Pam and Mike to stay at Monk Fryston for the night. We then had Sunday lunch followed by a walk around the gardens. It was really good visit Monk Fryston again and especially when Pam and Mike were celebrating a milestone occassion.

Well the IOM TT 2009 is fast approaching and with me and my Dad biking over there this year for the first time, I spent this morning out on the bike with Nyah. We did our usual circuit of 15 miles but it took a bit longer today as Nyah's helmet kept following off, then when we stopped to feed the horses I noticed her hat had gone missing so we had to bike back a mile to collect it, then we stopped off at the park at West Haddlesley for 20 mins while Nyah played on the swings, the slide and the climbing frame. It not far I know, but my legs and lungs felt really good. We are going over to Hull tomorrow to have an official house warming for my sisters new apartment I am hoping to do the circuit again in the morning before we set off.

At some point over the summer period me and Ben are planning on doing coast to coast from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Its 140 miles and in doing something different for charity we are planning on doing it non stop. This is something I am really looking forward to and in particular the training running up to doing it.

Well thats pretty much the last 6 weeks updated! Ill try not to leave it as long next time................

Our 1st Family Holiday - Lanzarote March 2009

The May's on Tour!

Our two week holiday destination was the Playa Blanca Resort in Lanzarote. This has been one of holiday destinations for some time now as we visited this resort on a regular basis when I was younger with my mum, dad and sister, and now we were returning with the next generation of the family along with my mum and dad.

The holiday began with an early start on Wednesday 18th April for a departure time of 7am. Having successfully negotiated check in, then passport control we then headed for security. It was at this point the fun really started! Nyah's best friend Dora was snatched from her hand and put through the security checks. What happened as a result of this was Nyah having a huge tantrum because her pride and joy had been taken from her. Nyah laid on the floor kicking and screaming and crying and nothing we could do (in front of the 50 or so other travelers) could console her. The thought of saving money by going on holiday before Nyahs 2nd birthday and paying infant prices seemed a great idea, that is until walking onto a cramped, full and hot plane with the prospect of having my little bundle of energy sat on my knee for the next 4 hours. Never have I been on holiday and would have done anything to be back at work. Only joking!!

That aside, the holiday from then on was really great and looking back, we laugh at the airport and plane fun! We stayed at the playa flamingo apartments went self catering which suited us to the ground to keep with the girls routine. Below was the view from our apartment, the ocean and the beach.

The holiday really was great. The beach was in view of the apartment and we made good use of it nearly everyday. The walks along the sea front were always accompanied by a stop to have a coffee. It was great spending quality time with the girls and amazing to see how both have them have come on so much. Nyah is such an independent little soul and has so much confidence with very little fear. She would run into the sea without a second thought, she loved playing tennis and football on the tennis courts and would walk for miles until she couldnt walk no more.

When you are away from your normal environment it gives you time to reflect on things. This is something that I wrote down while I was away.

Its times like this I feel it is important to document in some way thoughts and feelings. Why? Well when you havent had a two week holiday abroad for four years, its a total change of lifestyle. Having my phone on constantly over this period, checking and been on my laptop everyday, the responsibility of two beautiful girls has resulted in a massive release for me and Nikki. It didnt take long to establish that when we are at home our whole life evolves arounds the girls and to be honest we wouldnt have it any other way. You can though quite easily fall into the trap of the majority of conversations you have just been practical ones about the kids. Let me explain......

We wake in the morning, usually around 06:30am. Questions to Nikki are, Are you working today? Who's looking after the girls? What time is my mum coming? What time is my mum leaving?Who's getting who ready? Feed them then set off to work. Phone call during the day, How are the girls? Has Ciara had her solids? Has she had a poo? Return from work, who needs feeding? Have they had a good day, entertain, feed, showers, milk, bedtime story. Have tea, get ready for the next day then zzzzzzzzzzzz. So as you can imagine it was great to get on holiday and reflect a little on this.

I dont want to come across as sounding negative or that I am not happy. All I am saying is that I know when you have kids they take up alot of time and sometimes you forget about yourself.

Any how, spending quality time with the Nikki, the kids and my mum and dad was great. From having coffee at mid morning over looking the sea to playing tennis, swiming in the sea and walking miles it really was a relaxing two weeks.

Heres to the next holiday......................

On the road to recovery

This week has been a week of progression. I have felt much better in myself, building my strength back up and getting back into my routine. In the back of my mind because the sickness has happened twice I have been questioning myself when I have been getting the odd tummy twitch or not feeling 100% thinking, is it going to make a third appearance! Luckily when it last happened I stayed off the Imodium and other medication and tried to make a real effort to ensure i got rid of the bug fully by drinking just boiled water. Time will tell but I am feeling much better.

I have had a really good week this week. The girls are fantastic! They really are developing by the day. Ciara is now starting to turn over onto her front a regular basis and is constantly smiling whenever she sees me or a Nikki. From sleeping through the night from 7pm to 7am after a couple of months, Ciara had been waking up around 4am resulting in us feeding her. We have now started feeding her again at 10:30pm and at the moment seems to be doing the trick as she is sleeping till 7am which is good. I think she is going through a growth spurt at the moment and combined with putting her onto solids I think she is just a little bit unsettled at the moment. These last 6 months have passed so quickly and I really cant wait till the better weather kicks in so we can enjoy some good times out playing in the garden.

I had some really good news at work. The team had got off to a really good start to the year and the targets started again as of P2 (February). We had a focus on Relentless and as usual the targets were briefed. The team had a cracking period and came 1st in the region and 2nd nationally so I was really pleased and proud of the team for their performance, they really did do fantastic job.

The gym has been put on hold since I have been ill. This has mainly been due to the fact that I just haven't felt 100% and I have been really busy at work. I'm going to make a real conscious effort next week to build on the weights and do some running.

Just a short update this week. Catch you next week.

Light at the end of the tunnel,

although it feels like a very long tunnel....................

One of my philosophy's in life is doing things for the future, whether that be working hard to get that promotion at work, saving to go on holiday, training to lead a healthier lifestyle or just planning for the up and coming weekend so as a family we make the most of it. The light at the end of the tunnel signifies I'm hoping to have eradicated our families sickness bug sometime soon so we can get back to some kind of normality. Since the start of the year its been really tough. Sickness has plagued the whole family and the last couple of weeks have been no different. Nikki and Nyah started on Friday with the sickness and diarrhoea bug that they had some two weeks ago which lasted till Sunday afternoon. Thinking that was it and we were over the worst, I came down with awful stomach cramps and sickness on Sunday night along with Ciara in which I am in bed now writing this still not feeling great. The doctor explained that last time when we all had the bug, we hadn't got rid of it fully and as a result this is why it has made a second appearance. He advised that to let nature takes its course and take no Imodium or sickness medicine so we got rid of it fully. In doing this the last 48 hours have been pretty tough but touch wood we are all over the worst of it. One positive, this six pack is coming on treat!

Nikki has been brilliant. She has looked after the three of us while we have been ill and still kept the fortress running. Non stop all day feeding, entertaining, cleaning and washing.

Im really hoping to feel back to normal within the next couple of days and in doing so getting back into a routine. Spring feels like it has arrived as the sun has been shining bright the last couple of mornings, the temperatures have jumped upto around 10dgc and the nights are getting a bit lighter.

Light at the end of the tunnel

To the end of the sickness bugs and the cold winter days

Have a good week and avoid the bugs.