Spring Finally Arrives

So 12 weeks to go until my London to Paris cycle ride and training proper begins. After weeks of rain and cold weather, the weather finally changed and spring finally arrives. This weeks plan was to cycle 105 miles over 5 days and the final total was 105 miles over 4 days.

Horsey Windpump

Spring Blossoms

Me

Saturdays ride was a 41 mile ride along the Norfolk Broads to Horsey Mill. Unfortunately, this is currently being refurbished, but the shop there made a good place to stop for 10 minutes and enjoy an ice cream in glorious weather.

I’m not really a fan of mile after mile of flat roads, so Sundays ride was my regular 28 mile ride along the North Norfolk coast. Up and down like a jo-jo and taking in the highest point in Norfolk, Beacon Hill and its mighty 103m…

This weeks cycling felt pretty good and I managed to knock 9 minutes of my previous best time on Sundays ride, completing the 28 miles in 1hr 59min.

Monday, 2/5

Wednesday, 4/5

Saturday, 7/5

Sunday, 8/5

Next weeks training contains a big new challenge, so wish me luck, I’ll need it! Come back next week to find out more. Hopefully the marvellous weather will continue as it makes cycling so much more fun.

Just remains for me to say thanks for reading and don’t forget that I am doing this to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, so please feel free to sponsor me by clicking the banner below.

Sascha

 

Spring Saddle Sportive

And so it begins, training for the big ride to Paris at the end of July.

Yesterday, I took part in the Spring Saddle Sportive at Newmarket. Unfortunately, the weather was not very spring like. The bike got a good wash hitched to the back of the car during the 90 minute drive to Newmarket in an arctic 2º C.

Pit stop. A quick 1o minute break after 23 miles.

To be fair, it really didn’t feel that cold and I braved it in my short cycle bib much to the envy of my fellow cyclists who clearly checked the forecast and came in their longs.

For the first 30 miles everything went reasonably well, but then disaster struck… PUNCTURE! Unfortunately, I didn’t have a spare inner tube with me, so roadside puncture repair was needed. Not easy trying to glue things in the rain but 30 minutes later I was back on the road.

I got another 5 miles down the road before the repair failed. Off comes the wheel again and another go at a repair. No good. One last repair attempt, but still no good. What to do? Call help and get brought back to the start in a car or cycle the last 5 miles with a flat rear tyre?

Clearly, my ego got the better of me and so I carried on gingerly and nursed the bike to the end. At least the weather improved at the end, it stopped raining and it was a barmy 5° C.

Lessons learnt:

• Check the Forecast
• Bring a spare inner tube

Trace of the 41 mile route

Well that (almost) all for today. Just one more thing to mention. I am looking for sponsorship for my 300 mile ride to Paris in the summer.

Thanks to those of you who have sponsored me already and if you haven’t, it’s never to early to start, just click on the link below!

That really is all for today, until next time.

Sascha

My biggest challenge?

On the 30th July 2016, I intend to complete possibly the greatest challenge of my life…

I will be cycling around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysées and under the Eiffel Tower, having set off from London 4 days earlier and having covered around 300 miles in the saddle.

So the question, of course, is why? The answer is that I strive on a challenge and can do some good in the process.

How you ask? Well, I intend to raise money for charity in the process. I thought long and hard about charity to support, and settled on the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA).

So why have I decided to support this charity? They provide rapid emergency response in cases of medical emergencies, whether this is an accident and illness. Living in rural Norfolk, they can provide life saving help quicker than a road ambulance can.

At this stage, I need to add that every penny you sponsor me will go the EAAA, I will pay the cost of taking part in the event out of my own pocket.

So a little about this blog, I intend to publish an update every week or two with training progress, more about the challenge itself and of course during the challenge itself regular progress updates!

To make it easy for you to sponsor me, I have set up a Just Giving page. Just click on the link below!

Sascha