Near miss could have lead to disaster!

Another busy training week has just flown by. I can not believe its only 3 weeks to go. Been very busy this week getting as much distance, climbs and time in the saddle as possible. Been out with Brian this week as much as possible finding the steepest hills around Boxhill to climb. Amazingly, I went up some hills I never knew were even there! Fantastic!!

Had a near miss on Wednesday over at Westcott way, went down a very tricky stony gully dropped the front wheel in to a pot hole and straight over the handle bars landing on my wrist and right leg. blood was everywhere and I was blessed with very sore wrist and knee. Luckily the bike was OK, I got back on and limped on for the rest of the ride. It caused a bit of worry on Thursday and Friday but by Saturday the bruises came out and the pain subsided. Phew!! A very close shave. I think I will have to became a bit more cautious. Brian had fun aswell over the last few rides with his new cleats, I must have seen him fall off a least six times !! Luckily no injuries just a red face moments.

We still managed to clock up 170 miles off road plus about 10,000 feet of climb over the week.

The picture above was taken by Dee's Brother on a nice sunny day a few months back. Amazingly it will be in a publication for some new flats being built in Redhill later this year. Autographed versions are available on request at £3.99 ea. Limited stock though.

Take care and I will see the guy's on Saturday 0800 usual place ........ Be there!!

Less then a month to go now!!! Big gulp!! 29 days to be exact. Getting the last minute preparations under way Insurance, spares, food energy drinks, what clothing to take the list seems endless.....

Cramming as much training in as possible, it seems I am spending my life on the saddle of the bike. I must admit I did take the weekend off what with Olivia's sports day, speech day and the Caterham School ball on Saturday. I even had two glasses of red wine on Saturday night....... admittedly I did go for a run and a quick visit to the gym on Sunday but not for long though.

The British Airways saga continues we have been told we will get a refund of £116 for the tax and charges, the rest of the fare will hopefully come from the insurance policy Markie took out. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly. Admittedly to get that far I did spend over 2 hours on the phone to their call centre listening to tacky Spanish on hold music and some announcer going on how wonderful BA. What a load of C**P !"£?"$?

Lots of training coming up over the next week when Brian gets back for Scotland. I will update you all on that front in my next entry.

Have a good week. Enjoy the weather......

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly News!

First the bad news, my Trans Rockies partner Markie, who as you can remember had a major fall in March, breaking his humerus and dislocating his left shoulder, when we were training in Wales, has had the news from his consultant at East Surrey Hospital, that he is unable to ride for about three months and will possibly need another operation on his shoulder to correct its alignment. This was a devastating shock for him and everyone. We had held out so much hope that he would be going to Canada. I know how much this had meant to him and how grateful I was of his support from the word go. It is a real shame! On the brighter side I have said to him once he is ship shape again we will attempt some other gruelling feat a bit closer to home. We will keep you posted on that one!

To the good news!! My friend Brian Trill has very kindly offered to take Markie's place on the Trans Rockies ride and I am very honoured to have him along as my team mate. Brian lives for his mountain bike, spending many many hours in the saddle and riding all over the country at some of the best venues Britain has to offer. He recently did a fantastic ride in Peru for a charity in memory of his mother who sadly passed away, riding over 500km up through the mountains at high altitude, finishing in Machu Picchu some 2,500m above sea level. A fantastic feat. I look forward to continuing the training over the coming weeks with him.

After the devastating news about Markie a bit of ugly news this time on the ticket front. British Airways - what a disappointment. What we thought would be a simple change of the name on the ticket turned out to cost £850. The miserable sods would not transfer the ticket, into Brian's name so it now becomes null and void. Therefore, we had to buy another in Brian's name, even after explaining the reasons - The injury - the charity - no budging. Well all I can say is 'Thanks British Airways' The world's favourite airline!!! Puff to that!!!!! I will take my bookings elsewhere next time.

Had a slightly easier training week this week just recharging the batteries. We had a good road ride yesterday. Brian, Ben and I took part in a charity ride for the British heart Foundation, 45 miles of Surrey's finest countryside in the rain. Brian had a near miss as he skid off on a sharp corner on the first fast descent. He's now got a bit of a bruised butt I think!! The ride was good training and we were home in about 2 and half hours which was not bad.

At last we have also decided a team name and what could be more appropriate then

'Team Milo'

Have a good week take it easy.

Markie's Back and pretty in good form........

Markie joined in Saturdays ride this week, he covered about 22 miles from Reigate Hill across to Denbies and back, he found it fairly tough with lots of jarring on the descents. The ascents were especially difficult on the more technical parts especially when he can not really pull with his left arm that well yet. Great to see him back and in good form though. Looking forward to lots more rides over the coming weeks getting his training back in to full swing. I spoke to him on Sunday and he felt tired but good with it - Which is encouraging!!! Hopefully its Trans Rockies here we come!!!!!!!!!!

I joined the ride at 8am after leaving home at about 6am and got an extra 10 miles plus before the start. Later, I met Natalie with the dog and managed to top up a tough 46.8 miles in just under 5 hours in the saddle - I slept well that night.

Training for the week topped 160 miles in total. Finding it tough to fit it all in and get any extra distance along with the busy schedule of work and other commitments. I will have to try harder next week.

Take care............

Team Name - Help Needed

We need your help! We need to come up with a team name for our entry in to the Transrockies. Any suggestions would be greatfully appreciated. No rude ones though. Best suggestion will get a free packet of Pretzels. Below are a couple of pictures that might help you on your way. Please leave suggestions in the comments section below.

Thank you.

By the way Markie is on the right

I am the one on the left.