Having been back for a
few weeks now I have had plenty of time to reflect on the event as a whole and
wanted to capture and share my retrospective thoughts.
I will group my
ramblings into chunks and my first instalment is around how much I really
appreciate all the support that has been provided to me in preparation for and
during the event.
Joy
I have many people to
thank and as always the first person in mind is the most important person on
the planet to me, my wife Joy. It feels
like Joy has been with me every turn of the crank. From the initial discussion about possibly
taking on the challenge Joy has been completely supporting me and has had to
put up with so much along the way.
Training had a huge
impact on us, we moved house 2 years ago and I have a very long list of things
to get on with around our home but I have done pretty much nothing this year
except go to work or ride my bike. Even
my chores have gone by the wayside and Joy has picked up my slack without a
grumble. I spent our holiday funds on
entering the ride and getting the extra kit needed and Joy has kept on
encouraging me.
I would not have
achieved anything in this life without Joy and her support in this adventure
has been the cornerstone of my completing the challenge.
As always I am eternally
grateful to you my love.
Training Support Crew
I rode a little over 7500
miles between January and September in training for Lejog. A lot of these miles where done on my own
invariably going to work (14 miles) or extended rides home (between 26 and 46
miles) with the weekends then involving a 100 miles Saturday and 50ish miles
Sunday ride. This is a lot of time to spend on your own and so it can become
rather lonely but thankfully I have some great friends who willingly helped me
out of the tedium.
Paul Finning, Kurtis
Turnball and Eddie Pottril all joined me for extended rides home and Kurtis
also came out with me on some 100 milers including one he planned for us which
was particularly brutal.
Ali and the renegades
took me on some of the best rides, there is always fun with them and the miles
just fly by.
Stacey, I can always
count on your support and yet again you came through. Dragged you out for several rides and for
counsel, cheers bro.
To each and all of you,
Chapeau!
Sponsors
The opportunity to raise
funds for the Air Ambulance whilst attempting the ride was initially just a way
for me to settle what I see as my debt to them for saving me 21 years ago, but
as time has gone on it became so much more.
People have been really generous in giving for the cause and as the
funds rose I came to realise how this is support of both me and the
charity.
During the ride this
support from everyone is what kept me going. I had a very dark day on day
5. The ride had been topped and tailed
with torrential rain that day and I was feeling exhausted having pushed too
hard for the first 30 miles and then ridden over Shap towards the end. I was now at the Penrith camp, caked in mud,
shivering, standing in the squelchy mud, as it continued to rain on me and I
queued for a shower.
I felt like I couldn’t
face it anymore and wanted to abandon and go to a clean warm, clean dry and
clean home which is clean. The thought
of not fulfilling my end of the sponsorship bargain played very heavy on my
mind convincing me to continue.
So huge thanks to
everyone who has dug into their pockets or given up time in support of raising
funds for KSSAA. Not only have you
contributed to a life giving charity but also provided a huge morale boost to
me and reason to go on to complete the challenge.
I am chuffed to bits
with the £4181.81 (including gift aid) raised far exceeded expectations and
with my work matching this to the national air ambulance I am really proud of
what has been achieved to support these life saving charities.
My Work
My employer (Allianz
Insurance plc) organised and part funded my entry onto the ride and this has
been followed by huge support from my boss (Steve) and the rest of the team I
work in for the 8 months running up to the ride.
Everyone in the team has
helped out, be it by helping with the fundraising (Charity Bake + Justyn Time)
or by covering my phone 3 days a week as I rush out the door at 4pm to get
extra training miles in on the way home.
I could not have achieved
the £4181.81 raised for KSSAA without the team’s enthusiasm and support
so huge thanks to the gang.
The push for me to do
this came about because of the socially responsible mind-set of the board of
Allianz Insurance plc so a big thank you to the board for allowing me this opportunity,
and for matching the funds raised.
Fellow Riders
Everyone who completed
the ride is awesome in my book but special mention has to go to the following:
Martyn Davenport – your call
to let me know you had also signed up to the challenge lifted my spirits in
bringing someone I know onto the event. We
didn’t spend enough time together on the road but I really enjoyed your
enthusiasm as our paths crossed each day, especially as no matter what the challenge
you always had a smile.
Nick Caldwell + Nick
Linfield – Both of you took turns to give up your seats on the 4 hour train
journey from Reading to Penzance so that I could get a bit of rest from
standing on that packed train. You were
both great on the adventure, always smiling and full of camaraderie.
Thoroughly enjoyed the
pace of our 30 mile stint together on day 5, sorry I didn’t trust my body to
keep it up for the rest of the ride.
Alan Simpson – It was a
pleasure riding with you on days 2 and 3, really appreciated your company,
talking about life and sharing the load.
Neil White, Jonathan
Miles, Phil Roberson, Paul Hulme & Tom Griffiths – AKA the Vodafone Gang – It
was great joining your group on day 6 and having a laugh as we took on the
wind.
Riding with a dodgy
tummy on day 7 brought another level of issues to the challenge for me and you
all helped me along. I will be for ever
grateful to Jonathan for delivering me to the final pit stop at warp speed,
saving me from doing a Dumoulin.
Having awoken at 2am on
day on day 8 with continued tummy trouble I had I decided to pull out the next
morning but you all encouraging me to carry on with you is what got me back in
the saddle and your support in pulling me along in the afternoon saw me finish
the day.
Was great sharing the
experience and sense of achievement on the final day with you.
Well done one and all.
Family support during
the ride
Having Perry, Joy, Pops,
Marion, Sanchia and Chis all visiting me on the ride was a great morale
boost. Having Perry turn up at the pit
stop on day 2 was a fantastic surprise and having him surprise me again the
next evening too was awesome.
Huge thanks to you all for
coming along, and apologies too for not being the best company as I ran around
focussed on getting all my stuff (shower, stretching, eating, washing, drying)
done. It was also great staying at Shorty
towers, thanks Chris and Vicki.
The support I have had
in preparing and completing the challenge has been overwhelming and I just
cannot capture how grateful I am to all of you for this.
Thank you
