The challenges are complete!

Ok, so September has come and gone and what a month it has been.  Everyone involved in the September Sweat Challenge has done a fantastic job and we've all reached our targets.

Mum swam for an hour on the last two days to complete her 30th hour in the pool which is a fantastic achievement.  When I first tabled the idea of doing another challenge this year I was expecting her to decline but I got an immediate response of "I'll swim for an hour a day every day" and she has!  Brilliant.

Kimberly as you know ran her half marathon earlier in the month and has continued with the running club ever since.

With two days to go I still had nearly 66 miles to ride so on the 29th I drove to Bath to cycle the Bath to Bristol railway path again.  The plan was to do well over half of the miles (about 50) so that I would then have just 16 or so to do on the last day and claim the longest ride of the month!  The path is only about 13 miles long so I would have to go there and back more than once.  After getting to Bristol for the first time I had a text from Jon saying he had done 55 mile so far and had at least 5 more to get home so this spurred me on to do more.  I cycled from Bath to Bristol and back twice (about 54 miles) and then went 5 miles along the path a third time before turning round and coming back.  A massive total of over 64 miles!  I know some people will say that as it was on a railway path there wasn't that many inclines and yes it certainly was easier than if it was on the road but anyone that knows me will know that I'm not exactly an athlete so I think that cycling 64 miles in any shape or form is a massive achievement!  I probably should have just done the last mile and finished my challenge but like last year I left myself a 1.1 mile procession for the last day of September.

Jon's ride ended up being just over 61 miles which is 50% longer then his previous longest ride, another fantastic effort and it smashed him through the 400 mile mark.  Challenge complete for him.  In a text for me he quoted Sir Steve Redgrave (with a bit of artistic licence) and said "If you ever see me near a bike again, please shoot me!".

After being goaded into an extra challenge and targeting 1000km (620 miles) Tom left himself a fairly long ride on the final day.  Her did his normal commute of just under 22 miles in the morning and then did 30.1 miles coming home which he thought would break the 1000km mark.  Being an accountant I would have expected him to get his maths right but alas his total was stuck at 999km so he went out for an extra couple of miles just to get over the line.

As promised I completed my last 1.1 miles (well I did 2.5) on the final day by cycling to the shop to buy a crate of beer.  My challenge is now complete.

I cannot express with enough gratitude how proud I am of the team of challengers and everyone who has sponsored us this month.  At the time of writing we have currently raised £1,664 and the total is set to rise further as the promises come in.

Thank you Mum, Kimberly, Jon, and Tom for doing the challenges and thank you everyone else who has supported us.

It's been emotional...

Two days to go!!

I've been a bit slack with my blogging this year, my intention was to write an entry after every ride but somehow it hasn't turned out like that.  Most of my posts have covered several days and this one is no different!

When I last posted I had just over 148 miles to go having slipped behind because of a heavy cold.  This week I went out on Tuesday evening for an uneventful 31 miles following a route I've done before out through Martock to Langport and back again.  I felt like I could have done more but the evenings are drawing in fast and it was too dark.

Thursday, Friday, and today have all been morning rides before work (and golf today).  I find it very difficult to get myself up and out but with the amount of miles I still had to go I pushed myself and got on with it.  It's amazing how productive I've been at work afterwards though, morning exercise doesn't half get your energy up for the day!

Thursday I did just under 18 miles and yesterday I did a different route than I'd done before which was just over 20 miles.  At one point I was climbing up a medium incline and the road was getting very muddy from a tractor that had obviously been out before me.  I had to change right down almost onto the granny gear and as I was pedalling the rear wheel started to spin because of the mud!  That made it even harder to get to the top!

Today I had a game of golf arranged for 9:30 but as I still had about 78 miles to go I thought I would go out for a few miles.  I set my alarm for 6am with the intention of getting on the road before 7am when it was just about light enough.  I checked my tyres as I normally do and the front one was feeling a bit soft so I pumped it up and set off.  It was raining but only very slightly so I wasn't getting too wet but as I was passing  farm out near East Coker I was riding though what was obviously wet cow crap and it was flicking up off the front wheel and hitting me in the face and mouth!  Nice!  I headed out towards Ham Hill on a loop that would have given me about 20 miles but after about 11 miles I could feel that the front wheel was softer on the bumps in the road so I pulled over to find that it was losing air again.  I aborted the ride and headed home to fix the puncture and get ready for golf.  I found the hole in the inner tube and a tiny sliver of glass poking through the tyre was the culprit!

Today's aborted 13 miles means I have now reached just under 335 miles with 65 or so to go!  I might do a few more later but will definitely be heading out tomorrow for a longish one.

Mum has had some extra long swims this week and two swims today so by the time she gets out of the pool (she is there now) she will have just two hours to go in the last two days.

Jon has commuted a couple of times this week and is currently sitting at just over 344 miles with about 56 to go.  He has gone down with a cold though so the last two days of the challenge will be tough!

Tom continues his march towards 600 miles with 100 miles this week and another 32 today.  535 down, 65 to go!

Donations have been coming in and the total now sits at £1,450 for PROSTATE CANCER UK.  Fantastic amount!

10 days and no blog, have you missed me?!?

This is the first blog entry I've written in 10 days, time to bring you all up to speed.

Last Sunday Kimberly was off to Bristol to run in the half marathon which was the climax of her September Sweat Challenge.  The family went to support her but I wanted to combine it with a bike ride so I drove to Bath and then cycled the 15 or so miles to Bristol along the railway path, watched the race, and then cycled back to my car.  Kimberly had a fantastic race beating her last half marathon time by over 10 minutes and she ran the whole race without stopping or walking.  She even said she ran on the spot while grabbing a drink at one of the water stops!  A fantastic effort.

After Sunday's ride I had completed 190.1 miles but was lagging behind Jon on 201.2 and Tom on 205.4.  We were still all well and truly in the race to 400 though but what a difference a week makes!!

This last week has been really slack for me with only one ride of 32.8 on Wednesday evening then today I cycled to the golf club and back on my mountain bike (7.3 miles) and have just got back from a ride on my road bike of 21.6 miles.  I played golf on Thursday evening and during my round I started getting that feeling in my throat where you know you are coming down with a cold.  It has steadily got worse over the weekend but I knew I had to get some miles done so today's 29 miles were just a gentle one to see how I felt.  It means I've got a tough week ahead of me as I have 148.2 miles left to do in 8 days!  That's only just over 18.5 a day though - easy!!!

Jon's week has been much better with rides on Tuesday (20.9), Thursday (21.4), Friday (a fantastic 47.7), then a quick 13.3 today.  This means that Jon has completed 304.5 miles leaving him just 95 and a half miles to do.  Good work sir.

Tom has had the best week though (show off) and has completed his challenge to be crowned the winner of the "first to 400" race!  Rides of over 40 miles a day (commutes to work and back mainly) on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, combined with a finale of 29.9 today has taken his total to 402.4.  Well done Tom, thanks for joining in our challenge, and thanks for helping to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK!  Now let's see if you can make it to 500 miles by the end of the month!  There's a few beers in it for you if you get to 600!!  No chance...

Mum has been away for a few days this week and so missed her swim on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday but she has made some of it up with long a long swim yesterday, and two swims last Saturday but she still has 2 and a quarter hours to make up on top of her normal hour a day.  I think she is doing a fantastic job and should easily reach her target of 30 hours.  I must say, swimming up and down, up and down, must be very repetitive so credit where credit is due!  At least I get to see a bit of scenery whilst I am out on the bike as well as swerving around pot holes, drains, and road kill!  Just today I very nearly breathed in a load of feathers as a car in front of me hit a pigeon! It wasn't a full on splat just a glancing blow and the pigeon was left stunned in the middle of the road right in my path so as well as holding my breath to avoid the feathers I also had to swerve around the dizzy bird!

The fundraising has been going very well and at the time of writing we are up to £1,223 all in aid of Prostate Cancer UK!  I'm so happy with the response we have had from people and I do hope they haven't felt coerced into sponsoring us!  I'm not shy when it comes to asking for money for charity!

On that note, if you are enjoying my blog and would like to sponsor us then please trot along to www.justgiving.com/septembersweat2013/ and in the words of Bob Geldof, "give us your f***ing money!"

Ok, that's you all up to date...

10th, 11th, and 12th of Sweatember

Tuesday the 10th started with my first early morning ride.  My intention this month was to do most of my cycling before work as it gets it out of the way and sets you up with great energy for the rest of the day!  Despite setting my alarm early every day I have pretty much failed and have ended up going back to sleep.  Usually with an excuse of its a bit foggy, or its drizzling, but mainly it's just me not wanting to get up!  Anyway, I managed 11 or so miles on this trip though and although it was very cold I felt good.  I left my water at home though and looped back to get it but cut my ride short of the 20 or so I had planned.  Overall a slight fail but more miles nevertheless!

Tom and Jon both pulled away from me with Jon doing 34 and Tom doing over 40!  This is not an excuse for falling behind but both of them have a decent commute distance to work and with some detours they can extend their rides.  I live less than a mile away from my office so I'm relying on discipline to go out on the bike.  If you ride to work you have no choice but to ride home again whereas when I get home I have the decision of putting the television on or going out on my bike and my will power isn't the best...  Okay enough of that, I just need to man up and get on with it!

No one went out on their bikes on the 11th so I had a perfect opportunity to catch up on a few miles but once again the alarm got turned off and I stayed in bed, what was I saying about manning up!!

As of this morning Tom was out in front on 180.2 miles, Jon cycled to work and then the chippy at lunchtime ha ha (12.9 miles) but that still left him 23 miles behind Tom.  I was languishing back on just over 122 miles and once again no early morning ride!

Jon added 11.4 on the way home so as we speak he is now just 12 behind Tom.  I went out for my biggest ride yet taking the same route out to Langport that I did last week but extending it further and managing 36.1 miles!  By the time I got home it was raining and dark and my front light kept going off but it meant I closed the gap on the others.  I'm now just under 10 miles behind Jon and less than 22 behind Tom so I'm back in the race!

My Tendon caused me a bit of grief towards the end of today's ride but like last time I'm currently sitting in a cold bath typing this to try and relive it.  Long way to go and I'm sure this won't be the last time it hurts - manning up!

Donations have been coming thick and fast this week and we're now nearly at the £1,000 mark for Prostate Cancer UK which is awesome!  If ur enjoying my ramblings and haven't sponsored us yet please go to www.justgiving.com/septembersweat2013/ it will make u feel great I promise and you don't even have to do any sweating!

Mum is still swimming an hour a day and we are all geared up to support Kimberly in her race on Sunday!

6th, 7th, and 8th of Sweat!

I actually hadn't planned on going out for a ride on Friday after doing a long ride the day before but when I realised no one else had been out and that I was less than 12 miles from reaching one hundred I decided to do a lap of Yeovil.  To make it long enough to reach the 100 milestone I had to take a detour via Odcombe which is a route I've done many times so this is what I did.  Just a short 11.9 miles but enough to take my total to 101 and be the first of us to crack 100!

I made yet another cleat based mistake and stopped only 20 or 30 yards from the top of a short climb.  I tried in vain to clip back in nearly falling over in the process but failed!  I need up walking the few yards to the summit and then clipping in on the flat.  I really need to get my mindset right for hills, I know I have the power to get up them but I fail in my head before I fail in my legs or chest!  I've even considered swapping back to normal pedals for a while until I get more confident with climbs but this seems like a step backwards so I think I'll avoid it.

Saturday was a huge day for Tom, he rode to work with a scenic detour (20 miles) and then an even bigger detour on the way home taking his total for the day to 50 massive miles!  He was a little way behind prior to that but now has a commanding lead and will be hard to beat to 400.  Jon also put in a respectable 20 miles meaning in one foul swoop I was dropped from 1st to last place!

Sunday the 8th marked the second day in a pretty lazy weekend for me, I nearly didn't go out at all but I wanted to collect my old mountain bike from my brother in law so I drove to his house then rode it home - just under 8 miles.  We had a family BBQ planned for the afternoon so I also used it to go to the shop to get some wine, only 2.6 miles but it all adds to the total.  Riding my ageing mountain bike with its poor brakes and gears that change by themselves is hard work compared to my slick new road bike, its definitely old faithful but it needs a lot of TLC if i was going to use it for any length of time again!

I wasn't expecting Tom to ride again today after his 50 miles yesterday but in a demonstration of his determination to be first to 400 he went out again and did another 20!

As I write the totals are as follows:  Tom is out in front on just under 140 miles with Jon and I trailing him on about 111 miles.  Jon has picked up a niggling injury in his leg which accounted for his rest days at the weekend but he's confident of getting back in the saddle tomorrow (Tuesday).

Today (Monday 9th) marks the first day this month that none of us have been out on our bikes!  I'm annoyed at myself really as I set my alarm this morning but once again I snoozed it and went back to sleep fully intending on going out after work instead - and that didn't happen either!

Kimberly ran a huge 9 miles yesterday before the BBQ so she is well on target for her half marathon this next weekend.  Mum has been swimming every day apart from Saturday but her challenge is an "average" of an hour a day so a couple of longer swims later in the month an she will make up the time.

Today was an exceptional day for sponsorship with some fantastic donations from members of my extended family bumping up our total raised by £235 in one day to an impressive £673.  I must keep reminding myself why we are doing this as I reach for the snooze button on my early alarm call...

Day 4 and 5 - Time to play ketchup!

After taking a day off to rest my ankle and treating it with an ice pack my intention was to go out yesterday morning but when I woke up it was a real pea-souper outside and with no hi-vis or lights I didn't go out.  It's nice to get the ride done early in the day as its out of the way but I would have to go out after work instead.

I didn't leave work until nearly 7pm so I knew I had limited time before it got dark and I very nearly swerved it but I forced myself into the saddle and did a steady 14 or so miles taking care to keep my heels from dropping and my feet flat.  The ride felt good and the tendon gave my no bother so let's hope it's okay now for the rest of the month.

Day 5 and yet again it was foggy, I could have gone out but I used it as an excuse to stay in bed!  Another post work ride beckoned!

This time I left work at a reasonable time and I was on the bike by 6 pm.  I headed straight out to Ham Hill then through Stoke-sub-hamdon to Martock, a route I've done many times (well a few).  I then carried on the same road past Long Sutton golf club and out into the Langport road.  Here I would usually turn right and head back towards home but I had a quick look at the map on my phone and it looked like there was a good route out through Langport and back to Martock so I went that way.

After Martock I headed back my normal route through Ash, Tintinhull, Montacute, then Yeovil.  By this time the light was fading fast and to be honest I shouldn't have been out without lights and hi-vis but there was nothing I could do other than pedal faster to get home quicker!

When I got home I stretched all of my leg muscles and I'm currently sitting in a bath with the water just out of the cold tap!  It's not exactly an ice bath but its bloody cold and if its good enough for footballers and athletes then why not!  Brrrr...

Jon commuted today adding another 20 odd miles to his total.  Tom had a great day yesterday taking a longer route to and from work and managing over 40 miles!

Haven't heard from Kimberly in a few days but I'm guessing her training is going well.  She received her entry number for next weeks marathon - only 10 days to go!

Mum ha swam for another hour today making it four 5 days in a row an her time per length is getting quicker!  Later in the month she is away for a couple of days without access to a pool so we've agreed that to complete her 30 day "hour a day" average she will do a few longer swims to make up the missed days.

Keep donating!  Link is on Facebook...

Thank you all...

The pain remains!

After yesterday's ride I was really feeling the pain in my right ankle so I made the decision not to ride this morning.  I did a few searches on the Internet and it appears as though what I am feeling is a strain in my Achilles tendon caused by too much effort without building up to it!  Oops!!

It should be fine but I'm now concerned that its going to be a problem all month but we'll just have to see.  It feels fine to walk on but when I stretch the tendon by lifting my toes up it causes some discomfort.  From what I've read it's common in runners but also cyclists can have the same problem when they pedal with the heel down causing a stretch in the tendon especially up hills.

I've just started using cycling shoes with cleats that clip to the pedals which means that the pedal position on my foot is set solid.  I'm wondering if I'm used to cycling with the pedal further back on my foot which is perhaps why I'm pushing my heels down.  I'm going to have a look at the cleats on the shoes and see if they can be slid back further and I'm also going to take more notice of my pedalling style and try to keep my foot flat!

Sod's law that this would happen to me after only two days but then again it's completely my fault for not preparing properly and attempting to hit the floor running - or should I say cycling!!

With me not getting on the bike today my total remains at 44.7 miles whilst Jon's commute today along with a scenic detour home has pushed his total to just under 70!  Tom is behind us both at 28.7 miles but that was done on a single commute to and from work so another day like that tomorrow will see him jump into second place ahead of me and close in on 60 miles.

I'm going to go out in the morning for a ride but I'm going to make it a steady one to see how my ankle is.

Mum has completed 3 one hour swims so is progressing nicely and I haven't heard from Kimberly today but Tuesdays are usually her club runs so I expect she is out on the streets as I type.

On a side note I've contacted the Western Gazette about doing an article and they are keen to write something and come and take a picture of us all so watch this space - you might be seeing my ugly mug in the paper soon!