And so it begins.

I am typing this from my hotel room in Vancouver.  After a year of thinking about this trip I am actually here!

It’s been a long day, Zoe and I left home just after 5am and its now midnight UK time. We had a easy drive down to Heathrow and arrived at about 7am, too early to check in as they were still checking in earlier flights.

After a very difficult goodbye Zoe left me in departures and I had to wait about half an hour to check in. The guy on the desk was brilliant, he waived the extra bag charge, I only paid £22 for the bike box and he checked my tent in as a third bag for nothing, top bloke.

I shot upstairs and amazingly walked straight through security and found myself with 3 hours to kill before our gate opened.

I was still coughing and spluttering so I bought some drugs and had a bite to eat and then just wandered about until we boarded.

I wasn’t looking forward to the flight, but I had forgotten I had reserved a bulkhead seat so I had loads of leg room. Even better though a young lad asked if we could swap seats so that he could sit next to his mate and I ended up sitting at a door seat with about 6ft of space. The stewardess sat opposite, the couple next to me and I struck up a conversation as we took off and she spoilt us for the rest of the trip. If I hadn’t been coughing and sputtering I could have got hammered!

Two films, Invictus and The Hurt Locker, food and a bit of dozing helped pass the 9 hour flight and we touched down on time in Vancouver at about 1230 local time ( 8 hours behind UK time). 

The bags came through quite quickly but I had a bit if a scare when I saw the bike box had been banged up a bit. I dare not open it at the airport so I jumped onto the hotel shuttle and got sorted at the hotel before looking at it.

I got chatty with the driver and he’s already agreed to run me down to the Purolator office to drop of the box in the morning, he then sorted out a meeting room so I could have plenty of space to rebuild the bike. They also gave me $60 of food vouchers so I can have a free dinner and breakfast.

The box had been bent a little but as I opened it the locks reset themselves and it all appears functional, I think they must have yanked it when picking it up. The main thing is there is no damage to the bike and as I sit here typing it is rebuilt and leaning against the wall in my bedroom.

The hotel is a bit far out of town but I’m only here for one night and the town centre bus goes right past the front door so I’ll pop on that in the morning and get my shopping done. Sometime late tomorrow I’ll get a taxi up to the university and meet the other riders. This will be my last night of luxury for a long time.

The big news here is the shocking weather across the middle of Canada; they are having unseasonably bad rain and thunder storms with Tornadoes and very high winds. There has been quite a lot of damage.  I hope it clears before we get there as I can’t see my tent lasting long in those conditions!

That’s all for today, not sure how often I will be able to update but I’ll try again before we set off. I just hope my cold clears up before we set off on Sunday.

Onwards and Upwards!!!

All ready and raring to go!

No riding this week but I have been kept busy with last minute bits and pieces.

Packing was an interesting experience; it took all the strength of a local bike shop service engineer and a lengthy lever to get my pedals off. I had lubed them before I put them on but should have used grease, apparently Teflon based lube dries out and the metal had stuck.

Having sorted that problem it took me over two hours to take the bike apart, add all the padding and get it into the box. I then tried to pack as much of the spare parts, rack, bag and other bits into the case and when I finally closed the lid it was about 5KG overweight.

On Tuesday evening, Lois and I dropped the caravan back off at Nuneaton and as luck would have it Mel mentioned he had a Laptop rucksack I could try. Once back home I spent another couple of hours moving stuff from bag to box and box to rucksack trying to get everything in and all packages underweight, but I just couldn't achieve it.

Finally I came up with the idea of taking the tent as my carry on bag. This enabled me to create a large gap in my clothes holdall and move some stuff about, so that not only could I get it all in but both the bike box and the holdall were underweight, just. The laptop rucksack had plenty of space for books etc for the flight and the other bonus is the rucksack will be useful on rest days and for popping to shops etc during the trip.

The rest of the week has been spent watching the World Cup, not particularly inspiring, and getting ready for a family BBQ on Saturday night.

Saturday’s BBQ was good laugh, sports related fancy dress was mandatory and we played a few games and had a sing song. It was late night but all in all a good one. Sunday has been spent recovering.

The last few days before I leave will no doubt shoot past. Work is hopefully going to be fairly relaxed although there was a murder on our patch over the weekend so there will be a few bits and pieces to do no doubt.

So that’s it then! All is ready and now it’s just down to the small matter of 72 days and nearly 5000miles. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be and providing the local volcanoes behave themselves and the baggage handlers don’t smash or lose my bike, I should arrive In Vancouver on Thursday in one piece.

Thursday evening will be spent rebuilding the bike. On Friday I need to drop off the bike box for transit across Canada, and do a bit of shopping for pillows, deck chairs etc before I report to the University of British Columbia where I’ll meet the 40 people I will be spending the summer with.

With luck my next blog will be just before we set off next weekend.

Thanks to all those who have wished me well.

4 sleeps till take-off. Onwards and Upwards!!!

Taper time!

This week has been a little easier with me only completing about 80 miles and no long weekend ride.  Zoe and I spent the majority of the weekend introducing Georgia to the world of caravanning.  We only took the van a few miles away to Grafham Water but the weather was kind and she seems to have enjoyed herself, I know we are both knackered from trying to keep her entertained.

The plan was to use the weekend to test out the TDC camping gear, but I wasn’t able to put up the tent next to the caravan; I had to make do with sleeping in the pup tent and a quick practice putting the tent up in another part of the site. It certainly brought home how small my home is going to be for the 70 odd days of the trip and how important it will be to plan which kit I need and when I’ll  need it.

The self inflating thermal mattress was a success and much more comfortable than I had feared, the only issue is that it’s a little narrow and if I’m not careful I’ll roll off it as I turn over at night. My sleeping bag and liner worked well, it was about 8 degrees C overnight which is at its limit, but I reckon that with a set of leggings on it will be fine during the cooler nights.  I’m sure the smaller tent will be warmer than the pup tent anyway so all in all things went well, but I know I’ll miss my bed!

On Sunday afternoon I stripped the bike down to practice packing it into the bike box, everything was fine until I was unable to get the pedals off. I tried quite hard but was worried about putting too much effort in just in case I broke something. I will whip it down to the local bike shop tomorrow and they will soon get them off.

The positive thing is even with the pedals on I was able to strip it down and get it almost packed without too many problems.  It took longer than I thought it would and it’s a filthy operation; I think choosing a mainly white colour scheme bike may have been a mistake as getting it clean is a nightmare!

Looking ahead I intend to pack the bike as soon as I can, making sure I can get as many of the spares etc into the box as I can. (Lois has bought me a weighing hook so I know I won’t be over weight).  I’ve got a few bits and pieces to sort out during the week, the caravan needs taking back to Nuneaton and we’ve got to tart up the garden furniture ready for a BBQ next Saturday, so time is going to be limited for cycling. I will set up the mountain bike so I can keep the legs moving but it’s going to be maintenance rather than anything too strenuous, if I haven’t done enough now there is little I can do about it anyway.

The other major job this week is to sort out and pack my clothes, all the experts tell me the best thing to do is lay out what you intend to take and then get rid of  half of it.  I’ve used other tourists packing lists as guidance, but when you add in mess kits, camping gear and laptop etc it soon mounts up and space on the support truck is very limited. I think the mantra has to be “take little and wash often”!

 Hopefully all will be ready before next weekend arrives and I can enjoy my last weekend at home.


Only 11 sleeps till departure....Onwards and Upwards!!

I think that’s about it

With only two weekends left before I depart I have all but finished the preparation for the trip.

On Saturday I went out with a group of friends from work and enjoyed a 40 mile ride across some beautiful countryside with the sun on our back and little or no wind to speak of.  There were a couple of testing little climbs but it was mostly just rolling country and I finished with loads of gas in the tank. This was our second ride of the week as we had also been out on Thursday evening and completed another pleasant 35 mile loop in glorious evening sunshine.

Next weekend Zoe and I are taking Georgia, our granddaughter, away in the caravan for the weekend. We planned this trip some months ago not realising it was going to clash with England’s first World Cup match against the USA so we will need some careful timing to make sure we still get settled in time for the kickoff.

The original plan was that the girls slept in the van whilst I slept in the TDC tent; however, I think the Caravan Club can be a bit testy about tents and awnings on one plot. I think I’ll probably end up in the awning; still, it will give me a chance to test the sleeping bag and thermal sleeping pad.

Hopefully I’ll still manage to get a long ride in on Saturday, there is a 10 mile loop of the reservoir so I could take the mountain bike and do a few laps or I might take the road bike and have a pedal around Cambridgeshire.

We will need to get back home sharpish on Sunday morning as Matt has his first 10km run at Stanwick Lakes. Hopefully the weather will hold and we can than all come back home for a Sunday evening BBQ.

This week is going to be busy, we’ve got to get the caravan washed, garden furniture re-varnished, I need to grab a few final bits and pieces and get a few 2 hour rides in as well. In an ideal world I’ll have everything I need by Sunday night so that I can get packed early the following week giving me the final weekend free for my pre-trip party.

With only 18 sleeps till departure I am starting to get really excited about the trip but I am also a bit nervous, particularly about my ability to ride day after day after day. It’s also starting to dawn on me just how long I’m going to be away from Zoe and the family, by the time I get back it will be autumn!

A deflating experience

Just 24 sleeps left to departure and things appear on track. This week I have managed to keep the mileage quite high and have ended up completing a relatively tough 66 mile ride today (Sunday).

I have spent time this week going through the packing list supplied by previous tourists and with the odd exception I seem to have everything I need. All I need to do now is practice packing the bike or more importantly putting it back together afterwards, and then I’m about ready.

Sunday’s ride was quite pleasant, just the three of us this week, setting off out towards Oundle, across to Ketton and onwards to Rutland Water. Whilst the weather was warm enough there was a strong wind and we seemed to heading into it all the way to our pit stop at the Café in the North side car park.

Having has the athletes chosen meal of a bacon roll and coffee we made off toward Oakham and found ourselves dead on into the wind. It was quite tough for the next 6 or 7 miles until we finally made the turn south again near Braunston.

It was at about this point that after just over 2100 miles total riding I suffered my first puncture.  I’m quite glad I did really, as it soon became clear that mending punctures has moved on since I last did any serious cycling; I was given a lesson on modern ways and was very glad for it.

After about a 10 minute puncture stop we continued back towards home with the wind mostly in our favour. There were a number of stiff climbs but the new gears are much better and although I was puffing a bit I was fairly comfortable. There were a number of rolling descents with the wind behind which meant we could whip along the valley floor at about 20mph with little or no effort,  and I managed to get up to 39mph on one downhill  section without really trying.

Having climbed out of the Welland Valley, and after a quick pit stop at my son Matt’s house in Wilbarston to top up our water bottles, the last 15 or so miles flashed past wind assisted and I finished feeling relatively fresh.

I feel my training is showing signs of success, a number of times today I was coasting along sections of the ride where on previous rides I had found them quite difficult. There is no doubt I am fitter and certainly stronger in the climbing area, my only concern is can I do it day after day after day. The TDC organisers tell me they plan the first 2/3 weeks with this in mind, so the early days are not as testing as later in the tour, let’s hope that’s not a wind up!   

Onwards and Upwards!

Back in the saddle

Since the Shires and Spires ride I have had a busy time. As planned I was able to get out and start to build up the mileage again, completing a number of 30 mile rides and doing some gym work to build up the thigh strength.

Zoe and I then jetted off to Turkey for a week in the sun. We had a really good week, the weather was perfect with sun every day and warm evenings that allowed us to eat outside as the sun set. The hotel complex was great; we made full use of the facilities, probably over indulging in the food and drink departments but also making good use of the gym and pools every day bar one. Despite a scare concerning the ash cloud and a delay due to a bird strike on the way home, all in all it was a terrific break.

Post holiday I have hit the road hard, covering over 150 miles since May 18^th.

Whilst away I had the bike serviced; I have changed to 25mm tyres to give me a slightly softer ride, changed the rear cassette to a 11-28 which gives me much more flexibility with the climbing and moved my handlebars up a little which allows me to sit is a slightly more comfortable position.

On Sunday I went on a longer ride with a group of work colleagues. We left Kettering at about 9.15am with the temperature at 25c and not a cloud in the sky (my first day with sunscreen) and headed off into the Welland Valley. Once out of Kettering we passed through Pipewell, Wilbarston, Ashley, Weston by Welland and on through the valley over a number of short but sharp climbs to Halliton. Here we sustained our first casualty as one of the guys lost a pedal and shank which couldn’t be mended at the road side, resulting in him pulling out and getting picked up.

Having left our colleague sitting in the sun, on what would turn out to be the hottest day of the year so far, we moved off through Horninghold and then up a tough climb into Uppingham. I had been  really looking forward to the climbs as I wanted to test out the new gearing ratios, I was happy as I got to the top of the climb into Uppingham as I had eased up without too much effort with quite a high cadence. Now I’m more confident I can handle anything the Tour throws at me.

After a quick pit stop at Uppingham to fill water bottles etc, we continued on through Lyddington, Great Easton, over Bringhurst hill and then into Cottingham, up Middleton Hill , again spinning quite comfortably, and back to Kettering through Pipewell.

When I got back to the car we were just short of 50 miles and it was 30 degrees C. I was really chuffed as not only was my new set up comfortable, but my gamble to change the cassette had proved a good one and I finished knowing I could have done more miles with relative ease.

The plan this week is to keep the mileage up, with about 30 miles each evening, then next weekend put in a couple of back to back longer rides with 50 or so on Saturday and a longer ride of about 70 miles on Sunday. The group is thinking of heading out towards Rutland Water which will be a good test as there are some longer climbs in the latter part of the ride.

It’s now only 31 sleeps until I depart for Canada, I have the last few spare parts on order and over the next few weeks will be spent double checking packing lists, practice setting up the tent, and  taking the bike apart to pack it for the flight. Weekends are getting busy with family commitments but as luck would have it I can build a few longer rides in by biking to and from some of them rather than driving.

I have now cycled over 2000miles since October last year and I have achieved all of my training objectives except a 100 mile ride.  I’m relatively happy that subject to disasters I will arrive in Vancouver ready to go.

Onwards and upwards!

Shires and Spires

On Sunday I took part in the third of my planned long distance Sportives, the Shires and Spires, which is a cycle around rural Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. The 80 mile course (reduced to 72 this year due to a clash with a VW rally) is much more challenging than the Quatro with the last 20 of the 80 including a series of short but sharp climbs.

Not only was the course tougher but the weather had turned cold and windy, and as luck would have it roughly the last half was into the wind which made it even tougher. I decided to travel light and took my rack/bag and mudguards off just carrying a puncture repair kit and tools.

Having missed 3 weeks of training I was a little concerned that I might struggle but I didn’t appreciate just how much of my fitness I had lost. After a good start, with the wind behind, I made some good progress and was finding it all quite pleasant. The country side was beautiful and there were some picture postcard villages we cycled though.

At one point I managed to join onto the back of a pace line of 8 or so other riders for a few miles,  but as soon as we got to a short but sharp hill at about 30 miles I wasn’t able to keep up and they disappeared over the horizon.  This was my first experience of a pace line and although they didn’t rotate it gave me an idea of how much energy you can save by hanging onto the tail of another rider; I was able to travel 3 or 4 mph faster without any real extra effort but as soon as I dropped a little too far back the wind just slammed into me as if I’d put the brakes on. I can see this will be an essential skill on those high mileage windy days across the central plains in Canada.

After about 40 miles I began to struggle; I was comfortable enough on the bike but my legs just lacked any real power and as we turned into the wind for the last 20 miles in particular I had to dig very deep in deed, spending most of the time in my lowest gears just to keep moving and climbing the hills very slowly and getting out of the saddle much more than I would normally.

I managed to grind out the last 20 miles, eating as much as I could at a second  feed station break and taking onboard a number of energy gels etc but despite all that carbohydrate my legs just wouldn’t come to life.  I had to just keep turning the pedals until finally I got to the finish.

Having said all the above there are some positives to be taken from the ride. Most importantly I didn’t fall off!  In addition I didn’t get any pain from my elbow, shoulders or ribs and I was much more comfortable on the bike so it would appear there is no lasting damage.  The new SPD pedals seem to have solved the mysterious clicking sound so that was a cheaper option than new bearings and I managed to test out the waterproofs which I hardly knew I had on.

Overall I’m happy as I know with some effort I can get my fitness levels up relatively quickly. Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK so an extra day off work; I managed to get 45 minutes on the turbo, just to get the legs moving again, and did some strengthening exercises, although tired I actually felt a lot better than I thought I would.   

The plan now is to complete a 2 hr ride each evening this week with gym work to build the legs and shoulders up again; then it’s off for a week in the sun whilst the TREK goes in for its pre-trip service.  Hopefully I can continue the fitness work whilst on holiday and then get a few longer rides to Nuneaton etc in to help build resilience when I get back.

Not long now only 51 sleeps to take off, onwards and upwards!