Charities

I haven't raised money for charity since running the London marathon in 1982 but I feel this is a worthy personal challenge which warrants doing so. Besides which so many people have encouraged me to do so that I have taken the hint! So I've chosen to support two charities on an equal basis one international and one local. With an interest in Mountaineering I've been appalled by the devastation caused by the Earthquake in Nepal. 

My international charity is therefore for the Disasters Emergency Committee which supports 12 agencies working in Nepal including TearFund, CAFOD and Christian Aid.

My local Charity is Weston Hospicecare - also one of Knightstone Housing's (my employer) charities for 2015.

Weston Hospice consists of a day hospice, a ten bed In-patient Unit, a team of Hospice Community Nurse Specialists, Hospice at home, chaplaincy and bereavement services. These services work in harmony to ensure patients receive excellent specialist care, be that at home or in the Hospice, and that they and their families are cared for and reassured throughout the toughest experience they will ever face. 

I've almost reached my target of £1,500 and I've been bowled over by people's generosity - many thanks to everyone who has so far supported me. If you read this and haven't yet sponsored me and are able to do so, however small the amount, that would be greatly appreciated. However, I appreciate there are lots of people asking for sponsorship these days and many people are "sponsored out" so don't worry if you can't this time.

It's easy to give on line. You can do so through Virgin Money giving.Donations will be quickly processed and passed to charities. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this.

My web page is:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MikeC.Day

First Sunday After Trinity

Tim Hawkins, our Rector was on top form today. He preached about the adventure of life and related it to the passage in 2 Corinthians where Paul describes our bodies as an earthly tent gradually wasting away but our inner nature is being renewed day by day which is eternal in the heavens. A good theme for a long bike ride! Paul Passey prayed for us in the intercessions so the week has started on a high. In between preparing maps and sorting kit I watched a cracking sunset on a clear summer's evening on the top of Wavering Down on the Mendip Hills, sipping wine and enjoying some cheeze with Sue, Ruth and a group of friends. A great way to spend an evening at the end of a busy weekend.

It's all about the Bike

Velominati's Rule #12 states that  while the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes already owned. This equation may also be rewritten as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

I already own 4 bikes and as a family we manage to own 14 bikes between us but an expedition like this still warranted a new bike. After all my old steel Peugeot touring bike was too heavy and slow. my aluminium Giant bike couldn't easily take a rack, my Marin mountain bike was not suitable as a road bike and my latest carbon Specialized bike would be too fragile.

So what was left? Well a Titanium bike of course which would be comparatively light and yet robust and strong and capable of taking panniers. After much research I decided to go for an English frame manufacturer- Enigma bikes based in East Sussex :

 http://www.enigmabikes.com/

I went to my nearest Enigma dealer in Bath - Cadence Bike Shop who were very helpful and knowledgeable :

http://www.cadencebikeshop.com/

They let me test ride a bike for several hours around Bath and along the Avon Cycleway. I was immediately smitten by the feel of the bike and the smoothness of the ride and the way it absorbed so much of the "road noise". Ruth my daughter thought the plain  silver Titanium looked boring so I decided to have it painted in Racing Green a colour fitting for an English manufacturer located close to Goodwood motor circuit.

I am very pleased with the end result. I specified some good quality Mavic wheels, a Shimano 105 - 11 speed group set with  50-34 chain rings and  a 11-32 rear cassette to give a wide range of gears,a Specialized saddle, silver mud guards and a Titanium rear rack.

The Project

Travelling the length of Britain has always been on my expedition "to do" list ever since I was a teenager and got the bug for undertaking adventures in the wild places of our amazing country.Most of my trips in this country, however, have involved "bagging" peaks in Scotland, Wales the Lake District and Northern Pennines. I completed the Scottish Munros in 1999 and the Welsh 2,000 ft peaks (Nuttalls) in 2012 and I am now trying to complete the English 2,000 ft peaks.

Cycle touring has always been one of those activities that has played second fiddle to walking and climbing.  After finishing at Uni back in 1978 I did cycle around central England from my then home town of Stafford. I went with a mate on a two week Youth Hostelling trip through Shropshire, across the Cotswolds and Chilterns and up to Cambridge and Norwich before coming west through Leicestershire and back to Stafford. And Sue and I spent our honeymoon cycling around the Dingle peninsula and parts of the ring of Kerry in Ireland in 1985. 

On turning 50 I received a new road bike for Christmas and since then cycling has become my main form of exercise as the impact of running for many years was playing havoc with my body. Like most blokes, who don't have hobbies but have obsessions, I've become more and more engrossed in the sport. I've safely become a MAMIL (Middle Aged Man in Lycra). I've taken part in a number of Sportives graduating to the Fred Whitton challenge in the Lake District and the E'tape du Tour in 2013 and 2014. 

So last year thoughts turned to cycling the length of Britain from Lands End to John O'Groats (LEJOG). Like most good expeditions plans were hatched over a couple of pints in the Lamb at Axbridge. Chris Lukins and Phil Pinnington, two of my cycling mates were both up for it and gradually the talk has become a reality as we first agreed dates, started training and booked some accommodation. This Thursday (June 11th) we shall be on the start line. I'm already feeling very nervous just thinking what I've signed up to  - 992 miles and 52,000 ft of climb in 9 days! Plenty of other people have ridden it in a much shorter time so we will not be setting any records, but just how my body will react to day after day of cycling 100 miles a day remains to be seen.