Cycle Cuba

ITV's "This Morning" coverage of our Cotwolds Training Weekend

Yipppeeeeee - it works!!!

Have been struggling with a dodgy internet connection for the past few days and have been having a right old time trying to upload the video footage of both our Cotswolds Training Weekend and our Cycle Cuba Challenge...

The good news is that tonight the signal seems to be up to speed and I'm really delighted to be able to add this first video clip of the "This Morning" coverage of our Cotswolds Training weekend (filmed last September and aired on around 5 weeks later)...

All footage shown was recorded from ITV's This Morning programme and we'd like to say another really BIG thank you to them for their very kind permission in allowing us to share this with you - thank you so much)!!!

Two short lil' 10 mile rides...

Hello all

By this time next week we'll be nearly half way through our cycling challenge... it's coming around quickly now and we can't wait...

Just to let you know... since our whopping 50-odd mile cycle on Monday we've not been resting on our laurels - we've been out seeing our students, doing some last minute collecting (we're only £479 short of our target now) and we've also done 2 short 10 mile rides....

Yesterday we went out and about around Rushden and today we opted for an old favourite, Stanwick Lakes...

I didn't take the camera with me either day so no new pics I'm afraid.  Here's on of the Lakes that I took some time ago (they definitely didn't look as calm as this today)...

We got back just as the weather turned really nasty earlier today - it was windy but the rain waited until we were safely back in the car before it put in an appearance...

We're getting ready for our trip now, doing lots of last minute stuff but we still hope to get in one last ride before we head off... so watch this space...

50.06 miles - YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yipppppppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee - we did it!!!!  More wind and grotty weather but we did it!!!!

We cycled from Irchester to Rushden to Yelden and Melchbourne onto Shelton, through the Deans (Lower, Middle and Upper) to Kimbolton and back via Wymington, Poddington and Wollaston.  Despite the grotty weather it took us just under 5 hours and we both felt as if we could have done more...

Here's a pic of us after the first 30 miles - freezing outside Melchbourne church...

Great stuff - finally we can mark off the 50 mile cycle and the back to back cycles and now all we have to do is take it easy until we go in 10 days time :)

We liked it so much we decided to do it twice :)

We went back to The Brampton Valley Way today - planning to start at a different spot and do that elusive 50 miles but as ever, time was against us...

Well, to be fair it wasn't just time...  last night there was A LOT of rain and our great plan of starting off at Pitsford Water and then cycling back to Northampton before heading off to Market Harborough was doomed before we started...  We managed to go a few miles down the muddy tracks but when we saw this we knew we weren't going to make it...

Undetered, we headed back towards Market Harborough wearing our new very warm balaclavas and yellow Bloc googles - we looked a treat!!!!

In the end we did about 41 miles - and were as muddy as can be...  here's a little shot of our feet and splattered legs when we got back (the windstoppers worked a treat against the wind but were not as good against the rain - once again we had soggy feet)...

Maybe we'll finally do our 50 tomorrow...

A new route... The Brampton Valley Way

Well after the awful ride we had the other day we kitted ourselves out with fleecy winter cycling bottoms and windproof overshoes in an attempt to keep the weather at bay...  and it did help, sort of...

We decided that today was the day... we were going to do 50 miles come what may!  Ha ha ha - best laid plans and all that...

The great thing about today's cycle was that we'd never been along the route before!!!  Our photographer and friend Paul Leavan mentioned The Brampton Valley Way as a great cycle route when he popped by earlier this morning to drop off the pics of the Presentation (all on Facebook at the mo - coming to the Blog & website soon).

The Brampton Valley Way is track along an old disused railway line between Northampton and Market Harborough and best of all - we'd never been down it before!!!  Just to keep things interesting we managed to come off the track for a couple of miles about half way...  luckily for us, we managed to get back onto it and get there and back in one piece.

One of the interesting parts of this route are 2 very dark tunnels that stretch for nearly half a mile each in the middle of the route.  Here's a pic of one of them...  it really is that black inside - our lights weren't much good in there so we got off and pushed...

 

...and here we are in the fading light heading back to our car (we got back just before the light went altogether). 

We did 33 miles and would have done more but time was against us so an earlier start next time...

The worst ride ever - wind, rain, HAIL and... meeting Isla St Clair (she was nice)

Hello all

Our training is still going strong although not quite to plan...  however, we still managed to do  20-odd miles toay in the wind, rain and hail!!!

We set off from Sywell County Park with the idea that we'd do a nice 50 mile cycle around the villages using a map we'd bought from the library.

It was not to be...  in fact it was probably one of our worst rides ever (hence no pics - neither of us were in the mood having wandered around muddy, waterlogged fields for ages getting very cold, very wet and... VERY muddy).  The map was rubbish and we were less than impressed.

After about 10 miles we stopped for something to eat and then remembered we hadn't "paid and displayed" so had to head back to the car...  This was actually a good thing as we were able to buy several new pairs of socks and a scarf and we also managed to dry off a bit by putting on the car heater on full blast.  Picture the scene - the two of us, sodden trying to dry off our trainers using the air vents in the car...

Anyway, we had some success but it was bitterly cold, very windy, rainy and at one point it hailed on us... we hadn't gone to far when Val had to stop as she thought her feet were going to drop off they were so cold and numb.  I very kindly offered to swop trainers thinking that this might've been the problem so she had nice toasty feet on the way back to the car and by the time we got back I thought frostbite had set in... (her trainers were still wet, thanks to that boggy field and soaked the nice new socks and my feet)!

Long story short after 20 miles against the elements we decided to call it a day and headed back home...  In the carpark we met and chatted to a nice lady and her son and they both admired our bikes (despite the mud) so this perked us up a bit...

We didn't realise it at the time but the lady was Isla St Clar (one time co-host on the Generation Game, folk singer and actress - www.islastclair.com)... Val knew she was familiar but couldn't think who she was at first (she remembered in the car on our way back home) and I'm afraid I just thought she was a nice Scottish lady out for a walk with her son. 

And so endeth today's update :)  More of the same soon...

Winter's BACK!!!!

Today we went out for a couple of hours through Stanwick Lakes, up to Thrapston and back again and man was it cold!!!!!

Don't know how but somehow I managed to forget my gloves so almost had to have my fingers surgically removed from my handlebars at the end of the ride - it was VERY cold!!!!  I reckon we'll need our thermals when we go out again later in the week...

Back to Grafham Water

Today we set off for Grafham Water ready for a nice long cycle...  ha ha ha

Well our intentions were good and we did go all the way round but... it's only 8.5 miles round so no great shakes there.  However, we should get bonus rewards as it was incredibly windy, a bit rainy and VERY, VERY cold  and.... today for the very first time we got to wear all of our wet weather gear - beautiful we were not!!!!

More pics to follow on Flickr soon...

The CfA's October e-briefing

The CfA have continued their great support and coverage of our training in the current edition of their e-briefing.

Please follow the link to read the latest in The CfA's October e-briefing

Cycling round Rutland Water

Today we set off for a leisurely 23 mile cycle around Rutland Water...

It's really beautiful here the only thing down side was that there really was no way that we could whizz around it (too many people, gate grids and gates).  We had hoped to go round twice but time was against us so just the once had to do :)

More pics from today's trip will be added to Flickr so watch this space :)