Olympic effort

I'm sitting watching the men's cycling road race after my own Olympic challenge to ride 41 miles this morning as per usual, I only have to do this 3 more times before I start my challenge. I've worked out I'll actually do 330 miles in 7 days, great. I'm quite Olympic toady having watched the opening ceremony whilst drinking ale and eating a bakewell tart with custard, I'm sure Bradley Wiggins did the same after ringing that big bell. He's only got a little ride today. Come on Mark Cavendish you da man!

I enjoyed the ceremony but I must admit the game of cricket that was occurring near the beginning looked slightly uncompetitive and a plumb LBW decision was not given by a the umpire and the chap in bat was pretending to smoke a pipe and turned down a number of quick singles. I've also laid some turf in the garden having ripped up a patio, it should be flat but looked like Glastonbury Tor. That was to make up for riding the bike in the morning last Saturday then playing cricket, all out for 46 in 18 overs, I've had more exercise in my sleep nevermind.

It's been a tough week I've been thinking about Lucy a lot, but I am sooo looking forward to starting the challenge. I've got most of my kit sorted, I just need to get my mapping sorted.

Lucy and Tomos enjoy yoghurt back in 2010.

We were on our way to drop Lucy off at the station and had some lunch at our favorite pub The Cock at Hemmingford Grey http://www.cambscuisine.com/the-cock-hemingford/ You can't beat a bit of Cock action, great food Lucy managed 3 pints of ale in 90 mins "It just slips down". Good work kid, we love you and miss you loads.

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Stupid boy and that flood sign 3

I'm not sure what made me do it, perhaps it my age but I've agreed to play cricket today and decided to go out training this morning. As I get older and I think this is a male thing I get a bit obsessed with repeating the same things. I call it "the same, the same" disorder. I could go cycling tomorrow but Sunday's I always clean the bathroom, I can't mess with that.

I did the guided busway from home again 40 miles, I will live to regret that after lunch if I'm called on to run around. I witnessed my first muppet trying to drive down the guided busway, an ancient Ford Transit motorhome was trying to enter the Cambridge Steam Rally. He first drove down the busway and straight into the car trap, he used all the power in that F reg beast and reversed out into the path of an oncoming bus. Unaware of the conventions around traffic lights, he then ignored the red light, turned across the path of the bus to drive up the guided busway in the opposite direction. A dog walker leapt out into the busway and frantically waved the motorhome away. Low speed disaster averted he continued on to Steam Rally, no doubt to have a wonderful day eating ice cream with the smell of the grease paint and coal fired engines, only to return the wrong way down the A14 finally coming to rest in a Tesco's carpark in a parent and child space. Mr McGoo really will regret that holiday in Cambridgeshire.

I've had my cold bath and I'd usually be looking forward to a beer, a packet of chocolate digestives and a snooze. Instead a possible 8 hours of cricket await. I've made a poster to send out to the Premier Inns I'm staying at and put up around the village. I've also bitten the bullet and bought a headcam and GPS.

The flood sign was up and I ignored it, this time it was wrong there was no flood.

Wet crack

I'm beginning to feel there's an ass theme to this blog but honestly today, wet crack was an issue. I set out for the normal route and it's was raining, which had settled into the slightly harder end of mizzle, mizzling I guess. The usual areas get wet the face, head, legs and then every so often I'd go through a puddling sending water arcing up my hitting my ruck sack and trickling down my back. Cold and wet I ground out a good time today, 3 hours and 20 mins so I've shaved 10 mins off my time to do 40 miles.

As I got close to Cambridge Regional College, I saw two girls riding one biking coming towards me. One was riding the bike sat in the saddle, the other her "friend" was sat on the luggage rack behind, dangling her feet and while her mate couldn't see her she was merrily texting away. Not even making an effort to give her mate some help, she didn't even have the good grace to look ashamed.

I have decided to give my bike a service, probably tomorrow, cricket is cancelled and wading bird watching will take it place instead and I need something marginally less boring to do. I am getting a little excited and nervous now as we build pace towards the big day. I'm thinking of buying my own GPS and trying to get the wife to accept that £160 replaces the £8 we spend once every two years on maps and that now with the GPS, it will pay itself off in 40 years then we're into pure profit

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This is the guided busway, I cycle on the right and in theory the buses stay in those concrete channels, which  in my experience, they have so far. I know what you are thinking, it's flat and not good training for what I am going to do but I plan to ask Sustrans to make the rest of the UK flat as well before 21st August.

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aaaaaah it's coming!

44 days to go! I've had a call from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation on the 10th of August I'll be meeting with Laura Irving a new Director at the charity, I'm really quite excited, we're going for lunch just like real people do. I'm thinking there's only 4 ass bruising rides on the Cambridge Guided Busway. I've still got no head cam or GPS so any help would be great. Young Phil Moss one of Manchester's finest is up for doing a bit of biking so potentially some company in sections where I was at risk from bear or urban fox attack on my own. Things seem to be moving along and the event at the Swansea end now involves two pubs, a possible hog roast and my lovely step-sister-in-law singing in the evening. I will have that in my mind and the Swansea Brewing Company's Three Cliffs Gold brewed in the brewhouse next door to the pub, Pwll Ddu is Lucy's favorite beach, our local beach and where her ashes were scattered. Also Lucy was prone to drinking a few Pwll Ddu XXX's from time to time as well as Three Cliffs Gold
.Google images of Pwll Ddu it's breath taking.

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Three-Cliffs-Gold

Snail armeggedon

I've been on holiday in Wensleydale the week before last, eating cheese, ice cream, steak and ale pie and new game I call  historic railway pub crawl. So last weekend was a bike free zone. I played cricket midweek and kept wicket which seemed to leave my quads sore until this morning when I jumped on the bike and my ass hurt immediately and stopped me thinking about my quads. It was snail carnage on the guided busway service road, millions of slugs and snails had emerged and were attempting to make the dash across the cycling, jogging and walking but dressed like you're jogging super highway. I couldn't avoid them they were like a carpet and left a nasty snot like substance hanging from parts of my bike as they were squished. Mental note: must wash bike. The run went well I really tried to push myself then felt it in the last 10 miles and crept home like a snail on crack. 

Talking of crack, I have assembled by crack team of cycling enthusiasts for the first leg of my challenge, Somersham to the almighty Welwyn Garden City. Chris "crazy legs - Jake the Snake" Tate and John "VDub" Harrison. A colleague is lending me a bike rack for the car and hopefully one of Chris's mates can lend me a headcam. No Sat Nav GPS yet. I'm pooped and still on call for the floods, roll on 7 o'clock when I'll handover and have a few beers.