With the Pearce Cycles annual runners versus riders just over a week away, plus the fact that I’m in second place on the Pearce Cycles Champion of Champions 2006 leader board, the pressure is on, and a final push will see me on the start line in good form.

For the last couple of months I’ve been out with the Radbroke Wheelers, a mix of roadies and triathletes who thrash around the lanes of Cheshire for an hour or so each lunchtime. They ride roadbikes, or cross bikes with road tyres. I have been riding my mountainbike. It has been absolute agony, but come rain shine and gales I’ve been there. On good days I have contributed, on bad days I’ve just grovelled on wheels, but I’ve not been dropped once, and the hard work is surely paying off. I feel fitter, faster, and more aggressive on the bike.

Why am I trying so hard? Well, after last years poor performance I was dissapointed in myself at having let my fitness go so much, and resloved to do something about it. It’s amazing how having a goal spurs you on.

My Chances? I know that my main rivals have also been out training hard, but I don’t think they’ve put in as much work as me, and I’m banking on the fact that they won’t have the miles in their legs, and will fade early. I’m playing my cards very close to my chest, and haven’t mentioned to anyone how much work I have put in.

I’m cutting back on the miles this week, but keeping the intensity high, I’ve lost some weight, and I’m feeling mean. A final push…..

Less than a week to go now before my third attempt at the ‘Hearts First Randonnée Challenge‘. You may remember I did it in 2004 with my brother, as part of my recovery from a broken shoulder, then again in 2005 because I had enjoyed it so much in 2004, and now I’m all set to do it again this year.

I’m whippet thin through mile after mile of tough training, and I’m up for it. Last year I was 14th rider home, and although I know it’s not a race, I wanna be up there with the leaders this time.

The event is organised by the British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) who are the leading UK charity fighting heart and circulatory disease – the UK’s biggest killer. The BHF funds research, education and life-saving equipment and helps heart patients return to a full and active way of life. They rely on donations to continue their vital work.

So me and the BHF are doin’ all the hard work 🙂 , and all I’d like you to do is to sponsor me. You can do it online at my page on the BHF website. Thanks in advance, wish me good luck, and I wish you good karma.

In the blink of an eye, two months in France gone, all our tomorrows turned to yesterdays, all rides ridden, time to pack and leave. Where did it all go? Two months seemed like such a long time at the start, even halfway through there was no need to panic, and then, in a puff of blue smoke, gone!

Our two months at Noisetieres in the Limousin had been fantastic. When we arrived, it was tail-end winter, when we left it was full-blown spring, even early summer. I found so many trails to ride, and whole areas where I need to go back to for further exploration. I reckon I’d be hard pushed to ride them all ever, and some of them so sweet (wipes tear from eye).

We left on Friday afternoon about 4pm, the weather was warm and sunny, I wore t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. We drove North at a leisurely pace, past the Monts de Blond and the Ambazacs where I’d ridden in rain and shine, then on up towards Orleans. We stopped for coffee about 100k before Chartes, and it was freezing! OK, slight exaggeration, but it was so much colder that a frantic rummage through the bags to find warm clothes was in order. By the time we reached Chartes, and booked into our overnight accommodation, we were looking for the heating switch.

Next day, onward to Boulogne, the clouds rolled in, and it started to rain. A fitting end to our stay in France really, but it didn’t make the driving any easier. As we rolled off the ferry at Dover I couldn’t take anymore, I handed over driving duties to Carla while I drowned my sorrows in a can of French supermarket beer.

Tell you what, when it rains in the Limousin it rains for the world. We are on our third day of rain now, and no end in sight. None of that mamby pamby pishy stuff either, no proper downpour.

Take yesterday for example. I was so desperate to get out on my bike that when the rain stopped for a while and blue sky appeared I changed and was away. The roads were still wet, but I didn’t mind, just glad to be out on my bike. All went well, even ventured off-road, started to enjoy myself, didn’t notice the huge black clouds creeping up on me.

Five minutes later the rain started, light rain at first, but then heavier and heavier, and just when you thought it couldn’t rain any harder it turned to hail, and it hurt! With nowhere to stop for shelter, I paddled (might as well have been) on. Half an hour later I was back indoors stripping off sopping wet kit, and feeling very cold. Half an hour later again, the sun had come out to mock me.

Today, guess what? It’s raining! But then, I’d rather be riding my bike in the rain than working 🙂

Training has been going well, very well. I’ve found some great trails to ride, and the more I go out, the more I find. See, I’ll set off with the loose intention of going to Cognac le Foret, and end up never getting there because I got tempted by stuff along the way. I’ll come home with three good hours under my belt having the planned Cagnet ride in my back-pocket for another day. Cool or what?

Of course it’s not all fun and cycling. I’ve been working on the problem of bathroom waste water not draining as it should. I’ll do that as a separate post with a food warning!

Just like as if someone had flicked a switch, spring has arrived in the Limousin. The birds are singing, butterflies have appeared, and great flocks of migrating birds have been passing over.

I set off for a recovery ride through the local lanes wearing legwarmers, and a lightweight jacket. Had to stop after about 10 minutes to take my gloves off, it was that warm!!! As I bowled along in the early spring sunshine on deserted roads I felt fantastic. Anyway, I stuck to the game plan, and only did a couple of hours easy riding. When I got back, I sat on the patio and sunbathed while I watched the grass grow. 🙂

I was gonna call this post ‘Return of the Magnificent Seven’, as it was a year ago that I wrote ‘The Magnificent Seven‘, and here we were again, at Pearce Cycles winter downhill series round two, seven desperados in a rough mix of vehicles ferrying downhill riders to the top of Bringewood downhill course. You may recall how I talked about the team (that’s us) operating a slick service with no rider having to wait more than a couple of minutes. Well, so it was again, but blokes being blokes, this time there was a challenge…I was driving the Landrover Disco’, with bespoke trailer capable of carrying 16 riders. The beauty of this rig is that the riders load the trailer from both ends themselves, and the Disco covers the ground fast. Let the Disco be known as the hare.

Gary was driving the big John Deere tractor with the rootcrop trailer. The beauty of this rig is that the tractor has air-con, CD player, CB radio, etc. But, although the trailer can carry 25 riders at a time, it can only be loaded from the back, and only when backed up to a suitable bank, and she’s a bit slower. Let the John Deere be known as the tortoise.

Gary and I had often joked about how many runs we had done, and I had often wondered which was the best uplift tool. So putting rider preference aside, plus the fact that any fool (me) can drive a Disco, but it takes skill to drive a big tractor, I challenged Gary to see who could carry the most riders in a day, whilst being safe, and sticking within the 15mph forest speed limit when loaded.

All went well, and by lunchtime I has 7 runs under my belt two up on Gary. The maths – hare 7*16=112 v tortoise 5*25=125. I was a little down, but I reckoned that the bacon butties would be calling to Gary from Janet’s catering van, while I had sarnies onboard.

As the afternoon wore on it wasn’t long before I was in a position to move up on Gary again, but each time I tried to get ahead I was blocked, not in an obvious way, just subtley blocked. It was funny how I seemed to meet tractors coming in the opposite direction at awkward places, forcing me to back up and lose time. Strange how there was never quite enough room to get through in the trailer loading area, forcing me to wait. I noticed Gary smiling a lot, and talking on his CB radio. I noticed Grubb one of the other drivers on his CB a lot, laughing!

By the end of the day I had 12 runs making 192 riders uplifted. Gary has 10 runs with 250 riders carried to the top. I was beaten, the tortoise had beaten the hare. So not the Magnificent Seven then, more like the Magnificent 6 v 1 🙂

This year rememberance day has been a bit special as it’s the 60th anniversary of the end of WW2. There’s been some great stuff of TV showing some of the old soldiers alive today. Some of the tales they tell are just incredible.

Here’s my favourite war poem…

If I should die, think only this of me;
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke. 1887–1915

Yep, it’s true, I’ve married a dirty woman who has a lot to learn. It’s gonna be a rocky road for her, but she enjoys it. From never having ridden a motorbike before, to riding 70miles off-road in a day in the space of four rides. From shaking with fear to thinking about entering her first enduro, she’s got an entry form for the ‘Fast Eddie Winter Series’. Now hold on there wife. I know you like nothin better than gettin’ dirty with the boys, but there’s a lot to learn.