Day 1 route map

Well here's the first of 12!

We start at Glencoe on the 23rd of July for day one of the ride after a night at the Clachaig inn and 68.5 miles later will arrive at the bottom of Loch Lomond for a night at Balloch House on the 24th.

Here's the chart depicting the climbs involved on day 1:

and we'll have the map on Google maps soon for those that are interested but here's a screenshot for now.

on-line presence sorted

Now that the route is planned and most of the accommodation is booked we've been concentrating our efforts on setting up some on-line pages so that people can donate on-line, check our training progress, nose at photos or our route - activity on these will be busier the closer we get, but spread the word!!

• Fundraising page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/cmabikeride
• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/stuartandleesbikeride
• Blog: You're on it!!

Another training ride....but flatter!

Lee made a trip down to Oxfordshire last weekend with his bike on board, he arrived late Saturday morning so we immediately changed into suitable amounts of lycra and headed off into the Oxfordshire countryside.

We'd mapped out a 26 mile loop from home which we started with gusto, the weather was quite chilly but dry thankfully, the only way to keep warm though was with plenty of effort on the pedals.

16 miles and over half way in, we decided upon a refreshment break in Cumnor at the Bear and Ragged Staff. One hastily despatched pint later (wine for Helen) and we were off again to finish off the last 10 miles, feeling very cold after stopping and pedalling like we'd stolen the bikes in order to warm up. We headed down a 5 or so mile gradual decline towards Sunningwell and then home only to arrive in Radley - a mile away from our intended finish - feeling like we had plenty in the tank so added a trip into town to the end of the route. Once in town we had only a couple of miles back to a warm shower and the comfort of baggy clothing so decided on another pint or two at the Anchor to celebrate having almost finished another suitably long ride.

Upon arriving home the cycle computer registered over 29 miles! A training ride record! So onwards and upwards from here, though we're conscious that 30 miles in Oxfordshire will be somewhat different to 30 miles in the Scottish Highlands or Yorkshire Dales. The only comfort I can find in that fact is that if it's hilly, I'll be standing on my pedals more, thus giving my reliably sore rear a break from the saddle.

A new saddle is my next purchase!

Start date set

We've finally pinned the tail on the donkey. The start date for the ride will be the 23rd of July. We'll travel up to Glencoe on the 22nd and head south the next morning, we're planning on the trip which currently stands at 730 miles, taking us twelve days, arriving at the finish line in boscombe on the 3rd of August. I'm sure a sore head will be on the cards for the drive home the following morning. Next challenge is to book the accommodation for the entire route.

First joint training ride

We finally managed to find a slot in both our diaries to get together for a bit of bike ride today, we had a family party to attend Saturday night so stuart and Helen took their bikes to Birmingham so that the three of us could go out and get a few miles under our belt. So with map in hand we set off from Mom's house and headed out into wast hills, from there to hockley Heath and back to Mom 's again via earlswood, making a total of 26 miles. Generally. Went well, highlighted a few things that need attention on Lee's new bike so very useful on that front and introduced Lee to his first lengthy bike ride for more than 15 years.

Another weekend without a ride

My bike is still out of action after a disastrous ride two weekends ago, four miles in we took a byway from Steventon to Appleford along the back of the power station, all the heavy plant machinery from the gravel pits had destroyed the path and in a poor effort to repair the damage had appeared to throw down a combination of sand and gravel, all this did was make the mud really sticky, so we soon ended up off the bikes and pushing, the clods of earth that had built up in the brakes, gear mechs and around the frame and forks meant that the wheels weren't turning. Once we we're clear with the help of sticks, cleared the worst of the muck and released the brake cables on my bike, we managed to limp the seven miles home.  needles to say, I spent to rest of the day and a chunk of Sunday dismantling Helen's bike, washing it and putting it back together, didn't quite get the job finished so it was back to the car for the commute to work. Due to dark winter evenings no work happened on the bikes until the following weekend where another Saturday was spent on bike maintenance, Helen's back in working order except for a small gear alignment issue but usable for to work commute so stripped mine down, washed it and realised I'd need new brake blocks and chain link pins for the shimano chain. Almost a week on and the bike's still in bits and my order from wiggle has gone missing so looks like this weekend will be the third in row without a ride, very very frustrating! Glad I'm now spinning twice a week to keep me ticking over.

CMA contact.

After a week of Celia trying to contact me with no avail (been working in a signaless village in north Oxfordshire) we finally got to talk on Tuesday, chatted fairly briefly but discussed dates and online fundraising options. Agreed to let her know a more detailed plan of the ride once we've nailed it down a little tighter in the hope that they'll see some opportunities in the plan for publicising it. Info pack in the post on it's way from her to me, see what useful bits are in there next week. After mentioning our difficulties on trying to secure sponsorship from both a bike manufacturer and a bike shop, she confirmed my suspicions in not so many words that we shouldn't count on much if any help in the way of equipment, no big blow to plans as we both have bikes now and Ian steadily building up a comprehensive tool kit.

Back on two wheels after 20 years!

Lee finally picked up his shiny new bike Yesterday,he went for a hybrid in the end after some deliberation, I think it's probably the wisest solution all things considered. He managed to get out on it today despite very stiff winds so now has his first few miles on two wheels under his belt for about twenty years! I remember getting back on a bike after a long time without owning one only a few years back,I still remember the anxiety so I'm sure he's very happy to have that first ride behind him. He tested the imapmyride app at the same time as we're considering using it to log the big bike ride, early results seem encouraging so we'll both continue using it over the coming months to fully get to grips with it. First bike ride together is planned for the end of February in Birmingham.

Saddle worries

Got out on the bike between Christmas and new year, only managed 26 miles due to lack of light, didn't start until well after lunch. Good route, quite hilly so a good workout nonetheless. However! Quite a bit of saddle soreness, bit of a worry as we're hoping to do about twice the mileage a day on the big bike ride and day after day. After some research it seems that I may need a narrower saddle than the one supplied with my bike, it's not a problem you can throw money at to fix though apparently, some saddles work for some and not for others, hoping I don't have to buy and try too many before I get one that I'm happy to commit to...gulp!

Mechanic on board.

Out with some friends at the German market in Birmingham a couple of evenings ago, got talking about our plan, completely forgot that Granville is into his minis, didn't quite realise the extent of his mechanical skills if I'm honest but he assures me that he can get dad's Morris Minor into shape for the drive.

Bikes required!

Thought I'd test the water and start with attempting to acquire a couple of bikes. Googled 'British cycle manufacturers' and up popped falcon cycles, I remember having a falcon road bike as a kid so thought I'd try them first. No idea who to direct the request to so filled in co online form asking who to direct my email to. A day later (9th December) got a reply back saying that they receive countless requests like this and therefore can't help. Did wish me luck but didn't help soften the blow, confidence taken a bit of a hit and less optimistic now of getting any help funding the ride. We'll just have to dig deeper ourselves to fund the event now so may have to look at things a little differently. Will still contact others in the new year but will wait until I've spoken to Celia at the cma and see if she has any tips on approaching would be sponsors. I suspect a full letter or email detailing exactly what we're up to, directed at the right person, on the right day may yield more favourable results.

Kick off!

Called the cma on the 8th of December, spoke to Celia in fundraising, liked our plan to raise funds and has arranged to call in January to talk it through and see how they can help publicising the event. Encouraging start!