One challenge at a time

2018 is fast approaching and in just a few days it will be the start of another year. It is often used as a catalyst for many people to start something new, change something in their lives, shed unwanted stuff, start a new exercise schedule. I generally eschew such 'new beginnings' arguing that you dont have to wait until a new year to begin again. As someone who has thrown out a life and started again from scratch a couple of times I know that change doesnt have to happen at the beginning of a year with a resolution.  So instead I am hoping to end the year with a kick start to the new. And that opportunity was provided in the form of an old friend. Jamie had decided to end his year with participation in a 500k challenge, braving the wind rain and cold over a week to complete the prescribed distance. When he messaged me asking if I would like to join in for a days ride, I jumped at the chance. Yes, it would have to ne done at the end of a night shift... but isnt that h...

The start of The Alarm tour marked the start of 2 months of being on the road... swabbing people for the bone marrow donor list. It also hopefully marks the point where I drag myself out of a slight malaise and lethargy that I have found myself since leaving the open space of the Tour Divide trails.  And what better way to start dragging myself out than swooshing round the trails of Sherwood forest. In order to make the timings work ... I had to get up at 04:30... pack the car with bike and swabbing kit and be on the road by 6am. It is testament to my love of cycling that I managed to leave by half six and wend my way northwards.  The forest... when I arrived ... was pretty quiet... save from a couple of dog walkers and a MAMIL.  For those of you who think Im talking about a small furry creature.... a MAMIL is an acronym for a Middle Aged Man In Lycra. I didnt coin this phrase but this particular MAMIL was somewhat downcast ... standing by a bike with a...

This blog was going to head off into a completely different direction... with some stats and kit list/review... but that is being left to part 2 of this blog which will pitch up next week at some point. Instead I'm going to let you in on the post challenge world... assimilation back into Absolute Reality... or not as the case may be. I arrived back having been up a long time... had a long sleepless flight... arrived back to a cold grey London Heathrow in a state of sleep deprived unreality. A visit to the parents to prove I was alive and then home. And so began a week of sofa surfing. It was more than that though... I had been overcome with a general can't be arsedness and my body was slumped ... my get up and go had well and truly got up and gone. My sleep patterns were well and truly screwed up. I was wide awake at 3am and dozing lifeless on my sofa at 3pm. I couldn't be bothered to unpack my bike... wash my kit..... talk to anybody... You get the picture.. ...

Firstly... this may be a long one... Secondly... if you read only one paragraph... read the end one... In the last few days since hopping off my bike and swopping that mode of transport for the 4 wheeled version I have been happily residing in Arizona. My friends Louize and Mark have not only been putting up with me... my incessant chatter and my slightly restless nature but have also kindly helped me to continue putting ticks on my bucket list... but more of that in a minute. The ride had ended but my brain hadn't really caught up as we swept westwards towards Phoenix watching the ever changing ... ever fascinating landscape shift and metamorph as the miles ran beneath the wheels. The ease of travel in stark contrast to the sweat and the toil for every inch (in places) only a day before. Gone though was the deep connection to those inches... with no sounds and smells and touch to ingrain each inch of travel forward into my soul... and my soul cried silently for that whic...

So the hard peddlin' may have finished but for those of you who aren't quite bored of this journey ... there is still an adventure or two out there before I come home... I woke early on today... the day after the day before when it all ended. 06:30 or so I thought... at least that's what my phone said. My watch was confidently stating that it was 07:30 and the hotel receptionist equally confidently stated that it was 0830. Somewhere between Colorado and New Mexico I had either lost 1 hour or 2... It turned out to be 2 and so my plans for this morning were already on the backfoot. Plans!!  I hear you say incredulously.  Yes... well you didn't possibly think I was going to sit in my motel room all day until Louize and Mark got here to pick me up did ya?? Breakfast done and all the bags taken off my bike leaving it light and unencumbered and unfamiliarly responsive. And out I went into the bright sunshine and blue skies of New Mexico. Instead of taking the main road ...

This morning was no different from any of the other last 22 other mornings... except that it was. It was the last morning that I had to get up and peddle to a destination set by my own reckoning. But it was no different... I packed up with the same routine that I had done for the last 22 days... I answered fb messages and comments... I filled my  water bottles... I pulled on my cycle shorts and added chammy cream to saddle sore prone areas... I switched on my GPS...I started my SPOT tracker tracking.... I took a deep breath... and headed out into the now expected bright sunshine and blue skies. My plan this morning was to head to the bike shop to see if they could fix my brakes(I couldn't as I had no brake fluid with me) only they didn't open until 9am so I went and had breakfast in the greasy spoon diner next door. Some could have considered it a bad omen when I unwittingly poured VANILLA milk into my coffee... WHAT?? WHY?? NO FAIR!! Being British.. I said nothing and s...

I was itching to leave this morning... My rest day had been necessary as my knees had brought my LLFF score down to a 9 or 10... but it left me restless... wanting to be on the move... the rythmn of the road shouting from my soul. And so I was up early... out the door into the bright sunshine and back over to the bear cafe for breakfast... pancakes... my staple in New Zealand... rare to find here it seems. The pancakes in NZ were topped with loads of fruit and cream... not so here but still filling and hopefully providing fuel to the legs. Today ... on paper... wasn't that bad. Given I was already over 9000ft.. and google maps informed me that the pass out of here was just over 10000ft... thats not bad right??? The cycling gods howl of laughter could be heard echoing around the valley as I set off with that expectation. Almost immediately the switchbacks started. The knee wasn't too bad ... the legs ..LLFF 8... and today was the first time that I felt a bit winded... a...

9318 ft to be exact!! Having crashed out last night early without blogging (gasp!!) and then waking up this morning with a pounding head... and knees that feel like they belong to an 80 year old... it was confirmation that today would be a good rest day day! I had already spoken to the owner of the hostel... Im fine with a mixed dorm... but a bit of privacy and my own electrical sockets were too good an opportunity and I sorted out a private room for another night here. I was determined to explore Silverton... it had seemed like a wierd kinda place... however my pounding head told me to lie down (now in my own room) and I once again crashed out... for another 4 hours!! Awoke again at 12:30 ... headache gone but still not feeling quite right.. dehydration I think and so I set out to look around ... explore a bit... and get lunch! The town is old.. that much is clear. Also host to one of the earliest railways from what I can gather. A history of gold and more importantly Silver m...

Nothing worth having is easily won... I woke up this morning with the knowledge that I was in for a hard day. This day is what could be called in cycling terms... The Queen's Stage The hardest of them all. Would I be equal to it? This day was basically an uphill day from the very start to the top of the pass..  starting from 5500ft and rising once again to over 11000ft in just over 60 miles was going to test my physical and mental strength in a big way. Once again it was already pretty hot by the time I got on the road... having stuffed down a few bagels and a make your own waffle type thing for breakfast. The first 10 miles were on what is called 'false flat'... looks like a flat road... especially if driving it... but actually you are gaining height all the time. It saps the strength from your legs and mind. .. and that's all before the real climbing starts. After about 10 miles I stopped at a coffee shop... seemingly randomly planted in the middle of nowhe...

...these are your days So make them the best you can... I woke up this morning not wanting to get on the bike. I was stiff and sore... the inevitable toll of the previous 18 days catching up with me.  Also... there comes a point in any journey like this where you find yourself racing to the end without thought of how you will feel when you do indeed reach the end. On previous challenges the 'end' has not been the moment that I put my feet down following the last pedal stroke but often hits days... maybe even weeks later when the journey has sunk in a little and become part of the fabric of my life.  Each challenge I have faced and overcome strengthening my inner self and contributing to the person I have become... for better or worse... part of me. But maybe I reach too far into the future because although my thoughts this morning were of ending and home... I still have a couple hundred miles to pedal before I get to a point where I have satisfied my inner self. All we ...

Wherever it was... it was a better hiding place than I had. I was riding... not hiding... but that bit comes later.... I left Poncha Springs this morning having had a very nice cheese toastie (grilled cheese sandwich here) and some 'tater tots'. Very nice and not an egg in sight... which hopefully my intestines will be grateful for. I left knowing that it was going to be a long hellish morning with a climb up and over another 11000ft pass... only this time I was starting from 7500ft instead of 9000ft. Double the hell of last time. Now I know from previous experience that the first 10 miles always hurts badly... but even accounting for that... my LLFF score was 8-9 this morning. Was it the bike?? I checked the chain... was shifting ok... brakes... could be rubbing a little bit... so I adjusted those. It made not a jot of difference... this was just going to be an almighty grind. Frankly I didnt pay much attention to the scenery... I was in my own little world of pain and h...

Leadville was above the dark grey clouds that hovered this morning. The sun was trying to shine yet it remained a slightly chilly morning. I negotiated the puddles left from yesterdays downpour and headed for breakfast. Apparently its impossible to avoid eggs wherever you eat so eggs... sausage.. toast and fried potatoes it was again. I knew today was on paper an easy ish day. 60 miles ... on a downhill gradient... in theory and with an early start I was confident of a fairly early arrival into Poncha Springs. I also knew that the rest of the cycling days I have left are not going to be quite as straightforward so was happy for another 'easy day'. I swept downhill ... unable to see the caps of the high mountains. The shoulder was wide and the tarmac pretty smooth and I wound my way down an impressive riber gorge. The sides of the gorge consisted of light brown rocky sides which reminded me once again of the New Mexico landscape that I have previously cycled through. The road ...