Sunday 30 May 2010

More Canada

So cycling in Canada is very opposite, so far it has been about 50% whisper smooth roads and cycle paths and 50% of the time it is on roads with potholes so big I would personally just dynamite the whole street and start again. Luckily I am learning where these bad roads are and am avoiding them.

Today included 40 miles of cycling, 26 early morning miles up the waterfront path and then 14 miles round Toronto Island, which is sweet, has few motorized vehicles and a lovely view of the city.

This is my bike on a ferry.
And thats the view!

So anyway, got to go get my washing, hotel cycling isn't so bad, just wish I had a washing machine in my room!

Thursday 27 May 2010

And here it is - My first ever Canadian ride!


And as much as I love London, Toronto so far has it beaten hands down for cycle lanes and just being pretty, most of the ride all I could think of was how I need to take a camera next time! wow...

Tuesday 25 May 2010

3400 miles, unfortunately not on a bike

Well I am here, after seven and a half hours in the air, all of which I spent worrying about the bike. Luckily I am now in my hotel room and I have managed to put most of the bike together, just need to get a couple of tools from a local bike shop here in Toronto and I am ready to roll, hopefully tomorrow I can get the tools and I'll be rolling Canada style.

Of course as it is almost summer here it looks like 13 hours of sun and 30 Celsius so I will also be investing in some factor 50 before I head out on anything of a reasonable length, within a couple of weeks I want to be riding 60 mile days - which shouldn't be too difficult as Toronto is flatter than London! no hills is fun but not great training!

Friday 21 May 2010

Last London Ride

So that's it, the Cannondale is going to be packed up soon, ready for a 3,000 mile flight to Canada.
My last ride was a doozy, which is why I am lying on the sofa. 42 miles, taking in Notting Hill, Oxford Street, Shoreditch, Tower Bridge, Sloane Sq and much more! After lunch it is off to the excellent Bicycle to get my trusty stead bagged up, I will take pictures, for my sanity as well as showing off!

One good thing I did find out on this ride, the tyres, come off much easier than the single speed and so fixing the puncture was surprisingly easy, I even used some patches rather than changing the inner tube for a spare, I feel like a proper cyclist now! Although the tiny pump I had only managed to get me to 80psi, I was wishing I had my other, slightly larger, high pressure pump!

Anyway, need to chill as this is the furthest I have ridden since I was skinny and young.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Last of the Commutes

Well, that was the last of the work commutes in the UK until September. Tomorrow is my last day in the office before zooming off to Canada for three months and so I have to go pick up all the stuff that accumulates as a cyclist; Towels, shower gel, miscellaneous (dirty) underwear, other sporting clothing, laptop, chargers for everything etc.

This and having a meeting at a vendors office means I have to use the car. So the car has been 72 miles getting me to and from work, in the same time I have cycled 3,542 miles while commuting, this makes me feel a little warm inside, although that may be cycling in a long sleeved top when it is 25 Celsius...

So tomorrow is car, then Friday is a 3 hour ride before heading to the bike shop and having the trusty stead packed ready for Canada, I have decided to get a big ride on in case the bike arrives in more pieces than it started the journey or it doesn't arrive at all (woof).

Once the other side of the Atlantic I plan on getting a 100km day in pretty quick, this could of course be the end of me...

Monday 17 May 2010

Travelling with Bike Soon!

So with Toronto calling for three months work I am putting my life on hold here in London, at least this means cancelling the monthly organic meat delivery and getting a Statutory Off Road Notice for the Camper van. This is a shame because I was looking forward to some camping weekends away this summer.

I have now managed to secure a bike box, and by the look of things a good one, and yet again it was my Local Bike Shop has come up trumps. After a quick query they have helped me source the bike box and they have also offered to help me pack the bike for the first trip. As ever I cannot say enough about having a really good relationship with your LBS.

So far this post has been a little light on training, well that is because after my 140 mile week last week I am taking it easy this week in anticipation of piling on the miles next week in Canada. All pending the good behavior of a certain volcano in Iceland.

Saturday 15 May 2010

Going Canadian

Arghhhhh....

I am off to Canada with work, until September - so two weeks before I am doing the London to Paris ride.

Training is now going to be a challenge, I have just spent the morning looking at Air Canada's website working out how much extra I will need to pay for the bike, its looking like $50 plus any extra baggage fees.

This is all manageable, of course now I need to find a bag to pack the bike in. First stop Wiggle as they always seem to have what I need, and there it is, a hard bike box, and all for £175, this training lark is going to cost me an arm and a leg!

Oh well, a real bike to ride is better than sitting on an exercise bike for the next three months...

Friday 14 May 2010

Challenge completed!

So this morning, a day ahead of schedule I completed my "Cycle 400 miles in 30 days" challenge. The final mile ticked over as I passed Turnham Green tube station worrying about the wheel sized pot holes in the road. Although I was expecting a ticker tape parade and applause from local dignitaries it was, as usual, quiet.

To complete the challenge this week (because I had been slack at the start of the 30 days) I had to cycle 130 miles. In four and a half days I managed this and feel accomplished.

This is a problem...

In September I will be cycling 180 miles, in three days, GULP, I think I need to set myself more challenges and get back in the saddle, although maybe after resting for a couple of days first, it's almost the weekend after all...

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Doing things by half

So as part of my training I have set some goals, this months has been to cycle 400 miles in 30 days.
It is going well but with the 4 day weekends I have been occasionally slack. To make up for this I am piling the miles on this week, this has lead to me covering 92 miles in the last 3 days, unfortunately I have just realised this is almost exactly half of what I need to do in September and I am exhausted now...

This also does not bode well for the Dunwich Dynamo in July which I am contemplating cycling and is 120 miles in one night, eeekk.

Monday 10 May 2010

Head cold + Training = fun fun fun

So after three days of feasting and resting I am back on the bike. This is a good thing. Unfortunately the head cold that has been hanging around became much more evident during the cycling, nothing of course that would stop me in my tracks and send me back home to bed, it is much less than the dreaded man flu, but it was enough.

My body decided that, even though it was sunny and I had more than enough clothing, shivers would be appropriate, also it would be producing prolific amounts of phlegm. This probably made me look a little scary on the ride in and is why everyone was over taking me and shooting off in the distance, even grannies on shoppers, as I probably looked like the patient zero for the upcoming zombie apocalypse.

After all this whinging I actually made it in and I don't feel too bad, of course I came in the 15 mile cop out route so I have to cycle an equally long way home to hit my 30 mile a day target for this week but I will survive!

Saturday 8 May 2010

Thoughts from Day 2

Starting this blog on a weekend away when I am deliberately not cycling was a mistake, so far I have eaten roughly 1 million calories, drunk a dustbin full of wine and managed to walk the dog about two miles.

As part of my tentative training I have set a challenge of 400 miles in 30 days, this ends next Saturday and I still have 130 miles to go, this is absolutely achievable... at least if I don't whine too much, Of course I am trying to not think about the fact that I have to go further than this in 3 days in September...

As an aside I should also point out I am a London cyclist, hills are something that happen in the distance, I see them but actually going up and down them, that scares me. I suppose I should bring the bike to the midlands and do some training on something bigger than primrose hill, maybe next trip!

Friday 7 May 2010

The Beginning

So this is it, I am officially signed up, I have a charity giving page and the training has begun, at least I have started cycling further. Although I am officially on three rest days as it is my Mothers Birthday and I cycled 100 miles in three days last week.

This blog will document turning tubby enthusiast into champion London to Paris cyclist - or at least someone who will survive the journey with a smile on his face.

Read, enjoy and give generously! (oh and all the money from the adsense account will also go to BAAF!)

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GuidoBozward