Targets, Objectives & Achievements

Well it's all over - the 210 miles have been ridden, the friendships formed, the photos taken and the bike cleaned and polished - so what next?

Before moving on I want to take time to reflect back on a tremendous few days, I met some great people and really enjoyed their company, both on and off the bike.

Some highlights for me include - the sheer determination of all involved to complete the challenge - the sight of Nick Dawson flying over his handlebars and landing relatively softly on Minchinhampton Common, only to escape injury free - the conquering of four lung busting hills between Worcester and Bath - and the sight of the beautiful English countryside passing by.

The only low point was the sight of Chris Sweet at the point he was told after just 50 miles, that he could ride no more and would take no further part in the event - we were all gutted along with him - I could sense his absolute disappointment.

All the effort, all the training, the sponsorship, the planning, the excitement and the expectation, all dashed on the word of a paramedic. Chris had the desire and wish to achieve - not to be thwarted, he mounted his bike 100 yards from the finish line and rode home with the rest of us - obviously in agony he ended the ride in the company of those he started with - good on ya Chris.

So how does all of this fit in with my topic for this blog? well some might say the target was to get from Crewe to Yeovil over 2 1/2 days of riding - I believe a target is something that others wish you to aim for.

I prefer to work to objectives - to me these are personal, something I would take ownership of - on this occasion, my objective was to get from Crewe to Yeovil - I had to do it, not just to raise money for the respective charities, but for me - I needed to push myself, I needed to have something to work towards, I needed to finish the task.

Hours and hours, mile and miles - wind, rain, freezing temperatures, road bike and spin bike they all played their part in the planning and preparation for me to achieve my objectives. Most of it I did solo, single minded, determined effort - I didn't want to let myself down or anybody else associated with the event.

When it came to the ride, I placed myself out in front of the group, I needed to work at my pace, focussed with the end in mind.

I achieved my objectives, literally have been there and got the T shirt - I have a huge sense of satisfaction and am grateful to those that encouraged me and shared the experience with me.

I hope all my fellow riders had personal objectives and that these were achieved - I also hope that you will set yourself an objective, when you have done so, work towards achieving it and don't waiver - believe me the personal rewards are fantastic - good luck.

The Journey Begins

So, here we are - something strange about travelling north for 200 miles by coach only for me to face the return journey on two wheels over the next few days.

Having been a supporter of Yeovil Town FC for forty years, I have spent the last 10seasons or more travelling tens of thousands of miles to away games, predominantly "up north" - the ritual would normally be to arrive in time to "hero worship" as the team bus arrives at the intended destination, usually about an hour and half before kick off.

Today I have found myself in the somewhat sureal position of having spent four hours travelling in the very coach that the players (my heroes) travel to away games in - an insight into part of the life of a footballer - who's seat was I sat in? - what would they do to pass the time on the long journeys?

Being picked up at Gordano services, I joined the rest of the gang - guys and girls that will hopefully become new friends - people who share a common cause and have the desire to help those less fortunate than ourselves. After the exchange of a few 'how are you's', it's settle into my leather seat, watch Sky sports, read the paper, listen to some music and have a chat with a few guys - all very civilised - wow! four hours have gone and the town of Crewe is ahead.

What has just dawned on me, is the sheer scale of the task ahead - if it takes the coach 5 hours travelling at 60 miles an hour........ oh dear, what have I let myself in for?

Forget all of that - a positive approach to the task ahead will see the hours and miles disappear before me - why put myself through such a challenge? well exactly that, the challenge, and for that reason I will make it back to Yeovil in one piece.

On the end of my journey is the achievement of beating the challenge - on the end of the challenge is the knowledge that somebody somewhere will benefit from the fact that a group of people - football supporters - Yeovil Town supporters, will generate a sum of money donated by kind friends, families and associates - This money, however much it may be, is more than they had before we started - let's not forget, it's not about me or us - it's about them.

Let the challenge begin!

More from me tomorrow as I intend to keep you engaged with progress - Worcester here we come!

Crewe to Yeovil on a Bike

Hi all, you may know that I have committed to a 200 mile cycle ride from Crewe to Yeovil - well that is what all the training has been about and the set off date is getting nearer.

I thought that I would try and give a bit of a boost to the organizations involved and provide some links to their respective websites.

Firstly, the event is being organized by the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust and they have Twitter feeds @ytfccycle2013 and @YTCST and a Facebook page YTFC Get Pedalling 2013. A donations page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/ytfccycle2013/

Through the YTCST we are raising money for St Margarets Hospice in Somerset and Prostate Cancer as well as the Community Trust itself. Their respective websites as follows:

http://www.somerset-hospice.org.uk/

http://prostatecanceruk.org/?ui=pc

Support from friends and family is vitally important when undertaking a challenge of this nature. Your family have to put up with the amount of time you spend training, making sure you are fed well and of course ensuring all the kit is clean and dry - thanks to Sarah for her patience.

Friends also step forward and apart from providing sponsorship in financial terms, others provide material support, Andy Cleeves from The Fitness Hub in Portishead has provided some gear for me which I appreciate very much. Further to this his staff have provided moral support and encouragement during all the hours in the spin bike saddle.

Andy is close to opening a new gym in Portishead which will give members bigger and better facilities and I am more than happy to promote such a great place to train and meet like minded people.

Take a look at Andy's website http://thefitnesshubportishead.co.uk/ and indeed all of those mentioned above.

One person I must mention who has kept me going, is Lucie Spraggon who has managed to keep the old legs turning by massaging away the lactic acid and general fatigue of the training miles. Lucie has a Twitter feed @LSSportsmassage and a webpage at http://www.lssportsmassagetherapy.co.uk/ would recommend her to anybody.

Well, here goes, only a few days til the off - I plan to send daily blogs as updates of our daily challenges - any feedback or support would be welcome.

Learning Curve

My last blog was over two weeks ago, since when I have spent over nearly 12 hours out on my bike and over 10 hours on the Spin bike. In total I reckon on around 320 miles and burnt about 30,000 calories.

Being somebody who learns from their mistakes, I would like to share with you some of my 'learns' in the last couple of weeks.

My mind is willing but the body not always able - I seem to be trying to do the same things at the age of nearly 52 that I used to do when I was in my thirties! Somehow I need more time and to do it slower - whatever "it" is. I don't have to compete, but I like to - I know my limits better now.

I need to feed and hydrate my body - having discovered energy bars, energy gels and hyrdration drinks, I wonder how I managed before! Each hour cycling and I burn around 1,000 calories - now I eat more and refuel.

Proper recovery is important - having suffered from leg muscles that ache beyond belief, I was told by my sports therapist that I have over trained - so, giving exercise a miss (apart from a 2 hour spin session) this week I now appreciate the need to rest up and let my body recover sufficiently - legs feel okay now.

Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance - earlier this week I made a 252 mile round trip to visit some new clients - they were out when I got there! - Having phoned the previous day and left a message to confirm my visit, I assumed all was in order - for all of my forthcoming appointments with new clients, I will speak with them and pre-qualify the reasons for our meeting plus clarify everybodies expectations.

Losing focus is easy and keeping focus on the right things is difficult - having tried to keep my various 'plates' spinning such as the Charity Bike Ride, business, gym, family, friends - I think a few of them have dropped off and I need to get them back up again - my learn here is that all of the important things impact upon each other and indeed they all need focus, but different amounts at different times - travel light mentally and physically.

So, I am more aware of how to look after myself, where my limits are and what is important to me - not forgetting though, health and happiness mean everything!