On Bike and In Ears

Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Pedal

Another sunny day in Chatel, France

15km alpine ride

A - B is a long uphill slog through the village and up to the border of Switzerland

B - C free wheel back into the the village and down the Route du Linga

C - D along the valley floor to the roundabout and then back up to Suvay





More from me soon.........

Edward

Flyers

Will have these printed very soon along with some sticker sets too. 

Good Friday Ride

So the Easter weekend has come and nearly gone, and in between eating loads of chocolate/playing polo and generally relaxing we pushed out 30 miles on Good Friday, and it lived up to it's name with great weather, nice pace and some awesome downhills.

Logo

My Introduction - Hola!

Hi all.

Jess signing on for duty here.

I first heard about this ride when Matt/EMM initally set it up. We met playing bike polo, realised we went to the same sixth form & had lots in common. I was all for supporting him in any way I could because it's a cause that has affected me and my family personally but there was no way I could get the time off work to take part. However, I recently took the scary decision to work for my own bike project and I am now very excited to be taking part in this amazing adventure! Berlin is always in the back of my mind and each time we see each other, I think we all get a bit more excited.

I'm currently riding a beautiful fixed gear Surly Steamroller which I built up a few months ago. We are pretty much surgically attached so it's going to be very hard to find a touring bike for the ride that will be able to compete with her! I'm fairly worried about my fitness levels but the Doctor has given me the all clear to start training and training hard I will be. Watch out for some ride updates and of course some probable failures by myself in the next coming months!

For now, I cannot stress enough how important this ride is to us, our families and our friends. I want to thank our supporters so far but we have miles to go yet (900 to be precise!) so if you can help in anyway; be that making a donation, lending us some gear or giving us a place to stay then please get in touch! It means alot.

That's all for now!

Jess (the chatty one). X

Ways to sleep

Have done some looking into compact tents, and found myself looking and liking hammocks

http://www.ddhammocks.com/gallery/travel-hammock

Lightweight, and cheap...

Custom Cycling Jersey

I've contacted 12 companies who manufacture custom made cycling jerseys.

It would act as a great bargaining tool for sponsors to have their name/logo placed in strategically placed locations.

Colours could match the cancer research logo, which would be a good reference point.

There are a couple of nice road bike team jerseys out, possibly my favourite being the HTC Columbia jersey

Or the Saxo Bank Sungard

And while I'm at it the Team Garmin Cervelo jersey

It would probably be worth investing in a good pair of bib-shorts though. But the above can act as some inspiration. Lighter colours may be better, as we'll be cycling through the summer!

I'll post up what feedback I have. The cost of the above shirts retail from about £60 - £80 (! - expensive!!) but make a massive difference to body temperature, aerodynamics and weight.

Cheers.

Dyfan

Today's Ride

Hello folks. Here is my route from todays ride

My Introduction - Hello!

Hello good people. Dyfan reporting for duty.

I was in Matthew's year at uni, and have since moved back home to sunny Wales in a little village called Bwlchgwyn, where I have access to billions of hills, and plenty pheasants and sheep sharing the idyllic country lanes.

I'm currently seen riding around on a Giant SCR.20 (2006). She is my only road bike to date, and she was bought 2nd hand off of eBay for an absolute snip! (I love a bargain!) She's done me well, having only suffered two punctures whilst on the road. Thank god I was within walking distance from home, ruined my cleats though!

More from me later...!

Short ride with Luke

After speaking to Luke on Monday, it was clear he wanted to try and join in the challenge, but before he committed fully, he wanted to make sure he could do it. He doesn't ride regularly and borrowed a bike off his step-dad. but today we went for a brisk 10 mile spin through the country lanes of Earlswood.

things went downhill after just 1 1/2 miles when Luke got a flat just as we were getting started, and the worst part is we had to ring Ed and his 'support car' to come and help out.

after a gloat on the phone Ed turned up with Dean and the Kangoo to take Luke and his bike to a local shop to grab a new tube. 

So I set off on my own to finish the ride, then meet them at the pub for a sit down/fixed Lukes wheel/natter then we were off again back towards home.

Was a nice ride, great weather and smooth roads, but there was loads of spare road that we didn't try out, so I think another few trips spreading out a bit more will be on the cards for the coming weeks.