22 Stone Cyclist

Most Sundays I resent being woken up by “Lady Ga Ga”, “Pink” or “Kelly Clarkson” (or whatever teeny pop Suzy has loaded on her iPod), and I have to admit that when the words “I’m not here for your entertainment” warbled from the tiny, tinny speakers of the iPod alarm clock at 6am, I was not best pleased.

This morning was different. The alarm wasn’t just to get Suzy up for work and drive me loopy in the process. This alarm call was for me. There would be no hitting the snooze button, no burying my head beneath the pillow in vain, and hiding under the duvet from the light peeking it’s way through the blinds. Today was the day of the Great North Bike Ride.

In October of last year, I wrote this post announcing I would be attempting the Great North Bike Ride this year. So, just under a year on, and the day has finally arrived. Of course, the situation is very different. A year ago, rides of 10-15 miles were quite literally the absolute maximum I could hack, but these days I regularly cycle 50-70 miles at a time, and some weekends complete over 140 miles over the 2 days. The Great North Bike Ride, which at one point was a daunting prospect, would now be an opportunity to show how far I’d come and push myself for a fast time.

Job 1 was to check the weather. The weather reports had started the week promising scattered clouds and sunny intervals, but the predications had become worse over the week, eventually threatening rain. I was pleasantly surprised as I peeped through the curtains - the sunlight was so bright it hurt my eyes. As my sight adjusted to the light, blue skies and white fluffy clouds came into view. The weather was important - it would decide what bike I would ride and what clothes I would wear. Today would be Summer clothes and the Giant.

Job 2 was to eat, and eat plenty - my usual Yakult drink (yack!), a massive bowl of bran flakes, and a plate full of scrambled eggs on toast along with a couple of gallons of tea - the food of champions!

Job 3 was to get dressed into the relevant clothing and ensure I had everything for the day ahead. I was pretty well organised - everything was laid out on the dining room table ready with last minute choices to be made according to the weather.

As 7am approached, my ‘phone went off. Steve was letting me know he was nearly at mine. His mum was kindly giving us a lift to Seahouses, saving us the hassle of using 2 cars. The journey up to Seahouses was pleasant, with 3 people and 2 bikes quite comfortably fitting inside a Citroen Berlingo.

We arrived in Seahouses at around half 8 to a car park full of road bikes, mountain bikes, folding bikes, hybrids, tandems and even a 4 person tandom. We unloaded the Berlingo (is it a car or a van?) before dropping off our sponsorship pledge forms at the registration desk. A couple of free Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers later and the bikes were ready and so were we. As we waved goodbye to Steve’s mum we bumped into Danny and Keith from the Vags who put both myself and Steve to shame as they had rode from Newcastle to Seahouses in the morning beforehand. They’d be doing over 100 miles on the day. Bravo, lads! Maybe next year for me.

As we congregated for the off, the airhorn sounded and we were let off in groups of approximately 30 (although whoever was counting should perhaps go back to school). Steve and I were in the 4th or 5th group back, and trundled through the cramped streets of Seahouses at snails pace. I wondered how long Steve would be happy to ride this slow and I didn’t have to wait long for my answer. As soon as we turned the corner onto the road out of Seahouses, Steve got out of the saddle and belted off up the road and I followed suit.

We both darted about the country lanes, sometimes sitting on the wheel of another roady until it was deemed he was going too slow, sometimes overtaking tens of riders at a time. Eventually we tucked up behind two riders from Wansbeck C.C., who were clearly seasoned roadies out for a brisk Sunday ride. After a few miles behind the Wansbeck lads, we all hit a bunch of riders, so Steve and I overtook the group and I knuckled down to pushing a fast pace for us both. I later found out that one of the Wansbeck riders is the husbands of a reader of this blog, Carrie - what a small world!

One of the things we tried to do before leaving Seahouses was go to the loo - but the queue was enormous (I now know how women feel) and we skipped it. So now nature was well and truly calling, so we pulled over to answer her. Within 30 seconds, scores of riders we have overtaken came flying past, and we hurriedly got back on the case of catching them. We caught the Wansbeck lads again, but Steve was starting to feel it. Over shorter distances he can push a hard pace and put me in discomfort, but once the distance exceeds 25 miles he still needs to build his stamina. When he does, I’m going to struggle to keep up with him. We hit a short sharp hill and one of the Wansback lads went up it like a whippet. I gave chase, but this guy could clearly climb.

Steve caught up, as did the other Wansbeck rider, and we continued for a couple more miles. It turned out the Wansbeck guys had climbed Alp d’Huez together!

I believe we were around Amble - and on the side of the road was James Hole from my work, who had come out to take photos. I cycled ahead of the bunch so James could get a good shot and gave the camera a big grin - but apparently I should have been trying to look sporty instead. Oops…

Shortly after the photo opportunity, the ride split as some riders went left down a path and some carried on up the road. For some reason we turned left, whilst the Wansbeck riders went straight on. It would be the last we’d see of them, as we were unwittingly putting in an extra loop. If I knew where we were, I’d tell you, but I was just following the little yellow signs and trying to keep a high pace. We went via a gravel track, some cobbled streets and a quayside of sorts, before joining up the main road again at which point we recognised a bunch of riders we’d passed ages ago. We’d put in an extra 4 or 5 miles!

Over the next few miles the nature of our ride changed. Let me make it clear - I’m not criticising Steve as I’m not saying anything he wouldn’t agree with here but he was starting to struggle. I’d pushed a hard pace over the first 25 miles, so much so that it was quicker than Steve’s best 25 mile TT time. But I’d pushed too hard, and despite sitting on the front taking most of the head wind, Steve had run out of steam. It was no longer about us trying to get as quick a time as possible, it became about getting to the finish together. Steve had agreed to do the ride with me, so I wasn’t going to leave him now.

The low point was riding down the spine road from Ashington towards Blyth - the combination of the undulating road and the strong head wind was proving hard work. It didn’t help that a lot of the motorists seemed really unhappy with the audacity of the cyclists who were daring to try and share their road, and the fact that a bus decided to force me off the road in Blyth - one set of rules for buses, another for all other road users, apparently.

We pulled into a service station in Blyth for a breather and refreshments. Steve perked up, and my knees got a much needed rest. We hit the road once more for the final stretch, and although clearly tired, Steve found a second wind of sorts.

The ride from Blyth through Seaton Sluice and into Whitley Bay was slow but pleasant as the sun was really shining now and we knew we were nearly done. Soon enough we were on the Whitley Bay to Tynemouth promenade, and we were catching cyclists all the time who we had previously passed but had caught us out in our extra loop. As soon as we could see the Priory in the horizon, and knew Steve had made it, I stretched my legs for the last mile or so. As I climbed the small incline just before Tynemouth town centre, I felt both sad and happy. I was happy because this was an important day in the whole 22 Stone Cyclist blog story but sad that it had come and gone and hadn’t been the grand event I had built it up as. Crossing the line the crowd that had gathered clapped, and I saw the Wansbeck lads in the queue in front to collect their t-shirts and took some satisfaction in knowing that not many cyclists had finished in front of us.

Steve crossed the line shortly afterwards, and we collected our t-shirts and medals and found our way to the burger van. There would be no dieting today. I had a quarter pounder with cheese, chips and an ice cream and I enjoyed it!

Steve and I took a seat on the hill to look down on the other cyclists coming in, the highlight of which was seeing fellow Vags Alan Holmes, his son Andy Holmes and HIS son Daniel in tow on a bike trailer. Daniel raised his hands like Mark Cavendish as he crossed the line, and so he should too! He also had energy to burn as we all sat on the hillside!

***

It’s now bank holiday Monday, and as I sit here typing this I realise I’ve come to a cross roads. My big challenge to myself was the Great North Bike Ride, which I had completed with ease. As far back as I can remember, this blog was about losing weight, getting fit, and aiming for this Great North Bike Ride. It’s done, so what now? Where does the blog go?

Not only that, but the time trial season is all but over. Winter is fast approaching. The nights are drawing in. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried - in fact more so than at any point over the last 18 months. The next few weeks and months are critical. I could have a supreme Winter and come back in Spring faster, stronger and lighter. Or it could all go off the rails and come back in Spring the same weight or heavier, searching for something to spark me into action.

Over the last few months I’ve learnt not to question what I can’t do, but to ask what I can do. I suppose the way around this situation is ask what I can do. There are people around me who simply won’t let me fail without going down fighting, and I may well need to rely on these people in the coming months.

What has driven me in the past is targets - something to aim for. So over the next few days I will be looking at setting some difficult but realistic targets for next year. When I have them, I’ll post them on here for you all to see.

I’d like to say thank you to Steve for riding it with me, and to Steve’s mum and dad for helping out. I’d also like to point out that I’ve raised over £350 for the Chris Lucas Trust, but people can still donate at http://www.justgiving.com/22stonecyclist/.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 10:30 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.