Week Ending - February 17th 2008 ............................................................. Miles to date:- 2319
This will be regarded as a rest week as I have a hospital check up on my prostate on Wednesday then we are off to York to spend the rest of the half term holiday with three of our grandchildren.
Monday was sunny and bright and I did a steady ride around my Cookham circuit and tried myself once again on the steep climb up Honey Lane which I struggled up on Sunday. Managed the climb but I was going at my own pace and was not being pushed by other riders. 51 miles added to my total.
Tuesday was bright at home but by the time I have travelled 2 miles towards the Hayes Circuit, it was thick fog and the fog persisted for the first 33 miles. As it was my last serious training session this week, decided to ride 100 miles, which I did, 5 miles to the circuit and 95 miles on the circuit, 102 laps, and I easily beat my target time of 6 hours. Luckily I felt stronger as the ride progressed and the last 30 miles were the quickest so I never felt like quitting every time I passed the entrance. In my younger days I never felt serious training had started until I had ridden a few 100 mile rides and I am pleased to have achieved my first of the season today.
The consultant was a little worried about the 50% rise in my PSA reading, so he has planned I have monthly tests for the next two months to see what is happening. I just hope it was one of those blips you get from time to time.
A good time in York playing with the grand children although I did manage a 30 mile ride on Saturday around my normal circuit to the east of York.
Had some different kind of exercise on Sunday, spent 2 hours on the indoor ski slope (real snow) at Castleford in training for our forthcoming skiing holiday in Mammoth USA.
Weekly Totals:- Miles:- 186.9 Time:- 11 hrs 21 mins 28 secs
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Thank you, I am pleased to announce I raised a total of £5,211 for the Royal Marsden Hospital thanks to the generous support I received from all my sponsors. In fact when the Royal Marsden receive the Gift Aid contribution the total amount raised will be over £7,000 which makes all the pain and suffering of walking up the Col de Galibier worthwhile. My thanks to you all, you are all very special people who made achieving my dream of riding up the French Cols even more memorable.
---------------- Updated July 12th ----------------
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The Independent Blog
Thankyou - £5,211 raised so far
In memory of Ian Pool and Myna Thick - RIP; Paul Williams; Keith Shorten; Grandson Ben; Jean Ralph; Bernard Goodman; Lance Woodman; Brian Martin; Mary Regan; Dave Wilson; John Hutchings; Greg Dyke; Terry Forrest; Paul Crowe; David and Cynthia Green; Pat and Derek Richards; Anne and Robert; Paul; Mother in Law; Simon Ginsburg; Parveen Dalal; Alice Ayers; Theo and Frances Pressner; Peter Manley; Phil Griffiths and The Pinarello Racing Team; Chris Denman; Norman Curtis; Roger and Sheila Chamberlain; Matt Ibbs; Gill Sene; John and Francis; Dave Walford; Dave Eckersley; Lydia Gould; Paul Hyman and family; Inna, Steve, Katya and William; David and Margaret Spencer; Mr and Mrs Murphy; Mrs Malik; Helene and Bob Jessop; Ted Mason; Shirley and Tony Maddison; Bernard Haugh; John and Sybil Denman; Jim McKay; Jerry and Muriel Levy; Dilwyn Morgan; Teeny, Mauricio, Laura and Claudia Harris-Tapia; Paula O'Neil; Jerry Stockbridge; Black Park Mountain Bike Race competitors; Liliane Rausch; Stuart Benstead; Colin Mann; Trevor Smith; Bob Spencer; David Routledge; Kathy Stephens; Ian Dobie; Alan Blann; Charlie Bell; Iris & Dennis Bright; Malcolm Lane; Christine Tiernan; Jill Rhodes; Jean Davidson; Joan Williams; Simon O'Hagan; David Varley; Jackie Roberts, Beyond Mountain Bikes; Grandchildren Lexie, Jack and Edward; Andrea and Ian; Jim Batten; Colin Smith; Ian Campbell; Russ; Danuta Tinn, Sue and Ken; Peter and Gill; Catherine Bell; Catherine and Mike Waterer; Fionuala and Chris North; Si; Andrea Pearson; Ian Lovelock; Adrian Masters; Phil Earl; Ian and Kirstie plus grand children Jess, Ben and Libby; Mrs Frewin and family; Tony at Bike Eye; Alan Molloy; Alan and Joan Gallacher; Ceri Donovan; Mr A Ohry, The Cycle Store; Dave and Cynthia Green again; Jenny Crowe; James Poole; Rose and Ed Riches; Jean Ralph again; Shirley Mossman; Mary Gosden; George Dunford; Jean Merritt; Peter Manley, again; Roy Barugh; Paul Buckland; Jane Hartshorne; Andy Godley; Betty O'Rourke; Carol Austin; The Hobbs family; John Clarke; Angus Urquhart; Scotty; Peter Ryerson; Lance Woodman again; Alan Underwood; Tuesday night racers; RM Starkey; Mark Taylor; Helen Stevenson; John Piggin; Peter White; Rocco Richardson and Liz Creese; Allan Lawrence; Mick and Rose Mahon; Barry Eastwood; Edna Hodgson; Dave and Stephanie Horton; Indra Big;
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My Challenge
It's every cyclists dream to ride up the passes in the French Alps made so famous by the Tour de France cyclists over the past 100 years.
I have that dream and on July 5th 2008 I hope to fulfill it by completing the La Marmotte cycling challenge.
The event starts in Bourg D'Oisans at the foot of Alpe d'Huez and proceeds in a clockwise direction, first a 25 km climb to the peak of the Col du Clandon 1,924m (6,312 ft) high, a long descent back into the valley before the 12 km ascent of the Col du Telegraph 1,570m (5,150 ft ). Just a 4 km descent before the ascent of the Col du Galibier, a 17 km climb to a height of 2,642m (8,668 ft).
Next a 47km ride, mostly downhill to return to Bourg D'Oisans, but the ride does not finish here. After 160 kms on the road (100 miles) a right turn and we take on the 13 km ascent of Alpe d'Huez, undoubtedly the most famous climb in the Tour de France, tackling 21 hairpin bends to finish at the ski station at an elevation of 1,880m (6,168 ft).
You can see Lance Armstrong ride up Alpe d'Huez here. My only similarity with Lance is that I too ride a Trek Bike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJErrp4eOw
As well as the personal satisfaction of completing the event I want to do more. In July 2007 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Initially this concerned me a great deal as my father died from prostate cancer when he was 71 but now I am confident that the medical team at The Royal Marsden Hospital are well in control of the situation.
I am being treated by Mr Chris Ogden, the initial treatment is active monitoring and if the cancer cells increase significantly then I will be facing robotic surgery. Chris Ogden is one of the country's experts in this technique.
I have that dream and on July 5th 2008 I hope to fulfill it by completing the La Marmotte cycling challenge.
The event starts in Bourg D'Oisans at the foot of Alpe d'Huez and proceeds in a clockwise direction, first a 25 km climb to the peak of the Col du Clandon 1,924m (6,312 ft) high, a long descent back into the valley before the 12 km ascent of the Col du Telegraph 1,570m (5,150 ft ). Just a 4 km descent before the ascent of the Col du Galibier, a 17 km climb to a height of 2,642m (8,668 ft).
Next a 47km ride, mostly downhill to return to Bourg D'Oisans, but the ride does not finish here. After 160 kms on the road (100 miles) a right turn and we take on the 13 km ascent of Alpe d'Huez, undoubtedly the most famous climb in the Tour de France, tackling 21 hairpin bends to finish at the ski station at an elevation of 1,880m (6,168 ft).
You can see Lance Armstrong ride up Alpe d'Huez here. My only similarity with Lance is that I too ride a Trek Bike! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJErrp4eOw
As well as the personal satisfaction of completing the event I want to do more. In July 2007 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Initially this concerned me a great deal as my father died from prostate cancer when he was 71 but now I am confident that the medical team at The Royal Marsden Hospital are well in control of the situation.
I am being treated by Mr Chris Ogden, the initial treatment is active monitoring and if the cancer cells increase significantly then I will be facing robotic surgery. Chris Ogden is one of the country's experts in this technique.
So as well as achieve my dreams I am hoping to gain sponsorship and so use the ride to provide some much needed additional funds to support the good work of The Royal Marsden Hospital.
All the expenses incurred in undertaking this challenge will be paid by me, St George plc have provided all the publicity material free of charge so every penny donated to my challenge will be passed on to The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.
I hope you will be able to support me and help give thousands of patients the facilities and treatments that can help them beat cancer.
About Me
- John
- I am 68 years old and have been completely retired since September 1999. I have been married to Betty since August 1964 and we had two children, Ian and Andrea and they have both presented us with 3 grandchildren. So life is never dull but to fill in my spare moments I started cycling again in 2005 after a 40 year break from the sport. I now have a mountain bike, a summer road bike and a winter road bike. Overall I prefer road riding to mountain bike riding. I am a member of the West Drayton Mountain Bike Club, but do not be deceived by its name as the club members participate in all forms of cycling. The club's main sponsor is Beyond Mountain Bikes. You can contact me at:- johnschallenge@btinternet.com
Royal Marsden Hospital
The Royal Marsden Hospital was the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of cancer. Today the hospital with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research, forms the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe with over 40,000 patients seen each year. It provides inpatient, day care and outpatient services for all areas of cancer treatment.
The Healthcare Commission has awarded The Royal Marsden its highest rating for six years running.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign is a registered charity which supports the hospital’s work and vision. All the money raised by and for the Cancer Campaign goes straight where it's needed most: on our wards, in our diagnostic and drug trial centres and in our research labs.
Here’s an idea of the leading edge technology and developments that have been achieved:
· The da Vinci S robot – a revolutionary microscopic surgical robot which helps reduce the physical trauma of operations for patients
· Combined PET/CT scanner - this incredible piece of equipment allows us to diagnose cancer more quickly and accurately than ever before and can help us avoid unnecessary surgery.
·Drug Development Centre & Medical Day Unit in Sutton - at this centre, which has been ranked 'doubly outstanding' by Cancer Research UK, we can now conduct clinical trials that will lead to the development of new cancer medications, stretching the possibilities for future cancer treatments.
·Critical Care Unit - we've created this specialist unit - the only one of its kind in the UK - to support patients needing extra care during their recovery from surgery or other complicated treatments. There's now space for family members to stay near to their loved ones during this difficult time.
http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/rmh
The Healthcare Commission has awarded The Royal Marsden its highest rating for six years running.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign is a registered charity which supports the hospital’s work and vision. All the money raised by and for the Cancer Campaign goes straight where it's needed most: on our wards, in our diagnostic and drug trial centres and in our research labs.
Here’s an idea of the leading edge technology and developments that have been achieved:
· The da Vinci S robot – a revolutionary microscopic surgical robot which helps reduce the physical trauma of operations for patients
· Combined PET/CT scanner - this incredible piece of equipment allows us to diagnose cancer more quickly and accurately than ever before and can help us avoid unnecessary surgery.
·Drug Development Centre & Medical Day Unit in Sutton - at this centre, which has been ranked 'doubly outstanding' by Cancer Research UK, we can now conduct clinical trials that will lead to the development of new cancer medications, stretching the possibilities for future cancer treatments.
·Critical Care Unit - we've created this specialist unit - the only one of its kind in the UK - to support patients needing extra care during their recovery from surgery or other complicated treatments. There's now space for family members to stay near to their loved ones during this difficult time.
http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/rmh
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