Countdown to Alpe d'Heuz - 12 weeks to go

Week Ending - April 13th 2008 .................................................................... Miles to date:- 3547

Monday Morning Stats:- Weight 11 stone 0 pounds ...................................... Resting Heart Rate 52

After 18 days off my bike I did not know what my form would be like for my first ride back. I had hoped to go for a short spin on Sunday but the snow and Arctic weather conditions soon put paid to that idea.

Monday morning and we had not fully recovered from jet lag, for although waking up at 7:00am as normal, both Betty and I went back to sleep and did not finally get up until after 9:00am! So it was a late start and in view of the uncertain weather conditions I decided to ride around my Black Park circuit. I was pleased with my form. I managed a very good tempo throughout my 42 mile ride although my heart rate was a lot higher than normal. I will have a better test tomorrow at the circuit as I am sure Jim, Alan, Brian, Lance, Bob and the rest will make sure I have a good workout.

A good turnout at the circuit, 12 riders at one point and a good pace was set with Jim impressively doing most of the work up front. I had a few turns up front but tried to spend as much time as possible sheltered from the wind. A 46 mile ride by the time I got back home.

The article about my ride in BT Today was quite impressive and so far has yielded one donation, thank you Bernard Goodman, I hope this is the first of many for as well as improving my fitness I need to concentrate my efforts on raising as much money as possible for The Royal Marsden Hospital.

A bright sunny Wednesday and I decided on my 50 mile Flackwell Heath/Marlow circuit up the steep hill Jim has christened the wall. No problems with the "wall", in fact I was going very well but after 35 miles I began to suffer. Good job the last few miles were relatively flat with some wind assistance, otherwise I would have been calling for an emergency vehicle to get me home!

Another commercial supporter, "Bike Eye" have donated me two cycling mirrors, one for my training bike and one for my racing bike. I will be fitting one this afternoon and giving it a try. Thank you Tony from Bike-Eye.

A further donation today, this time from Lance who is a Training Colleague at the circuit sessions. Thank you Lance.

Thursday night and I went to coaching session at the Hayes Circuit. We soon settled into a compact and efficient group of 6 and maintained a good average speed throughout, in fact we were not caught by either the two "faster" groups, a good achievement by all concerned. By the time I had completed a warm up and a warm down 30 miles had been clocked up. My legs ache a bit now, the inner thigh muscles for some reason.

A very windy Friday morning at the circuit. We went around in the opposite direction to get some respite from the wind but it was still a struggle. 45 miles today. I fitted by Bike Eye mirror this morning and it is very effective and a much safer way of viewing the traffic behind you.

A non cycling weekend, Saturday morning I was busy installing a new dishwasher and washing machine. Then a very enjoyable afternoon watching my football team Brentford play. I was the guest of St George, who are supporting my effort, and I was impressed by all the people I met in the boardroom. Thankyou Brentford, it was a good feeling to be entertained in the boardroom after first standing on the terraces over 60 years ago. A special thanks too to all the people who sponsored me, just a pity we did not win but it was a very good game.

I also picked up my flyers which were kindly produced on my behalf by St George. I must say they are very impressive and I hope they are the catalyst in my fund raising efforts.

Sunday, 68th birthday and we celebrated the day by taking out two of our grandchildren. However, we did not get completely away from cycling as we met the Willesden CC on their clubrun which included Jim, Alan and Melanie. I hope the April showers did not catch them too often.

Weekly Totals:- Miles:- 215.3 Time:- 12 hrs 25 mins 43 secs