Tag Archives: Prince’s Trust

+3 days; Diary of Horace Wimp helps me get back on the horse

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Time for a quick solo hour ride out. The weather was good and I had no reason not to go out.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Sunday. Friends and family have been really lovely. They know how much training we have put in, but we feel that we want to make up the mileage and just have to figure out how and when.

On Sunday I wrote to my friends that we had only done 54 miles (46 plus the 8 back to the hotel). Then I thought about it. Only 54 miles? 2 years ago I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to cycle 45 miles of the Prince’s Trust Palace to Palace ride. I thought those doing the 90.mile Ultra route were crazy. Then It took over 4 and a half hours of cycling time on a mostly flat route.

So it is fair to say some progress has been made those 2 years! Anyway, I went out last night and had my Garmin set for an average of 13 mph. Not that fast admittedly, but faster than some of our training rides a couple of weeks ago. I checked it on the ride, I was ahead of the pace! The route I had taken had some ‘rises’ for sure and Stoke Hammond hill which in the past had me cycling it at walking pace. One time I had barely managed to overtake a man walking it! It’s short, though, with a maximum inclination of 8.7%.

Strava segment (in case you are bothered)!

StokeHammondHill

“It’s not a hill” I told myself, “it’s just a rise”. I compared it to Wimbledon Hill that we cycled on Sunday and thought it’s not even as long or steep as that. Up… Up… Up… I pedalled. It seemed to be at the top quicker than normal. Good.

Home straight now. I cycled and sang ELO’s Diary of Horace Wimp in my head then (sort of) out loud coming home.

Horace_Wimp
Cover art for single The Diary Of Horace Wimp by the Electric Light Orchestra. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the label, Jet Records, or the graphic artist(s). By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6667559

“Don’t be afraid. Just knock at the door. Well he just stood there mumbling and fumbling, when a voice from above said Horace Wimp, this is your life, go out and find yourself a life…  you can do it … come on, Horace...”.(etc).

Thank goodness there was hardly any traffic! Bizarrely this motivated me … come on Horace, you can do it! Got home. Computer says 14 mph average! And load of personal bests. Finally. I have found a little speed!

So it seems this cycling thing is not yet over. More things to achieve and improve. The Pretty* is not going on eBay yet!

*my road bike

 

 

Yippee! Mission accomplished

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2015 Palace to Palace … done! First I want to sat a massive thank you to all the wonderful people who sponsored me… your generosity means that the total stands at an amazing £765 – see Justgiving page

We managed to do it in 3 hours and 37 mins of cycling time … and nearly an hour off our previous time 🙂

Thank you so much you are totally awesome in you generosity xxx

Here are some pics from the day:

Early start:
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Roads were quiet:
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Parked at the office:
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Picking up the bikes on The Mall:

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30 miles in … pitstop!
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Yay! Did it!
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And now … recovery time:
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And finally a massive thank you again to everyone that supported me xxx

Summertime and the training is easy … not! 5 weeks to go

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This Sunday we actually had a day that resembled summer, unusual to experience with our variable four-seasons-in-a-day British climate.

We have worked out a 23 mile cycle route from home that is mostly roads (yay!) and quite a few hills (boo!) but I am trying to learn to love hills! I do like them when I am at the top, at least as it’s heavenly to cycle (roll) down them!

We (the man and me) had planned to get up early on Sunday to do our training ride avoiding the forecast heat, but somehow we didn’t manage to get out until nearly midday so by that time it was hot, hot, hot!

I am not very good in the heat, never have been. It seems to have started when I was in Primary School and our class went to do a country dancing display at the Buckinghamshire County Show (how very British!) on a boiling hot day. Sadly I ended up with heatstroke as it seems that my pale English, freckly skin does not much like activity in the humid British heat!

I know this is potentially an issue if the day of the ride dawns and it is super-hot, so I have to push through it. So push through it I did by drinking loads of fluids on the way round which definitely helped. Knocked 5 minutes off the previous week’s cycle time at just under 2 hours, which is pretty okay considering the heat!

Made it!

Made it in the heat!

When we go home we went for a “cool down” (code for cycle to the local pub for a drink in the sun) but the closest pub garden was already full, so we cycled on to the next one. This meant we upped our miles more than we were expecting. Total cycle ride: 30 miles – 23 at a reasonable pace, 7 very slow! On the last couple of miles, I was definitely ready to be home.

This week coming is a busy one – so will be tricky to do any training, but will try to fit something in.  It’s all for a great cause – to inspire young people. Almost a million young people are not in education, employment or training in the UK. The Prince’s Trust need your help to tap their potential and build their confidence. The results can be amazing. Have look here if you have a moment: http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/support_us/lewis_cassidy.aspx

Thank you for your financial and/or moral support to this cause!

https://www.justgiving.com/Andrea-Davis2015/

Signed up again! 6 weeks to go and toothache did not interrupt training!

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Yep, so I’ve signed up again to do the 2015 Palace-to-Palace cycle ride – 45 miles of cycling from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle on September 13th. Last year it took 4 1/2 hours of cycling to do it. This year, I’d really like to try to break the 4 hour mark this year if possible.

Unluckily for me for the past 10 days or so, I’ve had toothache! Yesterday I finally managed to get a dental appointment. Penicillin has been prescribed as it seems I have some kind of infection with a few more appointments to look forward to.

Pencillin 20150804_132258

I didn’t let it a little bit of toothache stop me from doing a 13 mile training ride last night! It’s all for a great cause, as the Prince’s Trust does amazing things to help young people in need. They aim to 58,000 young people this year, so every little helps as they say!

If you’d like to donate, please do so here – thank you!:

https://www.justgiving.com/Andrea-Davis2015

I’m cycling 45(!) miles to raise money for the Prince’s Trust

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In just 6 ½ weeks on Sunday October 5th, I’ll be attempting to cycle 45(!) miles (74 km) for the Prince’s Trust – riding from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle.

My relationship with exercise has varied over the years – I dabble in and out of it – and usually it means floating in a swimming pool or laying down on a yoga mat, so cycling training is coming as a bit of a shock (and so are the padded cycling shorts!). The average participant takes between 4 and 5 hours to finish the ride, so safe to say it is going to hurt – even with the padded shorts!

Together with a group of Xerox friends, families and loved ones, I’m hoping to raise a decent amount of cash for the Prince’s Trust. They do some pretty amazing things to support people from ages 13 to 30 who are unemployed or struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. They give practical and financial support to stabilise their lives – developing key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training.

So far training has involved getting multiple bruises and scrapes, getting caught in the hailstones and making friends with the whole of my local Halfords!

If you would like to support this cause, any donation would be welcomed! You can donate online here: https://www.justgiving.com/AndreaLouiseDavis/

Thanks for reading anyway – and wish me luck with the training!