It was a tall order, but we persevered and the combined effort has paid off.
We have reached the first milestone of our £1000 minimum sponsorship requirement, which has secured us a place on the London to Paris bike ride.
Though we can breath a slight sigh of relief for now, we still have to raise an extra £250 to meet the full sponsorship requirement; any more than that would be a fabulous bonus for the PSP Association.
We'd like to thank all of you who made this challenge achievable. Some of you went the extra mile and collected funds on our behalf. All of your support means so much to our whole family.
The training schedule will continue after a well deserved vacation.
2009-06-20
2009-06-15
That was hard!
Yesterday I achieved my goal of completing an 80+ mile ride.
I averaged 17.7 mph, completing the course in 4 hours and 31 minutes.
Unfortunately I left late in the morning which meant I was riding during the hottest hours of the day.
I took two bottles with 750ml of fluid each, and 8 bars of Kellogs Nutrigrain (Apple flavour).
An alert on my GPS unit reminded me to eat one bar every 10 miles.
The first 30 miles were relatively easy, I even resisted the temptation of keeping up with a time trialist who overtook me at great speed: I was very aware I still had 50 miles to go.
The first challenge came at Dorking, where I incorporated the Box Hill climb into my journey. After 40 miles, the relatively easy climb was not as easy as I remembered it. Still, I managed to overtake two female riders at the very top: I could never be beaten by a woman! ;-)
At 50 miles the climbs of the North Downs became challenging and fast, and I managed to overtake every single rider I met, whether on the uphill, where I learnt to spin smaller gears faster, and in the downhill, where I managed to keep up with several cars and overtook a cyclist who, at 44.5 mph, ran out of gears.
I managed to regularly top up my hydration levels but ran out of water after 65 miles. I had to stop at a petrol station where I filled up both bottles with water, orange juice, and managed to down a Mars drink in one sip.
The last 15 miles from Windsor to Twyford were the hardest as my body was in need of fluids: I managed to drink up another two bottles in that last leg.
After reaching the 80 miles mark, I stopped the clock, but I still had another 5 miles to go, from Twyford to Wokingham.
I took those last 5 miles very gently and managed to get home safely.
Next time I am certainly going to leave early in the morning, maybe as early as 6 AM, so that I can travel when the weather is milder, and avoid major traffic delays.
Today I travelled to work by bike, and I managed to complete the journey in good time, which is an indication my recovery ability is strong.
I am now looking forward to my next training ride: next time I will try and avoid big towns and instead head into the countryside.
I averaged 17.7 mph, completing the course in 4 hours and 31 minutes.
Unfortunately I left late in the morning which meant I was riding during the hottest hours of the day.
I took two bottles with 750ml of fluid each, and 8 bars of Kellogs Nutrigrain (Apple flavour).
An alert on my GPS unit reminded me to eat one bar every 10 miles.
The first 30 miles were relatively easy, I even resisted the temptation of keeping up with a time trialist who overtook me at great speed: I was very aware I still had 50 miles to go.
The first challenge came at Dorking, where I incorporated the Box Hill climb into my journey. After 40 miles, the relatively easy climb was not as easy as I remembered it. Still, I managed to overtake two female riders at the very top: I could never be beaten by a woman! ;-)
At 50 miles the climbs of the North Downs became challenging and fast, and I managed to overtake every single rider I met, whether on the uphill, where I learnt to spin smaller gears faster, and in the downhill, where I managed to keep up with several cars and overtook a cyclist who, at 44.5 mph, ran out of gears.
I managed to regularly top up my hydration levels but ran out of water after 65 miles. I had to stop at a petrol station where I filled up both bottles with water, orange juice, and managed to down a Mars drink in one sip.
The last 15 miles from Windsor to Twyford were the hardest as my body was in need of fluids: I managed to drink up another two bottles in that last leg.
After reaching the 80 miles mark, I stopped the clock, but I still had another 5 miles to go, from Twyford to Wokingham.
I took those last 5 miles very gently and managed to get home safely.
Next time I am certainly going to leave early in the morning, maybe as early as 6 AM, so that I can travel when the weather is milder, and avoid major traffic delays.
Today I travelled to work by bike, and I managed to complete the journey in good time, which is an indication my recovery ability is strong.
I am now looking forward to my next training ride: next time I will try and avoid big towns and instead head into the countryside.
2009-06-11
Training
As some of you know, I have become a very keen cyclist this year.
To date, I have cycled 1,050 miles since January. And I plan to ride a further 2,000 miles this year.
It all started when Chris Hems got me into mountain biking last year, and I saw Shea Hindman commuting by bike in his suit!
I had been a road cyclist in my earlier life (back in Italy), and I must admit I could not resist treating myself to a brand new road bike. I got myself a Kiron Scandium, which weighs a meagre 7.8 kilos.
My current weekly schedule sees me commuting by bike to work three times a week. That's 81 miles of commuting miles a week.
Since I don't have a car, I must use my bike, come rain or shine. I am certainly not a fair weather cyclo-commuter.
I also take my son to the child minder on Wednesday mornings using the cycle paths in Wokingham. That's only a mile round trip, but saves on fuel and time.
On top of that, every Sundays I ride a training route of at least 50 miles.
My favourite Sunday route is Wokingham to Benson, in Oxfordshire, offering a total ascent of 900 meters (3,000 feet) over 53 miles. My personal best on that route is 2h 55m, at an average speed of 18 mph.
Since I decided to participate in the London to Paris bike ride this September, my training schedule got tougher.
I plan to ride a minimum of 80 miles every Sunday, and eventually move to two consecutive 80 mile rides in a weekend.
The first of those I have planned is an 80 mile loop from Wokingham through Camberley, Guildford, Dorking, Leatherhead, Cobham, Chertsey, Staines, Windsor, Maidenhead, Twyford and back to Wokingham again.
It should take me around 4 and 1/2 hours to complete.
View Wokingham 80 mile loop in a larger map
To date, I have cycled 1,050 miles since January. And I plan to ride a further 2,000 miles this year.
It all started when Chris Hems got me into mountain biking last year, and I saw Shea Hindman commuting by bike in his suit!
I had been a road cyclist in my earlier life (back in Italy), and I must admit I could not resist treating myself to a brand new road bike. I got myself a Kiron Scandium, which weighs a meagre 7.8 kilos.
My current weekly schedule sees me commuting by bike to work three times a week. That's 81 miles of commuting miles a week.
Since I don't have a car, I must use my bike, come rain or shine. I am certainly not a fair weather cyclo-commuter.
I also take my son to the child minder on Wednesday mornings using the cycle paths in Wokingham. That's only a mile round trip, but saves on fuel and time.
On top of that, every Sundays I ride a training route of at least 50 miles.
My favourite Sunday route is Wokingham to Benson, in Oxfordshire, offering a total ascent of 900 meters (3,000 feet) over 53 miles. My personal best on that route is 2h 55m, at an average speed of 18 mph.
Since I decided to participate in the London to Paris bike ride this September, my training schedule got tougher.
I plan to ride a minimum of 80 miles every Sunday, and eventually move to two consecutive 80 mile rides in a weekend.
The first of those I have planned is an 80 mile loop from Wokingham through Camberley, Guildford, Dorking, Leatherhead, Cobham, Chertsey, Staines, Windsor, Maidenhead, Twyford and back to Wokingham again.
It should take me around 4 and 1/2 hours to complete.
View Wokingham 80 mile loop in a larger map
2009-06-01
All systems are GO!
We have now officially started collecting funds for the London to Paris bike ride which will take place in September, in support of The PSP Association.
The funds will be collected by me and sent to the London to Paris bike ride event organisers, who will then forward the money to The PSP Association. Hence any contributions must be made directly to me.
PSP, or Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, is the illness my wife's dad, Kishin Chand Jajani, died of, after many years of suffering.
By taking part in the London to Paris bike ride challenge this year, I hope to raise awareness of the illness, on top of raising funds for The PSP Association who has supported us through many years of suffering.
This event is organised by a company and one of their conditions is for participants to raise a MINIMUM of £1250.00.
£1000 of which HAS to be DEPOSITED with them 12 weeks PRIOR to the event start date: 17th JUNE 2009
Time is tight, which is why I need all of your support to get me there.
If we can have your SUPPORT and CONCERTED EFFORTS to raise the £1000 minimum required over the next 3 WEEKS we can make this happen for a very worthwhile organisation !
You can pay me in cash or via Paypal using the Donate button on top of this page.
Please note for Paypal, if people want to use their credit or debit card (as opposed to their bank account which is free), please accept the fees for the transaction.
This blog will serve as a point of contact to keep you up to date with the fund raising progress and my training for the event.
Please do not send money directly to the PSP Association nor any other third party.
On behalf of me, Geeta and all our families, I thank all of you who decide to support us.
The funds will be collected by me and sent to the London to Paris bike ride event organisers, who will then forward the money to The PSP Association. Hence any contributions must be made directly to me.
PSP, or Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, is the illness my wife's dad, Kishin Chand Jajani, died of, after many years of suffering.
By taking part in the London to Paris bike ride challenge this year, I hope to raise awareness of the illness, on top of raising funds for The PSP Association who has supported us through many years of suffering.
This event is organised by a company and one of their conditions is for participants to raise a MINIMUM of £1250.00.
£1000 of which HAS to be DEPOSITED with them 12 weeks PRIOR to the event start date: 17th JUNE 2009
Time is tight, which is why I need all of your support to get me there.
If we can have your SUPPORT and CONCERTED EFFORTS to raise the £1000 minimum required over the next 3 WEEKS we can make this happen for a very worthwhile organisation !
You can pay me in cash or via Paypal using the Donate button on top of this page.
Please note for Paypal, if people want to use their credit or debit card (as opposed to their bank account which is free), please accept the fees for the transaction.
This blog will serve as a point of contact to keep you up to date with the fund raising progress and my training for the event.
Please do not send money directly to the PSP Association nor any other third party.
On behalf of me, Geeta and all our families, I thank all of you who decide to support us.
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