Any questions or queries please email: rhinopoppy@googlemail.com |
posted 11 May 2010 01:18 by Rhino Poppy
Most of our signed items are now available for auction on ebay.
They are hosted by Nik Dearing's account 340nik
You can find the link below: |
posted 28 Mar 2010 23:13 by Ash Gibbons
[
updated 28 Mar 2010 23:30
]
Joe here,
Close to a week after the ride and stairs seem to be more of a problem than ever before. My legs are so sore STILL but, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. Mark Glancy had a football match pretty much straight after the ride but only made it through the game with the help of brufin.
We had the CO's run on Friday, a nice little 4.5 Miles run. I sped past the Boss with my legs complaining all the way. "Boss how are your legs?" I ask. "ow" was the reply. Speaking to Jays wife one day she said all she had heard since his return was how much pain his leg was causing him from the 'run in with the cougar' and that she was genuinely worried that he had hurt himself but the beast can never be deterred so he cracked on. Mean while Paul's wife was worried about his neck and that without 'the bells' if he would ever forget Esmeralda.
All the same, I'm in bits, but the support I have seen in this one week alone is amazing. It makes me proud to say I'm serving. So the biggest THANK YOU ever to all the people that met us or donated money, not only was it to help the 1000's of injured soldiers but, if it means anything, it made a massive difference to these 12 squaddies lives. Mine will never be the same.
I had the ride of my life. |
posted 26 Mar 2010 02:01 by Rhino Poppy
[
updated 30 Mar 2010 05:16
]
Here is a list of all of the items we will be auctioning off on eBay when we receive them from their respective clubs:-
They will be up for auction for 10 days.
| CLUB |
ITEM 1 |
ITEM 2 |
REMARKS |
| NEWCASTLE FALCONS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| LEEDS CARNIGIE |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| SALE SHARKS |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| LEICESTER TIGERS |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| NORTHAMPTON SAINTS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY LV= CUP WINNERS |
| WASPS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| SARACENS |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| HARLEQUINS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| LONDON IRISH |
TOP |
BALL & FLAG |
ST PATRICK DAYS MATCH TOP & SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| BATH |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| GLOUCESTER |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY ALL PLAYERS WHO PLAYED IN THE FINAL |
| NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD & TICKET VOUCHER AS WELL |
| WRU |
TOP |
N/A |
2007 RWC WALES SQUAD |
| CARDIFF BLUES |
BALL |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD & TICKET VOUCHER AS WELL |
| OSPREYS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD & TICKET VOUCHER AS WELL |
| LLANELLI SCARLETS |
TOP |
BALL |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| WORCESTER WARRIORS |
TOP |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
| LV= CUP |
BALL |
N/A |
MATCH BALL SIGNED BY BOTH TEAMS |
| PLYMOUTH ARGYLE |
BALL |
N/A |
SIGNED BY CURRENT SQUAD |
Ash |
posted 22 Mar 2010 07:29 by Rhino Poppy
[
updated 26 Mar 2010 02:19
]
Almost there now. Well, not quite actually. A quick tot up of the mileage total last night revealed that our day trip into London had left us a few miles short of our 1000 mile total, so being men of integrity and not wanting to let anyone down, what should have been a lie-in followed by a gentle promenade into Worcester turned into another 0500 alarm call and 0600 start. Luckily for us Alcester RUFC had generously provided us the means to make brews and bacon butties (the food of athletes don't you know!) so thus fuelled it was off out for the final day's pedalling. Not long before we departed we suddenly realised we'd lost Ash. A few phone calls and it was all sorted. He'd been out enthusiastically spreading the word about Rhino Poppy and forgot to come home.
Today's route was pretty immaterial really. We had a pre-planned engagement with the RBL and Mayor of Evesham in the town centre, and of course the most important deadline of all, getting the match ball to the final on time at Sixways Stadium. It was largely down to us to ride where we wanted, making the most of the beautiful Worcestershire countryside and on such a fantastic morning – crisp and cold with a slight ground mist and the promise of warm sun later in the day – it was an opportunity not to be wasted. Perfect for cycling and perfect for the LV= Trophy final.
Three hours of rolling round Worcestershire's back roads and country lanes saw us comfortably on track to make up our mileage deficit, so at 1030 we headed into Evesham for a photo-call and to say hello to the RBL representatives there who'd come out to support us. Martin and I chatted to a former Royal Signals Radio Tech who'd served in the Corps in the 1950's. He'd heard about our ride and had travelled in from 20 miles outside Evesham to come and wish us well. The Mayor, Alan Booth was also a former Corps man. Certa Cito my friends.
After a quick brew and more photos, all eight cyclists saddled up for the final 17 miles in to Sixways Stadium, home to the Worcester Warriors Rugby Club and the venue for this years LV= Trophy final. For the first time since we'd been in Leeds there wasn't a single rider nursing sore knees or ankles in the minibus. More rolling through the fantastic English countryside with the sun beating down was a perfect end to the 1000 miles, and a welcome change from the torrential rain and wind of the past couple of days.
The euphoria of finishing was brief as we were bustled around for photo-calls with the trophy sponsors, LV=, and with two girls from the RBL who'd turned up to support us and thank us for our efforts. I've looked at a few of the pictures that have been taken of us over the course of this adventure, and it's quite clear that long distance cycling does nothing for my appearance. An increasingly bright red, wind burned face has done nothing to enhance my photogenic qualities. After a shower and quick change we handed over the ball to the stadium stewards for a wipe down. As you might imagine, 1000 miles of UK road grime in some harsh weather had left it somewhat grubby and in need of a little sprucing up prior to kick off.
Watching the stadium fill up with Gloucester and Worcester fans, and then seeing the players warming up was probably the first time I started to think about carrying the ball onto the pitch. For the past seven days I'd been so totally focussed on the cycling that I'd not really given it much thought until now. All of a sudden it seemed very real and we all started to feel a little apprehensive about our moment in the spotlight. Fortunately no one wanted us to attempt any drill on the pitch, and save for me almost wandering off in the wrong direction after I'd put the ball down, it all went smoothly. Our friend in PR at the English RFU was good to his word, and had managed to get us on page 5 of the match programme, so many of the fans were already aware of what we'd been up to on our journey to Sixways. We even got a standing ovation from them as we walked off the pitch. I suspect this is the first and last time I'll ever get this from 9500 strangers!
With the match under way, it was down to the serious business of fund-raising for our charities. The Gloucester and Northampton fans were incredibly generous and seemed to really want to donate to our cause. It's funny, but living in Germany you don't always appreciate the depth of public support for the forces and sympathy for our wounded service personnel within the general public. We've yet to count up everything we were given at the match, but it certainly runs into several thousand pounds. Thank you to all those who were so generous with their donations, and thank you too to Kelly Tucker (Dan's better half), his sister, and mum, Sandra, who unashamedly used their powers of female persuasion to the benefit of our charity collection efforts. Kelly, you're clearly wasted in 'Cut Above'. With a new career in sales, this time next year you and Dan could be 'millionaires Rodders'. Jay was an equally enthusiastic collector, and fuelled with a couple of ciders threw himself wholeheartedly into persuading the fans to hand over their spare change for charity. It was cringeable, and at times bordered on embarrassing to watch, but nevertheless proved highly lucrative for the RBL and H4H.
After what turned out to be a cracking match, won by the Northampton Saints 31/24, LV= invited us for a drink and to meet the players in their corporate hospitality lounge. Attached is a photograph of Martin, Ash, Ryan, Joe, Baz, Paul, Niki, Mark and Jay and with Dylan Hartley, the Northampton Saints Captain, coveting the LV= Trophy.
Finally, we'd like to extend our thanks to 214 (Worcestershire) Bty RA (V) whose drill hall we're staying in tonight, particularly to Capt Dave Morgan and Clive his caretaker, for their wonderful hospitality.
So, that's it then...........well, nearly. It's been a roller-coaster of a ride (and not just the cycling) but there's more to come yet. We start then long haul back to Germany tomorrow, once we've banked the profits from our venture so far. The it's back to the day jobs, but watch this space. As soon as all of the signed merchandise and memorabilia has been sent on to us we'll be auctioning it off on E-Bay on behalf of our two charities. There's some great stuff up for grabs, so look out for it appearing on the web in the next couple of weeks. Until then, keep pedalling,
Jim |
posted 21 Mar 2010 00:38 by Rhino Poppy
Today we've mostly had weather. Little of it good, most of it wet.
Our 'perfect' nights sleep in the Cadet Drill Hall in Llanelli had been interrupted repeatedly by the noise of car engines revving in a car park just below our room, and the sound of someone doing something I can only assume was rather unpleasant to a cat. Consequently there was a degree of lethargy evident amongst the group that I'd not really detected on any other morning. It probably also had something to to with Sig Ryan Trask returning from a quick trip out to the minibus covered in splashes of rain. This confirmed the fears of those of us who'd completed the previous day's ride that we were in for another soaking.
Sure enough, within a few hundred meters of departing the Drill Hall, most riders were complaining of water ingress into regions of their clothing that don't usually get exposed to repeated rainwater. After a few miles warm up, the day really got off to a bang when Jay Butler piled into the back of a parked car on route to Swansea. Having ascertained that he was more or less OK, we needed to find the vehicles owner. As you can probably imagine, banging on doors to ask if 'the car with a big dent in the rear bonnet and a shattered rear window' is your's' went down a treat with the local population of suburban Llanelli at 0630!
While Jay and the minibus stayed at the scene to await the arrival of the police, the remaining riders who were still more or less in one piece carried on for Swansea. Along the way we lost a further two to niggling injuries that have become progressively worse over the week. This left myself and Paul Sim to keep the match ball moving towards the final. Once we'd found our way out of Swansea, had narrowly avoided a trip down the M4 and worked out the correct alternative, it was heads down for a steady 'A Road' thrashing into Merthyr Tydfil and on to Hereford and Worcester. With a following wind we made good progress and clawed back some of the early morning's wasted time. Jay rejoined us just before Merthyr Tydfil on a borrowed bike courtesy of Martin. He's comprehensively ruined his own bike in his earlier crash.
Our lunch stop in Hereford was notable because we received a telephone call from Simon Weston (of Op CORPORATE fame) wishing us every success with the Rhino Poppy venture. He had hoped to make contact with us when we were in Cardiff the day before, but a call today was just as good.
The afternoon saw another long session of A Road grinding, culminating in our slightly late arrival at Alcester Rugby Club. As with other places we've stayed on route, I was quite staggered at the warmth and generosity of everyone towards us. The home made shepherds pie we'd been cooked for dinner went down a storm, as did the beers they offered us, and the whip round they conducted for our two charities. I remain very humbled by the level of public support and generosity towards the plight of wounded Service personnel and their families.
With no club visits to report on from today's ride, I'm afraid there aren't any cheesy photographs of us with players balls and shirts today. It's probably more likely that a picture of me dozing off in the rugby club bar shortly after eating will appear on the web site with these notes. Seven day's of hard riding are starting to catch up with me. Definitely time to retire for the evening.
Goodnight,
Jim |
posted 19 Mar 2010 23:37 by Rhino Poppy
Shake and Bake Baby,
Well Friday morning is upon us and an early wakeup call, 05:00 again, I just want a lay in but on the road it is......
06:00 and leaving the Gloucester TA centre, so little sleep that the group again gets directionally challenged, LEFT or RIGHT? We went left but should of gone right, no bother 5 minutes later and we're or the right path and 'Motoring' it towards our first stop Newport.
Still feeling the rigours from the last 5 days we all dig deep and get up to speed, all except Lcpl Mark 'Blue Steel' Glancy, My knees have gone he cried, only less than 5 miles form Gloucester, unfortunately he was left at the side of the road awaiting pick up from the 'Recovery Wagon'.
The rest of the trip to Monmouth was uneventful, on our next leg to Newport this soon changed with me almost killing myself I veered of the busy A449 onto the siding through a drainage ditch and into the grass, but kept on the bike and tried to get back to the road without any further incident, it didn't happen, I almost fell into the A449 with Nikki still crying with laughter at my antics.
I must just point out that up until this point banter was high with Nikki and myself singing some songs and playing name that tune, Niki beat me with Thomas the tank engine. We started with Lady in red and then sweet Caroline, but Dan only knows the first line and sang it in his head for the next 20 mins and I'll get him with it tomorrow too!!!
Unfortunately we had to stop some 10 mins later for quick stop, only to be informed by Jay 'Beast' Butler he was not able to go any further, much to the delight of the rest of us, as he had a minor 'Niggle', his wave off was 'Treat yourself boys', Cheers Jay!!!
We arrived at the Newport Gwent Dragons ground with minimal ease, to a warm welcome from the RBL branch, thanks guys it meant a lot to us all. Also we met up with Baz's sister who would join us on the rest of the ride today.
Onwards and to Cardiff, first to the millennium stadium and the WRU a quick snap shot then onto the Cardiff Blues. This was the end of the road for Niki and myself, getting old I put it down, Mark was quite glad of this and made his feeling well known.
The team set of for Swansea whilst Niki and I got some zzz in the worlds hottest mini bus.
We arrived in Swansea just as it started to pour it down, our hearts went out for the team who were still riding in it, they arrived late after getting geographically challenged again! The team arrived around 30 mins later after getting geographically challenged again, like drowned rats, poor Joe had to call it a day too as he had hurt his leg and had a little accident at the traffic lights.
They set off for Llanelli with some speed so today could finish, 11 miles down the road we met up again at the Llanelli scarlet's, we met some children from Baz's sisters school, 1 of whom had sold all his old toys to raise money for Help for Heroes, How cool was that!! We also met Rhys Priestland
We left the stadium with the promise of a 'HOT' shower, only to find out it was as cold as the north sea this time of year, FREEZING!!!
We were later to be hosted by the Llanelli RBL who had a really warm welcome waiting for us and a big thank you goes out to Baz's mum who help out with this.
Well that is all from me, time to get some much needed rest if I can fall asleep with Jays snoring!!!!
Paul |
posted 18 Mar 2010 23:01 by Rhino Poppy
Early morning again. 6 o'clock we left Thatcham with the boss and Staff wanting to make good time, so needless to say the pace for the 1st 20 miles was 'quite' fast. Early morning, still with stiff and very painfull legs we got going. But after a while the pace and maybe age was showing with Sgt Dearing dropping out with knee pains and Sgt Bently going down with the achilies heel. I myself only managed it to the 1st stop as the pace was a bit too fast for me and burnt me out on the 1st few hills.
And then there were 4... in the minibus as Sgt Tucker was still out from yesterday's knee problems. The lads kept up a great pace all the way round while I was 'recovering'. Meanwhile I had an interveiw with Garrison Radio to be played at a later date. Soon after I found out that LCpl Glancy had spanked into the curb and decided to have a little sit down on the side of the road.
When we got to Bath I got back on my bike ready to finish the rest of the days riding off. Again the pace was fast but with lots of food on board an my legs a little less stiff I managed to keep up with the boss, who I must say is a slave driver when it comes speed.
Just outside of Gloucester, Sgt Dearing had been droped off to finish that part of the leg, so with him in front, on we went, albeit a tad slower due to knees. In Gloucester it was the usual "is it left or right" but we got to the Gloucester Rugby club without to much hassel. After that we left Cpl Sim and Sgt Dearing at the TA center and me, the Boss, Staff and LCpl Glancy carried on to add up the miles, just to make sure we get to 1000. We went to the 'famous' docks which was a bit dissapointing so we headed back, with myself and LCpl glancy talking about falling off. What did I do only 20m down the road, creamed in, in front of a van stopped at the lights. Much to the drivers humour. Carrying on, nearly back to camp in starts raingin just to round off the day which Glancy wasnt done with till he tryed squeezing inbetween cars at light, realised he couldnt make it then proceded to gracefull take a seat in the middle of the road.
After we got showered and changed we went to the RBL in Gloucester had some food, a beer or two and a lil chat with a few of the lads. With the night nearly done out come to cheques, each for 500 big ones. So one big thank you to the people at the Legion for the huge help and hospitality.
Now for me its off to bed with my tub of deep heat. Sleep well, i know i will. Joe. |
posted 18 Mar 2010 03:10 by Rhino Poppy
[
updated 18 Mar 2010 22:48
]
On paper today ought to have been a fairly pedestrian pedal; dare I say it, something bordering on a recovery day. The route was fairly flat according to the map, and the opportunities for rest stops were plentiful. Irrespective of this, it was the day a number of us had been dreading. Not only were we going to have to contend with rush hour London traffic, but with a tight schedule of club visits to adhere to we knew time would be against us from the outset.
When we’d eventually prized ourselves from our luxury RAF transit accommodation at HQ Air Command, it was off to Saracens at Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford. Any pretence that today’s ride was going to be easy was very quickly blown out of the water with a brisk ‘warm up’ climb from the centre of High Wycombe up Amersham Hill. This was certainly steeper than any of the climbs we’d encountered in the Pennines or the Peaks, and the view wasn’t a patch on Derbyshire either.
The rest of the journey to Saracens was actually reasonably fast, but as we got nearer the stadium it was noticeable that the traffic was building up quickly. At times our progress slowed to walking pace and we’d have been better off ditching the bikes and running. Nothing of any particular note happened on the way, save for Mark Glancy demonstrating yet again that he still hasn’t mastered his clipless pedals. In a display of brilliantly honed comic timing, he executed a fall from behind a stationary bus just as the whole of our group turned round to see where he’d got to. Priceless. I dare say there were a few commuters chuckling on the rest of their journey to work having seen that. As you can see from the pictures, we got to Saracens in one piece, and met up with former club and England player Richard Hill MBE for our stadium photo. Watch out on the auction site for a signed shirt and ball from this visit.
Next stop was the English RFU HQ at Twickenham. What appeared to be a relatively straightforward journey turned into a navigational nightmare, culminating in a death defying trundle along the A40, competing with all the traffic from the M40 travelling into London. Not an experience any of us would care to repeat. Once we’d arrived in Twickenham it was straight back onto the bikes for a PR photo shoot with the RFU’s photographer. With a bit of luck these pictures will find their way into the LV Trophy programme at the weekends final. Failing that, once we’re able to get hold of them, they’ll be published on our site for all to see. Needless to say the sight of eight cyclists whirring round in circles under the direction of a professional photographer got a few rather bemused looks from passers by.
From Twickenham it was a very short hop over the road to Harlequins at ‘The Stoop’ for a photo opportunity with Nils Mordt, then on to London Irish HQ at ‘The Avenue’ where we had another photo call, this time with Paul Hodgson. (Signed club memorabilia from each of these visits will also be put up for auction on completion of our ride). With a lunch stop just round the corner in an Egham car park to look forward to, morale was soaring, so much so in fact that we all found time to have a good laugh with Paul Hodgson at Paul Sim’s crooked neck which was preventing him from riding. It takes a lot more than a sore bottom to suppress good old fashioned Tommy Atkins banter.
The afternoon saw a number of us starting to suffer as we rode from Egham up to Reading then on to Thatcham for our overnight stop at the Royal School of Military Survey. Fatigue is setting in now, and minor niggles are becoming serious show stoppers for our riders. Dan had to bail out on route through Ascot with a knee problem which prevented him from straightening his leg, and our pace became progressively slower as the afternoon wore on. Luckily today was one of our shortest days coming in at 102.2 miles according to my bike computer - probably no bad thing given how much we’ve got ahead of us over the next three days. Right that’s about it from me, and I need to go and sleep if I’m to get through tomorrow unscathed. As ever, many thanks to everyone who has supported us or donated to our chosen charities. I’ll sign off by mentioning the good people of Egham who collectively donated in excess of £250 cash this lunch time. A truly impressive sum and their generosity is very humbling. Goodnight everyone. See you on the roads tomorrow.
Jim |
posted 17 Mar 2010 00:55 by Rhino Poppy
[
updated 17 Mar 2010 01:55
]
As OIC of Admin team, Rugby team liaison and Press Officer I can safely say I have had a busy few days. Fortunately my bum bruises like a peach and I wish to have kids in the future, the two main reasons I am not on the bike. To be honest I am glad not to be sat on one of those two wheeled contraptions with seats that feel like they are made from razor blades. The look on the cyclists’ faces when they enter the admin areas really does paint a picture, this is a tough challenge. That being said the admin team have really worked for the cyclists this week.
The admin team is made up of two teams, Baz Davies and me in the minibus and Ash Gibbons and ‘Gypsy’ Trask in the Pantec. Our primary role is to support the cyclists with food, water and generally to raise the cyclists’ morale.
The admin of the cycling team is a very small part of what we four men do, throughout the journey we have had to liaise with rugby teams (who have been extremely supportive of our cause), liaise with the press (yes I owe lots of crates), up-date the website and also collect cold hard cash from the British public during stops. Although not as hard as cycling 1000 miles, this has been a very demanding job.
Today was no exception to this; we raced ahead to Northampton Saints ground in Northampton. The cyclists really smashed this leg from Leicester and if it was not for a few early starters at Northampton Saints we might have struggled to get the photo on the pitchside. With our signed rugby ball and shirt we pressed on through Rugby, the home of rugby. On through Rugby we stopped at Banbury, where we really proved it was a small world. A former driver for the GOC 1st Armd Div recognised the rhinos on our arms and offered the admin team something we couldn’t refuse. So after making a substantial amount of money at Banbury Tesco’s we were taken to Prodrive. For those that don’t know Prodrive, they are a well known racing company, who create and modify specialist racing vehicles. They are most famous for their work with the Subaru racing team as well as Le Mans cars. As you can see in the photos we were shown a good selection of famous cars, and Niki Dearing even managed to get behind the wheel of Colin McRae’s championship winning car. Obviously he did have to complete his familiarisation beforehand. Also thank you for the free tour in the future. We then raced to Bicester, where in all honesty, due to our gallivanting at Prodrive we struggled to catch up the cyclists. We met up with team RhinoPoppy on the A-road to Aylesbury. After a quick refuel and rehydrate the admin team pressed on to Adam’s Park, the home ground of London Wasps. Here we managed to stumble across some very generous beauty stylists from Sassy & Co beauty salon of High Wycombe, who offered the team massages. Unfortunately due to a few punctures the cyclists did not make the time, but Mark Glancey offered his services to the team if they needed a rub down.
Tomorrow a big look forward to; the team will be on Garrison FM, Hertfordshire’s Mercury FM with the lovely Simone Stewart, a meet with the Saracen’s, the RFU, the Harlequins, London Irish and a professional photographer will follow the team’s escapade through England’s capital.
Steve |
posted 17 Mar 2010 00:52 by Rhino Poppy
[
updated 17 Mar 2010 01:22
]
Not a good day for Mr Butler. 0500hrs Alarm, woke up and then tried to sit up! 140 miles cycling, crossing the Pennines via Sale then over the Derbyshire Peak district and sleeping on the floor clearly doesn’t allow you to wake fully refreshed. But with the prospect of another 130 miles of the glorious English countryside to look forward to I pulled my gear on and went to fill my water bottles up. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one moaning about sore backs, backside etc. After only two days in the saddle everyone is surprised at the price our bodies are paying! So we set off at 0610, compared to yesterday we flew, gone the ‘horrendous mountains of the Pennines’ (well they felt like it) to the gentle rolling hills of Leicestershire. Taking in Northampton Saints, Rugby and Banbury, where we had lunch with the admin team setting up at Tesco’s. Mr McNeillie won over the local staff so much so that they even came searching for him. Fan club no, apparently he’d failed to pay for his lunch, but red faced and to the cheers of the lads he scampered back to pay for his doughnuts! At this stage we were doing well and ahead of schedule with our next planned stop at Bicester.
Whilst we were making good time, the previous two days had taken their toll. Joe Birtles had to pull off after the first stop, though not injured, he struggle initially with the pace but came back stronger later on. Mark Glancy thrilled the riders as he ‘creamed in’ for the 3rd time in 2hrs, but he did complete the day helped along by big brother Ibuprofen on as his knees threatened to ‘Jack’ on him again. Niki Dearing had to pull off after the first stage due to issues with his ankle, which is now nicely swollen and bruised. Dan had to pull off after lunch as his knees gave him more grief. Jim Lambeth and Martin Bentley were also feeling the fatigue, but were still injury free. Paul Sim whilst admits he’s feeling the pain is just a machine. Steady and strong on the hills he’s taking it all in his stride….. Git!
Myself, as mentioned early, did not have a good day. Up until lunch it was great but then my right leg decide to give me grief. Then with 2 punctures in two hours I managed to lose anytime we’d gained earlier on in the day… This meant that the massages from Sassy and Co that Dan’s wife (Kelly) had managed to arrange for 5pm were lost! Due to the fact we did not arrive there until 5.30pm. Then almost immediately after fixing the second puncture, whilst trying to work out how I’d managed to get the team lost! My eyes clearly not on the road, hit a pothole and sent me flying! Whilst only my pride was really bruised it did round off a particularly crap hour. Finally on the way in I struggled with the pace, my leg in ‘clip’ I have never been so glad to get off my damned bike.
So we finished today’s cycle at the London club the Wasps, after another 132 gruelling miles. Our look forward to for tomorrow is I think 127 miles around London finishing at Thatcham. It’s now 2153, I’m knackered so I’m off to bed. Good night.
Jay |
|
