Karma maybe ? Random acts of kindness repaid ? Whatever it was, I aim to do alot more of them and be a better person. Just like the lad stood next to me.
From that moment on I planned the ride and the fundraising for the other "training rides". What a fantastic journey and something I will look back on in years to come and remember with many many happy memories.
Cycling around Anglesey was absolutely stunning especially with Ian for company. One of the best days ever on the bike. 157.5 miles.
The Blackpool to Hull ride was hard, rain and some headwind and puncture. Thank you Rob for being the saviour and being there for me at the end. XX 162 miles.
Last training day was southern Wales Barry to Talacre, northern point of Wales. Stunning and amazing and very hard but lots of memories. Thank you so much Dave & Cynthia, mum & dad in law for being there for me at Talacre, sorry I was a bit late XX 182 miles !!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Saturday we had to go to the Excel London to register where there was a great cycling exhibition with all things for the amateur cyclist from a full body deep tissue massage to cycling jerseys with your favourite Beano character on the front !!
I just got some gels and my reg docs with my rider number and bike stickers. Oh and a big cardboard seat with Pru written on it. No idea why !?!
So The Ride London Surrey 100 day has arrived. Weather was beautiful. I had my Debby with me for the long weekend which was the best thing that could have happened. To the have the most important person in my world with me at the end was very very special. It certainly made me put my foot down and speed to the finish line....
The night before we went for a meal and stocked up on as much good food as possible. Unfortunately I had developed a bad case of man-flu since Wednesday but my Harley Street doctor said I would live and gave instructions that my wife took good care of me. My wife said something that I cannot possibly post on here as there may be children reading.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official description from the British Medical Council ......
A rare strain of flu so powerful and so deadly it can only be matched by the Bubonic Plague and Aids. A incurable virus which has adapted to only effect the "XY" gene found in men. The virus attacks the immune system 10,000 times harder than the average flu virus, causing excruciating pain for the victim. Man Flu has no cure and prayers can save the forsaken life of the infected. The often deadly virus is mostly laughed at by women who sadly cannot contract "Man Flu"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I kissed Debby goodbye in the hotel at 5:30 a.m. and went on my way to the start at Olympic Park in Stretford. On way there were loads of cyclists out all going in the same direction so no worries about checking the route along the deserted roads of London. I went along the route as all the stewards were already in place and the roads were all closed. I feel sorry for the drivers who were messed around for the 2 days in London but 2 days out of 365 isn't that bad is it.
I went down to Piccadilly Circus and south to Trafalgar Square and then along Strand to St Pauls, past the Bank of England and onwards to Aldgate where by then there were hundreds of cyclists all heading North East to Stretford. As I was going along the road near Threadneedle Street a Ride London support car came rushing around the corner and the guy was frantically waving and shouting for me to get off the road. A few seconds later about 100-150 pro cyclists came around the corner in a pro peleton formation. Great sight but could have been a bit embarrasing.One unlucky guy went "a over t" on the way by riding straight into a bollard. I was embarrased for him, poor guy. He was OK though and we set off again for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The organisation by the same peeps who do the marathon was perfect. I was in yellow group so I headed for the start zone on Abercrombie Road.
Now it was basically get in line and queue, something us Brits are very talented at so we shuffled forward slowly getting closer to the start zone. Nerves were starting to make those weird feelings inside your stomach. Thankfully there were portaloos along the start area. haha
At the official start line there was a DJ picking tunes that were designed to get you motivated for the 20 second countdowns. Foo Fighters, ABBA, Dambusters, etc !! We went off every 3 minutes in groups of around 250. Our song was Barcelona by Queen because at the front of our little group was Sally Gunnel (she won her Gold at the Barcelona Olympics)
Time out was 7:58 a.m. and we were cycling out of the Olympic area west towards the city....
I felt really good even with a deadly strain of man-flu in every pore of my aching body. Did I mention I had a cold. hehe *wink*
The pace was fast straight away and everyone went off like a firework. I could tell everyone around me was well up for it. I went past Sally Gunnel and her mate and said hello.
The roads were great and the crowds were out all along the route especially in the towns and villages. It was so strange and an amazing feeling riding past The Tower of London through Trafalgar Square and past Harrods.
I didn't stop to take pictures sorry but the pro ones were quite good so I bought them.
On other sportive rides there are times when you are on your own or between groups for a while but not on this ride, there is always dozens of people around you all the time. A guy we met on the train on Saturday morning warned me of two things. First don't rely on their food and drink stations as you will find you have 30 minutes of queueing for a gel and a water top up, so I decided to take as much as I needed for the day stuffed into my pockets which was a great tip off that dude, so thank you fellow train ride bloke. Also he said beware of other riders as there are loads of fallers mostly caused by silly mistakes like not looking where you are going or coming off on climbs and knocking other riders over too. So I was really nervous and kept my wits about me at all times. Coming off would have been a real downer.
To say that this second tip was worth it's weight in gold is an understatement as I did witness loads of near misses and fallers along the way. No surprise really, with so many people out I was shocked there wasn't more.
The day was full of loads of great sections and too many moments to mention here and alot of it would be boring to non-cyclists so if you don't mind I will not go on about this section or that bit. A few great quirky things were par for the course though like the guy who was cycling a pizza delivery bike with a full boom box stereo blasting out as loud as it could, it looked so heavy, massive respects to him. I have to say that around a third of the people doing this were ladies and they were completely awesome too. I struggled to keep up with them to be honest.
We rode through Richmond Park which provided some great outdoor toilet facilities in the shape of trees. Next Kingston Upon Thames, Walton on Thames and Weybridge (not on Thames) !?
I remember in April riding my bike around Cirencester and the River Thames ran through there but it was very different. It was so small as it was close to the source you could step over it !!! Honest !
South into the heart of Surrey and you can see why the organisers decided on this route, it was gorgeous. Abinger Hammer, Holmbury St Mary, Forest Green. It makes you want to stop for a cup of tea, a spot of morris dancing and a good singalong to "There'll always be an England".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GvkyKEYRnM
Then after 65 miles the fun began.. Leith Hill. I was shocked and very sad to hear one of the riders had a heart attack near the start of the Leith Hill climb. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Please donate to his fantastic cause here.....
The climb was tough but more because the road thins out and the riders sort of get into a slow and fast lane, almost like in front of you are 2 escalators going up to the first floor of M&S on Xmas Eve. Madness. I heard loads of horror stories of people falling like dominos and once one goes there is always casualties around them. If you have to stop it is really hard to get going again and clip in your shoes on a ascent. Thankfully I was OK.
I didn't even have time to do the roadkill ID game in my head, but I did spot someone's credit card on the road. So I stopped and told a volunteer where it was. Random act of kindness done for that day !!
Like every single thing in life, with every up and pain and suffering there is an equally grand downhill with fun and pleasure to counter the pain. The drop into Westcott was brilliant.
Next up was Box Hill (aka The Zig Zag road), the iconic and 2nd of this days top 100 cycling climbs in the UK.
It was a lovely road and I remember watching this road being ridden by all the famous pro cyclists at the Olympics. I felt honoured to be there. But it was pretty easy to be honest, it was long but not that steep. We had a reggae steel band half way too to knock out a great beat to pedal to.
I knew that the days climbing was now behind me and it was time to finish this thing and go and see my gorgeous wife at the finish line.
We rode back into London across the Putney bridge and past The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Downing Street, back up to Trafalgar Square and then left onto the Mall. I don't quite know what happened next as it was a blur but I had that inevitable burst of adrenalin and it was head down and sprint for the line. A really nasty crash was just going on in front of me just after the finish line so all hell was breaking loose.
After passing the finish line I just stopped and an overwhelming sense of achievement, relief, ecstacy, sadness and unstoppable emotion came out of me. It all started in London somewhere near Oxford Street, 4 months ago with an email and I had now completed 4 big days of cycling over 600 miles (1000 km) from the whole coast of Anglesey and across North Wales in a day, then Blackpool Central Pier on the west coast to Spurn Point on the east coast in a day and then Barry Island, southernmost part of Wales to the top in Talacre and now this day in London on the Mall outside the house the Queen of this great country lives in....... Life is weird, unpredictable, awesome, what you make it and never ever dull. All this thanks to a random act of kindness (raok)....
Talking of raok, I was a bit stuck as to what to do with my bike on Tuesday as I was going to have to spend the day in London and needed somewhere to store my bike all day. So I went to a bike shop in Sevenoaks called TBW ( The Bike Warehouse) to buy a lock. The guy in there was fantastic and didn't want to sell me one as he said it would be nicked even with a gold star lock on so he called a friend of his who had a bike shop in Central London. He arranged for me to store it there all day. What a great r a o k.
So I went in to see the guys at Cycle Surgery on Waterloo Bridge who were fantastic and also gave out a massive helping of r a o k too. Cycle Surgery !!! You rock.
Buck House
Finish line selfie
Two lovely ladies.... my Debby love of my life xxxxx and her lovely sister Rachel xxx
Recovery ride around Idehill, near Sevenoaks, Kent the day after. I managed to get up Toys Hill and Yorks Hill, 2 more top 100 climbs of the UK.
Strange bike lane in Brasted, Kent ????
Last train journey home for Charlene......
The Pro shots from Pru Ride London photography...
So, job done, thanks for all who have pushed the donate button and sent some money to Hope House Children's Hospices and Help For Heroes but if you haven't and want to Thank you and here is the link one last time......
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RichardOwen
Bye for now XXXXX
So..... what next ????
