SITREP - L2P Preparations

Posted by Dylan

Managed to get the last few bits and bobs for our trip last week and tackled installing the bike rack, panniers and new shortened stem last Thursday whilst the wife was out. It did not go as smoothly as expected because the bracket which attached to either side of the brakes was fouling on the calliper. After much measuring and bending i eventually installed it without stopping the caliper moving which i thought might be a good idea....

Then came the trial packing of the panniers from the list that has been circulating for the past few months on all the essentials required. Once

i managed to find everything and distributed the weight across the panniers it topped out at 6.5kg (less toiletries) so am happy i am already up on Neil by 1kg (including Crocs). All seemed pretty solid after a number of adjustment of the clips so that they came on and off easily but there was a significant increase in weight seeing as it was only 6.5kg. Here are the pics below of my bike fully loaded

Time for a practice run

As it was a nice evening on Friday i thought i would get some miles under my belt with loaded panniers. All seemed OK and the additional weight was not that noticeable apart from reduce braking efficiency when going down the hills and the need to drop a cog or too when climbing. After a number of miles i did start to feel it in the legs slightly but i managed to complete 35 miles without any dramas. We all agreed to do 2 days running this weekend so more was expected tomorrow

Saturday - 50 Miles

After a very good nights sleep as the wife and children had gone away to the seaside i did not even wake up until 9AM. Being fully rested i proceed to shed some more weight with a quick haircut which should have shed a few ounces are least. Need to consider the merit of a full body wax prior to L2P so that i am as light as possible!!!!!!!

Took a new route on Saturday for which i ended up taking a few more hills than i would have liked as i passed over the Chiltern Hills (clue was in the name). I was very happy that whilst on the climb to Amersham i easily went past a fellow female cyclist who looked very disappointed as she had not additional weight to carry.

I rewarded myself with a quick snack and also a replenishment of inner tubes as the 2nd factory fit tube that came with my bike both failed at the base of the valve by splitting wide open whilst checking pressures.

Took a slightly different route on the way home to notice that i was going to come up short on distance so took an additional loop and finished with a total of 47.69 miles with an average speed of 14.12 and a ride time of 3hr 22mins and ascended 1231 feet and descended 1264 feet.

I am happy that the 2 days went well especially it is more challenging to cover the miles when on your own.

I have my new bar tape to install this week now that i am happy with the stem and seat position and the elbow pain had reduced significantly to no more than i am sure is to be expected when on the roads for this long.

More to report later this week to keep the miles up in preparation of my holiday on the 18th.

L2P Practice Ride

Posted by Dylan

Just sync'd my phone and realised that i had not uploaded any pictures from our big practice ride so here you go.

After reaching the Ponderosa you get this lovely view:

At roughly the half way point

Andy is making sure that everything is correctly adjusted before setting off

Progress

Posted by Stuart

Time to post just to keep the momentum going as we had towards our Grand Depart, which, gentlemen, is only 6 weeks away later this week.  We've all got things to sort.  In no particular order: Me - must get our routes sorted and written up.  To be fair, they are all figured out apart from the last day into Paris Centre, I just need to write them up for myself and my compadres.  Neil - keep the riding going in the face and pressure of a new job, and a couple of weeks holiday in August.  Dylan - get the bar tape sorted.  I think you've bought the new mitts.  Keep riding when you can.  Andy - trouble the scorers as far as sponsorship money is concerned, finalise carriage arrangements during the ride.

My conservative, pessimistic head is raising itself again - I'm a little concerned we haven't built enough contingency into the first day.  It's quite a challenging ride from London to Dover, what with busy roads, navigating out of London itself, the sheer distance and the fact that we'll all be riding laden for the first time.  It would only take a mechanical and/or a couple of punctures to put us under some real time pressure.  Think there may be an argument for bringing forward our departure to 7.30 am.  Views gents, if you're reading this?

I think it's probably going to be worth all of us speaking at least once before we go too, just to check progress.  We're all in different places geographically and organisationally, so we don't have any day-to-day opportunity to speak.  Watch your diaries for invitation(s).

Weekend of punctures

Posted by Dylan

The weekend started bad with intermittent torrential rain all day saturday so the chance of getting on my bike on Sunday was not looking good. This was further impacted when i found that my car had a puncture on Saturday evening which meant i had to look forward to a morning sitting in Kwik Fit. To avoid missing out on getting some training i went for a session on the cross trainer. I am very please to report that several months ago 30 mins on the cross trainer was killing me and i managed to complete a 1hr 20min session with no major issues so all this training is making a difference to my fitness level.

After getting back from fixing the car i went to check out my bike to find that it also had a puncture.. :-(. Good news its was Fathers Day and the kids had presented me with 2 nice shiny Continental Gatorskins which i proceeded to install last night. Based on Neil's recommendations i don't expect to get any further puncture issues.

I am looking forward to our trip our next week with an element of worry seeing that i have not managed to get more than 40 miles in a single session but hopefully i have enough training to to get me through. I am in my homeland so hopefully this will inspire me to push ahead and get to the end. Failing that i will bring my tow rope and Stuart can pull me along......

30 Mile barrier broken

Posted by Dylan

Training has taken a bit of a back seat due to being away on the bank holiday weekend but i broke the 30 mile barrier this weekend in a session and happily have no issues to report. The adjustment of the seat seems to have resolved the sore bum issues but may need another tweak soon as towards the end my hands started to ache slightly. Managed just over 31 miles in 2hrs 20mins but the head wind on the way back meant I did not manage to make it in the 2 hours that i wanted. I am still investigating all of the kit that we need for L2P and it is proving impossible to decide on what shorts to buy so will just go with my colleagues suggestions and see how it goes. I noticed that Andy has managed a sneaky trail run for our training run in a few weeks and it looks like i might need to be packing my kevlar for the dodgy area that we will be passing through.

Will look to get a short run out mid week and then look to break 40 miles this weekend.

More to report soon

Maiden voyage complete

Posted by Dylan

At last i got to put some miles on my new bike last night after looking at it for the past 5 days. Only sneaked in 16 miles but it was considerably easier that any other ride i have done to date. Had a fairly decent head wind on the way out which was interesting but it made the journey back a bit easier. Needs a bit of a tweak as it seems the chaps in Halfords had obviously been concentrating on getting to the pub in the Friday my bike was built rather than setting the gears up properly.

It is 100 days to go until be embark on our challenge so still have a fair way to go but i also have a fair amount of training still to do.

New bike imminent

Posted by Dylan

After much deliberation i have take the advice of my team members and have gone for a road bike which i will collect tonight. I have consulted the technical expertise of Neil and have decided to go for a Carrera Vanquish which seems to fit the bill for a decent price.

Other purchases this week are SPD pedals, SPD shoes but i am sure i have more to go before i look and feel the part.

I will post an update on how it goes on the maiden voyage over the weekend. Target is 30 mile trip this week in under 2hr 30 mins.

1st Miles

Posted by Dylan

Attempted my first decent number of miles this weekend and all went pretty well. The headwind was a bit of a challenge in places together with some very dodgy roads with holes not designed for a road bike. I completed 22.5 miles in just under 2 hours with only a few stops on the way.

Looking to get a new bike this week so i suspect it will be a few nights of tweaking to add the various bits that i have bought.

Well better get on with some work.

More miles later this week......

Lets get started

Posted by Dylan
 
I thought that i would at least start the ball rolling with my 1st entry on the London to Paris blog.  I have a lot to do seeing as we have 122 days to go.

My main focus over the next few weeks is to get a suitable bike that is up to the job and then with some fettling get it to a configuration that works for me.

I had not appreciated how complicated it can be to prepare your body and bike for sitting in the saddle for 8 hours a day for 3 days solid.  I have even been measuring my "Sit Bones" to find a seat that will mean i can at least walk after we have finished.  Updates on selected seat to follow......

I hope to get some miles under my belt over the weekend as i have a bike that i am trialling from a friend.

Sponsorship is going well with £135 raised so far in the first day (was helped by a £50 donation from my Mum)

Well that's it for now and will be back when i have completed a number of miles.