I DID IT!!!!!

I started off from Pier Road (where we are based) on a bright and beautiful Jersey morning. I quickly found my way past St Aubins Bay and it's lovely beach, complete with a mix of fitness freaks, people doing Tai Chi and the occasional straggler from the previous night making their way home. I then linked up with the 'Corbiere Walk' which is cycle/walking path running from the edge of St Aubins Harbour and eventually bringing you out at the SW tip of the island. Along the way I managed to disturb much of the local wildlife including some alarmingly large rabbits and a couple of red squirrels. Unfortunately for me there had been a bit of rain on Saturday night and this led to much of the path being a bit of a mudbath and the going was fairly heavy. The sight of the Corbiere light house basking in the early morning sun was breathtaking and certainly made the effort to get there worthwhile.

I then got lost for the first time. I was supposed to follow the B35 up along the west coast of the island but, somehow missed my turn and ended up climbing a very steep hill and doubling back on myself along the A13 which runs parralel to the 'Corbiere'. I figured I had gone wrong so turned around and started to descend the hill only for some reason, I'm not sure why, I started to doubt myself snd turned around and climbed the hill again. By the time I had figured where I had needed to be I had already added a good 25 minutes to my journey time.

Having descended the hill once more, the ride alongside St Ouens Bay and it's array of old German armaments went smoothly until I reached Etacquerel where I, again got lost. I climbed the VERY steep cliff at the NW tip of the island where I was greeted with the words 'WELL DONE' spray painted on the road. I thought "that's a nice gesture from the locals", little did I realise I had picked the same day as the Tour Of Jersey to do my ride and that the message had been intended for them. Throughout the day I had to suffer the indignity of those pro or at the very least experienced 'Tour' cyclists whizzing past me at great speed. When I reached a cross-roads a mile or so on from the cliff top I, wrongly, turned left and soon found myself back at the cliffs summit via a back road. Looking at the cycle map it did appear to show that if I descended the hill I would find my way out, but after 10 mins of aimless riding I asked a local if they could help. Firstly he assumed that I wanted to ride back along side St Ouens and when I told him I was trying to cycle across the North of the island he raised his eyebrows and said "that's a hell of a ride you are attempting." He then told me that I needed to cycle back up the VERY steep cliff and go straight ahead at the cross-roads before wishing me luck. Another 45 minutes lost.

I made my way across the North of the island pretty smoothly. It was tough terrain, with lots of country lanes, and very few main roads but I didn't get lost!!! I passed through the brilliantly named 'Devils Hole' and had some stunning views out over Bonne Nuit Bay, before starting to cut slightly inland and make way over to the East coast and Rozel. At this point I could feel my knee ligaments 'grinding' and started to experience some serious pain. Not to be deterred I then dropped down to St Catherines Bay where I got lost, again, on my way out. I managed to get some very dodgy directions from a fella who told me he had been cycling the islands for years but, given the information he gave me, I suspect he may have been an escaped mental patient. Having spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out where I needed to I spotted some of the Tour riders and, reasoning that they must be going the right way followed them down through Gorey.

By this time I had already been in the saddle for 4 and a half hours and had already completed the 40 miles that the trip was supposed to take!!!!

I ended up missing another turning here and had to once more double back on myself. I picked up the seemingly all uphill A3 that would lead me back into St Helier. By this time I was fooked and having made it safely through Longueville I found myself back in Pier Road having managed 49.68 miles in just over 5.5 hours. I was disappointed with the time I was hoping fro under 5 hours but, given the amount of time and distance added on for wrong turns I can console myself with the fact that I would have beaten that comfortably if I had been able to read a map correctly.

I want to say a huge thanks to all those involved in helping me with the ride. My sponsors Meadows Mouldings and Fluid Fusion. My wife Ali and my kids for giving me so much support during my training. Dizzie for constant encouragement and also her help in sorting out the Ska night. Finally to all those who sponsored me - it's all appreciated and your donations will go directly to SCBU and help them in their never ending search for funds that our Government should be giving them!!!!!

NOT LONG TO GO!!!

Well it's just over a week and a half to go and training is really peaking now. Last night I comfortably did just over 20 miles in under an hour and a half through Haresfield, Harescomb and Brookthorpe which incorpates some really steep terrain. In total I have done over 80 miles in the past 4 days and I feel fitter than I have since I was a teenager. With that in mind I'm confident I can go under 5 hours for the Jersey trip now.

Fundraising is going really well too. By the end of this week I should have crashed through the £1500 barrier as I have two large donations that should be in the coffers by then. One of them is my share of the profits from our Ska night which was an absolute blast. Ska'd were everything I had heard they would be and had the whole place skanking. Brilliant!! We made £920 profit on the night and, as posted here before, Dizzie's share will be going to Cancer Research. I have to thank Dizzie for all her hard work in organising this gig. She worked really hard and is a real star.

At home the reality that Charlie is starting school in September kicked in with the arrival of his new uniform. He looked very handsome. I also took him to see the Tweenies at the everyman on Friday and, I'm not ashamed to say, really enjoyed it. He was totally enthralled and had a whale of a time.

Harvey has learnt the art of retaliation and Charlie isn't finding it as much fun to push him around any more!! Harvey continues to astound us with his size though - he is sturdy to say the least!!

FINALLY - AN UPDATE

It's been a long time since my last blog so apologies for those who have been on tenterhooks waiting for the next installment....

Training is still going well. I am managing 2 hours in the saddle very comfortably now and am varying my routes to get used to different terrains. I always try and incorporate a large hill or two somewhere in order to push myself and be prepared for what lies in wait in Jersey.

The Ska night tickets are selling nicely as well now and we have had both our support acts confirmed as well. They are 'Circus of Invention' and 'Drug Sniffing Dogs'!! All the bands involved are donating their fees to the cause and it is really appreciated. It's just a shame that the Guildhall didn't see fit to cut us some slack and offer a reduction as well. It is for charity after all. Never mind - it will be a cracking night.

Fund raising is closing in on the £1K mark now and I will be chuffed to bits if I make it past that figure. One Shedweb regular, who shall remain nameless ((but lives in Panama), recently pledged a very generous donation and I am very grateful indeed for that.

My old mate Dizzie is also doing well with her fundraising for Cancer Research and her training is also well underway now after her health set-backs.

Charlie & Harvey are getting bigger by the day and growing up way too quickly. Charlie recently got his Silver Award from Andy Tucker SupaStrikers for his footballing prowess and was very proud indeed. Harvey eats, sleeps and destroys, that's pretty much his routine!!

In the world of Rugby the mighty Glaws were given an unfortunate pasting the GP Final by Leicester Tiggers but the recent raft of signings announced by the club certainly bodes well for the future. If 'The Volcano' can learn the subleties of the Union game compared to League then we will have made a fantastic signing. Champions next season I reckon.

A NEW BIKE....

Oh yes my babbers. Just taken delivery of a brand spanking new GT Zuma 4.0. After waiting patiently for the sales I finally got it for £270 (reduced from £350). What a difference it makes. It's a full on racing/mountain hybrid bike and riding it is incredible. Compared to my old mountain bike it's like going from a Ford Fiesta to an Aston Martin DB7. Everything about is designed to make riding as comfortable and smooth as possible and I reckon it'll improve my efforts ten-fold.

Training is still going OK, now I have the new bike I shall really start to ramp it up and hope to be fitter than Kylie Minogues bottom by July.

Don't forget to get your tickets for the 'Evening With Ska'd'. You'll have a great night and be doing your bit towards helping out two very worthwhile charities.

At home Charlie has started taking football coaching at 'Andy Tuckers Supastrikers' on a Saturday morning. As a die hard rugby man you don't know how difficult this has been for me to take but to be fair he does really enjoy it, the coaching is great, and I'm sure by the time he hits 6 or 7 years old he'll realise that playing rugby is far more fun anyway. Unbeknown to Ali I've already told the pair of them that, as I had to quit playing at early age, I fully intend to 'live' through my sons and that they will both be turning out for the mighty Glaws. A pushy dad......moi?

Harvey continues to confound medical knowledge be having a seemingly bottomless stomach, he can eat for England and is not fussy either. Indeed if he doesn't turn out to be a prop forward I'll eat my hat! We gave him some Battenburg cake on Monday night and he just shoved the whole slice in his mouth and laughed his head off as he scoffed the lot. It was a sight to behold.

FINALLY.......AN UPDATE

Finally after what has seemed like an eternity I've managed to gain access to my Blog. I've been experiencing some technical difficulties but am sorted now.

First of all I'm now back on the bike after an extended break to reover from my back problems. The real training starts now and the wife is fully stocked up on Radox so that I don't moan at her about my aching limbs.

The really good news is that our charity fundraising gig has now been confirmed. In conjuction with Dizzie's trek around the Great Wall Of China I'd like to invite you all to attend 'An Evening With Ska'd'. A night of pure class Ska music from very good local 'two tone' band Ska'd. It's taking place at the Guildhall on Sat 23rd June and all proceeds will be split 50/50 between the Scoo-B-Doo appeal and Cancer Research. It should be a wicked night and I hope to see you all there. Tickets are a tenner a pop in advance or £12 on the night. Call the Guildhal ticket office for details on 01452 503050. If you want more details on the band just go to http://www.thisisskad.co.uk or http://www.myspace.com/thisisskad.

At home it seems the kids have been ill pretty much constantly since Christmas. We had one particularly bad week where the phrase 'projectile vomiting' has never been more apt. We did have a great time at Charlies 4th birthday party where I got roped into doing some magic tricks by the kids entertainer. A pic is attached.

DISASTER STRIKES

A disaster, my back problems have really flared up this week and I've not been able to get a very comfortable nights sleep let alone jump on a bike. I'm off the chiropractor next week to hopefully get it sorted and with a bit of luck will be able to resume hostilities with the bike over the Christmas period.

The website went public on Shedweb this week and I'm already seeing some donations coming in as well as the current bid for the signed shirt that I'm auctioning off standing at £150.00. I'm extremely grateful to all those who have donated and made bids so far - you really don't know how much it means.

It looks very likely that there will also be a great fund raising gig taking place in June next year. It will be a joint venture with my old mucker Dizzie with the proceeds being split between Scoo-B-Doo and Cancer Research. Full details will appear as they are confirmed but it should be a cracker. In the meantime get yourself over to Dizzie's 'Justgiving page' and help her out on her mad trip around the Great Wall Of China. The link is http://www.justgiving.com/racheldavis For those of you who don't know Dizzie she is a very generous, sometimes fiesty, person who donates al lot of her time to Cancer Research despite not being 100% well at the moment.

Back at home the boys are getting very excited about Father Christmas' imminent arrival. We took them down to Clearwell Caves on Sunday where they had a great time meeting the fat bloke in red himself. I've also managed to convince Charlie that Max, our mental Springer Spaniel, is actually a 'secret' reindeer and that come Christmas eve he will grow Antlers and be off to pull Santa's sleigh. I'm also trying to convince him that he should leave a glass of scotch and a mince pie out for Santa on Xmas eve but Ali seems to think a glass of squash is more appropriate - not if I'm drinking it its not!

Harvey On The Move

I have to start this blog by thanking my sister Jan for her very generous contribution to the cause. She has donated £150 with the promise from my brother-in-law Ben that he will match that amount if I can manage the trip in under 10 hours (they reckon an experienced cyclist should do it in 6½-7 hours so I'm being optimistic). A most generous gesture from the pair of them so a very big thank you indeed. Jan must have been on the Pinot Grigorio when she made that donation!!

Training has been very so-so this past week. Not a great deal to say about it to be honest with you. Still pedalling into work and building up for the big training push in the new year. I'd still love to hear from those of you with any tips or good locations for practising my hill climbing.

Bad news this week from home is that Harvey has realised what his legs are there for and is now hurtling around the front room like his dad after multiple pints of Guinness. He took a few tentative steps last Wednesday and since then he seems to have learnt very quickly indeed. Yesterday I was cooking Sunday lunch when I turned around to see him removing most of our crockery from the kitchen cupboards. Usually I would have heard him patting the floor as he crawled in but he obviously has a bit of ninja in him as he stealthily made it into the kitchen before causing widespread destruction.