It's been a long time, I know, I'm sorry!

I cannot believe the last time I updated this blog was the 3rd June, the weekend BEFORE I was due to ride to Paris. I'm so sorry I didn't return to this and give you all "closure". To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure if anyone was reading it & it's only over time I've found out that quite a few of you were - so thank you.

So Paris eh? Well I only bloody did it! And what an experience, little did I know that when I finished that journey at the Eiffel Tower, after 4 of the most incredible, moving, challenging & enjoyable days of my life, that the journey wasn't actually over........in fact it was just beginning.

If you want a little snippet of what the whole adventure was like, we actually had a film crew with us on the trip who were filming a promotional video for the organiser's Skyline, absolutely brilliant for me, as I get to keep these two films and relive the experience every time I'm feeling a little low (although it didn't feel like it at the time, as whenever you seemed to be having a tough moment, there was never a camera too far away, but luckily they seem to have edited the worst out - I guess they want people to sign up in the future!).

In fact I still cry every time I watch it, I don't think I'll ever not. If you do spare a minute to watch either of the videos, don't blink or you'll miss me, but I can assure you I do appear in both.....fleetingly.

Long Version

Short Version

So what have I been doing since Paris? Well it's been quite an adventure, but mainly I've been continuing my transformation from this:-

 to this:-

Since returning from Paris, I bought a new carbon road bike, Stan, he's a Boardman - get it?! and have kept up the riding. I've ridden 4 x Sportives of approx 50 miles each in various parts of the country - all very eventful for many different reasons but most of them self inflicted. I revisited London to Brighton, this time taking on Ditchling Beacon and learnt that you should NEVER attempt such a feat on a MASSIVE hangover. I've had some highs on rides & some lows, but all of them have been experienced with some great friends.

Probably the highlight of my year was when I was lucky enough to be invited on a VIP trip to Paris, to experience the final weekend of the Tour de France, when I accepted this invitation, back in January, 6 months before my ride, I had no idea what an historical moment I would be witnessing from such close quarters. As guests of Accor Hotels, who are sponsors of the Europcar Team, we were given inside access to all aspects of the Tour, we met pro cyclists, current & historical & even joined the Europcar riders at their after Tour party, and despite what you might think, I can confirm that after 3 weeks of what is classed as the hardest test of physical ability in the world, these guys can still party hard. I raised a  toast with King of the Mountains, Thomas Thomas Voeckler and cut some shapes with Pierre Roland (8th place overall in the tour), with his team tie tied around his forehead, which will be something that I will never forget!

The wierdest thing about all of this, is I wouldn't have known who any of these people were 6 months ago & now it was like a dream come true!

But the absolute highlight (apart from the obvs one of Wiggo & Cav making history of course) was being led out by Bernard Hinault (google him) and getting to ride 3 laps of a jam packed Champs Elysee circuit before the pro cyclists arrived later in the afternoon, with the crowds actually cheering me. I can actually say I passed the finish line BEFORE Wiggo & Cavendish! It's the only time the organisers have ever opened the route to amateurs before the pro's come through, it was such a big thing, that we actually made it onto the front of L'Equipe, France's largest national sports newspaper!

My biggest fear after all of this, was that this cycling thing was going to become a fad, a passing phase & that life would once again get in the way & I would go back to my old ways. I needed another challenge to keep me focused so, not one for doing things by halves, I signed myself up for another multi-day event. This time I'm training for the 3 Cities Challenge. Setting off from Stratford in London, we go to Amsterdam, then onto Bruge. It's 330 miles in total and I have 3 days to do it in, yes you can do the maths, an average of over 100 miles per day -eeeek! I figured the terrain would be flatter, so hard could it be? At that point I hadn't read up on the classic Belgium routes & their infamous cross winds, but that would be ok wouldn't it? This time I signed up in August, so I had nearly a year to train. It was going to be a breeze (pardon the pun).

So why is it then, that I find myself with only 7 weeks before pedal off (that's for you Vibecke) and once again am cacking myself.......damn you horrible British winter!

Once again I'm raising money for Community Music In Action (CMIA) and over the next few weeks, I'll show you some of the great stuff we've managed to achieve over the last year. I'm funding the costs of the trip, so any money you feel generous enough to donate, will go 100% to the charity, funding music projects for vulnerable groups in my local community.

Oh and did I say, I'm also entered into Boris's RideLondon100 in August, raising money for Children's Cancer Charity CLIC Sargent......but more on that another time!

Please do click on the page links at the top of the page for more info on the charity's I've chosen to support & if you can find it in your hearts to hit either donate button, I'd be eternally grateful.