There are two sides to every story ...

... This is mine.

(For the other side to the story, head on over to HERE after reading my blog for Adams side to the story on his blog)

I sit here from my leather recliner writing my blog after washing half of the North Yorkshire Moors out of the bottom of my bath and I feel good. If you had asked me how I felt between the hours of 9 and 12 it would have been a very different story. A very VERY different story indeed. This is the story of my day.

The day starts early as per usual, I set my alarm the previous night to go off at 6:30 to give me time to finish getting myself together, have a bath, have breakfast, kit up and get down the road in plenty of time for the off.  All is going to plan until I open the front door and the heavens open up. Bloody typical really. A nice slow ride down to Adams follows. When I say ride, I actually mean freewheel, I don't think I pedaled much actually.  I arrived on Hartlepool Marina and suddenly discovered that my beautiful coat was in fact definitely just a windbreaker and had absolutely no waterproofing qualities whatsoever. So 5 minutes after leaving the house I am soaked through. I text Adam with the following:

"Ride abandoned ? Ha ha. Its horrendous out here like. Wouldn't blame you mate."

About 30 seconds later, Adam drives round the corner with a smirk on his face, its game on, I thought I had an easy out for a moment then. I guess I am not so lucky. So the boot is open, the bike is bundled in and we are off. We are looking at the clouds, checking the weather, looking up to the hills. Things are not looking so good. Its still raining hard, the clouds are thick and grey, there is a heavy mist up on the Cleveland hills and this seemed to be a sign of things to come. I Tweet from the passenger seat:

"In the car with @Ad_Brooks en route to start point ... We concur that we must be bloody mad. Weather is actually horrendous."

"Thought for the day so far ... Maybe taking my flare lights off the bike was a bad idea. Lucky I have a day glow yellow windbreaker on."

So apprehension was setting in already, the good feeling was fading, my get up and go had got up and went ... I was not looking forward to voluntarily being cold, wet and tired but this was cycling, my love, my passion and then I started to think about the incomparable feeling of achievement that I would experience as I got home after all the hard work and pain. I was in the car wrestling with my thoughts, trying to get my arse into gear for the challenge ahead. Not 10 minutes later and we arrived, not at the originally arranged starting point but Great Ayton. All I could think about now was ice-cream. Not today. It was game time. We unloaded the bikes and re-assembled them and then got ourselves ready for the off. Helmet, Oakleys, energy gel, water bottles, Camelbak. Its on, lets roll.

As soon as we hit the road my original mood perked up ten fold. We must have been the only ones out on the road, no one about, we played a game, spot the car. We got to six and stopped because needless to say it became suddenly busy on the roads. Anyway, my mood was soon to take another swing as basically I experienced a small bite of things to come, we just seemed to be climbing and climbing and climbing, it wasn't an all out climb, it was one of those long slow and annoying climbs that didn't ever seem to finish, it was goodbye high gear and hello low, my cadence increased and so did my effort as this bank became increasingly steeper by the minute. The joke was over, I knew what I was to expect now, or so I thought I did. 

The peak of this climb was Kildale. That's only 5 miles into the ride, hang on a minute, looking at my Cateye that took 23 minutes to get to that point, I had a feeling right then that it was going to be a long day. Woo, look, a downhill ... Crunching through the gears I felt good, the speed hit me, the wind in my ears and the spray off Adams bike soaking me and my previously clean windbreaker, it was now coated in whatever was on the road, in the country, it could be anything, roadkill, cow shit, water, oil, mud, Mrs Gad the farmers wife or whatever else has been dragged along that country lane into the moors. Nice ! No sooner had I stuck it into my top gear and hit a decent speed had I turned the corner to see what I could only describe as a leg killer. The ride up to Commondale. This is where the problems started for me.

Where I wanted to be so badly - The top of the climb, as you can see, its pretty steep.

Adam hit the bank with a decent momentum and carried it to the top with a flair, he keeps the king of the mountain jersey as far as I am concerned he can bloody keep it, ha ha. Myself, I braked heavily coming down the bank out of Kildale

Yes, I had that thought in my head, that's exactly what I was thinking until I looked up at the run to Commondale. Once again I was kicked back down to earth with a thud. Not just mentally but physically, yes, you guessed it. Its time for my first uncontrolled dismount from Pippa, in simple terms, falling off my bike. The elements had taken their toll and matters where no longer in my hands but in Isaac Newtons. I was the apple and I was about to hit the deck, here is how it happened. I manage to get about half way up this 13.4% incline and then I lose forward motion, my cadence isn't high enough, my lungs cant get the air in and out quick enough, I actually have nothing left in the tank. To cut some of the angle off the climb I decide that it might be a good idea to get back in the saddle and zig zag my way up to the peak. A good idea until you run out of tarmac and your front wheel slides off the road and into a mud ditch jarring your whole body to the right and throwing your balance off. Hello tarmac. I couldn't disengage my cleats quick enough and the result is me in a heap on the deck. Its funny typing about it now but at the time I was ready to kill, Adam was out of site so it would have been curtains for the next sheep I saw laughing at me ! 

Thumbs up - After my fall, I got to the top and somehow managed to put a brave face on it

Because of the steep climb I was on, I couldn't get going again, I mean, I could have but I couldn't get enough forward motion to get my left foot in the cleat again so I had to give up and admit that this particular climb had defeated me. On foot for the rest of it, got to the top to find Adam wondering what had happened to me, I explained and it was time for the off. We rolled for a short amount of time before a very rapid descent into a valley, wet roads + dodgy brake pads = Nervous Ben, the pads didn't seem to be slowing me down in the wet and it made for a thrilling descent through Commondale. It was now I was realising that nothing today was actually going to go right for me, only punctures left to go and its all good right ? 

So out through the valley and them "BAM".

Ha ha, you thought I was going to say I got a puncture. No, just another climb to contend with. Oh the joys of the F*CKING North Yorkshire Moors. Adam had gone again and was climbing very well I may say, kudos to him on that. I was left to contend with a bruised ego, a shattered confidence, a bleeding leg and climb number 3 of the day. A lovely 12%, 2.5 mile climb out of Commondale. I wont lie, I was incredibly angry at my inexperience at this point, I tried a different line of attack, this time I went for a slow cadence on a higher gear. The result ? An epic FAIL ! I made it so far until I had to crunch back through the gears but it was all too late. This time a controlled dismount was actioned. Back on foot again, this was becoming a joke. I was embarrassed to say the least, Adam seemed pretty cool with it all but I couldn't help feeling I was holding him back and slowing things down. Sorry again matey, ha ha.

So to the summit. Finally ! I make it sound like bloody mount Everest don't I ? The truth was this was only 838 ft up, a mere 2.89% of the height of the Nepalese giant just to give you an idea but metaphorically speaking, this climb next time round if completed will be my Everest.

A realisation hits us, at this point we are only 10 miles into the ride and its taken us 46 minutes to get there ... Not a bad speed really but let me tell you it felt like a lot further than 10 miles. Oh well, onward and upward as they say, well, hopefully not upward, I'd had enough of that by then. 

Next up is a descent into Castleton, a descent that should have been a lot more enjoyable than it actually was for me. From the beginning of the day I had been having some minor issues with my brakes, or brake pads to be precise. Sticking on, not slowing me down, making a lot of noise, rubbing, basically annoying the life out of me, typical that it was now that I needed them more than anything. We dropped 400 ft in just over a mile and a quarter. My brakes where on the whole way down and I still managed to get up to 18mph, this is a combination of the bike being heavy, me being even heavier and my brake pads needing urgent replacement (Something I will be putting onto my Evans Cycles account on pay day, roll on Friday). 

After this small piece of drama we spend the next 8 miles on rolling hills, ups and downs, not necessarily easy climbs but certainly none like the Commondale runs we already encountered earlier. Things where going swimmingly but we found that in the Moors that there is absolutely no phone signal, like ... None at all, its completely none existent and its because of this we don't know where we are and we don't know our next turn off or where we should be headed. We end up playing a guessing game and hitting lots of sharp inclines that should not have been on the run but even so we still make light work of them, even me, in fact, I will ease your tension now, I don't come off the bike anymore, my feet stay firmly on the pedals for the rest of the ride. 

We stop to ask a local for some friendly guidance, an old chap, when I say old, I mean old, it must be something in that thin air up there, hunch back, tweed jacket, none suitable walking shoes and a carrier bag full of leeks and rhubarb, he seems to know where he is sending us but his directions are somewhere fuzzy, maybe that air had gotten to him, maybe he was lost and the reason he looked so old was because he has actually been walking the same route as we had just ridden for the last 130 years. Poor chap, bless him, we thanked him numerous times for his help even though we where just gonna wing it anyway. We where rolling again. Through Houlsyke, through Leaholme, lots of roads and fields that look just like the ones we passed 10 minutes ago.

Time to double back maybe ? 

Yes, it appeared so, I think that should we have continued onto the Rosedale Chimney which is Britain's steepest climb at a 1 in 3 I would maybe die, I'm not even kidding you at this point. We knew that we had hit about 20 miles and the original route planned showed that at about 20 miles we should have been heading south and towards Fryup, however the climb to Fryup looked like one of those climbs where you needed a harness and a climbing rope, I am pretty sure I saw some Nepalese Sherpas on the roads up that way, a sharp right turn took us out of Leaholme and doubling back towards the route we came down on.

The negative point here was that every descent we had previously hit would now be a climb and every climb we hit would now be a descent ... Bummer. I tried not to think too much about this as I explained to Adam about my anger scale. It basically descends from slightly annoyed to full anger, through pissed off, to rage and then finishing up on couldn't give a f*ck because I am past caring, well that's where I was right then, " couldn't give a f*ck" Adam could have suggested straight lining the full ride over whatever obstacles we should have encountered if I thought it would have got me back to Great Ayton quicker and I honestly would have agreed to it. Like I said ... Past caring. So off we went, now all of a sudden everything seemed familiar and this actually was a positive for me and it helped for some reason, Adam was giving me plenty of encouragement, I think he somewhat sensed that I had a line that had been crossed a long time ago with the numerous incidents leading up to this point. 

Climbs came and went, no bother, I was now hitting a rhythm with my breathing, my cadence was solid, "slowly slowly catchy monkey" was uttered at one point. I kept hitting my goals, little mental finish lines I was setting myself. That road sign, that sheep, that hill, that junction. They kept coming and going and things felt good. We hit Castleton and for me some much needed humour, Adam was about 20/30 ft in front of me, I could see him slowing down to speak to a local, or what I think he thought was a local, I am pretty sure he was Polish, as I got there all I heard was: 

"Its steeper than Commondale, yes !" 

I dare say that those where the only words Adam maybe understood from the Polish Yorkshire man, with the bald head and 5 year old Christmas jumper, he was getting into his pick up which I would go out on a limb and say was stolen along with the shot guns in the back of it, by now I was punch drunk and trying to humour myself but after that line it was difficult.

I continued to ride pretending I hadn't heard that "Steeper than Commondale" comment, knowing that Commondale was the "easy" route crushed me but it was a means to an end, a necessary evil if you will. So that was it, the skipper made the decision, Commondale it was, lets go. Slightly downhill out of Castleton was enjoyable as I hit the bend at the tea rooms in my top gear, a satisfying dip in the road sunk my stomach but it felt good, momentum carried us over a hump back bridge, myself and Adam whooping as we went over it, I think I was trying to make things light hearted myself. I had to get my ass into the right frame of mind to hit that climb, honestly ... As daft as this sounds, it worked. 

I let Adam do his thing, to be honest he was flying today and fair play to him, he tackled what was laid out in front of him and in some style, I just ground it out the best I could and for the latter half of the ride I was proud of myself. Almost like I had redeemed myself from earlier stumbling blocks. That Commondale climb ... "Pah, what Commondale climb?". It felt amazing to hit the top without so much as a stop, stumble or encounter with tarmac. Adam was there waiting for me with his camera to which I bellowed in true Northerner Bullseye style "In one !". Bowen would have been proud of me. Onwards and upwards and now the worrying part of the day for me. Oh yes, its not over yet.

Adam had streamed off, not a bad thing, it was all up hill from here and I had told him to, I didn't want to be a hindrance any longer so I was happy for him to hit his own rhythm and enjoy the ride as much as he could without a 16 stone dead weight round his neck called Ben. Anyway, I am in a solid rhythm of my own but I found this climb to drag out quite a lot, it tested me but not in the ways I thought it would be testing me. I am now in so much of a rhythm that I am hyperventilating, quite heavily I may add. The thoughts running through my mind where as follows ... 

• "Shit I am having a panic attack"
• "Shit I am having an asthma attack" (I don't have asthma)
• "Shit I am having a heart attack"
• "Shit I am going to die on the Moors and I am not wearing any underwear, only my bib shorts"

I had to slow right down, I needed to get my control back, one thing I always say to people and I still stand by is that I know my own body, I know my own limits, I know how far I can push myself, I know when I am capable of continuing and when I genuinely need to stop, this was the moment, the do or die moment, and to be brutally honest that just might have been the case, doing or dieing. I glanced down at my Cateye and it told me I was doing 4 mph with a cadence of about 30. Not fast at all but I needed to get my body back to a level where it wasn't going to give up on me. Result, just 2 or 3 minutes later and I was back up to 16/17 mph and cadence was about 90. That's where I should be, no pain, no nothing. The road kept on throwing little climbs at me but the speed I was doing was enough to just power up them in a high gear.

After the heart attack - Giving it some licks on the other side on Commondale.

Up ahead I see the brightest couple of cyclists I have ever seen in my life, I think they might have been sponsored by Altura products because they where literally head to foot in reflective / day glow Altura cycle wear. Now I am not just saying this but I left them for dead on the climb I overtook them on. It was honestly like they where standing still on the bank as I streamed up the climb at a cool 18 mph. A wry grin on my face and that was it, my confidence was back and so was Adam. The last run into Great Ayton.

I was on the road again and now back on the wheels of Mr Brooks, I hear him shout at me ... 

"Come on, get a move on Auty, you can feel sorry for yourself later on, we are there now"

Obviously this was just the get up I needed along with the fact that I just scalped Mr and Mrs Altura on that last climb, time to raise that average speed before we dismount. We had about 8 mile to run and no more banks, in fact the vast majority of this now was down hill or flat, time to enjoy ourselves and get into what we know best, we got on the wheels and nailed it. 

4 miles to go the sign says and its little things like that where I get my morale lifters, last week I would have been giving up, this week I was speeding up, I was in my top gear and I was out of the saddle, I don't think I could have pushed anymore if I tried, Adam was right there either on my wheel, in front of me or right beside me we could both smell it, that feeling you crave when you finish, you look back and you then have the bragging rights for what you have just achieved. Sure, it wasn't all plain sailing but at the end of the day life is a learning curve and so was this ride today for me. I have now learned that I cant climb for toffee, but I am getting there and I WILL get there. Sooner rather than later I hope. 

We roll into Great Ayton and may I add with the glorious sunshine beating down on us (typical). I had actually managed to warm myself up and get a bit of a sweat on. Result. In the distance I can see Adams car, that's it, its all over for another day, time to reflect, we bundle the bikes into the car and off we go, bound for Hartlepool with no possibilities of any further drama. I spoke too soon ... 

We keep hearing a weird squelching, whistling sound, like a release of pressure every now and again, we couldn't decide if it was a puncture or a water bottle being pressed on by a peddle with everything crammed so tightly in the back of the car, I check it out, all 4 wheels are still hard, no water leaking, no nothing but this sound continues. A couple of miles later on the road and the weird sound is persisting, I feel the tyres again, still all feeling hard, except wait, hang on a minute, its my rear tyre. A puncture, ha ha ha. That is typical. I knew it was too good to be true. So once again I am hit with a puncture and my curse continues. I seriously need a sponsorship deal with Continental so I can get free tubes because the amount I go through alone is enough to keep their business afloat. Funny stuff and just my bad luck but it doesn't even phase me, I am on too much of a high to care, the bike got me to the end of the ride, she just spent the whole journey home in the back of the car hissing at me. 

On reflection a good ride really with a lot learnt, I now know a bit more about myself as a rider and what I am capable of with each ride showing me something new that I can or cant do. I am enjoying this a lot and its good to address these weaknesses and improve so I can be a complete cyclist with all the tools in my arsenal to tackle what is thrown at me. Come June when I hit that London 2 Paris I am going to be giving it some big licks and that 300 mile is going to feel like a walk in the park.

Another reflection of the day is just where we went wrong, Mr Brooks please pay attention. On the following graphic you will see 2 routes. The red route is the route that we had pre-planned and on our phones, the yellow line is what we actually rode, as you can see these routes are VERY different, ha ha. If only we had a signal or a helicopter then maybe we would have been able to complete our ride in full, maybe next week when we have James along for the ride with us. 

It made me laugh anyway, we where bloody miles off our route, damn GPS. Next week I am ordering my Garmin Edge 800 and today more than anything has backed up every single review I have ever read about the device that it truly is going to make my training a million times better. So roll on delivery day, Evans Cycles, don't let me down and lets hit the road and actually ride the route planned. 

Anyway, that's me done for now, I am off to bed to get some well earned rest, I am aching a little bit and need to be tip top because I am back out on the bike tomorrow with my mate Matty, lets push him to see what he is capable of, not too hard of course, I know what its like being on the receiving end of the battering now, thank you North Yorkshire Moors, you have been great.

Ben Auty, over and out.

(For the other side to the story, head on over to HERE for Adams side to the story on his blog)

• Image rights owned by Adam Brooks
• Map courtesy of Google
• Stats courtesy of Runkeeper

My first long distance training ride

It was always in the pipeline that I was going to have to get out on the bike and ride further than my previous furthest distance. The London 2 Paris is 4 days, all of which are above 55 miles per day one of which is 95 miles. I have a sportive in April, the Lakeland Loop, which is 100 km ... So my previous best distance of just 33 miles wasn't going to cut it. Bearing in mind that this 33 miles was done in and about the town centre and surrounding areas with a grand total of 2 climbs, one of which could be done in my tightest gear and out of the saddle ... Not exactly a true representation of my ability as a cyclist and therefore much must be done to get me to where I need to be to complete said goals.

Saturday 5th February was the day I should ride my bloody socks off to see just where I fit in the grand scheme of things, riding with a couple of lads who are doing the coast to coast in a single day I knew my work was going to be cut out. I let them deal with all the route planning and times and I basically turned up and tried my hardest not to slow them down anywhere, a feat in which I would say I achieved 90% of the time in my opinion, maybe the lads would disagree with this ? Ha ha.

The lads in question if you are interested where Adam Brookes and James Guttridge, both of which can be found on Twitter if you wish to follow their progress with their fundraising for the Neonatal Unit at North Tees Hospital or any of their rides ... Just follow @Ad_brookes and @Jamesg747.

Anyway ... My bag was packed with everything I thought I was going to need the night before, my energy drinks where mixed and in the fridge, my bike was clean, my Camelbak was filled and adjusted for the ride ahead and also in the fridge cooling for the off. I had 4 inner-tubes packed, a miniature tool shop, 3 carb filled flapjacks, 4 energy gels, money and spare glasses. I was certainly prepared for whatever could be thrown at me.

8 o'clock was my go time and my destination was Mr Brookes flat to start the ride, away we go ... 100 meters into the ride it becomes apparent that my Cateye computer wasn't picking up my speed but only my cadence, great ... It was too late to do anything about it now. I couldn't be late on my first ride with the lads. I was out to impress today. So I arrived at the flat ... Waited, waited some more ... Kept on waiting ... Still no show, panic was starting to set in, had I got the day wrong, the time wrong ? I checked my texts, nope ... I was definitely right. I know ... I will send a quick text. I got a reply, result, it was on. 

Pre ride nerves, ha ha ... What nerves ... Bring on the hills.

So away we went, the route taking us through and out of the town via the A689, still with no speed reading I might add, it was going to be a long day, I could sense it. 

Conversation was flowing and the question was asked as to what I had in my bag, so I listed it all off ... I felt VERY over prepared considering Adam just had a few things in his pocket and 2 drinks on the bike. Had I over estimated the scale of this ride ? 

We arrive at Wolviston Cricket Club where we scheduled to meet Mr Guttridge ... He wasn't there, apparently running late just as we where. No problem, we will just wait ... The conversation turned to other events we had ridden in and how far we had rode and then punctures, the bane of my life ... Adam was talking about the puncture problems that James had previously encountered on other rides and I started to think I wasn't the only one. Adams phone rings ... 

Guess who has a puncture, ha ha. James is about a mile down the road and he has a puncture already. It now becomes apparent that I am not over equipped but I am keeping this show on the road, ha ha ... James was in the same boat as Adam, no puncture repair kit, no pump, no spare inner-tube ... I have all 3. We opt for the quick fix, new tube, pump it up, lets get rolling. We did just that ... 4 or 5 minutes later we where off. This convoy is moving.

I wasn't sure what to expect because all of these roads are new to me, and still remembering that my previous furthest distance was 33 miles this could be a killer of a day. The pace seemed good, Adam was giving me plenty of pointers about drafting and staying on the wheel of the rider in front and how to change my speed in this position without using my brakes. A lot of this ride was about trusting the riders your with and considering I didn't know either of them properly until about an hour before, I already felt pretty comfortable in the saddle and relying on the pair of them to keep me out of the pot holes and not under some car wheels. 

Again like I said the pace was good, I was having no bother keeping up until coming out of Wynyard when I spied a bit of a downhill section, I nailed it, crunched through the gears, I was out of the saddle and enjoying the speed, I wondered why the other two hadn't followed, I turned the corner and it became instantly apparent, a nice little climb, momentum didn't carry me up it, I was at the wrong speed in the wrong gear and now burning my legs out, lactic acid was building up and Adam and James had no bother overtaking a very red faced me. I hit the summit and quickly got in the right gear and had to spin it out to decrease the lactic build up, recovered and quickly caught up with the lads, apologised about being quite naive and then got on with it. Next time I would be far more reserved about when I speed up and leave the group, ha ha.

A couple of wrong turns later we where on course and everything was flowing nicely, I was most definitely warmed up, I even rode my part at the front of the group to do some of the spinning. The hills where rolling so there wasn't too much going on in terms of effort, it was just keeping the pace up, keeping my cadence high and enjoying the views and the perfect roads, well ... Nearly perfect ... They where a lot better than Hartlepool roads.

I was trying to keep myself right with the amount of fluids I was taking on whether it was just water or the pre prepared energy drinks I had in my Team Gazzetta cycling bidons ... BUT there was a mental seed planted in my head by Adam that played havoc with my body and drive ... Unbeknown to me we had just about encroached on a distance of 30 miles and Adam had told me we would be stopping in Hurworth for a drink and a bit of a break ... He said it was about 5 miles away ... Hurworth came and went, Hurworth place came and went and bearing in mind that Hurworth and Hurworth place are both very long climbs, not exactly climbs that toil on the legs, but the type of climbs that when your expecting to stop, every pub you pass just makes you want to cry ... Well its hard work and needless to say that I wasn't on the wheel of either of the lads right now. So the next sign I saw was Croft and thank God it looked like we where stopping.

We where stopping ! 

A cheeky little Best Western, Raffles Restaurant at The Croft Hotel ... BIG SMILES from me ! We got sat at the bar, a couple of coffees for the boys and I was tucking into 2 flapjacks loaded with carbs and energy, plus 1 energy gel also loaded with carbs. Plenty of water to wash them down to keep my hydration levels up because according to my little Camelbak monitor I wasn't drinking enough. My toes where numb as I expected them to be, this wasn't because of the cold because to be fair it was quite mild but because of my shoes / cleats / pedals ... This was only my 4th ride on them and I am still adjusting the tension in them to get them right.

We had rode 35 miles ... So part one of the ride was already the furthest I have ever ridden, how would I cope with the ride home ? 

About 20/30 minutes later and we where ready for the off again ... Stepped outside and it seemed about 20 degrees lower than it was before we went inside ... I had started tightening up, my toes where still numb ... To be honest I wasn't looking forward to the return trip home ... Not one bit ! 

We set off and it was tough, the first mile, mile and a half killed me ... I was stiff, I was cold, I was hurting and I desperately needed to hit the pace again to stay with the lads. Finally it came to me and I hit my rhythm again, things seemed good, I was back on pace, I was on the wheel and the sun came out, good times ! Drafting started again, I did my stints at the front as much as I could ... It wasn't as much as the other lads because it was now that I realised I didn't know where I was, I didn't know where I was going and more importantly I was now having to push every single mile out of my body that I could.

Everything seemed to roll nicely, the speed was nice, the pace was good, my cadence was steady  in the rolling hills and then we hit Yarm ... The traffic was awful, drivers turned into frigging maniacs, pulling in front of people, horns beeping, fists getting shook, looks being thrown, and to be honest, rightly so ... What a bunch of Muppet's, we couldn't get out of the place quick enough in my opinion, the only problem was the 4.3% incline we had to climb to get out of there ... At the peak all I could do was laugh and feel like crying, what a slog.

So its plain sailing again, Adam and James inform me that there is really only one climb left to endure but its a killer and then its relatively flat and rolling until home ... That gives me a huge mental boost, its amazing just how far a little comment can effect the way you ride, like the Hurworth comment earlier on in the day and now this little remark that just made me feel a million times better. So we kept on riding and then things started to look familiar and I knew the climb was coming up because I remember coming down it earlier on in the day ... We turned a corner and bam, there it was, right in-front of me ... A 5.0% incline to Wynyard Hall ... Adam, was flying, he was after the king of the mountain jersey and he took it with what appeared to be a relative ease. James held back and basically pushed me up that bank, he stayed on my back wheel and encouraged me all the way up. I don't know if this was because it was the last big climb or because Mr Guttridge was encouraging me or what but that last climb seemed almost too easy. Result.

That seemed to be it ... The rest was just plain sailing apart from the fact that I had 55 miles already under my belt so everything was hurting now, my arse, my wrists, my neck, my shoulders, my legs, my feet and my toes ... I was definitely ready for my bed. It was getting to the time where James took his way home a different way to myself and Adam ... We departed ways and I was informed later that James encountered another puncture but this time I wasn't around to lend him an inner tube or any equipment so it was a walk home for the big fella with socks and shoes in hand. Unlucky to say the least. 

Myself and Adam where still steaming having ran the risk of crossing the carriageway at the Wolviston roundabout ... We hit the A689 and still riding 2 a breast rolled into town. All drivers where very accommodating of the two of us side by side along the carriageway apart from one wanker who took the time to beep his horn, wind down the window and then shout some abuse ... All I can say is, I hope he fucking breaks down and gets stuck in the middle of nowhere in the pissing down rain ... I would like to say that he suffered a worse outcome but I am not that nasty. Anyway, onward we rolled and we went our separate ways and I was homeward bound to my nice warm house and my lovely full bath and more importantly my lovely soft bed.

Please note that from 35 mile onwards the above image data has been manually plotted because my trusty old iPhone, which I feel the need to point out is completely buggered let me down, the battery died so I had to copy the route from Adam's log and therefore I couldn't put an accurate pace on it, only an average as you can see in the elevation profile, from about halfway onwards it just seemed like we rode pretty much the same pace, obviously that wasn't the case. Roll on next month so I can buy my Garmin Edge 800, no more issues, just trusty data I can rely on.

So that was my day ... No drama, just good times in the saddle. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I sit here typing this the day after the ride and I am pleased to report that I feel good, I am in fine condition and I could have gladly rode it all over again today should I have been required to do so ... Bring on London 2 Paris in June ... I'm going to make you my bitch ! For anyone who is reading this that may be riding the L2P and thinking its going to be a doddle, let me tell you that riding these kinds of distances in a single day and then 4 days back to back, is no easy task so I will suggest you train, train and then train some more. You can never be prepared enough for a distance like this. 

Big thanks again to the boys for inviting me, hopefully I am good enough to be invited again ... The first of many ? Watch this space.

After all the tweaking was done ...

The bike completed ... 

It wasn't without a slight hitch with the bar tape but apart from that everything went VERY smoothly, which to be honest for me is an absolute miracle. Ha ha. I always get to where I want to be but its never without hitches or going twice round the block to get there. Im cutting a long story short here, I mean I could bore you with the ins and outs of the process but its best to let the pictures speak for themself.

I think before I post up Pippa fully modified its best to show you how she looked before the work began, on the day I picked her up from Halfords with all of her stock parts on. 

Pretty yes, but not good enough to take me where I want to go so after all of the research and purchases this was Pippa after the day dedicated to the modification ... 

Isnt she beautiful ? I hope you think so anyway, I know I do and I feel that I have gotten the contrast and balance between black and white just right to make it look as good as possible. It also has to be said that by this point I was VERY excited to get her on the road to see if all of the research had paid off and the parts I had chosen in their specific measurements where going to give me the comfort that was required for the distances I would be travelling. 

So Sunday came, the very next day and I figured that it would be an ideal opportunity to get her out for some hill climbing ... My plan, was to ride from my house up to Wingate as fast as I could. Bearing in mind that this ride is  all uphill for the first half, I knew that I would get a good mix of being in the saddle, out of the saddle, climbing and descending ... Off I went, uphill amazing, downhill amazing ... UNTIL ... BAM ... Double blow out, I hit a maintenence gutter at about 40mph and both tyres went, I only had 1 spare tube in my pack. Upon examination it appears that both wheels where also damaged in this incident so it was probably best if I didnt try to  repair this on the road. 

So back home it was time to get on the net and order some new wheels, unfortunately on a budget because money wasnt of no object ... Researching again the best available set for me I opted for the Shimano RS30's, pictured below with my Schwalbe Ultremo's fitted to them just before they went on Pippa.

One day later and they where fitted to the bike plus another new addition ... Some rear lights. Top of the range ones at that ... See below for product info.

The ultimate safety light! Fibreflare Rear Light uses the latest super-bright fibre-optic technology in a bendable tube with multiple attachment options. Versatile design allows this product to be mounted on seat posts, seatstays, chainstays, bags or clothing. It includes steady and blinking functions in the world's fully Omni directional bike light.

Up to 20 times more illuminated surface area than regular rear lights

Brightness:

Visible over 300 metres (over 1000 feet)

Run time:

75hrs burn time (flashing mode) using 2 x AAA batteries

Mounting:

Silicone slings for frame attachment are included. 180 degrees + visibility

So ... Now for the completed bike ... With the right wheels and the flares installed. I know I know ... Your all excited and this is the moment you have all been waiting for right ? Ha ha ha. I'll get on with it.

There you have it, the completed article ... Now a few with the Flares lit up ... By the way, you will have all seen standard LED's on cyclists whether it be on their body or on their bikes and lets be honest, they are good for 1 ride and they get dirty and batteries run down and these things become very difficult to see plus then vast majority of them you can only see brightly from a certain angle, well these bad boys are tried and tested and let me tell you I light up from a long way away and there aint no way that a car will miss me when I have these bad boys lit up and flashing. Bare in mind that the following photos where taken at the peak of daylight and dont represent how they will look in the dark. Let me tell you they are a sight to behold and you cant fail but to be impressed with them. I would happily recommend them to anyone who commutes or rides in the dark, worth every penny. Check them out.

As you can see they give 360 degree visability ... Again, you cant fail to be impressed. So if your looking for some decent rear lights, these are the ones for you. 

I am done babbling now, so all I can say let me know what you think. Whether it be positive or negative, I am genuinly interested on peoples thoughts on my baby, Pippa is all grown up and looking like a beautiful swan in my opinion, so now its over to you guys. 

Pay day - CHA CHING !

So on my quest to make Pippa (My bike for those who don't know yet) more beautiful I have been spending some pennies on new parts for her. As I detailed in a previous blog I was keen in particular to update the contact points for maximum comfort on long rides, in particular the London 2 Paris, that's the whole point right ? So I have been a very busy bee doing a LOT of research into different parts, of course I don't want to spend money on a part that will fail me or not offer the comfort in which I require.

Anyway, it was Xmas time and at work that comes with lots of bonuses and overtime and opportunities to make my January pay very fat and make the fat tax man very happy, needless to say I came out with a bit more than normal and it was enough to get me some decent parts for the bike and that people, is the reason for this blog ... To update you with what I bought.

First up ... Contact point - Pedals ... I needed some decent pedals and some road shoes with cleats ... After doing quite a bit of research it turns out that my pedal style is somewhat lacking and I am hitting 2 dead points on my rotations, to combat this road shoes are required so as to make my full turn 100% efficient ... I figure that I worked the extra hours so why not splash out on myself, I am going to be wearing these shoes a lot so I better make them good, the research was done and this is what I came out with ...

The Mavic Zxellium Road Shoe is a perfect fit in a high performance road shoe - Developed with advanced technologies and constructions to meet the needs of elite pro riders like Thor Hushovd. Optimal stiffness, lightweight, superior fit and comfort, race proven.

Upper:

Ergo Lite Upper - innovative bonded construction which eliminates upper stitched seams for exceptional comfort, pressure-free foot hold and light weight. Ergo Lite toe cap for lightweight protection and support. Energy Lock full carbon 3D heel counter for maximum heel hold and light weight

Insole:

Ergo Fit 3D - Preshaped 3 density composite insole with a high density rear heel cradle and vibration absorbing heel and metatarsal elastomer inserts. Agion anti bacterial treatment

Outsole:

Energy Full Carbon Outsole - Patented technology, developed with top pros, extremely light weight, stiff and thin (5.5mm). Low stack height (7.5mm) closer to the pedal for optimal energy transfer

Closure:

Ergo Lite Ratchet and Ergo Strap SL which is stronger than traditional straps and provides more ventilation, and prevents the memory that normal Velcro straps can develop

Cleat Compatibility:

3-Bolt fixing system

Yeah I know ... Flash right ? Ha ha ... You wont miss me wearing these little fellas. It has to be said that they are VERY comfortable, in fact, I am wearing them right now whilst sat in my leather recliner. Nope ... I am not actually kidding, I am "wearing them in" ... I need them moulded to my feet and what better way to do that than to wear them round the house. Oh I lead such a rock 'n roll lifestyle. Ha ha. Anyway, back to business ... These pro shoes retail at £199.99 ... Thanks to Evans Cycles, my supplier of choice I managed to get a price match and only pay £164.49 ... A saving of £35.50. Bonus.

So ... I have the shoes and the cleats ... Now what, well I need some pedals to clip the little buggers into ... Next up the Shimano 6700 Ultegra SPD-SL pedals. Again chosen after much research ... Didn't pay as much as I maybe could have on the pedals but these came with excellent reviews so I didn't feel the need to pay any more. They retail at £79.99 ... Evans strike again and they price match at £66.95, a cheeky discount of £13.04. Here they are anyway ... With a funny story to follow I may add.

With a brand new look for 2010, the race-ready Shimano 6700 Ultegra SPD-SL Road pedals use a wide platform design to reduce lateral rocking for increased power transfer and stability.

Wide bearing placement ensures smooth and uniform load distribution, large binding target allows quick engagement, adjustable release tension lets you fine-tune entry and exit to suit your riding style

Material:

Lightweight, stainless steel body cover reduces lateral movement from wear

Extra Features:

includes Shimano SM-SH11 cleats with 6 degrees of float

Funny story ... Upon getting the pedals I was quite excited because I got the shoes at the same time ... Me being me I didn't read any instructions. Well ... I am a man, we don't need instructions, we where born to know how EVERYTHING works right ? Ha ha ... Turns out no, we are not, well, I am not anyway. I wanted to get these bad boys sorted, job 1 ... Attach the compatible cleats to the shoes ... Okay, easy enough, 3 bolts / washers ... Off I went screwing them in. I didn't tighten the bolts right up because I wanted to get the position right. So I loosened the tension adjuster on the pedals right off and thought it would be sensible to clip the shoe into the pedal to check the position / clearance to the cranks. Easy ... Okay, position seems good, lets get the shoe off the pedal and tighten the cleat up ... Grrrrrrrr ... Basically I couldnt get the shoe off the pedal, needless to say, the leverage generated by my hand on the stand alone pedal is very minimal compared to the leverage my leg would generate on the pedal attached to the bike. 1 hour later, myself, my Dad and my brother have had no luck and the shoe is still attached to the pedal, fear is setting in that I may have just blown quite a lot of money on nothing. Anyway a brainwave hits us ... Lets get the pedal and shoe attached to the bike and then get my foot in the shoe, a twist of the heels ... Magic, cutting a long story short, it worked, lesson learnt.

Alright ... That's enough of mocking me and the male species. Onwards we go, got a lot to cram in here and its nearly bed time, I need my recovery sleep ...

My next little purchase, was just that ... A little purchase. This is more of a quirk, a little gadget, haven't tried it out yet and to be honest I am a little dubious about it working at all but I only paid £20 for it so its no biggie if not. I bought myself a new Camelbak a couple of month back and I get thinking about being on the London 2 Paris and I have a reservoir on my back with 3 litres of liquid sloshing about, how am I going to know how much is left, how much am I drinking, am I drinking enough ? So I found this ...

Always at the front of hydration innovation with products such as the Camelbak Flow Meter Gauge, Camelbak is constantly engineering intelligent solutions to the challenges customers present.

The Flow Meter converts any Camelbak reservoir into an intelligent hydration system. 'Water Gauge' eliminates guess work- know what you've consumed and what you've got left in your reservoir. 'Hydration Goal' monitors fluid consumed vs. personal hydration goal whilst the 'Water Management' calculates the estimated time-to-empty. Includes fluid sensor, display, battery, instillation and operating instructions.

The caption said it all ... Its basically a clever gadget, which will hopefully work that just tells me whether or not I am staying hydrated during the long rides I plan to go on including the L2P ... Trust me, this is essential. The last thing I need is to struggle to finish due to dehydration. Anyway ... £20, well £21.99 to be precise, hopefully it will work, if not then it shall go in the bin ... Ill let you know though. Ha ha.

Now speaking of hydration this leads me onto my next purchase ... I will be honest with you, this next one is a little extravagant, maybe I was drunk when I clicked the "Complete Order" button ? Ha ha ... Not likely considering I haven't had a drink this year. Anyway ... Bottle cages, I am already using 2 Specialized cages but I think they are lacking in the look I want for Pippa, they are just too plain for my liking and to be fair for what they are they are relatively heavy ... So a fix is needed and the hero in this tale ... Bontrager ... Show me the carbon !

The Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon Cage is for the rider where weight matters, however also allowing them to remain crucially hydrated.

RRP - £29.99 ... EACH ! ... Ouch ! But like I said earlier ... I worked hard for the money so on this occasion I purchased the probably pointless items but I like how they look and only the best for my Pippa. You know you cyclists are jealous that your ride isn't sporting these lovely pieces of art.

Right, back to my contact points ... With 9 hours per day in the saddle en route to Paris I need to make sure I am comfortable and to do this its some excellent shorts with padded chamois areas and to double the effort its a new saddle ... Again I did a lot of research on this because its one of the main areas that need to be right to ensure that the ride goes as smoothly as possible with no discomfort. I opted for a hybrid seat that is recommended for both MTB and us roadies ... Now this comes with its own problems of which I shall detail just shortly ... But for now, here is where my arse will be spending most of its time whilst mounted up ...

Appreciated worldwide the Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow Saddle is offered in a new guise while preserving its comfort seating and unmistakeable shape. Can be used for on and off road. Gel flow cut out in saddle. Width - 130mm / Length - 280mm. Rail : Ti316 tube. Weight : 220g.

Now with it being the type of seat it is, the rails that connect to the seat post are what Selle call ... "Over sized" ... This presents a problem which I knew was coming but was secretly hoping wouldn't rear its head ... Road seat posts are normally made for rails 7mm by 7mm ... The Selle isn't quite this so I have had to buy 2 different seat posts until I got the right one that fit ... Result but a warning for anyone who may want to buy this seat post, come and see Pippa and talk to me before you go and buy it just to be sure. Anyway, its a great seat, very comfortable and I am looking forward to getting it out on the road to give it a whirl for real. RRP at £98.99 ... Do you think I paid this price ? ... Noooooooo, its Evans Cycles to the rescue again coming in with a price match at £65.40, oh yes please ... That's £33.59 in my sky rocket thank you very much.

Oh and I suppose I should add that I bought the saddle in white, just a minor detail, ha ha ... Onwards we go.

Next up is my bars ... Stem and drops ... I have went for matching products in the Ritchey bracket, high quality parts, not so cheap but certainly worth the money and hopefully the dimensions I have bought are going to improve my position on the bike and also my comfort levels.

Ritchey WCS (World Championship Series) These words evoke the core philosophy behind Ritchey's highest performance components.Over the years, Ritchey components have carried riders to victory from the Olympics to the World Cup circuit, National Championships and, of course, World Championship titles, too. Using the latest technology and materials to create components that provide weight savings without sacrificing strength, Ritchey proudly invite you to bolt on some of their WCS parts and share a bit racing heritage. This Ritchey WCS 4Axis Stem Wet White is 3-D Net forged from 2014 alloy for a superb strength-to-weight ratio. It has a specially designed, forged and contoured 4-bolt faceplate for use with today's lightweight, oversized carbon and alloy bars.

Material:

2014 Alloy

Rise:

6 degrees

Extra Features:

31.8mm Bar Clamp

Weight:

125g

My stem is the Ritchey WCS 4 axis stem in wet white ... I went for the 90mm version, this is to bring the bars closer to my core. The stock bars and stem on the bike right now are quite long and quite wide and to be fair when I am out of the saddle it doesn't feel so natural so I knew a change would be needed to improve my stability and comfort especially for the distances I am going to be riding. I paid £57.74 for the stem so not too bad really, very light and very well made and lets not forget it looks bloody great.

My bars are from the same Ritchey WCS range and compliment the stem beautifully ... I went for the wet black so as to contrast between the black and white given that my new 3T wraps are white too ... Got to break that colour up a little bit. The bars are the Ritchey WCS Logic 2 road bars ... I opted for the 38cm version, quite narrow considering my stock bars are 46cm wide ... Its like holding a HGV steering wheel right now but hopefully with the change in measurement I can change my posture in the drops all together ... Fingers crossed for the better.

The Ritchey WCS Logic II Road Bar. WCS (World Championship Series) - Over the years, Ritchey components have carried riders to victory in countless events from the Olympics, to the World Cup, and World Championship titles. Using the latest technology and materials to create some of the world's most trusted, high performance components, Ritchey's WCS line sets the standard.

Made from TRX50 seamless, triple butted alloy. Anatomical bend drops. 31.8 OS clamp section for improved stiffness and durability. Fit Logic = Adjusted reach / drop per width. Weight 228g.

As a combination I don't mind admitting that they look incredible and they will do the bike justice ... With the 3T wraps on I am proud to say that my cockpit is fit for an Olympic champion. Step up, step up. The only thing I hope is that the measurements I have chosen suit my frame and body size and I can be in the hoods, drops and the bars and be fully comfortable in all 3 positions ... More to follow on that later on when I have test ridden it. Price on these sexy little buggers - £54.74. Cheap as chips ... Well, not chips but something cheap.

Finally ... Yes, finally ... I bet you are bored now, well done if your still here ... My seat post, the biggest problem I have had during my full Pippa re-fit. 

This is the PZ Racing CR2.2 ... 209g of quality. Having originally ordered a Ritchey WCS seat post that didn't have the right rail attachments for the over sized rails that the Selle saddle has I had to change my design ... As it happens I have bought a very high quality seat post that's fully carbon, very light and incredibly well made. In addition to all of that when paired with the saddle it contrasts quite well with the seat post being black and the saddle being white ... Again working the mono colours is very effective with the yellow frame that Pippa is sporting. Here is the bad part ... The price ... I didn't order from Evans this time opting for Chain Reaction cycles after exhausting my choices on my usual suppliers site. I paid £74.99 for it ... Not cheap but definitely worth it now I have received it and checked it out. 

So there you have it, all my new kit ... I just need to fit it all ... When does that happen ... TODAY ! I am going to bed right now, I am up early to wash her down, strip her, then its time to get the new kit on there. All I will say is I hope it goes to plan otherwise I shall be a very angry man, ha ha ... Its a lot of money to throw away if its not going to A) Work and B) Look good ... So here's hoping. There will definitely be photos to follow so watch this space for Pippa in her full glory all finished and ready to go the distance ... London 2 Paris baby ! This is me signing out because I am wrecked and no doubt you are tired of reading me going on ... So I am outta here. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Ben Auty - Over and Out

Is it Spring yet ? Fitness report

If you regularly ready my blog, follow me on Facebook or of course Twitter you will know that I probably overuse the phrase "Oh the joys of British winter time" ... This is because I hate winter, not completely, I mean it has its good points but LOTS more bad, where can I start, dark mornings, dark nights, cold, damp, wet, muggy, miserable, windy, snowy, icy, basically all the things that us roadies hate about riding the poor quality British highways. Needless to say I am overjoyed to see the sunrise getting earlier and the sunset getting later ... Yes I am watching the times very intensely ... Today the sun rise was 08:02am and the sunset not until 16:32pm. Happy days are on the way !

So in the mean time what can we do ? ... Spin spin sugar ... Or in my case spin swim sugar ! (Yes I realise that's a terrible joke, I shouldn't try to be funny). 

I am doing a lot of fitness at the moment, tomorrow will be only my 4th rest day of the year ... Its been a hectic month where so far I have done the following:

• Cycle - 84.2 miles
• Run - 7.0 miles
• Swam - 18.1 miles
• Burned - 18,536 calories
• Lost - 10lb

Yes I know ... Not enough cycling right, but I am still on top of things, the regime is going well and I feel like I am on course, the twice I have managed to get Pippa (My Bike) out on the road its been positive. Got some stuff to report on different parts which are making the whole riding experience a lot more interesting / better ... That's to come in my next blog. But for now all I will say is I have a few routes mapped and I have a few new riding buddies.

One of my oldest friends Matt Chard has just purchased his first road bike and shall be taking delivery early next week fingers crossed. His enthusiasm scares me, ha ha ... I think he is going to be pushing himself to the max to get up to my level, shouldn't take long too be honest and then we can hit some big all day rides. Exciting stuff.

Secondly I have signed for a cycling team - GS Gazzetta ... There is a regional captain up here called Dave who is pretty keen to get out on a few rides ... In fact my first ride with a few of the team is coming up in April, the route has been described as "Very challenging", 69 miles long and a definite leg killer.

Map image - Lakeland Loop

Click HERE for full details

So that is something to focus on before I get to my London 2 Paris ride, its going to be my last big training all day session before the big ride so I need to make the most of the EPIC climbs on this bad boy. Looking forward to it ... Wonder if I can get Matty along ? Ha ha ... One step at a time my young student, the force is strong with you but you are yet to master your power.

Right I am pretty much done on my fitness report for now ... Another blog up soon about my equipment purchases and making Pippa look beautiful and more comfortable. In the mean time keep checking in with me on Facebook, Twitter and of course on here ... Ill try and remain entertaining for you all. For my links just see below ...

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Ben Auty - Over and Out