Hills hills and more hills

Hills, hills and more hills

Today we travelled from Stockton on tees to Carlisle a mere 99 miles. Elevation is not something I've ever been concerned about but today's hills made it feel like we on are way to Olympus. The rigors this puts on your body and bike is immerse, my pedals gave away after so much pushing and everyone thighs were burning with the non stop climbing. We did get to pass Hadrian's wall which led me to admire the construction I can't imagine how much effort it would have taken to build, it's not a job I would apply for, I never even want to see those hills again.

On our lunch break we were reminded of the generosity of people donating to the Zurich Community Trust as two elderly gentlemen enquired what we were doing and dug deep into their pockets, a great reminder of why we are going through this pain and the difference it will make.

Tomorrow is going to be hard with yes.... more hills! ...but with everyone's support we will get through it.

John Connell

Donate here! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=ZCTLMC&isTeam=true

Day 5 complete with 98.38 miles going up and down hills. Hit 40.3 mph going down hill, so glad I brought  a spare set of brake pads! Today was awful with relentless winds against you all the way to the hotel completing 5982ft of climbing!

Today was full events. The day didn't start well for Jason, he had a puncture over night. Secondly, we saw plenty on animals on the road from sheep, a chicken and a rabbit. 'Why did the chicken cross the road? To crash into cyclists'. A chicken almost crashed into a group when going downhill. Luckily it was fine. Thirdly, Andre Morrison's vintage bike had a puncture going down hill with a massive BANG! It took over an hour to get equipment and spares from the support van.! Overall the whole cycle ride was exhausting and we all need a rest.

Tomorrow will consist of more climbing than today! It's going to be painful!

Eric Kwok

Donate here! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=ZCTLMC&isTeam=true 

More than planned in store for our riders on day four!

So today saw us set off from Sheffield towards Stockton on Tees! A very early start, with everyone eating hearty breakfasts at 630am! Most people with puffy eyes and mixed emotions! But Jason got us all ready and we set off in high spirits at 7 for our 111mile ride!

I was in the middle group, but we all set out together as we tried to follow the sun, or at least blue skies!(Day was predicted for grey clouds and storms)

However what was suppose to be a normal route turned out to be more like off roading! Our adventures took us through farm lands, a forest that had very wet cobbled stones, dirt tracks with loads of pot holes, over a fence  and all the time it was raining!!(Funny funny)

We also had to make a few detours as we could not ride down some of the roads which meant we ended up doing 119miles! But hey, we did it, all in the name of charity/ZCT!

My group was awesome, as everyone was getting really tired towards the end and just wanted their beds and a warm shower,but we kept each other going! It was tough!

The best thing at the end of such a long day, was seeing everyone again around the table smiling, knowing we had just done over 400 miles and we still enthusiastic to get the next few days done!
Bring it on! And keep sponsoring!

Thank you kim! X

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Arif tells us all about day three! (day 2 for him)

Day 2 for me (day 3 for everyone else!). The day started quite leisurely in Peterborough. Late breakfast and paper whilst everyone else messed about with their bikes and then a nice amble through town with all 23 group members together. As soon as we got out of town Barry hit the front and the faster riders dropped the pack and got into proper peleton mode taking it in turns to ride fast at the front and shield the pack from the wind. The standard this year is pretty impressive and we stayed above 20 miles an hour for the first 30 miles when Barry stopped at aldi to pick up their two lattes for 99p special. The rest of us gorged on various junk cycling foods/ drinks from the support van and we were off again this time heading to Lincoln for lunch. At this point we there were 4 left in the lead group and we hammered it to Lincoln taking a detour off the designated route up a really steep climb to have a look at lincoln cathedral (that's a landmark Jason!). Then a quick stop for lunch and a change into more weatherproof gear and we headed towards Sheffield. The pace was taking its toll on my running legs (wrong sport) but I convinced myself getting to Sheffield early would be worth it (much needed rest). Unfortunately technological issues meant we reached Sheffield and our Garmin had us circling a council estate with no clear path to the cholera monument, our landmark for the day.. Frustrated, we inadvertantly split up and I managed to fall off after my chain fell off trying to change cogs going up a steep hill on that damn council estate! No harm done, we got to the hotel (Ibis, no expense spared) and then stood around in the cold wind and rain trying to reconvene and find the monument. Eventually Dan found it, we smashed it there, took a quick photo and smashed it back. Straight to my room, shower, a bit of tennis/ cricket on the tv, quick nap, huge box of kfc and all is well 😊 (no getting lost tomorrow!).

Arif

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Day 3 - a day of two halves

From my perspective in the social group. The stats for today, We cycled 102 miles, 2 punctures and 3 crashes. We woke up to sunshine which is always a good start to a day that we knew was going to be tough. Within 1 mile we had our first puncture but that was quickly sorted. The roads were very long and straight and I found it mentally harder than the physical cycling. Lunch was a welcoming sight as we all needed it. During lunch the weather started to change and from then it was extremely windy and rained for the last 20 miles and on top of that it was very hilly coming in to Sheffield which made things tricky for Gari who crashed on the railroad. Fortunately there were no trains due. At another railroad crossing we came across this really friendly dog who was so excited to see us so we just had to take a picture of him. We eventually arrived at the Ibis hotel at 6pm and couldn't wait to get out our wet clothes and have a nice warm shower. A few of us went to a pub for some food and the to KFC for a ice cream and to our amusement the girl serving us had a small issue with the ice cream machine and got absolutely covered in it. It was a good way to end the hard day we had. Thanks to everyone for your continued support. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=ZCTLMC&isTeam=true Darryl

Ivor Blackmore admits to braving bus route!

Today was a 105 miles ride from London to Peterborough. I was glad to see the back of London. Impressive city it may be but not a cycling paradise - goodness knows how many sets of traffic lights we had to cross, and 2 punctures in the first 7 miles suggest the streets are paved with glass, not gold, Mr Whittington.

We had the typical British 4 seasons in one day - including rain, wind, sunshine, sometimes all at once, but we all made it back in one piece. We took in three landmarks - The American Cemetery (poignant and immaculate), Home Fen (under sea level, and underwhelming), and Peterborough Cathedral (impressive) - see photos attached.

As usual, a few stories were recounted over dinner and, embarrassingly, I featured in the most talked about.

Dave, Noodles (Eric) and I rode with the middle paced group on day 1. It is a terrific group but today as we grew in confidence, we three got ideas above our station and formed a small breakaway team. We did pretty well but, on more than one occasion, our good work was undone by the suspect navigator with the GPS (yes, it was me, which would be no surprise to my wife) and having left the group in our tracks, by the time we got back on track we would rejoin them sheepishly - from behind. The worst incident was at a turn off the road onto a cycle track. The problem being we didn't quite make it to the tarmac and instead went through the first gap... onto a guided bus track. Miraculously, I escaped unscathed but Noodles and David with a shredded tyre and puncture, respectively, can attest to the fact that the concrete troughs that are guided bus lanes are not at all good for bikes. Fortunately spares and labour were on hand thanks to Barry, Richard and Steve, and our zig zag journey resumed though not before our mini team was cruelly christened 'The Bus Route *******'! Photographic evidence is attached.

Jon Willey shares what happened on day two!

5 punctures

1 crash

2 lost directions 

Woke up at 4 am thinking it was ALOT later, but struggled to get back to sleep. Looked outside and as the weather report predicted yesterday, it was wet and cold. 

We all fueled up at 7am ready for a busy day, got ready and left the hotel at 8am with everyone dressed for a heavy downpour.

After the first 2 miles Craig had a puncture in the park. We then had to change directions as the path was blocked off.

The groups naturally split into 3 groups. I was in the back group with the usual lot looking to make the long day ahead as funny as possible.  

Just as we got into Cambridge the weather was looking up and you couldn't ask for a better time. Seeing all the amazingly massive houses, the immaculate scenery and outstanding college and university grounds. We stopped for a quick lunch and then headed off to the American cemetery which was amazing to look at, but got a lump in my throat seeing all the names. 

We made some good headway later on in the day with the sun trying to make an appearance. Cycling through farmlands on a very bumpy road.  

We eventually made it to The Bull hotel in Peterborough and met the others. We all had a quick pint whilst sharing our experiences of the day. Then headed out for food. We ended up going to Nandos whilst others headed to a burger joint. 

Goodnight from the Willey room.

Jon