On the 1st of January John, Robert, Ewan and I met at 10am and began training, setting off from the Red Smiddy Roundabout at Inchinnan. Our pace was steady and as we headed down the Georgetown Road to Houston, it was clear early on that the excesses of the Christmas period had taken their toll, even though not one of us had a hangover! Given the time of the year the weather was suprisingly decent on our run down Cycle Route 7 to Castle Semple at Lochwinnoch where we stopped to discuss training tactics. This lasted all of a minute before Robert produced minatures for us to toast 2013 and our fundraising efforts for Prostate Cancer UK. John had previously informed us that he was not partaking in any alcohol consumption until we got to France, assuming that we were going to have a drink, however Robert handed out wee bars of chocolate to fuel us on our return journey and we had toasted 2013 with our water bottles! Having cooled off quickly we decided to follow the same route home so we had a performance marker to measure ourselves against as we continue training, Ewan and I sat on at the front with John and Robert following our wheels at a good steady 16mph. On returning to the Red Smiddy it was clear our fitness levels didn't match the pace we want to accomplish - it's going to be a long hard slog this winter.
Throughout the last couple of weeks we have all managed to train on our own out on the road and attend the "beastings" that are spin classes. We have also been joined on the road by other cycling buddies who are keen to help us in out training efforts, one of whom is James Blest. I met him at another friend's 40th Birthday party where we got talking about our plans for the forthcoming year. I mentioned Get To France and straight away James intimated his interest.
He didn't take much convincing - now he is the fifth member of the team.
James said: "As with many people, cancer has affected my family with my Grandmother, Aunt and an Uncle dying of the disease."
"Knowing my cycling buddy John and seeing his unwavering positive attitude is an inspiration to me and I am honoured to have the opportunity to help raise funds for such a worthwhile cause!"
"As for our trip to France, I am looking forward to it immensely...it's a great opportunity to turn the pedals with existing friends, whilst making new ones along the way."
"It's going to be a real challenge but one which we all take on with relish...lets raise lots for Prostate Cancer UK and have fun along the way."
"We will....GET TO FRANCE!"
http://www.justgiving.com/James-Blest
Please continue to follow our training and fundraising progress and feel free to give us some training tips and encouragement on this blog.
At the risk of sounding like another cancer surviving cyclist "Every Penny Counts".
Please spare what you can for Prostate Cancer UK and Get To France.
http://www.justgiving.com/teams/gettofrance
Andy
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