Now, with Coast-to-Coast done and dusted, it’s back to the drawing board for the next crazy challenge, something to push our bodies ever further and to share more wonderful memories. Only two weeks on and a 3-day 680km ride across the Pyrennes has been thrown into the mix. “Coast-to-Coast II” – The Atlantic to The Mediterranean. Why not? I loved riding in the Alps back in June. I enjoyed the experience of UK C2C (albeit the weather put a damper on the event). So a combination of the two seems like the natural course of action. We’ll see. Someone else may have to take the reins now that Guy will be kept busy putting to use the funds raised on C2C to provide fun-filled sporting events for children in Cheshire and fulfil Concept X’s aims.
Being my first sportive, I planned everything to a tee the day before, and still I was terrified I’d end up in Stoke with only one glove, no cleats on my shoes and two flat tyres. Fortunately the entire event was hitch free, including traffic on route! Surprising for 6:30am on a Sunday… Daft sod! In the 15 minutes before registration opened, I took a wander, soaking in the calm before 1000 riders descended on Trentham Gardens. A crisp summer dawn is a beautiful moment, with the chill in the air serving to only sharpen the scene.
September marks three years since I got my bike and started riding proper; the lack of bike maintenance skills I’ve picked up over this period would be slightly embarrassing for anyone, but it’s made ten times worse by the fact I am currently reading Mechanical Engineering at Uni… I know. There really isn’t any excuse. My knowledge is limited to cleaning my chain and derailleurs (badly), so it didn’t really come as a surprise that my bike was a bit screwed up. Chain Reaction Cycles-mechanic-man confirmed the play in my wheels was definitely a bad thing, but ‘rideable’. Something to do with wear of the ‘cup and ball’ related to the bearings in the hub? I’ll get someone who knows what this means to have a look.