Last Training Weekend - 93 Miles - New Forest Off-road Trails

For the final weekend of training of the Go Ghana Cycle Challenge Jill booked a great Bed and Breakfast on the edge of the New Forest recommended by our friends (David, Eraine and Billy Allan) so that I could get some further off-road experience.

It was an excellent weekend, with great weather and I managed to cover a total of 93 miles over the Saturday and Sunday with about half through the New Forest off-road trails and the other on roads.   This was a total of almost 8 hours in the saddle to get used to back to back days on off road conditions.

The trails were great fun, particularly dodging the various wildlife roaming freely including ponies, cows, highland cows, deer and pigs!!!!.   Some of the trails had lots of pot holes so good experience of what is to come in only 5 days time in Ghana.

Sunday was challenging with 2 punctures within 30 minutes, which was frustrating but also good experience to be able to fix them and continue for another 20 miles.   Amazing that I have now covered over 1,500 miles this year training for the event and these were the first two punctures - I have been very lucky!

Many thanks to our friends the Allan family for their fantastic hospitality, dinner on the Saturday night was lovely and a hot shower on the Sunday was particularly welcome, especially as I was covered in oil and muck from the punctures.

  Trails and animals in the New Forest:

Although I had a map of the New Forest cycle trails I still managed to get lost a few times:

I now have all my kit ready to be packed and just need to do a final check before squeezing into my bag ready for Friday 30th September this week.  I am very much looking forward to the challenge and feel that I am as prepared as I can be with my physical training.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on the challenge on Friday morning at Heathrow.

Bring it on!

My kit ready to be packed in our spare room (hopefully it will all fit in my bag!)

Penultimate Weekend Training

This was the the penultimate weekend training before the Go Ghana Cycle Challenge and after a week working away in London and Reading there was no opportunity to train in the week evenings.   Thankfully I managed to get out for 28 miles on Saturday and with my friend Mil on Sunday for 47 miles, a total of 6 hours in the saddle, despite the wind and rain.

The Sunday cycle was particularly pleasant. It is  much more enjoyable with a training buddy and Mil introduced me to a great cafe next to the canal in Stourport-on-Severn where we stopped for tea / coffee and fruit cake.  Note not chocolate cake!     

Even so, the fruit cake made the climb out of the town much more challenging and we were both regretting it by the time we reached the top.  Still I would recommend the cafe just take the flat road out of town and not the hill.

Many thanks to Mil for helping with my training during the year which has been challenging keeping up with his super slick road bike with me on my heavy mountain bike! but great fun. 

Next week will be the same working away in London but we have booked to stay away for the last weekend so that I can do off road trails (hopefully a minimum of 4 hours each day) and spend time together as a family and with friends.   

Although my fitness has improved I had hoped that we would have had some hot weather over the UK summer to get used to the conditions in Ghana as I'm sure it is going to be hard with 34 degree constant sun!

12 days and counting to the start! 

Cannock Chase - Off Road Training

Many thanks to my friend Phil for taking my brother Gary (also doing the Go Ghana Cycle Challenge) and myself around off road trails in Cannock Chase for a training session.

It was great to get off roads and gain some experience of trails which should give us good preparation for the off road (60%) sections of the cycle challenge.  As it has been dry recently the trails were very dusty and we pretended we were in 34 degree Ghana!

Some great routes through the forestry commission on red, blue and green tracks.

I managed to fall off close to the start with only slight bruising of my side and pride.

Amazing difference to being on the road. We covered 15 miles in 2 hours which we could have covered in half the time on the road.

It was really great to be able to spend time with my brother to do joint training especially with only 4 weeks to the event and we are both so excited.

At the highest point on Cannock Chase:

Phil, Gary and Neil after a well earned break.  Thanks to Phil for the donation for the coffees: