Firstly - the London to Cardiff Race was a huge success. With new teams members and experience on the routes, I thought we stood a good chance of beating last years time. The 30 degree heat tried to halt our progress but we managed to finish 4th out of 14 teams (most of whom were running clubs!) and shaved over 90 minutes off out time. A great trip and great experience. Unfortunately the car rental company would not let me take my bike - but the logistical genius of Adam Brown saw us hiring a Brompton and ticking off a good few country miles!
I've always been pretty nervous about my inexperience when it comes to bike maintenance - so I signed up to a course at my local bike shop to learn the basics. Then - disaster stuck - I managed to snap my chain on two consecutive rides. This is not something I had learnt how to deal with - and so was stranded in both Richmond Park and on Swains Lane. So - I've just picked my bike up from a full servicing and cleaning and its feeling better than ever. Perfect for some big rides in my last month of training. I've been out to the Surrey Hills and have been doing lots of riding around the City, and have a weekend of training in South Wales in early August.
Lastly - logistics are starting to fall in to place and I've booked our eurotunnel across to Calais on August 25th. Whilst being a little pricier than a ferry, it is over an hour quicker, and so will allow us to head inland for 30 or so miles once we arrive. It will take us to over 100miles of riding on the first day - and so will be a very testing first day in the saddle before locating our hotel in Saint Omer.
