Ian & Simon's profileCycle India 2007 - Ian &...PhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
Cycle India 2007 - Ian & Simon's BlogYou know the saddle-sore will be the real killer....
April 05 Catch up drinksWell this has been a long time coming, but now Simon and I are back to full health we will be having a few drinks to catch up with everyone post India! We will be having drinks in De Hemes bar, on the little road off the and of Gerrard Street (China Town) - print out your directions here http://fancyapint.com/pubs_PF/PF_pub127.html. I'll be there from about 6pm!
It would be great if you can make it!
Cheers
Ian & Simon March 27 Since we got back....Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we got back from India, and I have been ill pretty much the whole time! I had an anxious few days wait on some blood test results to see whether I had malaria or not, thankfully I didn't! I did have a viral infection though which laid me out completely. I have started back at work now, but on reduced hours until I am back to full health!
Being ill like this has probably dulled my memories of the cycle trip a little, but I just need to look back at the photos to remind myself how great the trip was.
My deadline for getting all of my sponsorship comes along next week, so if anyone still wants to sponsor me then if you can do it now that would be great as I still have a little left to raise.
When I am back to full health I will arrange a drink somewhere to catch up with everyone.
Cheers,
Ian March 15 Photo's AvailableHi all,
Well we are back in the UK now and trying to get back in to the swing of normal life again.... if that's possible.
My photo's are available online now (I will put up a link to Simon's when he has sorted it out):
Cycle photo's - http://www.flickr.com/photos/7224246@N07/sets/72157600000803338
Goa photos - http://www.flickr.com/gp/7353474@N04/9tV520
Enjoy!
Ian
PS - Will have the videos up on youtube soon! March 04 It's been emotionalWell we left the rest of the group at Dehli International Airport last night, and it was really sad to say goodbye to everyone. We have done so much on this trip together that everyone feels like old friends. We had to get a cab to the domestic airport for our flight to Goa, but it was 3am and our flight was not till 11am. So we stayed in a ridiculously expensive airport hotel and got some kip, but it was well worth it. Just about to fly yo Goa now, so will not be much to tell for a while. Beach and cocktails here we come!!! Ian and Simon March 03 That's all folks!!!Well, it certainly has been an emotional last couple days. As you may have guessed from the lack of a blog entry on thursday I wasn't in much of a state to write anything. Unfortunately I got hit by the cursed Dehli Belly. It started after we sat at the back of the open top truck for the tiger safari (which was shit by the way as we didn't see any tigers) and got shook around so much on the bumby ground that my stomach didn't know whether it was coming or going! We then had to jump on the coach for a couple of hours toi reach our starting point for the day. That's when it started to get worse, and I threw up twice, thankfully in to plastic bags! The doctor gave me all sorts of drugs, including an injection of I don't know what. So I was in no state to ride that afternoon, but fortunately we were only riding about 30km, so I didn't mind missing it too much. When we arrived at the hotwl that evening it all started coming out the other end of me - through the eye of a needle if you get me drift - and I went straight to bed. I had a really high temperature too so the doc gave me some antibiotics (yet more drugs!) and I tried to sleep it off. The diorreaha (sp) was still bad in the morning and I could only manage a couple of pieces of toast. A few people said I looked that bad that I shouldn't ride and I am sure most thought that if I did start I wouldn't finish the day - we had about 65km to do. I was determined to give it a go though, and if truth be told I was sceptical myself about my chances of finishing. I have to say that that days riding was one of the hardest things I have ever done! I was so drained of energy it was like riding with the brakes clamped on. As the day wore on and it got hotter it got more and more difficult. One of the girls in the goup, Hannah, had also been ill and was doing really well to still be out there. The one thing that kept me going as I was riding was the thought of how proud my parents would be of me, and of how my mom battled through her breast cancer, so I knew I could do it. When we did reach the end it was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. A mixture of relief and pride and exhaustion. I have to say how well Simon did too, I am sure that there were many people that may have doubted whether he could do this or not, but his training and perserverence paid off!!! We drove the last part in to Jaipur as the traffic is too mad, and got to thhe hotel last night. Again I went straight to bed, I think I used up my last ounce of energy to finish the ride. Unfortunately I missed the award ceremony in which Simon won the 'Rosy Cheeks' award - I am presuming for the facial ones and we all had fairly rosy butt cheeks! I won the award for 'Perservering In The Face Of Adversity', which I am very proud of! So we have a free day in Jaipur today. It feels very strange to be not getting on a bike, not that I am complaining! Of to see the Fort and hopefully the elephant festival! Back to Dehli tonight and fly down to Goa tomorrow for a week of relaxation, can't wait!!!! Ian and Simon February 28 What hurts the most?This will be anothet quick one as we are so tired. We made it through the secind long day, another 113km, ok. It was a surprise to find we had the energy to do it, but we founf it from somewhere. I have picked up a knee injuruy, inflamed or maybe strained tendons in my right knee. This made this afternoon really tough, but I made it. The doc is going to sort mw out with some pills later, and I have an ice pack on it now. Tiger safari in the morning, then a measly 60km ride! Tata, Ian and simon February 27 The never ending rideThis is going to be quick as I am absolutely knackered. Simon and I managed to get through the first of the really long days, and I am really proud of both of us, as well as the others who compeleted the day. For variuos reasons not get through the whole day, but everyone gave their all. We are staying in a great place, but can't really appreciate it as we are all so tired. Just had a lovely moment where some candels and had time to reflect on the reasons why they were doing the trip. It was quite emotional, but it made me think about how proud my parents will be of me. We have the same distance to do tomorrow, 113km, seems mad to do it all again, but we'll see how we go! Tata for now! Ian and Simon February 26 A bumby rideWe started the second day of riding with a difficult exit from fatephur sikri. The roads out of the town, if you can call them road as they were essentially mud, were extremely bumby. We had a total of 47Km to do, so we were only going to be riding in morning, but the ride seemed to go extremely quickly. We road through lots of small villages again and arrived in bhartpur for midday. Hotel was interesting to say the least, but I'll cover that another time. Spent the afternoon in a bird sanctuary being ridden round on a rickshaw, which was a lovely change. Big ride tommorow, early night tonight as we are up at 5:20! 113Km to do, eeeeek!!!!! Wish us luck! Ian and Simon February 25 First days cycling comlete!Wow, what a day. I don't think anything could have prepared us for the amazing sights we have seen today. Leaving agra at 8am this morning, the weather was pretty overcast, with an bit of very light drizzle. This was suprising but actuaaly very nice. Getting out of agra town centre was unbeleiveable. Weaving our way between camels, cows and dogs, as well as the usual mix of cycles motorbikes cars and of cause tuk tuks! I don't know whether the people we passed were more amazed at seeing us, or us at the sights we were seeing. The sun came out more later in the morning, which made things a little tougher. But all in all a nice start. We have just been to see the old ghost city of fatehpur sikri, and I have to say that the 3 hour tour has knackered me out. So time to a nap now before dinner. Oddly, I think we are having chinese?!!?! February 24 That's that ticked off the list then!We arrived safely, although a little shaken, after our coach ride from Dehli to Agra. Had breakfast at our hotel, which is basic but nice, and then went straight to bed at about 8:30am!!! Met up with everyone at mid day and walked down the road for lunch ata place near the Taj Mahal. Obviuosly had our first curry of the trip! Was a lovely Thali - a mix of small dishes with rice and fresh bread, there will be plenty more of that to come!!! Went to see the Taj Mahal, which was wonderful. Took loads of photos, including my body buuilding pose.ready for soccer am! I am ready!!!! Am just chilling now at the hotel before we go for dinner tonight, and then get an early night ready for the start tomorrow! Don't know what coverage is going to be like from here until Jaipur, so may not post for a little while, so adios for now!!! Ian and Simon February 23 We have arrived!!!!Well we have finally arrived in dehli, and thankfully the flight was not too bad. It was only 7 1/2 hours in the end, not the 9 we had originally thought. Took quite a while to get out of the airport, but then again what can you expect with a group of 30 people. We had a nice little welcoming comittee who gave each of us a garland of flowers, which was a nice touch. We have now just got on the coach heading off to Agra, which is going to take us 5 hours, am deffinately not looking forward to this! Will arrive in Agra at about 8am, have a few hours rest and then go off to see the Taj Mahal which should be great. So, bye for now! Ian and Simon February 22 That's it, I'm off!!!Just left the house and am on my way over to simon's place now. Hope I haven't forgotten anything. Have checked my passport about 10 times!!!! Feels like it has started properly now! Ian February 09 Training hic-up.... but now back on track!Well my plan to go to the gym every day whilst I was in New York lasted until...... day 2!!! So only one visit to the gym, and a week spent completely on the lash meant that I had some serious catching up to do this week.
Monday was a complete write off because of jet lag, well that and the probably average of 3 hours sleep a night I got in NYC! But I was back on it on Tursday and had a decent 5Km run. I bought myself some Nike+ trainers and the iPod attachment to go with the iPod Nano that I also bought there (see http://www.nike.com/nikeplus/) and I am absolutely loving it. Having the music right to hand when I am running (in the Nike arm strap) is really cool, plus you can get feedback through your headphones on how far and how fast you have gone - this doesn't matter so much when you are on the treadmill, but is still really cool anyway. I also ran 5Km on Wednesday and Thursday night, and am planning on doing the same tonight, and maybe tomorrow.
If the eather is OK, I wll get out on my bike this weekend, which will probably be the last of my major training. I am going to rest up a bit from then on up to the time we go, I may fit in a couple of karate classes just to keep myself loose, but will not do too much more cardio work.
So, there you go.... I'll post an update on my training next week hopefully!
Ian January 25 Well it looks like it workedNow I just have to hope I can get a gprs signal out there!!!! Ian Blogging from my blackberry!Hi everyone, This is just a little test to make sure I can email in to my blog using my blackberry. Should thid work then I will be taking my blackberry to India with me and will be able to give evryone regular updates! Right than here goes!!! Ian January 12 New Year, new training scheduleWell, after being pretty restrained in my eating over christmas I have now cracked back on with my training for the trip.
I am now trying to get my body used to excercising on a number of consecutive days as I think this will be the toughest part of the trip. So I am now training 6 days a week. I am still doing my karate training 3 days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays) and have supplemented this by running on Mondays and Wednesdays (currently running 5Km at a steady pace). I'm also going to try to fit in a cycle ride on the weekends too.
I've got to go to New York for a work trip at the end of the month, but there is a gym I can use near the hotel so I am going to aim to get on the excercise bike every day!
Not long now though, 6 weeks and counting!!!!
Ian December 05 80% DeadlineWell the deadline for the raising of the 80% of my sponsorship has now passed, and I would like to give a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far.
I did not make it up to the 80% mark and have had to add in the rest of the money myself so it is especially important nowthat, if you have not sponsored me yet, if you can do so some time between now and my trip that would be great.
I'm sure I will be doing some event in the new year to raise the rest of the money, so watch this space.
Thanks again,
Ian November 20 Sponsorahip Deadline ApproachingHi, as you may already know, the deadline for us to rasie the 80% of our needed amounts is fast approaching (the end of this month), so this is one final plea to you all.... if you intend to sponsor us could you please do so by the end of this month.
Thanks for your continuing support and sponsorship so far!!!
November 07 Pool Competition!Well the results are in and the winner of the pool competition was Michael Yiatanou! Congratulations Mike!
Congratulations also to Wesley who was the lucky winner of the sweepstake!
I would like to thank everybody for coming along to the competition and I hope everyone had a great time, I know I did! I have already had requests from people to hold another event, so we may we do the same thing again, maybe in January.
Once again thanks to Elbow Room for providing us with the pool table for free for the evening!
Thanks again,
Ian October 16 London to Brighton Training Trip Completed!!!We succesfully completed our London to Brighton cycle training trip this weekend!
And I have to say it was a lot lot harder than I expected. I think the route we took seems to go via every hill in the south of England. The day got off to a slow start, seeing us set off an hour late, mainly due to the fact that our friend Chris was totally unprepared for the trip and had not packed, or got his bike ready.
So we set of at about 9am, and was we hoped would be a fairly quick first stage ened up taking us just over an hour due to having to stop numerous time to make sure we were going in the right direction. The second stage was where things started to get a little tough, with a few hills popping up and our energy levels generally dropping off a bit. We ended up stopping slightly earlier than plnned in Merstham, and stopped at a garage to take on some enery drinks and food (well Chris had a pasty which I'm not sure counts as energy food really
 ). We plodded on to the end of the stage, after making a slight wrong turning and having to go back on ourselves a little, and took a shorter break than planned.Stage 3 proved to be very difficult, with some long sections of hills, which seemed to more up then down. Eventually we made it to Turners Hill and stopped for lunch at a nice little country pub - although we did get a few strange looks from the 'locals'. Anyway one pint and a ploughmans later we headed off for stage 4.
Stage 4 seems to start off pretty well and I thought we may be making up some time, until I realised that we had somehow missed a turning we were meant to make and had gone a mile or so the wromg way. Still, unperterbed we made a detour and after another short garage stop we picked up our planned route again. We pushed on and stopped again for a few minutes in Wivelsfield Green. There wasn't much there to speak of, and we moved on pretty quickly after that. We knew the next stage would be the hardest...
We left Wivelsfield and pushed on towards Ditchling, I don't don't know if it was the thought of what was to come, but at this point I think we were totally devoid of energy, we eventually got to Ditchling Beacon and decided that it was best if wee walked up. I think we could have maybe got up there but I would have been a wreck after that, and we wouldn't have saved that much time. Wnyway, when we got to the top it was worth it, there were some stunning view up there and at this point I we new we were on the homeward stretch so didn't feel to bad. We puched on in to Coldean, and rather than stopping we headed on straight in to Brighton.
There was an enormous sense of releif and achievement when we finally stopped down by Brighton Pier, and an even better feeling after showering and having a lie down in the hotel. We went for some food and a few beers in Brighton, but to be honest we were all too tired to have a big night out.
So, all in all, it was a very satisfying day and we were all very proud of what we have achieved.
Photos to follow very soon....
October 10 Pool Competition - Elbow Rooms IslingtonI will be holding a charity Pool Competition to be hosted at Elbow Room in Islington on Monday 6th November 2006, starting at 6:30pm!
Elbow Room have been very generous and will be providing us with the pool table for free for the evening, so a big thanks you goes out to all the guys there!!!!
Details of how to get to the venue can be found at http://www.theelbowroom.co.uk/islington/contact.aspx.
If you haven't already let me know that you will be attending please do so ASAP as I will be drawing up the tournament bracket pretty soon.
Just a reminder, as this is for chairty, there is a £5 entrance fee for the competition, but there will also be prizes on offer, so there's an incentive to win, plus you will be able to wager on your favourite player (may be yourself!) - details of this on the night!
Cheers,
Ian Brighton training ride this weekendWell the Brighton traingin run is coming up this weekend, and we are very much looking forward to it. It should be hard work, but I am sure it will be fun at the same time. I'll hopefully post some pictures up next week! Nike 10Km run Completed!!Well both Simon & I succefully completed the Nike 10Km run on Sunday, and all in all it was a really great day. I completed the run un 57mins, and Simon in 1 hour 9min. You can see my split times here: You can see Simon's finish video here:
Cheers Ian August 01 Brighton ride re-arrangedDue to unforseen circumsatnces we have had to re-arrange the Brighton training trip. We will now be doing this on Saturday 14th October 2006. July 20 Cross TrainingBoth Simon & I have signed up to do the Nilke 10Km run in October (http://www.runlondon.com), this should be a tough challenge in itself, but will certainly go towards improving our general fitness.
It is also another good reason to sponsor us!!!! |
|
||||||||
|
|
