Been a while....
08 Mar 2010, Tim Narey

Sunday 7th March
R+R with family; cleaned bike; fitted Aliante saddle, but no time to ride today.

Saturday 6th March (5 days to go)
Fitted the Arione and decided to go for it and did Middlesbrough to Whitby and back again (Torontonian readers should note this is Whitby in Yorkshire). At 54 miles of rolling moor-top road it was great to get a ride like that under my belt. Fairly tough going with head-wind on the outward run.
On the approach to Birk Brow, a serious ascent, the road surface has to be the worst in the United Kingdom and it’s difficult to hit it at any double digit mph. I was struggling in the very lowest gear. Once on top the A171 is a good run and halfway through the road surface really improves. Big descent into Whitby itself and the bike computer said 38mph, which felt hellishly fast – flat out in top gear – actually had to stop pedalling just to hang on. The run back was much better but this was the longest I had ever spent in the saddle and I had to get up a few times just to ease things – the most memorable burst of derriere pain was eased with a chuckle as I passed ‘The Grapes Inn’ –hopefully not an omen for the event!
Also battled with the rare sight of the original ‘cat’s eye’ [the road reflector, not the bike light] – pelting down the moor road and the edges are peppered with these things that look extremely innocent until you clip one and it’s like hitting a wall. Enough cast iron in them for a couple of battleships and then leftovers.
Saddle was not bad I suppose – the Arione has little contours, a bit like sitting on a stool, so you can move your bum around a bit which helps.



Fri 5th March
Son discharged at noon so went to local bike shop to discuss saddle which has been, literally, the only sore point of the new bike.
Small dig at the mighty Condor Shop here as I have been sold a Ladies seat – you can expect that coming right back at you and a full refund guys…….thought better of you, honestly! Took two test saddles home – Fizik Arione and Aliante. Blimey, not really a good time to be testing but there you go.

Thursday 4th
In hospital with my son who had his tonsils out. Stayed there overnight on a campbed – not a lot of sleep, but the lad was very brave. Well done Sunshine!

Wed 3rd March
Feeling weak, tired and generally sorry for myself, I set off for Regent’s Park at 6.15am – arriving late, I’d missed the group and set off on some laps of the inner circle, passing a dodgy bunch of Parkies sat in a Golf with the engine running – in Middlesbrough that is usually the sign of a robbery in progress….
Finally saw the peloton hurtling toward me in the opposite direction and joined them at the rear, already feeling out of place with my hybrid.
10/10 to the bloke in the burgundy cords who looked like he’d just joined after finishing his paper round – full fluorescent orange shoulder bag. Brilliant.
Apart from that it was horrific – flat rear, off the pace, feeling awful, but did get first bite at group riding and after training alone, what a difference it makes in the middle of the group – the eye of the storm – where the air is still.

Had to leave for home at the end of the day so missed the event at Aedas HQ.

Tuesday 2nd March
Eeeuuughhh. 2 days of vomiting accompanied by all three children (luckily we have three bathrooms). Strangely, the wife was immune to it all, but picked up the glorious task of laundry……
Headed for London in late evening so as not to miss the final Regents Run.

Sunday 28th Feb
Took my son to rugby and did a couple of circuits of Guisborough. Not feeling great at all.

Saturday 27th Feb
Rolled out in the cold for a very brief 24 miler.
Nothing to report except for cold feet. Not feeling too good actually – my daughter has a sickness bug and I hope I don’t get it. Saddle not giving me good vibes.

Friday 26th Feb
Snow and sleet and frost

TIm Narey
25 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Wednesday 24th Feb
No morning ride. But diet is going well and I have definitely lost weight this week. Many people remarking that I am taking the ride seriously, but still some doubters.
Receive the detailed C2C programme – ah medical certificate. I wonder why?

Tuesday 23rd Feb
Extremely horrific reintroduction to Spin only made possible by trance music.
Felt disgusting but cannot contest that leg strength and stamina is in a different league to when I started out. Ash tells me his mate has done the ride and it’s brutal.

Monday 22nd Feb
Brought hybrid down to London for my first Wed am group ride – Condor at home resting. By the afternoon, I had a call to attend an 8am Wednesday meeting at Heathrow – no excuses, so yet again I would miss the Regents Group ride. Nightmare.

Sunday 21st Feb
Yep – snow……and sleet…..and hail. But also sunshine so I set off to do Middlesbrough to York (42miles) taking my life into my own hands, I put the Condor to test on the A19 where me and my bike were David to Eddie Stobart’s Goliaths. The bike felt fantastic – bristling along at average speeds of +1.5-2mph faster than my old bike without effort. Ride position is great. I kept the speed up and was soon at the mini summit of ‘Birdforth’ – the Alp of Yorkshire (slight exaggeration) – made it just and ripped through the downhill section when lo, my mobile rang….it was my good lady to say that she wouldn’t be driving to York to her Mum’s and that I had to come back……yes, back up K2 that I had just conquered.
And then on the about turn, it dawned on me; I had been enjoying a very slight tail wind and now the wind in my face was very apparent. Sleet once again and a February afternoon started to very quickly close and dusk was upon me – temperature had now dropped to zero too. In pity, the family met me at a garage near Thirsk as riding home on the A19 would have been pretty daft in these conditions. So at 35miles, it ended up being a decent first outing for the Condor, if a little curtailed.
Home and dry, kids to bed and gave the bike a ceremonial clean. New saddle left its mark on the old backside I have to say.

Saturday 20th Feb.
Only had MTB helmet up til now, so went shopping for a road bike model. Tried many, but due to a childhood head injury, which still makes me quesey now, only one model fitted without putting pressure on my old wound. So C Boardman it is then – a bargain from Halfords, top spec and £80 cheaper than comparable famous brand model.

Friday 19th Feb
Got up, opened curtains, 2in of fresh snow. I mean come on.
Last day of half-term. Managed 1.5 days of when planned for 5. Weather too appalling to go out.

Thursday – return home with bike on train. Knackered from work but looking forward to a weekend of riding.

Wednesday.
Picked up Condor – stunning. Brought it back to office and envious eyes – what a lovely piece of kit. Feel slightly ripped off at £130 for some bibbed shorts though.

Tuesday – down to London – missed Spin class, but plan to pick up new Condor for the Wednesday am Regents Run. Sadly it was not ready so once again fate takes me away from the all important group ride.

Monday – rest

Tim Narey: Sunday 14th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
OK, OK,

headed out into the Shropshire Hills - 9 minutes in and having a mild stroke, sweating pure Chivas Regal from the night before. Anyway feeling things cannot get any worse, I trundle on to Northbridge. Puncture. Quick fix. Off we go.
Crossed the River Severn and with the image of the OS map etched in my mind, headed south again along the Severn Valley......or so I thought.
2 punctures, a failed front deraillier and about 6 miles of brutal climb/ descent/ climb /descent/ climb/ climb/ climb I reached 'Brown Clee' Hill which I later found out is the highest point in Shropshire. Nothing was looking familiar - and Welsh names had started appearing on the roadsigns - not good.
Had to dismount at a closed pub called the Three Horseshoes (think The Slaughtered Lamb off American Werewolf in London).
Pulled the OS map out and immediately realised we were on defcon 5 - not only had I missed my turn (by miles) I was also well off the map.
Military training kicked in and I needed to head East asap and I headed up a farm track. Spent the next 40 minutes cycling through an inch of manure slurry, stuck in a low gear.
Finally saw a familiar name on a signpost 'Oreton'
Amazingly, tried front deraillier one last time and it worked so back up to speed.
Got another puncture but the Slime innertube dealt with it and I just pumped a bit of pressure back in. an hour later and I was cycling back across the Severn, through the beautiful Village of Bewdley. Always satisfying to cross a county line too - Shropshire to Warwickshire and back to Shropshire.
Literally 2 miles from Kidderminster another puncture, but this time I was losing the will - I looked down and the computer said 41 miles, which given the situation with tyres and gears and the ridiculous hills was a good effort I think. Waited at Tesco garage for the car to arrive, and fortunately realised it was valentines day and got a card for the good lady.

The other thing I learnt today was about cheap clothing from Karrimor - namely the pants - which ironically are pants. Half way down my backside so it's off next week to pick the condor up and get some decent bibbed style ones.

No doubt Dezzie will have done 150km in 45 minutes on one wheel.

Thoughts for next week:
- Daily excercise
- Diet
- Sponsorship
- Continental 4 seasons bike tyres - almost puncture proof

Tim Narey: Saturday 13th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey

It’s the beginning of half-term week and the family engagements are coming thick and fast which could wreck my schedule. Driving down to Kidderminster for a friend’s 40th birthday gig – bike strapped on the back of the car in preparation for an improvised Sunday Ride in unfamiliar territory – must not miss it. If Monday’s headlines read ‘Father and bike lost in West Midlands’ it’s me.

Big issues for this week:
Maintain diet
‘Some’ sort of training every day now, even if it’s squats and lunges before bed
Take delivery of new bike on Tuesday and must increase miles now.
Do the Wed am Regent’s Park gig with Dezzie and friends.

Just read an article from the 21 hours per week Campaign who claim increased quality of life and a boost for the economy if we all did a three day week – this got me thinking about a load of similar utopian ideas…walking and cycling only in Central London for 4 days out of 7. Bliss.

Tim Narey:Friday 12th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey

Intent was to do a long lunch ride – about 3 hrs but again workload wrecks my best intentions and it is compromised to a 1hr sprint and hills session. Diet still going well but I have the feeling I am slipping behind slightly and need a real focus from now till March.

Tim Narey: Thursday 11th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Missed Stretch and spin due to workload, but have been much better on diet.
Cycle scheme voucher all sorted, pick up new bike next week. Awesome. Can’t wait to leave ‘Dezzie’ in a puff of tyre smoke in Regent’s Park next Wedensday!

Tim Narey: Tuesday 10th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Spin and Abs at dawn – brutal as ever, but noticing out of the saddle is more manageable. Still can’t believe the cadence (new word learnt by way of purchasing bike computer) speed of the instructor – just not humanly possible.

Tim Narey: Monday 9th Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Being a keen golfer and also a centre forward, I know how much the mind can affect your game performance, so it was a crushing blow to receive a text from John Nordon to say that he’d rattled out an 80k run also with a puncture over the weekend. He must have legs like Desert Orchid beneath those combat pants.

Making it up to me ‘Dezzie’ (as he will now be known) took me to Condor on Grays Inn Road and shortly afterwards, I was like a kid at Christmas Eve as my deposit was paid on a Squadra Road bike – he persuaded me to go for the smaller 55 frame which I am sure is because he thinks I’ll give up and will then give it to him for a fraction of what it cost. Speaking of cost, £1399, reduced to £999 and then cycle scheme takes that down to £499 – brilliant.

Tim Narey
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Sunday 7th Feb
Great stuff – my son was playing Rugby at Thirsk so the wife and kids drove and I biked it – good hills, only a puncture 3 miles from the chequered flag blighted an otherwise solid 35 miler (for mile watchers I did not take the ‘as the crow flies route’)
Passed the North Yorkshire team (er… passed in the other direction that is) and a series of nods and waves confirmed that if you are peddling, you are family.

Saturday 6th Feb
Short 1 hr ride squeezed into hectic family schedule so headed for hilly territory to get the thighs burning – any ride, no matter how short, is taken with glee. Weather still atrocious but irrelevant once warmed up. Bought a nice budget wireless bike computer (TREK) – very useful.

Friday 5th Feb
After a positive start to the week, things went downhill rapidly; overworked, poor diet, a chance to rectify this weekend maybe…

Tim Narey Tuesday 2nd Feb
14 Feb 2010, Tim Narey
Morning Ashley – dawn spin and abs session at City YMCA – usual embarrassment at ability of everyone around me, but a noteable difference to me anyway. Not a bad facility – less poncy than the branded gymns – feels more like a boxer’s gymn (da da daaaaaaa, dad a daaaaaa………yep lots of steps outside too).

Tim Narey: Monday 1st Feb 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
Bloody hell those circuits worked – a bit stiff to say the least in many undiscovered regions.

Starting to think a bit more about diet this month – not actually that difficult to do as the improving fitness and looming event seem to be having a mental snowball effect – my body and brain actually ‘want’ to be healthy. Main objective is to only do carbs around rides and keep to meat, fish and veg at all other times. No desert. I’m not a big drinker these days so still having the odd pint of Guinness and/or glass of wine. Trying to have a pint of water a day - Yorkshire water is fresh and cold, London water is like snake venom...

Tim Narey: Sunday 31st Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
Impossible to ride – snow and ice abound. Ended up doing evening circuit session with the wife in the living room. LA based ‘Tony Horton’s 10-minute workout’. Clearly Tony is insane….only a matter of time then until he’s President.

Tim Narey: Saturday 30th Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
You are joking…….3 inches of snow overnight……it’s like an anti-cycling conspiracy.

Tim Narey: Friday 29th Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
Dropped kids off at school and headed for Sports Direct who are selling Karrimor cycling kit at 70% off – black and orange was the order of the day and I now look like a 6 ft Fire crested newt sans tail. Brilliant.

Noon: Cracking 3 hr ride out in the sticks despite a cold wind. Really obvious step change in power and fitness – still a long way to go – but felt I could have done another hour; however a little bit saddle sore despite Gel seat cover.

Popped into Stokesley’s ‘Westbrook Cycles’ on the way home to order shoes and clips – also ogling over new range of Cannondale roadbikes – if only….

Tim Narey: Thursday 21st Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
All hail the king – Abdulmajid…..the first person to confirm (unprompted) that I appear to have lost weight.

Noon spin class trashed by work commitments…..it won’t be the last time

Tim Narey: Wednesday 20th Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
The C2Cers are doing the morning Regent’s Park Circuit – I have no bike in London and need to have a think about this as getting used to group riding is important I am told.

Tim Narey: Tuesday 19th Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
First Spin Class [ever] at City YMCA courtesy of Ashley. Vera, my PA told me to be prepared for a spandex clad Soho Commando screaming in my ear for 45 minutes. I laughed at the stereotypical vision she described, until I entered the room……it was like a prophecy…….he went easy on me, but needless to say I was well off the pace with both young and old (and that’s female young and old) wrecking any sense of confidence over my basic fitness levels.

Tim Narey: Sunday 17th Jan 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
The first proper outing – with slush, ice and grit still affecting many roads, I took a fairly brisk evening ride where I headed north into Middlesbrough via the main roads. The first 8miles is all downhill into town and I felt brilliant, racking up a good time. The bike felt solid too – a big mental hurdle I always feel is being confident with your gear. My mind quickly raced ahead in the knowledge that I was clearly already prepared for all downhill sections of the C2C route and thanked myself for keeping up a basic military level of fitness during my years away from sport……ahem.

Once in Middlesbrough, a town I have always thought was quite friendly, I quickly found myself attacking the Newport Road mile in full sprint mode. Yes, the road was smooth and clear and flat, but it was the group of half a dozen hoodies walking in line across the whole westbound carriageway who had spotted my flashing LED’s and wanted a closer look that forced the full, out of the saddle charge. There are several pieces of advice I wish to pass on here:

Most teenagers in Middlesbrough are 6’6’’ when you get close.
They are genetically modified at birth to be highly attuned to ‘salvage’ – if it aint bolted down, it will be gone in minutes.
If you escape, don’t give them the bird……one pay as you go mobile phonecall later and a 1987 Vauxhall Astra with 6 lads in it will be waiting for you on the next corner.

A similar, but slightly less explosive situation played itself out around 6 minutes later as I passed through Whinnybanks. Note to self: only ride through town in daylight hours and always fast.

Tim Narey: December 19th 2009 – January 10th 2010
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
Disaster – the coldest winter snap for 20 odd years hits Britain. Blizzards and sub-zero temperatures combined with the usual Christmas gorge that I have been told can be referred to as ‘Carb Loading’ in professional sports circles. Must remember that one. Weeks one and two of the C2C schedule have gone to pot and only a few games of squash have saved me from utter slothdome. The snow and icy weather carried on until mid-January so by this time I was itching to get out on my bike.

Tim Narey: C2C 2010 – Diary of an unfit father of three
03 Feb 2010, Nick Hanmer
Greetings.
Like many parents, I have used my young family as an inconvenient truth to essentially opt out of everything I used to enjoy doing before they were born. As we all know, the rewards are not even in the same league, but yes, I do miss ‘sport’ in particular. With the ominous 40th clearly in view now, my mind has been simmering with the thought of some semi-suicidal physical act that would have great consequences for world (and the waist) around me. And thankfully a fellow team mate coerced me into taking this plunge and I shyly signed up for the Cycle to Cannes (C2C) race and embarked on a 3-month mental and physical journey which will be catalogued in exquisite detail via this blog – the second of many new experiences this event will bestow upon me.

The Challenge (Part 1)
Know your enemy is a key strategy of ancient and modern warfare, beautifully crystallised in the epic tomb ‘The Art of War’. Rather surprisingly, I quickly discovered my enemy were a group of people I will refer to as ‘the doubters’. It is true that since I stopped playing regular football, my physique has waned (maybe I mean waxed) somewhat, but the sheer abuse and ridicule I received on telling fellow human beings that I was doing C2C, was surprising. First was my PA who (bless her) was horrified. I couldn’t possibly do this, my children need a father and why would anyone want to leave this world in a French hospital with a doctor withholding treatment because I hadn’t understood the subtleties of Thierry Henri’s handball? Next was the bloke I sit next to – a 28yr old endurance swimmer built like a snake – he just looked down at his keyboard and laughed but then I saw his eyes well up like he was recalling the childhood pain when the old family dog didn’t come home from the vet one day. Finally, the stains on the wall behind my desk where people have involuntarily spat out drinks and food at the news. So far, only my wife, my brother and fellow C2C’ers have kept the faith, so thank you to them; but thank you also to the doubters, for it is you that have given me the extra incentive to kiss John Nordon right on the lips, in Cannes come March.

Training:
C2C have published a great training schedule – like similar ones for a marathon event, it is broken down into manageable weekly chunks and right from the word go, you can envisage the steady goals and increasing fitness in prep for the big day. Nice one.

Good luck to all the riders
28 Feb 2009, Peter Murray
I am gutted - literally! - that I can't join the ride this year. I've done C2C three times now and it is a fantastic experience - if you are fully trained. Without the miles in your legs before you leave, it's six days of pain and frustration. I had planned to start my training on Jan 1 and booked in a minor hernia operation before Christmas. The surgeon said "Have a local anesthetic, you can leave hospital the same day and just take it easy for a week or two and you'll be fine." What he didn't say was that for the next two months you feel like you've got a sheet of hardboard stuck in your gut and that bending over and pedalling at 90rpm for several hours at a time is uncomfortable at best and frequently quite painful.
By the time I could get back on my bike - and I had bought a special anniversary edition of Condor's Classico road bike for the ride -I realised I was so behind with my training that I had better throw in the towel.
Training for the ride and the administration generally of the event is better than it ever has been since our Chief Exec Nick Hanmer took over, but he has an uphill task organising the fund raising in the present climate and his job of looking after the budget has been that much more difficult because of the exchange rate with the Euro.
However I am sure it will once again be a great ride and companies and friends will be generous in supporting our chosen charities.
People attending MIPIM will be able to contribute while they are down . The London Stand is holding a static cycle competition where visitors will be able to test their fitness against all comers and make a contribution to C2C. It should be an exciting event with entries from the many countries that make up the MIPIM attendance. As the London stand is focusing on the build up to the Olympics, we confidently expect the Brits to wipe the floor with the competition.
I wish all the riders well and hope for good weather. At the moment Metcheck is saying there will be snow in Dijon just as the peloton passes through. That happened in 2006, and was miserable. Let's hope the forecast is wrong.

We did it!
16 Mar 2008, Peter Murray
On Tuesday March 11 the C2C peloton arrived in Cannes - 115 having ridden from London, 15 from Bercelona. The group rode along the Croisette before turning into the forecourt of the Palais de Festival where Peter Rhodes of MIPIM presented all the riders with medals.

Smith, Rogers, Prasad on bikes
13 Mar 2008, Claire Nordon
edited from Building Design by Cyclops

We are delighted to announce that the eminent British designer Sir Paul Smith, Richard Rogers and RIBA president Sunand Prasad and rider in 2006, have agreed to become patrons of the Cycle to Cannes (C2C) charity founded in January 2008.

This year, 140 riders will cycle 1,500km from London to Cannes between 6-11 March 2008 to the south of France for the Mipim property fair, aiming to raise £500,000 for a number of important charities and projects supported by C2C including: LandAid, Architects for Aid (A4A), The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust, Sarah Matheson Trust and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

The C2C 2008 ride is sponsored by the Berkeley Group. The Berkeley Group Cycle to Cannes charity challenge is a group ride of professionals involved with development, architecture and planning raising money for charity.

C2C 2006 was a great event and saw 17 riders raise £110,000. C2C 2007 attracted 52 riders and raised an astonishing £270,000.

Wet and windy
16 Jan 2008, Peter Murray
Think of the current weather as good for training - the wet and slippery roads, battling into head winds is good preparation for the fickle March climate. Last year the weather was wet at the start but pretty mild; the year before it was wet at first and then came snow and freezing weather, although it doesn't look as though we're going to get much really cold weather at the moment to help acclimatise to the higher ground in central France. Both years the wind has been behind us so I hope that this is a recurring aspect of the french weather at that time of year.

The next best thing to a strong following wind is strong rider in front that you can tuck in behind. It is really important that those riders who haven't much experience of riding in a peloton do some training in a group - if in London in Regents Park on wednesday mornings, but if you can't get there do get together with others to practice riding safely close to someone's wheel.

Hope the money is flooding in - do send in your pledges s that we can keep track of how we are all doing.