Let's get serious

As well as honouring the memory of fellow Barfordian Graham Lees, I'm fundraising for one of the UK's leading charities, Cancer Research UK.

A charity that Graham himself supported, Cancer Research UK is the world's leading independent organisation dedicated to cancer research.

It supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of more than 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses.

You can sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/ianwoliver

I won't pretend it will make me pedal any harder, but it's a great cause.

And every pound you contribute will be matched by Barclays. Which is nice.

A long way up

Some people have asked me about the route I'll be taking. Here are the overnight stops:

Date	Overnight	Miles	Cumulative Miles
24-Jul	St Minver (camping)	59	59
25-Jul	Travelodge Barnstaple	68	127
26-Jul	Bristol area	100	227
27-Jul	Travelodge Telford	105	332
28-Jul	Slaidbum YHA (Clitheroe)	110	442
29-Jul	Travelodge Carlisle	88	530
30-Jul	Travelodge Ayr	95	625
31-Jul	Inveraray YHA	77	702
01-Aug	Fort Augustus YHA	104	806
02-Aug	Carbisdale YHA	92	898
03-Aug	Canisby YHA (JOG)	109	1007

The glamour of the undertaking is only hinted at by evocative words such as 'Travelodge' and 'Hostel'...........

If you'd like to join me for a pie and a pint one evening, you'd be most welcome. Can't promise much sparkling conversation though.

Last leg (commute route part 3)

Which, dear reader, goes past some of the most pointless bit of 'cycleway' ever dreamed up by a council officer with a bit of money left in the paint budget at the end of March...Of course, 'goes past' indicates just how useless I think it is.

Just rubbish. So, descending (at speed, inevitably) Coventry Road out of Warwick, just past the BP petrol station (sorry Barack...), when you get to a roundabout you're supposed to leave the road (left). Cycle to the edge of the pavement. Stop. Cross a bit of road. Stop on an island (right). Cross a bit of road. And then carry on.

Needless to say, by this time I'd be at the Saxon Mill, strangely enough, another pub. A great place, even in its 'Are you enjoying your harvester meal?' period.

Then through Leek Wootton, which makes you realise that this commute is mainly uphill - a fact not lost on anyone who's done the Two Castles (Warwick to Kenilworth) 10k run.

And through Kenilworth, my home town, with its eclctic mixture of housing styles. Spirits are raised by going up (it's one-way now) Fieldgate Lane, which, since you ask, is just past the Virgins & Castle. One of the prettiest streets I know, just look at the pics. Then it's into Hollis Lane, Crackley Lane and on to Westwood Park.

Kerb your enthusiasm

Had my first crash yesterday, before I'd even got out of Barford.

Looking to cut the corner at the southern junction of the by-pass I was concentrating on avoiding my cycling companion so that when I reached the lowered kerb it was more kerb than lowered. Horrible feeling in that split second you realise you're 'goin' dahn', as they say in Eastenders. Ironically, one of the reasons I switched from running to cycling was to lessen the effect of impacts on my knees....

On the upside, the bike was relatively undamaged and my choice of lycra shorts meant no damage to cycling kit...

Fortunately the injuries look worse than they are (at least that's what I hope...), and I carried on for a pleasant 60-miler, taking in Shipston-on-Stour, Brailes (tough climb), Banbury, Edge Hill (scary descent...) and Kineton. Interesting sighting s included an Ariel Atom, a pair of yellow vipers, Fezza 559 and 16 Honda S2000s.



Bad news... I got back early enough to watch England v Germany. Good News... Ricky Ponting's face when England beat Aussie and Steveland's set at Glasto almost made up for it....

C'mon Ingerlund!

Cycling through any town at the moment, you can't help noticing the number of St George's cross flags adorning buildings and cars. Closer inspection reveals it's the Sun wot done it....Being England there's a class element at play - I regularly see a chap in an Audi convertible in Leek Wootton, with a more up-market magnetic flag on the bonnet.

It's been a pretty dull World Cup so far, and the star of the show is not Torres, Messi or even our own Roonaldo...it's the vuvuzela! When the TV's on, but I'm in another room, (and to be frank, unless England's involved it's just 22 blokes chasing a pig's bladder round a field) I'm often convinced there's a swarm of bees nesting in the living room.

I think they're great. When I heard complaints about a 'monotonous droning noise' on the BBC, I thought they were talking about Alan Green. However, I'm not sure I'll be so keen when they appear in the Harbury Lane End at Leamington FC's first home game of next season....

Danger - apostrophe's!

There's a great shop sign I pass on my return route, pictured left. In fact, I've been confronted by the proprietor in the past when photographing it, an experience that convinced me the spelling is not ironic.

It's a real worry that directly across the road lies St John's primary school. Nothing to do with the dangers of childhood obesity, but the blatant disregard for punctuation this may engender in young minds.

I can't let Maggie go.....*

This morning I did the ride to work in a record 57 minutes. I'd decided to 'press on', riding faster then the '8-hours-a-day' LE-JOG pace, to build up fitness. More about having the acceleration to climb hills than stamina.

On the return journey, to celebrate England's unconvincing win against tiny Slovenia I detoured to Kenilworth, riding along Woodland Road and Inchbrook Road, where I lived as a kid. Weird how some things have changed, others haven't . Bizarrely, everything looks smaller now.

There's nothing better than riding home in the evening sun with a warm breeze, the aromas of the countryside and the evening sun on your face. Today I saw a hot air balloon over the Avon valley, the epitome of tranquility in a busy world.

For some people, the arrival of spring and summer are charted by the first sightings of birds such as the Swallow. For me, it's the sighting of classic cars.

On recent rides I've spotted a TVR Tuscan, MGB, Lotus Elan (1990s version), Austin Healey and TR6. And even a Hillman Imp.

* Apparently my titles are too oblique for some....this isn't a referrence to the Iron Lady, but to a 60's song by the Honeybus, used in a Nimble bread advert featuring a pleasant young lady rather implausibly taking off in a hot air balloon...

Sign of the times (commute route part 2)

Continuing my daily route up Stratford Road, I turn left into Crompton Street at what used to be the Wheatsheaf. A friendly and unpretentious pub that served Old Speckled Hen on Draft (key fact).

Now it's become an Indian (probably Bangladeshi, to be accurate) restaurant, which is a sign of the current tough times for the pub trade. Now I'm partial to a Ruby Murray now and then, but it's a shame that such heritage is lost. I'm cheered shortly afterwards by the sight of the award-winning Old Fourpenny Shop. A hotel as well as a pub, apparently, but notable as a pub for its selection of real ales, including guests.


Almost immediately I cross into Warwick Racecourse, notable for its cycle chicane, which is even more testing than the ones on the M40 bridge.

Then its across the Saltisford into Ansell Way and a path under the railway that comes out in St Michael's Road. This would make an ideal cycle path (hint to WCC), but currently its a muddy track, covered with broken glass.

Good Vibrations (commute route part 1)

Dear reader, it's high time I described my ride to work.

Leaving Barford in a northerly direction, a combined cycle and footpath alongside the A429 gives a pleasant start to the ride. The road itself is a trunk road, the 'gateway to the Cotswolds' from the M40, and as such usually has more truckers than an Eddie Stobart Christmas party. No offence to the Knights of the Road, but it's no place to ride a bike.

Indeed, I always rode along the 'pavement' before it was upgraded, as part of the Barford bypass works. And I told my kids to do likewise, as I'd rather collect them from the police station than A&E, or worse.

There's a yellow bridge for bikes and pedestrians across the M40, which is a godsend as you can avoid Longbridge island. It has two bike chicane gates, with signs that order 'Cyclists Dismount!' I'm ashamed to admit I've never quite managed to comply with that - the challenge is simply too great.

Unfortunately things go downhill as the cycleway runs alongside the Stratford Road into Warwick.

The surface is ribbed, causing serious vibrations - it's like like riding on a giant washboard. Either

a) it was badly designed and specified, or
b) the contractors skimped on materials (come to think of it, there are some nicely tarmaced drives in the vicinity......)

Whatever, it's a shame, because the concept of a shared cycleway is brilliant - with a little common sense, cycles and pedestrians can happily coexist. As a result of the terrible surface (how many WCC councillors or council officers are cyclists, I wonder?), I see many cyclists ignoring the cyclepath and using the road, which really defeats the object.

More fascinating route stuff anon.

Where does the Queen keep her chickens?*

Fantastic weather today for a training ride in the Cotswolds! Scott, Steve and I covered 60 miles, Warwick - Stratford - Chipping Campden - Blockley and back. Hilly, being the Cotswolds (duh!) but that's what we need.

The inspiration was the open day at Royal Enfield*'s UK operation at Blockley - the world's longest surviving motorcycle brand. Interesting to see the cottage industry that is Royal Enfield assembly, and Watsonian sidecar manufacture. There were also some great bikes in the car park...Norton Commando 850, Sucati Pantera 900, Moto Guzzi Sport 1200, Royal Enfield Continental GT (the prettiest bike ever?) Honda CB750, BSA Gold Star, Honda CBX and so on.

Felt tired towards the end, but generally OK. Which is just as well, as the longest day of the LE-JOG ride will be almost twice as far....

They Might Be Giants

The great day arrives....I have the new bike that's needed to do 1,000+ miles in 10 days. A Giant Defy 3, aluminium frame, 27 gears etc .etc. Bright yellow, black and white. It comes with rubbish (or as Sir Geoffrey would say, "roobbish" pedals, which I'll swap for Shimano MTB pedals presently.

The supplier was Mike Vaughan Cycles of Kenilworth, which I've frequented since I was in short trousers. In that simpler age known as 'Mikes Bikes' or even 'Michaels Bikeles'. There are bike cheaper shops, without doubt, but everyone there knows his onions and rides/has ridden.

A poignant touch was that Brian Shaw, who sold me the Giant, also sold Graham Lees his last bike.

Ex-ter-mi-nate!!

Great day out yesterday, walking the Malverns from north to south - 12miles or so, but a lot of vertical movement on top of that. Fortunate with the weather, glorious sunshine for the most part, tipped it down on the way home. I organised the walk to help some Barclays chums prepare for the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, and thought it may be useful cross-training for LE-JOG.

Today I'm not so sure. I reckon climbing uses different muscles to cycling, if the way my legs feel today is anything to go by. Like a Darlek, I'm OK on the flat, but stairs of any description are best avoided....

Goodbye Old Friend...

Time to pay tribute to my bike for the last decade or so....a Carerra (i.e. Halfords, not so glamorous) mountain bike.

I bought it from the local small ads, added bar ends and changed the tyres to semi-slicks. Served me well, but just not suited to racking up serious miles. A bit dog-eared now, but I'll keep it for local rides and off-roading.

What will replace it? Watch this space...

Oggy, Oggy, Oggy!

Although you can spend a king's ransom on cycling kit, I've found a goalkeeper's shirt I had in the wardrobe surprisingly useful. Its yellow and black check design makes the wearer conspicuous, to say the least, and it's thick enough to keep out the morning chill.

Football followers may recognise this shirt as the one immortalised by 'Big Oggy', legendary CCFC keeper Steve Ogrizovic.

The Sun recently placed Oggy at number five in its 'Top Ten Ugly Footballers', which I feel is a little harsh:

"Keeper Ogrizovic spent an incredible 16 YEARS at Coventry from the mid-eighties to the turn of the millennium.

In that time, he racked up over 600 appearances and became a legend with the Midlands club.

Outside Coventry though, Ogrizovic will be more fondly remembered for his huge misshaped nose.

Several relegation battles took their toll on the big stopper and after many clashes with the opposition attackers he was left looking more ogre than Ogrizovic."

Under Pressure

Over recent weeks I've found myself involved in increasingly arcane conversations, usually with gentlemen of a certain age, about gear ratios, bottom brackets, cadence and the like. Also, my eyes now go first to the cycling mags at the news stand.....

Among the wisdom I've acquired are two nuggets relating to tyres:

1) cheap inner tubes are a false economy

2) a hard (100 psi) tyre not only reduces rolling resistance, it's less prone to puncture.

So, equipped with new Continental inners at 100psi I set out for work. The route has now settled down, and is basically Warwick - Leek Wootton - Kenilworth - Westwood. A wrinkle is that on the return journey I go up Malthouse Lane and past Kenilworth Castle, partly because Fieldgate Lane is now one-way, partly because it's a pleasant way to go..

So it was inevitable that, tackling the climb through Leek Wooton, I became aware of a regular hiss from a deflating rear tyre. Closer inspection revealed a hole in the tyre. Que faire? Rejecting all the sensible options, I hammered on, to see how far I could get before things became impossible. Sure, it was even harder going than usual, but I reached Westwood with a half-inflated tyre. Which was in the same state hours later. Strange....

And before you ask, 14.85.....

An Inspiration

Certainly cycling the 1,000 miles or so from Land's End to John O'Groats is a significant challenge. And it would be great to raise some money to support the world-leading work of Cancer Research UK. But the trip is fundamentally a tribute to Barford resident Graham Lees, who was killed in 2008 during his second solo cycle marathon.

I didn't know Graham that well. He joined the Barford Scouts & Guides committee, and we sank a pint or two before, during and after committee meetings in the Joseph Arch. I do however recall his dry sense of humour, tales of his first LE-JOG trip and his intimate knowledge of lift engineering.

It's a matter of regret that I didn't have the opportunity to know Graham better. His extraordinary achievements have inspired fellow villagers to follow in his tyre tracks this year. I feel sure he'll be with us in spirit, urging us on when we feel the urge to get off and walk...

A tribute to Graham can bee seen at: http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/lees/2917964