What have I done?
On a completely different subject to the posts so far, I have committed to a charity cycle ride of 150 miles over 2 days in…
…Scotland!

Its being run by Lloyds. Tour de LDC they are calling it. Cheesy or what.

I though it would be pretty in Scotland! In mid-June… All those mosquitoes. Hmmm, or should I say Buzzz.

I am taking part in the last 2 legs of the ride which is a 14 day Lands End to John O’Groats run.

Day 1: Friday 18th June. Inverness to Lairg. 49miles.
Day 2: Saturday 19th June. Lairg to John O’Groats. 95 miles.

The first day is manageable, although rather hilly. The second day will be the interesting one. Rather a long route but according to the blurb: “Not too hilly” Yeah. Right. This is Scotland we are talking about.

The Training so far…
My training so far has got to the point where I can manage 49miles in 4 hours saddle time going from home to my favourite airfields, of course! Kingsclere to Popham to Lasham and back to Kingsclere. The last leg back to K-town is a long climbing run of 400ft over about 8miles which, at the end of 40miles is good practice.

Next weekend is time to extend to 70 miles, then 90 after that if I can manage it.

The Bike
The bike is just a mountain bike and no I am not a “lycra lout” so I do not intend to have figure hugging lycra clothing. Perish the thought. Although I have to say I have invested in some padded shorts. The bike is the same one I have had for a while when I used to cycle to and from work in Newbury. Doing that every day did my left knee in and so I put an electric motor on it. Some pictures are here. Luckily, as long as I am careful, the knee seems to be holding up.

The Charity
The charity I have decided to support and get sponsorship for is called “Friends United Network”, FUN, geddit? And no not the re-united one. I had not heard of it until signing up for the ride, but it is a charity that has volunteers to help mentor young people over a sustained 2 year timeframe. This looks like it really is something that can make a difference and is a subject close to my heart. I think it is something I will look at volunteering for later in life once work comes to a manageable level.

The website for it is called Friendshipworks and is nicely done.

If you do feel like donating, I have set up an online charity page here: www.bmycharity.com/charlest

(Note that bmycharity does this as a free service unlike others which take a percentage)

Well that’s all for now. Will keep you posted. There are some tech postings in the pipeline.