THE COAST TO COAST HAS BEEN COMPLETED!

We’ve only gone and done it! But what a four days, and what conditions we had to endure – well enjoy when we stopped.

Instead of me waffling on about how the ride went I’ll just say a few words then leave the images to tell the tale.

The four days concluded with about 170 miles completed, shattered thighs, worn buttocks but with a feeling we’d achieved something we had been planning for a long time.

To some people it may not mean much, but to the four of us it was something we wanted to achieve and also raise some money for Cancer Research UK.

Due to the very high temperatures, the night time was very uncomfortable to sleep in, while most days it hit 20c before 10am.

We stayed together and endured, then enjoyed the climbs, while the longer sections of flat or fast flowing downhill bits were enjoyed all the way through.

Top speed was 45.4mph, while the quickest mile was done in just 122 seconds! That was downhill before you ask.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, or indeed is going to donate, we’re all very grateful for every penny, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Finally, before the picture story, thank you to Neil, Pads and Ian who formed a great team with me, which stayed strong and united all the way through. It was tough, very tough at times, but we helped each other through and formed a stronger bond between us as the days flowed.

THE START - THE IRISH SEA

 

FIRST STOP - KESWICK

 

SEEING MY DAUGHTER AT DAY 1 END

 

 LUNCH ON DAY 2 - HOT, HOT, HOT

 

SO HOT ON DAY 2 WE HAD A SWIM

 

THE START OF DAY 3 - SIX CLIMBS

 

LONGEST CLIMB DONE

 

 

ANOTHER CHANGE OF COUNTY & HIGHEST POINT OF RIDE

 

 

TIME FOR LUNCH ON DAY 3

 

 

END OF DAY 3

 

 

NO FOG ON THE TYNE - JUST HOT SUN!

 

 

FINALLY WE REACH THE NORTH SEA

 

HERE WE GO.....

So the day has come when the Coast to Coast team departs for Cumbria and tomorrow’s start of the bike ride.

Training has been completed and everyone’s weather prayers seem to have been answered – in fact the weather forecast couldn’t be better.

Last year we had wind, rain, floods and temperatures of about 12C, this week it looks like being 25C, sunny, dry and no wind.

The team, Pads, Neil, Ian and I, are really looking forward to the bike ride and on behalf of the team, I’d like to thank everyone for their support, donations, best wishes and reading my blog.

Whatever you have done it has been much appreciated – now we just have to go and do it!

We’re looking at starting the ride on Wednesday morning at about 8.30am from Whitehaven’s Irish Sea waters, arriving in Keswick for lunch, before powering on to our overnight stay.

The next two days are shorter, in terms of mileage, but could potentially take longer to ride due to the serious hill climbing that we face.

After those two days we face the final overnight stay in the pub and, as luck would have it, a steak night and quiz night all rolled in to one.

Then it’s one more climb, before descending the 48 miles to Tynemouth and the North Sea.

I’ll be trying to update on twitter, while I’m sure we’ll all be updating Facebook at some point, so stay tuned.

The highlight for me will be seeing my daughter on the route cheering us on – I’ve not seen her for almost a week as she is on ‘holiday’ with her grandma and granddad.

So here we go, wish us luck.

Finally, we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.

A new appeal has helped boost the total and it’s now over £800, so the £1,000 target is well in sight.

FINAL STAGES OF TRAINING

This week has seen a hike in activity with five rides out, totalling a distance of 60 miles.

I’ve done the same route, just more laps of it as the week went on, and watched as my time dropped on each ride.

The lap times for the 2.1 mile circuit started at around nine minutes, but by the end of the week they had reduced to about eight minutes 20 seconds, even with the increased number of laps.

Indeed the last lap time I did, on the seventh lap of my last ride, broke the eight minute barrier.

My training plan is to increase leg muscle by constant pedalling over an easier course so I’m used to pedalling non-stop and my legs, and more importantly my bottom, get used to the long stints in the saddle.

With just over a week to go until Pads, Neil, Ian and I go to Cumbria to start the Coast to Coast bike ride, I’m planning on getting 100 training miles under my belt.

The weekend before we go I’m away for three days and can’t train, so I’ll be putting in the miles before then and having one big run afterwards.

Fingers crossed the weather will be better than the last couple of days!

 

As mentioned on a 'few occasions' we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.

A new appeal has helped boost the total and it’s now at almost £600, so the £1,000 target is well in sight.

TRAINING ENTERS THE FINAL STRETCH

The weather has been kind for most of the last week and I’ve managed to get some good practice rides completed.

I’ve been out four times, covering about 50 miles, each time increasing my average speed. I know this because I’m doing the same route each time.

The main aim at the moment is to build up fitness levels and increase my leg muscle strength, while bedding in the new tyres and inner tubes on my bike.

Next week I hope to cover about 40 miles in midweek, followed by 45-50 miles next weekend. The ride itself is split into specific sections to ensure that we finish each day in good time, even if the weather is poor or we encounter fitness or bike problems.

I’ll be writing just two more blog posts before the ride itself, so if you would like to wish the team (Pads, Neil, Ian and me) good luck just add your comment below – it will be much appreciated.

I have three major concerns for the ride, although I’m sure all will be fine in the end. The weather is something we just can’t control, my ‘tennis elbow injury is not getting any better so will have to be controlled with ibuprofen and my fitness is probably not as good as the others.

But as we’re a team we’ll be riding together and if I continue to increase my fitness that should be at a faster rate than last year. I’m hoping to average 8mph on day one, 5mph on days two and three, with 12mph on day four.

Tune in to my Coast to Coast bike ride post-event post on this blog to see if we achieved these targets!

As mentioned previously we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.

A new appeal has helped boost the total and it’s now at almost £600, so the £1,000 target is well in sight.

NOT LONG UNTIL THE COAST TO COAST ADVENTURE

A mixed week with punctures, poor weather and work taking its toll on my training regime.

I decided to change my rear tyre from a full off-road version, to one that offered more grip on harder surfaces, while still giving grip off-road.

Since then I’ve devised a shorter route that covers both on and off-road surfaces and I can certainly see that my speed over the harder surfaces is increasing without too many problems for my speed on the rougher terrain.

In the next week or so, after a few more test rides, I’ll change the front tyre and see what happens. The Coast to Coast has a good level of harder surfaces so I suspect I could be slightly quicker.

The new route is 5.5 miles long and to increase the length I just do two laps or redo the road section a couple of times, which includes a couple of inclines.

In the last week I’ve done five laps of the 5.5 mile route, with a couple of additions on the road section. As the weather is due to get better this week I hope to do a few two or three lap rides per night.

It’s only three weeks until Pads, Ian, Neil and I head to Whitehaven and I want to be able to do four laps of this route in one ride, before we go.

I can certainly feel a difference in my legs and fitness, particularly when doing a second lap of the 5.5 mile route, as this is always quicker. Perhaps it takes me a while to warm up and then I’m fine to continue at a good pace for a while.

One final addition will be a good 40-50 litre rucksack to carry all my clothes on the ride. If anyone can recommend a good one, for reasonable money, please let me know.

As mentioned previously we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.

TRAINING IN THE SUMMER IS FUN, WELL MOST OF THE TIME!

This week has been good for training as I’ve managed to complete over 30 miles in two rides.

The second ride didn’t end in good news as I experienced yet another puncture and had to spend the final three miles pedalling furiously and stopping three times to inflate the tyre.

There is good news in all this; my fitness levels and times over the same routes iare increasing, but for the puncture I would have managed an average speed of over 12mph on the regular 15 miles route I do.

Considering I started on this route about two months ago and was managing an average speed of about 10.5mph, I’m pleased with the progress.

The first ride out this week I managed to increase the average speed to 11.7mph from the previous high of 11.1mph, so I’m hoping once the puncture is sorted I’ll be out to break the 13mph barrier and have fitness levels that give me a good chance of surviving the Coast to Coast bike ride.

Speaking of which it’s only four weeks away and I’m hoping the summer weather continues to last until after the ride is completed. Of course I know this is not going to happen!

As mentioned previously we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.

IS THIS SUMMER WEATHER GOING TO LAST?

Summer seems to have crept up on us and the warm weather is very much appreciated by me and the Coast to Coast riding team.

In just over five weeks’ time, I will be joined by last year’s team, Neil and Pads plus new for 2013, Ian, as we hope to achieve our goal of riding from Whitehaven to Tynemouth.

While the main focus is trying to increase our fitness levels, all of us are aware that the weather will play a crucial role again this year, particularly after the floods forced us to abandon the ride in June 2012.

This week my bike has had a pre-event service, which included a new chain, back brake and a new lower gear ratio fitted – this should help me a bit more with the uphill sections.

I’ve completed over 30 miles in the saddle this weekend and I hope to achieve a similar amount this week, although a family wedding next weekend will temporarily stop training.

I think we’re all hoping for little or no rain and westerly winds – to help push us along – for this year’s attempt, in fact the weather we have at the moment would be ideal!

So onwards with the training and let’s hope the UK actually has a summer this year and we can all benefit.

As mentioned previously we’re riding the Coast to Coast for Cancer Research UK, so if you would like to donate please go to http://www.justgiving.com/mydadgrahamknowles

Any donation is very much appreciated and will go to an excellent charity that has helped millions of people and will hopefully help many millions in the future.