New Bike day

The bike arrived and unpacking and assembly started, 45 minutes later it was together and ready to go.
I left the house on a short shakedown and set up ride, a few minor tweaks to bar and saddle position and it was good to go.
As I stopped to see a friend he noticed a small drop of oil at the back of the bike, a quick examination later and I found the source, the rear hydraulic hose had a small cut in it.
The cut lined up with some damage on the box due to transport, I reached for the phone and rand the warranty department at MTB MONSTER.
A new brake was dispatched and the waiting started again.

New Toy Ragley Marley 2.0

As this year's c2w came around I started looking at hardcore hardtails, after several hours of research and a budget of £1000 I narrowed it down to 2 bikes, a Nukeproof Scout or a Ragley Marley.
My criteria was
Slack head angle, 65° should do it
130mm of fork travel
Shortest possible chain stays
1 x drive train
And a long reach
Both bikes fitted the bill, the Ragley was available within a couple of weeks, the Nukeproof had a 3 month waiting list, so me being impatient I orded the Ragley.
And sat back and waited.

Shall I start again?

I am thinking of starting up my blog again, would anyone be interested in me doing this? Drop me a note and let me know what content you would be interested in

Long time away

5th July 2017 - A date that has changed my life.

 This is the date my Dad died.

I never knew how hard it would hit me and how it would affect me both emotionally and physically.

My weight has ballooned to 99Kg's and my motivation to do anything about it has hit rock bottom.

January 2018 - I know the new year new me thing is getting tired now but i am going to do it, January 8th i am going to get myself back on track, I am going to regain my fitness, lost by sitting at a hospital bed, and lose the weight I have piled on.  I am setting my self some goals including a repeat of the Velothon 140 this time in memory of my father, by setting this goal i have something to concentrate on and a path to follow, now i just need to find the start of the path and away I go.

There are new bikes (road and MTB) and there is a long journey ahead but I will get there !!

time for a new bike?

I have decided that its time for a new bike, it's nothing to do with the old one wearing out, it's still like new in every way bar the tyre's, it's due to the fact that my cycle to work scheme has finished and with the price of carbon framed road bikes falling below £1000 i have decided that a nice new bike might provide me with some additional motivation for the Velothon,
i have decided on the Eastway Emmitter R3 a full carbon road bike with Shimano 105 groupset and Ritchley Comp finishing kit, i will of course write a review once it arrives and i start ridding.
Lets hope the cycle scheme process is a bit quicker than last time.

why i'm doing this

The Man stood next to me in the picture is my father,
he is my strength , my rock and quite simply my hero.
He has always been there when i have needed him and the thought of him not being there rips my heart out.

Last year he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

i am doing this charity bike ride to raise funds to aid in the research of finding a cure, whilst it may be to late to find a cure for my father, it may help find a cure for countless others. 

Only men have a prostate gland. The prostate is usually the size and shape of a walnut and grows bigger as you get older. It sits underneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra – the tube men urinate and ejaculate through.

Its main job is to help make semen – the fluid that carries sperm.

Prostate cancer can develop when cells in the prostate start to grow in an uncontrolled way. Prostate cancer often grows slowly to start with and may never cause any problems. But some men have prostate cancer that is more likely to spread. This needs treatment to stop it spreading outside the prostate.

Prostate cancer that’s contained inside the prostate (called localised prostate cancer or early prostate cancer) doesn’t usually cause any symptoms. But some men might have some urinary problems. These can be mild and happen over many years and may be a sign of a benign prostate problem, rather than prostate cancer.

Changes to look out for include

• needing to urinate more often than usual, including at night – for example if you often need to go again two hours
• difficulty starting to urinate
• straining or taking a long time to finish urinating
• a weak flow when you urinate
• a feeling that you’re not emptying your bladder fully
• needing to rush to the toilet – sometimes leaking before you get there
• dribbling urine after you finish.

Less common symptoms include

• pain when urinating
• pain when ejaculating
• blood in your urine or semen*
• problems getting or keeping an erection – this isn’t a common symptom of a prostate problem and is more often linked to other health conditions such as diabetes or heart problems.

*Blood in your urine or semen can be caused by other health problems. Talk to your doctor if you see any blood in your urine or semen.

For some men the first symptoms of prostate cancer might be new pain in the back, hips or pelvis. This can be caused by cancer that’s spread to the bones (advanced prostate cancer). These symptoms are often caused by other problems such as general aches or arthritis. But it’s still a good idea to get them checked out by your GP.

Most men with early prostate cancer don't have any symptoms. If you're worried about your risk or are experiencing any symptoms, visit your GP.

The mental challange

Training is going well, the core exercises are hard, the time in the saddle harder. The biggest challenge i have to combat however is the mental one.
As a driver i regularly cover 100 miles in the car, to think about doing this on a bike seems impossible, yet doing a cycle ride of 10 miles is easy and doing that 10 times back to back doesn't seem daunting at all, yet my mind soon goes back to the 100 miles - impossible,  i need to overcome this and just think about the 10 mile journey, once i can do that i think i might be in with a chance.

If anyone has any suggestions - i'm listening.