What’s the worst that can happen – the perils of cycling?

The Cycle Safe campaign initiated by the Times newspaper is gathering momentum. Last week there was a debate in the House of Commons on cycle safety where the government endorsed seven out of eight of the campaign objectives. Whilst there is no pledge to ring-fence 2 per cent of the Highways Agency annual £4.9 billion budget for state of the art cycle infrastructure, there is support for a range of initiatives designed to make cycling in cities safer, and to raise the public awareness of cyclists. So this worthy campaign is off to a good start, and you can keep in touch with the latest development directly from this blog. Scroll down the right hand column until you see the “Cycle safe” logo and you will find the latest news.

So what are the perils that the leisure cyclist faces – what the worst that can happen to us? Well, I thought I would share a more light hearted look at the things I have learnt over the years.

Sometimes you need to expect the unexpected….

So what are the most common problems that we face:

• Pedals – in order to maximise the power throughout the pedal stroke, we clip our shoes onto the pedals. With legs ‘fixed’ to the bike, that means unclipping whenever you need to stop. It’s a technique that is easy to learn, but that does not stop a few mishaps. Embarrassingly these most often happen on the drive at home; at the meet point with TVT club team mates. No injuries – other than pride!
• Nutrition – the longer you ride for, the faster you get, and the more energy you need to keep going.  The cycling equivalent of running out of petrol is not a pleasant experience, so most rides for me now start with porridge; have multiple drinks for the journey plus an energy bar as a “Scooby Snack” if required. Best of all are the feedstations on Sportives – the tea and cake are to die for!  
• Risk assessment – wind, rain, ice are all potential hazards that could lead to falling off. On winter group rides, the risk assessment will vary the route or the time of the ride to minimise the possibility of an incident. But when racing, some of these principles go out of the window, with the following outcome. How frustrating if that happened to me on the way to the Olympic Stadium!

And to conclude, here is a little bike parts experiment that you could try at home – the human bicycle:

How cancer touches everyone – my story

Both my parents have suffered from cancer – but only one lived to tell the tale.

As a teenager I was blissfully unaware of illness and disease, other than the eventual consequence of getting old. But when I was 17, that all changed. My father was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and in the late 1970s the combination of surgery and chemotherapy treatment was actually quite ground breaking. My father’s treatment was as an outpatient at the Royal Marsden, and I believe this was also about the same time as Bob Champion – the well known jockey – was being treated for the same male cancer disease.

As the all clear came through, and the length of time between my father’s check-ups increased, so our family optimism for the future improved. But then in 1982, just after I had started my final year at University, that all changed.

My mother started to notice chest pain. To the best of my knowledge she had never been a smoker, so we didn’t think the “C” word. Unfortunately by the time the doctors had diagnosed the primary cancerous infection, the disease had spread so far that she died a matters of weeks later. She was 56.

Over the past 30 years I am pleased to say that much progress had been made on both the screening for cancer and the effectiveness of the treatment methods. The survival rates for many of the most common diseases is now 90%+, meaning that many people can now live with the disease, rather than die from it. That is a very important distinction to make, and is always the key question to ask clinicians when cancer is diagnosed.

So why do we need to raise money to continue the research programme? Well, one of the unintended consequences of fact that we are all living longer, coupled with the rise in new health problems caused by obesity, is that cancer rates will in the future increase. But there is some good news emerging for those that focus on exercise and movement as part of their rehabilitation process. The latest cancer research shows that patients that have completed their primary cancer-related treatment, who then engage in physical activity, can enhance their health.

The funds that I will be raising by my participation in this years charity ride will be used by the Dallaglio Foundation.  Their mission really resonates with me “it’s not just about making money, it’s about translating great ideas into meaningful actions”. A key benefactor project will be an ICGC project on prostate cancer genetics. This exciting initiative will read the complete genetic codes of 250 prostate cancer patients; the results will mean that scientists can differentiate between fast and slow growing tumours for the first time and will help to build a new era of personalised medicine.

So I know which side of the fence I stand on over this cancer issue. Whilst we continue to fund research into cures for this terrible disease that can break families apart, we also need to educate people on the steps that they can take themselves to maintain a healthy life-balance. Hence the reason why the idea of using a cycling challenge to not only fund-raise for the good causes involved but also to raise people’s self awareness of the benefits from regular exercise.

I hope you can support me in both of these objectives.

We all have untapped athletic potential – my story

My interest in running, cycling, swimming and participating in sport in general, was sparked back in 2000 by a New Year’s resolution to mark the new millennium. It all started with me signing up for my first Half Marathon. But as a child, no-one would have imagined how my more recent sporting glories would have come about.

At school, I was hampered by poor eyesight that meant that any contact based team games were a nightmare, as I couldn’t wear my glasses. A childhood operation to correct an eye squint meant that I could never use contact lenses. So with limited hand-eye co-ordination, I am afraid that I was always the last one to be picked for team games. As a teenager I did get into hiking through the Venture Scouts and participating in things the Duke of Edinburgh’s challenge, so there was some untapped potential to build upon in later life.

Fast forward to January 2000, and my sporting career was launched. Within three short months, I had progressed from 10k races up to 13 miles, completing the Reading Half Marathon in a very respectable 1h 45 minutes.

Over a celebratory dinner that night with the family, my wife Louise asked me what was next? Well the ideas soon flowed. Within two years I had completed my first full marathon at a local event in Abingdon – proving to myself that I was fitter at 40 than I was aged 30 – and repeated that distance again in my first European race in Paris in the spring of 2004.

By this stage I was using the local gym for cross-training – and was really getting into group based exercise with weekly Body Pump and Circuits classes. Ten years on and these classes still form part of my weekly training routine – the instructors and camaraderie with my gym buddies help keep me motivated!

However, I needed a new challenge – and the sport that I found was triathlon. The first thing I liked was the variety in training; and secondly was learning new skills. When I started triathlon my swimming was a serene breaststroke; so I basically had to relearn how to swim front crawl and overcome a childhood fear of putting my head in the water. So as you can imagine, open water swimming (in a cold and murky lake) was quite an obstacle for me!

Given that I train much more effectively when part of a group, I soon joined Thames Valley Triathletes (TVT) which has given my sporting career a whole new lease of life. I am a Level 1 coach, and helped setup the junior section a few years back when my kids were interested in participating in the sport. I now lead a weekly cycle group, which is great discipline to get me out whatever the weather and has been very motivational to help like-minded people realise their own sporting dreams.

So with all this support network in place, it is really no surprise that I have progressed from sprint distance to Olympic distance, and then in 2010 (a few months after the Dallaglio cycle slam) to complete my first Half Ironman. For those not familiar with the triathlon disciplines, that is a 1.2 mile swim; followed by a 56 mile cycle ride; and then a Half Marathon. So in ten years, I had progressed gradually and steadily to realise my full sporting potential.

The point of my story, and one of the reasons for starting my blog, is that I believe that we all have it in us to be active – and therefore keep fit and healthy – it is just a question of finding the right opportunity. And don’t ever let age put you off. Last year, at 49, TVT awarded me the most improved male triathlete in the club for my performance at the Antwerp Half Ironman event.

So do I think I can rise to the challenge of cycling nearly 600km over 4 days of the Dallaglio Flintoff cycle challenge – absolutely!

Dallaglio Cycle Slam 2010 – my story

So what sparked my interest when I saw the Virgin Media advert offering sponsored places at this years Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam challenge? Well, I actually took part in one day of the previous Dallaglio Cycle Slam event, which turned into quite a memorable adventure.

Early in 2010, a work contact at one of the event sponsors (The Listening Company), knowing that I was a keen cyclist, suggested the event to me. I could not spare 5 days to participate in a complete stage, but I could do one day, so I gratefully accepted the opportunity to participate and raise the required £500 amount.

Fundraising page established, I set about networking – Friends & Family; Triathlon club mates; Gym Buddies; Work Colleagues and customers were all made aware of my exploits. I even made a video (with the help of my son as cameraman and producer) which, thanks to the wonder of Youtube, is still available to view. You can even check it out for yourself – it is really quite good!

But, that was nothing compared to what actually happened to me when I took part on the day. My leg was a 123km ride starting close to where I live in Berkshire. I am a keen triathlete, but at the time was more used to a 40km race distance which only involved a two hour training ride. So an all day ride was certainly a step up from what I was used to.

So the March day dawned bright and frosty, as I set out to ride the 5 miles to start point. And that’s when the challenge really started… as I arrived at the start 50 minutes after everyone had already left! The length of the ride meant that the organisers had taken a decision the night before to bring forward the start time by an hour – but as I was arriving ‘on the day’ no one had told me.

Now given that 40+ people had already sponsored me, there was no way I was going to let a false start affect me, so I started the ride, trying to follow the balloon markers towards the first check point. Two hours later, deep in the Berkshire countryside, I had to admit to myself that I was lost. Without a map, I had no directions to follow, so veered off to the nearest main town (Wantage) where I purchased maps, along with a coffee and a large slice of cake (the staple diet of cyclists).

I reckoned I had about 5 hours of daylight left to complete the remaining 90 km, which was just about manageable, so with renewed vigour, off I went. Well another two hours later, and just west of Swindon, by coincidence I came across the back of the cycling pack at the second checkpoint. So with communication with the event re-established, I forged ahead and was even able to ride the last 10km as part of a group of riders – enjoying the shared joy of finishing the leg with fellow participants. And what I story I had for the bar- that night!

So for this years event, my first resolution is to definitely get to the start on time – as I don’t really fancy riding all the way from the middle of France back to the UK on my own.

Welcome to my charity ride blog!

Great excitement in the Weald household this week when I got a call from Virgin Media to say that I had won a supported place on the 2012 Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam. My prize is to ride leg 5 of the event – called the Champagne stage – through northern France, under the Channel, and then through Kent to finish at the new London Olympics Stadium on Friday May 18th.

Am I excited about the prospect of cycling nearly 600 km in 4 days – absolutely!

My commitment to the Cycle Slam team is to raise over £3,000 for the charities involved. A small drop in the ocean compared to the overall target of £2.012M that the event aims to generate, but one where I need to generate sufficient interest from friends, family, business contacts and even corporate sponsors to reach my goal.

And that is where this blog comes on. Leading up to the event I plan to keep everyone informed about my progress – how the training is going; how the charities will benefit; and the wider social perspective on how everyone can get fitter and heathier through sport.

My chosen sport sport is triathlon – and cycling forms a major part of my training activities. Every weekend I lead a cycle group for my club Thames Valley Triathletes – a friendly club based my home town of Wokingham.

So please sign-up to receive email notification of my blog posts – so that you can track my progress and keep me honest in meeting my goals and commitments to the event. Over the next few weeks I will tell you a little bit more about how I came to be involved in the event; the reasons why the cancer based charities are close to my heart; and how your contacts and connections could be very useful to me. So do keep in touch.