Robinson Crusoe and All That

Unfortunately I'm having to take an enforced break from training at the moment as I have a really bad cold, very frustrating.

Its been exciting in York during the last week as we have had a film crew in town shooting scenes for a new TV series of Robinson Crusoe. The series stars Sean Bean and Sam Neill and they have been filming at various locations around the city. Its been very interesting seeing parts of the city transformed into how they must have looked in the eighteenth century with the actors in costume and the old horses and carriages (see photo above). In the original book Robinson Crusoe was born in York and apparently in the TV series there will be flashbacks from the desert island to his childhood in York.

We had a nice afternoon on Sunday when we had a drive across to Fountains Abbey (see photos above) which is a lovely old monastery about 30 miles from York. The abbey was founded by a group of Cistercian monks in the 12th century who left St Mary's Abbey in York because the regime was too soft! Fountains Abbey was closed down as part of the dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century and later on the ruins of the abbey were incorporated into the gardens of a stately home called Studley Royal. It really is a beautiful spot, its no wonder that its a World Heritage site.

I've got another exciting day tomorrow as I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen in concert at Old Trafford in Manchester. If you're reading this Bruce, do us a favour and play Thunder Road.

I Must Go Down to the Sea Again

We had a great day on Sunday. We went to see one our friends Phil being ordained priest at York Minster. Phil's a great guy and I'm sure he will be a fantastic priest. I love these big occasions at the Minster, they are always very spectacular with all the clergy in their fancy cloaks and the Minster makes a very grand backdrop for these celebrations.

On Sunday afternoon I cycled from York to Scarborough which is on the coast. It was just over 50 miles and was a very hard ride with the last 20 miles being mainly hills. I was plagued by a strong headwind again which made the flat bits seem like they were uphill. It was a lovely ride though. I went out through the Castle Howard estate which is a very grand stately home and then cut across to Pickering and then had a break at Thornton le Dale which is a very pretty village. The rest of the journey was across the top of the Vale of York before heading down to the sea. I finished at our good friends Nick and Liz's house and they were kind enough to feed me and my wife who had come to take me home in the car. The ride took me 3 hour and 31 minutes at an average speed of 14.21 mph.

The good news is that the saddle felt much more comfortable but that might have been due to the new cycling shorts that I was wearing!

64 days to go!

The Jury's Out on the New Saddle

I did 50 miles yesterday and I can't make my mind up about the new saddle. It does feel slightly more comfortable than the old one but not much. Its the difference between sitting on a sharp spike or a blunt spike!

I did the same run as last week out to Oswaldkirk and back through Byland Abbey, Coxwold and Crayke. There was a nasty headwind again which made it hard going. It has to be said that these long rides do get mind numbingly boring. Perhaps I should take a book to read! I tried out a new energy drink yesterday. I'm not sure that it gave me any more energy and it tasted disgusting. The place in the photo is called Gilling and its one of the many pretty villages that I pass through on my route.

The York City Gospel Choir concert last night was brilliant and we raised £311 for Christian Aid. Many thanks to everyone in the choir. Follow the link below to hear what they sound like.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HRasaDsbnms

Oh I Do Like to Be Beside The Seaside

Its been really nice weather in Yorkshire the last week so we've taken advantage of the good weather to go to the seaside twice. The coast is only an hours drive from York so its easy to get to. On Sunday we went to Bridlington which is a nice fishing town where we always used to go on holiday when I was a child. Last Tuesday we went to Whitby which is the place in the photos above. Whitby is a beautiful old fishing village with a lovely old church and ruined abbey on the clifftop. It was the setting for a scene from Bram Stoker's Dracula and it was also where Captain Cook set out from on his voyages of exploration. Its a great place for a relaxing evening and has some really nice bars and restaurants.

I had a frustrating training ride on Monday as I got a puncture which meant that I wasn't able to go as far as I had hoped. I did 28.2 miles in 1 hour 47 minutes at an average speed of 15.77 mph.

Today I went to the bike shop and bought a new saddle which hopefully will be more comfortable than the present one!

Tomorrow night (Thursday 15th May) we are having a charity concert at our church to raise money for Christian Aid. The concert is by the City of York Gospel Choir and starts at 7.30pm at St Clements Church, Scarcroft Road, York. If you can get to York you would be very welcome to join us. Admission is £4 which includes an interval drink.

That Saddle Has Got To Go!

I had another long ride yesterday. I rode up to Oswaldkirk which is north of York and then along through Ampleforth and Wass to Byland Abbey before heading back to York through Coxwold, Crayke, Tollerton and Shipton. It was just over 49 miles in total and took me 3 hours 19 minutes at an average speed of 14.8 mph. The last 12 miles was into a headwind so I felt pretty tired by the time I got home. The worst thing was the saddle on the new bike. I was OK for the first 30 miles or so but then the saddle started to get really uncomfortable. I think I will have to invest in a more comfortable saddle. It was a good ride though, a lovely warm sunny day with all the spring flowers out and lambs in the fields. The photo above is of a lovely little village called Wass which is near Byland Abbey.

Today I just did a short run of just over 12 miles which I did in 47 minutes at an average speed of 15.7 mph.. I didn't feel too bad to say that I'd had such a long run yesterday. I think doing four long rides on successive days in July is going to be very tough. The first day is OK, its when you have to get up and do the same again the next day that it gets hard.

Tonight I'm running a quiz night to raise funds for the school where I used to work. It should be fun, I've got some really tricky questions lined up for them. Here's a sneal preview of one:

What is the connection between the sixties pop group The Monkees and Tippex? Answer next time.

New Bike - Same Old Legs

I made a momentous decision this week that I would change the bike that I'm going to use for the London to Paris bike ride. I've decided to abandon my trusty old Raleigh Banana that I've been riding for nearly twenty years and move into the 21st century. So I shall be riding the bike in the picture which is a Giant OCR roadbike. I had my first run on it yesterday and was very impressed. Its certainly much quicker than my old bike and it has gear levers on the handle bars which makes life a lot easier. It also has three chain wheels at the front whereas my old bike only had two so it should be a little easier getting up hills. The only downside is the saddle. To say that its uncomfortable is an understatement, its feels like sitting on a spike!

I had a good training run yesterday. I did 39 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of 15.4 mph. My legs felt quite good and I conquered Brandsby Hill again.

We had a nice drive out last night to the Yorkshire Dales and stopped for tea in a place called Leyburn. There is a lovely walk at Leyburn called the Shawl which is a ridge that runs from the village out into Wensleydale from which you get the most beautiful views across the dale towards Pen Hill. There were lots of sheep along the Shawl and I found one that looked as exhausted as I felt (see picture above).