A Host of Golden Daffodils

Its one of my favourite times of year in York when the daffodils come out on all the bankings around the city walls. It really makes you feel that spring is on the way, even if the weather makes you feel that we are heading back into winter.

I had a good training ride yesterday on the roads out by Marston Moor. I just did 50 minutes but the legs were feeling strong so I really pushed it. I was hoping to go for a long ride today but the strong winds have returned so I had to give it a miss. It did give me chance to fit a new bike computer though so I will be able to gauge my progress more accurately in future.

One thing that I am really enjoying about keeping this blog is the number of people who are visiting it. I am always amazed that anyone finds it at all. I would love to know who you all are so please introduce yourselves and say hello.

Cycling with the Cistercians

After a few days when very strong winds have prevented any cycling I did manage to get out for a ride today. I had a great ride up through the Hambleton Hills to Byland Abbey. It was 22 miles but with a strong headwind it felt twice that distance. It was very cold today but nice and sunny. I felt a bit better than my last long ride but the legs are still feeling very heavy when I get to the hills.

Byland Abbey is a lovely place. It dates from 1147 and was one of the major Cistercian houses in Yorkshire along with Rievaulx, Fountains and Jervaulx abbeys. At its height it had over 200 monks but by the the time it was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 there were only 25 monks left. I 've always thought that the Cistercians knew how to do things properly. The choir monks employed lay brothers to do all the dirty jobs such as cleaning, cooking etc for them so that they could concentrate on being holy. That was there excuse anyway! I like the quirky rules in the Rule of St Benedict, the monk's rule book. Monks were only allowed a bath if they were sick and were not allowed underwear except when they had to go on a journey. Even then they had to return the underwear as soon as they got back to the monastery. On the bright side they were allowed half a pint of wine a day.

Byland Abbey is in a really nice spot nestling just below the hills. The abbey must really have been something in its day and I would have loved to have seen the great rose window when it was complete. There are still monks in this valley, just over the hill at Ampleforth Abbey.

Spring is in the Air

Unfortunately I've not been able to get out on the bike this last week for various reasons. I hope to do better next week - only 144 days to go until we set off.

Spring was definitely in the air in York earlier this week and I thought I'd share with you the above picture which I took in St Cuthberts churchyard in the centre of York.

Battlefield Bike Ride

One of the great blessings of living in York is that you are surrounded by historical sites. On my training ride today I rode across Marston Moor which is about 8 miles outside of York. Marston Moor was the scene of one of the most decisive battles of the English Civil War which took place on 2nd July 1644. The battle was between the Royalist forces led by Prince Rupert and the Parliamentarians commanded by the Earls of Leven and Manchester and Lord Fairfax. The battle started in the evening around 7pm and over the next few hours the outnumbered Royalist forces were routed by the Parliamentarians. Over 3000 Royalist troops were killed in the battle compared to 300 casualties for the Parliamentarians. As a result of the battle the Royalists effectively abandoned the North of England. Its a peaceful spot today but the obelisk in the picture serves as a memorial to the thousands of men who lost their lives in the carnage on 2nd July 1642.

It was a good training ride across the battle field today. Despite having had a week off my legs felt strong and I did about 14 miles. Although the sun was shining it was a bitterly cold day. I can't wait for the warm sunny spring evenings, far more conducive to training!

Prague Ponderings and Dumplings

Unlike my friend Doorman Priest who has very conscientiously used the half term holiday to write an essay, I have been on holiday!

My wife and I have just come back from a very cold Prague. It was my first visit there and I was very impressed, its a very beautiful city with lovely friendly people. Apparently in the summer it gets very crowded but there were only a few hardy souls braving the freezing February temperatures so we were able to wander around a very quiet city. There are some beautiful buildings and the castle on top of the hill with its lovely cathedral is very impressive.

One thing that struck me was how quickly the city has shaken off the years of communist rule and is now a vibrant modern city. The communist era is clearly not forgotten though as we discovered when we made the mistake of buying a communist poster from a bookshop and were subjected to a rant from the bookshop owner on the evils of the communist system. (Its strange that even though he hated the communists so much he was still happy to make money out of communist artefacts!)

Dumplings are very big in Prague! Perhaps its got something to do with filling yourself up with stodge to ward off the freezing temperatures or maybe its a hangover from the communist era when there wasn't much to eat. Whatever it is you can have dumplings with your starter, dumplings with your main course and dumplings for your pudding. We did try some fruit dumplings as a pudding and they were, well, very interesting! Lets say they had a consistency that Goodyear would be proud of! You have to try these things, but perhaps just the once. Having said that the food generally in Prague was great and the service was really good everywhere.

We had a great trip and we would definitely go there again, but maybe next time in summer.

Back on the Road Again

Unseasonably mild weather in York has meant that I have had no excuse not to train the last couple of days so I've been hitting the road.

Yesterday I had a gentle run of about 10 miles north of York on fairly flat roads and felt pretty good.

Today was a different matter! I decided to go for a longer run and did 20 miles up to Oswaldkirk near Helmsley. Its a lovely run up through the Howardian Hills with some really nice countryside.The only problem is that about six miles north of York the road starts to go upwards and stays like that for the next fifteeen miles. Thats when you discover how fit, or not, you really are. I didn't do too bad I suppose, I only got off one one hill and even then only for about 200 metres. There was also some glorious long descents where I could get my breath back and recupperate a bit. But it was a struggle and made me appreciate the enormity of what I'm trying to do. I eventually arrived in Oswaldkirk 95 minutes after setting off and was very relieved to see my support crew (aka my wife) there with the car to take me home.

Time for a rant now! I was really shocked by the amount of litter on the grass verges at the side of the road out in the countryside. I have to say that beer cans and discarded McDonalds drinks cartons were the main culprits. What I can't work out is how come you get discarded McDonalds cartons and wrappers in the middle of the countryside 14 miles from their nearest outlet. Do people drive out into the country just to throw them away? Better stop now before I become a grumpy old man.

Its Grim Up North

Well the weather has been a bit cold, damp and horrible in Yorkshire over the last few days so not much chance to do any training. Before you say it,I know that I'm a fair weather cyclist!

So lets tell you a bit about the route for the London to Paris cycle ride.


Day One

We make an early start from Bexley in south London on Wednesday 23rd July. This is the longest and toughest day as we travel 80 miles through Kent to the white cliffs of Dover. We pass through Rochester and tackle some of the climbs that were used on the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France. Once in Dover we catch a ferry to Calais where we stay the first night.

Day Two

After a hearty french breakfast, (surely that's an oxymoron!) we head out through the green meadows of Northern France to Arras. I love Arras, its a beautiful historic town which was one of the main battle areas of the First World War. Today we cover 73 miles and no doubt our legs will all be aching after our strenuous first day.

Day Three

No doubt the tiredness will really be settling in now as we travel 73 miles to Compiegne. En route we will pass through Bapaume and past the battlefields of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. My Grandad fought at this battle so I will be remembering him as we go along. Compiegne is the start town for one of the most famous one day professional bike races; Paris - Roubaix which runs every April. Its known as the "Hell of the North" and I'll tell you more about it in a later blog.

Day Four

It's now Saturday 25th July and on our last day we journey 66 miles from Compiegne to Paris. We finish by riding up the Champs Elysees and around the Arc de Triomphe before finishing at the Jardins du Trocadero overlooking the Eiffel Tower. The Tour de France will be finishing on the same roads the following day so all the banners and bunting will be out for that and we will be able to dream of being Lance Armstrong as we ride up the Champs Elysees. I think this will be the scariest and most dangerous part of the ride as anyone who has seen the traffic on the Champs Elysees will know. After that we finish off with a celebration dinner.

So plenty to look forward to and only 168 days to go.