It's been a while.....

I've been away on holiday in China for the past two weeks which has given me some time to reflect on LEJOG and the charity fundraising efforts. A couple of things have rattled away in my mind as we sauntered through pagodas and mused our way through menus that meant very little in English, but most of all was the fact that I hadn't introduced you properly to one of the people whose memory spurs me on in the ride and to raise money for charity, Lisa Smith.  

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Lisa suffered from Cystic Fibrosis ("CF") and if you've not heard of CF before, it's a particularly nasty genetic condition.  One in 25 of us carry the gene and if two carriers have a child, there is a good chance their baby will inherit the CF condition; approximately one in 2,500 people end up with CF.  If you suffer from CF, your body secretes a sticky mucus, coating your lungs, intestines, pancreas and other organs besides, the sticky mucus clogs up the body and makes it more susceptible to disease and whilst treatments have improved, there is currently no cure and it tragically cuts short lives, half of people affected may make their 40th birthday, but not without spending a lot of time in hospital.

Now at this point, I'll hand over to Carla who was keen to write about Lisa (having known her long before I did), here's Carla's blog:

If you knew Lisa in any capacity, you were truly one of the 'lucky ones'!  To me, Lisa was an inspiring friend who loved food, friends and sharing good times. She lived a full and happy life thanks to her family and husband who have an equally inspiring strength of character that I admire. She achieved wonderful things, not least to mention a first class honours in her degree.

Lisa passed away in 2013 after fighting like no other against CF (Cystic Fibrosis).  Lisa was phenomenal throughout and the world is a worse place without her kind heart and inspirational strength. She was loved and loved others more than words can express.

Mike and Lisa had a particular interest that was very similar and that was food!  Every time Mike and I dined with Lisa and Craig, Mike would comment on how Lisa enjoys good food like him and wished I'd eat more steak, chocolate brownies etc that Lisa would enjoy. In later months when Lisa was in Southampton General for extended periods of time Mike and I would cook Lisa's favourite lasagne, with garlic bread, wrap it all in foil and quickly drive on over to the hospital to enjoy dinner altogether. We would all have a chuckle as I would offer salad and Lisa would literally give me a look of death and then smile as if to say, don't contaminate my dinner please!

When I first met Lisa we were at college together. Lisa and I studied Geography A-Level and whilst we would sit together, Lisa always listened more intently and I would be preoccupied with entertaining the class! It was always worth it as Lisa had the most infectious laugh that filled the room and a chuckle that made my messing around worthwhile.

The first time I had any understanding of the illness that Lisa lived with every day was when she told me she wouldn't be in college the following week as she was off to hospital for her course of antibiotics. Lisa wasn't cagey, but gave little information and left me feeling that I shouldn't ask too many questions. My only instruction was that if I wanted to visit her that week was to bring her some of the rice crispy cake from the college canteen that she was so fond of! Of course I obliged, spent a few hours with Lisa that week and after we went back to normal.

Several years passed before I had any real understanding of CF and how ill it could potentially make Lisa in years to come. Looking back on this now, I wish I had read more and understood CF in greater detail, but I always felt that CF did not define Lisa. It was something that she managed well and therefore kept private so that her life remained full and full.  She never moaned, she never grumbled, she kept it away from everyday life as much as she possibly could.

Lisa never drank alcohol when we partied in our late teens and early twenties. Instead she would always offer to be the dedicated driver and I have lost count of the number of times she enjoyed a great night out with us.  Lisa would always be happy to drive in exchange for a 'cheese toastie' on the return home at the end of the night!  Normally my drop off was first and so I have to thank my parents for the number of cheese toasties that were consumed over the years as they were for everyone and I think this was Lisa's favourite part of the night as we would all chatter and reflect on the events.  Of course Lisa's was always the most accurate account of what actually happened!

I don't want to dwell on the last year of Lisa's life. They were hard and those closest to her, particularly Lisa's husband, parents and sister amazed Mike and I with their unwavering strength and love.  Even throughout that, Lisa faced up to CF with incredible bravery, she didn’t show any fear, never uttered an ill word, despite a long wait for a lung transplant and long spells in hospital.

If through Mike's bike ride the profile of CF can be raised and further research can move towards a cure, or even improvements then every minute of Mike's challenge and preparation will have been worthwhile. Lisa would think we're bonkers, but she would laugh when we told her and to hear that laugh again would just be amazing.

Please show your support no matter how big or small. Every penny supports people like Lisa. We are all eternally grateful of how well Lisa was looked after and hope that our fundraising efforts enable others to receive the same.

So please dig deep and donate now.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CycleOfOurLives

That's the spirit Winston!

There are an awful lot of historical people I would love to spend time with if I had the chance, but number one on my list has to be Winston Churchill. I wouldn't be the only one, countless times he has been voted Best British Person in History and other such awards. But what is it about him in particular that he holds not just a special place with me, but with Britain generally?

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For me, Winston Churchill is a multi-faceted hero, not just the British Bulldog characterised so often. He was a genuine human being, not the media relations sanitised public images we all to often have today. He battled depression (he referred to onsets of depression as 'black dog') and money worries (he was perilously close to bankruptcy on many occasion, despite his privileged background).

Winston could see "The Gathering Storm" of the Second World War when others could not (it's well worth watching the BBC film starring Albert Finney, a film I highly recommend), and despite being outspoken and politically marginalised, he KBO (or "kept buggering on") trying, inititally in vain, to bring the threat to the attention of parliament.

KBO is a mantra I have been using for the LEJOG (Land's End to John O'Groats), there are plenty of times when I've felt up against it, but repeating that mantra evokes thoughts of great speeches ("....we will never give in...") and who human endeavour, courage and spirit to overcome the odds.  And it's paying dividends too.  

Recently I took up spinning at a local gym alongside my cycling training and the hard work is paying off, training rides that once were incredibly tough are now getting easier, in fact my average speed on my "short" ride of 36 miles has improved by nearly 20%, a staggering amount that would no doubt have be randomly drug tested immediately if I were an elite athlete (sadly I'm not).  The LEJOG ride is still a daunting prospect, consecutive days of cycling 100 miles per day is no small matter and I don't yet know how my body will cope with over 7 hours per day in the saddle.

It's hard work, I spin 4 times a week, cycle up to twice a week and then spend a lot of time trying to drive up sponsorship and organising all sort of activities related to the ride.  It means that most of the time I'm tired through exercise or missing out on sleep getting things finished off - so KBO is a regular feature on and off the bike!

The fundraising side has perhaps gone less well so far, at least against the overall target of £25k and is something that has preoccupied me of late.  Despite taking on the challenge itself and both Brendon and I committing to put ourselves through the pain of having various parts of our body waxed if we hit above £2k, we have raised just over £1k.

But there is no place for doom and gloom - KBO.  If it takes time to get to £25k, it takes time, but we will get there.  A small band is mobilising to organise events, and whilst it started out as a cycle ride, there are a whole host of events being organised to help us get to the overall target.

A cheese and wine evening, a murder mystery night featuring the prestigious Chameloen Theatre Group (http://www.chameleontheatre.co.uk/), a cake bake, a quiz night, there are all sorts of things going on that will all play an important part.  If you're reading this and feel like you would like to contribute to the efforts, then I encourage you to contact Brendon or I, we would appreciate your support and it would be great to have you play a part in what will (eventually) be a huge success.

Here's the link if you fancy donating

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CycleOfOurLives

Many thanks for reading and happy cycling

Mike

An evening with Davina

Hello

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Did you see Davina McCall's marathon effort for Sports Relief last week?  What an achievement, but well worth it raising over £2m the last I heard.  It's great seeing celebrities really put themselves out to do their bit and raise funds, it's become a feature of Sports Relief now and one I look forward to seeing after the feats of David Walliams and Eddy Izzard.  Watching these feats grips you emotionally, and that emotion drives people to donate in their droves.

I couldn't help but compare Davina's efforts to ours this summer, lots of cycling and a charitable aim it was almost impossible not to.  As I saw her struggling to cycle for hours on end it dawned on me how well organised and how much support Davina had, what a professional outfit with lots of cheering from the general public.  I also realised that Davina was cycling from Edinburgh to London, half the distance that we are taking on!

It almost sounds like I'm belittling Davina's efforts, but I'm not.  It was clear that Davina's challenge was huge, it tested her and really pushed her to the limit.  Not only that, she was hugely successful, raising a huge amount of money and completing it on time, something to be enormously proud of.  It just focuses my mind on the challenge we have to face.

All of the Land's End to John O'Groats cycle is planned and organised by us, all of the trip is self funded and we have no specialist support or assistance.  But then our target is set much lower, instead of £2m it's £25k, and it's worthwhile nonetheless.  Naturally though we need to complete with better funded events like Davina's, we're jostling for the attention and donations and it is tough, almost as tough as the ride itself.

A few conversations I've had recently have made me realise that most people don't realise what we're taking on, some thought the donations we raise would pay for the event itself (they will not, what we can't persuade people to lend or give us we will pay for ourselves) and others thought we would join an organised event (we did consider it, but we wanted to make all of the efforts ourselves rather than hang on the coat tails of someone else's work).

So, after an evening with Davina am I any the wiser, or am I feeling hard done by with nowhere near the resources or support?  With the donation tin still sat below £1k, despite me promising to wax various bits of my body you'd expect me to say the latter, but I'm wiser and I'm inspired.  You may think I'm mad, but I'm not, here's why:

I might not have an audience on BBC but I do have my family and friends who are beginning to set in train some great ideas to play their part in something special.  We can't match the BBC for resources, but together we can use innovation, ingenuity and perseverance to hit our target - just watch this space as the ideas will turn into reality over the coming months!

Not only that but we are getting fantastic support from Carla and Katie (my wife and Brendon's girlfriend), family and friends are also helping to join us for some or all of the ride.  Having them there to lift our spirits and support us will be immense, you only need to have seen Davina's ride to see we will need that.

To top of it off we have been hugely fortunate to gain some support from a local company, which has ultimately made this dream to cycle the length of the UK a reality - Marquis has generously agreed to allow us to use one of their motor-homes for our challenge, what a huge donation of support and one that we're very grateful for.  In fact, we really could not do it without them!

Lastly, I thought I'd attach a few pics from the Wiltshire Wildcat I cycled last week, hope you enjoy them!

Thanks for reading

Mike

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CycleOfOurLives

Cricket & A Wildcat

Hello

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I headed up to the Big Smoke on Monday to see a talk given by Jeremy Snape, a former England cricketer who has since turned to performance coaching and sports psychology (he has a company called Sporting Edge - www.sportingedge.com) and he relates sports psychology to business. It was a happy coincidence to see him because what he had to say has huge relevance to our Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) efforts.

Jeremy initially spoke about how he decided to follow a career in sports psychology. He was playing for England against India at Eden Gardens, a huge stadium packed with 120,000 vociferous supporters.  England were under pressure chasing a target set by India and it was not going well, Jeremy had just managed to run out Freddy Flintoff, the last recognised batsman, and begun to panic as he faced India's top spin bowler for the very next bowl.  In his moment of panic, years of training deserted him, instead of following a plan and playing to his strengths, he decided to innovate a new shot with the aim of hitting a 6.  Of course, that moment of panic cost him his wicket and he trudged back to the dressing room somewhat embarrassed.   But it did sow the seeds of his career after cricket, in particular, to understand how in pressure situations emotional thought can get the better of you and make you do something daft.

He also talked about cycling,, in particular he talked about how Jason Queally won gold at the Sydney Olympics beating the huge favourite Arnaud Tournant.  Queally headed out for his ride and set a blistering pace to beat the world record, this panicked Tournant and he urgently instructed his mechanic to change his bike to put a bigger cog on his bike.  This was a mistake and if he'd thought logically he would have realised it too; he'd spent 4 years training for this event, so why change at the last minute.  What Tournant should have done was left his bike as it was, concentrated on his ride and let the result take care of itself.  Instead he set off at a blistering pace and for three laps of the track he went off at a pace, but by the time of the final lap the larger cog caught up with him, he tired and finished 5th!

Today I took on the Wiltshire Wiltcat, my first 'Epic' ride ahead of the LEJOG, 82 miles of huge hills, incredibly demanding.  Until yesterday I wasn't even sure if I'd take it on, still suffering the after effects of man flu, coughing and spluttering, but in the end I went for it.  Over a 6 hour ride you have an awful lot of time to think about everything and anything and it's really easy for the emotional side to take over, and it does, several times I thought of the horrific hills and how my legs were aching, my calves cramped and my lungs burned, but I had an extra tool in my armoury today and I pushed much of the emotion away with logic and clear thought - I've done this before, I've trained for it, I hurt now but I will feel great when I finish.

There was one moment when I did lose control of my emotions though and I can recall it very clearly.  It was on mile 56.  I was struggling a little at that point.  There were no riders I could see ahead of me and none behind me either.  And then it hit me, a huge wave of emotion came barrelling over me from nowhere and as much as I struggled to hold it back it pushed on with huge force and I was overcome.  I'm struggling to write this now thinking of it.  I began thinking of the two people that I'm doing this to raise money for, images of then sped through my mind and a huge swirl of thoughts had my mind swimming, I broke down and cried.  Now thankfully the words I had heard earlier in the week stood me in good stead and I regained my composure without doing anything daft and actually, the release of emotion, in this case, actually helped push me on and got me out of that difficult patch.  So, if anyone ever asks (although somehow I doubt they ever will) what has cricket got to do with a wildcat - well, now you know, and what a tremendous help it was too!

Thanks for reading - and if you're interested, I've copied the ride below

Mike

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One FLU over the cuckoo's nest

This week my thoughts have turned to illness and injury - not a happy topic, but seeing as I've been struck down by one of the most serious ailments known to humankind, it's unavoidable.  If you haven't already guessed, I've been afflicted by man flu!

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When you take on a challenge such as this your mind does tend to settle on the things that may scupper your chances of crossing the finish line.  That's not to say I spend my whole time preoccupied by downsides and disaster, it's just part of the planning process to think about all the things that could crop up and work out ways to manage them.  Injury and illness is just one of those things, but one of them that is a little more difficult to mitigate.  If a spell of flu happens upon me, there is not so much I can do about it, except be miserable and mope about.  In some ways, it's good I've been hit now and actually it's the first time I've been ill for a good few years, hopefully that's it now for another few years.

Injury probably worries me more and is something that will just sit at the back of my mind until I finish LEJOG.  Ever since my early 20's I have had problems with my left knee.  In the early days I would find my knee would simply collapse from under me without warning and or wake up with my knee locked in position and absolute agony to move.  What I didn't know then, or even after a few arthroscopies later, was that some of the articular cartilage in my knee had deteriorated and bits of it had broken free, sometimes getting caught up in the knee joint like something trapped in the hinge of a door - ouch!

I've now had several operations on my knee to try and help it recover.  In one, called Microfracture, the surgeon shaved away the damaged cartilage and drilled holes into the underlying bone to enable bone marrow to seep out, form a scab of stem cells that would hopefully form cartilage.  An operation pioneered by Dr Richard Steadman in Colarado, famous for treating footballers and basketball players the world over. I even managed to get a video of the operation which I'v copied below, have a look:

More recently I had a a cartilage graft on my left knee from one of the top knee surgeons in the country.  The op, called a 'matrix induced chondrocyte implantation' is where cartilage was harvested from my knee and sent of to be grown in a laboratory.  Once sufficient cartilage was grown it was effectively super glued back in to my knee during open knee surgery.

I had the operation about three and half years ago now, I still recall the recovery clearly, it was long and it was tough.  Back then I'd have thought you mad (one flu over the cuckoo's nest mad) to suggest I would go on to cycle LEJOG, in fact, there were times that I didn't think I'd ever do much.  Struggling to walk on crutches, leg in a brace and lacking any confidence on my knee I just couldn't see how things could get better, but somewhere inside me, some part of me just didn't want to give up.

So, no matter how mad it might be to take on 950 miles of cycling, however crazy it may seem to spend day after day covering 100 miles of tough, unrelenting hills, that part of me that didn't give up on my knee three and half years ago is now bigger and more confident and really looking forward to the challenge.

Hope you've enjoyed my blog

Onwards and Upwards!

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Two rides and a wedding

This weekend marked my first double ride on the bike, punctuated by Gareth's (Brendon's older brother) wedding.  More of the cycle rides later in this post, but for now, the wedding and the build up to it has played an important part in my thinking of late.

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Gareth's stag do was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago and whilst 'what goes on tour stays on tour' there was an occurrence that really set me thinking.  On the second night I noticed his best man (Kevin) was sporting a one of those rubber bracelets that are now commonplace, his read 'Marathon Des Sables' (which means marathon of the sands), an epic six day ultra marathon across the Sahara desert where you carry your own kit.  I half expected Kevin to wax lyrical about his achievements and I was interested to hear, but instead he played it down and told me about a blind man who completed the race that year and other athletes facing disabilities of one sort or another and still managing to beat the 40C heat!

Kevin's modest attitude plays down a huge personal achievement, I can only imagine how tough it was, searing heat, endless stretches of desert, blisters, feeling tired, aching and the sand - it must have got everywhere which would have been a nightmare!  An amazing achievement.

The Marathon Des Sables (MDS) has now been running for 28 years and attracts over 1,000 people a year,  just like Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) the challenge is no longer unique.  Kevin wasn't the first to face MDS and I will not be the first to face LEJOG, but does it diminish the achievement? Of course not. The personal challenge is huge and in later blogs I will tell you why I worry I may not be able to complete mine.

In modern times there are lots of people taking on their own personal challenge, all of them equally admirable, all of them are incredibly tough and worthy of support from friends and family. but it's a crowded space.  Simply telling everyone I'm taking on the biggest challenge is not a new message to anyone, you just cannot rely on that to inspire people to support me and get to a huge target of £25k.  My challenge isn't just the cycle ride, it's battling through the endless sponsorship 'noise', to inspire people to shout and cheer me on and give up their own hard earned cash and back me in something that to me means an awful lot, but to them, less so.

I'm going to have to put my mind to it and come up with as many ingenious and inspired ideas to raise some dosh over the course of the next few months as I can.  And you can help me too.  If you are reading this post and can think of a mad cap idea that just might help me along the way, please do let me know (mlashmar1977@gmail.com), I'll be keen to hear from you.

This weekend's cycle rides
I decided to take on two cycle rides this weekend, overall I cycled for over 6 hours, hit a top speed of 43mph and covered 82 miles.

Here's the first:

and here's the second



A tough weekend's ride but great preparation for the Wiltshire Wildcat in two weeks time, see this link for the details

http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/cycling-weekly-wiltshire-wildcat-sportive/

Once again, if you can spare a few quid, here is the link

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CycleOfOurLives

Not an option!

Hello again

Something niggled after my last ride.  No doubt about it, it was the toughest ride to date and I enjoyed it, but I let a problem with the Garmin satnav get in the way of me finishing, so although I achieved a lot, it felt hollow.

I'm taking on Land's End to John O'Groats in just 5 months time, so this sort of attitude is just not acceptable, so today I went out and took on the route again, determined to ride harder and complete it. Giving up is not an option!!

And that I did, I finished nearly 20 minutes ahead of were I was on track to finish last time out and my overall pace was 1 mph faster.  Excellent stuff, really chuffed with the ride, see it below: