|
|
Raceline Reports
Day
Ten
09.09.08 (iola - Jefferson City 212 miles)
State Kansas - Missourri
The weather from the outset is cold and there's plenty of cloud
cover. As we get further into the journey it's starting to look
sunny outside and the trees are blowing a lot less so that should
give us some encouragement. Team C start to get ready around
10am and we're treated to a naked Shelly balancing between bikes at
the back of the RV and rubbing Assoss cream (soothing antiseptic for
your backside) into his cycling shorts. Dave, Graeme and John
have prepared the bottles, Andrew has rode shotgun next to Anthony
and Morty has been lying down with his legs in the air for half an
hour.
Team A start off well, the RV needs filling with water and Brocko'
stops at a local garage. Gary Torr joins in and is setting the
hose into the water into the RV tank, suddenly Brocko's "don't
Gaz' the water, it's on, it's not ready and SPLOSH ! it's everywhere,
Gaz is head to toe with water all down his front.
A few miles into the ride and Alan isn't feeling too well, the legs
are sore and he's got butterflies in his stomach, they'll have to
slow down and give him a chance to recover. Along the way a
local state trooper pulls in on the hard shoulder and gets out to see
the oncoming cyclists, he raises his hand and the group think he's
gesturing to stop, there's a slight confusion and Alan pulls across
in front of Gary who unfortunately had been half wheeling Alan's
bike. In a split second he's down and grazes, knee, elbow and
thigh. While hitting the tarmac Gary also takes a knock to the
head and his helmet scratches along the ground. This is
the second time this trip that a helmet has saved someone from
serious injury (kids, if you're still reading this, learn the lesson,
always wear your cycling hat, it might not be much of a fashion
statement, but it'll keep you alive to one day make one). Gary
is up and about, though it's knocked him off his rhythm, he was
acknowledged as riding really well and felt strong all day, but it's
a tougher last few miles now. The curious thing though was the
Trooper who must have seen what happened simply got in his car and
drove off.
If you believe in re-incarnation, then better hope you don't one day
come back as an Armadillo
living
near Highway 54 heading from Eldon to Jefferson City. We
counted 14 of the poor creatures in various states of roadside
decomposition and it's clear too that the highways authority give
little concern to cleaning them up after they've been killed.
Tomorrow we are back to three teams of 4 with a "senior veterans
group" completing the final leg into St. Louis, Missouri.
If all goes to plan we'll cover 190 miles as a group and be close to
having covered 2,000 miles from west to east. It's nearly midnight
and it's time for bed. We'll be up and loading by 7.30am with a
planned 8.30am start.
Day
Eleven 10.09.08 (Jefferson City - St. Louis 190
miles)
State Missouri - Illinois
We're all up and about but Alan Sadler is last to arrive downstairs
fully loaded with kit and bike. Alan's been doing the
newsletter and working on the Face book site (kids,
you'll know what that is) and so he's been putting in some long
hours. Fortunately, he's had Mr Sheldon as a room mate to coax
him through and encourage him.
Yvonne has got hold of the first group out and is massaging thighs
and calf muscles. It is now a fineable offence to make girlie
gestures or scream as Yvonne hurts you, oops! I mean massages
you. Richard Gyde is fined $1 per grimace, Shelly however takes
it like a man and escapes with his wallet intact.
Anthony has excelled himself this morning, our RV is loaded with
salted popcorn (who, on earth would ever want to eat that, I'm
assured some people like it). On Brocko's bus there was already
talk at breakfast of calling off for a roasted chicken and other nice
things.
Within 20 minutes of us setting off Morty assumes control of the bed
at the back of the RV and is soon in a slumber.
We eventually arrive after 24 miles cycling in the small residential
town of Hamel and have lunch on the edge of a local park. The
sun is beaming down and we enjoy a half hour relax before setting off
again. The second half will cover about 34 miles and we get a pace
on. The team is working well and we are building up a bit of
speed and getting the miles out of the way.
This part of Illinois is very clean, tidy and filled with green
fields and makes a pleasant and much welcome change to some of our
earlier experiences. Our destination is Greenville just short
of St. Louis and it's a really nice town, typical middle America I dare
say. All the buildings are wooden structure and streets
arranged in blocks, a grassed area town square with a Gazebo in the
middle and the streets are clean, no litter and only a few people
dotted around going about there business.
Team A have had a more difficult day than any of the other teams and
at one point Gary Torr has to get off, the climbs are steep and
they're rolling up them at 4mph at best. Another two punctures,
one loose set of handlebars and a seat.
Yvonne has her massage table out and at least four of us get treated
to some torture. Apparently with all the constant cycling and
not enough rest or decent replacement food for protein and carbs' the
leg muscles simply can't repair themselves in time for the next day
and so as every day goes on the pain gets worse. Once you get
to a comfortable pace everything seems ok, but when you have to exert
yourself again up the hills the lactate in your muscles burns like
hell and for a few hundred yards at times you feel like you've got to
stop, but you can't as it will make it worse. When Yvonne sinks
her thumbs into your thighs and rolls out the muscles the pain can be
anything but pleasant, though we are assured its helping as it will
get the blood flowing in that area again and help to heal the
muscle.
There's the usual light banter and then I find I have a new best
friend, a brother in arms. Mr Sheldon or Shelly to his friends
has joined me in the RV disgraced category by breaking the unwritten
rule. Shelly having certain urges to clear his internal systems
is at the point of commanding Brocko' to stop almost anywhere and if
he can find a field that has big leaves in it that would be a
bonus. Brocko' with a concern for the local communities and the
well being of the local drainage systems simply won't allow such an
environmental disaster to occur on his watch and with no other
options Mr Sheldon has to succumb and sits down in the RV to conduct
business. A much relieved Shelly now has a story to tell
and has the constant sympathy of his room partner and life long coach
to help him through this difficult hour. I'm sure Alan will
keep it quiet. Well after all when you've got to go, you've got
to go.
Meanwhile as most of us disappear off for an early night we recognise
that Brocko' is still in the bar and has been there since at least
7.30.
Day Twelve
11.09.08 (Greenville - Indiana 196 miles)
State Illinois - Indiana
We're up on time it's 7am and we're loading, that is if you're on
Anthonys RV. Brocko' may have had one or two more than he
planned last night and it gets to 7.45am and there's no sign of
life. Everyone is tucking into yet another sumptuous breakfast
of cereal, coffee and not much else. It's hardly worth
bothering with and not what you need to replenish your reserves for
the day.
We get off a little later than planned, but it's no big deal, a quick
stop off at Wall-Mart, followed by an unscheduled one at Subway as
half the RV are starving this morning. A six inch sub, cookie
and coffee and we're conscious again it's breathed enough life into
Keith as he's dragged into a road rage incident. Brocko' misses
a red light when turning right and a motorist in a Lime Green VW
Beetle takes umbridge at Brocko's attempt to cut short his
life. Pulling up directly in front of us to make his point,
Brocko' takes the initiative and overtakes, but the guys having none
of it. Keith winds the window down and asks "what's your
problem", The VW drivers not a happy camper and Shelly joins in
leaning out of the window "I'd advise you to move on, if you
know what's good for you, but the drivers having none of it.
Keith, ever the diplomat leans out of the window "get yourself a
proper car, you P**ck". I bet the VW drivers thinking
these Australians, what they doing over here.
With reference to that last remark on four occasions so far the
locals, OOPS ! sorry to break the writing, but Shellys just shown his
backside to Sadler, gross and misconduct, anyway, where was I;
yes, the local have now asked us three times are we from Australia
and once are we from New Zealand.
We pass Team B on the way to our drop off and duly ask Gary Torr is
everything alright, "tell, Morty, he's a lazy, fat etc
etc. Nice one Gaz', that'll gel the team. We'll get
Mortys opinion later in the day.
The ride is pretty uneventful again, we are riding well as a unit
taking turns at the front in one mile intervals and Sean has led us
out at an easier 12 -14mph pace. As the morning comes to a
close we are moving along quite nicely at around 17mph. It'll
be 34 mile before we stop and when we do it's for Andrew to change
both inner tube and tyre. Andrews now had 8 punctures in 11
days. Whilst waiting there's no point in wasting valuable
eating time and so I turn up with a Banana Split and relax with Sean
while we watch Andrew show us the art of putting tube and tyre
together. Afterwards we move on at a great pace for the last 15
miles and take care of the up and downs with some comfort, bar one or
two harder ones. We're back at Brockos mobile café, its
recovery drinks, Pasta and Chicken with a healthy side salad and it
goes down a treat. 20 minutes later we are on our way and heading
for the Quality Inn, Indiana.
The hotel is 15 miles from the Indianapolis race track and there's a
full race weekend on with practice laps and qualifying, apparently
it's the first motorcycle race there since 1909. The
Indianapolis circuit houses 250,000 permanent seats and is so big
that you can fit inside it the Roman Coliseum, Vatican City, The Rose
Bowl, Yankee Stadium, Churchill downs and Wimbledon Centre
court. As a City it is the U.S.As 13th largest and is bigger
than San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Las Vegas by
population. With the exception of Washington D.C the city
dedicates more acreage and number of monuments and memorials to the
country's war veterans than anywhere else in the U.S.
|
|
|
Dear Friends and Supporters
Well we are spinning along nicely now clocking up th
miles with no drama, well the odd drama like crashes and bike
breakdown and towns with no beer !!
Gary Torr has pulled me up about the reference I
made to him resembling Shrek, so in light of this please view my formal apology here.
John Olkiewicz has been compling riding data check
the link out on the left to see our performance.
www.gmfundraising.co.uk
www.hopehouse.org.uk
Thanks for your interest and the donate button is just
up on the left.
|
As this message
is written the team will be finishing their 13th day of riding,
with now only 4 remaining. They have now experienced pretty much everything
the USA could possibly throw at them; from the unbearable heat of
the desert (107 f on the 3rd day), the climbing of the Rocky
Mountains (goodness, how I hated those days), to the mind
bending monotony of the plains across the mid west. We have only
the Appellations to face and whilst we know they will be a big test
for us all, it is safe to say that we can smell the end of this
epic adventure.
When this journey came into my head some two years ago, little did
I know what I was letting myself and the rest of the, yet to be
chosen, team in for. It is, without question, the single most
physically challenging thing that I, and I suspect most of the team,
have ever endured. To the point where, I suspect, if I had known
before what I know now I am sure I would not have attempted it.
However, is that not what adventure is about ? Pushing the
boundaries, having a go at something whilst those around you seek
the comfort of normality ?
I am pleased to have put this trip together, with the wonderful
assistance of Iain McInnes, without whom I believe the trip would
not have got off the ground. I am pleased to have been able to
convince the 11 other cyclists to come along (For many I am sure my
powers of persuasion will never work again)
I am pleased I was able to convince our wonderful support
crew, who have been marvelous.
I am pleased for many, many other reasons. Of course new
friendships have been forged and old ones strengthened. What we
have been through will stay with us and be the source of many a
dinner conversation. But most of all I am pleased because of the
huge support we have received from our industry, which in turn
means that we can, once again, hand over a much needed donation to
the desperately underfunded Hope House Children's Hospice. Support
such as our headline sponsorship from Promac Group - Thank you so
much to David and Dereck, they stood up when we most needed them
after losing our original Main sponsor. Also, the support from all
the people who have pledged sponsorship from as little as £10.00 to
as much as £2,500.00. It all counts, so a thousand times thank you.
To sum up, the trip has been much tougher than expected, but the
result of that is what has made it so very special. It has
indeed been my privilege to be a part of such a splendid group of
people. People who have paid to go through the pain and anguish of
the physical challenge, gone without seeing family and friends for
3 weeks or so and, for many, been away from their businesses.
I, for one, feel I have become a better person for this ambitious
journey, you tend to learn a lot about yourself whilst churning out
mile after mile with only the road in front of you and your i Pod
for company.
I will not be too premature as we still have a few days to go, but
for those of you that know anyone on the trip, we hope to get them
back safely by Friday.
Anyone fancy cycling across
China !!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
Rider Profile Iain McInnes
Iain
"Macca" McInnes, and is a Director at McInnes Communications Ltd,
and lives in Cheltenham with girlfriend Sarah and Benjamin (aged 18
months).
Iain is responsible for organising this massive event and has
planned everything from the route through to diet and training
schedules for riders.
Iain rides at national standard and regularly races for the
Montpellier race team, and has completed the Top2Bottom and the
Tower2Tower rides.
I asked him why would he take on such a hard task, he
said " To put a little back into society and to achieve
something as a team, I fear the Mid west because of the mundane
roads and high winds."
I have ridden with Macca many times and he is always available to
offer help and advice without hesitation these charity rides would
not be as enjoyable or flow with such precise organisation without
Mecca, he is a real pro
|
|
"Thumbs"
McGregor MBE
If you think back, during times of war, there has
always been talk about the prisoners of war in the torture
chambers, they are usually tales of horror, screaming and pain,
when we signed up for this ride, at no point where we made aware
for the pain that was coming our way.
Yvonne is always quiet and never says boo to a goose, but give
her some massage oil and her whole persona changes. A slight
smile appears at the corner of her mouth and a hint of a red glow
shows in them evil eyes.
The torture starts with a 'Warm Up' (better known as the
friction burn) and slowly, but precisely, turns to a deep insertion
of the 'Thumb' into the tender and already bruised mussels on your
legs. She sits there with a smile, enjoying the pain
that is being dealt to her unsuspecting prey.
When she has finished with the legs, she moves on to the shoulders
and I am sure, tries to prise your shoulder blades away from your
body. Digging those thumbs into every crevice on your back,
saying "I've just get this knot", but you know she is
really digging far deeper than is really needed.
I have seen grown men shout out in pain, with their bodies rolling
around, trying to escape the horror. But no, she will not let
you go. You have to stay there and hold yourself back from
sticking out, as if you did, it would only get worse!!!!
Check out Richard "Dickie" Gyde on Facebook getting a
relaxing massage from "Thumbs"
|
|
Rider Profile Andrew Glover
Andrew
"Kansas" Glover is a Director at West Yorkshire Windows
and is married to Nicola and 2 Children - Ella 7 and Lillie 5.
 Andrew said " I feel that this is one of the
biggest personal challengers I could / will ever do. The
challenge is made better by the fact we are doing it for such a
good charity as long as we don't come across any Spiders I will be
fine. I have got a little experience I did a 250 mile charity ride
in 2006 other than that I haven't been on a bike for 15 years prior
to training for this event!"
Kansas has been a good addition to the team always
willing to get involved and gets his name from his name from his
ability to talk constantly, full of wind just like Kansas!!
" Did I mention that I'm on the telly" Not for the
last 10 minutes Kansas !
|
|
The Route
day 10 - 12
Day ten steers
the team in the direction of Jefferson City, 212 miles away. During
the ride the team will pass the lake Pomme De Terre. The lake is
part of a series of lakes in the Osage River Basin designed and
constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers for flood
control. Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of
Missouri and the county seat of Cole County.
Day eleven begins with the team aiming to cover 190 miles in total
with the ride ending the day in Greenville IL. Greenville is
notable for its old-fashioned downtown and many antique shops. A
large stone and plaque (placed by the Daughters of the American
Revolution) marks the place where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen
Douglas made speeches while running for the United States Senate in
1858.
Day twelve starts with the first team covering the first 33
miles. There are a total of five team changes, with a total mileage
of 196 miles aiming to be covered. The team will stay over in
Indianapolis where the first seasons of Good Morning Miss Bliss
(later to become Saved by the Bell) and Thunder Alley were
set.
|
|
Rider Profile Richard Gyde
Richard
"Dickie" Gyde is Managing Director at Mila Hardware and lives
in Northampton with partner Sarah and 2 sons - Dominic and
Christian, also 2 cats - Hugo & Lara.
Richard comments " I am putting myself through
this ordeal to help the kids & families of Hope House,
camaraderie, achieving my personal goals of improving my fitness
and looking more like Brad Pitt! I fear cycling behind Morty
although the extra draft from Morts ample rear will help!!"
Richard has 2 years cycling (weekends, early mornings) and Tower 2
Tower ride to his credit. He recently has been elected to head of
the fines committee and takes unnatural pleasure from relieving
people of their cash, but on occasion over looking his own
misdemeanours.
|
|
 2 Fast 2 Furious
By Sean
Pearce
Life in the fast
lane, it's all in a days' riding for Keith, Dave and myself. Cycling
along Highway 160 as the first group at the start of Day Six and
setting a blistering pace across the dark desert highway, cool wind
in our hair, when up steps a policeman to ask what are we doing
there", welcome to Highway 160 heading East out of Colorado.
As our group head up the hill, a state trooper comes down the other
side, turning round to greet us from behind with a whoop,
whoop. Stopping us to check on our lack of riding prowess he
offers some timely advice to ride inside the white line on the edge
of the road. After agreeing to an impromptu photo' session
with Keith and myself the trooper is on his way as Keith asks
him "next time you stop us will you not do it on a hill",
"you're welcome" came the reply and duly leaves us to
carry on our journey. Sean Pearce (author and
general raconteur)
|
|
God Bless
America
The one thing that America has in spades is
patriotism. Not the jingoistic "Three-Lions" and Cross of
Saint George partisanship you see when England somehow happens to qualify
for a football tournament.
 Theirs is a
passion for their country ingrained at a very early age, sustained
throughout every aspect of their entire life. You can't walk a
block without seeing the Stars & Stripes and I
don't mean bumper stickers and lapel pins. I mean full on, big as a
tennis court flags flying from flagpoles a hundred feet high.
People over here take their national icon very
seriously, which I guess is why they take such a dim view on flag
burning. As recently as 2006 the Senate tried to amendment the Bill
of Rights on free speech and make defacing the flag a crime.
As we crossed Indiana yesterday, every flag flew at half mast but
in the evening there was very little TV coverage of the events at
the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre. I recall visiting Ground
Zero in 2002 and felt a real sense of raw emotion surrounding the
vast pit left behind after the rubble of the twin towers was
removed. As the Ride 4 Hope team dined last night, we felt strongly
that we should mark the anniversary with a moment of silence but in
truth it would have been an empty gesture in a noisy Italian
restaurant. We chose instead to remember what happened in a
personal way. Nobody will forget the appalling events of 9-11 but
the country is moving on, resolving to do whatever is necessary to
prevent a repetition of that awful day.
There is an indomitable spirit in the American people, which may be
why we continue to enjoy a "Special Relationship" as
Maggie put it. They recognise the values of self reliance, hard
work and compassion. As the Ride 4 Hope enters its final week, I
believe that these are the qualities the riders have shown over the
last two weeks and possibly why we have been treated with such
kindness and respect by everyone we have met on the ride. Some may
sneer at the sentiment but we truly understand why people say
"God bless
America".
|
|
 Dick of the Day
I the evening there
is no better way to unwind, not with a glass of fine port, not with
pleasant conversation but with 2 votes each to verbally abuse your
team mates ! who wins get to wear the dick of the day shirt the
following night for dinner. The overall winner (Dick of the Tour)
is decided by the number of votes over the week. Click here so see the
progress.
|
|
|
|
