Background
What started out as a conversation about how David would beat me in a rowathlon event last year soon turned into a testosterone filled debate about what alternative challenge we should undertake when I was unable to take part in the rowathlon.
I got injured before that event (which David still doesn’t believe) and David ended up at Castle Combe on his own, one baking hot Sunday morning, with no one for company but a group of elite athletes he had been mistakenly grouped with (which he still doesn’t believe wasn’t my doing), most of whom had represented their country at one discipline or another. Needless to say the rowathlon was not an enjoyable experience for him and it is against this backdrop that the idea of a non-stop relay from one end of Britain to the other evolved!
Had we both competed in the rowathlon it may be that this idea would never have seen the light of day and at the time of writing I am beginning to wish that, injury or no injury, I had made the trip to Wiltshire that Sunday morning if only to come last and go home reassuring myself that it was the taking part that counted!
Somehow David managed to persuade Mike to make it three riders in total, and to this day I’m not sure what possessed Mike to say yes!
This trip has been done before and in this format. However, until recently none of us were what you would call cyclists, having never owned anything other than a chopper or a bmx in our youth. Racing bikes were for weirdoes and people who had no friends! The momentary madness that seems to engulf people at one point or another during their lives had suddenly descended upon us.
Many months later here we are on the verge of our trip and beginning to appreciate the magnitude of the task before us. Like many of these things, what seemed like a good idea at the time now seems like the most ridiculous suggestion that we any of us could imagine. I cannot even plead that this was a decision taken whilst under the influence of alcohol. We were all stone cold sober and perhaps that is where the problem lies!
How the relay works
We depart for Lands End on Thursday 5th June starting our journey in the early hours of 6th June. Whilst we will all start and finish together, the other 949 miles will be in relay format, with each rider taking it in turns to do a two hour stint in the saddle followed by a four hour rest period. We just need to keep that up all day and all night for three days and we’ll be in John O’Groats!
We intend to average a minimum of 15 miles an hour which will be difficult in parts of Cornwall and Devon. We hope we can increase the average on flatter parts in order to maintain the overall average. If things do go as planned that should get us in to John O’Groats on the evening of Sunday 8th June, before closing time with any luck!
We will be accompanied by our support team of Steve and Pete, who will be taking it in turn to drive our support vehicle – a magnificent 35ft American motor home – the use of which we have very kindly been given free of charge, for which many thanks to Terry Hillier.
I know that I am a miserable sod when tired so the atmosphere might get a little tense at times. I am sure that David and Mike feel the same. It might be a good idea to keep out of each other’s way when the temperature rises and fuses blow, so it’s a good job the motor home is 35ft long!