Tag Archives: July150

The #June100 Awards

By 21 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , , ,

I Did Promise, Didn’t I?

Those with elephantine memories will recall that I (sort of) promised prizes for performance in the June100 challenge.  I’d quite happily let it slide, but the problem with publishing stuff is that people can remind you what you said.

The June100 was free to enter, a characteristic which meant two things:

  1. There’s no money for prizes, and
  2. There’s no money for prizes.

So in the best tradtitions of the internet, here are the virtual prizes….

And The Winners Are:

In case you were wondering, the Mutton Bird has the furthest annual migrationary flight of any bird.  In a figure-of-eight circumnavigation of the Pacific, it covers around 74,000 km (45,954 miles) in an average year.  Give or take.  John Berry has the furthest June 2010 leisure mileage of any man and thus he wins the Mutton Bird TShirt.

The other two shirts should be self-explanatory.

Special Awards:

My personal Special Awards are given, fairly arbitrarily, as follows:

  1. Carrie Foster, for using the June100 challenge to actually motivate her to ride less.  The weirdo.
  2. Rafe Forgot, for attempting to cover the 100 miles in just over a week despite not being allowed on his bike until the 18th on account of sawing his own thumb off.  He only failed due to mechanical failure.  Of his bike, not his half-a-thumb.
  3. Clive Chapman, for only recording his off-road Mountain Biking miles and still smashing the target, despite logging impressive (non-qualifying, demoralising) commuting miles.

You three get individual hugs from me.  Except Clive, who doesn’t do hugging.

Onwards And Upwards!

You probably know that the July150 Challenge has already started, so if you haven’t already signed up, do so this instant.  Follow the #July150 hashtag on twitter too.

Kiss Me Quick, Ride Me Slowly – #July150 Started

By 19 commentsCycling Challenges, Diabetes, Rides, , , ,

You’ve probably already read a few blogs about the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride on Sunday, so I’m just going to mention a few of my personal highlights and hope that you identify with them too.

Bumping Into Friends

Despite not quite meeting at the start as we’d planned, Jon of Riding The Moor fame arrived at the Standish rest stop just after I did.  His chat, his encouragement  and his Ibuprofen were very welcome for the next 25 miles or so.  As he contemplated heading off whilst I checked my blood sugars, Emma came over so we enjoyed a few minutes, then she bought me a brew as Jon buggered off.  I must say that it was the nicest brew I’ve had in a long time, and the company was good too!

My Diabetes.

I packed just 2 SIS gels and 2 Decathlon-special ceral choccy banana bars.  A good porridge breakfast at home was consumed and I didn’t test my sugar until my first break, 25 miles in at Standish.  It was  3.3 mmol/l (59.4 in American) – Whoops!  I hastily necked one of the gels and one of the bars with my litre of water.

At Preston, another 18 miles or so later, I tested again.  This time, 5.5 mmol/l (99 to our friends over the water).  Cool!  I may actually have found a system!  The final gel and cereal bar went down along with the brew Emma bought me.

So from now on, my secret is 20g CHO in gel form plus 29g CHO in complex form per 20 miles of hard riding.  Sorted.  I’ll work with it for few rides and let you know how it works.  Or how long I’m in the hospital for 😉

Not Getting Off.

There’s a steep hill just outside Kirkham, about 50 miles or so into the ride.  It’s not nice.  I managed it in 2nd gear.  Yes, second gear.  Normally that’s just too bloody spinnyto even contemplate, but on Sunday the granny ring was my friend.

On the front at Lytham, the wind was ridiculous.  I was actually buffeted.  Sometimes the windfeels a bit gusty but, bloody hell, the wind on Sunday was in fine form!  The only benefot was from a beaty point of view.  I mean, riding North along the coast meant that the skin on the left side of my face is now wonderfully exfoliated – ladies, take note!  If you ever want beautifully smooth skin, ride by the coast on a b*stard of a windy day!  Another half an hour of that and I’ve have looked like Skeletor.

Achieving A Goal.

It’s 9 years since i completed the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride.  On Sunday, it felt better than ever.  I’ve raised about £300 for the Hospice where my Mum and I said goodbye, and I’ve made some fantastic friends in the process of getting myself motivated to do it.  I’m proud of myself, my family are proud of me and my Mum would be proud too.

Thanks, all of you. Here’s the map.

The #July150 – Sign Up Here

By 22 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , , ,

It Had To Happen.

The #June100 has spawned a monster.  It’s Summer, it’s dry (so far) and we’re all loving our cycling, so here it is, sign up right here for the #July150 Cycling Challenge:

The rules are just the same as before.  Clock your leisure miles and just do more than 150 in the calendar month.  You can log your commute miles too but there’s no official kudos for that.

The Official #July150 Spreadsheet

You can look at the spreadsheet here.  Once you get your login details, you can Sign In to it and punch your information in throughout the month.  Please don’t break it!

Right. Enough said.  Please forward a link to this post to any cyclist you know, let’s try and beat the 31 participants we had in the #June100 (thanks!).

Join the #July150 and enjoy your cycling!

Where is your business growing to?

Find out how Phill Connell Marketing Solutions can accelerate your business growth. Practical, realistic steps to improve your revenue generation.

Contact Us Today

%d bloggers like this: