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Evans RideIt: North Downs + Big News

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Saturday, 19th May, was the Evans RideIt event around the North Downs. It was some great training as the terrain is very similar to that of the South Downs, especially in terms of distance + climbing. Relive 'Morning Ride' It had us climbing 1200 metres over 34 miles, and we did it at quite a good pace. We were aware that the pace we were going was a little higher than we'll be going during the big ride, but it seeing as it wasn't as far, it was justifiable. This was the first ride for me with Paul Berry, another member of the team joining myself and Paul Watson on the BHF ride. Berry is a strong rider, and hard to keep up with on the flats and short climbs. It's going to be a fine line between keeping up with him and conserving my energy. Talking about energy, we did well keeping topped up with food. Surprisingly, the food stations came around quicker than expected, but I made sure to raid them appropriately. Nutrition is going to be one of my biggest c...
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Fun ride around porridge pots!

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As promised, to keep up with the blog here's a quick update. Today Paul and I went riding around one of our favourite spots we like to ride known as 'Porridge Pots'. We both cycled from our homes which meant I had an addition 6 miles there, and Paul had an addition 15 miles each way! Relive 'Porridge Pots' The sun was out all day again today, and we were out during golden hour. It was beautiful. We took a reverse route to what we'd normally do, which meant starting off along the canal, and then leading into the forest afterwards. The ground was just about perfect. It had rained yesterday, so there were some slightly muddy parts, but nothing compared to the winter. And the clean smell of the rain being soaked up in the forest was so refreshing. Halfway round we found some absolutely stunning, flowy, trails that felt like they never ended. If it was due to the fact that we had to get back early, we were going to do them again. Next tim...
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Big update (20% to target!)

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So it has been a while since my last blog post, and since then quite a lot has happened - I'm going to try my best to recall as much as I can. Drumroll, please... So far I've made an awesome 20% (£100) of my target! Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. I still have quite a way to go so don't forget to carry on sharing! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pp-martin-garnett Snow, snow and more snow The weather has been all over the place this year in England. One minute it's snowing, the next its glorious sun. Just after my last post, however, it was mainly snow and rain. This was a problem for me as I really did not feel like doing anything, let alone jumping on the bike and freezing my butt off! Ride 1 Shortly after I last posted, (remember the vlog?), Paul and I went out for a ride around our local woods (known as 'Porridge Pots' - but I'm not sure why). We got lucky. Whilst the air was fresh, it was clear and somewhat...
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[VLOG #01] A cold start

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What do you think of the new logo?
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Facing the commute

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A picture that was taken on my commute late last year. Today was the first day this year I commuted to work. The last time I commuted to work was about 2 months ago - and boy, did I feel it. My commute starts around 08:00 in the morning and begins on a steady uphill. I'm not a morning person - I have to put that out there. Mornings are difficult for me because I struggle eating early, and with no fuel, the body does not like doing anything, let alone cycling. So when I start climbing the first hill, I don't have a lot of enthusiasm. Relive 'Not quite as fast as I used to be, but I'm still happy with it.' Thankfully what goes up, must come down. I tell myself this a lot on my commute because I seem to live in quite a hilly area! My commute has 3 noticeable climbs each way. Immediately after the first descent, I begin climbing again. This climb is quite nice as it's through a quiet residential area, meaning I can spin the pedals at a gentle rate wit...
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Getting those legs going

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Today I finally got back on the bike for the first time in 2018. I have been ill in one form or another since December 21st, 2017 - so it was nice to get back on it! Turns out, today wasn't the best day to go riding. It started snowing in the morning, and then rained for the rest of the day. Myself and Paul had agreed to go riding at 5.30ish. During the day, I got my bike up in the flat, and checked over all the bolts, and gave the chain a bit of TLC. I'm so glad I did this, as every had stiffened up a bit being left outside in the bike shed. Regardless of the weather, I had packed my bag(s), got changed, the bike was on the car rack, and I was on my way to Pauls. Half way there... *Ding* "New Whatsapp message"... "I guess it's too late to bail", said Paul. Struggling to see out the car window with all the rain and spray from the cars, I replied using my voice... "I'm 14 minutes away, let's make a call when I get there". A...
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