JOGLE for The Alzheimer's Society

Blogger moved to Word Press

2008-06-25T10:45:00.007+01:00

Please visit www.jogle.eu for updates.

If you have been following us intrepid JOGLER’s you may have noticed first our Blog disapear and then a total lack of updates.

Unfortunately Google made a false positive on our site as a spam blog on the day we left. This has certainly cost us sponsorship money for the Alzheimer’s Society as we had most people, including the papers and TV pointed to the Blogger blog.

In the meantime we have setup a blog using Word Press.

For my dad

2008-06-18T23:29:00.000+01:00

All packed and ready to go.
I have somehow managed to end up with some very heavy luggage, but i think this is down to the energy drink and carbo powder i am carrying, so at least it will get lighter every day.
I am carrying the bare essentials, hopefully i won't feel to cold walking around Scotland in my flip flops!
It will be good to get riding and have a feel for what we have let ourselves in for, it would be great to have some sunshine en-route as well.
I think my dad would have been proud of what we are doing and pleased that we can raise money to help others have more chance of fighting this disease in the future, hopefully he will be keeping an eye on our proceedings and wishing us bon-voyage.

Ready for the off

2008-06-18T22:02:00.003+01:00

Please excuse the lame video I am experimenting with video quality to post from the phone.

All packed and ready to go. This past few weeks have been a bit tense for me as I have been trying to pass my Part 3 exam to become a driving instructor.

Today I passed! Which means i can look forward to giving up the night shifts and start planning a new career on my return from the JOGLE. It also means I can enter the JOGLE on a high.

I will be off to Exeter Airport tomorrow to meet Dave, Steve and Pete from Iron Bridge Runners, then it is up to Inverness. Here we get a hire car up to John O'Groats and then B+B for the night before starting riding on Friday whilst the galant Pete returns the car and flies home. Cheers Pete!

Techno Packing

2008-06-16T21:54:00.005+01:00

Not long to go now so I thought I had better make sure I could fit everything in. It is quite a juggling act deciding what to take and what to leave behind. I had to bring some technology as 9 days without the internet is going to be a challenge on its own.

I have a pocket PC with Memory map installed. This has the whole route on it. Also a Nokia N95 for photos and blogging on the move. Hopefully all pics will be geotagged as they are uploaded to Flickr so folk can see where we were. It will also prove that we are not just in my back garden pretending to be JOGLEing! Also packed is my Garmin Forerunner 305 which will give stats for each day and an iPod nano which will be loaded up with podcasts before the off.

My check list and what you see in the pic below is here . There is probably something vital I have missed. Time will tell...

All this packed down pretty well into the bags I have. There is even a little room left over to squeeze in a few energy bars/drinks etc...

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-06-15T17:28:00.000+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Had a couple of easy rides this weekend. Went out with a few guys this morning and did a gentle ride up some little Devon hills! (click on title for details).
The bike is now fully serviced and ready to go, another six weeks training and i should be fit as well.
My plan is to pack my gear tonight, i have put all my energy powder drinks in sealable bags, hopefully customs will realise that my 20 bags of white powder are perfectly legal.
Just a reminder to keep on donating, thanks.

Good Luck Regie and Stuart!

2008-06-15T07:37:00.005+01:00

Two other Jogles are starting today. Both of these guys are riding solo and have given us tips and inspiration in the build up to our JOGLE which starts on Friday. So good luck to Regie and Stuart:

Regie Butler of 2008jogle.blogspot.com fame is up in John O'Groats ready to start his Jogle right now! The counter on his site says 17mins to go.

Regie is updating his blog with photos and comments from his phone, so go over to his site and cheer him on.

All being well we should arrive at Lands End on the same day as Regie so may actually get to meet him in the flesh.

Stuart is doing the same, you can follow his progress at End to End. We will be in and around Whitchurch at the same time on the 25th so hopefully we can meet up with Stu then as well.

I am a bit worried that both of these fit guys have 5 days head start on us but we finish the same day as Regie and 2-3 days before Stuart. I hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew!

Nick joins the "Free the Frakkin’ Kraken" singers

2008-06-13T15:45:00.020+01:00

Podcaster Tee Morris has had his Krakens Jersey Stolen. The evil Krakens Thief is threatening to tumble dry the Jersey on HOT if Tee doesn't complete certain tasks. the latest of which was to sing Jonathan Coulton's Re Your Brains song on a podcast.

Tee and Nick in happier times during their days as team mates.

Feeling Tee's pain his friends joined in to support the poor fellow and gave backing vocals as the "Free the Frakkin’ Kraken" singers. Jogler Nick is playing the second Zombie you hear and other Jogle supporters are in the mix notably Thomas and Abby Reed (or Trreed and his long suffering daughter)

Remember you can become a part of this Web 2.0 Adventure…

Follow TeeMonster and the unknown Kraken Thief on Twitter.
Watch Kraken Thief’s Flickr for latest sightings.
Watch Tee’s own photostream for the challenges met.
Enjoy the Bitstrips commentary entitled “The Jersey Saga”.
Subscribe to this podcast. Now available on iTunes! (And feel free to post a review!)
Call in your message for krakenthief or Tee at 703.791.1701

Listen or Download here

A BIG thank you

2008-06-12T20:06:00.002+01:00

Just to add to Nicks thank you for all our donations.
It really is amazing to think that we have reached our target, however there is no reason why we cannot keep going and perhaps make the £2000 mark, so please don't stop donating as every penny is going to help fund this worthy charity and help find a cure for Alzheimers.
I did get filmed by Westcountry tv today, but the news went out at 4.15pm due to the football, so i missed it!! Did anyone see it?
Good luck to Regie who starts his jogle on Saturday.

Thank you to our Sponsors, but Don't Stop Now!

2008-06-12T10:46:00.012+01:00

Last night we made the £1000 target we set for our selves. Hurrah! This does not mean the fundraising is over by a long way, just that people have been more generous than we imagined so please if you feel inclined, don't be shy. Donate! No amount is too small and it all goes straight to the Alzheimer's Society.

We were only £11 short last night so I asked if anyone on Twitter would like to push us over and SynapticJam stepped up to the plate. Thankyou!

Below are our kind donors online so far:

Heidi

12/06/2008

I hope the training
pays off Steve

SynapticJam	11/06/2008	Congrats!
Nick & Elaine Dayman	11/06/2008	Good luck guys
Gareth J M Saunders	11/06/2008	My dad had Alzheimer's. Blessings on you all, and safe riding.
Thomas & Robin Reed	09/06/2008	Just a little to help you towards your goal. treed
Stacey Harrison	09/06/2008	Just to let you know who I am (!)- Alison has made me some lovely tops so am donating this to keep you going. Good luck
Neil Mills	09/06/2008	What you are doing is fantastic, I have first hand experience of the effect alzheimers has on a family and I wish you all good luck!
Wendy Hill	09/06/2008	Good luck to you all. I lost my husband last year to Alzheimers and I know this illness is.
Justin Lowmaster	06/06/2008	http://thebeandom.com/spaceturtle/
TheNose100	06/06/2008	@jchutchins. I just donated £25 to @cactusnic. Care to play Donation Tag?
Alison G	05/06/2008	Good Luck! Go for it..... great cause!
david and stephanie	04/06/2008	wishing you well son in law and son
Francis	04/06/2008	Respect. Good luck - and enjoy yourselves!
Nick Rowe	03/06/2008	Good luck to you both on your epic journey and for a good cause.
Andy Nyman	31/05/2008
Tim Webber	28/05/2008	All the best & hope everything goes well.
Ian and Jan Robinson	22/05/2008	Looks like those Ugly Pills are still working Nick. Good Luck!
April Austen	21/05/2008	Go for it you mad people!
Karen Halliday	21/05/2008	The programme I watched last night on Alzheimer's had me in tears. This is such a good cause. Good luck.
Linda Cornelia	20/05/2008	We lost a loved one to this horrible disease last year. So please ride your little legs off!
Steve	01/05/2008	Looking forward to guiding you through the wild Scotland!
Stumpy	30/04/2008	Good Luck guys, Try to keep up Nick :-)
Malcolm & Jill	27/04/2008	Hope your wind will be following
FDO's Minion	26/04/2008	Lay some Junkie Smack Down on Alzheimer's Butt. Go Junkies!
Stephen K	25/04/2008	Kick Alzheimer's Butt!
Claire	16/04/2008	Good luck to you both!
Lyn Davis	14/04/2008	Wishing you many miles with no hills!!! Good Luck
Mr Sylvester	27/03/2008	Don't tell Kate!! And only if you finish Dave, no thorns this time!!
Shaun	26/03/2008	I'll raise your measly five pounds!!! The very best of luck with your adventure.
Glenn Farley	10/03/2008	John O'Groats to Lands End is going to be a big challenge. Good Luck with the training!
Regie	01/03/2008	Jogle in 7 - must be mad!! Good luck
Michael M	26/02/2008	For a Great cause, Well Done
Ali	24/02/2008	Donated via blog. Best of luck, don't get too sore!
Carl	10/02/2008	Fantastic stuff - good luck!
Kilroy 2.0	05/02/2008	I'll be with you EVERYWHERE!

Kevin Robinson 01/06/08

Thanks also to all colleagues, friends, family and aquantances who have donated off line, and to Podcasters Mike Bennett, Stephen Kilbride, PG Holyfield, Scott Sigler, Seth Harwood, Chris Lester, JC Hutchins, Joe Mieczkowski or Pseudojoe and to Justin Lowmaster who all donated time and/or plugs for the cause or in Justin's case wrote a story!

Sorry If I missed anyone but this will be updated as more folk donate. :-)

Bags for Jogling

2008-06-11T20:12:00.004+01:00

After 4 days off the bike I had planned to do a 60 miler today as my last biggish ride before the off. However, due to important procrastination, I was only left with a couple of hours, so I decided to load up the bike as it will be on the JOGLE and make sure I could manage the hills with my current gearing.

I managed to get an excellent deal on an Ortlieb waterproof bar bag to supplement my rack pack. It is a bit larger than I need but it is light and was going for a song. I run with auxiliary brake levers which give more options in riding position, many bar bags would foul the levers but the Ortlieb with an extention piece gives loads of room.

I loaded the bags up with heavier gear than I will be carrying and head off to find some hills. The bike is quite clumsy with all the bags on but that is to be expected. It was still a fun ride once adapted to but I will probably be a bit more cautious on the descents.

The route I took is here . I was delighted with how it went. Maybe it is because I was all rested up after 4 days off the bike but the hills seemed almost easy, no problems at all with the gearing. Infact some roady guy caught my wheel riding up the long climb out of Nailsworth (see top pic). I expected him to come by with a cheery wave but instead I heard his breathing get fainter and fainter as he dropped off my wheel. Nice. He probably only had one leg but I don't care it boosted my ego!

Another couple of easier rides and that will be it. Time to JOGLE!

Coming to your T.V. screens.

2008-06-11T19:13:00.004+01:00

All being well i will be filmed by Westcountry t.v. tomorrow morning and orbiting you living room tomorrow evening.
It would have been good if Nick and Steve could have been involved, although this way i get all the glory and fame.
Hopefully i will get a copy of the filming and we can put it on the blog.
Training is all but over now, just a couple of easy rides at the weekend and get kit organised and all the last minute details finalised.

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-06-08T19:33:00.000+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Managed a good weekends riding, two 50 milers back to back, the pay off was trip to Trago Mills! (yeuk)I obviously need to earn massive brownie points so i couldn't get out of not going and even worse i had to look faintly interested.
I went out with a couple of guys this morning, (click on title for details) Jerry and Mike, thanks for the ride, although Jerry took us up some nasty climbs, we had some stunning views and i rode a couple of places i haven't been before and it was good to have some company.
I think that has been one of the hardest things in training, long rides on your own, nothing wrong with a bit of solitude but when the legs start hurting the novelty wears off quick.
Good to see some sunshine as well, just have to remember to hydrate properly every day, make that another beer then.

Our Route (updated with elevation data)

2008-06-07T09:00:00.011+01:00

Click to see a larger version.

Our Route is now taking shape. The links lead to mapmyroute maps of each day. If anyone can see anything stupid we have done then please let us know.

I have now calculated the total climbing and descending for each day. Interestingly the last day through Devon and Cornwall is the most grueling in terms both of distance and elevation. Even more than going through Glen Coe on day 3. Nice way to finish.

Anquet Maps was used to calculate the data because mapmyride seems to underestimate the elevation change dramatically. The numbers look pretty scary but it does at least give a comparison between the days.

Day 1 Friday 20th John O'Groats - Helmsdale coastal route 53 miles

Ascent 3790ft Descent 3754ft

Day 2 Saturday 21st Helmsdale - Fort Augustus (Just North of Fort William) 102miles

Ascent 9234 ft Descent 9181 ft

Day 3 Sunday 22nd Fort Augustus - Inverbeg on Loch Lomond 106 miles (then Ferry to Rowardennan Lodge)

Ascent 11269ft Descent 11362ft

Day 4 Monday 23rd Rowardennan Lodge - Dumfries 111 Miles

Ascent 9167ft Descent 9134ft

Day 5 Tuesday 24th Dumfries - Kendal 96 miles

Ascent 7298ft Descent 7278ft

Day 6 Wednesday 25th Kendal - Whitchurch 118miles

Ascent 5964ft Descent 5847ft

Day 7 Thursday 26th Whitchurch - Stroud 107 miles

Ascent 7354ft Descent 7529ft

Day 8 Friday 27th Stroud -Exeter 114 miles

Ascent 7522ft Descent 7475ft

Day 9 Saturday 28th Exeter - Lands End 141 miles (!)

Ascent 12876ft Descent 12864ft

948 Miles in Total

Final training preparations

2008-06-06T22:07:00.005+01:00

I took the afternoon off work again today so that I could do a long ride. It was my last chance to do a decent ride before joining the JOGLE team. It was also a nice sunny and warm day.

I cycled from St Andrews through Fife to Perth. Then behind the very scenic Sidlaw Hills to Dundee and then back to St Andrews.

According to mapmyride.com it was 73.75 miles. The miles passed quickly with the help of boagworld podcasts and Sunday talks from Holy Trinity Brompton. I managed to average 17.5 mph and felt a lot more comfortable compared to when I cycled 70 miles a few weeks ago. The new Endura shorts helped too! All bodes well for the forthcoming JOGLE ride through Scotland.

JOGLE Article in Local Press

2008-06-06T19:29:00.003+01:00

After losing his father to Alzheimer's disease, Dave Portch has enlisted friends to saddle up and help him raise valuable funds to support research into the disease.Dave and pals, Nick...

Apart from the fact that i haven't had the pleasure of an end to end yet this article seems ok.
It was Dr Steve who rode in 1990.
Also Steve is not a web designer, he's a toilet cleaner.

Pseudojoe comes to aid the JOGLERS

2008-06-06T02:59:00.014+01:00

Joe Mieczkowski or Pseudojoe of the fantastic Onthepod show and One minute Comic has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us out. Not only has he pointed his domain http://www.thetribeisone.org/ to us but he has also put our Justgiving Widget on his site!

Thank you Joe!

Reality dawns. Slow and Steady is the way.

2008-06-05T23:30:00.010+01:00

The size of the bike ride seems to become more and more apparent as it nears. I have been reasonably pleased with my training - last month I clocked about 720 miles without any twinges. However it dawned on me as I was riding in tonight, that my training is not enough to avoid pain. The 720 miles I did in the whole of last month will have to be covered in 6 - 7 days. Whats more it will include the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District. This is going to hurt.

Hopefully it will be painful in a good, happy sort of way. So much is going to depend on the weather, especially the wind direction, a tail wind can make any ride a joyful experience but a head wind.....

Dr Steve has ridden the length of the country before, in 7 days. He was a fit youngster at the time but even so he assures me that it will be ok if we take it easy.

Taking it easy may well be one of our issues. Traditionally when we cycle together the egos take over and every hill is a competition, every descent a race. If we ride like that we will probably be in the broom wagon after 3 or 4 days. So all heroics will have to be saved for the last few miles of the last day. That is when I will lay the smack down on the remaining Joglers and establish my self as supreme Jogler. Or not.

Fake bus stop keeps Alzheimer's patients from wandering off

2008-06-05T09:41:00.002+01:00

From the Telegraph:

German nursing homes are using a novel strategy to stop Alzheimer's patients from wandering off: phantom bus stops.

The idea was first tried at Benrath Senior Centre in Düsseldorf, which pitched an exact replica of a standard stop outside, with one small difference: buses do not use it.

The centre had been forced to rely on police to retrieve patients who wanted to return to their often non-existent homes and families. Then Benrath teamed up with a local care association called the "Old Lions". They went to the Rheinbahn transport network which supplied the bus stop.

Article continues

Scottish Highlights

2008-06-03T20:21:00.000+01:00

Four days of the planned JOGLE will take place in Scotland. I have lived in Scotland most of my life so thought I would be helpful to highlight some of the Scottish delights awaiting the JOGLERS, or indeed anyone who wants to visit Scotland...

Loch Ness

Loch Ness is largest loch by volume and water and home to the infamous Nessie. Beware that you don't get distracted while cycling along Loch Ness and looking for Nessie!

Ben Nevis

At 1,344 metres (4,409 ft), Ben Nevis is Britain's highest mountain. However, it is not as high as Nick can cycle in 5 miles while going up and down the lanes around Stroud!

Glen Coe

Glen Coe is surrounded by amazing mountains. As this is Scotland, expect snow even in summer, so don't forget to pack the thermals!

Rannoch Moor

From Glen Coe to Tyndrum, the A82 crosses Rannoch Moor. For 30 miles there is nothing but road and sheep. So be prepared to stock up on supplies before making the crossing of the moor.

Haggis

Once the Highlands of Scotland were teeming with these cute creatures, but modern-day intensive haggis farming has caused the numbers of wild haggis to decline sharply.

Foreign language

A few words so that you can understand what the locals say when you try to explain what a JOGLE is:

Sassenach = English person
Numpty = stupid person
Muckle = big, large, much
Havers = nonsense
Dinna = do not
Wheest = be quiet

"Ach wheesth. Dinna haver, ya muckle numpty o ay sassenach"!

Calories

The deep fried mars bar is a Scottish speciality, as are Scotch eggs, pies and bridies. Full of calories and excellent for keeping energy and cholestorel levels consistently high. Available from all good retail outlets.

Finally

Don't forget to bring your passport for crossing the border into England and remember that in Scotland we cycle on the left.

Mike Bennett's new Video

2008-06-03T19:05:00.002+01:00

JoGLE supporter and all round top guy Mike Bennett has unleashed a new promo video for Hall of Mirrors into the world. Stay around till the end to see just how scary those hooded trolls are......

OBSIDIAN is live!

2008-06-03T05:08:00.007+01:00

This week Obsidian, the new project by JOGLE supporter JC Hutchins launched. It is a series of short stories written and narrated by some of the best known names in podcasting fiction. All the stories are set in the time of the 7th Son novel and the blackout across America that ensued. The series kicked off with a 2 parter by Tee Morris called " Miles to go Before I Get Home" Check out JC's site for these tales, the 7th Son Podcast, links to exclusive free Celldweller music and more. Also check out episode two for our Plug! Thanks JC!

The countdown begins...

2008-06-01T19:07:00.004+01:00

Despite being slightly unwell this week i have managed to ride over the weekend.
Inspired by nicks ride with his rack, (i am using the same rack/pannier set up as Nick) i thought i had better take it out of the bag and see how the bike felt loaded up.
It felt quite weird at first but as long as you don't corner at high speed and sprint out off the saddle it all handled ok.
My bike, unfortunately, has not been as compliant. I have had a continuous problem with the rear hub and it is now beginning to sound like its about to explode at any minute. Fortunately Richard off Richards Bikes has been as helpful as ever and Specialized have come up with a replacement wheel set, which i will hopefully pick up tomorrow.
I have heard lots of good things about Roval wheels but from my experience so far their cross wheels don't seem that robust, and i've only taken them off road once, a muddy lane.
But like i said Specialized have come up trumps so hopefully problem sorted.
It's all beginning to feel a bit real with only a couple of weeks left until the start off our ride, we are trying to co-ordinate everything and sort out all those last minute details, and get every last bit off training in. All we need now is a month of guaranteed sunshine!
Nice story Justin, and thanks.

The Space Turtle and Memory Remembered

2008-06-01T10:25:00.008+01:00

When I got home from my night shift this morning I found an email from Justin Lowmaster of The Space Turtle .Justin had been moved to want to do something to help fight Alzheimer's when he heard of Terry Pratchett's illness. A little later Justin heard about our little jaunt on Murder at Avedon Hill and decided to give us some support.

Not only has he given us a generous donation but he has also written a short story called Memory Remembered to help promote awareness of Alzheimer's. It is a quirky little tale about a Wizard with a failing memory. Please check it out and the rest of Justin's work at The Space Turtle.

Thank you Justin!

The Sleeping Cyclist

2008-05-31T02:25:00.008+01:00

My sleep pattern has been pretty unhealthy lately, averaging under 4 hrs a day for the last week. I never thought that I would nod off whilst cycling though. Untill yesterday morning that is.

I set off on the 30 mile ride home after my night shift feeling pretty knackered and resigned my self to getting into the grind of just turning the pedals over and over and over and over.... The usual sort of ride home except I was even more tired than usual.

As I plodded along a straight bit of road just before Wickwar it happened. I had let my eyes shut for just a second, It felt so good. So I did it again, I was only going to have 1 second of bliss but the next thing I knew I was upside down on the verge with my bike on top of me! I had actually nodded off and veered into the verge on gone straight over the bars. No damage done thankfully but if I had veered the other way, into the oncoming traffic...... Not good.

It certainly woke me up anyway. I stopped in Wickwar for a bit of chocolate and then plodded the last 20 miles home without further incident, thankful that I had not done this whilst driving home from work.

Ice skating is incompatible with cycling!

2008-05-30T14:44:00.005+01:00

I did have plans to do another 70 miler this afternoon, but my training preparations have been unexpectedly hampered by a pair of ice skates.

I thought that going ice skating with my nephew on Wednesday evening would be a good way of expanding my range of fitness. After all, it has been know for speed skaters to become professional cyclists.

However, as I haven't skated for a long time I forgot that I am not a youth any more(!) My inner thighs and left knee are very sore. Walking is painful and cycling uncomfortable. Will have to take it easy for a few more days...

Fixing Punctures

2008-05-30T01:09:00.003+01:00

On the way to work tonight I picked up two punctures. This annoyed me a tad as I had invested in a pair of Armadillo puncture proof tyres for the Jogle. Not so puncture proof after all. This is me spending my break fixing my flats. I took this opportunity to test posting from the phone. This is how it will be done on the road!

Jogle Kit Test

2008-05-28T22:27:00.038+01:00

On my commute to work tonight I decided to try out my JOGLE panniers setup. I usually wear a Camelbak Ventoux for commuting. This has enough room for 3 litres of water and all my work kit. This is fine for the 2 hours riding into work but on longer 6 to 10 hour days during the JOGLE will, I felt become literally a pain in the neck.

My choice of bike for the ride however has no eyelets to attach a rack for panniers and only one set of water bottle bosses. All of a sudden it was not looking such a wise choice. Initially we had looked at a trailer, this made sense when we were going to camp but since we are now using youth hostels we will not need to lug a tent around with us and so small panniers will suffice. But how to attach them? After a bit of research I stumbled upon Roger's Jogle Blog . Roger had used a very neat looking solution by Topeak. The Topeak beam Rack MTX - A rack that clamps onto the seatpost and requires no attachment to the frame at all. So that is what I, Dave and Steve have all decided upon. (Copycats)

The racks have panniers of varying sizes that have fold down side panniers like spaniels ears to give plenty of storage. I have gone for the Topeak RX Trunk Bag Ex. It justs click into place on the rack. Lovely.

Next I had to work out a way to attach a further water bottle to the frame. After rummaging around in my box of bike bits and bobs I found a rather nifty clamp that allows another bottle to be fitted. Rather pleased with my self it was now time to try the setup out.

The ride to work was in pouring rain and strong head winds so it was a good test of the panniers weather proofness. They seem to be mostly water proof from road spray but when raining hard the zip lets in enough water to be a problem. Luckily I had put my work clothes in recycled shopping bags. It is good to work these things out now.

When at first setting off with the panniers in place the higher center of gravity was quite noticeable, especially when out of the saddle. Happily this was soon forgotten as I got used to the different handling. My only niggle was that on each pedal stroke my thigh just touches the clamp on the seat post when on the down stroke. Again this was quickly forgotten which is just as well because I am not sure how this could be over come. Perhaps thinner thighs are the solution.

All in all it was a quite successful test. Hopefully I am pretty much set now, 2 x 1 litre water bottles should be enough. The only extra I may add is a small bar bag. Finances are stretched at the moment but it may be the final purchase needed. Better ask Alison nicely.

The two ugly Joglers

2008-05-24T20:51:00.005+01:00

Dave and Steve try to look cool...........
but really just demonstrate why men look bad in lycra.

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-05-24T18:52:00.001+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Just a bit short of the 100 miles, but still a good ride. (click on the heading for ride details). Hopefully we won't be riding at this pace for 9 days, or sprinting up hills in the big ring!!!
Get together with your mates and the competative spirit just takes over.
It was quite windy as well, which made it a bit tougher and we had to take regular turns on the front, all in all a good day...the test will be tomorrow morning.

New Shorts

2008-05-23T21:17:00.003+01:00

If you were glued to your T.V. tonight waiting to catch a glimpse of yours truly i am sorry to dissapoint you but due to other events happening in Exeter my debut T.V. appearance was postponed until a later date.
Obviously going to keep my slot for a lead story.
We, ie me Nick and Steve are planning 100 miler tomorrow, looking forward to a decent ride, weather permitting. This is where we find out if Steve has done any training!
With tomorrows mileage i should be getting on for 200 miles this week. Feels good.
I did take possesion of a very nice pair of assos f1 mille shorts this week, i cannot recommend these enough! It was like sitting on a sofa initially but the ride comfort is top quality, a definite 10 out of 10.

Into darkest Fife

2008-05-23T21:07:00.006+01:00

I took the afternoon off work today so I could do a decent long ride. It was also a good opportunity to explore a part of Fife I had not been to before. With the Jogle only 4 weeks away the pressure was on to test the legs. I don't have the luxury of high tech GPS equipment, so here are my rough stats for the route:

Total distance 70 miles, average speed 16.5mph, max speed 38, min speed 0. Started in Blebo Craigs then to Glenrothes via Star. From Glenrothes to Scotlandwell to Milnathort. Got lost as I tried to find the "Path of Condie". I took what I thought was the right road and ended up riding along a rough track - time to turn around! Over the Ochils was stunning with nice 1 in 6 hairpin bends. Then down to Bridge of Earn and back via Newburgh and Cupar to Blebo Craigs.

The last 25 miles were into a strong easterly wind. Perfect training for the Jogle! The legs felt good, but after about 50 miles my neck and shoulders were sore. It also became apparent I am going to have to get some better cycling shorts as it was painful to sit on the saddle!

I followed Nick's example by listening to podcasts on my iPod. It certainly made the miles pass more quickly and was a useful way to spend an afternoon. I caught up with Boagworld, a podcast for web designers and web managers. The final 10 miles were spent listening to one of my favourite albums - Muse "Black holes and revelations" - great for that final push to the finish!

Fat Men Can't Climb

2008-05-23T07:21:00.005+01:00

There is a hill near me Called Frocester Hill that runs about 1 1/4 miles in length at an average gradient of about 10%. Nothing too extreme but over the years I have timed myself up it when bored as a very unscientific measurement of my state of fitness.

The last time that I had tried this was about 2 years ago when I was 20lbs lighter. I thought I would have a bash at it yesterday because I couldn't be bothered to do a long ride and well to be honest I was curious. Recently the miles have been piling up so I dared to think that maybe, just maybe I was in olympic form. Unsurprisingly this is clearly not the case.

I managed to climb the hill in 10mins 50 sec at an av heart rate of 165. My previous record was 8mins 30 at an average heart rate of 164. So compared to me I was slow but to really put this in perspective on the climb of Mont Ventoux, a similar gradient but about 10 times longer, the top riders in the world average about 14mph. I am averaging about 7mph. Fat boys can't climb.

Here is my attempt.

Pretty Fly for a Fat Guy

2008-05-20T21:17:00.008+01:00

I am rather pleased with my portly self. This afternoon I did my 66 mile Severn Valley loop and knocked 40mins off my previous best - the training must be doing something!

If you have IE with the necessary plug ins checkout the exciting dot race here . Worst thing about Motionbased - having to use IE. If you don't have IE (and who could blame you) here is a map of the route:

I was able to get my heart rate up a lot easier than has been the case so far this year averaging 152 with a max of 194 recorded. I think that might be an error though the highest I saw was 187.

Coming to a T.V. near you, soon.

2008-05-20T20:36:00.002+01:00

We have some t.v. coverage this week.
I am being filmed by Westcountry T.V. this Friday morning, hopefully to go out on their news in the evening. Make sure you are watching!
I can't wait for all the comments that will come flooding in (Steve, thanks).
Obviously there may be film offers, who knows where it will lead to?
Regie, i have been trying to leave comments (nice ones) on your blog but unable to do so??

Stay in your homes… Your government is in control…

2008-05-20T20:02:00.010+01:00

JC Hutchins new media marketing madman, podcaster and author of the most successful podcast novel series in history has a new project:

In 7th Son the United States fell victim to a coordinated terrorist attack. Power stations across the country were destroyed, and the U.S. plummeted into a country-wide blackout. In the timeline of the trilogy, this blackout occurred in mid-November 2007.

While this blackout was described in the trilogy, the story never focused on its true victims: average Americans.

7th Son: OBSIDIAN does just that.

Author J.C. Hutchins has recruited the seven biggest names in podcast fiction to write seven short stories set during this national crisis. Podfic fans know these names:

Scott Sigler (author of Infected, Earthcore, Ancestor, The Rookie)
Michael A. Stackpole (New York Times bestselling author of Fortress Draconis)
Tee Morris (author of MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana, and Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword)
Mur Lafferty (author of Playing For Keeps, and the acclaimed Heaven audionovella series)
Matt Wallace (award-winning author of The Failed Cities Monologues, and Variant Frequencies stories)
Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff (author of Shadow Falls, Number One With A Bullet, Diary of a Madman and Transistor Rodeo)
Christiana Ellis (author of Nina Kimberly the Merciless and Space Casey)

No podcast author has ever opened his universe in this way, for a true audiofiction anthology. And no author has ever assembled such an all-star cast.

During the blackout the US government put up 14 propaganda posters to keep calm among the citizens if America. Click on the pic below and you will be whisked to JC's blog where you can find links to hi def versions of all of the magnificent posters below

The posters are spread across different sites so you will have to search for you favourite!

JC master of the cliffhanger has been cliffhangering the JOGLERS teasing us with when he will give us a plug. The exciting news is in! The next episode JC puts out he has promised to do the deed and give us some plug love as he puts it. :-) Thanks JC!

Non cycling activities

2008-05-19T21:20:00.003+01:00

I thought i should make some comments about two important features in this weeks non cycling activities; firstly good news that Exeter City F.C. were promoted back into the football league after the play off final yesterday; secondly training will be suspended on Wednesday evening to watch Chelsea F.C. win the Champions League.
Just had to mention it.

Treed Bitstrips The Jogle!

2008-05-19T21:08:00.005+01:00

Treed, the jovial Rottweiler of the podcast chat room has bust a gut and worked out how to Bitstrip a bike! Here are the results:

Click on the pic to see full size and access the rest of Treeds works! Thanks Treed!

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-05-18T19:46:00.001+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Knocked out a 40 miler today to bring the weeks total to 160 miles. Could be better but given time constraints its bearable. Legs are starting to feel better now, well apart from today, but i was feeling tired as the heart rate suggests and i am averaging over 14 mph on most rides which feels good.
I keep meaning to write a review of my bike but haven't got that far yet, although it handles well i have had to replace the brakes as the front was shuddering (this is a design fault on the bike and seems quite common on the tri-cross). Unfortunately water got into the rear wheel hub and loosened the back wheel, despite it being re-greased it appears to be coming apart again, i think a new hub is required, despite these faults its still a good bike but the niggles are annoying.

Armstrong vs Pantani on Mont Ventoux

2008-05-18T19:22:00.006+01:00

Looking for motivation to get on your bike? This clip does it for me:

When the Joglers attacked the hill in 2003 we did the climb in about 1hr 40ish these guys are doing it in about 55mins at the end of a 100+ mile stage. Nuts.

Pics from the Joglers trip here

More about Ventoux here

Firef.ly

2008-05-17T22:54:00.003+01:00

You may or may not have noticed that there is a Firefly button on the right of the page. This is a VERY cool new service that does two things. Firstly it shows how embarrassingly rare it is to have two folk on the web site at once. Secondly and more importantly it enables the visitors, on those rare occasions there are more than one, to chat together instantly.

Now this might not appeal as most folk probably wish to stay anonymous, especially if they are seen on our site! In which case you can just ignore it. If however you are feeling sociable and you see that there is more than one person here then click the button on the right and start typing. As easy as that!

Even Techtards Dave and Steve could work it. Probably.

90 Miles

2008-05-15T22:19:00.002+01:00

My plan for today, following a week of stresses outside of my JOGLE and Internet world, was to blast away the negativity with a 100 miler. I planned to check out my route, or at least the start of it, for day 8 of the JOGLE.

Typically the weather decided to turn from the glorious sunshine to a more usual grey blustery showery sort of day. Not to be deterred I set off. I had programmed the route into my Forerunner gps with mapmyride an excellent site for such things discovered from fellow Jogler Stu . Well worth checking out.

The ride mainly avoided busy A roads and was quite a pleasant bimble winding through the Costwolds taking in Wooten Under Edge, Wickwar, and Chipping Sodbury before skirting around the outskirts of Bristol and heading through Keynsham and onto Wells. I stopped just short of the descent into Wells as I was short on time having left 4 hours later than planned :-P

The route still made it to the 90 Mile mark at an average of 15mph. I was reasonably happy with this as the weather was windy and miserable and there were no tractors in sight. I had to rely on podcasts for entertainment. I would be really lost without them on a long solo ride.

The good news for the Jogle is that I felt reasonably strong throughout and but for a lack of time would have comfortably made the 100 mark. Honest.

Wet Velvet

2008-05-14T21:58:00.014+01:00

If you are a fan of the grotesque, of horror and downright toe curling nastyness then please check JOGLE supporter Mike Bennetts new web site and the delicious morsel of a story that is Wet Velvet. You will need to register at the web site to get Wet Velvet but having heard It I can tell you it is WELL worth the effort. Once registered you can also get all interactive and stuff chatting in the forums etc with Mike and folk like myself. See you there!

It should be pointed out that Wet Velvet is only for those of open mind and strong disposition.

There are also many free downloadable stories that don't need registration. From the full length novel, One Among The Sleepless to the short story series Hall of Mirrors. There is not one weak tale, they all have carved a place in my mind to come out and prey on my nerves at those times when you would least like them to.

Mike is also putting out a Magazine type podcast called Sometimes which involves a Non Mike Bennett short story, some music and some chatter. Also grade A material.

Hand over your money, please.

2008-05-14T19:32:00.003+01:00

I am currently negotiating some press coverage for our ride. Hopefully we will have a slot on local tv soon and all being well the local newspapers will run something as well.
This is all good motivation to train, as we don't won't to be ridiculed any more than absolutely necessary!
Sponsorship is probably just over the halfway mark, so if you haven't done it yet...PLEASE DONATE FOR THIS WORTHY CAUSE.

I seem to be spending an inordinate amount off time in Richards Bikes at present, not a bad thing but i always end up lusting after a nice piece of carbon fibre, with Rich offering me a "deal", always so tempting. If only my wife understood my need for" just another bike".
Have managed a couple of early morning rides this week so far, but not awake enough to remember to turn the gps on this morning, so you will have to take my word on it that i averaged at least 22mph for 25 miles! Not even a tractor in sight!

Did you Think David Cameron was a bit naughty?

2008-05-12T22:08:00.002+01:00

Well think again. Check out these young hoons. Please DO NOT try this at home kids.

Dragging a fat balding fart around on a bike in North Devon

2008-05-11T12:05:00.000+01:00

Dear Loosers… Well I’m fat and I hit 50 today… No Dave not your age but me first 50 miler. This was the same route I did two weeks ago when I lost it within a mile from home. Its funny these Garmin things, the ride was exactly the same ride as two weeks but there was nearly 1k difference of vertical climb today, explain that what to me techno geeks?? Anyway the ride was sweet, no issues of feeling like crud, none of Dave’s excuses just a good darn ride. Considering I’ve in effect been following my usual form of training, i.e. very little… I now think I will rest myself before the ride, preparation is the name of the game. I need to ensure my calorific intake is up. Kate’s out of the house so I’m about to start a biscuit hunt.

More exciting stories from Mr. Sylvester when he can be bothered.

180 mile week

2008-05-10T23:18:00.007+01:00

This week I was hoping to do 240 miles by cycling 4 days in a row to work. However due to a top secret mission I have undertaken it was necessary to drive on Friday night. This meant I only managed a paltry 180 miles. Bum.

Fortunately for me, the one day that I didn't ride Bristol was caught up in a Mega thunder storm. The rain was so heavy that traffic on the M4 slowed to 30 - 40 mph due to poor visibility.

I am a little concerned that although my weekly mileage is not too bad it is all made up of the 30 mile each way ride to work. No longer rides. Hopefully next week there will be a chance to fit in a long ride. It would like to do a few 100 mile rides before the JOGLE just for my own peace of mind, to know that I have it in my tired old legs.

My fitness seems to be coming on just fine though. My resting pulse was 44 before my weeks rides and now is at 46 suggesting my recovery is ok. Or at least I think that is what it means. Maybe It means I wasn't riding hard enough. If anyone out there knows about these things perhaps you could correct me. :-).

So the plan for next week is to fit in a 100miler. Anyone want to join me? Company would be good. Even if it is one of the joglers. ;-)

Really Geeky Tractor Motivation

2008-05-10T04:32:00.015+01:00

Struggling on my bike ride home from work the other morning I had another tractor slip streaming session. I had the impression that cycling behind the tractor made life so very much easier. The average speed per mile as shown below in the geeky table bares this out, rising from about 15 - 16mph to 25mph.

It surprised me that my average heart rate went up by over 30bpm as well though. This surprised me because a lot of the time when following the tractor it feels as though I am practically coasting. It is necessary to really gun it when trying to keep the wheel up an incline but then on the flat and downhill It felt as though I was just ticking over giving the overall impression that it was easy.

I suppose this just goes to show how much speed and performance is in the mind. With a bit of motivation I was able to raise my average heart rate to 160bpm in order to stay in the tractors slipstream, where as before the tractor came along I was struggling to get the average up to 130, convinced that I couldn't go any harder. Unfortunately I seem to need a tractor to motivate myself.

Another hilly one.

2008-05-09T16:36:00.002+01:00

A brief 45 miles to Newquay and back today. Again a bit lumpy but all good fun, well it is with a compact chainset!
Newquay is definitely not cycle friendly, weird one way system, hilly, maniacs in cars and people stepping off the pavement in front off you, glad its not on our route.
I can recommend Science in Sport Rego, (as supplied by Ironbridge Runner, thanks) recovery drink, definitely helped with the recovery and helped me ride today without feeling to sore.
I have started to think about the finer details of our ride, and which roads we will take, flat ones hopefully, it will be nice to have a final route planned out before we start. I'm sure WE will get lost somewhere!

I have seen the end (its hilly)

2008-05-08T16:10:00.003+01:00

I am currently on a short break at my in-laws in North Cornwall, the plan being to do some decent back to back riding.

I thought i would check out the last bit of our ride this morning, from Portreath to Lands End, a nice 63 mile round trip that took me just over 4 hours. Included in this was a couple of breaks to eat, as i thought i should try and replicate our daily riding.

There was a steady breeze which buffeted me from the side, which meant i hardly had a tail-wind for any part of the ride, just what you need when your out on your own.

My outward leg took me through Hayle,Lelant Downs and onto the B3311 toward Penzance, and the on the back lanes around Madron and Sancreed before dropping down into Sennen and Lands End.

The return leg was more interesting, ie hilly! along the B3306 through St Just, Pendeen , St. Ives and back through Hayle. Plenty of short sharp climbs and descents, Steve you will need to make sure your brakes work for this bit!

So far this week i have nothched up 110 miles, you will probably notice that i dont follow recommended training increases in mileage, stupid? very, but unfortunately my time is limited and have to get the miles in when i can. Hopefully i can get a couple more 50 milers in this week, and the squeaky knee will stop and sore neck will go away!!

MikeBennettPodcast.com

2008-05-07T11:09:00.005+01:00

Podcaster extraordinaire and JOGLE supporter Mr Mike Bennett has upgraded his web presence by launching his rather spiffy new website . Mike writes stories that have horror, hilarity and the grotesque in equal measure. He is always top of my playlist. Please do yourself a favour and pay him a visit - he provides an experience that is unlike any other.....
The video below gives you a flavour of his style but will make more sense if viewed on his site.

Joglers Crummy training Graph

2008-05-05T22:57:00.004+01:00

Since we all have super duper Garmin 305 devices i thought I should compile the data to create a highly sophisticated graph detailing just who is the Daddy!

It is clear to see that Dave and Steve are following highly original training plans no doubt designed to maximise blow ups in the first few days. As Mr Dawsey would say You Gotta to have discipline, no bout a doubt it. Verdict - Nick is the Daddy.

Updated: Since Dr Stephen's post I have been able to accurately incorporate his data into our high tech statistical analysis of Jogler training. It appears that Nick is still the Daddy in terms of time on bike but is no longer the fastest. Must be the belly.

Training without a GPS

2008-05-05T21:15:00.005+01:00

I am very impressed with the data that can be acquired with one of these Garmin gadgets the Joglers are using. Maybe one day... but in the meantime, here is my anecdotal account of my preparation for the Scottish leg of the Jogle...

Regular cycling

I cycle to work most days regardless of the time of year. It is 6 miles mostly downhill into St Andrews and 6 miles uphill into a strong head wind most of the way back, so about 50 to 60 miles per week. This keeps me ticking over and gives me good recovery, but is not good for stamina.

Stamina

Since my membership application was accepted by the Jogle committee, I have been steadily increasing my miles and trying to increase the time on the bike. So far I have managed to do just over 100 miles per week over the past two months. Then last Friday (2 May) I did an undulating 45 mile ride where I averaged 20mph. The next day my resting heartrate was good, so I was encouraged that my fitness is heading in the right direction.

Past experience

When I had just finished University (1990!), I cycled Lands End to John O'Groats in 7 days with a friend. The first day we rode from Lands End to Bath (215 miles) and then averaged between 100 and 150 miles per day. After 3 days my backside was so sore I was wearing two pairs of cycling shorts! By day 5 I had tendonitis in my patellar ligament. By day 7 I was in agony, but managed to complete the challenge. My knees have never been the same since!

Psychological vs. Physiological

Since my Lejog ride I have done other long distance cycling challenges and have found that by just taking it really easy, always "riding within yourself" you can travel long distances without needing to do a massive amount of training beforehand. I have found that regular commuting gives me a good base fitness, then the rest if often psychological rather than physiological.

Challenge

It is still going to be a challenge though to complete 3 days back-to-back where I aim to cycle 100 miles per day. I haven't done that since, well since I cycled Lands End to John O'Groats! Better find an extra pair of shorts to wear!

Seth Harwoods Helps "Shake Down" Alzheimer's

2008-05-05T17:37:00.003+01:00

Seth Harwood gave us a mega plug in the latest episode of Jack Palms 3 . Seth is a super star podcaster and has now hit the big time with his first Jack Wakes Up novel being bought up by Crown publishing. So thank you big chunks Seth, that you could find time to mention our fund raiser in such detail. Here is a rather cool trailer for Jack Wakes Up:

Links to earlier post about Seth are here and here

I must train harder.

2008-05-04T19:40:00.002+01:00

My contribution to this site has dwindled of late, so has everything jogle related, and yes i do mean training. This is down to my wife, who is 5 months pregnant managing to put her lower back out, which has resulted in her being unable to do anything. I have therefore become chief cook, cleaner, nappy changer, dogsbody, and getter upper in the middle of the night, nice!!
My great plans for a 75 mile ride yesterday turned into a 20 min run and then a 30 mile ride today was undertaken in 1hr 45 min as i needed to be home asap.
I did manage a 100 miles last week and some running but woefully short of serious training. Hopefully this will be rectified this week as we are off to the in-laws in Cornwall with a promise that i can do some decent riding.
I have also managed to damage the hub of my rear wheel and have had to borrow one of Richards Bikes nice shiny Shimano race wheels with very fetching red Michelin Pro race tyre, hopefully it was my fitness this morning that made me ride a bit faster and not the sexy wheel!!
On the plus side the sun came out.
Still it could be worse, i could be as fat as Nick or as slow as Steve, there is hope.........

PG Holyfield mentions our cause!

2008-05-03T23:34:00.003+01:00

If you haven't yet checked out Murder At Avedon Hill you need a stiff talking too. It is quite simply the most immersing and absorbing podcast story out there. Beautifully written, acted and produced, PG and his star studded cast carry you away to a world of fantasy, vampires and murder mystery. This is the into from PG's site:

Lord Avedon has a problem. Generations of Avedons have watched over Avedon Hill and controlled the only pass through the Lantis Mountains. Traditions are important to the Avedon family, but one tradition has tragically come to an end. Gretta Platt, Housemistress of Avedon Manor, has been murdered. A member of the Platt family has always served the Avedons as Housemistress… until now.Only a handful of people live at Avedon Hill, and most are suspects. Arames Kragen, retired Aarronic Advisor and scholar of prophecy, arrives at the gates of Avedon Hill, hoping to gain access to the mountain pass. Lord Avedon is not in a giving mood, however…This is the story of Arames Kragen and his attempt not only to discover who killed Gretta Platt, but also to uncover the truth about a town that apparently has more secrets than inhabitants.

In his latest episode (21) PG is good enough to soil his master piece by plugging our efforts to raise money for Alzheimer's. Many thanks PG!

Tea and Chat - just the ticket

2008-05-02T14:07:00.003+01:00

Last week we recieved a donation from Stephen Kilbride. I wasn't familiar with him and his work at the time so investigated. It turns out he is not only a podcast junkie but that he also does his own podcast - "Tea and Chat". It does what it says on the tin - Stephen tries a different type of tea and gives us his thoughts and then moves on to interviewing someone of note and rounds it all of with a film review.

This sort of thing only really works if the guy behind the microphone is any good, many are the podcasts where I have found myself turning off through lack of interest. This is definitely not the case here. Stephen has a great voice for this sort of thing, very easy to listen too and he compliments this with an intelligent and well researched interview, which is also well produced. If the first episode is anything to go by he is going to be getting some superb guests, as none other than Chris Lester of Metamor City fame was the interviewed. Stephen did a great job too drawing out several bits and bobs I had not heard about before.

If you have space on your mp3 player fill it up with a bit of Tea and Chat - you won't be sorry.

Stroud Valleys

2008-05-01T15:45:00.004+01:00

Today's riding was a case of squeezing as much into 2 hours as possible as that is all the time granted to me today by my ever understanding family. Not being a fast guy I decided to see how much accumulated elevation I could get in. Luckily I live just outside Stroud which nestles at the meeting point of 5 valleys. This means there a lot of hills close together as you can see from my elevation trace.
I managed to climb 4286ft in 23.5 miles. For a fat bloke that was quite a work out. If you are the train spotting type then the ride stats are here.

Time for the dishes now.

Harmonious Joglers

2008-05-01T11:40:00.002+01:00

Click on the pic to see full size.

Alzheimer's drugs appeal victory

2008-05-01T11:08:00.000+01:00

From the BBC:

Alzheimer's drugs appeal victory

The drugs cost about £2.50 a day

The Appeal Court has ruled an NHS advisory body should have been more transparent in the way it made decisions over Alzheimer's drugs.

Eisai, which makes Aricept, had challenged the process by which it and similar medicines were restricted to people with late stage disease.

Three judges said the advisory body should have released details of how it reached its decision.

However, the ruling does not mean the drugs will be more widely available.

Today's decision is a damning indictment of the fundamentally flawed process used by NICE

Neil Hunt, Alzheimer's Society

NHS advisers, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), had said the drugs are not cost effective in early disease.

That decision was upheld by the High Court earlier last year.

But Eisai said nearly 100,000 patients a year with early-stage disease would be refused the medication if the restrictions remained.

The company brought the case to the High Court with support from fellow drugs firms Pfizer and Shire, which manufactures other drugs affected by the NHS ruling, and the Alzheimer's Society.

Evidence

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society welcomed the ruling.

He said: "Today's decision is a damning indictment of the fundamentally flawed process used by NICE to deny people with Alzheimer's disease access to drug treatments."

He urged NICE to review its ruling on the drugs to make them more widely available.

"Time and quality of life has been snatched away from thousands of vulnerable people who learned they have this devastating disease this year."

The legal debate centred on whether NICE followed a fair and transparent process in reaching its decision.

After the ruling, Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE, said: "We will be considering very carefully the findings and the implications for the time it takes us to provide advice to patients and the NHS on the use of new treatments.

"The ruling will increase the complexity of our drug appraisals in some cases and they may take longer as a result."

NICE guidance in 2001 recommended the drugs - which can make it easier to carry out everyday tasks - should be used as standard.

But advice published in November 2006, stated that the drugs should only be prescribed to people with moderate-stage disease.

NICE said the drugs, which cost about £2.50 a day, did not make enough of a difference to recommend them for all patients and were not good value for money.

Weeding Proves I am a Weed

2008-04-30T21:34:00.004+01:00

You would think that a guy who is cycling over 200 miles some weeks would be able to do a bit of weeding without killing himself but unfortunately that is not the case. After just about 20 minutes pulling up weeds yesterday my hamstrings are tighter than Dave at the bar. I had planned an 80 miler for today and foolishly thought maybe it would still be ok. I set off intrepidly into the wind and rain but soon realised I would do myself more harm than good. Instead I just settled for a very gentle 30 miler. At least it got the months total to over 600.

Mothering Mother by Carol D. O’Dell

2008-04-29T20:28:00.006+01:00

Mothering Mother is a carer's memoirs about caring for an ageing parent who suffers with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Below is one of the many reviews:

"Mothering Mother is an authentic and "in-the-room" view of a daughter's struggle to care for an ageing parent. It will touch you and never leave you. You will be astonished at Carol's brutal honesty. Her ability to narrate the feelings of the moment—love, grief, humor and even those moments of bitter resentment—will both reassure and arm you for the day when you may face a similar choice."

Check out more here. Or Click on The Pic below to see an interview.

Training Regimes

2008-04-28T17:31:00.006+01:00

The Joglers are taking different approaches to to their training. Strangely, despite these differing methods the fittest and fastest seems to be the fattest. Must be natural talent. :-)

Click on the image to see full size.

What gets my legs pumping

2008-04-28T11:14:00.003+01:00

I have already mentioned many of the podcasts I listen to whilst riding but if you are flagging on the bike nothing gets you going like some decent music. Perhaps I should clarify that it doesn't have to be decent at all, it just needs to get you going and that can be anything from some junk on cBeebies to Rock Around The Clock to something trendy and up to date that I have never heard of. I know that I am opening myself up to ridicule here but I am going to list the tracks on my MP3 player that pick me up even when glycogen is low, the wind and rain are soaking through to my bones and I am feeling like Steve. So in no particular order:

Turning Japanese - The Vapours
A Town Called Malice - The Jam
Heaven Is a Halfpipe - OPM
Filthy/Gorgeous - Scissor Sisters
Duke of Earl - Darts
Jump Around - House of Pain
The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Switchback - Celldweller
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis
She's Not There - Santana
It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night - Prince

What do you listen to to get you going when there are still 15 miles to go and you just want to die?

Activity | Cycling | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-04-27T20:07:00.000+01:00

Activity Cycling Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Another 50 miles in the bank today. (Click on above link). Legs are still a bit sore, but should improve soon, doesn't help with all the hills around here. Take today, a relatively flat ride by Devon standards, but still managed a 700ft climb, a vertical climb at that. And no doubt Nick and Steve will make some reference to the fact that i am not a climber.
I'm more of a David Millar rider, take the prologue and a couple of fast stages, but wave goodbye when the road goes up.
I have to thank my wife as well for putting up with me disappearing for long rides. Hasn't complained once!!! My daughter asks me every day, are you going to work today? and then, are you going for a bike ride? I know its for a good cause, but it can be hard getting out the door sometimes.
Down the gym in the morning and hopefully some evening rides this week.

Training Progress, Bribery and F1

2008-04-26T23:50:00.008+01:00

The training is actually going well. I imagined I would be behind at this stage but I feel quite confident that things will be ok for the JOGLE.

I have been increasing the mileage gradually and adapting well. This week was my biggest yet. I managed 231 miles, all of which was commuting and am still feeling pretty fresh. Next week will probably be shorter in total miles but I will try and get in one or two longer rides.

I think I will have a few beers and some time off the bike tomorrow to celebrate in front of the Grand Prix. Lucky for me Noah, my oldest little boy, loves cars and will usually watch the Grand Prix with me rather than wanting Mr Tumble on or me to play Tigers or something. JJ the littlest of the two is not quite so understanding and will probably need bribing with food. I am above nothing after a run of nights though. I do hope Hamilton does something silly again. Go Alonso! Go Kovalainen!

My training progress is here if you fancy checking up on me.

Thanks Alison!

2008-04-26T23:14:00.005+01:00

There is nothing better than achieving your goals and targets. All too often I have failed in this respect especially when it comes to weight loss. Acheiving the training targets I have set for myself for the JOGLE has been meaning that I have required the support of My wife - Alison. She has been great. Normally she has her work cut out as it is being married to a paunchy middle aged guy who wears lycra. Lately though I have been spending alot of time on the bike leaving her to deal with the kids and house etc on her own. She has complained not once. So I wanted to say thanks on here. I would not be able to get into shape without her support. This week I have been on the bike for 16 hours and that is a lot of time out of the house. So - Thank you Alison!

Steve and technology get married

2008-04-26T22:06:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Nicks support I have come of age and managed to work some technology. Here is the Garmin thing from before I went to the states. Check out that elevation ladies!!

Activity | Cycling | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-04-26T20:05:00.000+01:00

Activity Cycling Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard

Hell of Mid Devon

2008-04-26T19:43:00.003+01:00

Have spent 3 hours today being pounded by the great road surfaces in Devon. A full suss mtb would be more appropriate. Could be that i wasn't up for todays ride, felt like hard work all the way. It was a tad hilly, into a head wind, and i rode a steady 25 miles last night, but i guess this is what it's going to feel like for a week in June!
Had a wicked descent, down Dunsford hill, from Mortenhampstead back to Exeter. One of those descents where its just pure joy hurtling down the road surrounded by the woods feeling at one with the bike and road!
I read somewhere recently that to help recover from long rides you should have a little snooze afterwards, ha, ha. My recovery was watching 20 mins of the end of the Chelsea v Man Utd game (nice result) always new Chelsea could catch 'em. And then 5 hours of gardening! Should make for an interesting ride tomorrow.
See ride details on above posting.

Expert Q and A on Alzheimers

2008-04-26T05:29:00.003+01:00

From the New York Times : Tracing the Path from DNA to Dementia

Dr. Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad is director of the neuroscience and neuropsychology of aging program at the National Institute on Aging. In collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association, the institute runs the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Initiative, which is collecting and banking genetic and cellular material from families in which multiple relatives have late-onset Alzheimer's, the most common form of the disease.

Seth Harwood is a Diamond geezer

2008-04-26T02:06:00.006+01:00

Seth Harwood No 1 bestselling author of the Noir Crime Novel Jake Wakes Up actually approached me on Twitter and offered to give us a plug! This is a guy who is hitting the big time now as Jack Wakes Up has just been purchased by American publishing giant Crown. Really - thanks Seth damned descent of you! Check out my earlier post too. More about Seth and Jack Wakes up is here. (pic courtesy of smthng)

Big thanks to Scott Sigler The FDO™

2008-04-25T23:57:00.016+01:00

Big shot No1 best selling author Scott Sigler mentioned us on his latest podcast. He has encouraged all his Junkies to drop by and insult us. Seems like they are all too polite though.

If somehow you are not familiar with Scott Sigler he is well worth checking out. Scott was one of the pioneers of podcasting novels and has definately taken it further than anyone else.

He writes horror fiction novels that mostly have a hard science slant to them. There are usually tentacles and monsters and always lots and LOTS of violence. So far Scott has podcasted the following books:

Earthcore, Ancestor, Infected, The Rookie and Nocturnal. In addition to this Scott has podcast some of his short stories in his Bloodcast feed. All are available to download for FREE. They are not free because they are no good oh no. In fact his horror fiction is right up there amongst the most gripping and involving I have ever read. Find out more about Scott here.

Its late and I'm sat in front of the computer

2008-04-25T22:59:00.001+01:00

Here I am sat in front of the computer, just booking the hostels up. Yes Dave I haven’t done it yet. Flights booked. Its funny we have for the 3rd time the Loch Ness Marathon this year in October. Its great place and we’ll be riding some of the marathon route in June. When we go we stay at a place call the Glengarry Castle hotel It’s a proper Scottish and its great, I love the place. Anyway enough of the nostalgia. Trainings getting back on plan after the little trip to the states. Mind you I did swim and run whilst out there. In the hotel they had great exercise bikes. They had a screens in front of you and you choose a course and the resistance would adjust according to whether you where on the flat, climbing or enjoying going down hill. They even had gears, yes they did work and didn’t grind thank you!!

Been running most days in the mornings this week, only 20-30 mins with the dogs and have been to the gym tonight. Hectic day tomorrow, run with the dogs, gym and bike ride with Kate. A nice warm up for my 60 miler on Sunday. It’s a great route, drops me into Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Woolacombe, Saunton, Braunton and some farting around to get the miles up before I get home. I’ve got the Gamin but having a few problems with the motion base as we have a Mac, I’m sure I’ll find a way to overcome this slight technical problem in the next 60 days…

We also have a new camera so expect some pics on Sunday

Hello Junkies!

2008-04-24T22:19:00.006+01:00

Hello to all you Junkies visiting due to the FDO's words. Help us to stop this wicked illness by donating via the links on the right for justgiving.com or via the paypal button. No one wants to end up like Francis Parkmeyer or that A U Rookman dude from 7th Son. If you are too damn mean for that then just give us some abuse.

Diet Progress of Cactusnic

2008-04-24T21:00:00.000+01:00

Progress has been slow since my earlier post about my oversized tummy. As usual things started with the best intentions but then slipped. I convienently forgot to update my skinnyr graph if it wasn't good news which is why it all looks so positive. Things are finally going in the right direction though. So they flippin should be with all the training, at the moment I am burning an average of an extra 10 - 14,000 calories per week.
My weight has fallen from 204lbs to 195 which is good but I still have another 38lbs to go. I hope now to be at sub 185 for the JOGLE.
There maybe a slight falling from the wagon tonight though as this pics shows what was awaiting me when I arrived at work tonight. Yum.

The Benefits of Food and Sleep

2008-04-23T23:05:00.011+01:00

Back to the grindstone this week. I have cycled the 60 mile round trip to work for the first 1.5 of 5 nights (I am writing this on my break at work). I plan to drive tomorrow and get back on the bike for the last 2. Thats the plan any way...

It is definately getting easier as the weeks are going by so the training must be helping. Easier that is when I eat and when I sleep. Today I did very little of either. When I got back from work after heroically setting a fastest time this year I was all full of beans and high on endorphins. Feeling invincible as I do on these occasions I suggested to my beloved better half that she catch up on some sleep, which is in short supply for her too with the lil darlin's unpredictable sleep patterns. She greatfully grabbed a couple of hours whilst I decided, still full of endorphintastic enthusiasm to take the boys out after a quick Nutrigrain bar.

The trouble is after another 20mins or so the endorphin high started to fade and I suddenly felt VERY tired. Anyway the little guys kept me going untill I crawled back into the house at lunch time. I had not eaten anything at this point as, since my deli belly in the week, food is not appealing for some reason. I crashed straight into bed but only had 4 hours till I had to get up and ride in again. Prat. I could have stayed in bed and waited for the car but for some strange reason I didn't. Must have been a hypoglycemic delusion or something. Inevitably I woke up just in time to get out on the bike back to work but not in time to eat. The ride to work went by ok to start with, although I felt in a bit of a daze. Boy did I start to struggle after 20 miles though. I decided to stop on a railway bridge for a rather pleasant Nutrigrain Oat cake thingy which instantly doubled my days calories (As seen in the cheerful pics). That is all it did instantly though and I trundled the last 10 miles to work like... well... like Dave. The effects of tiredness are weird, in that state of mind my saddle felt uncomfortable, my helmet felt too tight, all the motorists were idiots, I was fat and unfit, the weather was bound to turn bad, Leo Laporte (on my mp3 player) was irritating and basically the world was against me. Come to think of it I felt a bit like Steve.

I am writing this at work after my lovely day. Only 12 hours and 30 miles till bed. At least the weight is coming off and I have a tail wind in the morning. :-)

Marathon men

2008-04-21T16:49:00.003+01:00

It is said that cycling a hundred miles is equivalent to running a marathon. I have never run a marathon so cannot say if the two are comparable, but when you consider the Joglers are planning to average a marathon a day for nine days, the challenge starts to become a reality.

Then factor in the difficulty of cycling north to south against the prevailing south-west wind that we tend to get in the UK (except in Fife, where it always seems to be a head wind no matter which direction you cycle!) and the challenge gets even harder.

Probably the hardest challenge is getting sufficiently fit while working full-time and juggling family commitments.

Due to those commitments I am only able to join in the Jogle escapade for three days, but am delighted to contribute what effort I can for such a worthy cause.

More Podcast plugging

2008-04-21T00:05:00.004+01:00

PG Holyfield creator of the fantastic Murder At Avedon Hill podcast has said he will give us a plug in the latest episode due to drop on 23rd April or there abouts. If you haven't tried Murder At Avedon Hill I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is a Murder Mystery set in the fantasy world of Caern. There are vampires, moonbeasts and allsorts thrown into the mix. The podcast is beautifully crafted with a fantastic cast of voice actors and music from Shira Kammen to give it a truly classy feel. You can find out more here.

I would also like to thank Chris Lester of the Metamor City podcast for giving us further pluggage in his last episode. Thanks Chris that was very kind of you. I wax lyrical about Metamor City here

6lbs in 24 hrs

2008-04-20T23:52:00.002+01:00

Well this weekend did not go as planned. I was going out for an 80 miler on Saturday then I was going to be cycling into work on Sunday night. Instead I managed 10 miles on Saturday before it became apparent that if I didn't find a loo pretty quick my shorts would be in trouble. From then on it was 24 hrs between the bedroom and the lav. On the bright side as you can see from my skinnyr graph on the right somewhere I lost 6lbs! Of course that is just fluid but it is nice to see the scales saying something less offensive to me. Hopefully I will pile on a few miles this week as I am working nights all week so I hope to get in 180 - 200 miles. We will see.

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-04-20T20:48:00.000+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard
Despite the dodgy weather managed to put in a very wet 30 miles on Saturday. Almost had a total wipeout as a car came around some parked cars on my side of the road and seemed oblivious to the fact that i was just about to bounce off her bonnet, i can only apologise to anyone who lives in Dawlish and heard me swearing loudly. Im sure your a nice person really, but please look out for cyclists!!
Had a drier ride today and did a steady 40ish miles, with the emphasis on keeping the heart rate down, and trying not to sprint too many hills. (Click on the title for workout download.)
Have to say it felt a bit easier today, hopefully the training is starting to pay off a bit, always nice when you can knock out a steady ride and feel comfortable at the end.
All the accomodation is now booked, and i have started to think about the exact route we will take. I thought we might go through Runcorn instead of Liverpool, as it means not having to negotiate a major city, and it would be nice to avoid some of the A roads as well. (If you have checked our route and could give us advice, please let us know).
Well its that time of the day when the only training left to do is open a cold beer...........

Bad habits link to Alzheimer's

2008-04-17T19:59:00.003+01:00

Interesting article from the BBC news today;
'Bad habits' link to Alzheimer's

Around 700,000 people currently suffer from dementia in the UK
Heavy drinkers and smokers develop Alzheimer's disease six to seven years earlier than those who do not smoke or drink, US researchers claim.
A study of 900 people aged over 60 found early onset was most likely in those who also had a high-risk gene.
A second US study found people with high cholesterol in their early 40s are one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's.
The research was presented at an American Academy of Neurology meeting.
It has been estimated that a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's disease by five years would lead to a 50% drop in the number of cases.
It's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time
Dr Ranjan Duara
The researchers said their findings showed heavy drinking and smoking were two of the most important preventable risk factors for the condition.
Those taking part in the study had been diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease and smoking and drinking history was obtained from family members.
Risk factors
Heavy drinking, defined as more than two drinks a day was found to lead to an almost five-year earlier onset of Alzheimer's.
And those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day developed the disease two years sooner.
People with a specific gene - APOE variant 4 - developed Alzheimer's disease three years earlier than those without the gene variant.
All three risk factors together were associated with onset of the disease 8.5 years earlier than those with none of the risk factors.
Study leader, Dr Ranjan Duara, from Mount Sinai Medical Center in Florida said: "It's possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease for people and reduce the number of people who have Alzheimer's at any point in time."
In the second study, 9,700 men and women were followed from the age of 40.
Those with cholesterol levels higher than around six millimols per litre (mmol/L) had a one and a half times higher risk of developing Alzheimer's than those with low cholesterol.
"High mid-life cholesterol increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease regardless of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and late-life stroke," said researcher Alina Solomon.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society said the research added to the weight of evidence on drinking and smoking habits and the risk of developing dementia.
"The best way to reduce your risk is to eat a balanced diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins and to exercise regularly.
"Not smoking, drinking only in moderation and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly throughout life are also important ways people can reduce their risk of dementia."

Joglers are like Buses

2008-04-15T20:43:00.009+01:00

Practically all my training has been done solo, all on my lonesome, then this past week I have been out cycling with 2 Joglers on separate occasions. Just like buses as I said.

Last Friday (the 11th) Dr Stephen was down visiting from Scotland so we arranged to meet up for a quick tour of the local Cotswold Hills. We had a fine little ride of 32 miles, based on a route in a recent cycling plus. Our route is here if you care to look. Stephen was, as usual, quicker than me up the hills, weighing about 3 stone as he does, even at his 6ft4ish height. Even so I didn't get tearful and just pretended I was taking it easy before the HONC. I think Steve knew better but is too much of a gent to say so.

Due to the actual riding of the JOGLE starting a day later Dr Stephen is now able to join us for an extra day so we should have more bodies to cut through those Scottish winds.

On Sunday it was HONC or Hell Of The North Cotswolds day. Dave came up for the ride with his rather lovely Specialized Hardtail. He also came bearing gifts courtesy of Pete at Iron Bridge Runner in Exeter who had given Dave a load of Science in Sport goodies at very low prices to help the JOGLERS. (Pete is a top bloke who has also offered to supply goodies for the actual event and drive us to John O'Groats from Inverness Airport. Cheers Pete.)

We started off right near the back of the 1000 strong pack since we were out for a days riding rather than setting any records. This can be mildly frustrating as the sheer volume of riders cause bottlenecks at the narrower points and we came to a complete standstill on several occasions. This was not really a problem though as the atmosphere and organisation were as usual great. Everyone happy to chat and throw about cheesy one liners about men in shorts etc. All good fun. The ride itself was great for the most part and gave my Focus Cross Disc a chance to show its true colours. I can truly say that it excelled. I was really chuffed with it's performance. There was a lot of gloopy mud and many mountain bikers were having to stop to clear the mud from their frame but my skinny little steed kept on riding. There was not really any point during the ride were I felt at a disadvantage to the Mountain Bikers and I was finally glad to have taken the disc option on the bike.

With about 20 miles to go Dave's saddle started to slip slide all over the place in his seat post to the point that it became unridable (as detailed below by Dave). So after 10 miles of struggling we decided to abort. This did not feel like a let down to me though as we had covered 50 miles of pretty tough on/off road terrain and had a really good work out. Even better I felt pretty fresh which bodes well for the JOGLE. Here is our shortened route. Pics to follow when these guys upload them.

Busted saddles and sore legs

2008-04-15T19:48:00.003+01:00

Well finished the HONC, kind of, in a roundabout way. Due to recurrent saddle problems, the bolt for my saddle gave up the ghost at about 40 miles, so had to miss the last 10 miles of the ride due to being unable to sit on the saddle. At least i got in a good 50 mile ride, and given that it was off road it was a reasonable training ride.
Not pleased that i didn't finish but happy with the distance.
Would definitely recommend this ride to anyone who fancies a challenging off road ride.
Hoping to capitilse on the improved weather and get some evening rides in this week.
Have virtually booked all our accomodation for the ride now, need to start fine tuning some of the route. Hopefully we will avoid as many A roads as possible.
Only eight weeks to go.

Honc Honced

2008-04-13T16:48:00.002+01:00

The live updates were abit of a flop due to very patchy 3g coverage. Ah well at least the ride went injury free. To the riders at least. I am going to bed. Night.

Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer's

2008-04-12T07:15:00.002+01:00

IN BRIEF

The number of Alzheimer's patients is expected to increase dramatically in coming years, straining the health care system
Scientists have not discovered the cause nor devised effective treatments
Even diagnosis is difficult
In the absence of therapies, attention has turned to teaching the skills necessary to cope with demented patients
Increasingly caregivers are encouraged to validate the feelings and perceptions of the person with Alzheimer's

Check out the New York Times article here

'I would rather die of cancer than have my living self stripped away a bit at a time,' says Terry Pratchett

2008-04-11T19:02:00.006+01:00

From the Daily Mail:

The day that fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett announced he had Alzheimer's, he received an incredible 60,000 responses from fans on his website within just a few hours.

"Some were from wellwishers, others had advice for me," he says.

"It was all so diverse - I wouldn't have a clue whether they were things I should take on board or not.

"We talk to one another on the internet and compare regimes. Part of me lives in a world of new age remedies and some of the science is a little like voodoo.

"But science was never an exact science, and personally I'd eat the a*** out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance.

"Some of those who got in touch wanted to sell me snake oil and I'm not necessarily going to dismiss all of these, as I have never found a rusty snake.

"But I'm not reading any of the medical books about it. I don't want to follow guidelines.

"You can't out-run the train but you can run and, who knows, if you can keep running for long enough, someone might find a way of blowing up the train."

Read full the article here

The Wonder of Tractors

2008-04-10T22:19:00.004+01:00

I rode into work again a few times this past week. It is helping with piling on the miles but the return journey can be somewhat of a bore. Usually into a head wind and just wanting to be in bed I struggle to get my heart rate up and plod along at an average of 14mph or so. On the flat on a road bike.

Sometimes there is a treat on the journey, something to motivate me and get my heart pumping and the speed up. It could be music, another cyclist, the local time trial on my route or one of many things. I especially like overtaking spotty teenagers on their 50cc mopeds. The treat on my journey home yesterday was a stinky tractor flicking mud in my face. I had just crested a gentle rise and was struggling to push the pedals around, just grinding slowly along at about 15mph when this muck spattered machine came rumbling past. I was instantly out of the saddle and sprinting to get a slipstream tow from it. What an amazing difference it makes! For the next few miles I averaged 25mph and it felt so easy. I had to keep backing off so I didn't roll into the back of the tractor. I wonder if we could persuade someone to drive one all the way down in the jogle. Reckon we could do it in half the time then. It is a little bit dangerous though (incase PC Regie is reading) because you can't see what is in front of the tractor and if he hit the brakes..... ouch. At that time of the morning though I am willing to take the risk to get me home.

If you feel nerdy all the stats of that particular ride are here

The JOGLERS

2008-04-07T22:43:00.003+01:00

Sport and oh,oh...Politics

2008-04-07T22:10:00.006+01:00

Good to see Steve making a few notes on the blog. I wasn't aware he could write, so quite an achievement.
Managed an hour and a half on the stumpy tonight, still a bit muddy for decent riding but it was good to get re-acquainted with nobblies again. Hopefully the weather will be good for the HONC and i won't bonk before 50 miles!!
Thought i should make a comment about world affairs, seeing as how this blog is a medium for all things good and proper.
I have always been an advocate for world peace, and given that we are undertaking a sporting event in the Olympic year i thought it only right to suggest that we boycott watching the Olympics, given China's intrusion in Tibet, maybe a small token but if enough people did it....who knows. Having travelled in Nepal and India i can only comment on how friendly and welcoming Tibetan refugees were to me. Comments please.

Corrupt Mr Sylvester here

2008-04-07T21:54:00.004+01:00

Right, Mr Sylvester here. I've been brought into the team to add some leadership to the proceedings. See I am a manager and Dave and Nick are nurses, get my drift. Dave's not relied for his navigation skills (viva la France) and Nick ends up doing his own thing, he’s not used to peoples company. I need to beat these two losers in to some form of shape. Really joking aside it will be great to do the ride for the Alzheimer’s Society a very deserving fund. Back to the insults. It dawned on me the other day that this indeed could be the last ever ride with Dave and Nick. Come on, as you know times not been favourable for Dave, every day he looks more and more like Keith Richards from the Stones. As for Mr Robinson, his impression of Augustus Glupe from Charlie and the Chocolate factory is quite uncanny, and he’ll soon be sucked up some chocolate pipe. As for me I am finely tuned riding machine, currently being protected by a specialist insulation layer (otherwise know as fat!)

I've just taken out another mortgage getting the bikes services (thanks Rich!) and the training has started (now me tum tum is better) 35ish miles on the mountain bike on Saturday, run this AM, a spin class this evening, wow it was great and so it goes on. I'm in the states next week so no riding, but there is a gym at the hotel and trainers on me feet, so all out effort when back. Oh....assoss cream rules..

Ps Gears sorted on the MTB, sweet

The HONC is looming

2008-04-07T14:36:00.012+01:00

This Sunday it is The Hell Of The North Cotswolds .This is a very popular and fairly tough reliability ride in and around the Cotswold town of Winchcombe. About 1000 riders take on either the 50K or 100K courses which are a mix of about 50/50 on and offroad. It is one of the few events that us JOGLERS have had a regular presence at over the years. This will be my 5th time at the event and Daves 2nd. Dr Stephen did it in 2004 and Steve in 2006.

I have tackled it on a singlespeed, a full sus mountain bike, a tandem, a hardtail mountain bike and this year it will be done on my cyclo cross bike. Dave is riding his hard tail and Steve will be washing the dishes at home. Girl. I may however have frightened Steve off, as the last time he rode it was on the back of the tandem. Unfortunately my confidence outweighed my talent on that day and we had a fairly spectacular wipe out when I tried to squeeze into a narrowing gap between two other riders on a descent. Fortunately the other riders were restrained enough to avoid punching me on the nose, which is probably what I deserved. I am pretty sure I ruined their day as well as Steve's. Sorry out there whoever you are. For Steve's part he was suprisingly restrained, didn't even swear. Considering he could hardly use his arm for a month after that was quite impressive.
Last year, due to a general lack of riding and fitness we took the short route but we did at least get around without any dramas. This year Dave and I are planning on doing the 100k hopefully without any faceplants or broken bones.

The pics are At the Top: Nick and Dr Stephen at the start of the 2004 event. on the right: us again on a descent later on the same day and the last pic is Dave with Nick on the left.

2006 Route 100k shortened after Tandem Wipout
2007 50k Route

2008 routes are here: Short Long
The Memory Map and Tracklogs versions are here

Activity | Road Biking | Whitestone, United Kingdom | MotionBased Dashboard

2008-04-06T17:27:00.002+01:00

Activity Road Biking Whitestone, United Kingdom MotionBased Dashboard

Managed some decent training this weekend despite my wife being on nights, a tree hitting me in the face (i continued to cut down trees in the back garden and a branch hit me in the face, stop laughing, i now have a nice black eye) and the blizzards!
I went out today in full thermal get up and rode the last 15 miles into a northerly wind which was bitingly cold. I grovelled up the hills, the very same ones i used to ride on a 42/52 chainset with 12-23 on the back, im now using a compact chainset and a massive 28 on the back, it can only get better. At least there is no such thing as a flat ride in Devon so i should be prepared for the hills.
Hopefully now with evenings getting getting lighter i may get out midweek a bit more, its trying to manage it all around work, pregnant wife and daughter, throw into that lot a few odd jobs around the house, cleaning bike(s), updating blog! and watching Champions League on the telly, (yes Nick, Steve, football is important) and you end up with little time left for quality training.
As you have probably noticed i have a new toy, Garmin 305 GPS, (Click on the title) great fun and excellent way to look at training stats (how sad), hopefully as i get fitter?? it will be a good way to observe overall improvements, i am convincing myself there will be improvements!! It was good to see that even though i was struggling towards the end the average speed stayed around 14mph. The peak in the heart rate was big ringing it around the Penn Inn roundabout, not a pleasant place, and the only safe way to negotiate it is at the same speed as the traffic. More stats to come soon.

Metamor City Mention!

2008-04-06T12:12:00.012+01:00

I was super excited to see the latest episode of Chris Lester's Metamor City podcast downloading this morning. My excitement shot up a notch further when I realised Chris had given us a plug! If you are not familiar with it The Metamor City Podcast is a sci-fi/fantasy audio fiction series that is distributed for free through Chris's website. It features a mixture of short stories and full-length novels, all taking place in one large world with an overarching story arc. Combining the narration of audiobooks with the music, sound effects and full vocal cast of a serial radio drama, The Metamor City Podcast provides an immersive audio experience of a world like no other.

If you have found us through Metamor City, we are two psychiatric nurses who have both been touched in different ways by Alzheimer's. We are cycling the length of the British Isles to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society and awareness of this cruel disease. We are doing this over 9 days now, after initially planning to do it in 7. We also now have health service manager Steve joining us for the ride and Stephen, a web guru and MRI expert, joining us for some of Scotland.

Donations can be made through our Just Giving site which is linked to on the right, or if you prefer, through the paypal donate button. If you are unable to donate, any comments on the blog or plugs on other blogs would be very much appreciated. Until then, keep it on the bright side!

Night Shift Rogate Ramblings

2008-04-05T04:01:00.007+01:00

My training has been going very well this week. I have cycled the 30 mile journey into work two days in succession now and plan to again on Sunday. My knees are starting to complain a bit though so I figure I will play that one by ear.

Like most cyclists I have bits of kit I particularly like so I thought I would review the odd one here or there. So here goes:

Last month I bought a DHB Rogate top from Wiggle on offer (They always clobber me with their email offers and my weak will). It has really surprised me how versatile it is. I have been wearing it with a string vest type base layer under it and it keeps me nice and snug at 0deg C right up to 10deg without getting all boil in a bag. If things do start hotting up there is a full length zip to give maximum ventilation. It is also extremely comfortable, all fleecy inside, with a windproof front, a silicone gripper at the base of the back to prevent ride up and a zip up pocket in addition to the usual 3 rear pockets. One of the nicest design features for me has been that it has a chest pocket designed for mp3 players with a little hole to route the headphones inside. It just has room for my iPod Touch so should fit most players just fine. It really is fantastic quality for the money. It retails at £44 but was £30 on offer and is one of those tops that will be worn from October through to April. I love it!

Time Trialing to Work

2008-04-04T03:53:00.002+01:00

Cyling into work this evening was great, the sun was shining and I was able to just wear shorts and top for the first time this year. I even added a few miles to the trip to make it a 32 mile inward ride. What made the ride was discovering myself in the middle of the local bike clubs evening time trial. Just as I turned onto the A38 a guy flew past me all tucked down and really going for it. Not long after another guy came by but going at a more sensible pace averaging about 22-23mph. I was able to grab his back wheel and got a nice tow for the next 5 miles or so Mega! After he turned off it was me and the wind again but I managed to keep up a better pace than of late and consequently had the time to add a few extra miles.

I am still riding the cyclo cross bike with knobblies on so hopefully I should see a pick up in pace when I get around to sticking the slicks on.

Resistance Training With the Family

2008-04-04T00:14:00.003+01:00

Since the sun has been out the past couple of days everyone wants to get on the bike. We decided to take the two boys, Noah, 3 and J, 1 out in the Chariot. this would be the first time for them to share it on a decent length bike ride. I was concerned that it would be all elbows and bitter disputes over territory however I need not have worried. The trailer seems to send the boys into some sort of trance and they sat there staring at my back wheel.

Well untill Noah started singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and asking me to fly. I was not able to oblige unfortunately. The harmony continued and a jolly time was had by all. Even old Dad got a good work out. That is quite a lump to haul around the Cotswolds.

Nick Gets a Taste of the Truth

2008-04-02T20:34:00.004+01:00

If You Like Sci/fi Horror Watch this.

2008-04-01T16:58:00.001+01:00

Another 70 Miler

2008-03-31T22:28:00.003+01:00

I was bereft of imagination today so when given 4 hours to spend on my bike I just rode the same old loop down to Chepstow and back. Here are the details for my training free Joglers to admire.

Signed Jack Wakes Up arrives

2008-03-31T10:15:00.011+01:00

Following on from Seth Harwoods run on the Amazon charts in which he grabbed No 1 on the Mystery/crime section. My signed copy arrived. Not only that but Seth included a page of the manuscript with his alterations hand written on it. Nice! Should be worth a mint when Seth becomes world famous. More info on this relentless Noir Crime novel and the free podcast version here