At least I have a bike

Running total expenditure on this hobby: £810

Tried to casually ask if stabilisers could be mounted, shopkeeper laughed. So did I, nervously.

Harder than it looks

The truth is that I wasn't too worried about the Ride Across Britain. Nutrition was going well. I feel fit, the spin instructor sings my praises and I cycle faster on my stationary bike than the other gym goers. I've had my fair share of being sick through fatigue and how hard can a hundred miles or so be? Really?

Simply put, one training ride has changed all that. I fell off my bike more times than I have in my life, went from the golden gym boy to the slowest man on the road, struggled to get to grips with my gears and generally looked like I didn't know how to cycle.

I expected the real thing to be different from the gym, I did not however, imagine it would be so hard. Just over half the daily stage miles done, most of it in torrential rain, a drowned iPhone, two bloodied knees, a sore shoulder and a bruised ego later I may have begun to hate cycling, just a little.

Key stats of first ride:

-Falls brought about by not getting cleats out quick enough: 4 (3x left side, 1x right)
-Miles completed: 60 (25 more than my previous furthest ride)
-Age of the only person I overtook : 65 (female)
-Jersey worn: King of the mountain

Notes on what I learnt:

- Need better gear
- Need to find the extra edge (more to follow)
- Don't think the woman I overtook was trying

Behind the scenes - gym training

6:45 wake up. Hit snooze till at least 7:15. Peanut butter (smooth) and jelly sandwich.

7:30 pack bag (see picture). Run in and perfect stretching technique. Hip flexors apparently. A few lunges, give up.

18:30 back on my bike (see picture) - 40km on downhill setting. Getting good at that.

19:30 learn to ride in peloton - sort of (see picture) with personal DJ in the background.

Learning to break through the "Wall"

The "Wall" : the point at which glycogen levels become depleted in the muscles and liver and the body literally hits a dead end. Carrying on at this point is either pointless or painful, mostly both. I believe training should bring you to this point so that you get to know the feeling, learn to get beyond it and no longer fear it.

Tonight I overcome the food equivalent of such a "Wall". I will probably refer back to this victory when I am struggling up some hill / alpine pass in Scotland on the 7th day of my tour. I no longer fear this ride or any of the "walls" it can throw up.

Fundraising pledge

To reward everyone's generosity I pledge to mount bike tassels or streamers onto my handlebars for the Ride Across Britain.  Come rain or shine I will continously be reminded that I can't give up and hopefully they will look incredible as I'm gunning down the mountains.  I expect to be the envy of everyone.  Actual photos of my bike with the streamers to follow (when I have a bike).  For now you just have to image them, here is a picture to help.  Thank you for the donations so far!  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TommyNguyenCRAB

Special shorts - viewer discretion advised

Running total expenditure: £210

Hoped it would never come to this, but it has. Nipple shot available on request.

A background

Bit of a background

The Deloitte Ride Across Britain or RAB for short is an annual cycle odyssey from Lands End to John O'Groats in Scotland.  The journey is about 1000 miles in total and will, in this case, be completed over 9 back to back days in early September. 

I got caught up in the euphoria that surrounded the tour de France and shortly after Bradley Wiggins started his acceptance speech with the words "right we are about to draw the raffle" I emailed the organisers asking to be put on the backup list for this year. First thing next day I was offered a place due to a drop out. 

To date my biking CV is as follows:
- Aged 8: Had my driver push me around on my bike, went as fast as he could run as the brief was not to let me go
- Aged 15-22: Rode bike a few times in Austrian countryside
- Aged 23-26: Spin classes in gym, Boris biking and learning to ride with no hands

I do no have a bike nor any of the necessary accessories, experience or clothing let alone the required training. The good news is that I have 45 days to prepare, train like a monster, buy all the biking gear and begin to appreciate the history of this sport. Without question this isn't anywhere near enough time but, like all my hobbies, I'm going to go for it. 

I'm putting my social life on hold for the next month and a half, gyming / training up to twice a day and will personally boost the cycling industry by throwing money at it. 

There is of course another side to why Deloitte employees take part in this ride. We are raising money for the very deserving British Paralympic Association. Here is a link to my donations page. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TommyNguyenCRAB 

There is more information on the ride here http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/

Thanks