Getting Fit: Manchester to Blackpool!

Hi all,

Well its Monday and I’m a day late for the blog but last night I didn’t feel like doing it after riding to Blackpool lol. So here is the story!

Mark O’Reilly, Lee Bradley and I started out at 08:30 from Old Trafford in really nice weather not to hot and a nice breeze. The route took us through Trafford Park and past the Trafford Centre and up towards Leigh. The route was fairly flat but there where some nice climbs and a couple of really fast decents along the way! After about an hour and a half just past Bolton I got a puncture and was about 20minutes changing it with the help of Mark (Lee being deaf (he’s not) had carried on up the road only to realise we where missing about a mile and a half later!!) So puncture fixed we headed up past the first check point and down through so random places I cannot remember the names of :-S. We came across an amazing rain cloud around about 3hours in that dumped about an ocean and a half’s worth of water on us it was fun to ride in and to see the more sane riders who had pulled in to seek shelter!! Lee decided after ten minutes of the downpour to put his rain jacket on even though by that point we may as well have been naked as we were all soaked to the bone! The first stop of the day saw me putting some air in my tyre as it was a little low from the puncture and some much need drinks and a bit of food. We set off again and saw many many people all raising money for great causes and some in outfits. The Cavewomen, lady boys where my favourite costumes! There where a few crashes along the way one women had crashed and wasn’t wearing a helmet she was out cold on the road. We stopped but the marshals where already with her and the ambulance on the way so we went on. About 3 miles from the end the pain really started to kick in my back and arms where in bits and it was only the thought of you guys support and the comradery of Lee and Mark that got us through the end of the cycle!!