Cycling for Charity

Or by visiting www.justgiving.com/delilah

Or you can text your sponsorship  to 70070 and enter the code IANL48 and texting the amount. (Minimum £5)

Over the next 12 months I shall be undertaking new cycle challenges.

London Olympic Nightrider - June 2012

Coast to Coast & Back - June 2012

THE TWO DAY COAST TO COAST & BACK CYCLE CHALLENGE

This is by far the biggest challenge I've undertaken yet.  On Saturday 17 June I shall cycle across the country, from South Shields in the East, to Whitehaven in the West.  One hundred and forty miles in one day.  After a night's sleep in Whitehaven, on the Sunday, I shall then get on Delilah once more and cycle back the 140 miles to South Shields. Over the 1900 foot climb of Hartside Heights twice in 24 hours!!

280 miles in two days..... The Biggest Challenge Yet!!

Since Melissa passed away in May 2008 I have taken part in several charity cycle rides in order to raise awareness of lymphoma and also to raise funds for the lymphoma association.

2009

2010

2011

In 2009 I cycled from London to Paris and then the following week a 120 mile, 2 day ride from Norwich to Ipswich and back.

In 2010 I cycled from York to Derby, a 120 mile, 2 day ride, followed by

Nightrider, a 65 mile ride through the streets of London at night!

So far, in 2011 I have cycled Coast to Coast (Whitehaven to Sunderland) 140 mile, 2 day ride.  London Nightrider once more, this time with Becky

2011 also saw me complete the London to Paris cycle ride once more.

In total, since I began in cycling in June 2009, we've raised over £11,000 for the Lymphoma Association.

THE TRAINING

When training for a charity cycle ride, the more you put into it, the easier it will be.

I usually start off in January with a couple of light twenty mile rides a week, I gradually build this up over a period of time going through the thirty, forty and fifty mile barriers over the space of a couple of months.  The reason I keep the mileage low in the early parts is due to building up the legs and also because the weather can be so harsh in Jan/Feb/March.

By the time I get to April, I'm doing at least one 25 - 30 mile ride during the week and then a 50 - 60 mile ride at the weekend.  On a couple of occasions I will go out on consecutive days and cycle 60 miles, then follow that the day after with a 25 -30 mile ride. 

In the weeks up to a charity ride, I'll regularly cycle 60 - 70 miles at the weekends and I'll include at least one ride where I hit the 70 - 75 mile mark.

I never ceased to be amazed by people's generosity and I can't thank people enough for the support they have given and continued to give myself, Julie and Becky.

Donations from family and friends make up a huge part of the amount of funds raised.  Other activities include bucket collections at football matches (Thanks to Burton Albion), car boot sales (thanks to family and friends for donations to the car boot too) and Build a Bear Teddy Raffles.

In the coming year we're looking at more car boot sales, another Build a Bear raffle and also a Cake Sale.  Other things are in the planning stage too as we look to raise more funds.

FOR MORE HELP ON CYCLING FOR CHARITY, FUNDRAISING TIPS ETC PLEASE CONTACT ME ON ijleech@hotmail.co.uk

In terms of the cycling, it's about comfort in the saddle. On distance rides, barring injury, your legs will keep going, so comfort in the saddle is your priority.

Use Vaseline, assos cream, sudocrem etc on your tender bits to help prevent saddle sore.

Most charity rides I've taken part in ride at an average speed of between 10 - 12 mph.  People's speeds vary though, some will be more experienced and faster.

The thrill you get when completing a ride is amazing.

Prepare yourself for the comedown afterwards and try to plan a treat for yourself in the weeks after the ride to give you something to look forward to after you've completed the event.