Friday 30 March 2012

Smile please!



Last weekend we were very fortunate to have the offer of a team photo shoot taken by local photographer Cheryl King. The location, Birkrigg Common just above Ulverston, turned out to be a fabulous venue blessed with beautiful sunshine.

After studying Media at college, Cheryl subsequently trained and worked in Outdoor Education gaining leadership and coaching awards in Canoeing and Kayaking, Mountain Biking and Cycling, Orienteering, Power Boating and Mountain Leadership. Recent years have seen her develop her commercial cycling photography business – ckingimages.



To see the results of the photo shoot and a short interview with each rider please go to Seeking Mountain Sport

You may have noticed only 7 riders in the above photo. Unfortunately on the day Gary was unable to be there, to see a few words from Gary here is a link to the Biketreks Racing Team page.

Many thanks to Cheryl and her assistants, Mark and Lottie, from all of Team Alice.




Tuesday 27 March 2012

Arrgh....eeeek.....and other less choice expletives!!

In the run up to our little cycle ride you are seeing a range of thankyou's. Sorry if there are a lot of them but we do have a large amount of people and organisations who have helped us in preparation for our Lejog.

Cycling for the team is something we all enjoy and it helps keep us fit. Our fitness levels are going to be seriously tested when we start our marathon ride especially in the legs. With this in mind we shall probably be massaging our own legs on a nightly basis, unless we find a masseuse who fancies a little road trip! Those of you not up to speed with cycling should know that nearly all pro and amateur racing cyclists will shave their legs on a regular basis to help with massaging and also, should the worse happen, dress any cuts. Whilst we are not eluding to be pro cyclists this bit of hair removal may well just help us out.

Not wanting to do things by halves we have bypassed the shaving and gone straight to waxing! So anyone who hasn't donated some dosh for our cycle ride can surely spare a few pounds to see some of us put through the leg waxing pain!

Emma Richardson Beauty Therapy of Ulverston have kindly agreed to undertake the leg waxing. Emma is a fully qualified beauty therapist and offers a wide portfolio of treatments. When describing her business she states that she offers a friendly yet professional service in a relaxed treatment room for your enjoyment. Our team will need all the help they can get to stay relaxed!! We sometimes say photos to follow, not sure that will happen this time, we shall see:)


Thursday 22 March 2012

Biketreks - Ambleside




We are very grateful to Biketreks for supplying us with some of the sports nutrition for our Lejog ride, here is a little more about what they offer from their base in Ambleside....

Biketreks was established with one simple goal in mind: provide great products, fantastic service, and a refreshing place to pursue all the different facets of cycling.

All of the staff at Biketreks pursue cycling in one way or another, and although we all love the glamour of high-end bikes and the newest gadgetry, we are just as excited to get children on their first bike, get people off of the couch or internet (sorry), and out riding the pavement or trail.

Our reputation for professionalism and expertise comes from the quality of our staff. The sales staff are not compensated with commissions - their only incentive is to make you happy. They are trained to listen to you, the customer, share their knowledge and fit you to the bike that suits your body, your style of riding, and budget.

Our mechanics also play a vital role in the quality of the finished product that you purchase. We believe they are the best in the business. They are year-round, full-time professionals who love bicycles; it shows in the pride they take in assembling and servicing your bike.

If you need any information regarding cycling, we will get you the answer. That’s what we do! Oh, and don’t forget to just stop by and chat! We can make pretty good coffee! We’re here to have fun too!

A big thank you to Biketreks!







 

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Dent


Last Sunday we set off on our first 100 mile ride over to beautiful Dent. It was a good test to see how we faired up over the day which included almost 7000ft of climbing in beautiful weather. We left Ulverston on the main road for a short way before leaving the busy Mothers Day traffic behind and keeping to the minor roads. Passing through Grange, Levens, Milnthorpe and then a few lumpy bits over to Kirkby Lonsdale.  Stopping briefly to catch our breath on Devils Bridge and to watch the kayak racing underneath in what looked like not very much water at all. Then came the beautiful ascent through Barbondale, this is a great ride as the incline is not too bad all the way up the valley. This is followed by a rollercoaster drop down to Gawthrop and then into Dent. Once there you are spoilt for choice of where to refuel, after wheeling past a few tea rooms we chose Stone Close Tea Rooms - what a good choice we made.


As it was a long day in the saddle quite a lot of food was consumed, some of us had soup and a roll others paninis, although I think we all had the cyclists staple of cake and coffee. All was soon to be burned off on the return journey of a further 50 miles. If you are ever over this way Stone Close is highly recommended with a good menu, service and prices.

After taking on a short section of cobbles (not quite sure how the pro cyclists ride cobbles for a whole day) we set off for Sedbergh. This road next to the river must have been underwater recently as it was covered in debris, thankfully not causing punctures at the time.

After leaving Sedbergh we joined cycleway R20 (Howgill Lane) a tricky steep climb followed before it opened up to a stunning view out towards Kendal.


A couple of punctures followed, that were quickly sorted, before we headed through Kendal and onto Staveley before dropping down the Lyth Valley allowing us then to retrace our steps home.

Our Lejog in a months time will cover at least 100 miles per day so doing this distance in training has allowed us to see any problems that may arise. We now know how long each day may take, how long our rest stops need to be and how quick we can fix a puncture.

Stay tuned team photos coming later this week!

Friday 16 March 2012

Albmaleaf Natural Gels

We are extremely fortunate to have local company, Albmaleaf Natural gels, help ease our aching muscles with their exercise and sports massage gel during our Lejog ride.

David Jackson has very generously provided our team with the massage gel that will certainly help each day with our weary legs.

The exercise and sports massage gel is:

  • Effective before, during and after sporting activities
  • When massaged into joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons, Albmaleaf alleviates excessive stiffness and even discomfort, and is highly effective for injury rehabilitation
  • In addition, Albmaleaf speeds up the recovery rate after exercise.


  • On behalf of Team Alice on Tour a very big thankyou to all at Albmaleaf.


    For more information visit http://albmaleaf.co.uk/

    Tuesday 13 March 2012

    Skoda

    Here is the official race commissaires car from the Tour de France


    and here is our version for the Alice's Escapes Lejog ride


    It is actually our ride organisers, Simon and Cathy's, own vehicle that has been transformed with the Alice's Escapes logos, support car decals and Just Text Giving numbers.
    This is all courtesy of Skoda UK, Simpsons Skoda of Preston and Tim Eaves Signs.
    On behalf of the Alice's Escapes charity and the Lejog cycling team we would like to say a big thankyou to all who have made this happen.




    PS It's excellent coffee in Simpsons Skoda reception area!!




    Friday 9 March 2012

    Alice's Escapes

    So by now you will know that this bonkers band of cyclists are riding 1000 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats in April. But do you know why they are doing it?

    Our aim is to raise funds and awareness for a new local charity Alice's Escapes, founded by Alice Pyne and her family.

    Many of you will have heard of Alice and the bucket list blog she has created.

    The idea for the charity came after Alice and her family spent a week being looked after by the Torbay Holiday Helper's Network (THHN), based in Devon. All accommodation, food, outings and activities were given with the compliments of local businesses. After many years of gruelling treatments they were able to step back and experience 'normal' family life. This new charity aims to give this opportunity to all such families with a seriously or terminally ill child.

    Alice's Escapes will gather all offers and pledges from generous individuals and businesses in the North of England. They will then match them to families whose child has been referred by official sources such as the child's GP or consultant.

    Do you know anyone who could help?

    No offer is too small. Some could be a hotel, B&B or caravan stay whilst others may offer an ice cream, fish & chips, a boat trip or cinema tickets. The list is endless.

    See the Alice's Escape website for more information.

    While we are putting in the many thousands of pedal strokes it is good to know that our efforts and your support will make a potentially short life that little bit better.







    Monday 5 March 2012

    Killington

    Sunday 4th March took us all very close to our first 100 mile ride as a team. Our training ride left Furness and headed through the back lanes avoiding the main roads to Sizergh. We then headed up towards Killington reservoir via a very steep road near The Helm, Kendal. The long slow climb up to Killington provided stunning views upon reaching the summit.....

    Shelagh, Sonja and Steph with Killington reservoir in the background
    
    
    After following the road around the reservoir we joined The Old Scotch road which turned out to be an amazing ride. Story has it that the road is an early version of the A6 or an old drovers road, most of it is straight and when cycling from North to South provides quite a fast rollercoaster ride. Don't get too frightened but some of the team where bombing along at 40mph+!! This meant we arrived in Kirkby Lonsdale very quickly and ready for our coffee and flapjack at The Lunesdale bakery. If you are in the area the coffee and cake was great especially the flapjack with squidgy apple centre.

    After Kirkby we headed over to Burton in Kendal and then retraced our steps home via Sizergh.

    We have an exciting week ahead that should see our team support car being signwritten by Skoda and the official team jersey's arriving from Milltag. Oh and plenty more training miles..............