Preparations for 100 mile cycle challenge

Steve and Pete at the start of the Devon Demon
Back last autumn shortly after I retired, my son Pete challenged me to a sponsored cycle ride. I think he felt I needed the challenge of something new to prepare for and  motivation to take more exercise! I agreed to the 100 mile Nello which is organised by a cancer charity local to Exeter. In order to have wider appeal than just the area around Exeter we decided to go for a charity which has a national brief. We have chosen Cancer Research UK for the great work it is doing in researching the causes of cancer to help find new ways of treatment and cure. My wife Sue had breast cancer 18 months ago which brings the reality of cancer closer to home and Pete is an oncology consultant so this charity also fitted well with his interests.
Agreeing to something when it is still far off in the future is one thing, preparing for the event as it comes ever closer is another. I have been trying to up my muscle tone and stamina over the winter using an indoor cycle trainer and now need to get out on the road to get some serious miles under my belt. Hence the outing this Saturday (29 April) to Exeter racecourse to take part in the Devon Demon. Demon is a good name for it as it has over 5000ft of climbing over the beautiful Dartmoor landscape  We completed the 50 miles circuit in 5hours 24 mins which included nearly an hour of stops! They laid on some great feeding stations to make sure we kept up our sugar levels and met our hydration requirements. The sponsored ride is twice the distance, but thankfully not twice the climb. If you want to sponsor us you can go to our justgiving.com web page.Sponsor me for The Nello

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronos and Kairos

Don't normally refer to Greek in sermons, but I made an exception this Sunday. Tom Stuckey's book, commented on in my last blog, has a really helpful distinction between these two Greek words. Used it as the base for a chapel anniversary service here at Wirksworth on Sunday evening. You can see the power point presentation to go with the sermon based on Acts 10. If you want to download it click here . The church is at a kairos moment as it emerges from Christendom, facing highly vocal sceptics like Richard Dawkins, yet there is a hunger for meaning in a world full of superficiality. May God give us the wisdom and hope to use this moment.
Read more

Taylor talks (and writes)

I found the post on Steve Taylor’s website on 18th April very helpful today. It reminded me of a remark that Martin Atkins made at the beginning of the MEC 1 lecture last October. When being thanked for coming to give the lecture he dismissed the thanks saying that to do so was cathartic for him. At the time I didn’t understand what he meant by that remark, but thinking about it now in the light of Taylor’s blog I think I see what he means - you can only take in if you are also giving out. I have struggled with this year out of ministry, because I have not found an outlet (other than writing assignments!) for all that I am learning through it. I have preached once in 10 months, through my own choice, because I needed to stand back in order to evaluate. I have also been thinking that preaching is a non-productive environment in which to communicate. It is so easy for those who listen to disengage – a habit that I have found myself falling into during my 10 months of pew-sitting . Perha
Read more

Looking at Lent

Lent simply means length and it marks the 40 days (excluding Sundays) from Ash Wednesday until Easter day. This 40 day period which is often associated with fasting and self-denial is a preparation time for the great celebration of Easter. We can’t have the highs without experiencing the lows, otherwise there would be nothing to contrast the two. In the lectionary (Year B) we journey with Jesus through his wilderness experience to his interview before Pilate, laced with foreboding conversations along the way. This contrasts with the ‘light relief’ of the wedding at Cana on the third Sunday in Lent. Highs and lows teach us to be grateful for the good times and help us negotiate the dark ones. Today I have taken the funeral of a full term still born baby. It is hard when grief is so raw it feels uncontainable. Families grieving can’t make sense of their emotions let alone the circumstances that have led them there. All we can do in such circumstances is to be there. Of course it is not
Read more