The Cold Light of Day

The day after devising the idea of the bike ride (and there was a slight beer induced haze) I didn't regret my commitment, in fact my resolve was stronger and I began looking forward to the ride.

However, everyone I spoke to pointed out that my ride to Paris was 13 years ago when I was in my 20's and weighed several pounds less! My conclusion to this "advice" was that maybe I should take a little longer and buy myself an extra day.

And so the challenge was set: Edinburgh to London by bike in 6 days!

An Idea Is Born

The idea for this bike ride was born last week during a business trip to Edinburgh. One of my colleagues, Richard, is organising a fundraising event within BT (where we both work) and he was encouraging me to get involved to raise some money for ChildLine. Not wanting to embarass myself in the main "Ray of Sunshine" event I voluteered (and yes there had been a few pints consumed by this stage of the evening) to ride my bike from the main BT office in Edinburgh to BT's Head Office in London. A quick search of the Internet on my phone showed that this journey is around 420 miles.

Now, I'm no super-fit athlete (in fact I'm overweight and fast approaching middle age) but I am motivated and I have a desire to get fitter in order to keep up with my young sons. I'm not a regular cyclist but I have always owned a bike and I occasionally go for bike rides or mountain biking. In 1996 I took part in sponsored bike ride from London to Paris on behalf of the Royal British Legion; this ride was 285 miles over 3 days (i.e. 95 miles a day). Taking this into account I suggested that I could cover the 420 miles from Edinburgh to London in 5 days!