Day 3 - Things Happen

I am calling this blog "Things Happen" because they do, especially in endurance bike riding. Remember Andy Schleck's chain drop in the 2010 Tour de France? I got an email from Eric P. this afternoon asking if Brian is alright as he has dropped out according to the Deloitte RAB Live site. I immediately went online and checked and sure enough, he has a "DNF" next to his name. What happened? I texted Brian and after a few minutes (about 2:15 p.m. our time) I got his message: At mile 84 out of the 99 miles, a spoke broke on his wheel. Real bummer! He is going to buy a cheap new wheel, get a good night's sleep and tomorrow is another day, Day 4.

So, thank you to those of you who contacted me with your concern. I am glad to tell everyone that Brian is well, in good spirits and ready to push on tomorrow.

Tomorrow Day 4: Ludlow to Manchester (Haydock), 106 miles - 3,303 ft total climb

Meanwhile, here are a few photos from Day 3 that I gleaned from the Deloitte RAB site. I hope Brian got a massage too; I am sure he can use one after 3 days in the saddle.

Day 3 Bath to Ludlow

Day 3 Crossing Severn Bridge

Day 3 Pit Stop 1 - Stone Norman Castle at Chepstow

Day 3 Riders Getting Massages at the End of the Day

Dispatch from Start of Day 3

Brian is riding through some beautiful English countryside. Besides the suffering (a term often used by Tour de France commentators), Brian is also enjoying some incredible views from his bicycle (I hope).

Some views from Day 2: http://www.flickr.com//photos/thresholdsportsuk/sets/72157631493155792/show/

As you can see, it was an unseasonably hot, sunny day. I think the high may have reached 80F.

I hope it was a good sleep in real beds last night in Bath University. Another wake-up call for Day 3 at 5:30 a.m. The weather looks good. Today it is 99 miles crossing the Severn Bridge into the Forest of Dean and then a long steady climb into Ludlow. I checked the Deloitte RAB site and Brian started and has finished Leg 1 of Day 3. Go Brian, go!

Another update later when Day 3 ends.

Joo Hooi Albritton

Day 2 of Ride - Update

I just heard from Brian!

"Email and wireless not working. Day was very hard. Almost had to quit today. Miracle I kept going."

Glad to hear that he is well and proud that he did not take the sweep van today. Although, as Brian's dad just told me, "There is no shame in taking the sweep van!" Keep it up, Brian!

Joo Hooi Albritton

Dispatch from Deloitte Ride Across Britain 1

This is an update on behalf of Brian from Joo Hooi since I think he is not getting access to internet and probably is so exhausted, he cannot lift another muscle! I am sorry this is not a first person account but I think it is better than nothing at all. Most of what is in this posting is from the Deloitte Ride Across Britain (Deloitte RAB) site. Check it out for yourself for more details and photos.


http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/deloitte-rab-live/

Facebook www.facebook.com/rideacrossbritain

The adventure so far...

Friday September 7
Brian took a very long 10 hour bus ride from London to meet up at Land's End with other riders at base camp. Register and set up bike ready for next day. Big meal. Access to internet not available. He texted me and told me all was well.

Saturday September 8, Day 1 of Ride -  Land's End to Okehampton, 108 Miles, 4,783 ft total climb
Riders were woken up at 5:30 a.m. Misty start but beautiful sunshine. From my vantage point here, it looked like a hard, grueling day along the Cornish Hills and it was. I was concerned and eager to see if all of Brian's training has really prepared him for the reality of the first day. He had predicted a 7-hour ride each day so I expected to hear from him sometime around noon our time. I got increasingly worried with no word after quite a long while. Finally around 3 p.m. I got a text, "Finished first day. It was brutal 9 hour ride." Wow! His rear end must be really hurting! But, glad to know he did his first day and succeeded. Good job, Brian. Proud of you.

Here are the times for Day 1 with 535 starters and 533 finishers.
http://www.racetimingsystems.com/franchised/results.aspx?raceid=2473&emanagerid=79

Here are some photos from Day 1.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/thresholdsportsuk/sets/72157631465148822/show/

Sunday September 9, Day 2 of Ride -  Okehampton to Bath, 110 miles, 4,284 ft total climb
Haven't heard from Brian yet. From the Deloitte RAB site, I see that he finished in about the same amount of time. Also, there was some encounter with sheep! 

http://p.twimg.com/A2Vzb9ACAAACw0V.jpg 

I think it was another brutal day but tonight they get to sleep in more than a tent. 

http://p.twimg.com/A2YFmQ1CcAAwtge.jpg 

Happy rest for sore muscles, Brian. 
 
Day 2 times with 542 starters and 538 finishers.
http://www.racetimingsystems.com/franchised/results.aspx?raceid=2480&emanagerid=79 

Hopefully, Brian will be able to post occasionally. Day 3 tomorrow, shorter ride but more climbs: Bath to Ludlow, 99 miles with 5,439 ft total climb. 

Joo Hooi Albritton 
 

 
 

A Day in London

Took a tour of London's central city area today.  I took the "original" Red Bus Tour.  These double decker buses are open on top and they drive in a route throughout the central city with a tour guide explaining the sites.  The beauty of this system is that you can get off at various stops, look around or go to a site, and then get back on the bus, as they come around about every 10 minutes.  Great way to see the city.  Thanks to David W. for telling me about it.

I saw the Barclays Bikes that are throughout the city.  These are bikes for hire, and lots of people rent them.  They can be dropped off at any Barclays Bike spot too.  I know other cities, such as Paris, are adopting the same idea.  The program is very successful.  Apparently, though you have to have an advanced degree to figure out how to use the machines to actually rent the bikes.  Yesterday while walking around, a woman was trying to rent a bike and asked me to help her.  After several minutes of pushing this button and that and inserting and reinserting her credit card, we gave up.  Perhaps the success of the program is attributable to its use only by Mensa members and other prodigies that can figure out how to use the rental machines.

London has some very interesting and varied architecture.  There is now the tallest building in western Europe known as "The Shard" and that roundish bullet-like building known as "The Gherkin".  Of course, one can find lots of other older buildings as well such as The Parliament Building, Westminister Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and The Tower of London.  I found a lot of smaller, more modern buildings with very unusual and stimulating architecture.

Part of my day was spent looking for a down vest.   As a native Floridian, it is cold here --colder than I thought it would be.  I became worried that I would not be warm enough out in the country, so I was walking all over trying to find such a place.  I stumbled across a store --wouldn't you know it--  across the street from Harrods.  

Tomorrow, I leave for Land's End in the early morning; I'm in for a 9 hour bus ride.

Brian Albritton
9/6/12

Here in England

I have arrived in England.   From what I had read about cycling in England, I was expecting to see a land of bike lanes.  That is not what I've observed thus far.  The roads here in the London area appear to be quite narrow, and even where there are bike lanes, they're narrow too.

You do see lots of cyclists, however.  It is by no means all road bikes either.  Instead, I see bikes of every variety and most  people using them for transportation.  Tonight, I was walking in the Hyde Park area in rush hour.  And, there was this business man (though without a jacket) riding a small fold up in traffic totally unflustered with the whooshing cars going by around him.   I see lots of others riding hybrid and mountain bikes.  Oddly enough, a number of people were riding without helmets and with ear plugs in heavy traffic.  Daredevils?  Another term comes to mind . . .

Tomorrow, I'm off for a bit of sightseeing.  

Brian Albritton
September 6, 2012

On My Way With the Help and Support of So Many

I leave this afternoon for England.  My ride begins on Saturday, but this journey I am undertaking actually began last fall, over a year ago.

I had read about the End-to-End ride for some time.  For some reason, it just captivated me:  the thought of cycling on one of the great, iconic rides, literally from one "end" of Great Britain to the other "end."  I thought about signing up, and initially thought I would not for all the "good" reasons:  how could I find the time?  It's expensive. Would I be able to get away from work?  9 century rides in 9 days is crazy!

In August of 2011, I spoke about doing the ride with my friends:  Dave, Eric, Tim, and Jeff.  "The Fellas" as my good friend and former assistant Gloria used to call them.  The Fellas were adamant and encouraging:  you must do this! Of course, their encouragement was a bit more picturesque than I'm portraying it here, as it was laced with expletives and crude analogies, essentially challenging my manhood if I didn't do it . . . but I did "feel the love" and have appreciated their support from the beginning.

I next turned to my wife, Joo Hooi, and asked her.  Being away from home and from her for two weeks was a lot to ask.  Moreover, we both knew there would be a significant expense and lots of time training  --little did we know how much!-- which was even more to ask.  Joo Hooi has been great about it, not only in beginning, but throughout these many months of training.  She has always been supportive and encouraging.  I would come home from rides, and she would ask me about them, gauging my progress.  She would worry if it looked like I might miss a training ride.  She was understanding again and again as I would leave the house on the weekends to go ride for several hours.  I simply could not have done this without her; she has shown me countless acts of love and kindness to get me ready.  I am ready because of Joo Hooi, and if I achieve this, it's because of her. 

I  also want to thank Yvette Wilmath, my strength trainer at the Y and David Ertl, my cycling coach.  Yvette worked with me for these last 7 months and helped build my strength.  I didn't have much when we first started, which is an understatement.  After hundreds of squats, lunges, lifts, pulls, etc., I'm a lot more prepared now.  We have worked out 3 days a week for these last 5 months.  David Ertl is a fabulous Level 1 cycling coach in Iowa.  I found David when I was getting worried that the training plan for my ride did not really train me for the hills.  We have been working together for 4 months, and he has just been great with his training. See his website, www.cyclesportcoaching.com   David is also a real inspiration for his support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Ride to Cure Diabetes.

And, I want to acknowledge my friends and colleagues at my work. I am blessed with so many great friends and to work with so many great people.  So many friends and colleagues have been supportive, have listened to me, encouraged me, and followed my progress as I've prepared. 

Thus, I really began the journey for this ride a year ago.  And though I've done the training, it has been anything but a solitary journey.

Brian Albritton