Thanks for the support far!
We're now in the final stage of the training and also the final stage of getting sponsorship. We have a lot of people to thank. Firstly Planet PC (my work) and Magnitude (Alex’s work), both who have donated generously. Alex and I would also like to thank all of our friends who have donated and left such lovely comments! (Except Bryn =) ) I know that there are a few more sponsorship cheques in the pipeline so I’m sure we will hit our target.
There are only 2 weeks left now and I feel we are ready, but I am a little worried about how the climate out there is going to affect us. I went out to South Africa in August (their winter) and it was hot then so I hate to think what it will be like in November (almost their summer). Whatever happens I’m sure we will come back with a good tan.
Well I can’t write much more as I have to prepare myself for a short 60km cycle ride to Malham. So with my ipod updated with the last Mark Kermode film review and Chris Moyles podcast’s to keep my mind away from thinking about the pain, I’m ready!
Posted by Mat
The countdown has begun
It just seems like yesterday that November
the 5th was a mere date a fair few
pages on in my diary....but how time
flies eh? We now leave in about 2
weeks time! Over the last month training
has been going well, albeit tough
to try and stay motivated at times,
especially with the crap weather closing
in and the nights getting longer,
but hopefully the perseverence will
pay off. We're still both unsure of
just exactly how physically demanding
the trip is likely to be, and whether
we're ast a suitable fitness level,
but I suppose only time will tell
now. Obviously, all our friends being
convinced we're going to die out there
and already forming a queue for our
belongings doesn`t really fill us
with confidence, but what are friends
for eh?
I'm in the process of trying to get the gallery software updated so that we can mms pics from the trip live to the website. it's encountered a few teething problems, but hopefully nothing that can't be fixed in the next week or so, so add us to your bookmarks NOW!!!
Posted by Alex
Off to the Dales
Apologies
to those who read this site from time
to time for the lack of recent updates.
Sometimes there aren`t enough hours
in the day for the 9-5 job, training,
raising sponsorship and keeping
the website updated! But I've got
a bit of quiet time this morning,
so thought I'd update. Things are
still moving along nicely with the
training, and whilst distance is increasing,
the pain is decreasing which isn`t
a bad thing!! We're loading the bikes
onto the car this afternoon and going
off to stay up in the dales overnight,
coming back tomorrow lunchtime. Should
be a chance to get a fair amount of
cycling done, and also get some nice
shots for another gallery too.
Next weekend we're down in Kensington, London as well, for the first trip meeting, where we'll get to meet everyone else going for the first time! Should be superb! I really have no idea what to expect as to sex split, age range etc. so we 'll just have to wait and see! If anyone else going on the trip ever comes across this site, drop us an e-mail and say hi, it'd be great to hear from you!
Posted by Alex
Preparing for the heat
One of our main concerns for the trip is that however much training we get done over this side of the world, and however ‘ready’ we may feel – what kind of effect the heat is going to have on our general fitness and stamina once we get to Africa. Luckily, as we're currently experiencing what is probably the hottest British summer in years, it’s given us a much better indication as to the ‘heat effect’ - with our conclusion being that it’s going to make things bloody hard, sweaty and generally uncomfortable, whilst also making us aware of the importance of keeping hydrated! We’ll just have to pray that Africa get’s ‘gifted’ with a standard British winter this year.....fat chance.
Posted by Alex
A brand spanking new sponsor!
For those of you who like to keep an eye on our progress from time to time through this site, you may have noticed we’ve got some new graphics splashed around to give some exposure to our latest sponsors - Jewelboxing.com. Many thanks to Jim for his generous donation and the support! For those of you designers out there (and there are bound to be a fair few of you toddling over from the likes of Stylegala and cssimport!) Why not add that extra little bit of elegance to your work, pitches and presentations by heading over to the Jewelboxing site and grabbing yourselves some of their sexy CD cases - guaranteed to be the the icing on top of any presentation cake!
Posted by Mat
A nice break
Not really a cycling entry, but all cycling and no play makes Alex a dull boy (or something..) so off I went to go and see Coldplay in beautiful Bolton. Headed down with Rich, Oli and Sinny (or Chris Jaaaaaaaaames Sinclair if you're posh). Got there about 7-ish, just in time to catch the supprting band Elbow, who seemed good enough, with Coldplay gracing the stage about 9-ish. Now, I have to be honest, I'm not really much of a Coldplay fan, prefering the like of the Kaiser Chiefs, Bravery, Meatloaf (haha) etc. but the gig was superb in all fairness, and everyone was well in the mood for it, despite it pissing down (especially the 2 guys in front of us, who we're in un-naturally high spirits....say no more) Again, I'll add some pics to the gallery, hopefully tonight.
Everything wrapped up at about 11.10, so, trying to be clever we all legged it back to the car to beat the traffic.....2 HOURS LATER we got out of the car park! It was hectic! But we did manage to make friends with a few people, cause some road rage, and stuff our faces with pink panther wafers, baby food (well if Robocop can do it, so can we) and pork pies from the nearby ASDA. Big thanks to Burger King too! Ended up getting home at 2.30am. Absolutely shattered! Superb all in all though!
» Click here to view some photos
» Click here to view a short video of the concert
Posted by Alex
Why did God create nettles?
.....so that whenever I fall off there can be a huge patch of them right in my path. Cheers....
Went on a pretty arduous ride this Sunday, made worse by not getting to bed till 4am on Saturday night. Even so, I dragged myself out at 9am, got the bike out and 'wobbled' over to Andy's house. From here we went to his mate Jim's in good old Chapel Allerton, then onwards to Hebden Bridge (I might retire here)to meet up with the rest of Andy's mates (Andy #2, Martin and Dave). After getting a few nutra-grain , paracetemol and bottles of water down me from the local co-op, I felt as good as new and my eyesight has almost fully restored....hmmmmm. So off we went. The ride itself was great, taking us right out into the countryside and across the top of the moors. I'll upload some photos to the gallery soon. The first half of the ride was very much uphill with some tight trails across the moors, where I nearly lost my bike a couple of times in swamp like ground.
On the way back there were some really technical downhill sections which we're superb - well, until I went head first over my handlebars down some rocks and landed in the afore-mentioned nettles. Cheers to the guy who came out of his house to check I was ok :) Nothing a few doc leaves and ibuprofen can't solve!. Ended the ride with a much need Stella then hobbled home to bed. So much for Sunday's being the day of rest eh?!
Posted by Alex
God ol' British summer at last!
Well it's been a hectic couple of
weeks! Weather has been absolutely
glorious, even up North, so we've
managed to get out on the bikes a
fair bit in between compulsory frisbee
and disposable bbq's in the park!
whilst also getting though a few
gallons of soltan. Went out tonight
after work with mate Andy (our new
self-appointed 'trainer') on a new
route and it was superb - a good mix
of off road sections, rugged terrain
and some nice descents. We're off
on the same track tomorrow armed with
the cameras so expect an upgate to
the gallery in the next few days!
As far as sponsorship goes we've now broken £1,500 which is great news, but there's still a long way to go. I'll be sending out a few letters over the next week to various companies, and am especially looking to maybe get some kind of deal struck up with a cycle shop (even just to give me some tips on bike maintenance!) - as I think I'm going to have to sell my left kidney to buy all the kit that people say we're likely to need (but I do think i'd look quite hot in some nice padded lycra shorts!)
Posted by Alex
Progress!
Well about 3 weeks into the 'proper' training and I already feel a lot
healthier. I think I've done pretty
well - I've really cut down on the
booze (except the weekends) and have
been training 3-4 times a week. I
must say setting up the Dreamcast in
front of the exercise bike has been
key, especially in these early stages,
as it's something to keep me going
through the pain! We recently re-did
the first ride we ever went on, and
we can now do it with ease, so we
are making progress!
Posted by Mat
Just wanted to say a big thankyou to Carole Guevin over at Netdiver for the exposure too. Much appreciated!
Posted by Alex
Bye bye belly!
A couple of weeks into training and
I can almost see my feet again! Ok,
maybe a slight exaggeration, but I've
definately lost some of that '2am
kebab chub'. Also feeling much
healthier generally. People say that
drinking lots of water really helps
flush your system and gives you more
energy, and I think I'm a believer,
even though everyone at work thinks
I've got bladder problems! Anyone
got any contacts at POW
WOW?
One of the water things would fit
in just fine in the basement gym,
and maybe I'd start looking as cheery
as the guys on their homepage!
Posted by Alex
Things are going well!
Well, the site has only been up a couple of days, and we've already broken the £1,000 sponsorship barrier! It's been great how much support people are giving us through donations and exposure of the website (thanks to the guys at stylegala and netdiver for the listing!). We've even had a few donations from people who don't even know us, but have just been compelled to help out which I find quite amazing!
Remember, you can keep track of our sponsorship total and also donate (safely and securely I'd like to add!) through the justgiving website at www.justgiving.com/stormtothecape.
Posted by Alex
First donation arrives!
Yep, stop the press, we've got our first donation in! Thanks Tim! Much appreciated. Only £9,980 to go now, we're nearly there!.....well.....sort of :)
Posted by Alex
Thumbs up to Morrisons!
Was planning on getting out on the
bikes today, but as is often the case
'Up Norf' the weather was
awful, so I had to be content with
the exercise bike. Did a short 10k
ride, then had a good pasta feed.
Compliments to Morrisons on their
fresh pasta, it's superb! (reason
34 apparently). Also put
the finishing touches to this site,
and drafted up a few sponsorship letters.
Wonder who'll be the first to donate.
Oh the excitement!
Posted by Alex
And so it all begins
Went biking for three hours today with Hayley and Mat. Christ my arse hurts. Also, to make things worse, Hayley was generally much fitter than both of us, and led pretty much all the way, haha. We let her win of course *ahem*. You can see some pics in the gallery section.
Posted by Alex
