Day 1: Edinburgh - Morpeth

Happy to report that the team have all arrived in Morpeth and we are delighted to be here after an eventful day on the bike.

A puncture and an incident with the tram tracks hindered progress before we even got beyond Princes Street this morning. Grateful to be leaving Edinburgh behind us we fought through the mist and headed for the border but not before a snapped rear derailleur cable and another puncture. After some make shift repairs by our chief mechanic Andy, we were back on the road.

The group were delighted to arrive at Cafe Maelmin albeit for a slightly later than planned lunch. The remaining 36 miles to Morpeth was tidy and thankfully incident free.

At the time of writing we have just finished a slap up meal, the odd beer and even some birthday cake at the Black and Grey, Morpeth.

A special mention to our support crew today. They picked up spares, kept us fed and watered and even had our bags waiting for us on arrival in Morpeth

So 100 miles down 340 to go. Thankfully we will have the company of some Faulker Brown architects tomorrow to lead us out of Morpeth.    

Also would like to thank everyone who has sponsored us so far . . . we have now raised a total of £4,629.07!

Skinny convert

Michael Jarvis is a man who likes a challenge. GIA Past President, Michael only purchased his first road bike last year and has been more used to the fat tyres of his mountain bikes. Our first 55 mile training ride was the furthest Michael had ever cycled in a single ride, that was until our second training ride a week later when we covered 90 miles. 

Michael has now officially got 'the bug' and is another convert from fat to skinny! (in reference to tyre choice of course!). 

He tells us of his commitment to a strict training plan;     

After 11 weeks of training I learnt tonight the feeling of 'hitting the wall'. I have been training as hard as I can for the last 3 weeks, even going to the extreme of hiring a bike for a very early morning ride on a birthday weekend to Kent. 

Over the last 3 weeks, I have managed to complete my circuit around the Campsies 8 times (4 of those in the last 6 days!). Every time I get to the bottom of the Tak, I wonder what I am doing there again, but after 25 minutes - when you are approaching the summit - you realise there are very few better views in this beautiful country and tonight was no exception. After 2 sessions yesterday I headed home early today thinking a quick circuit would be just the thing, that was until I got about 3/4 of the way up the return leg of the 'Crow Road' - it was at this point I thought I was about to start rolling backwards……………………. Luckily I managed to eat nearly a full energy bar and finish off my water, this plus the fact that I knew I was on the homeward leg of my circuit pushed me over the top and I limped home with what felt like 2 lead balloons attached to my thighs.  

Only 10 days to go to the big day, oh and 9 to the other one but who's counting!

Fundraising

www.justgiving.com/RIAStoRIBA

GIA 

www.gia.org.uk

Event Sponsors

www.gerflor.co.uk

More blogging, less training!

Every minute of sunshine is exploited by cyclists in Scotland, and the never ending summer of 2014 has allowed our team to rack up a significant amount of training miles. However with every spare minute being spent in the saddle our blogs have not been as frequent as we would have liked. Apologies. 

So a few updates since our last entry; 

- Firstly the team would like to thank everyone who has donated to ABS so far. We have received some very generous donations which has taken us beyond our fundraising target one week before we set off for London. Donations can still be made at www.justgiving.com/RIAStoRIBA 

- We would also like to thank RYDER Architecture who have very kindly agreed to provide support to the riders during the trip in addition to our other sponsors Gerflor and MYB Textiles.  

- The second group ride covered 90 miles through the best of the Trossachs National Park, the infamous climbs of Tak Me Doon Road (Kilsyth) and Dukes Pass (Aberfoyle) were conquered by all. Our planned lunch stop on the banks of Loch Lubnaig wasn't to be due to a wedding, so we had to settle for coffee and cakes in Aberfoyle.    

- Team kit has been ordered so we will at least look professional as we roll out of Rutland Square. 

So with only 10 days to go I can only hope that this continued area of high pressure lingering over the UK stays around for a bit longer!

Stuart Gray delighted to be back in Glasgow after 2 years in Aberdeen