Over seven days I have been lucky enough to be involved in three Sport Relief events: riding with Zoe Ball from Blackpool to Brighton; with Alex Jones and four mums for the One Show Mother of All Challenges and the Radio One DJ, Greg James, as he resumed his previously aborted Pedal to the Peaks. It all added up to a distance of 541 miles and a dizzying 26,713ft of ascent.
All three challenges were very different with the participants all having to dig very deep to complete, but in the process raising a lot of money and awareness for their various chosen charities. Zoe had never ridden more than 30 miles prior to day one of her challenge; by the end of that day she had more than doubled her previous best and racked up an impressive 73 miles.
The Mother of All Challenges was very different as Alex Jones joined four mums taking on a variety of challenges over a week, including a swim across Loch Ness, caving in Wales and of course a cycle around the Lake District that included the three climbs of Kirkstone, Newlands and the brutally steep Honister Pass.
The climbs nearly finished them off and on numerous occasions they had to stop as the gradients topped 25%. One of the mums later told me that she joined the challenge looking for something that would push her to the limit and at the end of the day’s cycling she feels that she had gone beyond what she had ever thought possible.
The last challenge was with Greg James, who was climbing the three highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland and cycling between each of the three. His previous attempt had seen him get as far as Moffat, but the Beast from the East had put any further progress on hold. The last part of the journey was rescheduled and I joined him in Hamilton on the final leg of his journey as he set off on a 125 mile ride to Fort William to get to the foot of Ben Nevis. Greg is no stranger to this kind of challengesand is fit and very capable of pushing himself to the limit, but even he found the going on this last part of his cycle tough.
Driving rain that soaked us through was carried in from the east on raging winds that chilled us to the bone. At times we were blown off the road and into the ditches at the edge as gusts of wind hit us side on like juggernauts. When we turned into the wind it was if an invisible giant stood in our way with the sole aim of pushing us back south. We rode on with our heads bowed, towards the mountains of Glencoe. At times a tailwind was a welcome respite and we managed to claim back some miles. Added to all of this Greg had to stop every hour to do inserts to Radio One to update listeners with his progress and also stop at Tyndrum for two hours to broadcast his live show. We started at 6.30am and at 9.30pm we rolled into Fort William, jubilant and happy it was all over.
As I rode on each of the challenges I spoke to various folk about their motivations for doing their fundraising and I told them that despite the hardships they had to endure, they were doing something that many would love to be able to do, but couldn’t due to various disabilities and illnesses. The mere act of what they were doing, fundraising aside, was inspiring others to get out and do something, whether that be for charity, or just purely for fun and getting active. Viewers would be able to watch them push themselves further than they ever thought possible and tell the tale at the other side. If you managed to watch any of Sport Relief and felt inspired to get more active, then don’t just dream about it. Get your bike out of the shed, jump on and set your own personal challenge.
Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier
Where to ride? Glasgow to Fort William
Distance 125 miles
Ascent 6,155 ft
Description: There are a couple of different ways to ride to Fort William from Glasgow. The most direct is perhaps the route along Loch Lomond-side, but this is also the the busiest with traffic. Our route took us north over the Crow Road in the Campsie Fells and towards Callendar. We then cycled through Strathyre and Glen Ogle before joing the A85 to Tyndrum then the A82 through Glen Coe and onto Fort William.
