The Crossing (of Doom)

"That's right James, it's 3 whole days.

The first day is pretty much all uphill, and deemed to be expert skill level. And we might be on the bike for over 10 hours."

If that face doesn't inspire a donation, what will?

Just like that the next big challenge is here.

Mountain biking across the UK, so you're sat down. Easy right? Well, not according to my route planner!

Three days, coast to coast, from Whitehaven to Scarborough.

200 miles, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, the North Yorkshire Moors, and a bollock load of hills.

We've made it out on a couple of training rides for this, and when I say a couple, I mean just that. Two.

Though James might have done a third one when my back was turned, and Simpson might have been spinning twice a day, 6 days a week for several months, I have been focusing firmly on everything apart from riding a bike.

So when we made it up the Malvern Hills this week in glorious sunshine, trekking for a sweaty hour before all declaring ourselves "knackered", our post ride debrief over a pint consisted of getting extremely nervous about what we're letting ourselves in for taking this one on.

The results from last year suggest an average finishing time of somewhere between 25 and 30 hours across a mind-blowingly arse numbing 3 days.

It's going to be astonishingly uncomfortable.

James, Simpson (alas, not in the pictures!) and I will be heading up North with our (hopefully) trusty steeds, and a back up in the van, cycling for hours, camping overnight and getting up early the next day to do it all again. We're very grateful to have the support from our van driver Helen who is kindly chaperoning us across the country and meeting us at the campsites at the end of each day.

I accidentally let it slip that the steepest upwards gradient we face on day 1 is 27%. Just after we'd carried our bikes up one part of the Hills we were out on this week. Judging by Emma's face in this, she's extremely please that she isn't joining us!

This week it's final checks, van to be loaded, bags to be packed, helmets and bikes safely secured.

Next week it'll be undercarriages doused in chamois cream, nether-regions sufficiently padded, water bladders full, and off we go to try and stay friends on the Crossing of Doom!

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