Phil vs Nature: Fundraising for Blood Cancer

Why is Snowdonia so funny? Because it's hill areas. Not  kidding. None of it is flat. Not even the car parks. Driving in to North Wales I was struck by how steep and rocky it all is! Having never been up here it was nice to see, and I could really imagine how incredibly fun tomorrow is going to be. It's the third part of the most action packed and gratifying trilogy since Toy Story. The "Man vs..." series is coming to an end, and it's concluding with a hell of an event. "Man vs Mountain" takes on the rugged landscape of North Wales, from sea level to the summit of Snowdon. There's over 5000 feet of ascent across the 22 miles, the famous vertical kilometre, and a healthy dose of TAKE THAT  from Mother Nature. Earlier on this week Rat Race had to issue a kit update because the weather forecast had deteriorated. Low mountain temperatures, wind and rain. "Bring your waterproofs" they said. Thankfully it now just seems to be thi

Long event, longer blog. Grab a cup of tea or sit on the toilet, and settle in... This past weekend, Rat Race re-wrote the rules of the world.  Newton's famous "what goes up, must come down" was well and truly flipped on its head,  Jim Mee (the company founder) was seen at the finish line manning the pressure washers and cleaning up rubbish, and even if you haven't stopped pedalling you definitely can fall off your bicycle. The Crossing is an off-road mountain bike event that takes place across three National Parks, three days, and runs from the West coast to the East coast. It was an event I hadn't entered, not owning a mountain bike, until this man below decided he would like to take part in this challenge but didn't want to run. After he'd paid up I felt guilty enough to join him, and 3 months later I finally purchased my own place. So, James, categorically, this was all your fault. Oh he might look happy here, but thi

"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 sw