(You can read the blog I wrote after they first contacted me here)
Unexpectantly and brilliantly the team from Prostate Cancer UK featured me as the sole content for their April edition email newsletter as their guest blogger!
What a brilliant surprise and very humbling!
Below is an image of the email bulletin from Prostate Cancer UK that was sent out on Wednesday 20th April 2016, as well as the text content.
A huge thank you to Laura from Prostate Cancer UK for including me in the email bulletin
This month, we're lucky to have guest blogger Gary Trudgett take over our newsletter for a little insight into his training regime. Over to you Gary...
2016 started a little differently for me this year. Instead of a lazy day on the sofa recovering from the excesses of the previous night celebrations, I was out riding my bike on New Year’s Day.
My first training ride for the Prostate Cancer UK Football to Amsterdam event.
Now, I’m a fairly recent convert to road cycling, buying my first road bike in the spring of 2015. Although I have been a keen and enthusiastic mountain biker for the last 8 years, so the joys of two wheels has been a passion and an activity I’ve always enjoyed.
So I worked out that if I started my training on the 1st January, there would be 150 days before departure at the Olympic Stadium on the 3rd June. I needed to learn how to ride a road bike for long distances. As well as climbing hills and maintaining a good average speed to ensure I had the stamina and endurance to complete this epic event.
So riding 145 miles in two days will be a challenge, both physically and mentally as I will need to learn and adhere to new skills of riding in groups at close(ish) proximity! As my riding history is generally riding solo or off road with a couple of mates. Road cycling is a lot different from what I am used too of riding a mountain bike!
Training in January and February was challenging at times, especially with the wind and rain, plus the cold spell. But with each ride I feel I am improving both my fitness and confidence in my bike handling skills. Learning new things with every ride, from what clothing to wear, to gearing and cadence, to how to plan rides so I can most out of them as I can only commit to riding twice a week.
Aside from the training, the other most important aspect was fundraising and donations. To help I created a blog, a Facebook page, started tweeting specifically about the ride and posted a few images on Instagram. Plus I sent a few emails to the football club I will be representing on the ride, AFC Bournemouth.
The great news was that AFC Bournemouth really wanted to support and help promote me and my participation in the ride. With the added bonus of Scotland international and fans favourite player Matt Ritchie personally endorsing me. Matt who is a very keen cyclist himself and even has his own range of cycling kit on sale in the club shop! I’ve written a number of blog posts about Matt and AFC Bournemouth’s fantastic initial and ongoing support. You can read my blog here.
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