I'm Riding in the 2014 BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride

I'll be riding "Flame", a Pashley Mailstar

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text : MAIL49 (easy to remember as I am riding a Royal Mail bike, and I am 49 years old!)
then the amount: £1  (suggested - by all means give more!)
then the number: 70070
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Hi.
As some of you already know, I'm 49 years old, and I have worked for Royal Mail for the last 22 years in a number of roles at a number of locations.
Some of you may recognise me as one of the two postmen who serve the Buckingham Park area of the town.
A group of us (about 15) from Royal Mail Aylesbury Central (the one in the town centre) and Royal Mail Aylesbury Vale (the one near Wendover) are taking part in this ride on old Royal Mail bikes to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

I will be riding a Pashley Mailstar (as seen in the picture at the top of the page), which has 3 speeds, and weighs a little over 55 pounds (25 kilos, for the young 'uns), so the hills will be a bit of a challenge, but that's half the fun! I have christened mine "Flame", although the colour isn't really Flame Red - it is, of course, Pillar Box Red!
They are decent enough bikes, but, with only the three gears, have a smaller gear range compared to a "normal bike", as well as weighing about twice as much!

After the ride, the bikes will be returned to Royal Mail, and become part of the company's charity program to provide transport to folks in Malawi, where I am sure that they will continue to provide reliable transport with low maintenance costs for many years to come.

Heart Disease is the biggest killer in both Britain and the USA - more even than all the various cancers put together. In Britain in causes around 80 THOUSAND deaths a year, and in the USA, about HALF A MILLION deaths per year.
That's big numbers!
So, please sponsorship me for this event, which, I am sure you will agree, raises money for a VERY good cause.

P.S. A big thanks to Katya, our 11-year-old daughter, who took the picture at the head of the page of me with the bike. She also took the portrait that shows my "natural highlights" (i.e. the grey bits") so well, AND designed the flyer for me that you can see in the gallery.
And, of course, thanks to Royal Mail for lending me the bike!

Sunday Morning Exercise

Got up a bit after six this morning.
As it is already light at this time of year, I popped out for a quick cycle before breakfast.

Not too hard a ride - just an 8 mile (13 km) trip to Stone, a village just outside Aylesbury on the opposite side from where I live (I live near to Bierton).

There was a headwind all the way out, which the weather forecast says was about 17 mph (27 kph).
My route takes in the whole length of the hill on the High Street (I start down by QD), then along the cobbles of Bourbon Street, before going down Rickfords Hill and picking up the cycle path to take me over the bridge. As you leave Aylesbury, there is a slight uphill slope towards Stone, too, so it was fairly slow going there.

Of course, on the way back it was easy - a slight downhill and a tailwind to get back to Aylesbury.
There is a nice climb back up over "The Bourg Walk", too! Long enough to warm you up (particularly if taken standing on the pedals in a high-ish gear), without being so long that I run out of breath :-)

First thing in the morning on a Sunday is a great time to be out and about. There is not much traffic about, which means that more time is spent cycling, and less is spent waiting at junctions, which makes it much nicer.
Nice to get home and know I have done some useful training before breakfast - it cheers me up for the rest of the day!

Flame's Half-Hundredweight Half-Century

My hardest trip yet - riding a 25kg (55lbs) 3-speed Pashley Mailstat in the Chilterns,
The first climb is up Aston Hill, through Wendonver Woods, the second is Whiteleaf Hill,
near Princes Risborough, and the third is the climb up from the A413 towards The Lee.

I bring you my ride report from my 60.37 (37.5 miles) km ride two days ago.
I was on Flame, "my" 25kg (55 lbs) 3-speed IGH Pashley Mailstar - although with the pannier of kit, Flame must have been at 60+ lbs again.

The worst hill was the second Whiteleaf Hill, near Princes Risborough, which pushed Flame to the technical limit - I had to stand on the pedals, AND push down on them by pulling up strongly on the bars at the same time.

But then again, Flame has a lowest gear in the low 40's,