Two and a bit weeks in, another Sunday, another training ride. It’s a long, long journey to Wrynose. What was I thinking of when I dreamed up this scheme? Here’s a reminder if you’re new to the adventure…

Anyway, third Sunday: 19 miles, average speed 15.5mph. Slightly different route this week, with a different hill. Hit four sets of traffic lights, all on red. Clearly the force was not with me.

But I had done two very good training sessions on my indoor during the week…

20.9 miles, average speed 16.3mph, weight 15 stone 5lb

The same course cycled as last week, just this time on my own. Started a bit slower and finished faster; but for a lady in a Skoda cutting me up would probably have maintained the same average as last week.

But it’s not so much about speed at the moment, it’s more about little peaks of energy and recovery throughout the ride. Still, lost a pound and, although Peter Kay may not think much of that, it’s better than t’other way.

No training tonight; it’s the Rotary Club weekly meeting. I plan to use the LeMond trainer Tuesday through Friday – half an hour four days a week will make all the difference (well, it has done so far). Saturdays are usually spent walking in the Lake District followed by the weekly shop in Kendal or Keswick, with Sunday morning reserved for the bike ride.

At Pagefast we have the builders in, fitting a mezzanine floor to make room for a new guillotine and folder. With builders, electricians and Heidelberg engineers all fighting each other for the same space, it is at best controlled chaos. Nice to get out on the bike.

As a relatively new Rotarian, I felt I should begin my Wrynose campaign by including my club as my principal charity. As Rotary International is currently in partnership with Bill Gates of Microsoft fame, pledging to raise funds to rid the world of polio, it seemed a good place to start. Rotary also has other charities and initiatives, and it therefore seems appropriate that a quarter of any money raised should be donated to Rotary funds.

My second charity is Rainbow House, a children’s charity in Lancashire. Rainbow House was set up by the mother of two disabled children to help families and children with neurological disorders. We have done some print work for them at Pagefast and have also raised funds for their annual dinner programme. It would be nice to be able to help out in other ways, too, and so I’ve put them on my list.

I have a more personal interest in my third and fourth charities. My wife suffers from a neurological disorder called blepharospasm, or dystonia – involuntary spasm – of the muscles around the eyes. The only treatments are the injection of botox toxins into the muscles every three months or so or operation directly on the eye muscles, and neither is a total cure. No one knows why this condition affects some people or what starts it off. The Dystonia Society provides support for those affected by dystonia and seeks to ‘raise awareness of the condition, particularly among the medical profession, through education and the promotion of research’.

Finally, I hope to raise some money for ARC, the Arthritis Research Campaign.

I suffer from ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritis condition. Most people with the disease don’t lose much time off work or suffer in the same way that you would with, say, rheumatoid arthritis, so if you have to suffer from arthritis this is as good a type to have as any. It can still be nasty, though. When I was younger an infection triggered a chronic reaction that put me in hospital for three weeks and attacked every joint in my body. They thought I might not walk again. I was off work for 14 weeks, limped for three years, and still have relapses every three years or so. Happily, in between attacks I have been fit enough to complete two triathlons and many running and cycling events. That there was a possibility of being disabled gave me the incentive to make myself as active as possible.

In other news: The die is cast. My Greg LeMond training bike arrived today, and if the effort I expended getting it unpacked and installed in position is anything to go by, the training has already started…

First test: 20.9 miles, average speed 16.5, weight 15 stone 6lb.

John wanted to see if we could do an average speed of 17–18 miles an hour. Sorry John, I’m OK on the flat and going down hills, it’s the uphill that screws up the averages. He of course could easily have done a 20mph-plus, and as usual he made adjustments for me by allowing me to slipstream when I got puffed.

We started from Carnforth, through Millhead to Warton, left to Leighton Moss, up past the Silverdale Golf Club, past Waterslack, up past Gate Barrows then left down to Hale Moss and the A6. Crossing the road and heading towards Carnforth, taking the first left to the Station Hotel, past Holme Mills and turn right, up and across the motorway bridge and drop down to Clawthorpe. Up the hill to Burton and go as fast as we can downhill to the Priest Hutton–Borwick turn off. We meander round to Capernwray, past the diving school and up to Over Kellet. Go like the clappers dropping down to Carnforth, turn left onto North Road and back onto A6 and home to Crag Bank.

My bike computer gave the distance as 20.9 miles; it could be wrong, but it’s what I use. This was my quickest time in 12 months – and don’t I know it – but I think John wanted to see if I was serious.

Next week, I’m on my own while John’s away, I’ve told him not to over-train.

John retired as a postman from the Royal Mail a number of years ago. He is well known locally as a very good club cyclist – over many years he has been one of our region’s top amateur time trialists, and in his time has been very competitive at cyclocross and road racing.

Back in the 1960s there were a lot of cycle races held around the Lake District, and they often finished in a sprint on Morecambe promenade. John was often in the leading pack in these sprints, and although he didn’t manage to win he came close a few times. He has raced just about all his adult life, from representing the RAF while he was on national service to being veterans champion for his club in his final race year.

He packed in racing when he was 70, matching the time he achieved for his first competitive time trial from when he was in his thirties – just over 26 minutes for 10 miles.

John is obviously going to lead this Wrynose campaign – there’s no one better. He will get me and my bike in shape at the same time as putting up with all my whingeing, whining, puffing and blowing.

DEL BOY and the Trotters did ‘to Hull and Back’, but I’m planning something more difficult. ‘Wrynose or Bust’ on a bike: 100 miles in the hills of the Lake District, with a major climb up Wrynose Pass somewhere in the middle. This blog will report my progress. I shall log my successes and failures, my ups and downs, and the inevitable injuries.

One hundred up-and-down miles over Wrynose would be no big deal for your average club cyclist, but for an overweight, underfit guy (me) it is a tall order. My next-door neighbour John, who is very fit, does this ride every year, and in a mad moment and because I hit 60 next year I decided I would tag along with him. John, incidentally, is 71. We thought we’d do it sometime around May 2009, weather and courage (for my part) permitting. 
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