A 5:45am alarm clock is never a welcome disruption to some sweet sleep on a Sunday morning. But this alarm was a bit different, it was time to don my cycling gear and raise some money for the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.
Pedalling the Borders
The inaugural Pedal the Borders event promised 100km of cycling, from Aico’s futuristic offices in Oswestry out to Lake Vrynwy and back through some stunning local scenery, and it didn’t disappoint! The constantly changing weather forecast had thankfully moved on from warnings of torrential rain, and localised flooding to a classic British day of grey skies and gentle winds, which meant for perfect conditions, and a far cry from the previous week’s road melting 30°C temperatures!
Team & challenge
Our team of 4 was made up of staff, clients, and friends - Gaz Morkot (BeaverFit), Javi Hidalgo (Field Studies Council), Stew Law (our development wizard and round the world cycling hero), and myself. We were soon out of the gates and over the Welsh border to tackle the challenging 62-mile course. 15 miles in, we hit the first major hill, which was a monster with a well-placed photographer positioned at the top to catch those glorious pain faces (or not so much if you’re Stew). Soon After we dived downhill, for a beautiful (and much needed) flat, 11-mile lap of the lake, only to be met with another wall of a hill on the way out. Thankfully once we conquered that, it was pretty much downhill all the way home apart from a few minor lumps and bumps.
We did it!
It was a fantastic day with a great route, well run, well marshaled, with some amazing snacks from a small army of volunteers. But what made it even better, was that I was able to ride with a friend that after only 4 weeks since finishing his Chemo and Radiotherapy was able to smash the route. He may only have half a beard for now, but we love him for it and his amazing spirit. Javier, I doff my cap to you, sir!
To help us raise even more money for Lingen Davies please donate here.
I for one, can’t wait to be on the start line for next year’s event. For more information and to sign up, click here.
