Rhythm is the dancer!
I wish that was the case, sadly the only thing that does not seem to have rhtythm is my heart. The correct term is atrial fibrillation,...
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MY JOURNEY TO REMEMBER.
To make them proud.
Sadly I have seen to closely the effects of cancer on a family and having watched both parents give a good attempt at kicking cancers arse and sadly loosing I want to make them both proud by taking on another cycling challenge.
I have very fond memories of getting my first road bike which mum and dad bought me. Then after joining Ballymena Road Club they agreed to upgrading my wheels to a set of Mavic Tubulars. And boy do I miss those wheels.
So I have signed up for another crazy challenge, this time the Dragon Ride. If you have seen the Dragon Ride then you will know that there are a number of different distances. The one I have signed up for is the Dragon Devil, it going to be a serious shift on the bike. total distance is 183 miles with 15138 feet of climbing. It is bit a longer that the Fred Whitton and a bit smaller than the previous Malin to Mizen, however I think you will agree the distance and climbing is a serious bit of riding. This event is known as the most difficult sportive in the UK.
This site and the linked Facebook page are about my journey from when I decided to when I completed and everything cycling related in between.
I'm fundraising for Macmillan & I'd love your support! Hit the buttonbelow to sponsor me today. Thanks.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN.
I am not quite sure when my love of bikes began but it all started with the first bike I learned to ride on. It was before the birth of BMX or Mountain bikes etc. Yes, before you say anything, I am a forty-something (at least for another while) male who likes to ride road bikes and as my mother highlighted once I fall into the new category of being a MAMIL.
I remember not actually riding that bike but instead running with it around where we lived. I would hold the handle bars and run along pushing the bike thinking I was great. and then one day I jumped on it at the top of the drive at the back of the house and just pushed off and managed a few meters. That was the start and it just seemed to click.
I went from there to just gradually getting better and better at riding and then it allowed me to travel further and further afield increasing my ability to explore more and more of the area that I lived. I realised that I could get all around the estate we lived in and the neighboring ones in no time at all.
The journey continued and involved lots of different things from BMX’s to my first road bike when I was 14. I joined Ballymena Road Club as a schoolboy rider and that was the start of my real passion for road cycling. Suddenly, I went from doing very little to riding nearly 10 miles every evening and then longer at the weekend on the club rides. I have very fond memories of those days and the supportive all-inclusive nature of the people at Ballymena Road Club. They helped you and made sure you were able to stick with the bunch even if it meant giving you a helpful push up some of the hills.
It was then after that I competed in my first road races and Time Trials (TT). It is now some 31 years later that I am back pushing myself and trying to find a challenge that I know will make one of the biggest supporters of mine at the time my dad. Hence you will find some posts on my Facebook page that is linked to this challenge follow the link https://www.facebook.com/tomakethemproud/.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I know I will be taking part in this journey.
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