Just an update...

I think in the last post we may have got a bit carried away. The fact that we actually did a cycle without dying, and overtook some people out for a leisurely cycle led us to claim 'we're getting there', which is a little wide of the mark perhaps. Since then, I have been on holiday so haven't cycled much, it turns out Amy's bike it too small and she can't cycle, and far too many cookies have been consumed. The result of this is probably worse fitness than a few weeks ago, and the realisation that so far, in now almost a few months training, around 90 miles have been cycled, some way short of the total near 200 miles we're aiming for... still some way off!

We are getting there...!

Firstly, we potentially have a new team member! Michael joined us for our Saturday ride today and is hopefully going to be coming to Paris with us! We nearly have enough people for a peloton..!
We repeated last weeks 20 mile ride and miraculously, our fitness levels have soared over the last week of training! We maintained a steady but decent pace for the entire journey, and improved on last weeks time by over 45 minutes! We were even overtaking other cyclists as we went! And when we arrived back in Hertford we still felt like there was still something left in the tank!

Despite us each having several near misses with falling in the canal, I think we could be as bold as to say that today may have been a success...!

Good news! (followed immediately by some bad...)

The good news - Jamie has a bike! Amy found an old road bike in her garage and spent hours getting covered in oil so that we could attempt the 20 mile round trip to Broxbourne, which we also managed, further than either of us have ever cycled before!
However, we've discovered just how unfit we are as we struggle to stand after finishing, as the wind decided to drive in our face the whole way back, and we watched better cyclists disappear into the distance.
Still, we have two working bikes and have done an actual training ride!

Day 1 - Take Two

7am - cold, tired, icy; perfect conditions for our first day of training. We decided that this week snow would be no obstacle so set off on a planned 20 mile round trip to Broxbourne along the Lea Valley tow path. However, we soon realised that the combination of the heavy child-size mountain bike, the treacherously icy surface and general lack of stamina may be a slight problem. Instead we (somehow) managed 10 miles to Stansted Lock, even speeding up as we went along!
We've realised that Paris is actually quite a long way away and we are pretty much incompetent and useless, but we are still going to give it a go!
Bring on day two...?

First day of training...

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that its been snowing. The plan was to get underway with around 20 miles starting early this morning, but weather put pay to this. So, as anyone else would, we made a snow cat instead. We're on our way.

Hertford to Paris, 3 days. Simple, Right?

What better way to celebrate your A-level results than a weekend in Paris? Or, if you're us, subjecting yourself to a three day cycle in order to get there. Never mind that one half of us doesn't own a bike, has zero sense of direction, a knack for ending up in hospital when on holiday (naming no names) and both of us combined aren't exactly in peak physical condition, we are convinced that this is a fantastic idea.

Whilst this will inevitably be an extremely enjoyable experience, we don't plan to do it for nothing. With your help, we are hoping to collect sponsorships to try and raise as much money as possible to help our chosen charity, Cancer Research UK.

We have set up this blog to prove to all of those who don't think we are quite up for this, that we are going to take this very seriously and hopefully reach Paris by the end of the year! We will be setting up accounts on JustGiving.com soon and will appreciate any support we get!

Amy + Jamie