How it ended

Aaron's lap was the last for the team. There wasn't time for me to do another and to be honest I'd done more than I'd expected based on the training I'd put in and was happy my knee had held out.

The course was longer than before and was much tougher. My body and my bike had taken a lot of abuse. I'd ridden just under 8 hours with only about 1 hours sleep.

We packed up and left about midday. It took about 5 1/2 hours to get home including a quick food stop and a 30 minute power nap at Reading services.

Photo's and more info to follow as the Blogpress app I'm using errors when uploading images :(

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Aaron goes out again

When I got back Aaron was fired up and ready to go. He headed out around 9:15 looking positive.


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Aaron's awake and another lap

Aaron did get up eventually at around 7am.

He wasn't ready to go out so at 7:35 I set off for another lap.

The course was very quiet which made it hard as there was nobody to share the pain of the big claim.

I put in another 1:25 which I was happy with at this stage.

I now ache everywhere. To course is tough and the terrain punishing.

I feel battered and bruised. Not sure I want to do another lap although am sure I could do one if I decided to.

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Breakfast and sleepy head

It's 6am and the stove's on for a pot noodle breakfast.

I'm try hard to get Aaron out of his sleeping bag and on bike but without success at the moment :(

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Short lay down and night lap 2

After a trip to the catering tent for pasta Aaron decided to wait until daylight before going out again.

We hit the sack about 12:30. I set my alarm for 2:45 but didn't sleep much as it was so cold. I eventually got out of my sleeping bag around 3:15.

After stumbling around in the dark, changing batteries on the lights and much faffing I headed out at 4:00 and did another 1:25 night lap. By the time I got back there was an amazing sunrise which was almost worth getting up for alone.


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1st night lap complete

I went out about 9:30 and got back at 10:55. Only 5 minutes slower than my last lap which is a big boost.

The technical stuff is really tough in the dark.

The bar light went into limp home mode after 10 mins which was a pain but the main head torch lasted until I entered the main arena. I had spare battery packs but couldn't be bothered to change them.

Aaron is feeling better now but seems to have sewn himself into his sleeping bag.

My stomach is churning away at the moment. I'm going to try to drink and eat something and have a lie down for a while :(


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Dark is looming

It's nearly 21:00 and it's starting to get dark.

The lights are prepped, spare batteries packed and I'll be heading out soon on the first night lap.

We're both a bit nervous about this as the course is very challenging. I'll be taking it easy to make sure I come back in one piece.

We had a reality check 15 minutes into lap 1 when a guy crashed not far in front of me and was out cold. I really must sort my first aid training out as I was no use to anyone.

A call was made to the emergency satphone. A few minutes later I saw the air ambulance fly over. I hope he was ok.


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Aaron's 2nd lap and getting colder

The sun's gone in, the wind's picked up and the temperature had plummeted. It feels cold now :(

Aaron's been out for his 2nd lap and came back in 1:20. Our lap times are identical at the moment which is a bit freaky to be honest!!!

Aaron has been suffering from stomach cramps so is resting and sipping water.

Energy food and drinks are not kind on the stomach. He should be fine soon.

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Second lap hurt

Around 15:20 I headed out for my 2nd lap which was hard even when fueled by chilli jacket :(

I got back 1:20 later. The big climb was painful.

We rested, try to get food which wasn't on until 18:00! The pasta was ok but took a while before Aaron was ready to go out.


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Relaxed a bit

When aaron got back we had a short break and listened to the footie to hear Man U win the league boo!!!!!


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Late lunch

While Aaron was out I tried to fire up his gas stove for a pot noodle feast but failed to get it started so headed to the catering facilities for a very nice chilli jacket :)


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Aaron's get in his first lap

Aaron set off on his first lap before 14:00 and completed in a near identical 1:15 without any major problems other than being exhausted when he got back.

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The start

We missed the riders briefing which must have changed times but know the ropes so got by.

It was my turn to start for Flatlanders so lined up in good time.

At 12:00 we set off in sunshine and cloud but no rain!

Aaron has some video of my crawling over the line in the pack which I'll post when I can.

The course has changed a fair bit this year for the 10th anniversary and has made it about 15 minutes longer plus more technical and challenging.

Highlights include a boulder field climb, a stream crossing, an extremely challenging climb that goes on for about 20 minutes and hurts! plus a bog section which is already bearly ridable!

It's much more fund to ride but takes longer and uses more energy. After the first lap I'm already worried about the night laps :(

I took my time and finished in about 1:15 which for me is respectable.

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Freak tent attack causes injury

I'd like to say that I crashed whilst tackling an extreme downhill section but it was down to a tensioned tent pole breaking free and hitting my leg. A big bruise the size of a golf ball (and I'm not exadurating much) popped up within minutes on my shin.

Considering the pain I didn't swear too much :(

Pictures to follow when it's come out properly and look more impressive!




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Arrived and tent up in record time

Tent was up and ready before by about 9:30 which is record time.

We must be getting better at this!

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Early breakfast and the sun is shining!

Didn't get that much sleep but it's dry and the sun is shining.

Going down for breakfast :)


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Made it as far as Cheddar but very late

Had a clear drive down but forgot how far it was !!

Usually I pick up Aaron on the way which breaks up the journey but we've just done 4 hours straight with a 10 minute fuel stop arriving at 23:45 :(

No time for beer and curry this year!

The B&B seems find but am still wired from the drive. Plan to get up at 6:45 for breakfast. We would have preferred a nice long sleep in preparation. Still we can sleep properly Sunday night :(

On the plus side it's not raining and we've got 24 hours of mountain biking and camping in front of us tomorrow. Plus we hope to raise a shed load of money for a good cause along the way.

Thanks to everyone who's sponsored me and here's the link for anyone who wants to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GaryKilby

If I can get a signal then I hope to post updates over the weekend. In the mean time it's 00:30 so goodnight !

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Rider no. 84

I've got my race number through. No 84 and riding for our team Flatlanders with Aaron.

Just been to the home of one of my work mates to meet his wife and daughter.

Had a great evening and some amazing Indian food. I tried not to eat too much but couldn't resist !

Going to lay done and wait for it to digest :(


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Enjoying a rest day

On the wind down to the weekend that involves no riding or gym work :)

Also trying not to eat too much which is a challenge when staying away !


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Lights shakedown and it's scary at night

I knew I shouldn't have done my lighting shakedown ride after visiting the Dinosaur Adventure Park.

Riding in the forest in the pitch black on your own is scary enough without imagining every noise is a Raptor or T-Rex !!!!!

The lights are working well although I only tried them for about 25 minutes. I've got a batch of new batteries that need to go through a handful of charging cycles before CLIC24 kicks off.

During the event we'll be charging the batteries via a 12v power pack, a bit of car power and maybe even a generator.

The bar mount and helmet mount combo in the picture should keep us going through the night with a bit of luck.

Night riding is totally different from riding during the day. Even with good lights shadows are thrown over everything. Your senses are hightened as you have to react to stuff much faster and much of which you cannot see !

By the time sun rises around 5am you feel like you've died and gone to heaven as you can actually see properly again. Still another 7 hours to go though :(

Last training ride in Richmond Park

My training is coming to an end. On Friday 6th May I did my last training loop from Brentford taking in Richmond Park. It would be sad to think that I'll never go back. Once the dust has settled after next weekend I think I'll take the car there a couple of times a week for a run.

So for the weekend we have a big day out for Lukes birthday on Saturday and a busy day planned for Sunday. I hope to get a ride in on Sunday of some sort and a shake down ride for the lights (at night obviously !!).

Easter holiday catch up

I got a few more light training rides in with my young son. He only learnt to ride his bike a few weeks ago but wants to go out every day. We've been out for an hour or so a day over the last weekend.

Since returning to work yesterday, I've done a 30 minute session in the gym last night and my standard 15 mile training loop this morning. I plan to continue this for the rest of the week.

I hope to get a couple of hours in on Sunday then wind down next week for the event.

My knee's holding up OK although is definately not a strong as the other. I'm icing after each session and so far have not had much swelling. A rest next week should help it settle down.

It's getting really close now but I now have a tent and all the equipment I need. I'm struggling to get roof bars at the moment though :(

A few days out of the saddle but not resting !

I've been busy over the last few days at home.

I've moved a fresh air blower from one room to another which took the best part of a day as well as lots of hammering, drilling, chiseling, etc.

I've also spent a day working on my car as well as another with my parents taking in a fairly long walk.

The DIY day caused my knee to flare up again :( It's nearly settled down again. I'm going to try to get out on my bike tomorrow to see how it reacts. As I've said before, my knee is now my biggest cause for concern. Although, cycling doesn't seem to do it much harm.

After the event I'm going to have to give it a good rest and work on some stretches and strength building. Otherwise it'll be back to the hospital :(

Off-roading and finishing with the beast!

For the first time in a couple of months I got in a proper off-road training session.

I rode for about 90 minutes and got a reminder of how tough single track is compared to road work.

2.5 weeks to go and as I said yesterday, I'm worried now that I'm not in the shape needed to do the event properly.

Maybe I'll feel stronger in a weeks time.


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Away with the family so a session in the gym

Been away with the family since Sunday's long road ride.

So I dragged myself out of bed early this morning for a session in the very nice hotel gym.

However I wish I'd stayed in bed! I had a really tough 50 minute workout on the exercise bike :(

The machine knew my age, weight, heart rate, etc but didn't give me an easy ride. I was completely done in at the end of the session. I don't know how I can be ready in just a couple of weeks :(

Back home and hope to get out again in the morning.

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Totally unprepared for the big weekend

Work has been absolutely insane since I've switched jobs. I'm literally working all the time. I'm try to get this under control but it's affected my training and my preparation.

We've got no pre-race B&B, the camping equipment needs sorting, my mountain bike is covered in dust, we've done no night training, not dug the lights out of the boxes from last year and more. I really to need free up some time to get organised!

I've got next week off so really need to make an effort !!

Back on two wheel, loads of parrots and knee's getting better

I started training again this week and have been out for the last two mornings. Both times following the same route. Stats here.

My knee is not feeling too bad. I'm keeping it strapped during the day and icing it after each ride. So far it's holding out fine but still doesn't feel back to normal. I'm planning to slowly add pace and effort so as not to risk an injury. I'm disappointed that it's playing up though. Only another four weeks to go so I'm not going to be in great shape for the event.

I can't finish without mentioning the parrots ! I know I've commented before on them being in Richmond Park but now the sun's out there are more than I believed possible. Yesterday there must have been about 20 of them on the road in front of me. They moved at the last minute so I was riding through them as they took off. I've seen loads more too. Amazing, who would have thought it in the UK ?!!

I'm going to try to get up in the morning for the same loop again then go out with my son on Friday. He's only just learnt to ride his bike and loves it :)

Knee checked and getting better

Yesterday I was starting to get concerned that my knee had stopped getting better.

So I took a couple of hours out of work to head to Hounslow NHS walk in centre to get it checked out.

After an hour and a half wait I got to see a doctor who gave me a thorough going over. She says the knee seems stable and there's no ligament, tendon or cartlidge damage which is a huge relief.

She suggested a support, ibuprofen, light exercise and patience. The latter I'm not good at when it comes to recovering from injuries!

So I'm still not training. If I rest I should get 3 or 4 weeks training in. If I push too early I could do more serious damage and risk not even making it to the start line plus any other unpleasant consequences :(

Roll on next week and hopefully a repaired knee !



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New week, old problem

Started to get worried now. One week on and my knee's not fixed. Slowly getting better but not strong enough to train on.

Only about 5 weeks to go and I'm so far out of shape I'm starting to get concerned now.

Riding round the clock including night laps seems unlikely at the moment.

I'm going to try to rest for another week. If that doesn't work then I'm going to need it looking at :(


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Poorly knee :(

Training is going really badly this year.

I twisted my knee at the weekend at the beech and my knee has swollen up. Walking was painful yesterday and my knee feels tight.

I got up early to train this morning but my knee's still not right. So I'm giving it a rest :(

Not many weeks to go. This is bad timing :(


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New week new pedals

New pedals are fitted as the old ones were not serviceable.

I'm having no luck getting into apartments at the moment so am stuck in a hotel this week. Makes training more of a pain as I can't store my bike in my room, get showered, changed and breakfasted without going to the restaurant, etc.

Location is not ideal either as I'll be in Brentford where it's harder to train as the roads are busy and there are junctions every few hundred metres.

I'm sure I'll sort something out. At least I won't be breaking my body by running :)


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More running :(

Did another 2.5 miles on Thursday and had a rest today. Legs still sore but not as bad as they were.

Planning to take my bike back down to London next week so should be back in the saddle soon.

May get out on my bike at the weekend or do another run.

Running hurts

OK I said yesterday that I hadn't run for a while. It really hit home today how out of shape I am!

My thighs and quads still hurt this morning. I went for a 2.5 mile run and it was very uncomfortable. Every muscle in my legs felt like it was screaming at me to stop.

This evening I feel about the same as I did yesterday. Getting up, sitting down, walking, stairs, anything really just hurts.

I'm not sure this is the best preparation for cycling round the clock but it can't do any harm.

I'm sure exercise didn't used to hurt this much :(

Looking forward to another run in the morning........not!

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Running instead !

No time to ride the bike today so went for a 3 mile run instead.

This was my first run for about a year and really hurt ! Not going to have much time all week so plan to run more if my legs can take it :)


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Training in the sunshine - Happy days !!

This morning's ride topped the week off nicely.

The weather was good, nobody tried to run me down, the sun was shining and the scenery was great.

Here's a picture of the wildlife to end the week on.

Ride stats

Parrots, Pain and Stats

Firstly let's get the parrots out of the way. The other week I was sure I saw a green parrot in Richmond Park. I was very tired so doubted what I'd seen.

Today two green parrots flew over my head as I rode along. A quick Google shows they set up home there about 10 years ago. Amazing. They must be pretty hardy to survive all year round.

Todays ride was the third in a row and I've been doing a 9 mile round trip to the office each day. So, my legs are starting to ache a bit. Looking forward to getting another ride out of the way in the morning then giving them a rest.

Finally, there's the stats !! Ages ago I downloaded RunKeeper Pro for my iPhone but never used it until today. It tracks your training session using GPS for running, cycling, etc.

Well I'm blown away. It's really easy to use. Just tell it what you're doing and press Start then Stop when your done. Easy. If you set up an account it uploads your activity to their web site and will post to Facebook and Twitter too if you want it to.

You get a break down of your work out, graphs galore, a Google map of your route, sector splits, height climbed, calories burnt, the lot. Check out this link for my ride today. The map is hidden so everyone on the planet doesn't know where I am. I like my gadgets and this one is really cool !!!!!

Training bike

I took this picture last week. It's my recently rebuilt training bike with commuter mods.

The frame is a Ritchey steel frame I got cheap off eBay ages ago.

The forks are rigid triple butted aluminium Mosso's. Another eBay bargain. I bought these with my heart rather than my head. They're super light but being aluminium have no flex so make for a very firm ride.

Tyres are 1.9" slicks back and front. Fast rolling but with enough bounce to smooth out the ride a bit.

I've fitted a new Alivio groupset as all the old components were worn out after 15 years of abuse on an old frame. Not top draw but plenty good enough for what I want and not too shiny so reduces it's desriability with the local tea leaves.

The seat is super light and thin. Bought it years ago cos it looked cool and had good comfort ratings. Still not sure on the latter but I've got used to it.

The rack is a quick release post clamp model by Topeak as the frame has no bosses. It's a top quality rack that does what it says on the tin.

I've added a top tube bag for stuff I want easy access to like phone, keys, wallet, food, etc. I'll use this on my Boardman for CLIC24 too as it's really useful.

The rest of the stuff is a mixture of bits and pieces from my old builds that are dependable and do the job.

I really need to fix the pedals. Hopefully I'll get time and energy one night this week.

Wheels are turning !!!!

Even though I was very tired, I dragged myself out of bed at 6:15 this morning.

The pedal bearings are still lose but I got on the road and did an hours ride. I've also ridden a 9 mile round trip to the office.

I need to get my computer on the bike or load a tracking app on my phone to find out how many miles I'm covering but it must be around 23 which isn't bad.

I need to reduce my working hours and increase my personal time which I'm trying to do this week. Out of the office at 19:30 tonight which is a record in recent history.

Going to bed soon so I can get up again tomorrow.

Will I get to train?

Last week was insane and I've been working well into the next day over the weekend after Debbie's gone to bed too.

I really really hope this week is better. I need rest and to get training again.


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Nothing happeng

Been an insane week at work so no training :(


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10th March - Back better and even faster

Firstly, my back has nearly settled down. I'm not sure if the exercise is helping or not but it doesn't seem to be doing any harm.

I feel pretty strong riding at the moment . Certainly stronger than I'd expected to be after not riding much for 7 months or so until last week and not exercising since October.

Still carrying more weight than I'd like but I'm trying to cut down on the junk and the training should help.

Richmond Park was a busy day for bikes today. Lots of roadies out and about. I got swallowed up by a mini peloton of about 20 riders today. I managed to stay within shouting distance of them ..................... for about 15 second, if I shouted really loud :(

Seriously though, my pace has got noticably faster even in the last few weeks. So the signs are promising. Endurance riding is about distance and time in the saddle rather than speed though so I need to train right.

More training in the morning if I get up early enough.

9th March - Speeding up

Today was another good ride. I felt strong.

I even managed to overtake someone ............................. unfortunately she was about 60 and had a basket on the front of her bike but you've got to start somewhere !!!!

I've got loose bearings in one of the pedals. It's creaking and losing grease. This'll be a job for the weekend.

Cold but fun

Today I only over slept by 15 minutes which based on last week is pretty good. I was on the road just before 7am.

The weather first thing in West London was bloody freezing. A thick frost was on the cars and within 10 minutes my face and ears were very painful. I should have brought down my beanie. I'm going to head off to Tesco later to get another one.

The ride was really good. The roads were relatively quiet. I've adapted the loop so that I don't have to touch the South Circular and other main roads around Kew. This was much safer and less stressful.

Scenery was great. I'll get some snaps up over the next few days.

The loop took about an hour today which is about right for the first few weeks. I can extend this easily by mixing up the routes through Richmond Park.

All in all it was a good session. I'm taking it easy at the moment as my back still aches a bit. I felt pretty strong when I got back so should be able to up the pace a bit next week.

Ready for a better training week

All packed and ready to head off to west London in the morning.

This week should be less busy at work so I should get more time and energy for training !


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Too sleepy

I had a late finish last night and slept straight through the alarm this morning. So no training today.

I'm hopeful that things will quieten down at work next week and I can get into a routine.

Looking forward to a restful weekend :)

Too cold and white van man !!!

This morning I managed to get out of bed after putting it off for 20 minutes. Had a bit of breakfast and headed out.

I did a loop taking in the minimum amount of risky road riding and the maximum amount of time in Richmond Park. Other than being bloody cold all went well until white van man tried to knock me off on the South Circular :(

The loop took about an hour which didn't seem bad considering the roads to and from the park are very busy.

Back's feeling a bit better today too !!

Bad day to train

Last night I didn't get back until 21:00. The people in the flat above were fighting and sounded like they were throwing dumbbells at each other until 2am. To top it off my back is still sore today and I kept waking through the night thinking about work stuff.

So, I tried to get some extra sleep this morning and skipped the training ride. I'm still doing a 5 mile round trip to the office so it's not a totally wasted day.

Hopefully I'll be in better shape tomorrow...........

First recce ride

No matter where I end up as having my weekly training base (i.e. where I'm working), I need to do some recce rides to find safe, varied training routes.

Well today I struck gold on the first outing. About 15 minutes or so away is the Royal Richmond Park.

It's not huge but it'll be fine for my needs. It's got a few hills, the traffic is relatively light and it has a low speed limit throughout.

It has literally hundreds of deer and other wildlife to relieve the boredom.

I should be able to build in a loop that allows me to spend 45 minutes or so in the park with the minimum amount of adrenalin fuelled traffic dodgy each end.

On the downside, I've spent too much time sitting in rubbish chairs at rubbish desks over the last few weeks and my back's killing me. Must be my age!! So I've got to take it even easier than I would like to start with to let it settle down.

I hate getting old :(

Where it started

Three years ago I was knocking on 40 and wanted a challenge. I enjoy cycling and ride mountain bikes a bit. So it seemed logical to have a go at something around this. I had a look around for something that would be a challenge but would not be too intense.

I stumbled across CLIC24 which is a 24 hour mountain bike endurance event set in Cheddar Gorge and is run in aid of CLIC Sargent. CLIC Sargent are the UK's leading charity supporting children and the families of children who are suffering from cancer or Leukaemia. My wife had a brain tumour as a child and CLIC Sargent helped out her family a lot. So this seemed like the perfect event to tackle.

I teamed up with my mate Aaron and we rode the event in 2008 and again in 2010. We raised a fair bit of cash for CLIC Sargent. It was a huge undertaking that required a lot of preparation and training. I documented the build up in my blog at the time.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do the event this year as I've changed jobs and have been very busy. However, I've entered and am now committed to what will be relentless early morning training sessions, endless event preparations and pain.

To keep up with how I get on, check my blog for regular updates.