Sponsored Cycle 2004 - Liverpool to Lourdes (6days, 761 miles)

Here are some photos and info on the cycle that I undertook from Sunday, May 30th to Friday, June 4th.

Catholic Pictorial (Liverpool Archdiocese paper - Sunday, May 30th

Ludlow (Day 1) - the obligatory afternoon ice-cream stop (ice-cream van just out of shot to the right)

Julian + Tessa Dowle (Newent, nr. Gloucester) - Day 2 before departure

Long-time friends of mine who have put me up during 5 of my 6 sponsored rides since 1992. They had just got back from the Chelsea Flower Show where Julian, a landscape gardener, had won the People's Choice award for his garden "From Darkness To Light" that he had done in conjunction with the Salvation Army (see The Universe + The Catholic Herald, Sunday May 30th).

The second day was my most eventful in many ways. The adventures started not long after I left Julian + Tessa's... 2 punctures + a related wheel problem either side of Stroud lost me 2 hours. With a total of 131 miles to do, a head wind and then rain from just before the Salisbury plain, I realised I'd have to push very hard in unpleasant conditions to be able to reach the ferry port at Portsmouth in time for the 8.30pm departure. I kept pushing, though I became increasingly doubtful about getting there in time. In my mind I was preparing alternative scenarios, eg. the Portsmouth to Caen ferry that left a couple of hours later, which would have left me needing to get a train the following morning to get back on my route. But somewhere inside me a voice kept saying, "Keep going just in case!" I know a lot of people were praying for me. I think this is where they may have helped most! In the end, after a few one-way streets taken the wrong way through Portsmouth town centre and a few red lights ignored, I got to the ferry port at 8.27pm!!. All checkpoints closed, as was customs... though a man + woman had just locked the door of the last checkpoint and were on their way to the terminal building. I rode straight over to them and explained my tale. They phoned security on the dock who replied that there were still a lorry + two cars to go on. I was in luck. They got two customs officers from the terminal building to open up the customs gates for me. So after a day's hard riding it came down to probably about 30 secs. If the two people from the checkpoint had already got to the terminal before I arrived, I think I'd have accepted my fate and sought an alternative solution.

I rode through customs after much light-hearted barracking from the two officers, boarding pass in my mouth, arriving at the ferry as the last car was boarding. I got on, the gangway/rear ramp went up and the ferry left. An unfortunate consequence of my hard riding into the wind (with extra weight on the bike compared to what I am used to) meant that I had two sore knees (right knee swollen) + two swollen Achilles tendons. I've had similar injuries before, though not all at once. I coped though, taking a bit more time each day than I'd have liked (stopping more frequently), still riding at a pretty good speed. My Nurofen came in handy. The Achilles quietened down a bit after a day or two. Adapting my technique by pointing my feet and not pushing my heel down helped in this respect. The knees meant that I couldn't ride out of the saddle, though. As a result, my backside took a hammering. The last two days, in the S. France heat, I resorted to frequent water stops (every 40 mins. or so) where I would just pour cold water into my cycling shorts, letting my sore bits soak. This kept me going. Despite the injuries and the increasingly hot, sunny days (arms + legs burnt, now darkly browned), my morale remained good throughout, helped no doubt by being able to turn to my iPod for musical accompaniment (lots of Christian rock, monastic prayer, etc... this music helped me to pray as I rode) and no doubt by the prayers of people back home.

A bridge now just for pedestrians and bikes over the Charente river (north of Bordeaux) - Day 4.

Bro. Rolland, an Assomptionist Brother at Pont l'Abbé d'Arnoult - Day 5 before departure.

A happy pilgrim! Arrival at Lourdes - Day 6

Me + friend Robbie Ross who, with his son-in-law Stephen, was there to welcome me when I arrived. It was Robbie's idea I do the ride and he has helped raise the sponsorship.

In the Chaplain's Centre, Lourdes - Bro. Paul Tiriau, Robbie + me. Bro. Paul is a De La Mennais Brother who helps organise masses in the different sacntuary area churches for the various pilgrim groups. He also helps lead the music for the masses having been involved in choral music all his life.

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