I can only apologise for not keep you all updated.  However, I have been rather busy but training hasn't been left behind!  In the last 10 days I have cycled all but 3 days had a trip to Dorset and Nottingham an induction for my new job and spent almost a whole day travelling from one end of the country and back again (not on my bike though)!
So to keep you informed my trip to Dorset was to visit some lovely friends of ours who we stayed with for 5 days where I managed to get out on my bike 3 times and seen some beautiful sites.  Firstly I cycled through the Purbeck hills where I came across a 20% incline and then was gifted at the top an amazing view over the countryside and in the distance Poole Harbour.  This was a journey of 24 miles and took me about 1 hour 40mins.
The following Day I decided to check out Poole Harbour a little closer and rode the 11 miles to get there and cycled around to Sandbanks where I caught a ferry over to Studland and then past Corfe Castle and back onto Wareham where I was staying.  This was 33.5 miles and took me a little over 2 hours.  Poole Harbour is a beautiful place as is the countryside surrounding it.  And the road from Studland to Corfe is a deceptively long incline with some sharp peaks and troughs to try the best riders stamina.
The next day we were fortunate enough to spend the day on Poole harbour as our friends sister took us out on her power boat and I chose this time to celebrate getting my new job!  It was truely amazing and my T-Total time was over but only for a few days of course. 
This was followed by a couple of days in Weymouth soaking up the amazing weather we were getting and on the day we left I had a steady 11 mile ride through Wareham Forest .  This was before our long 7 hour drive home where we stopped off in Nottingham to see some friends for a couple of hours.
Since getting back I have managed 55 miles at a steady 16.2mph and a run.  
Its less than 6 weeks to go now to my charity ride and I feel I have prepare quite well.  I suppose only time will tell.

A busy day today meant I was out and about a little later than normal.  So at around  quarter past 4 in the afternoon I left the house and headed towards the South Shields coast line.  The sun was out again but the sky slightly cloudy with a stiff wind blowing.
The ride was going well and I felt great.  I kept my pace steady as I knew the wind would be in my face later in the ride and didn't want to tire too early.  As I headed to the coast the wind was directly in my face and was a lot stronger than I expected.  However, still going good I passed another rider who was on his road bike and quickly tucked himself tightly behind me as I travelled along the road.  He must have been there for quite a while before I noticed as I travelled for about a mile or so before seeing his front wheel not 6 inches from my rear wheel.  I looked behind me and he started to laugh and he said its the quickest I've got home from work in ages.  A little further he turned off the road into a housing estate thanking me for the ride as he left my slip stream.
I headed along the coast with the strong head wind slowing me slightly and kept pressing all the way through to Whitburn where I turned off the coast and headed in land.  The wind was off me now and the ride became more enjoyable. The roads were busy and as I headed through Boldon Village the traffic was slow.  I made my way through the cars and onto the back of Downhill towards the Nissan Factory in Sunderland.  
From here I took the quieter roads through Follingsby Lane to heworth golf Course and then onto Pelaw and home.  
25.88 miles 1 hour 28 mins average speed 17.1mph
Later I went to the gym for a 45 min work out.

When I woke this and looked out of the window the sky was a deep blue colour and I wanted to get up and out straight away.  So this is exactly what I did.
I wasted no time getting ready and was out the door with out any breakfast or even a cuppa.  I decided to ride the usual Sunday route over the 3 peaks of Wrekenton, Penshaw and Downhill.  The weather was spectacular but the breeze was quite cool although not as strong as the previous day.
I was enjoying the ride and with my new tyres was moving along at what was suprising to me much quicker than previous rides.  I wasn't complaining though.  The first hill came and went nicely setting me up of an enjoyable ride down into the wear valley at Penshaw.  This is where I had my first experience on my new tyres with some one on a road bike.  
Now then I have heard a hundred times or more how my bike will not be suitable because its not a road bike and its too heavy to ride the distance.  I have discussed this with people who ride and who have ridden the same length I am expecting to.  Some say my bike is no good others say its ok just change the tyres but the best advice given was this!  I was asked is your bike comfortable the answer was most comfortable I've been on a bike.  The reply was then change the tyres to slicks and the bike is more than suitable.
Back to my road bike in Penshaw.  I was travelling into Penshaw and ahead of me was a rider on his road bike a nice one at that he was all kitted out with the proper gear.  I passed him on the road as we were heading onto the hill to go up Penshaw and as I turned left at the top of the hill he was only about 2 thirds of the way up.  So my worries laid to rest, I had passed him and managed the hill with no problem leaving him and his road bike behind me.  Then onto Downhill and home.
30.56 miles 1 hour 47 minutes average speed 17.1mph.
Later after a lovely day out with Suzanne and James at Whitby I went for a run for about 30 minutes with Suzanne.

I have spent the last 3 months or more training on my bike with its chunky off road tyres.  A deliberate decision really as it made my training harder but it was now time to try out the slicker road tyres.  The idea was to leave it as long as possible to benefit as much from the hard riding and then to change my tyres to get used to them before the event.
I took the bike out and decided to try a flat medium length route.  So I went through the pedestrian tunnel headed west up the river route to the Blaydon Bridge and back down the south side of the river home.  The ride was definately quicker on the road and felt pretty good even with a head wind for the ride westwards.  The tyres cornered slightly different and made a lot less noise on the road.  This was proof of how much less traction they had in comparison to the chunky ones.
24.96 miles 1 hr 24 mins  average speed 17.4mph

As I mentioned yesterday I had been blessed with Suzannes company and the possibility to share my experiences made me feel happy.  Today however, was a different sort of experience.  
I had put a few good rides in this week some longer and harder than others so a bit of leisure time was called for.  I spent my day with my daughter and we had a nice morning out sharing a cuppa and a chat before coming home to go out on a short ride.  
Abbey isn't the most active of people but has been showing willing and asking if she could come along for some exercise.  Today I took her out for what I thought was going to be an easy ride!  It was a pleasure for  the most part then the drama queen came to visit and I actually thought Abbey might die at one point!!!  It was a good day really and full of laughs and to be fair Abbey did do  well for some one who doesn't exercise.
We done 15.5 miles and lets say took it easy.
Later I went to the Gym for about 45 minutes.

Today was a lovely day.  Weather was nice, slightly warm and sunny with a little wind.  I had arranged with Suzanne to head out between 9 and 10 for a ride with her.  Its not often we get to share time together like this but after the Sundays ride to Wylam she was feeling enthusiastic and wanted to go again.
We headed off along the river route through Gateshead, Blaydon, Ryton and onto Wylam.  The ride was taken at a comfortable steady pace and Suzanne managed it quite comfortably even with the brisk head wind.
When we got to Wylam we sat at The Boat House Inn just off the level crossing and bridge and had a drink taking inn the scenery and watching a couple of crows building a nest on the roof of the pub.  Peaceful was an understatement.  we discussed what we would do as the journey was quicker than first anticipated and decided we would try a little further and headed towards Corbridge. 
 I had never been this route before so didn't know what to expect.  The paths were ok but a little more hilly, which Suzanne was starting to find a strain.  With the return journey in mind we turned around and headed back to Wylam where we sat and had our lunch and another soft drink at the Boat House Inn.  We were there for around 30 mins and then headed back taking the same route as we followed going there.  Suzanne was managing really well considering her riding experience and the distance she had travelled.  Myself however, I was finding it nice to be able to share the experience with her.  I spoke frequently about my charity ride and how nice it was to have her there with me today.  After yesterdays tough ride this was relaxing and enjoyable at a pace I would like to do each day during the 9 day event.  We were able to take in lots of the scenery and enjoy our surroundings.
43.35 miles  3hours 45 minutes average speed 11.5mph

This morning I was up and out of the house nice and early 06:45 to be exact.  I had been increasing the milage slowly this week and mixing hills in to push my limits a little further.  I knew my ability was better than it was about a month ago and felt a longer ride was in order.
This time last month I had set a challenge to ride the coast to coast in 1 day.  This I did and it can be read about in my blog dated 18/03/2011.  But this challenge was a test of endurance on a different scale.  The coast to coast trip was set at a relaxed pace mostly and regular stops were taken but today the plan was to ride 60+ miles with no stopping at a good pace so I could feel the burn with minimal fluids.  Why?  I needed to know how my body would react when put under this type of pressure.  Thats why!
So I headed off towards Conset, which is a hilly area infamous for its steel work industry several years back.  I took the river route from Hebburn all the way through to the Derwent Walk.  This was the start of the long climb all the way through to Conset a scenic part of the North East and I had the previlage to see 3 deer on my ride through .  I was averaging 16.8mph at this point and kept the the pressure constant trying to keep the pace high.  After 12.5 miles took a little water on board and pushed again to the end of the Walk where I entered Conset at the Blackhill area.  This was a tough climb to the top and by then I was averaging 14.2mph.
On I went past the Pontop Pike Transmitter and through Anfield Plain and Stanley past Beamish on the long decent all the way down to Washington.  This brought the average up a bit until I hit the hills at Penshaw.  Then on to the coast at Sunderland.
The wind now was coming across me from the west and riding got tougher.  I keptn the pressure up and climbed the steep hill to Marsden at Lizard Lane just to see how I would feel at this point.  A few aches and pains were present but nothing I hadn't felt before.  Then back onto the sea front and following this to the river route home.
Tired and thirsty I had managed what I had set my self. now to see how my body would react afterwards.  Fisrtly I was ok then I felt my temperature drop and my hands and feet lost some colour and turnd really cold.  I had some fluids and some food before heading off to the sauna.
63.25 miles 4hrs 10 minutes Average speed 15.1mph
Later a spell in the gym for about 50 minutes Total training time 5 hours.

Today was a good day.  I felt good when I woke up and was up for a challenge. Ii didn't have a pre planned route so started racking my brains thinking where I could go and decided to head for the hills.  I wanted to do around 40 miles but wanted to make it fairly tough on the legs.
I headed from home and took the river paths because they are more hilly than the roads and headed off along to Gateshead.  Here I took the road to Dunston where the climb was constant, until I hit the decent into Swalwell.  I then had the option of taking the scenic route through Derwent Walk or on the roads to Rowlands Gill which were more challenging so I took the roads.  This road is a good climb for about 2 miles and I was at around 10 to 11mph all the way up then a steady drop into Rowlands Gill near Gibside.    From here a steady ride some dips and climbs until the sharp slope upto Hamsterly Mill where the road vias left then left again towards Burnopfiled.
Here is where the ride got tough.  there is about a half mile stretch, which climbs steadily before dropping abruptly.  At this point my speed was at about 35mph downhill until the heavy long climb into Burnopfield.  Now I have climbed this hill before and it took a lot out of me last time.  This time however, I felt a lot better my speed dropped to a steady 6 to 7mph and the hill carried on for just over a mile.  A reassuring feeling came over me when I reached the top knowing I was feeling so good.  Then a slow climb a little further as I turned right towards Stanley. 
The road to Stanley from Burnopfield goes through several villages but I can't say I noticed much about them as at one point my speed hit 39.9mph as the hills dropped then climbed slightly then dropped even more.  Then yet again a long steep climb into Stanley.  A nice mixture of hills and drops, which made the ride quite tough as the time between climbing the steep slopes short.
From Stanley a long long decent into Chester le Street and then a nice relatively flat couple of miles along towards Birtley.  Then once more a good sharp climb through Eighton Banks in Gateshead to Wrekenton.  From here down the long sloping Springwell Bank and onto Pelaw then home still with plenty in the tank.
38.17 miles 2 hours 37 minutes average speed 14.6mph.
Later out for a run for about 30 mins

Today was a pretty important day for me.  Nothing to do with the riding but as far as a job opportunity.  I had an interview at 10:30, which I had prepared for the previous day.
I was up and about early and headed out at about 07:20am and kept the ride to a short fast route so I knew I had plenty of time to get ready and wasn't rushing around.
I left the house and headed to Jarrow and through the pedestrian tunnel and all the way up the river route to Blaydon Bridge.  Then back down the south of the river past the metro center through the Quayside at Gateshead and home.
23.75 miles  1hour 28 minutes average speed 16.2mph.
The interview went well as I wasn't hurrying and felt comfortable.
Later a 30 minute run and then 45 minutes at the gym.

Today we had planned to take our bikes out for a run.  I didn't have any intentions of going on a fast ride or a hilly ride but to take it easy and enjoy my riding with my family.
There is one thing I have realised and am preparing myself mentally for and this is it will be lonely at times out on the road when I do my event.  So I was up and about early preparing for an interview I had coming up on Monday then off to to the shops to get some nik naks for lunch.
The plan was for Suzanne, James and myself to have a ride out as far as we could comfortably.  I had planned a route which was not hilly but comfortable for the others.  We ended up in Wylam and had lunch on the river bank where we watched the fish jumping and some ducks and Grey Herons flying around.  The surroundings were fantastic as was the weather.  We then headed back home.  The total distance 32.45 miles was a pretty impressive ride for Suzanne and James who aren't cyclists at all.
This has got to be the best days cycling I have had so far this year and now the weather is improving and the others are confident they can manage the distances then it won't be the last ride we do.