Sorry I haven’t been in touch Foska fans, been busy recovering!

We cruised into Kneller Hall at around midday to be greeted by cheering and clapping spectators after a gruelling 9 day ride, exhausted and thirsty we received a well deserved pint on arrival. On the last blog you saw we were down at Land’s End, that was only half way! On the return adventure back to Twickenham we stayed in large tents with all the other riders that the army had provided for us, in our tent we made some good friends which we hope to see again, it’s amazing how a bit of hard work can bring everyone together! (I think it’s because we were all knackered). Another good thing about cycling back was the mindset that we were on our way home, which in times of need came in very useful. Saw quite a few riders wearing Foska jerseys which never fails to raise morale.

Each day went past much the same as the others, woken by Reveille at 5am (!!), breakfast then leave at around 7am after a bucket full of faffing about (the keen ones would set off first, needless to say we started last most days!). The first two days back neared 100 miles each, which was a bit of a killer across Cornwall and Devon. Also the ham and MUSTARD sandwiches on day one were quite controversial. After nearly 11 hours in the saddle for day one and day two we were starting to reach a case of sense of humour failure but day three was shorter (about 85 miles) and not so hilly then day four back to the hallowed turf at Twickenham. At half time during the Quins vs Wasps match the riders were called down to a pitch side gate where we all proceeded to have a lap of honour around the stadium, the reception we received was amazing, thank you all.

The ride was very well marked out and very few people got lost each day, also the support crews were amazing, would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped out with the organisation of the ride, it was superbly done, including the army for the tents and banter! I’ve attached some pictures from the ride for you to peruse! Hope to see you all on the ride next year, readers!

Foska Ben

PS. I’m off back to university soon so I’ll try and post as much as I can but you might have to make do with one of the far inferior, sorry I mean equally talented, Foska team.

Who would have thought, they actually made it! I think Foska Tony might be coping a bit better than Foska Ben!

Now all they have to do is turn around and come back!

Morning readers, it’s the start of day four now and only 55 miles to do today, times are good. Spent a very nice night in a pub and now ready to go. It has been said that there’s a big hill when we come out of the hotel but after that it’s mostly flat! That sounds like my kind of day!

Yesterday was a bit of a mission, 75 miles to do and all the way across dartmoor, after a big hill we rolled into exetor (where it started to rain, boo) then onwards to dartmoor where we encountered lots more hills, rain and cattle grids! The grids were quite scary but we figured if we went across them as fast as we could then it would be fine.

Foska-Ben

Day one and two complete! Excellent. The weather has been holding out for us thus far, not too sure about today though, looks a bit grotty. Day one and two have gone relatively well, spent a total of about 13 hours in the saddle so far and have cycled about 140 miles, which considering how long we’ve been going for, isn’t a massive amount! My dad did inform me that the ride was going to be a little bit hilly, I think that was probably the understatement of the year, there are some bloody big hills!

At the end of day one we found our hotel in Wilton, had a celebratory jar of beer then off to the ice bath (this was NOT my idea), showers then off for dinner. After a short walk across town we reached a pub which was advertising it’s curry night, we’d struck gold. One curry and some more beers later we leave to find another establishment, only to stumble upon a beer festival!! The drinking continued as we watched the live band, then off to a very welcoming bed.

The morning of day two we were a little bit stiff to say the least, as we reached breakfast the host asked us if we’d like a cooked breakfast, we immediately agreed without thinking. This was to prove unwise. Two full English breakfasts later and we were stuffed and ready for bed again, but it was not to be, we had to be on our way. The breakfast sat in our stomaches for around two hours before even a little bit of comfort set in. Had a quick meeting with nature along the way and felt a bit more relaxed. We found that the pace had dropped considerably from the first day to the second, we were now averaging a measly 10mph, this was going to take a while. We reached Yeovil (about 2/3 of the way) and found a pub for a swift half, turns out they stocked London Pride! Brilliant. From there it was pretty much all up, some huge hills later and we were rolling into Ilminster, we’d nearly finished. Staying with an old friend we drank lots more beer and ate even more curry, another good night after a long day.

Day 3 is a big one, all the way down to Exeter then across Dartmoor, we’re staying just the other side of Tavistok, it’s going to be a long and hilly day but we’re nearly there!

So here it is, the morning of the beginning of the end!

Morning Foska fans, today is the start of our ride, it’s going to be long, and it’s going to be hard, but it’s not fear that grips me, just a heightened sense of things to come. We’re all kitted out in our gear and ready to go, we plan to set off before 10 which leaves us plenty of time for messing about beer drinking, and of course, riding. We’ve booked somewhere to stay in Salisbury so we’re going to get there no matter what! If you see two tired looking cyclists in Foska shirts cycling from London to Salisbury today then you know it’s us, any enthusiasm wouldn’t go awry. We will try and keep you updatedas best we can, obviously we will have limited access to facilities so it might be just pictures and a blog or two (if you’re lucky).

Wish us luck! Ben and Tony

Training is going well, getting some miles done and starting to feel a little bit better, although I have a feeling it’s not going to be enough! I’m starting to wish I had started training more than about a week and a half before the event, but oh well, there’s no turning back now, it has to be done. Took another look at the route today on Google Maps, it’s a bloody long way! I don’t think I quite registered quite how far 80 miles every day was going to be, “oh and on this day we’ll just ride along there, across Dartmoor then finish”… I think that might be a low point on the adventure!

Another thing is that the rain is starting to pick up, I hope it stops, we have enough issues without getting soaked being one of them! Getting the last of my kit together in preparation for Friday, the bag is just full of Foska stash, at least I’ll look good and feel comfy! I keep telling myself if I can run the marathon with no training (in a Duff jersey, picture to prove it!) then I should be able to manage this… Surely.

I’m tired and it hurts, that is the general consensus of this training and we’re not that far into it, but then again its not far away! Also, to top it off I managed to forget I was clipped into my pedals, much to the amusement of Foska Tony. Apparently I even did a little profanity laced dance on the way down to the floor via a traffic cone.

After retrieving myself from the floor I looked to my right, and came face to face with none other then a bus full of passengers, each of them with a sly look humor spread across them. I hung my head in shame.

More practice is needed, plus a means of revenge for the still whooping Foska Tony, ideas welcomed.

Foska Ben.

Here down in the Foska cave, we like to do our bit for charity (we’re nice like that), so when the Lexus Great British Bike Ride (LGBBR) organisers contacted us asking us to design and make the shirts for the ride we more more than happy to do our part and help out. But we didn’t want to stop there, so a couple of us made a (very) late decision to join in too!

The LGBBR takes place on the 1 – 4^th of September, the ride in total is 312 miles, from Land’s End to Twickenham, now, you may be thinking that 312 miles in four days isn’t too bad, but as the two Team Foska riders we’re not only prepared to take on the challenge, but to raise the bar significantly by cycling down there from Twickenham too! Effectively doubling the ride distance (and the pain) to nearly 650 miles .

The two chosen riders are Tony and me, Ben, father and son (aww). One an older (he’ll kill me for that) but experienced road cyclist and keen beer drinker (beer of choice being none other than London Pride!), the other being a young but enthusiastic novice student – myself. Also a keen beer drinker (beer of choice being whatever’s going!)

As I sit here, the novice, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread, this is not diminished by the fact that even the more experienced riders among my peers seem impressed by the feat ahead. Having only received my first road bike about 5 days ago and the day almost upon us, I personally think my apprehension is warranted. Had my new (and first) cleats aligned at Action Bikes in Embankment in preparation for the ride, it was an excellent service and well worth the money… Now all I’ve got to do is remember to unclip and not fall off!

Started training and have burned over 100 miles so far, I just hope I can keep it up over the scarily hilly parts! I will try and keep you updated as often as possible on how training is going and the ride itself so watch this space. If you have any advice for us, and by us I mean me, stick it in the comments below, any help will be much appreciated!

Wish us luck,
Foska Ben.