South Downs Spring Sportive - event report

On Saturday morning I lined up at the start line with two of my friends / work colleagues for my first sportive this season. The event was titled the 'Cycling Weekly South Downs Spring Sportive', start location: Plumpton and organiser was www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk. We had gone for the 'Epic' route, which measured 74 miles or 120km in distance.

I do love the more informal and social aspect of a sportive, going off in small groups and generally building up speed over the first few miles. Saying that Team Brewin Dolphin (Ewen, Charlie and myself) set off at a decent pace from the start. Up to the first stop (60km) we were averaging over 30km per hour on a rolling course. After a 10min toilet break and an opportunity to load up on energy (great range of food incl. peanut butter sandwiches, flapjack, fig rolls and other goodies) we were on our way again. Our speed remained relatively high but the second half had many more hills that slowed the progress a little. Charlie was our hill man, being the lightest in the team by some margin. He shot up the hills like a whippet leaving us to catch him on the other side. Ewen was the powerhouse and took his turn at the front many times allowing Charlie and I to benefit from some drafting on the long flat sections. Then there was the oldboy 'Tri Hard Dave' - 'Mr Endurance', not bad throughout but probably the best at getting aero on the descents.

Thanks to Charlie and Ewen I think this was one of the best sportives I have ever completed. I always have no problem covering the distances but never really pushed the pace. The boys certainly made it a goal to get a decent time and help each other throughout the ride. We had no problem acquiring 'Gold' status, covering the distance in 4 hours 26 mins (ride time was approx 4:15), despite a slower second half because of the many hills.

Full details of route and stats can be found via my Garmin Connect page (cadence data incorrect):

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/315094103#.UZlOV8UQz1M.email



Never miss a chance to market 'Brewin Dolphin'

 

Charlie, David and Ewen - Team Brewin Dolphin



London to Paris 2013 - introducing our Brewin Dolphin/Stoke Mandeville team

Brewin Dolphin Riders

Andrew Wheeler

Andrew is an Investment Manager in the newly opened Ipswich Office and has been cycling for fun and exercise for the last three years.

Neil Welch

Neil is an Assistant Director in our Legal department in London. He declines to say how long he’s been cycling exactly, but having lived close to the South Downs, he has always mountain biked regularly.

Stuart Sangan
Stuart is a Divisional Director and Head of the Channel Islands, based in Jersey. He has been cycling for many years but only as a short distance commuter. All this changed when he entered his first L2P two years ago. He is now passionate about cycling having joined the Velo Sport Cycling Club, he rides most weekends.

Clark Povey

Clark is an Assistant Director within the Business Support function of Brewin Dolphin, based in the Newcastle office. He has been cycling for a number of years and has taken on a number of challenges – the longest being an event taking him from Belfast to London - 822km in five days.

Nick Barber

Nick is a Divisional Director working in the Ipswich office, having joined Brewin in May 2012. He has always enjoyed cycling although has never taken it any further than a means of mild exercise.

David Hood 

David works as a Quant Analyst in the Research team at our London office. He has been cycling to and from work for a couple years. Last year he was lucky enough to get a last minute place on the London to Paris ride but with only a week to go. He pulled an exceptional finish out of the bag with practically no training.

Andrew Lewis

Andrew is a Divisional Director at Brewin Dolphin’s Cardiff office and has been with the company for 10 years. Having taking up cycling 6 years ago his will be the third time that he has taken part in the Hot Chillee London to Paris ride. Before cycling Andrew was a professional rugby player and gained 29 caps for Wales.

Stoke Mandeville Riders

Alan Cook - hand cyclist

Alan is one of the 2 hand cyclists taking part in this year’s London to Paris ride in aid of Stoke Mandeville National Spinal Charity. He also took part in the ride last year. When not cycling, Alan is a Key Accounts Manager at Wellspect Healthcare.

Nikki Emerson – hand cyclist

Nikki is a T53 wheelchair racer who competes in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and marathon. She is also a T1 triathlete and hopes to start competing internationally in paratriathlon in the coming years. In addition to racing Nikki volunteers as an Ambassador for WheelPower and a SportsAid Trustee. She is passionate about promoting sport among disabled people both for fitness and as a pathway to international achievement.

David Griffiths

David has recently retired from his role as Divisional Director of the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville. He took part in the 2012 Hot Chillee London to Paris ride.

Ceri Dipple

Ceri is owner of Twenty3C, a specialist cycle shop in Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire

Kirsty Luard  

Kirsty is a physiotherapist at Headley Court, a rehabilitation centre for injured members of the British Armed Forces, near Leatherhead in Surrey. Kirsty took part in the 2012 Hot Chillee London to Paris ride.

This morning's commute - hill work

I do make an effort to use my commuting time to train rather than simply get from A to B. This morning was no different and I needed a purpose before setting out. My plan was to take a longer route to work over the South Downs and quite a hilly route in order to help strengthen the legs. To make it harder I decided to complete the ride on my 'singlespeed stallion' (only the one gear).

It was pretty tough going especially on the climb to the top of Devils Dyke outside Brighton (pictured). Total distance approx. 32km - not a bad start to the morning.

The plan is to take a slightly easier and less hilly route home for the return journey (28km). Then on Thursday, the same again but possibly focussing on interval rather than hill work.

It would be great to hear who else is training out there in BD land?



The hills ahead - I have got to get up those on my singlespeed





Made it to the top - Hard work!



The 'singlespeed stallion' - office garage



And I'm back...

It has been a while since I have contributed to the Blood, Sweat and Gears blog but this year I am riding for one of Brewin Dolphin's London to Paris (L2P) cycling teams so I thought I would get back in touch with all the friendly cycling banter.

As there is now quite a large number of staff enjoying cycling and taking part in events on behalf of the Group I hope together we can put this blog back to good use and discuss training, new kit, events, good causes, injuries, nutrition and excuses to the 'other half' - all the 'ups and downs' of this great sport. In addition to sharing experiences it would also be useful to post future local rides that may be of interest to some members of the Group.

Through my passion for cycling and triathlon it has been great to witness the take up of the sport here in the Brighton office. In the last 12-18 months three of the team have purchased high-end race bikes (2 through the new Bike2Work scheme). The only problem is that these new (younger) entrants to the sport are now whipping me on the bike - oh well, that's progress for you!

We are all considering a sportive this weekend but to be honest I haven't committed yet. I definitely need to increase my training on the bike so I am best prepared for L2P, RideLondon100, and the forthcoming triathlon season. Over the last couple of months and because of the volatile weather conditions my training has focused more on running. In less than a month I have the Brighton marathon as my first 'A' race of the season. Thereafter my focus will shift more to the bike. Meanwhile, I am already thinking of bringing my Triathlon / Time Trial bike out of hibernation, at the very least to stick it on the turbo trainer.

Over the coming weeks I will be happy to share some of my training and fund raising for the L2P event - I am doing the ride with Geoff Thomas sponsored by Catley Lakeman and on behalf of the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research charity that the Group continues to support. I will be joined by some of my L2P2011 buddies - Stephen Jones, Gordie Houston and Andrew Lewis.

Meanwhile, I also keep a log of my personal triathlon training which you are welcome to view via the following link:

http://trihardtraining.blogspot.co.uk/

I will be really interested in hearing and reading tales from other riders in the Group whether doing L2P or any other event.

Happy training and 'Keep the rubber side down'

L2P2011



Tom Maynard Trust 2012



Ironman Austria 2012

Memories...London-Paris 2012

Reminiscing and watching this video from last year's challenge. Looking forward to L2P2013!

Our cycle team at the IG City Challenge

Neil Trickett, Dan Van Leempoel, Nick Guest, David Pegler (team captain)

At our first cycling event of the year, the guys took part in time trials, hill climb, sprint, team relay and criterium (20 laps).

Twelve teams took place in the first indoor Nocturne; other teams included Sky, Wiggle and Shift, which was captained by ex-Arsenal player Lee Dixon. Colin Murray took part in the media challenge and was looking good in Team GB lycra.

 David Pegler, our team captain, said “The evening was great fun – though we didn’t finish very far up the leader board, we certainly had a great time and look forward to the Nocturne in summer. At Brewin Dolphin we can’t get enough cycling – we’ve cycled to Paris (twice!) and we’re looking forward to another year of great miles.”

The team with Stephen Roche

Message from Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research

Our riders received this wonderful message today:

Congratulations on completing the London to Paris ride earlier this year, we just wanted to thank you and communicate the difference the money you have raised has made.

Thank you for raising a fantastic £72,022 and congratulations on completing the London to Paris Challenge once again this year.

This is the equivalent of funding a clinical research nurse for two years at Hammersmith Hospital as part of the Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP). This nurse will support patients entered into one of our ground-breaking clinical trials that deliver new treatments.

Clinical trials are vital for moving breakthroughs discovered in the laboratory into new treatments. Clinical trials give patients access to new drugs and allow our researchers to make breakthroughs in treatments and outcomes. Trials give patients who do not respond to conventional drugs the chance to try new or alternative treatments; however the problem is that only 6% of blood cancer patients take part in clinical trials in the UK compared with up to 18% for patients of other forms of cancer. Clinical trials are essential in improving our understanding of blood cancers and in discovering new cures and treatments. Without clinical trials, progress cannot be made for patients in the future.

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research understand the importance and impact that clinical trials can have to quality of life and survival rates of blood cancer patients. To that end we have launched a world leading and unique network of clinical trials centres within our Trials Acceleration Programme, which will give blood cancer patients access to new life-saving drugs, sooner to improve survival rates and quality of life. We have selected 13 treatment centres around the UK; coordinated by a central hub in Birmingham to set up more blood cancer clinical trials, quicker than ever before. TAP will see blood cancer clinical trials being completed within two years; the extensive paper work and bureaucracy surrounding clinical trials mean that currently these can take anything up to ten years to complete. In the first year we have seen six trials enter the TAP network giving up to 570 patients access to potentially lifesaving drugs.

Nigel Dixon – London  “Without research, I might not be here; I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in May 2006 and had chemotherapy straightaway, which unfortunately did not completely eradicate the tumour. I needed more intense chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, which was successful. However in January 2008, a scan revealed another tumour and I started radiotherapy. Thankfully, this worked and I had the ‘all clear’ that July. I was over the moon! I’ve now been in remission for just over two years and I’m still fit and healthy. I hope that my story shows patients who have setbacks in their treatment that there is always hope. Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is still very close to my heart – without its research I might not be here today.”

So thank you for your continued support and dedication to helping beat blood cancers, together we are closer to a cure. If you would like any more information on Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research or about how to get involved please get in touch.

Well done and thank you

The London-Paris is recognised as one of the world’s most exciting cycling events open to the public and is the closest the amateur rider can get to the Tour de France experience.

The 2012 edition celebrated 25 years since Stephen Roche won the Tour de France in 1987 - one of the greatest feats ever - winning the Giro, The Tour de France and the World Championships in that year.

This year the team from Brewin Dolphin supporting Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research included:

Geoff Thomas
Aidy Boothroyd
Giovani Gonzalez
Findlay MacPherson
John Salako
Harvey Bennett
Harry Boxall
Marc Young
Jack Woodhouse
Richard Dillon
Catherine Robins
Neil Welch
Todd Harper
Gordie Houston
David Hood
Mark Cloves
Mike Simon
Paddy Johns
Robert Harper
Rosie Richardson-Aitken
Stephen Jones
Stuart Sangan
William Thompson
Andrew Lewis
Sonia O'Sullivan
Michael Sergeant
Tom Valentine
Phil White
Chris Cleave

The event is distinguished by having motorbike outriders, rolling road closures in France and professional logistical back up along the 520km route, from Hampton Court to The Eiffel Tower.  In Paris, The London-Paris is one of only two cycling events granted road closures in the centre of the French capital - the other is the Tour de France.  The peloton, with its 50 motorbike outriders, rolled along the famous Parisian streets to an emotional finish. Donate >

Gordie and Rosie

http://www.londres-paris.com/

Paddy and Sonia

Flickr album

You can view the full set of photos on our flickr album.

The Mighty Dolphins are the Champions!

Update from our guys!

Just a quick note today that despite a very wet and windy morning, the Dolphins are going strong and digging in. The sun has come out this afternoon to dry out some soggy jerseys! They're all doing well, Sonia has a huge smile on, Paddy's flying, Robert Harper and David Hood are loving it, Stuart Sangan is racing at the front, Catherine Robins looked soaked but delighted when she arrived, Rosie is tired but doing amazingly well, Stephen Jones is wrapping up warm for the afternoon (obviously not pushing hard enough!) and that scoundrel Geoff is looking really good as usual. - James Wright, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research

On the road to Paris...

Team Brewin Dolphin will NOT be attempting this trick!

Day one summary from Hot Chillee

Follow the Hot Chillee L2P updates at www.londres-paris.com

Stage One of The London-Paris saw a damp, but exciting start to the event. 450 riders, including cycling legends Stephen Roche, Maurizio Fondriest and cycling professionals Colin Lynch, Karl Platt and Magnus Backstedt, gathered at Imber Court from 05:30 this morning. This year there were a total of seven speed groups setting off at timed intervals. Other sporting stars in this year’s peloton include Nigel Mansell, Joel Stransky and John Salako to name a few. The riders cycled a total of 169kms, taking them through the Surrey Hills, East Sussex, past Ashford and along to Dover.

The Yellow, Green and Red flagged time sections saw riders competing for the General Classification, the Sprinter and the Climber jerseys. Greg Mansell finishes Stage One with the Yellow Jersey. The Red Jersey went to professional ex-German National mountain-biker Karl Platt, who took King of the climbs by a very comfortable margin. The Green Jersey went to the fastest sprinter of the day, Shaun Pearson and this year, Annette Loubser took the Pink Jersey as the lead woman, piping Tanya Slater – the fastest woman for the last few years – to the post. Tomorrow will be an interesting day for the ladies as there were seconds between them.

The handcyclists got off to a great start, despite the difficult weather conditions and the very early start for their group. Nigel Mansell got to the HotChillee start-line following his epic journey cycling from John O’Groats in the previous days. The rain managed to ease off by the time the peloton was into the swing of Stage One and held off until just before the riders boarded the boat. Tomorrow the riders will start from Calais, heading south to Amiens.

Our guys at Dover last night

On the way...

A very happy Geoff!

Gordie Houston, Stephen Jones, Paddy Johns, Geoff Thomas, Bill Thomson

On your marks!

LTR: Sonia O'Sullivan, Paddy Johns, Rosie Richardson-Aitken

Good luck Team Brewin Dolphin and guests

On Wednesday I travelled up to London to the Brewin Dolphin Head Office with a number of clients to support the 'London 2 Paris 2012' Charity ride in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. A very well organised event with plenty of quality raffle prizes and auction items to help raise money for a great cause.
I am really going to miss riding with Team Brewin Dolphin, Geoff and all the other guys - what an event. For all you first-timers you are going to love it.
I look forward to catching up with all the stories on the blog and seeing some photos of the event - it will bring back very happy memories.
I wrote a little more on my own blog (titled 'Supporting L2P 2012 - needing some lycra), link attached:
http://journeytoironmanaustria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/supporting-l2p-2012-needing-some-lycra.html