Dominic's trip to the seaside.

Dom has found a training target in the form of the Classic London to Brighton ride on 19th June and hopes to raise a good deal of money for the British Heart Foundation whilst doing it, so please give generously.


For most of the Muddy Funsters a mere 54 miles across the south downs is a regular weekend ride, but as possibly the slowest member of the Muddy Funsters (about 0.5x Warren Speed on the last check) the thought of cycling from London to Brighton is quite a challenge for me. However after the events of last summer, it seem quite appropriate that I up my game ( and distance) to try to complete this ride and support the British Heart Foundation.

I have been out practising, thanks to some enthusiastic support from the more able Funsters, and am starting to "enjoy" cycling uphill (previously locks represented the largest sustained climb) and preparing for what will be a very long time in the saddle by my standards....At 0.5x Warren Speed, Brighton is going to take quite a long time to reach.

Part of my preparations includes riding the length of the Basingstoke Canal (around 35 miles) ) at the end of May, prior to switching to road tyres and yet more hills. I am already benefiting from help and support from the Xtrac based members and am looking forward to even more hills.

In addition to the whole experience I'm hoping to raise some money for a very worthwhile charity, so please visit my Just Giving page for more details on how to support this cause.

http://original.justgiving.com/dominic_smith

For those unable to access the Just Giving Page, I will shortly put a collection tin by my desk which I will also use for donations.

Any advice and hints about London to Brighton ride are always appreciated, I've already got some top tips including putting ice pops in the camelback to keep drinks cooler for longer.

Bring on Ditchling....