So.
I've gone and entered a bit of a ridiculous challenge. The Trans Alba Race is a 1000+ mile road bike race around Scotland, which definitely doesn't avoid all the hardest climbs in the country (gulp), is completely self-supported (all kit has to be carried, no help from friends-and-family in camper vans with welcome beds or food) and will most probably involve wild camping amongst the midgies, adders and ticks in the highlands.
My wife thinks I'm going through a mid-life crisis and the most common question I've had from mates so far is 'are you 40 this year?'.
Not quite. But why do it then?
The honest answer is that I felt I wanted to do something completely out of my comfort zone. Something that would really challenge me - physically, mentally, emotionally, organisationally and professionally.
I've ridden many a sportive and adventure race now and done lots of multi-day bike tours, including the North Coast 500 (in five 100 mile days), but have never taken on anything competitive of this length before. Also, the majority of those bike tours included nights in very comfortable B&B's with a beer, friends, a good feed, a shower and a comfy bed. This definitely doesn't have any of things, and as such ticked all the boxes I wanted it to tick... and it was taking place in Scotland - there won't be the faff of flying my bike to the start line!
Added to that, I thought it would be a great opportunity to raise some cash for two great charities which have particular resonance for me. Those are the East Lothian Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Group (for whom I run stroke and cardiac rehab classes, otherwise known as ROLP classes, across the county) and the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (who are an organisation who help to promote a preventative approach to lifestyle-related diseases, through the improvement of the health and wellbeing of the individual and the wider population). If you would like to sponsor me and help support these two fab charities, please visit my JustGiving page here:
https://www.justgiving.com/teams/al-trans-alba
It would be great to be able to raise at least £1 for each mile I cycle (that's 1065 in total). Certainly would help me keep those pedals turning!
As I mentioned before, one of the main reasons I plumped for this kind of ultracycling endurance race, is that it will enable me to put into practice some theoretical nutritional and training strategies in about as an extreme an external lab as possible.
And I will be the rat.
So, over the next few weeks (the gun will sound on the Forth Bridge on the 1st July!) I'm going to be a lot more active both on here, and social media than I have been. I aim to share details of my training, my preparatory and race nutrition and logistical planning. Hopefully you will find it interesting, as well as serving as a record of my thought processes for my own understanding.
Lastly, I want to just mention Rich at Leith Cycle Co - he's a great mate and is already helping out massively with the equipment side of things. Tackling the Trans Alba would be much trickier without friends like these.
Thanks for reading!
