Southampton to Barcelona - by bike

That's right, Rich didn't have a bike until the end of December (much like myself before doing John O Groats to Lands End). He's gone out and bought himself exactly the same model as me - a Marin Muirwoods. Well it's the same other than his is a 2008 model (mine's a 2006), something that he claims makes it better, and that I contest with kiddish quips.

This time of year is rubbish for trying to train for a big ride as the weather is crap and the days are short. We have started to clock the miles up though, getting out over the Christmas break and battling through some pretty bad hangovers. We're lucky enough to live near the New Forest and this makes for some pretty cool riding.

We've also now booked our ferry tickets from Portsmouth to Le Harve, and also our return flights home from Barcelona. We all know what airline cancellation policies are like, so unless we want to be out of pocket, we have to do it now. It's good actually - it makes the whole thing seem like a reality.

The next thing for us to do is plan the route down through France, taking in the mini-Pyrenees, the full on Pyrenees, and then the short stretch through Spain to Barcelona. Mind you knowing us, we'll probably leave this until the last minute and just wing our way through.

We're now just 3 months from kick-off! Bring it on! I've only been back at work for two days and I'm already feeling the monotony.

The other big issue on the agenda is the sponsorship. We aim to raise £4000 for the Cystic Fibrosis trust and so far we only have £150. In my experience of fundraising though, these things always take a while to get going. We will be organising a few events to raise cash, I'll update soon.

Cheers,
Lee

Well, hopefully this is the start of the adventure. Since riding from John O' Groats to Lands end in May 2006 I've been searching for the next challenge and it isn't easy coming up with a decent, worthwhile adventure that fits around the day job.

I've really been inspired by an expedition that I have been part of called expedition 360. The expedition marked the first human powered circumnavigation of the globe - I came on board late on and offered my skills as an events organiser and managed the completion event in Greenwich. If you have never heard of the expedition then have a peek at the website www.expedition360.com

Anyway back to this trip. The idea of cycling to Barcelona popped into my head a couple of weeks ago. The original plan was to cycle from Paris to Barca, but after speaking to Mike via email, he suggested that we just leave from Southampton and pedal the whole way. So that was it, plain and simple. Nothing complicated, just a simple bike trip.

There will be some tough stages to get through though - anyone that is familiar with the Tour de France knows that the Pyrenees section of the tour often sorts the men from the boys and has determined the winner on many occasions. It involves some massive climbs and some amazing scenery. I'm really looking forward to tackling these.

We will be running several charity events in the build up to the expedition, one of them being a casino night, which should be useful for extracting money from people, and also a good laugh. The aim is to raise £4000 for the Cystic Fibrosis trust. All of the money raised will go towards finding a cure for the disease.

If you would like to sponsor us then please go to our charity page www.justgiving.com/renster

That's all for now.
Cheers,
Ren