Hi I am Mark and if I'm not riding my bike then I will probably be thinking about the next ride or repairing a bike or looking at upgrades for my bike. 😂.
So what's this blog all about ? Well first of all I have never done anything like this before so please if you are reading bare with me. I'm an engineer and have always been happier with a spanner in my hand than a fountain pen! In early 2020 my world was turned upside down, my Mum was struck down by a mysterious illness, due to the country being in the midst of the first Covid lock down diagnosis proved very difficult. Months passed with her health deteriorating rapidly, finally in July we got the terrible news that she had MND (Motor Neurone Disease) and although she could receive drugs to ease her pain and hopefully slow the rate of decline, ultimately there is no cure for MND. My Mum passed away on the 23rd of October 2020 after a terrible year. She and had enjoyed good health for all her life apart from the last year, MND takes no prisoner's.
After the initial grief I decided that one day I would do something to help the MND association and hopefully in some small way help find a cure to this horrible disease.
So like I said I love cycling so a few miles around Shropshire on a sunny day isn't going to cut the mustard! It needs to be more. Then when reading a magazine (yes you guessed it a cycling based) in 2021 I came across an article about PBP (Paris - Brest - Paris) the oldest bicycle race in the world which was once contested by the worlds best professional cyclists is now held once every 4 years for amateurs. I could do this I thought!
So what's involved? Well its a 1200km ride from Paris to Brest (West coast of France) and back to Paris. So OK its a long way but also from minute one the clock is ticking 90 hours is the maximum time allowed to complete and the time keeps ticking when you eat / drink and sleep. So either ride fast and rest more or take it steady but limit sleep stops. Also its totally self sufficient no cosy hotel beds ! No mechanical support. Maybe an hours sleep in a field or village hall control point 😄.
So ok lets do this but how do I enter ? Believe it or not lots of people want to ride 1200km on a bike in northern France. To qualify you need to complete a SR (Super Randonneur) in 2023 and also pre qualification is available to those who complete long distances in 2022.
So here's the challenge: I will Ride a complete a Super Randonneur in 2022 This is a series of Audax cycling events consisting of 200km 300km 400km and 600km rides all against the clock. Completing this will entitle me to early registration for PBP 2023 then to complete the entry process I will need to complete another Super Randonneur in 2023 before the big one 1200km PBP ride in August 2023.
So Events totalling 4200 km's and with countless training kilometres to get into shape. All for MND and in honour of my MUM.
I will keep this blog going along the way to try and keep anyone who cares to read it amused and up to date. If you would like to sponsor me follow the link below for my just giving page:
Mark Hammond is fundraising for Motor Neurone Disease Association (justgiving.com)
Follow me on Strava:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/markhammond
