Complete a cycle event

Since I have taken up Cycling I have taken part in 2 “Challenges”. In 2010 and 2011 I took part in the Annual “Manchester to Liverpool” bike ride supported by the NSPCC. The event itself is a 45 mile cycle that consists of different types of terrain so is aimed more at the Hybrid bike than the road bikes. It leaves from Salford Quays and you go through Stretford and Trafford before you reach the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal and on to Warrington where you pick up the roads again, losing them just before you enter Liverpool so the journey itself is a nice ride with plenty to keep you interested. Even the roads vary from busy main streets to smaller, winding country roads. In both events I have been supported by Danny Davies who is no stranger to the Cycle events, prior to my involvement he had already completed the Manchester to Liverpool and the Manchester to Blackpool rides so I knew I was in good company. Although the 2010 event was an NSPCC event we were riding for The Christies Hospital which is a charity that is close to Danny’s heart. All was going well until we were just outside Warrington when I dropped down a gear to tackle a Hump backed Bridge (Now named Beewell Bridge by Danny) and heard a horrible clunking sound as the gear mechanism sheared away from the frame of the bike. In one swift movement I had been taken out of the ride. I pushed my bike down to the nearest Marshall point and they put a call out for a van to collect me and take me to the finish point. I was devastated but Danny carried on. The van arrived soon after and loaded my cycle into the back and the driver said he needed to go to Speke island first to drop off some water so off we went. As we arrived at the drop there was a cycle mechanic stood by making adjustments to bikes etc, he had a look and realised that he could fix my bike but that meant I would only have one 

gear for the remainder of the ride. I was back in the game. I quickly called Danny to find out where he was and he was just about to reach my location so I waited patiently while Rob finished off the repair and for Danny to arrive and off we went. Seemingly fuelled by the excitement of being back in the event, we flew through the next few miles and started the approach to Liverpool. The final 5 miles of the journey saw us both feeling tired but excited and then we saw the signs for the finish line and that spurred us on even more until we saw the hill. The even ended in a park but before that we had to cycle up the biggest hill on the whole course. It must be about a mile long and we all faced a gruelling battle to the top. I saw it before Danny and just told him I had to go for it so started powering through the pedals and actually managed to reach the top without stopping. There were a few red faces and sweaty brows at the top of that hill and I am sure I heard more than the odd expletive as I waited at the top for Danny. As he reached me he said “Jeez, what gear do you have to be in to get up that”. I smiled and answered “The only one I have”. We continued on and as agreed went past the finish line together, arms raised in the air in triumph. The 2011 event was not without incident either. We made it past Beewell Bridge but I managed to crash twice after we had made it over the bridge. The first clash was just with Danny’s back wheel. I’d looked down the main road at a junction and thought Danny was going to pull out, looked forward and slammed on my brakes when he was still in the junction. He was completely right of course as the taxi on the main road had started to pick up pace and it was better to wait until he had gone past. The second clash was on the canal tow path, I managed to hit the only cyclist that was going in the opposite direction to the other 2000 riders in the event. It never crossed my mind when I decided to overtake the guy in front that there may be someone coming the other way. This clash was a little more serious, the first one gave me a few cuts and Bruises but this one took my breath away and I had to do the last 10 miles with bruised ribs. After the gruelling final hill I was happy that the finish line was not far away but this year they had changed the route and the finish was another mile away. The cold and the rain was now coming in and the final part of the journey had us riding down the side of the Mersey with an impressive side wind to hamper us on the last few hundred yards. Completing this ride goes down in my list of great achievements as it would have been so easy to quit at any point in the last 10 miles. I certainly could not have done it without the encouragement of my co rider. We have missed a few years for one reason or another but Hopefully 2014 will see us taking up the challenge once more, unless some other event takes our fancy.