3 days, 180 miles & £64,000 raised so far.

The tears have been shed, the muscles have been stretched way beyond where you thought they could go, riders have peddled 180 miles, crew have organised every minute of every day and together we have spent 3 incredible days together.

It didn't make sense to write two separate blog posts so I thought that I would do one final summary. No photos in this one as we will be circulating every photo over the next few days so right now try and cast your mind's back to day 2 and the cycle to Dieppe.

We promised the riders that it would be an easier day and so it proved to be. (or at least sitting in the comfort of the car it seemed that way) My own day started with my first attempt at signage. Now looking back I can see how that was a 3 pronged approach to this task. A combination between the games of dare and chicken topped off with a continual debate that would rival question time.

The games of dare and chicken involved Paul our logistics guru driving one handed down country lanes holding a map and pretending to know where every sign should be mounted. The final part to the game involved an abrupt application of the foot on the brake pedal. The door then being opened at the same time as trying to jump out, attach a sign and jump back in before the door swung back shut, Paul's foot hit the accelerator and the cars behind reached our back bumper. I have to say that I loved every minute of it – it was kind of my own version of the A team meets Starsky and Hutch and if you are too young to remember either then I guess I really am that old.

The negotiation part was very simple. It always involved me saying that maybe we should put up an extra sign here or there and Paul and my son Aaron telling me to shut up. Negotiation over…

So with signage underway the riders all set off to enjoy the beautiful countryside. Our lead rider Perry and his peloton were a little slower to head off but it was only a matter of time before they reached the front of Tour de Guts In Motion. Oh how wrong we were. A series of breakdowns, punctures and general equipment failure meant that it took them 3 hours to hot rest stop one. We weren't worried though as we knew the power and pace that existed in our Day zero peloton and soon they started to catch the rest of the field.   

Everything continued smoothly, all riders passed through rest stop one without the hint of what was ahead. Trin our lovely overseas guest finally started enjoying the ride although it did have something to do with Mike the Mechanic (sorry Flying Dutchman) fitting her with the right bike. With less than six miles to a cold beer and the beach at Dieppe The Prof had what can only be described as “spill of the ride” and so his legendary status was confirmed.

Sadly though this spill wasn’t so minor and one ambulance and three hours later a broken clavicle was confirmed. We thought that might be the end for him but oh no. That grit and determination only associated with legends kicked in and not only did he make dinner but he spoke and then made that ridiculously early ferry ride at the start of day 3.

So with all the riders ensconced in Dieppe enjoying the sights and sounds of the seaside having completed approximately 120 miles the majority of the crew headed for the ferry and the glamour of Newhaven ahead of the final push to Wimbledon.

I would like to say that the ferry ride was riveting but in truth the highlight was seeing how many crisps we could store in Phil’s hair without him noticing. We got to 7 before the giggles caught up with all of us. Quote of the ferry ride though undoubtedly fell to Mike who proceeded to tell me that the fish and chips he ate on the boat definitely put his “Guts In Motion”

The final day started ridiculously early with a 4am alarm call. To make matters worse for the riders a 4 hour ferry journey lay ahead. I had it on good authority though that there was a huge amount of snoring on the ferry and not a lot of talking. By 9am the ferry had docked and the riders started to appear at the start line in Newhaven.

Prior to that happening the crew had also been up early – having stayed the night at a Travel Lodge it was a quick breakfast and the Paul, Laurence (making her signage debut) and Phil who headed off towards the finish line and the last day of signing. As the day wore on it became clear that the signage had undoubtedly had a female touch to them with pictures, love quotes and creative wording appearing at regular intervals.

The remainder of us ensured that the bikes were unloaded the rider jerseys were sorted and all the bags were ready for the riders to get their cycle gear out and change. Scott’s reaction to the fact that the lorry was heading home and he had to fit all the luggage, spare bikes and everything else left on the back of his van was priceless. If this wasn't a family blog I would quote him word for word. Needless to say by rest stop one he had calmed and managed to find yet another field in which to top up his bronzed Adonis like body.

A little weary the riders set off and all reached rest stop one in one piece and with a few smiles on their faces. I say all but that wasn't strictly true. It became clear quite quickly that Alex was missing. A few mobile phone calls appeared to put all our mind’s at ease as we assumed he was relatively close by. Oh how wrong we were. Alex somehow decided to head for Brighton except not on the roads but across fields and only some quick thinking by Andy and Carl tracked him down before he reached field number 4.

So with that drama over it was on to rest stop two and everyone safely through. Now rest stop two is a very big deal for the ride as it is the last pit stop before the famous White Hill and lunch. So usually when a summary blog post it written it is all about White Hill but this time the drama unfolded just two miles out of the rest stop. Perry was assigned rider mentor to Jake and Nathan and was cycling just ahead of the two boys when he went over a manhole cover. Nothing unusual there I hear you say except that cover was not level and according to the boys they watched Perry wrestle to keep the big under control as the manhole cover had thrown him completely off balance. After a few meters even his bike skills couldn't prevent him falling and skidding right across the road. When we got the call that there had been an accident involving Perry our first thoughts were “oh my gosh what about his bike..”

No in all seriousness it was probably his bike skills that prevented a worse accident and the fact that Justine and The “legend" were on the scene quickly. Much of his skin down one side was left on the road but after a clean-up and bandaging Perry was up, walking and smiling and THE Bike was rescued in one piece.

And so we moved on to White Hill. Now if you are a family member or friend reading this you are probably wondering what all this white hill lark is about. Well it is the hardest hill on the whole ride. The prize for getting up there is lunch at a lovely pub and so the challenge to get up without stopping had been set. Now let me say this we don’t set that challenge it has just become the Guts In Motion nemeses.

It would be wrong to single any of the riders out but the prize for guts and courage has to go jointly to Katie and to our tandem duo Zoe and Ben. How those guys climbed the hill was amazing – I am in awe….. And then there was lunch and the final 20 miles in to the finish.

Fortunately that went untroubled and all the riders gathered around the corner from the finish line so that we could complete this epic adventure together. And with Hey Jude being sung and the crew leading the way on foot the ride entered South Park Gardens and 180 miles was complete.

The pictures that will follow tell the story far better than any of my blog posts could. But let me end with this.

To the riders – you are simply inspirational, a truly special group of people who I can’t thank enough. You have given of your time, pushed your bodies harder than they have probably ever been pushed and done it all with a smile (and the odd grimace). From the bottom of my heart a huge thank you. And a plea…..come back and do it all again next year and bring your friends.

To the crew – my son Aaron, Mel, Laurence, Phil, Spencer (our very own photographer extraordinaire), Scott, Mike The Flying Dutchman, my darling wife Justine and our end of ride party co-coordinator Richard – You are simply amazing. You selfless give up your free time to get up early, go to bed late, lift, lug, carry, run, drive and generally organise everything for everyone else. Thank you just isn't enough…

To Perry for leading the ride with your usual class. I will never ever forgot three words Hydrate, Hydrate and Hydrate. Thank you for being so fantastic over the course of the ride. I won’t hug you as it probably hurts at the moment but consider this a big virtual hug.

Finally to Bern, Paul and Andy – words are inadequate because whatever I could write isn’t enough. Thank you for just being so selfless, so committed and so incredible yet again. You are the ones that really bring everything together. Thanks to all of you I got to fulfill my dream of actually being a part of the ride. You are 3 special friend.

Thanks to our fab sponsors Squire Sanders, WPP, Berroca, The Light Fund, Giant – can we count you in for next year??

And the last word is this – so far this ride has raised over £64,000. That is AMAZING – now got share your stories and shout about what you have done and I suspect that we can hit that magic £70,000.

And if you really want a laugh check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgX0-pRH2Vk&feature=youtu.be

Day 1

It has been a fun, eventful, hot, sweaty, energy sapping and emotional Day One today - and that is just being part of the crew. For the riders the day started really early as the meet up was at St Pancras station at 6am. For some like our wonderful tandem riders it meant rolling out of bed at 3am although I am not sure if that is total dedication or complete madness J

On arriving at Gard de Nord the Eurostar was met by a handsome beaming crew member (that will be me) and an equally lovely Laurence who had organised the coach to be ready. All the cyclists thought that we were off on a little jaunt to Versailles but after some last minute re-routing (due mainly to the fact that a few rather steep and long hill climbs must have been built since the route was researched back in Radlett) the coach headed off to the Squire Sanders office in the centre of Paris. What none of us on the coach realised was that this appeared to be the first time that the coach driver had driven in Paris as he proceeded to drive around in circles. This did include a wonderful scenic tour of every side of Gard de Nord station.

Finally we found the offices and after a quick change a slap up lunch (well baguettes, crisps and a few drinks) it was time for a few speeches about what lay ahead. Perry then reminded us of the three most important things to remember on the day – any one forgotten??? Hydration, Hydration, Hydration – see Perry I was listening.

At this point it would only be right to extend a massive thank you to Valerie in the Squires Sanders office. When she turned up for work in the morning she definitely wasn’t expecting to receive an email from Bern saying that 40 riders plus crew would be on her door step in about 1 hours’ time.

And so the ride set up weaving its way through the Paris traffic leading by the irrepressible Scott in his van with Perry at the front and Bern bringing up the rear.  Once the Paris traffic was negotiated the ride could gain momentum and rest stops were reached and enjoyed by everyone. Phil and Andy deserve a big mention at this point. Their beautifully decorated stop won the award for design of the day -mainly because no one else could be bothered to compete. They also won the prize for best negotiation with the police. Having stopped right outside the local town hall they were greeted by police asking if they had permission to be there. Whilst Phil tried to find the closest lamppost to hide behind Andy showed the calmness befitting a man known as The Vicar and proceeded to explain that Valerie had sorted the permissions and showed the proof. A potential Anglo- French conflict was avoided.

As the day wore on so the muscles started to ache a little more. The ride stretched out although Adam Seres & Andy Katz obviously either needed to get to the loo quickly or decided to do the ride in record time whilst others took a more leisurely ride. I am delighted to report that every rest stop was met and the day passed without any dramas – just the way we like it. A few riders had interesting stretching techniques, some of which we might examine a little more on day two.

The last riders finally cycled in around 8.15pm and after a shower and change and a quick beer dinner was served. There was great camaraderie in the room although it was easy to see whose heads were falling in to their desserts. The main event of the night was the announcement that this ride had broken through £60,000 – what an outstanding achievement.

After a few speeches, a raffle and logistics update by The Vicar it was time for bed which is exactly where I am heading now.

Tomorrow is a much easier ride and should end with a bit of time for R & R on the beach in Dieppe. I will report more from there.

Don’t forget to follow all the action on twitter @3C’s_charity or on Facebook at Guts In Motion

Till tomorrow

I'm writing this from my hotel room whilst hopefully all the incredible Day Zero riders are tucked up in bed and the rest of you riders are starting to doze off and dream of that 5am start - bet you can't wait.

Today saw the crew head out from sunny Radlett arriving at our base camp at various times.

Mike The Mechanic

 - otherwise known as the flying dutchman headed off with Nigel in the lorry once all the bikes and equipment had been loaded. I do have one question though. They left 2.5 hours before anyone and arrived 3 hours after everyone. So either they decided Versailles sounded like Valencia or they sat on the beach and chilled for a few hours. Either way we breathed a huge sigh of relief when they swung in to the car park.

I feel it is only right to dedicate this next section to the real heroes of today. The guys that have already put their bodies on the line and the main ride hasn't even started. No I'm am not being sarcastic this time I am actually doffing my cap to a special group. First off are the dynamic duo of Bern and Richard who arrived at the hotel having already ridden 223 miles.

Amazing that they can almost look suave after a quick wash and a few beers. Mind you judging by how Bern was swinging from the walls tonight he definitely had a diet coke overload....

Obviously I cannot let this moment go without talking about our Day Zero gang. Without doubt this was the hardest day zero ride ever undertaken. It was the longest and had the most climbs but you would never have known by how they looked arriving at dinner. A truly amazing effort by this group of wonderful riders and supporters of the charity.

Tonight consisted of a light dinner a bit of banter and then off to bed. The biggest lightweight wasn't even someone who rode. Yes Mr Landau you have been outed - sneaking off to bed earlier than the two 15yr olds. I guess all that strenuous exercise setting up the rest stops must have taken their toll.

Doesn't he look good here although the banner is giving him a run for his money in terms of style - joking Phil honest!!!

Right time for me to take my meds and get some kip before heading off to meet the ride at Gard De Nord tomorrow morning. A quick huge thanks to Tony Moss for rescuing me by breaking in to my house and finding the connectors that I need to hook up my feed each day. You would think that after 4 years of taking artificial feeds and hydration I would remember what to take. Oh and by the way if you see an image of him on Crimewatch - don't ring in I gave him permission...

I hope that you have been keeping track of the updates via twitter. Don't forget to look us up on @3C's_charity You will find a few vine videos posted. By the end of the ride everyone will have featured in some shape or form on our social media feeds.

Till next time
x

Day Zero begins and the crew rock in to action

Our two intrepid riders Bern and Richard are now closing in on Paris. So far they have ridden 223 miles although let's be honest there are no support riders and no crew involved so actually they could have simply got the train over and be sitting in different villages drinking a few beers. In truth why would two men walk around in dodgy lycra unless they were actually riding?

And as if further proof was needed here is Bern in Beauvais at lunch. The one unanswered question is where is Richard?? Does he even exist? Well the Richard "holdeverything"Cooper will be unveiled in Versailles.

Now I will update you on the crew. Well you would expect them to be hard at work today constantly filling lorries, buying products and generally working themselves to the bone. Yes let me introduce you to Scott and Spencer both of whom as you can see are hard at work sitting down.







Of course there is team leader Andy who has spent a great deal of time and effort organizing all the routes, the technical know how and he has not stopped slaving. All that seems to be missing is his pipe and slippers. In truth though you will really start to see all the incredible work coming to the fore over the next few days.


Finally the time has come and Day Zero has arrived. The intrepid riders have now left Radlett on their way down to Newhaven where they will board the ferry for an overnight trip to Dieppe. Their actual ride will start  around 8am tomorrow morning. I am sure that you will appreciate that as the lead rider Perry has to focus hard on ensuring that the route is carefully planned. He is focused on rider safety and will spend every minute planning every mile of the day. What you will be delighted to hear is that it doesn't do anything on an empty stomach.

mmm those lamb chops were lovely

As a crew member I will get the privilege to meet all these riders in Versailles on Thursday evening ahead of the main ride. I can't thank them enough for doing such an amazing feat in not only cycling back from Versailles but actually cycling there as well. We owe you all a big croissant...

It is 10pm and the final bikes have now been stored in the garage awaiting loading on to the lorry tomorrow morning.

Ok so here is the deal. We have so far raised £51,000. I reckon that I could double that by selling this lot on e-bay. Do I have your permission???................................................................................................joking..

Well, I set you the challenge of £50,000 and you have exceeded my wildest expectations. So now as we stand at £51k I am going to be cheeky and say can we get to £55,000 by Sunday afternoon? I think we can so please get sponsors, friends and families to read the blog, check us out on twitter @3C's_charity and look at the facebook page. On twitter we will be posting videos, pictures and soundbites as to what is happening so please ask them to check these out. 

That is all for now

Till tomorrow...

And the first riders have actually started...

And so the first two intrepid cyclists have embarked on their journey in to the unknown. Yes our very own Bern (a cross between Andy Murray and a British Lion) Gilbey and Richard (hold everything and I mean everything) Cooper set off this morning from Radlett, Herts. 

Their mission to reach Paris in time for urgent pre main ride business meetings although in Richard's case that might mean a few beers by the Eiffel Tower.

The next time we will see time will be at the starting line by the Palace de Versailles. That is assuming they don't take a wrong turn and end up in Italy.

Tomorrow evening will see the start of the Day Zero ride and I will report more about that then.

By now a few of you will have seen our new ride shirt. Hats off to Perry for a great design this year. If you haven't seen it yet then you are in for a treat. Forget high fashion a GIM2013 ride shirt is priceless but not tasteless.

I hope to meet quite a few of you at the bike drop off over the next couple of days and if you get nabbed for a photo or sound bite don't be shy. We may not be the Tour De France but I expect our blog to have more followers than an official One Direction album launch.

I am actually typing this whilst sitting outside a hospital in Oxford with a belt wrapped around me taking images of a capsule that is now in my transplanted bowel. These images are then sent via Bluetooth to another device I am wearing and then the doctors can take a good look and see how the bowel is looking. Pretty cool stuff and all part of my pre-crewing build up. Like all of you I am obviously an athlete at the peak of my fitness and this is all part of my final training to ensure that I am able to get in and out of a car over three days. You don't know how lucky you are just sitting on a bike.

So by the time you read this how many more miles will Bern and Richard have cycled. Post your answers and a prize awaits the winner.

Till next time...

PS don't forget to follow us on twitter @3C's_charity and on facebook - Guts In Motion

5 days to go

Hi there

Yes there really are only 5 days to go.... oh crikey - no not oh crikey I only have 5 days left of training. It is oh crikey we have to get the ride logistics sorted. Yes while your bums are aching and muscles being rubbed down we are actually getting down to the final stages of ensuring every rider wish is met. So what does that mean?

Well today it meant the collection on 1/2 tonne of water. Yes the wonderful Paul Krisman our logistics guru was dragging his son around Costco lugging this water to our holding depot.

When I googled an image for you of Paul this is what came up.





 In actual fact this is our logistics genius Mr Paul Krisman.





In addition to our water delivery I am delighted to say that the shirts have now arrived and so when you drop off your bikes you will be presented with a pretty cool cycling top. You won't believe the debates we had over colour, design, fabric etc until finally our chief of riding Mr Perry Sugarman took over and made an executive decision. In truth what I have now lined him up for is a rider revolt if you hate the shirts. If you are in any doubt as to whom Perry is then this is what happened when I googled his image.

Yup not who you imagined I am sure and I suspect his wife might have something to say.

And here is the real Perry. When you meet him spot the difference. I am saying nothing except well perhaps something has grown in recent months......as I said I am saying nothing, I will leave all the surmising to you.

So with shirts and water sorted this last few days has been an email frenzy to ensure that all the final preparations are in hand. Lunch before you ride has been ordered - oh that reminds me we need to actually pay for it - Note to Paul, don't forget the Euros they don't take credit card!

The email frenzy is usually generated by our most organised member of the GIM team. At this point allow me to introduce you to Mr Bernhard Gilbey or Bern to his friends. He has even been known to be called Bernie by the odd person although somehow that tag doesn't seem to fit. Google our Bernie as this is who you might find.

Quite why this image should come up when you search for Bern I have no idea. Bern if you could shed a little light on this then we would all like to know.



Of course that is not THE MR GILBEY, but at little more searching and you find this suave and fairly sophisticated man.

Bern organises all the paperwork as well as being the brains behind our webinar and logistics dial ins. He also finds the time to ensure all the essentials such as medical forms and waivers are complete (if you haven't sent them in yet then please do) and that we are ready to go. You are now probably wondering what the final member of our team has been up to this last week. Yes, you will have received emails from him, perhaps even the odd phone call and I would imagine that the soft caring tone that comes across in his correspondence has really resonated with you.

You see Andy Goodman or The Vicar

 as we affectionately call him is the calming influence on all of us. He cajoles, quietly organizes, emails me fantastic spreadsheet updates and has a wonderful overview of the whole ride. This last week has seen Andy organise every one of you with rider numbers, tags and tickets and generally have everything in place for you from the moment you drop your bike off to the moment you arrive at St Pancras. Yes I know Paul will argue that is was him who organised the train tickets but Andy is the one that just brings things all together. While we run around, he is this serene calming influence. It also helps that he seems to be nominated as our tech guru. In reality it meant he set up our database and email system. So if all our communications are going to your junk folders blame Andy. Oh and if you are not sure who the real Andy is then this is a good likeness.

Quite a sultry pose if you ask me.

As for me, well you know I am Michael and over the next week I am going to be responsible for all the communications that go out. That will include all the updates from the ride itself.

So what does that mean.
Well you can follow this blog which will be updated regularly. If you want to respond with any email addresses that you want added to the database then let me know and I will add them on.

In addition please follow us on twitter. Our handle is @3C's_charity
Please check out our facebook group Guts In Motion
Don't forget if you enter your email to follow this blog you will then automatically receive updates as they go out.