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.

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