Nick Rides Again!

‘With events curtailed generally owing to the pandemic, the opportunity to participate in Ride London again in 2022 proved irresistible.  I was lucky to secure a place in the ballot and, once again, will be riding the 100+ miles in aid of the Trust.  This time the route goes out to Essex and back, and finishes under Tower Bridge.  The event is slightly earlier in the calendar and so my training has had to start earlier.  As a consequence, there have have been many pre-dawn starts and sub-zero temperatures!  Please do consider sponsoring my challenge – it is a great cause!’

Air Vice-Marshal N J E Kurth CBE FRGS

Nick will be taking part in the 2022 Ride London-Essex 100 event on 29th May 2022. Nick is donating all monies raised to The Ulysses Trust. In fact Nick is covering all additional fees from his own pocket, so every penny you donate will go directly to the charity (thank you Nick).

In 2018, Nick’s sponsors helped to raise a fantastic £6,550 for the Trust. This sum was enough to support two medium sized expeditions – providing life changing experiences for a number of the country’s young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Nick has already begun his grueling training regime but hopes to be in good shape to complete the 100 miles in some 6+ hours.

So please support Nick and the Trust by visiting his fundraising page.

Thank you!

Here are a selection of extracts from Nick’s training diary and photos taken by Nick during his training as he prepares for the big event!

14/03/2022 Sunday was the main event and one of the key planks for my Ride London 100 preparation – the Berkhamsted Cycling Club Reliability Ride.  For those not in the know (I suspect most if not all!) a Reliability Ride is a self-supported ride over a set course and is used in Winter months to prepare for longer distances in the Summer.  The downside to this seemingly clever idea is that it generally involves bicycling in wet, cold and windy weather; Sunday did not disappoint!  It was wet to start with but did dry out.  The wind was a constant 16+ mph and was carefully orientated to ensure that it was a headwind for the whole of the return leg!  Struggles make one stronger!  It probably didn’t help that I rode with a GB age group triathlete!  Nevertheless, it was 65 miles in the bag and onto the next training serial – riding with an RAF climbing friend next Saturday in the Chiltern Hills.  

21/03/2022: Continuing my training, I spent Saturday hitting the Chiltern Hills with an RAF mountaineering friend of mine – a serving Air Commodore.  We managed to get nearly 2000 feet of climbing in and ended up at Whipsnade Zoo (see photo below).  It was his first ride in the area and to quote him, ‘I really enjoyed the hills but found the ride back (on the flat Aylesbury Vale) really hard owing to the 14.3 mph headwind!’ So, the wind trumped the ascent in terms of difficulty.  It was still cold for the ride (2 deg with wind chill added in) but the sun was most welcome.  Hopefully, it will start warming up this week and my shorts might make an appearance.  My winter bike has now been stored and my lighter summer bike will be my steed of choice now.  Ten weeks to go ’til Ride London 100! On Saturday I helped a new rider to both cycling and my cycling club getting to grips with some of the local hills.  It is not until you help a ‘newbie’ you realise that actually there is a quite a lot to learn despite that riding a bike should be so second nature. 

03/04/2022 Despite the almost permafrost that pervades Hertfordshire currently, I am still toiling away on my bicycle.  I am sticking with my Summer bike but was in full Winter kit on Saturday. I had to wait for the frost to disappear before riding on Saturday.  It was 3 deg (0 deg with windchill added to the mix) but I still managed to get just under 36 miles in.  The coffee afterwards was well received!  I have another longer ride next Saturday – over 60 miles; I am hoping for warmer weather!

10/04/2022 It was another cold start on Saturday (1 deg and with wind chill -3 deg!); I had delayed my start pending the frost disappearing.  The good news was that I managed to get 62 miles in – which was my second 60+ mile ride and sets me up nicely for the event in 7 weeks time.  I will do one more 60 miler, some shorter high intensity work outs and I agreed to accompany a local rider for a ‘gentle’ 50 mile charity ride 6 days before Ride London 100 – more a tapering session. Whilst on Saturday’s ride, I bumped into a fellow club cyclist whose electronic gear changing was struggling as it had run out of  charge!  I escorted him back to a local cafe and we had a very pleasant bacon roll and coffee in the sun, before I headed out again.  Meanwhile, he made it back home before his technology failed completely.  He had lost half his gears when I met him and the degrade position was potentially down to a single gear and he had a steep hill to climb near his house!

19/04/2022 Managed to get 3 rides in over the Easter period and the warmer weather was most welcome!  Whilst the starts were still a tad cold, I am now in shorts (but with long sleeved tops!) The accumulated distance was some 75 miles and it was a joy to be on my Summer bike; it is lighter, faster and more comfortable.

30/04/22 By way of an update, there are 4 weeks to go until Ride London 100 – which caught my attention! Another 60+ miles this week and both rides were in the sunshine. They were chilly to start with but once the sun started coming though …  Last week I contributed to the Cycling Club by leading a group; we use a formal ride leader for the slower group in the Club (we run out some 7 different speed groups). The Ride Leader follows the route for the group, manages safety and ensures that everyone has a good experience. The Club was back in its normal home after the Winter – the Berkhamsted Cricket Club, with its excellent views of the local hills (and importantly the provision of much sought after coffee and doughnuts!) I am very grateful to all those who have sponsored me and I have raised over £900 for the Trust. My target is £1000 – the size of a Trust grant for a small expedition. If you have not sponsored me please do consider it, as I keen to hit my target.  Your much valued sponsorship has certainly focused my mind during the tricky periods.

07/05/22 By way of an update, there are now 3 weeks to go until Ride London 100 – which is worryingly close! Today’s unusual statistic is that I completed 60+ miles within 23 hours of leaving Paris. (I had a a few days break with my wife, staying at the French Officers’ Club.). The first 90 minutes of today’s ride were spent in drizzle/rain and I was pretty drenched. Thankfully, the weather cleared later on. I am very grateful to all those who have sponsored me and I am now just £20 short of my target for the Trust; my target is £1,000 – the size of a Trust grant for a small expedition. If you have not sponsored me please do consider it, as I keen to hit my target. Your much valued sponsorship has certainly focused my mind during the tricky periods.

14/05/22 You will be pleased to note that this will be one of the final few updates before Ride London 100. Another (shorter) endurance ride today of 41+ miles in some glorious weather (about time!) To go, I have one more high intensity session up some local hills and Ride Chartridge – a local charity sportive which I have always supported. Then it is the big one! Many are put off by the logistics required by Ride London – and perhaps with good reason! Several friends and I have had to book a taxi to leave my town at 0515, as it is too early for a train into the city. Then it is a question of getting to my ‘wave start gate’; I am on Wave j, which requires being in my pen by 0700-0715. The start will be at 0740-0755. The issue is trying to get 25,000+ cyclists through an electronic start gate (to trip timing) such that there is time for the pro race afterwards. (Keep an eye out for our local pro cyclist, Anna Henderson with Jumbo-Visma, – her mother rides with my Club!). Top marks to all those who have sponsored me but I am still £20 short of my target!  Who will be mentioned in despatches for filling this gap? I should be grateful if someone would!  My target of £1,000 will support a Trust grant for a small expedition. All money raised goes to the Charity and I have covered all the associated expenses – entry, bike maintenance, training costs, taxi and train back (sorry to my wife who has both sponsored me and helped pay for these costs!)

15/05/22 Stop press – have now hit my £1000 target – enough for a small expedition.

22/05/22 This is the last update before Ride London 100 next Sunday. I undertook my final ride before the event today – a ‘tapering ride’ helping a friend of mine to get back on her bike.  We did Ride Chartridge – an event supporting a local school.  By the time I rode to the start and cycled home afterwards it was 50+ miles and over 2600’ of ascent. Turning to next Sunday, 3 of us will be sharing a taxi at 0515, although the trip back from the finish at Tower Bridge to Euston looks problematic.  The professional road race has closed off many of the roads I would use so it is out with the London A to Z (if that still exists) but Google failing that! I am grateful to all those who have sponsored me and, as reported previously, I have passed the £1000 target.  So, it set me thinking!  Looking at my 2 previous Ride London sponsorship amounts and the sponsorship raised this time, I have raised in the region of £9200.  The question is whether I can make £10,000 with the 3 events, noting that this is the last time I will be undertaking Ride London.  So, please think about sponsoring me if you have not already done so (and thank you to those who have sponsored me!)  My fundraising page is here: fundraising page. Thank you for your interest.