JoGLE in Memory of Sdn Ldr Ant Downing

On the 22nd December 2011 Sdn Ldr Anthony Downing was seriously wounded when the vehicle he was travelling in was caught in an explosion south of Kabul. Ant was flown back to the UK where sadly he died of his wounds at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Ant was my brother, an exceptionally good man and an inspiration to so many, myself included. From an early age he tried to push himself to see what he was capable of. Whilst he was at school he competed in endurance events in running and cycling and as an adult went on to such feats as cycling across America in 25 days a number of Iron Man competitions and completed a Double Iron Man too.

At his funeral the idea of retracing his wheel tracks on a ride across the USA was talked over with many of Ant's friends. I said on a number of times I would like to give it a go. This ride however is not quite so ambitious; it is a training ride to see if I have it within me to cycle long distances. Ant completed the Lands End to John O' Groats trip on his own in 1999. The journey should be approximately 874 miles, hence the target for the fund-raising. My friend Chris Tremblett and I shall be doing the journey in September the other way around mainly due to logistical reasons.

We have been told on a number of occasions that going North to South is the awkward way to do it as we will be pedalling into the wind every day. However, Scotland is high up on the map and Cornwall is at the bottom so although it's a long way it will all be down hill. How hard can it be?


Very, I suspect...

Monday 3 September 2012

T minus 12 Days

I loaded up the bike today with the panniers Ant used for his ride across the states and my first impression was there is not a lot of room in them. After trying to put all the things I'll need in there I'm very certain that there is not a lot of room in there. Still, by taking along a small rucksack there is just about enough carrying capacity for everything.



The bike feels very different with all the weight on it and it's much more difficult to climb hills whilst standing, you need to sit down and just spin away in a high gear. Despite the weight I did 40 miles around Plymouth up all of the unpleasant hills I could think of. I climbed Jennycliffe, Bovisand, Wembry hills and Normandy hill from the river up to the bridge. The rack was twisting a bit and rubbing against the rear wheel but a visit to The Bike Cellar in Plymstock yielded some inner tube to pad out the clamp which has sorted that. They have been kind to me and have donated a few bits and pieces to the bike, as well as providing a box to pack it into which I shall pick up tomorrow.

Speaking of bike shops I went to Halfords at Marsh Mills today and spoke to Ian, their customer service manager. I'd spoken to him last month about the JoGLE ride and he told me to come back nearer the time and they would have something to help me on the journey. Ian remembered me and introduced me to their Cycle department manager Des who was very busy but still found the time to sort me out with a free customer care service plan and a very shiny new front Gecko light. Thank you very, very much to you two and Halfords indeed.
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