Team Welsh Ride the Alps Challenge

  So after the excitement of waiting for the start of our challenge ride my dreams and expectations were shattered after less than 30km. Away from the hotel and rolling along nicely with Mike, Graham and George and with every intention of taking the longer extended route my gear-shifting decided to play difficult after less than 20km. After some roadside maintenance and the diagnostic skills of George I was back underway, only for the same problem to re-appear less than 10km later. At this point it is important to note that if you are to have a mechanical, it is potentially useful to have it less than 400m from a decent bike shop. The well-mannered and English-speaking Pierre came to the rescue, or so we thought. After his initial confidence he realised that the right-hand shifter was terminally ill and wouldn't see the day or ride out. Needless to say this came as a major blow and it was impossible not to project to anything other than the rest of the trip being

Le Grand Depart Well, after over a year of planning and preparation, the morning of Saturday 23rd September saw our merry band leave the hotel in Nimes to set off for Bedoin and the foot of the fabled Giant of Provence, Mont Ventoux. With a choice of the 'standard' 94 miles or the 'extended' 126 the majority opted for the extended version having heard good things about the Gorge du Nesque which featured on the longer loop. Spirits were high in the morning following an exceptional evening meal the night before and an equally excellent breakfast. More to follow ...

As I type, we are less than an hour away from the step into Friday 22nd September and our day of departure. Over a year of blood, sweat, tears and gears have passed since we signed-up for the challenge ahead of us. To be honest 600 miles in 7 days and 60,000ft of climbing sounds ok when it is a year away but trust me it feels something entirely different when you need to use your passport and assemble a bike within the next 24 hours. The morning sees our Band of Brothers assemble at Turnock Towers for onward transfer to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport from where we will fly to Nimes in France. We Brexit at 3pm to land en Francais just after 6pm local time and then take a transfer to the hotel. On arrival we will greet our bikes with a kiss on both cheeks, having been separated from them since Tuesday when they began their overland journey. Once assembled and checked over me may then and only the take on the calories that will fuel our first day in the saddle and hydrate with

Team Welsh has become a living breathing thing. It began with twelve legs and thanks to a transfer request it now has fourteen. The fourteen hardly knew each other this time last year, but oh how that has changed. Your seven riders are mentor Neil Welsh (me) and mentees Steve Turnock, Andrew Holden, Mike Evans, Craig Noonan, Graham Elleray and transfer in Richard Robinson. For the purposes of this blog and on the basis that he is a colleague at PM+M and heavily involved with Blackburn Youth Zone I will also include the one and only Tony Brierley. Profiles are as follows:        Name : Neil Welsh Age : 46 Marital Status : Married Children : Caitlin (15) and Evan (12) Job Title : Independent Financial Adviser Company name : PM+M Wealth Management Job Function : Financial planning services – helping clients meet their financial goals        Sporting Achievements A cyclist for over 30 years I am the current chairman of Cycle Sport Pendle as well as a British

I am proud to work for PM+M, covering our offices in Blackburn, Burnley and Bury. I am also proud that as corporate partners to Blackburn Youth Zone our involvement, support, mentoring and fundraising makes a significant difference to the lives of young people in the area. For this reason I was delighted that they were one of the charity partners for the Alps bike ride I am about to undertake along with Rosemere Cancer Foundation. The below is taken directly from their website. Please give what you can to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NeilWelsh Welcome to Blackburn Youth Zone: dedicated to helping youth people find their spark. One of the most important parts of our work is providing opportunities for young people to develop a passion for something that positively changes their outlook and attitude – we call it finding their spark. Its about helping young people find an activity they are good at – it could be sports or arts – then enables them to channel their energy posit

I can't claim to have 'chosen' Rosemere as one of the charity partners for the forthcoming bike ride, but I'm happy that they are one of the two beneficiaries along with Blackburn Youth Zone. One of the reasons for this is that my father received radiotherapy treatment for his Prostate Cancer some 8 years ago at the Rosemere Centre in Preston. More recently the Rosemere unit at Burnley provided him with the chemotherapy that unfortunately wasn't enough to prevent his death from bowel cancer earlier this year. For those unfamiliar with Rosemere the below is extracted from their website. Please feel free to make a donation of any size to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NeilWelsh   The Rosemere Cancer Foundation supports world class cancer treatment throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria. Our aim is to work in partnership with local clinical staff to achieve the best possible care for cancer patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria wherever they are treat