• Month Training: 67 hours
• Monthly Road Miles : 904 miles
• Hours to date : 489 hours
• Mileage to date : 4551 road miles (+920 miles indoors)


Final month of training complete. Now it’s just a case of getting to the US and raising sponsorship for Prostate Cancer: www.justgiving.com/adamndenton. All support is really appreciated. If you don’t like online donations but would like to contribute just let me know and I can sort out alternative ways to pay (cash, cheque etc)!

So training this month has been mainly focused on increasing intensity (riding faster) over shorter distances and as such nothing epic to report. Just lots of 2-3 hour rides trying to keep the pace just above RAAM pace (30kmh plus). Only excitement in the month was getting knocked off the bike on the Kings Road – by another cyclist. Apparently, a bike stopping for children on pedestrian crossings is so unusual in London you become a legitimate target for out of control itinerant South Africans. Fortunately no lasting damage.

The most notable training session was a 24hr simulation. Starting Friday at 6pm, riding 40 minute intervals with a 30 minute rest, through to 2am and then starting again from 10am to 6pm on the Saturday. All ridden solo, in the rain, this replicated the anticipated RAAM ride patterns. On reflection it was surprisingly OK, although at the time it was cold, painful and pretty miserable. All I have to do is repeat the pattern seven times and in theory I will arrive in Annapolis on schedule.

Training has gone as well as I could have hoped. The biggest problem is probably the lack of any heat in the UK so far this year. The hottest day we have had was about 25 degrees and that was only for a day. May has been one of the coldest on record. Even our road trip to France was met with perfect riding weather - cool and grey! We will see what happens when we have to exercise in 30+ degrees. Hopefully it will be fine.

Below are my highs, lows, and surprises from six months training.

High Points
• The training camp with the Rapha Condor Sharp pro team in Malaga. A great experience and the moment I realised I really like riding bikes up hills!
• Glastonbury weekend. Back to back 200km rides with the second day averaging over 30kmh. It felt like the RAAM was possible at the end of the weekend.
• French weekend 260km and then 250km back to back at silly speeds. The ride was surprisingly easy and the French experience a joy in comparison with riding round SE England
• Finishing the 24hr simulation and completing the 112 mile in 5hr 15min (Target RAAM daily distance in 6 hours). Just proving to myself it might be possible.

Low Points
• A shocking ride in the wet in November. The chamois in an old pair of shorts rubbed so badly they drew blood. I couldn’t keep up with the boys either.
• Hypothermia at Easter. Just stupidity really, but one not to repeat
• Hell of Ashdown. Shocking day where Dan and I were at our least coordinated. Lost on the way there and car broke down on the way home. It was icy and it snowed on the way round. All in a day to forget
• Norovirus. Passing out 3 times is never going to get onto the highlights of a training year.

Biggest Surprises
• A good pair of cycling shorts is worth every penny when you start riding distances
• How quickly my original training plan collapsed and I focussed 100% on the RAAM. Getting back swimming and running is going to really hurt
• Garmin 705 – What did I do before I had one of these?
• Social networking. A whole new world.

So two weeks to the start, and hopefully three weeks to the end of the adventure. We will try to keep people updated on www.sharp4prostate.com on the team and individual Facebook pages and via the team twitter @sharp4prostate or my twitter @adamndenton.