Introduction

For quite a few years myself and my mate Aaron have ridden in the CLIC24 charity mountain bike enduro event. For about as long we've been talking about doing the UK Coast to Coast cycle route and have managed to put it off every year. This year sadly CLIC24 was not run so the time seemed right to have a crack at the C2C.

So we've booked some time off work in September and have decided to do the ride including the off road stages. We're planning to do it unassisted but have decided to stay in B&B's along the way rather than dragging a load of camping gear with us.

It's now just under 12 weeks until we set off and we've done no more preparation than booking the time off work. I've bought a new bike as my full suspension bike is not going to be the right tool for the job. We've not ridden since May last year. We're getting together in a few weeks for a weekend of riding and some planning.

On the to-do list at the moment is the following but I'm sure this is going to grow as we think through what we're committing ourselves to.

- How do we get to the start and back home again.
- Where are we starting from and finishing.
- Which route will we take.
- Day planning or wing it?
- Accomodation options along the way.
- Bike preparation.
- Training plan.
- What luggage will we need inc spares, nutrition, etc.
- Who can we contact if stuff breaks or things go wrong?
- Which charities will we be riding for?
- Have we bitten off more than we can chew?..............maybe!