I'm cycling 50 miles on Sunday 4 October to change young lives!
At a time where almost a million young people in the UK are out of work, The King’s Trust are committed to ending youth unemployment, and I’m doing my part by taking on Palace to Palace! I’ve challenged myself to cycle 50 miles across London and raise funds to help young people get into work.
The King's Trust (formerly known as The Prince’s Trust) is a youth charity providing long-term support and tailored programmes that empower young people across the UK to transform their lives. Every penny raised will help break down barriers, open doors and support young people to build the confidence and skills they need to find work.
Please help me support The King's Trust by sponsoring my Palace to Palace challenge and sharing my page to double the impact. A donation of £26 could cover the cost of travel for an isolated young person to attend a one-week King’s Trust course, helping them build vital skills and gain valuable work experience.
I did this event 4 years ago when it was a mere 45 miles. I trained for it and it took me nearly 6 hours to complete. For the 50th anniversary, the distance has been bumped up to 50 miles and I will need to train to test and improve all the things that made it more than a little uncomfortable last time - mainly my saddle which has already been upgraded!
This will be my longest bike ride ever so please sponsor me to support young people through the Kings Trust.
My Achievements
Raised £50 in The King's Trust 50th anniversary year!
Received 10 donations
Updated profile picture
Shared fundraising page
Made a self donation
Half way there!
Fundraising target achieved!
Raised £300!
My Updates
23 miles done
Monday 7th Sep After no cycling for a week, I gambled and rode 23 miles on Saturday with my husband. His Wahoo gives « helpful » information about the gradient and he told me we only had 4 hills to climb on the route. Nice. Off we went, 1st hill was only 5% so we reached the next hill which seemed harder to my legs but was apparently « not a hill » as the Wahoo didn’t register the gradient.
17 miles done
Monday 31st Aug Adjusting the saddle has made a world of difference to my comfort and I'm building up my distance slowly. I should have done 20 miles this week but weekend plans have got in the way of my long rides. I did 17 last week and it felt very comfortable. I'm keeping it easy in line with the professional advice but still racking up some good-for-me times on familiar routes. Now that the days are getting shorter, I only just got back as as the sun was setting. It's time to dig out the bike lights for any more evening rides to keep me safe and to avoid surprising the local car drivers. Only just over a month to go now and I'm not feeling ready yet but hopefully I'm on track for a fun day.
Full training week completed
Sunday 9th AugI completed all three training rides this week. It was a quiet week, so no excuses for skipping any of it. When I set out on the long ride today, my sit bones were feeling as though they’d been battered by a rolling pin. Not a great start. Post-ride research was needed.
The ride itself was fine and, as with every ride this week, I scored a few “achievements” in Strava which feels positive and naturally keeps me hooked on using Strava - after all where else have I donated all my activity data?
When I got back, I was in even more pain so, after freshening up, I went down a saddle rabbit hole. No, there’s no perfect saddle. No, it’s not just the saddle but it could be the bike set up that’s wrong. And no, it won’t get batter by riding through it to “toughen up”. “Flap mash” is a real problem and the only way to avoid is a lot of trial and error to get the set up right for the rider.
The next ride should be on Tuesday so I’ll try some small saddle adjustments and see if it’s any better. I’ve noted the saddle recommended by Ro (@britishadventuremum) for her massive fundraising LEJOG adventure with her two kids (What a heroine!) so will keep that as a later option. Two months feels like enough time to tweak the bike and still try a new saddle if needed. Roll on the next ride.
First Training Ride - done!
Wednesday 5th AugI first did Palace to Palace four years ago. It was the longest ride of my life and my training wasn't particularly structured. I definitely suffered some injuries from the event, which was a hard lesson about the importance of the right saddle. I upgraded my saddle afterwards but I'm determined to do things differently (and better) this time.
To kick things off, I downloaded the official P2P training plan and did my first long ride of 20km. There aren't many hills near me (I live in a "Vale") so this could be a challenge because I know there are at least 3 tasty hills on the Classic route that will test me. But I can certainly cover the distances.
For my first ride at the end of July, I rode out to the local railway centre where I had been lighting our AmDram murder mystery performance the night before. 10k out - stop for a snack from my pocket - 10k back. I was going at an easy pace yet Strava told me I hit 3 segment PBs so that gave me a boost and hope that I will be even stronger by event day.
Thank you to my Sponsors
£200
Liliane Binnie
£35
Shotton Family
Good luck Sarah, you've got this!!
£35
Stephen Christie
£30
Sarah Harris
£30
Clare Bulgarelli
£25
Nadia Sherriff
Well done lovely.
£25
Mary Mcdermott
Fantastic Sarah hope the training is going well.x
£20
Ann Taylor
Good luck Sarah. You can do it.
£20
Tante Claire
£20
Beth Vining
Go Girl! You've got this 🚴🚴🚴
£20
Ann Taylor
Good luck Sarah. You can do it!
£10
Emily Maynard
Good luck
£10
Margaret Beever
Good luck Sarah! 🚴♀️ xx
I am so proud of you for doing this. On the day may the wind be behind you. I shall be cheering you in my thoughts