Three weeks to go and I'm not sure whether I should be racking the miles up or easing off a bit; as a consequence I'm doing neither.

Saturday was a fine morning to be out cycling, but I just couldn't quite get into the usual rythm.  I struggled along for 40 miles and then decided to up the pace considerably as I was not expecting to have time to go out cycling on Sunday.

The weather has been superb this week.  I managed to get in a couple of weekday rides.  Tuesday's ride was a 25 mile blast around North Shropshire which was nearly scuppered by a pinch puncture 4 miles into the ride.  I carry a spare tube so no need to fix it on the roadside.

On Wednesday the Shropshire Star visited school to take my picture and ran the story in the south shropshire version only on Thursday 24th.  The South Shropshire journal also ran the same story on Friday 25th.

The West Midlands Regional Chairman of the Lord's Taverners visited school on Friday and has offered 2 tickets for the England Vs Pakistan test at Edgbaston and a signed (Warwickshire 2010) cricket bat as raffle prizes or for an auction.

I cycled home from school on Friday (29 miles) as a warm up to a couple of long rides planned for the weekend.  It was hot.

On Saturday when I really did want to be in bed still, I set off for Builth Wells.  It was very warm even at half eight in the morning.  I stopped at the school to refill a water bottle before stopping in Leintwardine for a bacon sandwich.  This was just over half way so I was feeling pleased that my knee was behaving, no pain at all.

The journey to Builth Wells from Leintwardine is much hillier than the first part of the ride and by now the sunshine was relentless.  It was a bit slower than the first part of the ride but I arrived in Builth Wells at 2:30 pm, 75 miles in the bag.  Heidi's thermometer said 26 degrees.  Scorchio.

The return journey on Sunday was a bit tougher going and I could feel the previous 105 miles from the last two days in my legs.  All was going well after the obligatory bacon sandwich at Leintwardine.  It was very hot again and I was trying to get back in good time to settle down and watch England teach the Germans a thing or two about football.  I needed to be back for a 3pm kick off. 

I was really motoring through Craven Arms, Church Stretton, Leebotwood and Dorrington.  Just outside Dorrington, however, I had another puncture in the front wheel.  It was at this point that I remebered that I hadn't fixed the innertube from Tuesday.  At probably the worst point possible to have to stop on the side of the road and fix the puncture I found myself burning up in the sun trying to find where the tube had punctured.  I couldn't find a puncture so retuned the tube to the wheel, put the tyre back on and tried to pump it up.  I only carry a small pump designed to 'get you home'.  I couldn't get the pressure any higher than about 40psi (the tyre usually runs at 100 psi).  When I removed the pump the valve broke, fortunately the air stayed in but I still had about 16 miles to go.  I just had to hope the tyre would hold out.

The tyre did hold out and I got home at 2pm.  The return journey was faster, despite the dodgy tyre pressure.

A quick shower and change of clothes and I settled down to waste an hour and a half of my life.  The worst England performance I can ever remember watching. I cleaned Pablo ready for a service after the game.

So much football on the TV!  This can make motivation to go cycling difficult.

Unfortunately England performances have been as poor as I can ever remember seeing at a World Cup.  This makes going out cycling much more of an attractive prospect.

With only one midweek ride in the bag (of 35 miles) I needed to put a reasonable number of miles in at the weekend.  The trouble was, I didn't feel too good.  Never the less I found myself out and about in North Shropshire at 9.30 AM on Saturday.  The steep learning curve continues.  Don't assume that the weather forecast is accurate and go out in just a short sleeve shirt and lycra shorts.  It was freezing, but I managed a reasonable 35 miles before lunchtime.

Sunday was Father's day so I was greeted with tea and toast in bed.  The weather looked glorious and I was just planning out my route for the day when the phone rang.  It was Radio Shropshire asking for an interview.

This scuppered my plans to get some miles in before lunch.  They arranged to come to my house at 11 am, which gave me time to weed the path and mow the lawn.

After this I went out for a 45 mile ride around Shrewsbury, Wroxeter and Haughmond Hill, finishing back in North Shropshire.  The sunshine was very welcome after yesterday, it took my mind off the knee pain that has returned to my right knee, at the front this time.  The weekly total is a bit dismal, but good for a busy week at school.

Sunday was a rest day.  We were staying with friends in Bristol.  We visited the SS Great Britain and tried on an Isambard Kingdom Brunnel hat.  There were plenty of hills to test out my legs which was good.  The day seemed to fly by and the return journey to Shropshire loomed.  I really did feel as tired as I look in the picture.

After a long ride it is very important to do a recovery ride (the next day) to keep the muscles working, but very gently.  I can recommend the journey from Uffington to the Quarry in Shrewsbury.  Towing someone else was probably not as gentle as it could have been though!

Day 3 of my high frequency training regime is complete.  It is surprisingly tough, but it will pay off in the long run....?

The 10 mile route I started with on Sunday wasn't great so I have switched to a different destination that is 6 miles away from my house, so the 10 mile trip has become 12!

Have so far received 23 rejection letters for sponsorship, a bit disappointing.  Check out the sponsorship page for those companies that have offered support so far. 

You can also donate online if you wish.  Fund raising in school is coming along, 9Z are busy doing their bit by cycling 1 mile each for £1 sponsorship, photos on the 9Z challenge page.