Stage 4

The time came when I felt it was safe to venture outside on my beautiful new Legend bike, now desecrated by the addition of a set of tri-bars. Some things just don't look right. Tri-bars belong on bikes made for time trialling or triathlon. The geometry of these machines is completely different to that that of a normal road racing bike. Mine now looked as if it wasn't sure what it wanted to be.

Aesthetics was the last of my problems when I tried it for the first time. It felt like I was having to learn to ride a bike all over again and I was not at all a good pupil. Perhaps it would have been better had I chosen a day when there wasn't a howling gale trying to push me into the gutter or overtaking cars, but that would have ruled out the whole of 2012 so far. Call me a wuss but I have got used over the years to having 2 brakes immediately at hand. There is something vaguely comforting about the thought that if you are tonking along and something unexpected happens (and when cycling it pays to expect the unexpected whether that comes dog shaped, pedestrian shaped, white van shaped and yes, also other cyclist shaped).

With clip on tri-bars you are in an odd, stretched out position, almost prone on the bike rather than sitting on it. Because your head is down your field of vision is limited to the road immediately ahead. Yes, you can lift your head but that makes your neck hurt and, as your back is already complaining, why double the grief? And there are no brakes. Well, that is not quite true. The brakes are there where they have always been of course - at the ends of the handlebars. But although bike technology is improving all the time, thought activated braking systems are still in their infancy being tested in some laboratory in Japan.

Currently, to slow or stop a moving bicyle you need to apply pressure on your brakes with your hands. Or you can of course just fall off, which works just as well but is generally considered a one off solution. And here's the rub. With tri-bars your hands are somewhere else entirely. For all the use they are they may as well be in another galaxy many light years away, or so it seemed to me that windy day when I was taking my first hesitant pedal strokes and couldn't rid my mind of multi-shaped unexpected reasons I might need to stop this stupidity urgently and how I would achieve that without needing immediate paramedic assistance. But riding with tri-bars is in some ways like learning to ride a bike. One minute it seems it is all going to end in tears and the next it feels the most natural position in the world and you are wondering if you have left it too late to claim your rightful place in Team GB for London 2012.

Stage 3

It has been an interesting couple of months. First I decided to treat myself to a new frame and have it custom made for me through Bike Science, specialist bike fitters based here in Bristol. All very exciting especially as the frame was being built for me in Italy by renowned frame builder Marco Bertoletti. It was the first frame he had made for the British market and he was able to present it to me personally when visiting Bespoked, a posh bike fair for handmade machines which took place in Bristol in April.

However in the meantime I had something of a setback in my plans and training for the big ride in September. In March I realised I had a problem with my right hand. I was out on a ride and found I lacked the strength to change gear. I had it checked and the diagnosis was entrapment of the ulnar nerve. After nerve conduction studies (sounds innocent doesn't it but having electrodes applied and then 6 volts every minute or so for the best part of an hour is the nearest I hope I ever come to torture...)I was told the problem was in my wrist and that the nerve was being compressed at Guyon's canal. You've heard of tennis elbow and housemaid's knee - well, welcome to Handlebar Palsy so called because it particularly affects cyclists. Oh, and for good measure I also had carpal tunnel syndrome. I had it bad and would need surgery but the initial advice was that this could wait until after the Ride Across Britain.

Something didn't quite seem right about this so I saw a hand surgeon who specialises in sports injuries and he advised that I should not delay in case it got any worse. The good news was that I could be back on the road after about a month although I would have to use tri-bars for a month or 2 so that I was carrying my weight on my forearms rather than my recovering wrist. So the knife it was! Training could not stop completely. I set up a bike on a turbo trainer in the kitchen and instead of enjoying the delights of this wonderful early summer weather we have been having resigned myself to churning away indoors, going nowhere and producing a pool of sweat on the floor almost as deep as the puddles of rain in the garden outside.

Stage 2

This will not be the first time I have done a long bike ride! In fact, you could say I've been around a bit. In my time I have ridden in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Rockies and have even been mountain biking in the Himalayas.

My love of cycling really started when Helen and I took a year off, many years ago now, and cycled through Europe to Israel. We enjoyed the experience so much that we decided to cycle home six months later!

More recently, we rode together from London to Paris and with our dog Monty even did a charity ride from Bristol to London together! All this must add up to many thousands of miles.

But never have I tried to tackle a trip of over 100 miles a day for 9 days non stop. The RAB seemed a fitting target for such a good cause.

Stage 1

So, why am I doing this ride and what is the Sam keen Foundation all about?

Sam Keen was my nephew. He died of malignant melanoma in November 2011. Sam touched the lives of all who knew him. His overriding thought throughout his long illness was to remain positive and protect all those around him. He fought his cancer for 7 years; with dignity, great courage and a total lack of self pity.

Undergoing over twenty operations to remove tumours, Sam endured chemotherapy, radiotherapy, gamma knife brain radiotherapy and several cutting-edge experimental melanoma drugs.

At the forefront of the fight against malignant melanoma is Sam’s oncologist for the entire 7 years, Professor Martin Gore, Medical Director of the Royal Marsden Hospital, the UK’s centre of excellence for cancer treatment. Sam’s wife and family are aiming to raise £100,000 to help Professor Gore in his fight against this cruel disease.

We are asking everyone to contribute to The Sam Keen Foundation, the vehicle being used for us all to remember Sam’s heroic fight. To donate online, simply follow the link to my Justgiving page and don’t forget to tick the Gift Aid box.

The prologue

This is just to explain the name of this blog.

My name is Richard Anthony Barcan (RAB). In September 2012 I shall be taking part in the Ride Across Britain (RAB), a major cycling challenge from Lands End to John o'Groats - just under 1000 miles in 9 days (no rest days!) with over 20,000 meters of climbing.

The aim of my ride is to raise £10,000 to help the Royal Marsden Hospital in its fight against the skin cancer malignant melanoma via The Sam Keen Foundation.

I will use this blog to keep my family, friends and supporters updated with how my training is going and on the ride itself.

Hence RAB's RAB bits