#10in10 First Reflections....

Dave 'The Broom' at Work...!

One of the Great Meals prepared by Lorenzo...

It's now just over a week since we returned from the Ten Countries in Ten Days (10in10) ride and I thought that it was about time I started a short series of posts here at Purpletraveller looking back on the ride and various aspects concerning it's success's and failure's.....plus a few facts and figures...

It must be about five years ago now when after seeing a programme on television concerning cycling I first became aware of the Cyclists Chapel at the top of The Ghisallo climb near the shores of Lake Como in Italy..... I can remember after watching the programme turning to Anne and saying "I would love to go there...I would love to cycle from the UK to visit it, what a ride that would be." Anne replied  "Well do it then."
A seed was sown....it became another ride on my to do list filed in the back of my mind....but it wasn't until last October when I completed my 10,000 mile self set mileage target that everything clicked into place to make 2013 the right year to do it.....

I had made a comment on twitter concerning reaching my 10k target and asking for suggestions for another cycling goal to work towards.... @JonJoynes who at that time I had never met replied with "What about ten countries in ten days" I liked the idea and the more I thought about it the more I realised that it would be an ideal way to fulfill my dream of cycling from the UK and completing the Ghisallo....

Jon and I met up, as the more he thought about it the more he felt that he would like to do it too...The plans were set...Dave Vaughan was recruited as support driver having been involved in a number of my previous supported rides...John Donoghue expressed an interest in giving it a spin and also a friend of his Lorenzo Maraspin said he wanted to do it too.... 

Eight months later...it's done!!

Two big thank you's to be made.......

I must say a big thank you to Dave Vaughan for all the back up he gave the team.... Logistics on this sort of project is always difficult but it was made easier by having Dave support us....Indeed at the point it became obvious mid way through the ride that the team would need to split into two sections in order to succeed, without his support the 10in10 attempt would probably have ended  there and then.

The other big thank you must be made to Lorenzo who took on the role of Team Chef from the middle of the ride...
The meals that he managed to produce for us were the best that I have ever had on any cycling trip  I have been on...... Pasta...Rice...etc all the right kind of food that we needed to keep us properly fuelled for the task we had taken on....

Over the next few postings I will be looking at our nutrition in general...as well as training for the ride...the Highs and Lows of the trip....plus more photos etc........