Boys & Girls on Bikes

The Cave Team
click image to enlarge

The Cave Team were relieved to survive the Oakhaven Bike and Hike Challenge on Sunday. After a wet Saturday, the weather turned out dry and sunny, although seeing Jon & James wearing shorts and riding a tandem traumatised a number of onlookers.

The Cave Team of 13 either cycled 5, 15 or 30 miles whilst the hikers walked 6 or 10 miles. 

Cyclists, like speedbumps and tractors, are of course things that should be kept off roads, and we were happy to see the event was kept to the forest tracks, avoiding stress for unreasonable motorists like me.

click image to enlarge

There were no major incidents for the team, apart from two punctures. 

Luckily, Jon and James' tandem was provided with a repair kit. The kit was fine, but their ability to use it was not so good, and the process took longer than fitting a new rocket booster on the space shuttle.

Poor Andy Parr had no help after getting his puncture 3 miles from the end, which resulted in him having to walk to the finish line! 

As the race was under-way, two old ladies were sitting in deck chairs watching the cyclists go by. As Jon & James passed, one of them had a stroke and the other one was really annoyed, as she could not reach.

Jon and James demonstrating
their cycling skills
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Two blokes on a tandem is asking for trouble really, but the lads survived the ride through the forest even though there were quite a few hair raising situations. James recalls; "At one stage we were barrelling down a hill with no brakes shouting to other bike riders "Don't stop, we are coming through!"  Witnesses have however told us that they were not shouting, but clearly screaming like big girls.

The whole team agreed that they had a great time, apart from the sore parts left in a few tender places.

After the ride, the team returned to The Cave to be greeted by Stacey with some well deserved drinks and nibbles whilst they recalled stories of their days adventure.

Organiser, Sharon Parr would like to thank everyone that sponsored them and she will announce the grand total raised in the next couple of weeks. After that she will start planning for The Cave Team to take to the saddle again next year!

PS: I am considering joining the team next year using a motorcycle with sidecar. My wife is however not looking too enthusiastic at the prospect of taking the passenger seat, but I still have a year to work on her!

The Cave

Church Hill, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QH
www.thecavemos.co.uk