I can almost hear you thinking..... No I really don't mean you, it's merely the title of a new blog which needs some explaining to find out why I put it here in the first place. I can reveal it has something to do with cycling, Jeremy Hastings from Islay Birding and David Harmon, Eurosport cycling commentator. Here we go:

Bicycle gears can be confusing, yet many still want to buy a ‘twenty-one speed mountain bike' without the faintest idea of why they need that many gears. In days of old, club cyclists' winter bikes were fitted with a fixed gear, in somewhat similar manner to bikes for very young kids. This means that the bicycle goes forward when pedalling forward, but will move backwards when the direction of pedalling is reversed. Why so? Fixed gears were used on bicycles in the early years of the Tour de france, principally because the freewheel mechanism had yet to be invented, but they are frequently employed by modern day cyclists either for the coolness factor (cycle couriers), or for the enduring notion that it improves ‘souplesse' and the ability to pedal in circles.

Jez Hastings of Islay Birding fame and David Harmon, Eurosport's cycling commentator, challenged each other during last year's London-Paris Ride, to undertake this year's event on fixed gear; that's approximately 200km per day over three days up hill and down dale on only one gear, meaning they'll also have to pedal like madmen down the hills. continue reading......

Since the more normal reaction to this is ‘you two need your heads fixed' that' provided the ideal title for a blog that they have both been writing since training began (for mr Hastings at least) in the latter part of last year. If you'd like to make yourself aware of just how unhinged cycling can get, try reading www.u2needyourheadsfixed.info. That said, we'd still like to wish them all the best for the purgatory which they are knowingly about to put themselves through.

But the story doesn't end here of course. You can bet when someone from Islay is involved in such a challenge charity isn't far away. You probably saw this coming right? Jez and David are trying to raise money while trying to prove to eachother how tough they are. The charity they selected is the Geoff Thomas Foundation which is committed to fund the essential research nurses and scientists at five major leukaemia units across the UK.

Your donations are of course very welcome, much appreciated and can be made on the following page: www.justgiving.com/jeremyhastings. Thanks on behalf of Jez, David and the Geoff Thomas Foundation!

Oh, and I can promise they won't use the money to get their heads fixed, it goes straight into the foundations bank account! :-)

Tag: charity cycling