The story of why I'm taking on this challenge is at the top.

The update of how I managed to climb 2253m is at the bottom.

Age is just a number, but I've always been in a rush to grow up and now I'm just turned 60 I'm ready to test myself.

So I'm planning to cycle up the Cols du Telegraph and Calibier in the French Alps next month, a classic Tour de France route. 2100m of climbing over 30 km, up to 14% gradient. And not on an ebike. This is much bigger than anything in Northamptonshire and requires stamina, mindset and training.

I'm aiming to raise money for the Lowdown, a charity running over 200 counselling sessions for young people from Northamptonshire with mental health needs each week. It's part funded by the NHS.

But 19-25 year olds sessions are funded entirely by donations, which is why they need your money. I think we should all know by now how difficult it is for teenagers to become fully functioning adults, and how much counselling can help bring the calm and space needed. That's why I volunteer there as a counsellor every Thursday.

These are difficult times for all young people after the pandemic, cost of living crisis, war in Europe and climate emergency on top of the normal stresses of growing up. Every week we see more young people in distress, lots of anxiety, anger, depression, low self-esteem, sometimes self-harm and suicidal thinking. Sometimes at 11 years old.

So how old is 60? I don't feel old, I was born in the same week as Michael Jordan, the same year as Jose Mourinho, Whitney Houston and Eddie the Eagle. I know who I'd most want to be out of that group, but also whom I'm most like. Can I do it? I'm overweight and the Northamptonshire Alps are limited preparation, but I'm aiming to cover over 600km and 10000m of climbing in training. So let's see.

UPDATE - I DID IT

It turns out I was lucky, and just fit enough to make it to the promised land, atop the Col du Galibier at 2642m or 8667ft (old money) on Saturday having conquered the Col du Telegraph that morning. 2272 m of climbing. A lot for an old man of 60. And through your generosity I’ve reached 92% of the £1500 fundraising target for the Lowdown to date. Nearly there on both fronts.

The Lowdown website says “It costs around £45 to provide a life changing, sometimes lifesaving counselling session for a local young person in need”, so money raised so far has covered 30 counselling sessions. Brilliant.

The fundraising page is still open if anybody else can support the Lowdown’s counselling work.

Thankyou to everybody for all the supportive messages, comments, advice and sponsorship I’ve received from work, the Lowdown, family, friends, local community, fellow counselling students and anonymous donors and people I don’t even know. I got huge support from my fellow cyclists and friends on the day, Rob, Kiran, Marcus and Gerald, and my training buddies Mark and John. And vital but secret last-minute interventions from Jim, and the love of my life Lynn. Only Dave Connelly knows.

It was a hell of a day.

A nervous morning. I’ve explained anxiety and fight or flight instinct and how it affects the body many times. On Saturday it was my turn to live feeling anxious. Longer than usual in the toilet. I haven’t missed a meal since 1963, but I couldn’t stomach breakfast for nerves. My favourite calming music helped.

“When the day that lies ahead of me seems impossible to face, When someone else instead of me always seems to know the way, Then I look at you, and the world’s alright with me….. It’s gonna be a lovely day”. I know I’d done proper preparation. Everything in place, bike, training, kit, weather, experience but nerves and hormones are still difficult to control.

I’m slow and steady going up mountains. Just Keep Going I tell myself. I’ve learned to focus on each kilometre, km after km, like a Sunday League Guardiola. One milestone at a time. Or maybe more like Dory Just keep swimming.

Milestones became friends, telling me how steep the next km is, the elevation and how far I have to go. My mathematical brain computes the distance travelled, how much higher I’ll be in 1km, and the percentage of distance and climbing done. I like that I can still do all the maths in my head. I don’t know what it says about me, but it helps takes my mind off the pain.

I had cramp in the night and worried about a left leg pain becoming cramp for the last 8km. And Saddle-soreness doesn’t get talked about much. 3 days in the saddle and a long morning in the toilet is not great preparation. It turns out old cyclists used to put steak down the back of their shorts to reduce saddle soreness, but that’s pretty rare now. It wouldn’t work for me. The speed I’d be going up the mountain, I’d be chased by dogs and flies and have birds of prey and carrion crows following. Definite non-starter. I’ll just use a cushion for the next few days and take soft moist toilet tissues with me next time.

The mountain was very busy. Dozens and dozens of flash sports cars, hundreds of cyclists, thousands of motorbikes. Even a rally of vintage mobilette French moped things, every bit as old as me. But I didn’t hold any of them up, and they mostly went down the other side, for which I was grateful.

It’s awesome seeing huge snowy mountains up the valley and inch your way up there, going past meadows and alpine flowers, above the tree line, into rocks and scree, then above the snow line. I did stop and throw a snowball. I also posed for the professional photographers as I passed.

I was furious when the 3k milestone was missing. I suspected souvenir hunters…. And it was a fantastic switchback session to end.

A massive surprise to find out all there was only a tiny car park full of bikers and knackered cyclists jostling for photos at the top. Not a cup of tea in sight. Coming down was brilliant. Before I had any proper food I’d had 5 sports gels, 4 bottles of electrolyte filled water, 2 coffees and an Orangina on the way up. On the way down I could finally eat, and I did, and smugly encourage all those people still cycling up.

It was hard. Harder than any triathlon, quadrathlon or half marathon I’ve ever done. But it was a big test, and it was fun at the end and rewarding, I’m pleased I did it. And it gets more fun the further back in time it was.

But I won’t miss my bike for the next few weeks. I won’t miss sweaty cycling gear, sticky sports gels, dubious electrolytes, and really hard training days. I’ll swap out powdery recovery drinks for proper Nesquik. I will sit on my cushion this week, eat breakfasts and drink cups of tea. Thanks for all the love, it’s been a very special time for me, and I’m happy to have helped. Glad it’s All Over.

https://thelowdown.info/

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.