STRANDED in the middle of
the scorching Mojave desert with a broken bike is the biggest fear facing Chris
Bloomfield on his 3,500 cycle ride across the United States.
It’s all about numbers for
the insurance consultant looking to get his kicks on the historic Route 66. He
has planned his adventure to ride 66 miles a day in 66 days, accepts it will be
a lonely ride, but hopes the welcoming arms of American hospitality with embrace
him when his body needs a bath and a rest.
It's a tall order for a man
who will be self-sufficient all the way on Route 66 from New York to Los
Angeles, passing through landmark states and cities written about in songs and featured
in movies such as St Louis, Oklahoma, Amarillo and Las Vegas.
Death Valley, named by the
prospectors who sought to cross the valley on their way to the gold fields
during the California Gold Rush, poses its own challenges, but the isolation is
not lost on him. The vulnerability and loneliness felt by his grandfather who
suffered with Alzheimer’s and died last August, will be something Chris hopes
to understand with his own sense of helplessness.
"I am trying to emulate his
vulnerability by riding through some pretty inhospitable places. This is
self-inflicted for me but my grandfather did not have that choice so my riding
experience will give me a chance to depend on other people to reach my end
goal. It will also give me a sense of realising how vulnerable one can be when
out of familiar surroundings.
"As my grandfather’s
condition worsened, he was less able to take care himself. It was a desperately
sad experience. By being totally out of my comfort zone, perhaps I will get a
glimpse of what he went through,” Chris says.
"I have seen the draining
effect this illness can have on the individual, but more so on the family. I
want the money raised from the ride to help families seek the advice and
support they need, and also help Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital which
has been a part of my family’s life for 40 years.”
To celebrate the life of his
beloved grandfather, who was a brilliant painter and decorator, Chris has built
a brick wall on his website to attract corporate sponsorship where donations
are displayed with the company logo which clicks through to their own website.
Chris, encouraged by his mum
to ride as a youngster, admits his early training programme had no “structure”
but a cycling test with Britain’s multi cross-country mountain bike champion Oli
Beckingsale and a training plan drawn up by Team GB cycling coach Pete Mitchell
has put him on the right track with 14 hours training a week complemented with steep
climbs in the Mendips/Cotswolds.
This will increase to 30 hours as the
September trip draws closer. “Plenty of scope to take out shares with a company
which makes talcum powder,” he joked.
Heat is a major concern for
Chris who will be pulling a trailer in excess of 30kg which will include at
least five litres of water a day, vast amounts of nuts, dried fruit and other
foods to give him a constant supply of energy, along with a full maintenance
and camping kit.
"I am certainly a novice
when it comes to repairing problems! I can repair punctures and simple things
so I hope I don’t have any major issues. The bike will have to be pretty robust
so I will be selling my Trek Madone 5.2 road bike and that will help fund some
of the trip,” he explained.
The money needed has been
raised in a variety of ways from waxing his legs, designing t-shirts, to
cycling 6hours and 6minutes on a static bike.
"There is a huge adventurer
within me, so to travel like this and be sure I experience as much as possible
about the country and its people is really exciting. I hope to stay with as
many different families in America as possible, understand their culture, how
different communities work and live.
"I will camp as well, so again I will be
relying on good fortune and not to have too many problems while on my own, and
keeping an eye open for storms and hurricane warnings.
"Just to see things and
achieve a target is driving me to complete the task. It’s not a glorified
holiday as the majority of people would not even attempt this. I have never
done a charity event on this scale but it has given me a project to work on and
I aim to be successful.
"The nightmare situation for
me would be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bike problem that I can’t
fix. I am also more worried about not reaching the target than I am about the
cycling."
Two members of Chris’s
family have been treated at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and he
wants to give something back, making them his second charity. “When I see the
children and their hunger for life, I am so inspired to give something back. A
challenge of this magnitude is well worthy of raising the awareness of their
work."
Growing up in Colchester and
Essex, Chris has always been a keen road cyclist. He is taking unpaid time off
work from his job with Direct Line in Bristol, funding the trip himself,
including his flight, so every penny can go to the charities.
"I have dropped a note to
Richard Branson as he has a streak of the adventurer in him. Be nice if he was
able to help with the flight, but for me to be able to give something back to
others is really important. It would be so satisfying and lovely to see
under-privileged children and the elderly get the help they deserve.”
