Practice Run to Falkirk Wheel

On Saturday 25th I had another great training session for the build-up to Malawi. I cycled just under 50 miles from Glasgow to the Falkirk Wheel, and back again. It was a great run along the canal path and a decent day for it. The way back was a bit tougher and yet again in good old Scottish fashion, the rain came on! Still, it was good training and not too difficult. It’s now under 3 weeks until I fly to Malawi and the excitement is building up. It’s going to be a great feeling knowing that the money raised is helping the communities and schools in Malawi. 

Edinburgh to St Andrews

Saturday 18th June

This has got to be the most difficult cycling event I have ever endured. It was the longest at 68 miles but it was the weather that made it a lot worse than any other. I joined fellow participants of the forthcoming Malawi trip in Edinburgh where we set off at 8:45am. There was over a thousand riders and we started at the back as we only just arrived on time. The first part if the trip was through the busy roads in Edinburgh as we headed to South Queensferry.

One of the most iconic parts was our journey over the Forth road bridge before travelling through Fife. The route didn’t take us up the scenic coastal road, but instead through the countryside. This is where the weather turned worse with heavy rainfall. There was also a difficult climb up some large hills into some dense woodlands. It looked great but felt cold and wet, and we were greeted by the most bizarre scene of an ice cream van parked up there in the wilderness. It didn’t stop a few of us grabbing a 99-er cone to celebrate our achievement thus far! There was a good downhill from here and then we had a proper rest stop at Kinross where the organisers had set up a community hall with food and hot drinks.

The weather then turned better as we travelled through the beautiful Fife countryside and things felt better. There were some excellent climbs along the way which were good from a training perspective, although it didn’t feel like that at the time! We travelled another 20 miles before the final stop and had a cup of tea and cake from the local Kirk. The last 20 miles to St Andrews was fun. Rain, wind, hills, more rain, stronger wind, and a sore knee. It was a great test of mental attitude and will power. It was after 5pm that I arrived at the beach road in St Andrews and it was a great feeling. Soaked, tired and sore but still with a smile on the face as I entered the pub for a well deserved pint!

The Last Stretch

Friday 17th June

With only 4 weeks until the Malawi trip, training has not been as intense as it should be. However, tomorrow I am taking part in my biggest cycling challenge so far, by joining the charity ride from Edinburgh to St Andrews. All 68 miles of it. The weather forecast is cloudy with scattered showers so hopefully the rain and wind stays away! I will be joined by several other participants who are going on the Malawi trip, and a big thank you to Evans Halshaw who have donated a minibus for the weekend to get us to Edinburgh and back. I’ll write more on Monday and tell you about the trip.

Wish me luck!

Davie

IQA Group Awarded a merit Pass for International Safety Awards

April 2011

IQA Group has been awarded a merit pass for the International Safety Awards 2011. The Company are one of only a few organisations to have reached this level of achievement and are aiming for a distinction next year.

IQA has received this award for the last couple of years and this is the highest rating yet which demonstrates the Company’s dedication to continuous improvement and corporate responsibility. It is also recognition of the focus that all of our staff brings to Health & Safety and we plan to continue improving so that next year we get the distinction.

Newspaper Article

Monday 30th May

The Paisley Daily Express kindly ran an article on me and the Malawi bike ride. The link below shows the online version, and the story has its usual journalistic slant. It’s still a very good article and raises more awareness of the charity event.

http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/renfrewshire-news/local-news-in-renfrewshire/paisley-news/2011/05/28/brave-david-aims-to-stay-clear-of-hungry-hippos-87085-28775925/

Falkirk Wheel

Sunday 29th May

A group of the Malawi participants had arranged to meet at the Falkirk Wheel, some travelling from Edinburgh and others from Glasgow. I met up with Pat and Lucia just after 9am as we were all leaving from Glasgow. It was a wet and windy morning and lying in bed would have been an easier option, but the training needs to be done! We took the canal route all the way and the rain eased off which was helpful. There was a charity cycle group travelling from Anniesland to Ratho so we met loads of other cyclists along the route. It’s a great ride with nice scenery and an easy flat route.

There were high winds today and they were blowing along the canal route which was great on the way to Falkirk which we did in just over 2 hours. The Falkirk Wheel has a good visitors centre so we stopped there for a while and got some lunch. Unfortunately we didn’t meet up with the group from Edinburgh as we were too early and they were hit by strong winds and rain, so we decided to head back to Glasgow. This is when the fun began.

It was tough going back towards Glasgow as the winds were very high and at some points you could hardly pedal due to the wind. It was a long 25 miles back and it took about 4 hours to complete. We did stop a couple of times for a well required rest. Today’s cycle certainly was a test of our resolve but it was good for the training aspect. We don’t anticipate any wind in Malawi so thankfully we won’t need to endure that sort of journey again! Well worth it though.

Good old Scottish Summer

Tuesday 24th May

My training over the last few days has been limited to a couple of sessions at the gym. I managed to get my bike repaired and must say that I was pleased with the service that Halfords provided. I bought the bike there in August and they treated the repair as maintenance and did it free of charge.

The only problem now is the high winds and rain that Glasgow has been hit with. I’ve not ventured out yet this week as if I can fall off my bike whilst stationary, then what will I be like with gale force winds?!! Still, a couple of good sessions at the gym has kept the fitness level up. I also had some treatment on my knee and it is feeling great again.

Sponsorship is going great and I am well underway to getting over the current £4,000 target that I have set. Some more sponsorship from IQA suppliers and also from friends. As always, it is very much appreciated.