-- I sent this from my 3 mobile --

Fixed forks finally fitted

so they are on and I have to say I was sad this morning, my bike felt quite different, gone was the lovely sit up and beg riding position, gone was the wonderfully stable and soft footing of my fox forks. Little things were annoying me, I hadn't aligned the brakes properly so they were rubbing, the handle bars were a little cock-eyed. I kept asking to myself, "why oh why have i done this?" And i kept responding, "because you can't ride 5555 miles on 140mm racing forks! fool!" To be fair i have already ridden about 3000 miles on them and they are really showing signs of wear. An expensive sign!

So they are on and i need to get used to them... I have straightened my bars and aligned the pads properly. The climb home seemed good but i have noticed that i need to be a lot more careful of the road surface because when i'm dicing with cars, rough ground has a much larger influence on the bike now. I am definitely going to get a 700c wheel to raise the front end up a bit, give me more stability and also take out some of the bumps, a bit.

I did notice my track stands were fantastic! and I also noticed i accelerated rather quickly at one point, I try not to push too hard on a Monday because i remember the pain of a Friday but i suspect by tomorrow night I will be heaving her all the home so another post will probably follow that...

ooo cold again this week - 5079 to go...

Another week down and another week closer to getting my fixed forks on. I have ordered a new chain as this one has stretched and this will be my third, once I have four I will start rotating them. I am running each for about a month and a half which is about 700miles.

Another 130miles this week brings my total up to 476 miles... going well i think.

I have had quite a bit of chat re our Snowdon trip at the end of March which i am really looking forward to now.... I have a quick 2hour run around a park in North Manchester called hit The North 2.5 on he 12th of Feb. so have also got that to look forward to.....

I have been really tired by Thursday morning this week because i push too hard on the Tuesday but i am guessing i must be getting stronger. Actually i know i am getting stronger. Anyway this is pretty much the end of Jan and the mornings are light for most of the ride, except Monday's when i go in early. I look forward to the evenings getting lighter now, but that wont really be until the clocks go forward at the end of March..

Thank you Simon Racle who donated £100!! fantastic! Really fantastic.

Week 3 - full 5 days adding 130miles leaves 5209

My first full 5 days of the year and I was feeling it pretty bad, strangely on Thursday night it was pretty tight at the back of my legs but after i had spun up the hill and past Bury it all felt fine. I seemed to cruise up the last climb just fine even over taking 3 guys that seemed to be hardly moving. I don't get why people ride so slowly, surely it's dangerous to go that slowly on the roads and besides, I'd never get anywhere!

Today was a lovely clear day and the mornings are getting light now. To have such clear visibility was a welcome relief after the foggy mist covering glasses weather returned mid week. It's also been damn cold again but with good clothing that has been fine.

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From: Barker, Julian
Sent: 20 January 2011 14:48
To: Barker, Julian
Subject: Commuter Challenge 2011 - 5555 miles

Dear all,
I am the office manager at the CSPB office in Manchester and have started a sponsored bike ride for the Credit Suisse charity of the year, The Children's Trust, Tadworth http://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/ and my local Mountain Rescue Team http://www.rpmrt.org.uk/

My target is to complete 5555 miles which is the equivalent of riding from London to Los Angeles. Unfortunately I wont be arriving on Rodeo Drive as all these miles will be clocked up by commuting to work in Manchester.

FYI - It's a daily ride of 26miles, a daily climb of 411meters, (One Canada Square is 235meters) and my bike weighs 53lbs (road bikes are <20lbs). I have already had ice form on my glasses so it should be a fun year!

Please support and encourage me by donating via

The Children's Trust, Tadworth http://www.justgiving.com/5555milesin2011b
The Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team http://www.justgiving.com/5555milesin2011a

Only 5248 miles to go!

Thank you sincerely,

Julian Barker
Office Manager
UK & Eire Private Banking
E-mail: julian.barker@credit-suisse.com

Credit Suisse (UK) Limited
9th Floor, 82 King Street
Manchester, M2 4WQ
Tel: +44 (0)161 236 7288
www.credit-suisse.com

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I posted out my invite for sponsorship at work yesterday which was great to get done and I have been asked to be in the CS newsletter which should be good for my sponsorship levels. I need to get Rach to take a photo of me in the morning to add a bit of colour to the article. Thank you to Simon Ibbitson for being the first to donate as well. I am sure he will never read this, but thanks, my local Mountain Rescue Team will be very grateful.

So another 130 miles and that brings my remaining distance to 5209.

2nd week and 104miles to be added total is 216

Another 4 day week for me! And what a wet one! A further 104 miles to my tally though bringing my total up to 216 miles.

On Tuesday i didn't think it would be very wet and initially wasn't wearing my waterproofs, only putting them on when i was sodden. I also had my glasses on which in all honesty means i can't see any detail. I can see enough to ride by, just, but it makes for quite a torrid experience. I ended up thinking that beneath me was a dusty hillside trail in Marin County. Far off to my left and a long way down was the San Fransisco bay..... ah, to dream. A couple of my return trips were quick though.

I was like Streethawk on Tuesday and was singing the theme to Smokey and the Bandit on the way home tonight. It's always fun....

Friday 7th January

First week completed and it was a cold one again this morning but by the end of the day I will be at 112miles. Only another 5443 miles to go! As my first blog i have to mention that I hope all goes well for anyone reading this through 2011.