Fifteen Thousand Feet @fifteenthousandfeet-blog - Tumblr Blog

We arrived today in Italy to begin our big adventure the Cent Cols Challenge Dolomites that begins on Monday. Today we managed to get out for a quick spin after building the bikes up for the trip. Look out for daily updates here on the blog to see how we get on over the next two weeks. Also you can follow both of us on instagram here and here.

Check out our listings for Thursday's charity auction and raffle at Look Mum No Hands.

So much great stuff from the world of art, cycling and fashion.

Looking forward to seeing you, please bring some cash!

Click here to view the listings.

Last week I went to Lancashire with Vulpine to model for their new Autumn/Winter Collection. I got to do some amazing riding with some great people and eat delicious food.

Fifteen Thousand Feet — a charity auction & raffle at Look Mum No Hands

Start: 29 August 2013 7:00 pm

Finish: 29 August 2013 10:00 pm

Venue: Look Mum No Hands!, 49 Old Street, London, EC1V 9HX

An auction and raffle of cycling goodies, photographic prints, screen prints, fashion items and much more, all in aid of the Isle of Wight Chemotherapy Unit and Cancer Research UK.

Raising money for the Isle of Wight Chemotherapy Unit and Cancer Research UK, Kendal Noctor & Josh Greet have been challenging themselves to an ever-harder series of climbs around the UK and beyond.

Recently the guys ascended 16,500ft over 85 miles in the Isle of Wight —a mammoth feat — and one which is not easily achievable in the UK due to our distinct lack of mountains.

Up for grabs on the night is a fine array of items from the likes of Rapha, Vulpine and Saffron Frameworks, so be sure to check out the Fifteen Thousand Feet blog to find out more and then RSVP on Facebook.

I recently moved back home to Plymouth until the Cent Cols Challenge in September. I managed to squeeze myself onto the Okehampton CC Brentor 3/4 Road Race on Sunday. I had only ever raced crits in London before so didnt really know what to expect from a road race on Dartmoor. Last time I tried racing in the south west everything went terribly wrong.

When I turned up to the Little town hall in Brentor it was fairly wet and windy. It reminded me of when I used to play Rugby, getting my Dad to drive me to little miserable hut's in the middle of no where in the rain. Although it didn't feel much like a rugby match, as I had seemed to have left my team behind in London. I didn't recognise anyone at the race and everyone seemed to be at least in a team of four or more. I felt very alone.

On the start line there were just under 80 riders all itching to get going as it was too wet and windy to be standing around. From the moment the Lead car went it was all go, there were constant attacks left right and centre. I tried to be a part of this as much as possible being in a few small breaks with people but always getting chased down. The circuit was fairly rolling with a few larger climbs and three horrible corners totalling just over 5 miles. On the second lap there was a 10 minute torrential downpour which really took its tole and people started dropping off the back. The attacks continued stretching everyone out on the fourth lap. When I could sense everyone was tiring from all the fast pace and the chasing down of riders that had been flying off the front, I decided to attack halfway up the steepest climb on the course. When I got to the top I turned to see who had followed and if I had made a gap but there was no one near me. I dug deep for that lap and went all out. The two guys on motorbikes gave me a time check every lap after and I managed to get around ten seconds on the main pack each time. I didn't really think about how I would keep going for 20miles alone until I was in that situation. I kept on looking down at my garmin and making sure I held my average speed of 23.6, I was constantly searching for different ways to make up seconds on each lap and trying to sit in a good rhythm. In my head I was pretty sure I was going to get caught but I kept riding as fast as I could.

I couldn't quite believe it when I approached the line and looked over my shoulder with no one there. I somehow managed to finish 45 seconds in front of the chase group and 1 minute in front of the main pack. All the suffering I had been through on the previous few laps was all worth it.

Throughout my childhood my Dad had cheered me on through Swimming, Rugby and Hockey matches all of which I was terrible at. It was great that the first time he had ever seen me in a bike race I managed to get the win. He even bought me a pasty as a winners prize and that's as good as it gets in the southwest.

#Okehampton CC Brentor Road Race

Vulpine Shoe Drying Kit

Our good friends at Vulpine put together this really nice newspaper which also doubles up as a shoe drying kit for those rainy days. We managed to get ourselves a double page spread with one of our images from the festive 500.

#rainnottrain

At the weekend we rode the Dunwich Dynamo, 200k through the night, leaving from London Fields to Dunwich Beach, on the Suffolk Coast to see the sunrise. We completed it for the first time last year and felt we needed to make it more of a challenge this time so we decided to ride back too. It ended up being just under 400k which is pretty far even with a decent sleep. We had a great time but it was mentally challenging.

When riding through the night you almost enter a trance like state surrounded by bike lights and shadows spreading across the road. The wind flowing past you makes you feel like your going faster than you really are. The only movement you see is the road beneath you. There are no visible things around you other than the road and the wind that give you a sense of movement, the darkness feels static.

Here's our route #stravaoritdidnthappen

#dunwich dynamo

Brighton and back in the sun

Hog Hill Summer series

We were lucky enough to have some really nice caps sent to us from the guys at Trakke. Please check out their website and befriend them on facebook so you can see all the wonderful things they are making!

At the weekend we were in Kendal's home town of Ventnor on the Isle of Wight for a hilly fundraising challenge. The aim was to complete 15,000ft of climbing by repeating a 1.4 mile climb that starts on Ventnor Esplanade and ascends to the top of Ventnor Downs, around 720ft above sea level. We repeated the climb 21 times to achieve our goal, taking us under 8 hours to complete. The weather, our supporters, the coffee, the cake and the amazing scenery kept us going. We ended up climbing 16,500ft over 85 miles, something that isn't easily done in the UK. A big thanks to Katie Callaghan for the images and a massive thanks to all who came out and supported our cause.

Don't change your kits mid-season kids, unless you want to embrace the pantone swatch look!

Last Saturday Kendal rode on Ricky Feathers Team in the Rapha Gentlemen's in York, It was a 120mile race and they came 6th. After the race Kendal hopped on a train to Plymouth so we could do the Dartmoor Classic together on the Sunday. We had little sleep and it was raining with 40mph gusts and a strong headwind for the first half of the ride, but we still managed a Gold time and we over took Martin Johnson so we were happy. These photos were taken a few days after the Classic on Dartmoor when the sun decided to come out. #stravaoritdidnthappen

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