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A BAND OF expat charity champions have conquered their hill climbing training dilemma … by cycling up and down Bahrain City Centre’s steep mall car park.
The dynamic Dilly Wheelers are preparing for a hilly trek this summer and have been putting some serious training in every weekend to prepare for a fund-raising challenge in the English countryside.
They’ve been going flat out on their bikes but were concerned they wouldn’t be able to tackle the steep inclines of the tough terrain during the summer holidays without some serious …. HILLS … until mall management offered them the use of the facility.
“This is just what we needed to ensure we’re fit and ready for the ride ahead,” said co-organiser and oil field executive, Andrew Storey, 47.
Mr Storey will be joined by sales director Alan Gallagher, 48, motor company sales manager David Lord, 50, general manager Erik Hordijk, 43, health insurance consultant David Axtell, 42, support analyst Paul Bourne, 37, and IT manager Phil Trice, 53. Friend, sales manager Andrew North, 42, has been supporting them on the training sessions.
For months they have been diligently setting off from the Dilmun Club in Saar early every Friday morning, riding through the villages of Barbar and Duraz, up to Bahrain Fort, past the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa and around Bahrain City Centre before heading back to Esquires Café in Saar for a well-deserved scrambled egg breakfast.
They will be cycling a version of the historic coast-to-coast W2W (Walney Island to Whitby) cross-country route – stepping into both the Irish Sea and North Sea – in aid of Bahrain Mobility International and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Like all the ‘coast to coast’ routes across the north of England, it’s ‘up hill and down dale’ for much of the way, and cycling experts say that if that’s not the sort of cycling you usually do over consecutive days, then some training is in order.
The total climbing for this route is approximately 1,380 metres.
The aptly-named Bigland Hill, just 20 miles into the challenge, and the lengthy climb up Tan Hill, the highest point on the route at 1,732 feet above sea level, are two particular treats that lay in store.
The ride from Barnard Castle to Great Ayton is through pleasant, gently undulating countryside but the remaining 30 miles across the spectacular North York Moors National Park is a return to the challenging ‘up hill – down dale’ cycling that characterises much of the W2W route.
That’s why the offer of help from the mall management was so timely. “Bahrain City Centre was pleased to welcome this enthusiastic group of cyclists to train on our facilities and support members of the community in their charitable works overseas,” said Duaij Khalifa Al Rumaihi, senior mall manager for Bahrain City Centre.
“We are committed to promoting active and healthier lifestyles through our City Walkers programme and recently, with our heart health campaign. I wish these cyclists the best of luck with their training.”
The riders used the mall car park early on Friday morning before customers, shop workers and suppliers arrived for business.
Mr Axtell, who helped set up the Bahrain City Centre training sessions with the support of GulfWeekly, organises the annual Charity Wheelathon event at Bahrain International Circuit.
He said: “I’ve undertaken previous long and mountainous charity rides while living in Bahrain and training for the hills is the hard part. There’s only so much you can achieve by cycling through soft sand and into strong winds.
“We cycle past Bahrain City Centre every week and it struck me one weekend that its car park has some of the largest and steepest hills in Bahrain.
“At this time of year there is also the added bonus of being able to cycle in the shade. We are all extremely grateful to the management and owners of Bahrain City Centre for allowing us the use of their facility.
“In recognition of this we asked them which local charity they would like us to support. Due to the synergy between the wheels they have chosen Bahrain Mobility International.
“While there are some hills to the south of the island, they are not as easily accessible as Bahrain City Centre and nor do they allow for such intensive hill-climb interval training. While the first couple of ascents were easy, after a while you could definitely start to feel different muscles working!”
There was only one dilemma, rider Mr Bourne’s cycle’s chain dramatically snapped on the ride up to the car park’s first floor and he needed a lift to a repair shop in Saar to replace it. The team will be prepared for similar situations, as they will be followed on the approximately 170-mile trek in England by designated support driver John Rees carrying spare parts in case of an emergency.
*If you would like to sponsor the cyclists on their charity endeavours follow the link to https://www.justgiving.com/DillyWheelers and make a pledge. “So please dig deep and donate now,” undeterred Mr Bourne added.
