Cycling from London to Paris for charity – I’m living with a MAMIL

Cycling from London to Paris for charity - I'm living with a MAMIL

by Azélia on 09/12/2012

in Cerebral Palsy,Family Life

I had no idea what a MAMIL (middle-aged men in lycra) was until last month when Bikerboy sent me a link of Rosie Millard’s article  My Olympic Legacy: a bike-mad husband  in The Independent.  At that point I felt as if I had joined an undeclared counselling group for wives.  Yay!  There are others like me, I am not alone.  A good article written by Matt Seaton The humble MAMIL why we need ‘middle-aged men in lycra’ tells of the phenomenon in the uptake of weekend cyclers after this year’s golden summer of cycling triumphs.  Even I, impervious to this world was taken aback by an Englishman winning the maillot jaune in the Tour de France.  And so my husband, otherwise known on here as Bikerboy (for his motorbike obsession) has along with many other men caught the cycling virus.  Wether I like it or not I’m now part of this world, the carb-rich diet conversations, his Strava site stats, dutifully instructed to go to sites like Wiggle for £30 socks or the hideous £100 FI.Uno_S5 bib shorts for the Christmas wishlist.  It is now my world by association.

The winning medals of the British cyclists team may have been the catalyst that Bikerboy needed but he was ready for the transition, he had been complaining about the lack of physical exercise in his life for a long while, watching his middle-aged spread grow he felt it was time.  I was sceptical and initially refused to believe that this would be more than a brief phase, one which would stop as soon as bitter cold set in but I was wrong, and being true to my word, “I’ll write about your ride when I believe you’re serious about it”, here’s my post promoting his charity ride from London to Paris in April 2013 for the charity Scope a charity for disable people, and the event is organised by a company called Skyline.

For my darling husband it wasn’t enough taking up exercise for the sake of it he had to turn it into a goal to keep him motivated.  In his youth he was always physically active with motocross, enduro, windsurfing, American football but then when the responsibilities of starting a business and having a family took hold that precious thing called time became scarce.  He works like a dog, 6 days a week 12 hours a day and the very last thing he’s thinking when he’s finished is exercising, knowing that he would need a carrot-and-stick he threw himself this challenge.

Most would perhaps think a four day cycling trip is challenging enough but not for Bikerboy, no, he has to turn it into some sort of personal best achievement, he can not be the last cyclist in the group, the target is not to complete the 300 mile, the objective is to be one at the front of the pack.  This is where I see his testosterone kicking in but if this is what it takes for him to step out when temperatures hit zero then all power to him, I sneakily encourage him by eliciting his competitive streak.

If you haven’t guessed already the reason Bikerboy chose Scope as a charity is because our youngest daughter has cerebral palsy, making this a very personal charitable event for the both of us.  I’ll be there in Paris in April waiting at the finishing line watching this crazy wonderful man complete his own personal Bradley Wiggins race with the biggest smile on my face.

To compete in this charity ride Bikerboy has to raise £1,400.00.   Any money donated is paid directly to the charity Scope through this donating website here.   The bike was kindly donated by his friend Neil owner of Addiktion Cycles in St Albans, all he needs now is the money to get to Paris and that’s why I write this very unusual begging post on his behalf.  If you can we would be most grateful for a small donation.  Thank you.

 

 

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

kellypea December 10, 2012 at 6:51 pm

I loved this — and the article you linked to. I sent it to my sister whose husband is a cycling enthusiast. He actually bikes to and from work each day — a total of more than 20 miles. In fact, he’s gotten her involved as well. I wonder if that makes her a Mawil? :) Anyway, best of luck to your husband earning the money for his ride.

Renée December 10, 2012 at 9:45 pm

FANTASTIC!!! GO BIKERBOY!!!

Wishing you the very best! I’ll be happy to make a small donation.

Azélia December 11, 2012 at 11:01 pm

Thanks you Renée so much for your generosity sponsoring the charity ride, so appreciated. xx

Azélia December 11, 2012 at 11:04 pm

Kellypea – husband keeps trying to entice me into it but so far he hasn’t succeeded!

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