Half an hour before my taxi arrives to take me to Heathrow, how exciting!! 

Thanks for all the wishes of good luck and see you all soon

Jez x

 

 

I believe you are supposed to update blogs on a regular basis, obviously, I have not quite got it yet! [[posterous-content:pid___0]]

It is 11.25pm, now actually 11.50pm on 14th March 2012 and I am about to embark on an amazing expedition which I honestly thought only other people did! It has taken many many hours of planning and many hours of training (although, slighlty less than I thought I would do) although life gets in the way of this at times. My bags are packed as you can see from the pictures, overweight by about 40kg's, I hope Aeroflot are not going to stick to their guns on charges for excess. 

 

The amount of kit you need for a trip like this is crazy and I have spent many hours researching the web for what I feel is the right kit to go for. I happened upon some kit which is supplied by a company called Big Bear who are based in Perivail and are distributors for several high end brands, such as Canada Goose, Spyder skiing kit and X-bionic. The latter, if you are interested in very technical kit that works is the best find. X-bionic, make a range of clothing which is designed to cool you down when it is hot and keep you warm when it is cold. It uses your sweat to achieve this and capture it in the clothing in a variety of ways. I contacted Big Bear and their sales manager, Nick, was on the phone in a jiffy, intruiged as to the nature of our trip. After a short conversation we agreed to meet and before I knew it, I had several items of clothing to try out. This was primarily cycling kit but X-bionic do plenty of other kit designed for outdoor use, including skiing, both downhill and cross country, climbing, running and the list goes on. I must say that the base layers I used have been a revelation. It is the most comfortable layering system I have ever used, which is why i am now the proud owner of several items of X-Bionic kit. I will write a full technical bog on X-Bionic when I return from Siberia, having worn it for at least 14 days without change.  Big Big thanks to Nick at Big Bear for the sponsorship you have provided. 

 

I will try and post other updates while away, but in the meantime, please try and give generously to the cause, which is The Shine Centre in Cape Town. www.justgiving.com/jez-heys 

Speak soon

 

 

 

I believe you are supposed to update blogs on a regular basis, obviously, I have not quite got it yet! [[posterous-content:pid___0]]

It is 11.25pm, now actually 11.50pm on 14th March 2012 and I am about to embark on an amazing expedition which I honestly thought only other people did! It has taken many many hours of planning and many hours of training (although, slighlty less than I thought I would do) although life gets in the way of this at times. My bags are packed as you can see from the pictures, overweight by about 40kg's, I hope Aeroflot are not going to stick to their guns on charges for excess. 

 

The amount of kit you need for a trip like this is crazy and I have spent many hours researching the web for what I feel is the right kit to go for. I happened upon some kit which is supplied by a company called Big Bear who are based in Perivail and are distributors for several high end brands, such as Canada Goose, Spyder skiing kit and X-bionic. The latter, if you are interested in very technical kit that works is the best find. X-bionic, make a range of clothing which is designed to cool you down when it is hot and keep you warm when it is cold. It uses your sweat to achieve this and capture it in the clothing in a variety of ways. I contacted Big Bear and their sales manager, Nick, was on the phone in a jiffy, intruiged as to the nature of our trip. After a short conversation we agreed to meet and before I knew it, I had several items of clothing to try out. This was primarily cycling kit but X-bionic do plenty of other kit designed for outdoor use, including skiing, both downhill and cross country, climbing, running and the list goes on. I must say that the base layers I used have been a revelation. It is the most comfortable layering system I have ever used, which is why i am now the proud owner of several items of X-Bionic kit. I will write a full technical bog on X-Bionic when I return from Siberia, having worn it for at least 14 days without change.  Big Big thanks to Nick at Big Bear for the sponsorship you have provided. 

 

I will try and post other updates while away, but in the meantime, please try and give generously to the cause, which is The Shine Centre in Cape Town. www.justgiving.com/jez-heys 

Speak soon

 

 

 

So the blog has begun, and these are just a couple of pictures to show everyone what the conditions are like on the ice. 

Fot those that don't know what this is about, please read on! 

I, Jez Heys, and a very good mate Mat Webb have entered the Siberian Black Ice Race which takes place on Lake Baikal in Siberia. The Race starts on the 17^th of March but we fly out from Heathrow on the 15^th. We have 14 days to complete the 380 miles. If we have not finished after 14 days we get pulled off the ice as this is the maximum time allowed. If the weather is favourable I expect to be able to complete the ride in 7 – 10 days. 

Mat and I, will be cycling on custom built ice biked which we have imported from Alaska. They are heavily into snow and ice riding over there so it seemed the right place to go. I have attached a couple of photos of the bike which is currently half built but gives you an idea. We will be carrying all out kit for the 14 days on the bike so will have bike panniers and possibly a trailer to carry all the equipment such as tents, clothing, fuel for melting ice and cooking and food. The temperatures will range from -10C in the south to -30C in the north. This is without the effects of wind chill which can make it feel 20 degrees colder. Winds can appear within minutes and have been recorded at 200kmph. If this happens we will be in our tents trying to sleep. Little hope of that I am sure.

 

 

Training for the event includes commuting to work in all weathers and longer rides at weekends. I am not overly concerned about the distance, I have cycled from Land’s End to John O’ Groats which was over 900 miles in 9 days. My main concern is the cold. I have been able to get some time training and testing our clothing in an industrial freezer at -25 degrees C. I will be taking a bike and turbo trainer into the freezer and I will be riding to make sure we are happy with the number of layers we are wearing. There is a big risk of frost nip if the sweat freezes against our bodies so we have to make sure we keep covered when we stop or get too hot. We will be wearing balaclavas and a mask to protect our faces along with ski goggles to keep the glare out.

We will be camping on the ice each night and will have equipment and clothing which is designed to keep us warm in conditions as low as -50 degrees C. We will have to melt ice each morning so we have enough to drink each day to keep us hydrated. 

So, you may think we are mad but there is a good a reason for doing this apart from the self fullfilling element, and that is so we can raise some money for charity. 

The charity I have chosen, in conjunction with East Sheen Primary School in SW14, where 2 of my 3 daughters attend in Years 4 and 2, is The Shine Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. See link below for more detailed information. 

The Shine Centre is a nonprofit organisation based in the Western Cape that provides support in literacy and language enrichment to second language children in Grade 2 and 3.

http://www.theshinecentre.org.za/

 

I have set a challenging target of raising £10,000.00 for The Shine Centre and hope that everyone is able to contribute even a small amount, every penny helps! So a big thnak you to everyone who is involved and lets hope Mat and I come back with all our digits and toes in tact!! 

Keep watching as will be updating on a regular basis.....