Here be DRAGONS!....

Hello my friends....as a lot of you know....the staff at BT HQ have been taking a few weeks away from social media to recharge our batteries and rest our eyes...well...*drum roll*...I am pleased to say that we are back...we have missed you all...and I must add a special hello to our new readers: the very famous Sarge  and also Miss Mara ...who were both sent to my blog by our old friends Mr Frankie and Mr Ernie...who have the funniest of blogs....hello to all readers old and new...and, if you have time, do visit our friends' blogs...

...anyway, we have a special trip to tell you about today...our chief member of the junior staff, the typist, is going to Wales tonight to take part in a very important cycle race on Sunday...it is called the Dragon Ride....and you can read all about it HERE  ....he and his friend will be riding up and down the hills of the Breacon Beacons for 140 miles....so this morning we were up at 6am to start preparations....apparently he is riding a bike and not a dragon....

.....we got up at the crack of dawn and took the bike out to the garden and fixed it to our smart blue stand.....can you see how dirty it looks?...pfft...the typist rode it in another event last weekend and was so tired when he got home that he did not have time to clean it after 8 hours of cycling in the rain!....and then he went way for a few days...and then....[insert further excuses here]....

...The Colonel is not at all impressed....this will never do at BT HQ.....

....first we had to remove the mudguards from the bike because it is going to be sunny this weekend and not rainy like last weekend....can you see how many fiddly bits there are?....took ages to get them off and left us with very dirty paws.....

....we took the front wheel off and washed that with some nice soapy water....and then we washed the rest of the bike too...that took ages....and left us with wet, dirty paws.....p.s. these are his new racing wheels..and he really should take better care of them....

...then we got out all the gear to clean the chain and the cassette...which is very oily...we put nice lemony cleaner in the blue gizmo and then fit that on the chain and take off all of the grime....it has lots of brushes and cleany bits in it....

....look how oily that cassette is!...pffft....we use the green can of squirty lemony cleaner to get all the rubbish off...

.....much better!.....(p.s. we carried on for a bit after this to get it totally shiny)....and when that is all adobe and all the metal parts are clean and free of dirt and grease we add back some new, clean oil to keep it all running smoothly...

.....look how nice and clean it looks now...ready to ride I think....the Colonel is much happier......all we have to do tomorrow is pump up the tyres to get them up to race pressure...

...when we had got the bike all clean we went inside to sort out our gear....food is very important....we have carbohydrate gels to eat whilst on the move, and those brown ones even contain some coffee for an extra boost...and some protein products for recovery when we finally get to the end...and for an emergency sugar shot whilst we ride we have...JELLY BABIES!!...perfect for cycling....

...and of course we carry spares and essentials...lights, a pump, tyre levers and spare inner tubes in case of punctures, a fixy-things-up multi-tool and a sort of spanner for last minute tuning up....we did have a little puncture last week....

...and not forgetting the outfit...socks, shorts (with padding!), shirts, arm-warmers for the chilly early start, a light rain jacket just in case and, of course, our helmet to protect his head (which I thought was made of rock....)...we have padded gloves too to protect saw paws....we packed suncream too....

...and shoes!...these are made of carbon fibre....they help to clip him onto the bike so he doesn't fall off...

....and of course we have remembered to pack Alberto, the king of mountain cycling dogs, who was made for us by our good friend Miss Helen...you can see his story in our last blog....

...this all has to fit into a small bag...I am going to try and sneak in here before he sets off so I can report from the race tomorrow....

....I shall try and sneak a few photos from the race tomorrow for another blog...but I don't think I will actually be on the ride as conditions on the bike are a bit cramped and uncomfortable and his pockets will be stuffed with food and stuff....I shall spend the day watching, cheering and sampling all the cakes.....cakes are a vital part of all cycling events..

...woof...Clapton, en route for Wales......