My Name is Adam Swift, ‘Swifty’ on Rouvy and ‘Adam Christopher’ on Strava.

Yorkshire lad, now in Egham, Surrey (nr Staines and Windsor).

We here at Muckers Worldwide pretty much all fall into Gen X. The last generation before mobile phones, ipads and before the Internet took over. If you’re younger than this and are offended, you’re probably woke.

We made ramps with planks and plywood with bricks to set the height and to see how many mates we could jump over, bagsie not last!
My parents gave me and my older brother a 50p coin each which we stuffed in the match pocket of our Wrangler jeans in case we needed to call home.

The first proper bike that I had was a Raleigh Grifter, my older brother had a Raleigh Chopper. Though I soon dreamed of a Super Tough burner or Ultra burner. What was it about them that set our minds on fire?! I see that there are 40th special editions of these now! Omg..I can get one after all!!

When I started making my own money doing a paperound and working at the Norths largest Auction house I bought a Skyway BMX in beautiful chrome. I had several sets of mag wheels in different colours and used to swap them out just to be cool, Black and ice cream pink were my favourites.
..God what an amazing looking bike that was. That would have been worth a few quid now, weird thing is that I can’t even remember what I did with it! Bonkers.

We had a BMX track in Leyburn/Wensleydale but one of my favourite stunts was to get pulled along by my older brother holding onto the B Pillar of his car getting up to 30+mph before it started getting wobbly and dangerous.

After this I had a crappy Emmelle? mountain bike but it blew me away that it had something like 21 gears; but, after having a Skyway I was yearning for something a bit more quality so I got a Muddy Fox “Pathfinder” I’m sure it was called which had the x3 elliptical gears at the front and I think 27speed?!

I think that started the longer rides for me, that and possibly my parents willingness for me to travel further afield as I got older or perhaps they weren’t even aware, probably not.

The first long ride I ever remember was from Leyburn to Earby (Nr Skipton) to bike over to see my cousins and Auntie and Uncle. I think we (my brother and I) completely underestimated just how long and how much effort this would take. Its about 40 miles (each way) but over some really notable hills one of them being Kidstones Pass. Well, we made it there and after a short while and knowing how long and arduous the ride over had been, we couldn’t stay long and set off back. On the way back I was watching a rock climber climbing the underhang at Kilnsey Cragg and my brother went ahead forgetting the route we’d agreed. “I’ll go slow and you catch up” were his words as he set off. There’s no catching someone up on a different route. This soon became apparent after asking many others if a lad on a bike had come past.. Worth adding that he had a lovely road bike

at the time a gleaming black “Raleigh Pursuit” where I was on the Muddy Fox MTB with knobbly Farmer browns on.
I knew after a while that he’d taken the only other route available so I took the really quite worrying decision to cut across over the tops from Arncliffe to Starbotten. I really had no idea where it would take me to. Remember at this point I was only around 14 years old and had been missing from home since the morning.

My older brother eventually got home to Leyburn as it was going dark and went straight to the police station to report me as a missing person before he told our parents but was told that they couldn’t start searching for me until i was missing 24hrs.

I went over the tops already losing light and was well out of my comfort zone even came across ‘Team Orange’ who were finishing a group training ride and noticeably concerned as to why a little kid was in the middle of knowhere and clearly out of his depth. Anyway it was frightening and I got home in the pitch black to hysterical parents and I honestly still have bad dreams about it to this point.

The next notable cycling memory was when I was a bit older in my early to mid twenties I reckon? Neil, Kyle and One or two others came up to Yorkshire and set me about mapping out a couple or few routes over the week while they were on holiday in Yorkshire. One of them featured Swaledale and Buttertubs pass and the other that I remember was Park Rash into Kettlewell (Neil lost his brakes) and back over via Kidstones Pass (again) they weren’t happy is all I can say. Neither was my Johnson that had declared himself dead on

arrival and completely numb to the touch, it was so bad I could have chopped it off and not felt a thing.

I’ve just recalled a really old memory, one that I’d forgotten, how I killed the Grifter. I hit a car head on. Wedged upright with its front wheel crushed and forks bent back with me doing an impression of Superman over the top of the car with a fractured cheekbone with snot squirting out the corner of my eye if I sneezed too hard. Double black eyes that took months to fully disappear. Handy though as when I started secondary school the kids were wary of me.

Think thats about it for my lament!

In the late 90’s I bought a Scott Pro Expert Racing for about a grand. Still have it! And didn’t have a road bike until Faz one of the earliest Muckers (not on much due to workload) gave me his Trek 2.1 Alpha at the start of 2022. Well, due to his generosity and the other Muckers Neil and Kyle encouraging me to get online with them I finally got out out and eventually started training online with them too!

Up until this point and for the past few years my cycling only really consisted of having my black GSD running alongside me and collecting my eldest boy when he was 6 and 7 yo back from primary school on my handlebars.

PAST 18 MONTHS (Common Era) as Kyle likes to put it..

Have to say it was all a bit of a learning curve!
Dumb trainer to smart trainer.

Ant + dongles & connectivity issues
HR monitors and power meters
Speed and cadence sensors
Clipless pedals and shoes
GPS head units not to forget. Oh you need a track pump as well! Jesus, good job I was gifted a bike!
Why was it all so alien when bikes had been such a part of my growing up?!

Then went on to buy –
Tacx Neo
Wahoo desk
Wahoo Fan
Ultegra pedals with the wider axel setting
Gaerne Boa shoes

Right! I think I’m ready!

Nope… then told I need cream for my arse and have to go Commando went I was wearing my bib tights that made my then wee belly hang out (belly is no more!)

My first rides out were –

Jan 22 just about 10 miles. My God! who knew that 23mm tyres were so bloody lethal?! Came home depressed that I’d gotten into a hobby that didn’t feel like it was for me afterall.

Feb 22 drove down to the Surrey Hills to ride from Reigate Hill to Leith Hill think it was about 30 miles and circa 100w again was startled to feel how dangerous it was on the busy

roads with HGV’s squeezing past rather than wait. It was a long throw from riding the often deserted roads of North Yorkshire. Again came home crest fallen thinking that’s not really for me either. Although some of the quieter roads were lovely. I’ve since learnt that Yorkshire in particular North Yorkshire features high on some of the best cycling roads not just in the UK but in the World.

The last two rides in January and February were my only training to do the Lancashire Sportive with Neil, Kyle and Faz.
That one was about 45 miles but included Nic O’ Pendle again, one of the top UK climbs. Well, I couldn’t do it. Kyle even came back down and pushed me up while he was going up it again with absolute ease. Thanks Mucker-Goat.
Again still only averaged about 100w.

It wasn’t until late June ’22 I finally had all the components needed to get on Rouvy. And trying my very best along with about 80 miles under my belt in the last 6 months my first ride was a somewhat funny 119w but hey, we were headed in the right direction!
Again I hit a wall. We did the Krvavec climb. Didn’t know how to study the ride, just agreed to go on with the early muckers. I was on that sodding bike for over 2 hours going about 3mph.. I was screaming at myself in the sweltering conservatory with no fan and the wife having to drape cold hand towels over my shoulders with ice in a bucket to stop me from overheating. Again, I was caught thinking. I’ve spent all this money! I don’t want to do this again.

Whizz forward a year and I start producing rides that are 163/173w.

Now, I’m not sure how many rides that took or how many miles. Hours or the sheer ascent that must have been climbed but I’m now finally at the stage where I’m not always last. In fact as I write this Rouvy has me again at 184w it had slipped a little I think to 180w when my middle child lopped the end if his toe off and needed new dressings all the time and countless hospital trips. It just took the last bit of energy I had, as a result I wasn’t regularly on and my rides slipped to 140w/160w Just goes to show what regular training does for you.

I suppose that’s it really Kyle asked me if I would comment on my recent progress. I would certainly factor the obvious.
Consistent training in June I was on every Tuesday and Thursday and most Sundays as I was doing an Everest challenge in June. I nearly Everested again in July and had one last ride to do on the 31st and the group lit up with chat about the Le Col top not being discounted as much so I thought sod it.
The other thing that’s helped is my weight loss with all the training! at my heaviest I was about 88kg now a lean 70kg lost the belly, even the legs are bigger.
I’ve never been able to restrict myself on Zone training so I just get on and give it my all. Not great in some ways I know as I was interested in the gains that Z2 give you as well as Z4..
I like Z4 training )when you lot do it) as I can finally keep up and in some cases even beat you.

I’m even finding now that some of my efforts are giving ‘some’ of you a good run for your money, even making you

sweat a bit. I see some big name ahead of me and I’m coming to get you.

Muckers Worldwide has brought together a great group I’m happy to say that I now enjoy (I think) my training and remind myself that the main reason I started training was to hopefully be around longer for my wife and 3 kids just 9yo, 6yo and little baby Autumn whose 2 in September.

So long as I don’t bow out like Mr Big it will be OK.

Well done Neil and Kyle for all the countless hours you put into this bringing it all together for without it it wouldn’t be quite so much fun.

As we used to say in rock climbing “That’s me!”