Submitted by Gillian Harding on July 1, 2010 - 7:03am.
I'm so immensely proud of Aidan. He had plenty of good vibes following him through from the UK from so many people (including several he's never met because I kept telling them about my amazing brother). What an achievement! It's great to hear that he's taken the record for the fastest Brit - and on single speed, no less!
He did so well as a rookie that I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when he goes back (and I'm sure he will) - Matt Lee might find someone an awful lot bigger than an angry dog nipping at his heels now that Aidan's worked out the pacing, although if he messes up his food quantities again, Matt might not be able to tell the difference between Aidan and one of the angry dogs - one would be on a bike, I suppose.
New Mexico was always going to be tough for Aidan and it was the nerviest time for me, watching him. It was always going to be harder to get through the hottest section, quite apart from the question of whether the terrain made a difference, given that he was on a singlespeed (don't shout if it shouldn't - I'm not that hot on the mechanical side of Aidan's chosen obsession!). To mix and mangle my metaphors, you can put an English man on a bike but you can't take the damp chill out of his bones.
Everyone in the race has been amazing and I won't stop watching now Aidan has finished. Looking at people like Marshall and Kent, I find myself wondering just how many times Aidan might end up riding the Tour Divide. Also, thanks so much to all of the updaters but especially Paul. His being in the UK meant that we didn't have to wait as long for news, which was a huge help.
Aidan Harding
I'm so immensely proud of Aidan. He had plenty of good vibes following him through from the UK from so many people (including several he's never met because I kept telling them about my amazing brother). What an achievement! It's great to hear that he's taken the record for the fastest Brit - and on single speed, no less!
He did so well as a rookie that I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when he goes back (and I'm sure he will) - Matt Lee might find someone an awful lot bigger than an angry dog nipping at his heels now that Aidan's worked out the pacing, although if he messes up his food quantities again, Matt might not be able to tell the difference between Aidan and one of the angry dogs - one would be on a bike, I suppose.
New Mexico was always going to be tough for Aidan and it was the nerviest time for me, watching him. It was always going to be harder to get through the hottest section, quite apart from the question of whether the terrain made a difference, given that he was on a singlespeed (don't shout if it shouldn't - I'm not that hot on the mechanical side of Aidan's chosen obsession!). To mix and mangle my metaphors, you can put an English man on a bike but you can't take the damp chill out of his bones.
Everyone in the race has been amazing and I won't stop watching now Aidan has finished. Looking at people like Marshall and Kent, I find myself wondering just how many times Aidan might end up riding the Tour Divide. Also, thanks so much to all of the updaters but especially Paul. His being in the UK meant that we didn't have to wait as long for news, which was a huge help.