To read about 'The Cycling Reporter' bicycle expedition, as well as all blog posts associated with it, click here

First off, a quick update on our progress. Rob and I have been working hard over the last few weeks to finalise our choice of gear for this expedition. The equipment we use is obviously vitally important, and could be the difference between success and failure on this journey, and we are delighted that some excellent companies are coming on board to supply us with top-rate gear - keep an eye out on this blog for announcements of our major providers very soon.

The other major focus, as ever, has been researching our route. This has proved a challenge in itself; it seems if we’d tried, we couldn’t have picked two countries more difficult to get good maps for! The maps available for Mongolia and China are very limited, and as yet my search for anything topographical has led only to dead ends. Nevertheless we’re making steady progress, and despite on occasion proving a frustrating task, planning a route is also an incredibly exciting one. I’ve heard many adventurers and travellers say before that one of the best parts of any journey is sitting somewhere warm and cosy with a cup of coffee to hand and a huge map spread out in front. I can only agree; the potential for dreaming is immense, and I often find myself tracing tiny roads with my finger, wondering what they are like in reality. Maps possess an almighty quality to inspire and excite, and so despite the trials that may be raised by a lack of detail or information, this stage is mostly hugely enjoyable.


Our biggest news regarding our route is that we have slightly altered our predicted distance. I say slightly; it’s actually quite dramatic! We now put the overall distance needing travelled at around 4,800km/3,000 miles (as opposed to our previous estimate of 4,000 km/2,500 miles.) I think both Rob and I still work on our cycling instincts, which is to see an extra 500 miles as a mere inconvenience; ah, the joys of speedy two wheeled travel, eh? The reality is that this distance on foot is quite significant, and requires not only more time on the road, but also a new level of mental focus.


When the logistics are seemingly overwhelming me, it feels like it could be 500 additional miles of endless blisters, blocked passed, frozen rivers, heavy packs and cold toes. However, that attitude achieves nothing more than committing a grave injustice against the wonderful country and people we will be lucky enough to pass through and interact with. More often than not, our calculations seem like 500 extra opportunities to witness spectacular scenery, speak with some fascinating people, get to know more about a new culture and even if the worst comes to the worst, we will surely learn new depths of temporary misery– it’s still all part of the experience!

And, in honour of our 500 miles...

Here at the Lawlor Clinic, we use the Selective Functional Movement Screen to assess client’s ability to demonstrate functional movement. The screen basically provides a blueprint of how somebody moves, from head to toe looking at their mobility and stability. We then compare the results to a base line, a quality of movement that we would like to see and plan our treatments around correcting the areas of limitation.

Leon has and will continue to work on his mobility and stability though specific exercise plans that have been established for him, but what happens if he starts to get sore when he is out there?

Here are a few exercises that can be done on the expedition which should help Leon and Rob if their bodies start to feel the strain:

The Thoracic Spine:

The desert section at the start requires 14 days of pulling a trailer with food and water - weighing at least 250 kg. The extra load when walking will increase flexion of the thoracic spine potentially causing an ache across the shoulder blades and/ or mid back.

A nice way to help free up the thoracic spine is to use the reach backs exercise pictured below:

Improvising with equipment it would be worth trying to make a foam roller like device. Roll a metal drinks bottle in a jumper or towel and place it on the ground. Using it like is shown in picture below we can place the roller between the shoulder blades. Spending 2 - 3 minutes extending the back over the bottle should certainly help ease any ache or pain in the mid back.

These exercises are worth doing even if you do not have any pain in the mid back as it will keep that particular area of the spine mobile.

This stage is followed by 2 weeks of trekking through desert with just backpacks. From then Leon and Rob will inflate the pack rafts. A switch in physical demands, Rob and Leon will no longer be using the lower body but the upper body to paddle their rafts for 4 weeks along the Yellow River.

The latissimus dorsi, shown in the picture to the right, is a strong extensor of the shoulder.  Paddling will ask the lat dorsi to work hard to generate power in the stroke thus leaving it susceptible to becoming tight which in turn can increase risk of strains or micro tearing in the muscle.
To ensure that it can function efficiently and reduce the risk of injury it is important to maintain the muscles elasticity. Below is a great exercise to stretch the lat dorsi. Obviously Leon and Rob will not have a swiss gym ball but this exercise can be done anywhere. Just make sure that you get down into the kneeling position, bum onto heels and that arms are extended straight above your head.

After paddling it is back to trekking however this time through snowy mountains. This could be some of the hardest walking due to the depth of snow and the incline. Calf stretching is always important whether we are running or walking on an incline.

Hill walking or running requires the ankle to dorsi flex, ankle and toes moving towards the head which means the calf muscle has to lengthen. If it doesn’t lengthen it can put strain on the Achilles tendon, plantar fascia or even up the kinetic chain towards the knee and hip.

A standard calf stretch is useful to minimise the risk of this becoming a problem.
In combination with Leon and Rob’s physical preparation for the expedition, we at The Lawlor Clinic feel that the above exercises should certainly help their bodies meet the demands of the trip.


We wish you both all the best and look forward to hearing how you get on.

Yours in Health,

The Lawlor Clinic

www.lawlorclinic.ie
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So in less that 10 weeks, we will take our first tentative step out of Sainshand, and head south into the Gobi in search of adventure and excitement. Already that thought sends shivers down my back, and I assume the cause is an equal dose of bubbling anticipation and anxiety. Oddly though, most elements of the expedition itself are not phasing me (yet!); rather it's the logistics and preparation side of things that are in danger of consuming my every waking hour. So what exactly is needed to put something like this together? Well, a lot, it seems.

In Rob's last blog he detailed a shortlist of how we are having to divide our time. In the weeks leading up to our departure, we'll keep you up to date with how all these things are going, and we'll also have guest blogs from specialists in some of the key areas of our preparation. We'll also try and focus on certain areas of our journey every so often, and so today I'm going to post a few bits of info about the Yellow River. Paddling down this for over 800 miles would undoubtedly be a highlight of any expedition, and as someone with more experience of land-based thrills and spills, it appeals to me even more. So here's a few of the key facts and figures that I've picked out from my research.

•    Second longest river in China at 5,464km (the longest being the Yangtze) - it's also the sixth longest in the world
•     Called 'the Mother River' in China
•     Its English name, "Yellow River," describes the deep yellow and brown colour of the muddy water that is most prevalent in the lower course of the river
•     This colour is caused by sediment in the water - picked up and carried downriver. It discharges 3 times the sediment of the Mississippi!
•     It is called the cradle of Chinese Civilization, and is seen as the birthplace of Chinese culture because it's basin has been pinpointed by archeologists as the home of the first Chinese people
•     Its floods are some of the worst natural disasters ever recorded - in 1887 a flood caused an estimated 900,000 to 2,000,000 deaths
•     More than 400 million people live in its basin, and it supplies water to around 12% of the Chinese population

Rob and I will paddle around 800 miles of the middle section, and will pass caves where many villagers live by digging themselves homes into the vertical cliffs!