South Bucks Midweek Cycling Newsletter - August 2026

Terry Lister

Tony Barnard writes:

In case people haven't heard, Terry Lister had a nasty accident at the beginning of July. He was cycling out of Steeple Claydon on Queen Catherine Road (that newish fast section) when he was hit by a 4x4 travelling at speed. The driver, an elderly lady, stopped and went over to Terry and so did two women in another car that came along. Terry has several injuries. His arm looks awful, but the main issue was a fracture in the hip area. Also cracked ribs. As there was an ambulance delay, an air ambulance flew out from Benson to give initial checks, and one of the other two women called the HS2 site nearby who arrived with a full response kit. The (land) ambulance then came to take Terry to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he later had an operation. Terry is now at home but sadly, it could be quite a while till we see him cycling again, but hopefully by late autumn or early winter.

Peter Adds:

When I spoke to Terry he had been able to get out in Great Missenden on crutches and is graduating to walking sticks. Fortunately he sounded in good spirits despite the trauma. We all wish him a good recovery.

David Gregory rides the Utrecht Ultra XL

David Gregory is riding the Utrecht Ultra XL race. As he says, with a bike and kit weighing 18 kg excluding food and water and being the oldest rider by 10 years, he is not expecting to win or break any records, but to complete the event inside the time limit would be a fantastic achievement.

Utrecht Ultra XL is a self-supported ultra-distance cycling race that starts and finishes in Utrecht. Riders set off together in a mass start on Saturday, August 1 at 8:00 and are given 158 hours to complete the course before the finisher party on Friday, August 7 at 22:00. This means participants have nearly seven full days of riding time to make it back on time.

As a self-supported event, riders must rely on their own abilities and may only use commercially available services to meet their needs along the way. No outside support is allowed, and, in keeping with the spirit of ultra-distance racing, no prizes are awarded to the fastest finishers.

Utrecht Ultra XL combines fixed parcours with free routing, with approximately 99% of the course on tarmac. Riders begin on a fixed parcours from the starting point in Utrecht, after which they will have to pass through three different checkpoints (CPs) located in neighbouring countries.

The CPs are strategically placed, requiring riders to carefully plan their own routes between them. Each CP features a short mandatory parcours.

CP1 follows the Luxembourg-Germany border, covering beautiful river valleys and a handful of climbs on pristine tarmac roads. From there, the route heads south into France, where the Vosges mountain range sets the stage for the toughest part of the route. Starting in the region’s lesser-known northern hills, the 218km CP2 parcours winds its way south across increasingly demanding climbs, adding up to nearly 5000m of elevation. Along the way, riders will find a staffed checkpoint at a mountain refuge, offering beds and warm showers to those passing through.

Finally, CP3 brings riders to Oudenaarde, with a parcours that features some of cycling’s most iconic cobbled climbs. After tackling this final hurdle, riders will return to the Netherlands, following a fixed route from Zeeland back to Utrecht.

During the event and maybe a little after, you can follow David's progress on dotwatcher.cc as rider #58.

How do you prepare for such an event? David clocked up a lot of miles including the Three Down 300km Audax, which he rounded up to 200 miles by riding from home.

Do you take supplements?

I have always thought that supplements are unlikely to be beneficial unless you have a deficiency. However, as we age and all the body's systems work progressively less well than they used to, doctors start to advocate medication. I resisted blood pressure medication for a while, preferring to try lifestyle changes, but as a non-smoking, hardly drinking vegetarian who does regular excercise, my doctor pointed out that I had little wiggle room as I was already doing what she would recommend. I reluctantly agreed to a low dose of Amlodipine, which did bring the numbers down enough, on a good day, to satisfy her. I didn't feel side effects apart from slight swelling of feet and ankles.

I saw a Facebook advert for aged garlic capsules which claimed to lower blood pressure by restoring the level of the chemical that causes blood vessels to dilate and hence reduce the resistance to blood flow. I wouldn't know my Epithelium from my elbow but the advertising claimed to be supported by a clinical trial. I thought it could be fake but decided to try it. My wife was horrified at the idea that I might stop taking the prescribed medicine, but I tooked the aged garlic as well.

Did it lower my blood pressure? Not noticeably, but my legs felt better on the bike, so I have continued taking it.

Once you show interest in an advert for a supplement on Facebook you inevitably get bombarded with more, so I came across a Beetroot capsule which claims to work by the same mechanism, dilating blood vessels, improving blood flow. I was aware of athletes taking beetroot juice to improve performance. I started taking that too, with no side effects other than slightly less money in the bank. My blood pressure has reduced while taking both supplements.

I do feel better cycling. I have a bit more power, my legs seem to recover more quickly from effort and feel better with less aching after a cafe stop. The weather has been warm which helps muscles work better and I have been trying to drink more during the hot weather.

Is the improvement just my imagination? The placebo effect? I am not suggesting that anyone else try these products, but does anyone take supplements that make a difference? Does anyone have any knowledge or expertise in this field?

I would be interested to hear from you.