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| It lovely to once again meet up with Dover Channel Team this weekend . Ricks were very proud to swim with these amazing swimmers (great Picture courtesy of Emma France Dover Channel Training ) http://www.doverchanneltraining.com/ |
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| mean & moody team picture,, Saturday morning on swimmers beach ..
Five of the Ricks team travelled 6 hrs .!!! ( bloody M25 ) from Birmingham to Dover last weekend to Join up with fellow Channel swimmers at swimmers beach for a weekend of hard swimming with the Dover Channel Training team
..this
was the real test for us all...9 miles of swimming was planned ., split into
three 90 minute sections with one hour rest between ...
the weather previous week had
been shocking ..
so we all knew this was going to be no easy adventure....
has to be Paul Weller Broken Stones... if you have been to swimmers beach in Dover.... just think pebbles on a beach..! 
the view from the car as we collected our gear Saturday morning
its raining , its a touch chilly both in and out of the water
and we have 4 1/2 of swimming planned (Picture courtesy of Dover Channel Training ) |
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| warm up time .. 8.45am Saturday morning
Ricks Pre swim Video
( click on the picture above to listen )
he`s not bothered by a Little rain..
 Starting up the Engine  Greasing up , before storming 9 mile s+ great effort Mrs T |
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| Charlie looking Focused 1st swim done . (Picture courtesy of Dover Channel Training ) |
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| Basher & Stu leaving the water ,
First swim was
tough...sea was off course chilly for us , after all the past few weeks we have
been swimming in lakes in the west midlands that are 20 degree +
, so 13 degrees came as a touch of shock to us all ..
...but after the first 15 minutes or so .
All five of us were okay...
we did three
loops of the Dover harbour swim zone course ..
taking slightly over 90 minutes
to complete ..
as we left the water...hot chocolate was the call..!!
(Picture courtesy of Dover Channel Training ) |
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charlie all smiles after 1st 90 minute swim  Hot Chocolate Break..  the big man was not even a touch cold...Mrs T...maybe just a little..  hot chocolate , jelly babies & Jaffa cakes .. every channel swimmers idea of heaven  just resting up after a feed of Tangtastic`s the food of champions |
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| where did everyone goooooo (Picture courtesy of Dover Channel Training ) |
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we were very lucky to meet Freda Streeter at the weekend ,
she came down on both days in Dover.. Trust us.. she may retired from helping full time on the beach , but she has not forgot how to tell us swimmers off if you do wrong...isn`t that right Stuart & Charlie.. Freda ... You 2.....Never take your swim cap off. Never .!!!!! Not until you have your warm hat ready to put on..!! it was just like channel days gone by .. (Picture courtesy of Dover Channel Training ) |
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| Emma & Irene checking all names and numbers are correct before we have briefing can take place.. "we swim together , we train together we look after one another..." |
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| The Dover Channel Training Team. the Greasing arm of the team . |
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| the red cap channel solo swimmers .. feed time..2hrs done.. only 5 hrs to go..amazing Channel solo boys and girls come in for their 1st feed of the morning. (Click on picture above to watch . ) 
The second 90 minute swim was tougher than 1st for
sure .., not just because you are a touch cold still and your shoulders are already tired from the first swim ,
but because the outside temperature had
dropped a bit and slight breeze had started , so sea was slightly choppy and hence
made swimming a bit more difficult ..
But once again ..all five us completed the swim planned...we
stayed at the beach until 3 , we wanted to see if any help was needed with supporting
the solo swimmers ..once we knew they were okay , we left to have a shower
..
and get some much food inside us...good days work had been done.
(Baby Face, Awesome Thorn , Basher ,the Boom .! & Prince Charlie)
Camp Rick,.,.! Sunday morning
Sunday mornings swim was only going to be 90 minutes affair
.
as we had to get back to the Midlands for Fathers Day dinners ..
Weather had improved this morning...or put it another way
the sun was shining yippee...however the
wind was blowing quite strong .
So we were warned it maybe a little choppy out there this
morning ...before we entered the water we had the pleasure meeting Chloe Mcmardel.
The Australian super swimmer who had already swam 2 solo`s this
week and planned another 5 over the coming months...lovely lady.
We said our goodbyes to Chloe and entered the water at 9am...
and yes..the sea was a lot more choppy than Saturdays swims for sure..
but in strange way it made for a more enjoyable swim than the previous day efforts
Fighting against the waves was great fun ...
once the 90 minutes were over
.. we quickly got changed , said our goodbye and thank you`s to Emma France and
all in the Dover Channel Training team
Who had helped us so much , and headed home to the midlands...
It had been a good weekend workout for all five of us..
all the
questions & doubts we may had about
channel swimming ..
had all been
addressed ..and we think all the team now have the confidence going forward to
the double swim in only 35 days time ..!!!
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| Stu... 9 miles done ... BOOM.  smashed all 3 swims ...9 miles done. looking in great shape and swimming fast.. nice work young man..  great weekends work done. the man was unstoppable  You must check out when you leave the water...!! |
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| Ricks Buddy Phil Yorke... thinking should i get in or not..!! ( he did do 9 miles Breaststroke the day before at the BLDSA champion of champions event )  as he sneaked out 10 minutes early so could get some pictures of the team leaving the water and have hot chocolate off course ..;-)  Phil Yorke & Tom Healy & Basher ( Phil & Tom had done the BLDSA Champions of Champions 9 mile event .. tom won overall ) |
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| Finally after 9 miles swimming... its time for a beer... Charlie its your Round .!!!  our next big swim weekend is in 2 weeks.. when we travel to Bournemouth to meet up with our good friends The Durley Sea Swimmers team on the Saturday for 3 or 4 hrs of training , Then on Sunday with have a race planned at the Seahorses sea swim event in Studland . |
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Counting Down The Days to Ricks Two Way Channel Swim For #TeamMacmillan
35 Days to Go.... we are supporting Macmillan Cancer for our double English Channel swim in 2016 if you wish to give us any support to help Macmillan Cancer Support with their amazing work , then this is link to the team Just Giving Page.. many thanks Big Ricks Swim Team https://www.justgiving.com/teams/bigricks #NotOverUntilDoveR |
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Channel Road Trip ....
A view of a channel car well filled...
Not sure we have enough water.....
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