Thanks

Just a quick not to add my thanks to everyone who sponsored us and provided support and encouragement on the way.

Also the couple of nights we did have out in Bath, Exford and Penzance where a welcome break back to normality, and it was great to catch up with everyone.

Thanks Andy G for actually navigating us all that way, exceptional navigational and organisational skills as always. Had a fantastic couple of weeks and really glad I had the opportunity to do this amazing challenge, just next time you have a bright idea - keep it yourself!!!!

Finished!

I'm delighted to tell you that at about 11am on Saturday we finally completed our challenge!!

None too fresh from our early celebrations last night, we got on the bikes this morning, extremely thankful that we had 9 miles to go to Lands End. From an initial glance at the map it looked like we had one big hill to climb then basically it was downhill all the way into Lands End. Surely nothing could go wrong now.....

A thick sea mist had developed overnight, and once again the back light went on (well, mine did. Andy W's was broken in yesterday's little penkife incident). We climbed out of Penzance and slowly edged away at the 9 mile target. Eventually we hit the highest point and started freewheeling towards Lands End when, unbelievably, I ran over a stone and got a puncture in my back tyre!

Amazed at our bad luck, we quickly changed the inner tube and carried on into the mist, counting down the miles, then the half miles, then the yards to the finish line where we were incredibly grateful to see Andy's parents, Vanessa, Jenny, Elizabeth and Beth, along with the balloons and giant banner, & of course the champagne.

Making our way to the finger post for the all important photo's the enormity of our achievements started to set in - we'd managed to get ourselves all the way - without pushing - from John O'Groats to Lands End and to say the least we were pretty chuffed with ourselves!!

I'm writing this on Sunday - it's the first day in a fortnight that I haven't had to get up and ride for 6 hours plus. My body seems to be punishing me now for the pains that I've put it through but I have no regrets at all. Many many thanks of course to all of you who sponsored us - although this was an amazing personal challenge, the fact that through you we managed to raise some well needed money for 2 such wonderful causes is fantastic. Thanks also to all of you who called, texted, posted and cheered us on. We probably would have still managed the ride without yu but it did make a hell of a lot of difference to us being able to read your messages of support. Fitzy - you're a legend. Jimmer - sorry for not including you in the Christchurch blog and thanks for your support ;-) Jen - thanks for showing us Penzance. Next time I go out for a night with you I'm not cycling the next day! Last but by no means least, Andy W - you're a star. From a hazy drunk night in Amsterdam through hours of training, new bike with all the kit, you proved what I knew all along - that you'd breeze it. Your company throughout was as I would expect - cheerful and (mostly!) enthusiastic. Thanks so much for helping me achieve a very long standing ambition - now bring on Everest!!!

A30 trial and tribulations

After yesterdays long day we thought an earlier start would be needed, so setting off at 8 in the sunshine (shock horror!) was all good. Only to be confronted by that same rollercoster we encountered the day before. Also a puncture to Andy G's bike didn't really help with progress.

After only 10 miles the progress was quite slow so we stopped at Bodmin had a pasty (breakfast) and decided that a more direct route to Penzance was the best option. This turned out to be a fantastic idea as we flew along the A30 making great progress. The only downside was the risk of playing with the traffic and the roadworks!

We were making so much progress it looked like we would be sat in a pub in Penzance for 2.30 which cheered us up immensely. That was until I ran over of all things a pen knife!!!! This not only caused me to have a puncture, but it also caused damage to my tire, trash my back mudguard and introduce quite a prominent buckle into my back wheel. So near (20 miles) yet so far.

After a few repairs on the roadside, as lorries whizzed past, and Mr Gough had my bike into a useable condition. A quick stop at Redruth for a new tire and we where off again - only 18 miles to go now. Then another puncture!

Luckily myself and my bike limped into Penzance at a not too shabby 3.30. Although this was helped by Andy G carrying all my stuff in his trailer for fear of my back wheel collapsing!

Anyway hopefully everything will hold out for tomorrow and our final 9 miles - thank god for that.

Proper Job!

Well it had to happen at some stage didn't it. Andy (W) and I went to the pub last night on some kind of mission to put right the pains of the days cycle. We tucked into an appropriaty named local ale - Proper Job - and proceeded to drink the barrel dry. Undetered, we battled on with the Exmoor Gold before the landlord closed the tills about midnight. Thanks to Adam and Kath for their company and cornish biscuits.

Our night out meant an inevitable late start this morning. We took advantage of the YHA breakfast then had an extra cheeky kip before heading off at 9.30.

Turning left out of the hostel, we immediately hit a hill which lead to a 1,000 feet climb. Half way up it started to rain, which turned to hail on the moor at the top. 68 miles to go....

The rest of the morning followed suit, with one climb being followed by a fast descent, then immediately back up again. It was painfully slow going as we inched our way off Exmoor and into Devon, searching in vain for a flat bit. Andy turned this torture into some kind of game, seeing how fast he could go down the ludicrously steep hills. 42 mph on one, then a ridiculous 49 mph on the next. I followed behind at a much more sensible 41 mph...

The rain cleared up and we plodded on, somehow missing a huge rain shower which we could see from a few miles over Torrington. Eventually we left devon and with immense delight entered Cornwall, the finishing line was almost now in sight.

We carried on to Bude where Andy demanded "the biggest pasty you can find". Sure enough, we each managed to procure a giant pasty, bread & butter pudding and a can of coke. Rod, you would have been horrified!

Energy renewed, we left Bude and headed for Tintagel, our overnight stop. We followed the dramatically scenic coast path for a few miles, going up and down hills as steep as 1:3. The 20 miles to Tintagel was to take us 3 hours, as we continued on the permanent Cornish rollercoaster. We passed through Boscastle and witnessed some of the flood damage a few years ago, some of which is still being repaired now.

Another huge climb out of Boscastle, my legs and knees were by now in a fair amount of pain. Then it started raining again....

Finally we reached the track leading to the Hostel, relieved to have survived an incredibly arduous day, safe in the knowledge that we have to do the same thing again tomorrow to reach Penzance, and our last overnight stop.

Dinner tonight? Tomato Soup, 2 cans of stewing steak with some pasta and a ragu sauce and a packet of jammie dodgers. Proper Job....

4 Steak and Kidney Pies Please

After a thoroughly enjoyable night we said goodbye to friends and family again, and headed off to Exford. It was quite hard to get motivated today as we felt like we had just got home and neither of us really relished the thought of getting back on the bikes. Then it rained and rained a bit more, doing wonders for our already unmotivated attitude!

Both in a quiet and reflective mood, pushed on and made it to Cheddar where the fun of coming down the gorge was dampened by even more rain and freezing temperatures. To cheer and warm ourselves up we stopped for a welcome cup of tea, although this helped, we still hadn't quite recovered, so we thought we would have a nice warm steak and kidney pie. Still not totally satisfied we ordered another round of pies, which helped immensely. We would have probably ordered yet another round but the café was suddenly invaded by loads of screaming kids so we promptly left!

With slightly lighter moods we passed through Bridgewater and headed for the hills. Luckily for us it stopped raining and we saw a fleeting glimpse of sunshine before it rained again just in time for the start of the hill climbing - oh bother we said to each other (or words to that effect).

Anyway we climbed up to the highest point of the whole ride today 1,325 feet! This was only hampered by a little road rage incident involving us, a hill and an idiot in a blue car who tired reversing down the hill into us! As you can probably tell we weren't in any mood to be dealing with that today.

Anyway we safely arrived at Exford without further incident and after the usual domestic chores headed for the pub to meet a couple of friends, Adam and Kath, for some food and a couple of drinks. Only 2 (and a bit) days to go!

Don't mention the "P" word!

Following a night of much head scratching, trying to work out where everybody went in Leominster, we had a relatively early night and made an equally early start to Bath. The previous night, Andy W had taken a call from Steve, who had asked how many punc***res we had. Andy suitably repremanded him for mentioning the dreaded word, however the damage had been done. My front wheel went flat after about 10 miles....

Following this slight hold up, we enjoyed a fast trip to Ross On Wye, and rewarded ourselves with breakfast. The weather looked great - blue skies for the first time all trip, and we were in short sleeves for the rest of the day. Unbelievable.

A few cheeky hills later and we wound our way through the Forest of Dean, eventually descending down into Chepstow. Now there's a place to be avoided if you can help it. We managed to pick out what roads weren't one way or being dug up, and made our way across the Severn Bridge. By this time we had already called in the tea and cake order to Rod in Waldon's Bristol office, and we rolled up just in time for him to put the kettle on and talk about bikes, hills and sore knees.

All too soon we were on our way to Bath and found our way onto the Bristol - Bath cycle path after some slight navigation issues by myself.....

Andy W decided that this would be his opportunity to show the world what he can do on a bike, and he set off at a ridiculously fast speed, zipping in and out of pushchairs and dogs, and having scant regard for whatever lay in his wake. I followed at a safe distance, terrified for the kids who were, until that point, enjoying a relaxing half term!

Needless to say we arrived in Bath pretty quickly, and were met by a welcoming committee which was great to see. Jess and Steve had also been good enough to arrange an evening meal and a few drinks, and our thanks go to all of you who could make it - it was great to see other people for a change - no offence intended Andy!

Whether we'll still feel so grateful in the morning is another matter, but we were 82 miles closer to Lands End, and that alone is worth celebrating.....

Murder on the B4361

1 dead bird
a couple of repairs
3 wrong turns
4 rashers of bacon missing on a plate
etc.........etc...

anyhow....

Day started off well with a full breakfast as always, although we were both disappointed as we are now connoisseurs of fry ups, that there was a lack of bacon with this one, it was only when leaving the bed and breakfast that the landlady followed us out with the said bacon apologising about her mistake and offering us bacon sandwiches to take with us, so it all ended well in the end. But that was how the day pretty much went.

After a couple of wrong turns and a couple of minor running repairs the day progressed nicely, avoided all the rain which was nice and managed to skirt around the Midlands which was a bit disappointing personally for me but I think Mr Gough was quite relieved.

All in all a very uneventful day apart from when Andy G somehow managed to run over a bird as it flew past, with his trailer!!!!

Arrived in Leominister at about 4:00 which tells its own story as it was a relatively easy ride today, although Leominister does seem a rather strange place as it was completely deserted when we arrived (4:00 in the afternoon on a Bank Holiday)!!!

Anyway marching onto Bath tomorrow and hopefully catch up with some friends who we can bore senseless with our tales of cycling heroics.

Andy's found his Mojo

Today was just one of those days that needed to be done. It was never going to be the most scenic of days - and it wasn't, and we knew it would rain for most of the day - and it did.

The day started well to the relief of us both - Andy W was back on form. Obviously the one pint last night was just the tonic as he powered up the first couple of hills. After a few miles we finally reached the edge of the Dales and down into the Ribble Valley, a very healthy tail wind giving us welcome boost.

The first 15 miles whizzed by and we stopped for breakfast in Whalley before making our way through the drizzle to Blackburn. Passing the Blackburn Rovers football stadium I realised that the previous stadium we had passed was in Gretna - only 2 days ago. We have made great progress since then and it was that enthusiasm which kept us going up the 1,000 feet 5 mile climb out of Blackburn. Once at the top, we enjoyed a similar 5 mile descent into Bolton. From there it was a journey from one Cheshire town to the next, with nothing much in the way of interest to speak of, except perhaps the weird tea room where we stopped to dry off and warm up, abiding by their very strict "no standing" rule as we did so!....

Finally we found our way to Crewe and our B&B, complete with fresh home-made scones - pukka.

So, as there's nothing much to talk about today, here's some stats so far.....

Miles cycled - 631
Hours cycled - 52 hours 20 minutes
Calories Burnt - 40068
Average speed - 12.06 mph
Max speed - Andy G - 36.9 mph
Max speed - Andy W - 40.2 mph (nutter!)

A mere 74 miles tomorrow to Leominster. We're off to the pub - only one pint for Andy W though....

40 Hills and a Motorway

After a few beers while watching the football last night we set off in fine spirits for our first full day of cycling in England.

Unfortunately the couple of beers had completely different effects on us both. While the couple of stellas gave Mr Gough super human strength today, the couple of ales I had helped to produce a woeful display as I struggled up all of the numerous hills that we encountered (I'm sure that there was at least 40).

Some nifty navigating by Andy G meant that we avoided the dreaded stretch along the A6 and we ended up in the middle of the M6 (on purpose I hasten to add).This was the highlight of our day and we where literally in the middle of the M6, one side of us was the northbound carriageway and the otherside the southbound. This also tells you that the day was pretty uneventful by all accounts. Although the scenery over some of the Yorkshire dells was pretty amazing once we had struggled up them. Also another milestone was achieved as we made it up the 2nd tallest climb we will encounter on our trip, bring on Cornwall!

The weather looks like it is about to change so from a dry and mostly sunny day we are expecting to get a tad wet tomorrow for when we cycle through the fabulous cities of Blackburn, Bolton and Crewe!