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!

Tailwinds, Tunes and Trailers!

We're in England! I know that because I rather clumsily hit my head on the "welcome to England" sign......

The day started well - we awoke to sunshine for the first time! We left the rather remote hostel, and its' mice, bats, broken beds and angry neighbour, and made our way southeast towards Dumfries on quiet winding roads and a big tail wind pushing us on our way. With renewed enthusiasm we broke out the iPod and strapped the speakers to the trailer, and cranked up the Foo Fighters for a few miles. Almost perfection - until the rain came along and spoiled our fun.

Undetered, we pushed on to Dumfries and stopped for a foot long subway (Me) and the largest coffee in the world (Andy W). Refreshed, we climbed out of Dumfries and caught our first glimpse of England in the distance. Then disaster struck.

Making our way steadily down towards the River Exe, the connecting bolt on my trailer broke, sending the trailer into the verge, and bits of bolt flying all over the road.

The problem had started whilst waiting for the ferry to Arran when my bike fell over, bending and bucking the connector in the process. I managed to bodge a fix, and we were able to carry on unhindered.

A few miles later and we were in Gretna, complete with its' many "Marriage outlets" and, more importantly, the Welcome to England sign, where we took the opportunity to share some Maltloaf, Andy W deciding that we must eat half in Scotland and half in England. Not sure why but we did just that, and were both rather pleased with ourselves for doing so.

From there was a straightforward 13 miles into Carlisle for our overnight stop, fighting the Bank Holiday traffic in the process.

Tomorrow we skirt the Lake District which should prove a tough test. Before I go tonight though I just want to thank all of you who have texted and posted messages of support since we started. We really do appreciate it - and it helps keep us both going when the rain starts, the wind blows and the hills arrive!

I'm a cyclist get me out of here!

A restful night was had by all in the hotel on Arran, although a new injury has been added to the list of tired legs and sore knees which Andy G sustained while tucking into his Haggis on the previous evening...

After another fried breakfast we headed off and enjoyed the picturesque ride to the ferry. After a longer than expected ferry journey we were dumped in the middle of a busy noisy smelly town. It was a complete culture shock to have to deal with lorries, buses and far too many cars after spending the last 4 days cycling through beautiful, unspoilt and quiet countryside.

Previously the most dangerous aspect of our ride was the odd roadworks, a bridge here and there and the speed we came down some of the hills. Now we had to negotiate our way along dual carriage ways and trying to avoid going through red lights (Andy G only missed one!)

Both of us just wanted to turn back and jump on the ferry back to Aaron.

But we pressed on and after a couple hours safely negotiating a couple of towns we headed back into the countryside, which was a welcome relief although by this stage it was raining quite heavily.

Arrived safely but a bit damp at the hostel and I think we are the only ones staying here, which is no surprise as we really are the middle of no where.

Anyway onto day 6 tomorrow and heading back into England I believe. Which after today's experience with civilisation, I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to or not.

Btw Andy G just managed to burn the inside of his mouth with the Haggis - nothing more interesting than that I'm afraid!

Raindrops keep falling on my head - or is that Stella?

We knew today would be tough and if I'm honest I wasn't looking forward to it very much!! Following a tactical meeting last night we deduced that the winds don't pick up until mid-morning, so if we leave earlier in the morning we might get a few of the 97 miles done before the wind sets in.

Andy W duly set his alarm early then proceeded to faff around like a big girl for half an hour, but we were still on the road just after 6:15. Our plan seemed to have worked - for the first 2 miles. By the time we reached the main road the winds had picked up and the drizzle had started, which quickly turned to rain.

Fortunately alot of our route was sheltered by trees and, more impressively, mountains, and we blasted through the first 34 miles, arriving in Oban at 9am. We eventually managed to find a cafe which was open (and playing some rather choice patriotic local radio station) and settled down for what was my 4th cooked breakfast in as many days - guilt free!

Once done, we ventured to find Andy W some dried fruit and me some Midget Gem sweets, which have respectively been the unsung hero's of our ride so far

It was by this time raining properly and we left Oban, climbing for an enternity, until we eventually found ourselves in the clouds, rain blasting us relentlessly in the face. This was not what we'd signed up for! Silently and in our own thoughts we ploughed on, until as I overtook Andy W, he quietly said "Wet, is it?". Yes Andy, it is.

Once over the top of the hill, we started a fairly major descent, during the course of which we passed a small shop and a chap struggling to get his shopping into his car. Whether the sight of Andy and I whizzing towards him startled him I don't know, but a rogue can of lager fell out of his bag, and landed on the floor, whereupon it pierced sending 2 jets of lager fizzing into the air. I was already laughing by this stage, but as I turned round, laughter turned to delight as I saw Andy W cycle straight through what can only be described as a Stella fountain. That kept had us chuckling for a good few miles....

We finally arrived in Lochghilhead, and once again found a cafe to shelter from the elements and have a cup of tea. Upon leaving the town, I took a slightly wrong turn which fortunately Andy W noticed - the road I took was taking us down the wrong side of a rather large expanse of water!!!

Once on track we made good time again through the next 25 miles to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the Isle of Arran. After a 30 minute wait we boarded the ferry, and my bike fell over, bending the trailer coupling and rendering it pretty useless. Fortunately I had a spare coupling so I repaired the damage and hoped that it didn't happen again for the remainder of the trip!

Once on Arran, a short ride along the coast led to our Hotel (yes, hotel!!). For the first time since leaving home we had a kettle, a bath, a bar and a telly. We're off to watch the Champions League final - cheers!

Lochs, Canals and Ferries

After a tiring couple of days we were looking forward to a good rest at Loch Ness before heading off for our 3rd day. Unfortunately these plans where scuppered by sharing a room with 2 Scottish blokes; one who snored all night and the other who went to the toilet every hour on the hour throughout the night! I have known Mr Gough to be in better moods than he was this morning!

Anyway an early start and breakfast on the go meant we made good progress for our 63 mile leg. We also anticipated an easy day as we were taking cycle routes and tow paths.

Unfortunately while cycling along what seemed to be an endless tow path the weather decided to turn against us with driving rain, also the numerous pot holes in the path didn't help. Also we ended up doing a little cross country stint when we tried to take a shortcut along a cycle path, we would have been better off in a 4x4.

Mr Gough even had a few little incidents today with a trailer capsize and also running into some roadworks - I'm not the only one to have issues with roadworks!

Apart from the tow paths and the cross country we had a really good day and the scenery was fantastic.

We also bumped into a few friendly locals; one saved the day by getting us across the loch in his boat when we missed the ferry, due to them changing the timetable but not updating their website! Also Andy G met a friendly fellow when looking for somewhere to fill our water bottles up. We came across a shop on the otherside of one of the lochs and Andy G went in with 4 empty water bottles and came out with them filled up and a carry bag full of biscuits and cakes! The bloke obviously took pity on us and thought we needed feeding up, although by all accounts he had some strange ideas about global warming and adders...

Finally we arrived at the hostel at an amazing 3 o'clock for a good rest and hopefully a better nights sleep in preparation of our 97 miles tomorrow!

Race to the Monster

Woke up and went downstairs for a nourishing if not slightly random breakfast then stepped outside to see what the weather had to offer. And we were pleasantly surprised. Low winds and fairly clear skies.

We decided to get moving before the weather changed its' mind, and we set off on a wonderful 25 mile cruise down to sea level, stopping on the way to admire Shin Falls which, to be frank, were rubbish. We had the obligatory photo shoot with 2 Highland Cattle, spent a mile being chased by 2 playful dogs, not to mention the lottery of a bridge being open which would save us about 10 miles. It was.

But then the climbing started. A short sharp climb took us into the hills, then the wind started. A headwind, possibly stronger than yesterday's, was to blow against us for the next 40 miles - all the way to Loch Ness.

Fortunately the rain held off but the climbing didn't. Andy W was most pleased to be "first" up the hill, only for me to reach hill and delightfully explain that we were only half way....

Eventually we both reached the summit and hit a whopping 40 mph on the way down.

I've started noticing that speed is Andy W's friend. Not only does he fly down hills, but when he rides slowly he tends to crash into things. Big, obvious things. Yesterday it was a bridge. Today it was a set of roadworks.

We stopped to pick up some food to cook at the fantastically positioned Loch Ness Hostel, and arrived about 5 o'clock. 1 mile shorter than yesterday but 2 hours longer.

Our journey takes us South West all day tomorrow. If the wind doesn't die down it could be very hard going.

Wind? Just a slight breeze...

We left our hostel at 7.30 with fairly decent weather for a nice leisurely cycle to the John o'Groats fingerpost to start our ride. Only to discover that there where no fingers on the post itself! _ typical. Anyway we had a good couple of hours to Thurso where we had breakfast and decided this wasn't going to be as bad as we thought. How wrong we where. Neither of us have experienced a day like it, travelling what turned out to be 11 hours into a constant strong headwind and up some nightmare hills. I think we both wondered what on earth we were doing. Even the GPS gave up with about 3 miles to go. But we made it eventually, and ended up at a rather nice B&B with a rather strange (but very nice - he couldn't do enough for us) owner but all in all it was an extremely welcome sight. Although we would have probably stayed anywhere after the day we had. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier!

Hostage in Edinburgh!

Hostage in Edinburgh

Well we've arrived at John O'Groats following a relatively straightforward journey. That is, except the small matter of managing to get ourselves locked in a train on the platform at Edinburgh!

We left Bristol Temple Meads promptly at 6.15, and Andy very quickly set about negotiating a first class upgrade. This could already be candidate for the top idea award - by the time we got to Leeds, cattle class was full to the seams and had developed an interesting aroma....

We arrived in Edinburgh on time, then Scot Rail continued to excel themselves in how not to run a train company by adding, removing and finally breaking their coaches. Once they managed to open the train doors, we were then asked to move to the front of the train as the coach we were in was apparently not coming to Inverness! Cue much confusion, a near scuffle with a do-gooder bystander and we set off 20 minutes late and illegally abandened bikes. Cue a rather embarrasing discussion with the guard and the bikes were moved, enabling us to continue our bizarre journey with a large sleepy German Shepherd dog.

A quick change at Inverness, the highlight of which was Andy W confusing the overly officious ticket inspector, and we set about the 4 hour journey to Thurso - German Shepherd in tow. Also on board was a fellow end to ender called Paul. He had seen our blogspot on Google and was quick to tell us that we had reserved the only bike spaces on the train meaning that he had to send his bike in advance to John O'Groats. Being the kind citizens that we are, we let Paul share our taxi from Thurso to John O'Groats.

So an early start for us tomorrow morning to find the elusive 'finger post' and start our adventure...

Weather check

No Andy, what we really need is one of these....

According to the Met Offices website, we can expect the following;

Day 1- Cloudy, 20mph head wind.

Day 2 - Raining, 20mph side wind.

Day 3 - Cloudy, 15 mph side / head wind.

Day 4 - Cloudy, 15 mph head wind.

Day 5 - Cloudy, 8mph head wind.

Day 6 - Sunny!!! Dry!!! 4mph head wind!!!

Day 7 - Sunny - 20 degrees !!! - 4mph side wind. That's more like it.....

Day 8 - Hot and Sunny - no wind!

Day 9 - Sunny intervals, 12mph side wind

Day 10 - Sunny, 6mph side wind

Day 11 - Sunny, 10mph side / tail wind - yes, tail wind!!!

Day 12 - Partly cloudy, 15mph tail wind

Day 13 - Partly cloudy, 15mph tail wind

Day 14 - Partly cloudy, 10mph side wind

Can't wait for Day 6.......

2 Days to go....

hhhhmmmm - don't think I have to add anything else really.

Also Quite a few of these have suddenly appeared on the long range forecast!


and which is worse quite a lot of these:


what we want really want is one of these everyday:

Training - what training!

Well after being determined to get back into training last week and an encouraging bike ride last Tuesday, the training has ground to a complete halt at the moment, and doesn't look like it will get started again until Saturday at the earliest!

I'm hoping my strategy of no training = lots of rest and no risk of injury before the event will pay off.

Well it is meant to be a challenge after all ;0)

Call that Training?!

Oh dear, we're just not trying anymore. My training plan had me down for 200-odd miles last week. Instead, both Andy and I cycled to Bristol (35 miles for me, 25 at best for Andy), and drank Cider. I got the train home, Andy stayed in a hotel.

I'm getting quite excited about this now though - in 3 weeks time we'll be starting Day 2, and in 5 weeks time I'll be back at work wondering what all the fuss was about......

Only 3 weeks to go.....!

Just realised this weekend that it is only 3 weeks to go till we set off!!!!!!!!!!

Training not going so well at the moment. After the encouraging trip to Christchurch I've only managed to fit in a couple of training sessions at weekends, training during the week has gone out the window at the moment, but plan to get that back on course this week. More out of panic after realising that it is not long to go than anything else.

Good news is that I do now have my new bike (hurrah), taking a bit of getting used to but all is good, the bad news now is that I can't use the excuse of the mountain bike for being slow anymore. Will have to think up something new.

Impressed with Andy's 1000 miles, I think I'm on about 600 at the moment which is not too shabby since middle of March, and I'm hoping that means I've brunt of 36,000 calories, although it doesn't feel like it at the moment!

Update

Andy and I went for a 125 mile round trip to Christchurch this weekend - very hot, not very hilly, and Andy was on a mountain bike with a wobbly front. Yep, he's quicker than me! (although I did have the slight disadvantage of pulling the trailer).

Three bits of encouraging news;

a) we managed to get on the bikes for two days running
b) we averaged 13 mph - most respectable
c) I've clocked up 1000 training miles (and have apparantly burnt a whopping 60,000 calories in the process). Now I just have to do that again, but in 2 weeks rather than 4 months....

Route Version 2

Due to the problems with the trains (see previous posts), we've effectively lost a cycling day, so we need to squeeze a few more miles into each day. This means a change in route details, as follows;

Sat 19th May - Bristol TM - Thurso - John O'Groats (Youth Hostel)
Sun 20th May - J O'G - Crask (B&B)
Mon 21st May - Crask - Loch Ness (Youth Hostel)
Tue 22nd May - Loch Ness - Glencoe (Youth Hostel)
Wed 23rd May - Glencoe - Catacol (B&B)
Thu 24th May - Catacol - Kendoon (Youth Hostel)
Fri 25th May - Kendoon - Carlisle (B&B)
Sat 26th May - Carlisle - Slaidburn (Youth Hostel)
Sun 27th May - Slaidburn - Crewe (B&B)
Mon 28th May - Crewe - Leominster (Youth Hostel)
Tue 29th May - Leominster - Bath
Wed 30th May - Bath - Exford (Youth Hostel)
Thu 31st May - Exford - Tintagel (Youth Hostel)
Fri 1st June - Tintagel - Penzance (Youth Hostel)
Sat 2nd June - Penzance YHA - Lands End

Total 1,066 miles....

Christchurch here we come

The training's taken a bit of a back seat of late. Maybe it's becuase Andy's on board and I know he's playing "catch up" in the training, but I'm definately not putting the miles in like I probably should be!

This weekend will be interesting - a trip to Christchurch - 60 miles each way. The bike trailer will be loaded up, so it should be the closest training we've had yet to the real thing. Last I heard, Andy's new bike still hadn't arrived, so he could be struggling all the way on his mountain bike....nutter.

Anyway, I note that Andy's concerned about the hill Profiles - I assume he may be refering to Day 7 - I knew I shouldn't have shown him.....

Progress...

After the 40 mile bike with Mr Gough last Saturday I was feeling a bit more confident, as I wasn't too shabby, and once I have my new bike I’m sure I can give him a run for his money!

Although after seeing some of the hill profiles for a couple of days in Scotland my feeling of “this wont be too bad after all..” has gone back to “Oh my god.....”

OK, how do we get there again?

What a nightmare few weeks I've had attempting to get us to John O'Groats. It seems that Scotrail are a bit of a law unto themselves, and have only just this week opened bookings for the train we need! (Unless we want to book a reclining chair / bed for the sleeper train, which is still not available. Aaaarrgghhh!!!)

As a result, all the cheap seats are gone, as Virgin Trains who operate the first leg of the journey opened their bit weeks ago, so now they want a whopping £140 for a ticket, as opposed to a very reasonable £45. Ah.

So, having looked at combinations of driving, car hire, taxi, coach, minibus, flying and a man with a van (yes really), Andy appears to have saved the day by simply looking into taking the train the next day (19th May). Now why didn't I think of that? Yep, it's still £45, it only has 2 changes as opposed to 4, and isn't even an overnight sleeper. I knew he'd have his uses.

So, I haven't seen his skills on a bike yet, but I have just bought him a ticket to John O'Groats. See you at Temple Meads at 6:15 on the 19th Andy...

Not sure what I have let myself in for....

Well after several pints of beer Mr Gough convinced me to join him on his mad idea to cycle the length of the country. As always at the time it seemed a good idea, but so does everything after 9 pints of beer in a bar in the middle of Amsterdam's red light district!!!

Anyway after not being on a bike for about 5 years, I thought I should do a bit of training, but as last Saturday proved I have a long way to go, cycled 20 miles, nearly collapsed and couldn't sit down for the rest of the weekend. Now I have changed my concern from what have a let myself in for to what has Andy G let himself in for.

Have been training a couple of times this week and will be getting a more suitable bike soon, as my old mountain bike isn't really up to the job. Although I may wait until next week to get a new bike, as going out for a bike ride with Andy on Saturday and he may just change his mind when he realises how slow I am.....

Did I mention the prevailing wind?

It seems I may have underestimated the effect the wind might have on our progress.....

Rode 46 miles with the wind behind me on Saturday - 16.6mph average speed
Rode 46 miles into the wind on Sunday - 12.6mph average speed. That's an hour longer!

Decided not to tell Andy W this small issue yet....perhaps I can just blame it on the curry and lager on the Saturday night instead....

And then there were two...

I'm delighted to announce that I have recruited a riding partner!

Following the consumption of several beers spread over several hours, Andy Walsh has agreed to join me for the duration of the ride.

I hope this isn't a bad omen, but shortly after agreeing to ride the length of the UK with me, both Andy and I got impressively lost on our relatively short journey home from the pub....

It's good to have you on board Andy. I think.

Route Planned

I've now completed the first draft of the route! This is based on the Cyclist Touring Club's B&B route and YHA route, as well as help from Alan Pewsey from his ride in 2001.

A slight deviation to the route will include a bit of exploring the Highlands, involving 2 ferry journeys to enable me to visit Arran. The ferry journeys go east to west, rather than north to south, so I figure that this isn't cheating!!

The route at the moment is as follows;

Friday 18th May - 19:30 Train from Bristol TM to Thurso (arrive 14:17 on Saturday!!)
Sat 19th May - Thurso - J O'Groats - Thurso - 40 miles (yes, it will be a 20 mile bike ride just to reach John O'Groats!)
Sun 20th - Thurso to Lairg - 76 miles
Mon 21st - Lairg to Loch Ness Youth Hostel - 70 miles
Tue 22nd - Loch Ness Youth Hostel to Glencoe Youth Hostel - 62 miles
Wed 23rd - Glencoe Youth Hostel to Lochranza - 99 miles (ouch)
Thu 24th - Lochranza to Kendoon Youth Hostel - 67 miles
Fri 25th - Kendoon Youth Hostel to Carlisle - 69 miles
Sat 26th - Carlisle to Slaidburn - 76 miles
Sun 27th - Slaidburn to Church Minshall - 74 miles
Mon 28th - Church Minshall to Leominster - 81 miles
Tue 29th - Leominster to Bath - 78 miles
Wed 30th - Bath to Bishops Lydeard - 69 miles
Thu 31st - Bishops Lydeard to Bude - 70 miles
Fri 1st - Bude to Marazion - 70 miles approx
Sat 2nd - Marazion to Lands End - 30 miles approx

Ouch!

Got my first crash out of the way at the weekend. Front wheel hit some ice and down I went. Fortuantely the car behind me was driving a half sensible distance away. Dented pride was the worst of the injuries.

Training

My training plan is like me - simple.

Basically, I need to be doing between 75 and 85 miles per day confortably. Before Christmas, I did a 30 mile ride, and pretty much collapsed!!! Last weekend I did 48 miles, and was ready to collapse at about 40...improvement is a wonderful thing.

My technical training plan involves riding 3 times per week, once at the weekend, and twice mid-week. Each month, the rides will get progressively longer. I may also get a swiss ball, but to be honest that's purely to work off the beer belly.

January - 20 miles twice a week - 45 miles at weekend
February - 25 miles twice a week - 55 miles at weekend
March - 25 miles three times a week - 65 miles at weekend
April - 30 miles three times a week - 75 miles at weekend
May - 30 miles three times a week - 85 miles at weekend

See, simple.

Want to join me?

A few of you nutters have already said you want to join me for part of the ride. The more the merrier!! I'm sure I will be totally bored with my own company by then.

For your diaries, I'm going to be passing Bristol on Weds 30th / Thurs 31st May, and likely route will be Bristol - Okehampton, Okehampton - Penzanze, Penzance - St Ives (ish..). Exact route will be posted in due course....

Tuuuuunes!

I'm looking for friends and family to suggest tunes / playlists to keep me going during the challenge. This may be great tracks which inspire you or you think are appropriate for the challenge.

I'm also after suggestions of tracks to add to a playlist to keep me going up those hills!

Any suggestions welcome - Danny Boy, you know I'm looking at you....

CHASE hospice care for children

CHASE exists to support families with life-limited children - that is, children or young people who are not expected to reach the age of 19 because of illnesses that are incurable.

CHASE also has its own children's hospice, where families can come to spend some quality time together, and give the life-limited child some independent time out if the family needs to take a rest elsewhere.

CHASE supports families throughout the illness of their child and beyond and without CHASE many families would find it difficult to cope. Today CHASE is supporting 240 families.

It costs £3 million each year to run CHASE which has to be raised through charitable donation. CHASE provides its service, free of charge, 24 hours a day, every day of the year in whatever way it is needed.

If you would like to sponsor me, please donate whatever you can to support this very worthy charity on my Just Giving site www.justgiving.com/goughonabike

Gift Aid: If you are a UK Taxpayer, and wish to include your name and address, CHASE will reclaim an additional 22% from the Government to add to your donation.