25th July 2010 - Loch Naver to John o Groats

The last day of cycling.  Our night of wild camping had been pretty eh ... wild.  It had been quite windy and there was a fair bit of rain during the night.  The tent was letting in water again and there was a thick covering of midgies in one corner of the tent.  We didn't care about this though, it was still the last day of cycling, yippee. There was a break in the rain so we took the tent down pretty sharpish.  Breakfast was a car picnic.  There was one plus to it raining, there weren't too many midgies about.

Cycling along the River Naver was amazing. Apart from the odd house, there was absolutely nobody about, no cars, just lots of sheep.

It was 18 miles to Bettyhill from where we had camped for the night and for some reason I still hadn't found my legs when I arrived, I was still feeling quite lethargic. I met Carol, Katy and the girls for a spot of brunch. Like the previous day, Carol, Katy and the girls would meet me at various points along the way.  The road out of Bettyhill is very hilly and I was still feeling a little lethargic. About 10 miles from Bettyhill all the food Carol has been force feeding me must have kicked in because I felt great and zipped along the road.

The last stop of the day before John o Groats was Thurso where I had a coffee.  I drank my coffee and headed for John o Groats.

I arrived in John o Groats in no time at all, in fact Carol was worried that I would be there before them as they had stopped at a beach to walk the dogs.  It was the best feeling ever to have finally finished.  From about five miles out I had been in a kind of time trialling mode, if that is possible on a touring bike with trekking handlebars and 37mm tyres.  I spotted Carol, Katy and the girls straight away.  There were hugs and kisses all round and Rosie had picked me some flowers.  We tooks photographs at the sign and that was it, Land's End to John o Groats in twelve days cycling. 68 miles cycles today, 1006.6 miles in total.

We hung around for a while before heading back to Torguish House for the night.

Song for Today: Grandaddy - The Final Push to the Sum

24th July 2010 - Daviot, Inverness to Loch Naver

Way hey!  The penultimate day.  We stick around the Bed and Breakfast for a later start.  The garden is full of bizarre artifacts at Torguish House. Apparently, when they were renovating the main house, every time they needed a break, they went in to the garden and did something random (see picture below).



Sarah decided to have a go on the rope swing and got herself into a bit of bother climbing on.  We were all helpless as none of us could stop laughing long enough to help her.

I left about 11am and followed NCN7 into Inverness. Once over the Kessock Bridge , I am back to following the CTC Bed and Breakfast route.  The route takes me through Munlochy, Culbokie and on the A9 for a short while (scary biscuits) to Evanton.  Carol, Katy and the girls meet me in Evanton for a bite to eat.  From this point onwards they are never going to be far away as I am not expecting that many shops or cafes to be open along the road. From Evanton, the next stop is Bonar Bridge.  The cycling is very enjoyable and the roads are very quiet.  The scenery is absolutely stunning although I daren't stop too long as there are quite a few midges about. Next stop was Lairg, not far away. Another refreshment and back on the bike.

Carol, Katy and the girls stopped at the Crask Inn further up the road to wait for me.  The road is now down to a single track with passing places. Starting to get excited now as I know I am nearly there.

After the Crask Inn, the next place is Altnaharra. We haven't been able to get any accommodation for tonight so we are wild camping. We decided to try and find somewhere along Loch Naver, just passed Altnaharra. When we eventually find a spot, the midges are horrendous.  We quickly get the tent up. Luckily, we had remembered our midgie nets.

Loch Naver is stunning, you couldn't hear anything, apart from the sheep.  90 miles cycled today, tomorrow, 70 miles of cycling will get me to John o Groats.

Song for Today: The Coral - Pass It On

23rd July 2010 - Blair Atholl to Daviot, Inverness

We struggled to find accommodation in Inverness as the Highland Games are taking place this weekend. Carol managed to find a B&B just south of Inverness on the A9 so that is today's destination.  My mum, Sarah, Brian and Erin have decided to come up to Inverness to cheer me on and they are staying at the same B&B.

I start nice and early after a hearty breakfast surrounded by stuffed animals, waved off by Carol, Katy, Scott, Lisa and the girls.  They are going to spend the day at the Falls of Bruar.  Today's route is to follow NCN7 mostly up the side of the A9. A fair bit is cycle track, but it is fairly rough.  I wouldn't like to do it on a road bike with 23mm tyres that's for sure.  I much prefer the quiet B roads.  I stopped at the tea room in Dalwhinnie for a coffee I couldn't drink it was so bad, luckily the chocolate cake was much better. £6.85 for a coffee, a slice of chocolate cake and a smallish scone.  Wish I hadn't bothered.

Pressing on, I follow the road up to Aviemore. There seems to be two sets of signs for the NCN7.  One for off road and the other on road.  I must have read the sign wrongly because the next batch of miles, virtually all the way to Carrbridge, were off-road :-)  Very bumpy.  I met Carol,Katy and the girls in Carrbridge for a refuel.  Next stop is Torguish House. After 82 miles, I arrive at the bed and breakfast with a great day's cycling under my belt.

The B&B is certainly the most bizarre we have stayed in.  The owners are very friendly and very helpful.  My mum, Sarah, Brian and Erin arrive a little while later.  Sarah and Brian are in the honeymoon suite, very nice.  Mum treats us to dinner in the Culloden Moor Inn after a recommendation by the owners of the B&B. They serve possibly the biggest portions I have ever seen, one meal could feed a small army for a week. We all struggle to finish and I don't think anyone has a sweet.

Song for Today: Belle and Sebastian - Another Sunny Day

22nd July 2010 - Crombie to Blair Atholl

I love cycling along these roads. I quite often cycle up to Crieff for a scrambled egg, cake and coffee at the Visitors Centre in Crieff. In stark contrast to last week, it's sunny, not too sunny, just really nice weather for cycling.  We have booked a room in the Blair Atholl Hotel for the night and we have planned to meet our friends, Scott, Lisa and their daughter Robyn Gosz.  The cycling is good and the scenery is absolutely beautiful.  After Crieff, it's the Sma' Glen, Aberfeldy, Pitlochry and then on to Blair Atholl.  There is hardly a car on the road.

I arrived in Blair Atholl in good time having cycled 82 miles.  A quick bath and then we are back down for dinner.  Dinner was fairly disappointing. It was very expensive compared to what we had been getting down in England last week and of average quality.  Never mind, we had a great laugh and Scott and Lisa kept us entertained all evening.  The girls (Poppy, Rosie and Robyn) had a great time.  Time for bed and hoping tomorrow is as good a day as today.

Song for Today: Beautiful Day - U2

21st July 2010 - Crombie, Rest Day

A rest day at home.  The washing machine broke down and started bellowing black smoke.  I'm not really suprised considering we put a 10 days of camping clothes in it (they smelled real bad, especially Carol's scabby old fleece).

Song for Today:  Coldplay - Fix You (or not as the case may be)

20th July 2010 - Longtown to Crombie

Surprise surprise, it's not raining, in fact it is almost sunny. We check out of the hotel and I head off on the A7 up to Edinburgh and then home. Today, I am taking the A7 through Hawick, Selkirk, Galashiels and on to Edinburgh. The road is surprisingly quiet and this is the first day I have really enjoyed the cycling.  I have a saddlebag full of food, including an entire date and walnut loaf (my favourite), thanks to my lovely wife and things are good. This is what I had hoped my LEJOG would be.

The miles pass by pretty quickly. I spot a deli in Selkirk so decide to stop for some coffee and a slice of apple pie. Back on the bike, the next town is Galashiels.  After Galashiels, the next milestone is Edinburgh.  The road is still quiet and my only trouble is my right calf is very tight. I need to stop and stretch a couple of times. Carol has arranged with Drew Bell, a friend and fellow Dunfermline Cycling Club member, to give me a tow back from Edinburgh with a few other club members.  Once I know how long I am going to be, I give Drew a call.  

In Edinburgh, I picked up the B701 round to Wester Hailes (it's great when you know where your going), then on to the canal path to Ratho, up the hill to Ratho Station and then on to Kirkliston.

I met Drew and Jim Jackson in Kirkliston.  Two minutes later, Jim Reid and Gavin Cooper arrive.  We also meet up with some of the other DCC guys.  It was great to catch up with everyone and it was a big morale boost to cycle back with everyone over the Forth Road Bridge. In no time at all we are back in Crombie.

That's the first stretch over, nearly 700 miles, of those, 106 miles were cycled today.  My third century ride in a week and I feel amazingly fine.

Song for Today: The Wedding Present - I'm From Further North Than You 

19th July 2010 - Longtown, Rest Day

No cycling today.  We are staying another night at the Graham Hotel in Longtown so I can have a rest.  Weather not great again so no sunbathing today.

My mum, sister Sarah and niece Erin are driving back up the road from my grandparents in Stafford so we are going to meet them in Brampton for some lunch.  We headed into Brampton early to walk the dogs in the woods above the village. We had a nice lunch in the Nags Head.  Excellent food and good local beer.

After lunch we waved goodbye to my mum, Sarah and Erin and they headed home, not before Missy (Sarah's King Charles Cavalier Spaniel) tried to eat a boulder cemented into the pavement.  For some reason she took exception to this one particular stone. She had tried to attack it on the way in as well.  We headed for Hadrian's Wall and some sightseeing.

Song for Today: Crowded House - Distant Sun

18th July 2010 - High Bentham to Longtown

Quite a comfortable night in the barn. Better than camping in a windy field that's for sure.  The lady who owned the barn was very pleased to have been able to help us out.  The girls had a barn dance with the disco lights on.  I think Carol would have liked to stay longer.

After breakfast, I set off in the rain, again, and headed for the A65 to Kirkby Lonsdale, not the planned route, as the rain was lashing down at this point.  By the time I got to Kirkby Lonsdale I was drenched.  I pulled up under a tree to try and get some shelter and to wring my socks out.  My SealSkinz waterproof socks now seemed to be letting water in but not out again, so every time I pedalled, water would squish between my toes.  Me standing at the side of the road wringing my socks out certainly seemed to amuse a lot of passing motorists. 

The plan was to head into Kendal and then pick up the A6 all the way to Carlisle.  This wasn't the original plan but I was now looking for main roads that didn't involve a lot of navigation.

I made Kendal unscathed, despite some mentalist trying to knock me off my bike.  I don't understand some car drivers.  There is nothing coming the other way, they have the whole road, and yet they still manage to get so close you could shake their hand.  Or their neck, which would be my preference.

The rain had stopped a couple of miles before Kendal and I thought I was on to a winner, however, as I headed through Kendal it started again.  It was now bucketing down and it was fairly windy.

Cue possibly my most miserable couple of hours cycling ever, Shap.  The climb itself is fairly easy.  Add a torrential downpour and some strong winds and it becomes pretty difficult.  The rain was battering off my face and I could hardly bear to lift my head up. Everytime I did lift my head up, water ran off the back of my head, underneath my waterproof and down my back.  I was now cold as well as pi$$ed off.  I stopped under a tree and called Carol.  I was close to giving up, at least for the day.  She gave me another of her little pep talks, a sort of hydrid of "stop moaning you miserable sod, I'm having to sit in the pub, playing cards and drinking cider, do you know how difficult that is?" and a "oh dear, you can make it, we are very proud of you, don't give up now you have come so far".  Anyway, it worked and I was back on the bike.  Even my Garmin GPS cycle computer was feeling the strain, with the altitude meter claiming that from Kendal to the top of Shap was only 34ft of ascent.  I don't think so! I had to stop at some roadworks and a lady in a car coming the other way wound down her window and shouted "Keep going, it's sunny in Penrith".  I kept going, stopping another couple of times to wring my socks out.

I made it over Shap and in to Penrith where I stopped for a Lucozade refill. It wasn't sunny as that lady had promised, however, the rain had now subsided to a drizzle.  I asked the guy in the shop how far it was to Carlisle.  "About 16 miles", he said.  That was the best news I had all day, I was expecting about 25.

It seemed to take forever to get to Carlisle, when it did come, I was very relieved.  I called Carol to tell her where I was.  Just at that, another terrific downpour and I was drenched again.  My final destination for today was the Graham Hotel in Longtown, only 6 miles from the border.  To pick up the A7 to Longtown, I had to cycle in to the centre of Carlisle and back out again, following the signs for Galashiels.  One thing I did notice about Carlisle, they sure do like their Chinese take-aways, there's loads of them.

I arrived at the Graham Hotel in Longtown to find that Carol, Katy and the girls were in Brampton having something to eat so I had to hang around for 20 minutes.  I must admit to being a little apprehensive about our accommodation for the night after seeing the smashed window in the hotel's "Sports Bar" and a couple of the locals seemed to be missing quite a few teeth.  It was absolutely fine though and the staff were friendly and helpful.  Carol ordered me a chicken curry and a pint of the local beer from room service.  It went down a treat.  Boy was I glad that was over.

Song for Today: Teenage Fanclub - Ain't That Enough

17th July 2010 - Whitchurch to High Bentham

Great, bed and breakfast, a hearty breakfast to set me up for the day.  The owners of the B&B thought that Katy was our eldest daughter.  Myself and Carol didn't know quite how to take that one.  Did we look old or does Katy look very young for her age?  We were consoled somewhat when the staff at the B&B had a go at guessing Katy's age and guesses ranged from 14 to 17.

A long cycle today, well over 100 miles expected.  After breakfast, I set off from Whitchurch in the rain on the A49.  This wasn't the planned route, however, I can get this road all the way up to Warrington, then pick up my planned route to get me past Manchester, Bolton and Blackburn.

Easy cycling up the A49.  I stopped just outside Warrington for some lunch and a beer. The rain had now stopped and there was only a slight breeze, so good cycling weather.  I followed my route past Manchester. The route took me on a road over a bridge that crosses the Manchester ship canal.  At the bridge, was a tiny little toll booth with barriers that you had to pay 12 pence to pass.  The booth was tiny and there were two blokes in it.  They would definitely need to get along, I would imagine they were very good friends after a shift in there.

I carried on through some fairly run down towns, making sure I didn't stop too long in any one place. I can't say this is my favourite area in the world.  My route now took me off the A6, which I had been on for a number of miles and back on to B roads.  Cue my next opportunity to get lost.  A fair few miles off route this time.  Anyhow, a very helpful chap in a garage helped get me back on track.  He even offered to put my bike in the back of his van and take me to the place I was headed.  I must admit, I was tempted, having already covered 85 miles, however, I resisted and retraced my steps to find the right road.  This road took me up into the hills (suprisingly for a CTC route) around Blackburn. I then ditched this route after I found a quiet A road that would take me to Clitheroe. Clitheroe looked like a really nice place and there were quite a few Thwaites Bewery pubs. Thwaites do brew a good beer and I was very tempted, however, it was getting late and I still had a few miles to go. The route now took me over the hills to Bentham and boy was it hilly.  It was beautiful but lots of steep climbs.  It was getting darker all the time.  When I arrived in High Bentham at 10pm it was dark.  Total of 111 miles officially cycled today, although I did more due to me getting lost.  Nearly 7,000 feet of climbing and well over 6,000 calories burned.  I would definitely like to cycle around here again.  It remined me of the Bealach-na-ba climb.

When I arrived at High Bentham, Carol, Katy and the girls had managed to secure a barn, complete with disco lights, for the night.  It was now very windy again and they had been unable to get the already soaking wet tent up.  I was welcomed with a candlelit supper and a glass of cider. Just what I needed.


Song for Today: Grandaddy - Summer Here Kids

16th July 2010 - Culmington, Ludlow to Whitchurch

Oh, what a night.  The tent was completely washed out.  Luckily, the campsite had an old static caravan that they rented out, so we all piled in there for the night.  The 'Skanky Caravan', as it was christened, had certainly seen better days, however, it was dry.

Today, we were meeting my mum, Sarah, Erin, Nan and Grandad at Whitchurch for lunch. I would then get another 20 or so miles in to make tomorrow a little shorter, tomorrow was going to be 100+ miles.  It was only about 45 miles to Whitchurch, so a fairly easy run.  Wrong.  Cue a torrential downpour that would last most of those 45 miles.  I was basically cycling in  river at the side of the road with the spray of the passing vehicles drenching me.  Fortunately, the wind had died down a bit. I had to stop at one point as I just couldn't see and I was cycling on busy roads, at one point I was on the A5 dual carriageway, that was a bit scary.  The rain stopped about five miles from Whitchurch.

It was great to see everyone. It really picked up my spirits.  The barmaid asked the chef to stay late to make us all lunch.

After lunch, I really didn't want to get back on the bike so I decided to have the evening off.  I was still wet from earlier and needed to dry out.

No camping tonight.  Shona (Carol's sister) had managed to get us the last room at the B&B at the campsite.  The campsite was actually a farm and there were lots of animals, which the kids loved.  Katy had another animal noise to amuse herself with, after the mooing cow, the baaing sheep, we now had an eeyoring donkey. Simple things and all that!

Song for Today: Travis - Why Does It Always Rain on Me

15th July 2010 - Alveston to Culmington, Ludlow

We quickly get the tent down in a break in the rain and head from Slimbridge (the closest campsite we could find) down to Alveston, in the car, to start the days cycling.  A torrential downpour makes for interesting driving and the windscreen wipers are struggling to cope.  Phew! At least I missed that one.  We stop the car and I get the bike off the roof and head off in the direction of the Severn bridge.  Within minutes, the torrential rain comes down again.  I was absolutely drenched and it was blowing a gale.  I pressed on to the Severn Bridge (bit of a nightmare to navigate across).  I cycled on to the Severn Bridge to be great by a great blast of wind that nearly took me off my bike.  I didn't fancy cycling across it now, so I got off and started to walk, which was an effort in itself. I was very relieved once I got to the other side.  On the other side of the Severn Bridge, there is a crossroads of cycle track and it wasn't immediately obvious which one I should take.  I decided to head straight on.  In a short while, I came across a traveller's camp, quite a big one. I headed on through with dogs barking at me and people coming out to have a look.  At one point, there was a door mat laid across the cycle track and what appeared to be a bacon sandwich lying abandoned on the mat.  After the traveller's camp was an industrial estate.  Oh no, lost again.  I headed out of the cycle track on the main route in and back onto the main road.

Back on the main road, I was now into Wales.  I met a couple of guys on a tandem who were cycling from Land's End to John o Groats taking in the three peaks; Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis. I headed from Chepstow on to Monmouth not feeling that great and cycling into a strong wind. Ten minutes later I was suffering badly, my energy was gone and I was only 10 miles into the day's cycling.  I mustn't have eaten enough at breakfast combined with cycling into the wind.  I struggled on, luckily mostly downhill to Tintern Abbey.  I had been here before so I knew exactly where to go, straight to the cafe for something to eat.  It was the best coffee and cake (and most needed) of the trip.

I stopped here for about an hour to try and recover a little.  I got back on the bike and headed for Monmouth.  It was hard work, however, the scenery is beautiful and it kept me going.  After Monmouth, I headed in the general direction of Hereford.  I was still struggling, so I decided the best option was to come off the hilly B roads and on to the flatter A roads, so at Hereford, I picked up the A49.  I would now stay on the A49 until Warrington.  Cycling through Hereford city centre was a bit daunting and I was squeezed up on to the pavement a few times.  It took a good ten miles out of Hereford before I started to feel stronger and I pressed on to Leominster and then to Ludlow.  We were camping at a small village called Culmington, three miles from Ludlow.  A total of 76 miles cycled today.  I was suprised to see that my average speed was still 13mph today because at some points I felt like I was hardly moving.

Song for Today: The Spencer Davis Group - Keep on Running

14th July 2010 - Winsford to Alveston

Yes, you guessed it, it's raining again.  It's windy too.  It's going to be a long day today as I wanted to get Bristol out of the way.  Set off from Winsford and within three miles I am climbing steeply again. Quite a bit more climbing through the rest of Exmoor and one great big descent near the end of the national park.  Navigated my way through the busy town of Taunton no problem at all.  Bridgewater was altogether different, got well and truly lost in the town centre, ended up going through a housing estate before miraculously finding myself on the right road after much gnashing of teeth.

Quite a funny thing happened, as I was coming out of Bridgewater, this rather strange looking bloke passed me going full pelt on a supermarket full suspension mountain bike.  He was looking over his shoulder as if he was inviting me to race him.  He passed me, so I sat on his rear wheel for a minute or so. I then sped up and passed him, not really pushing it but going faster than I had been. At which point, there was much crunching of gears as he tried to stay on my wheel. Needless to say, that was the last I saw of him, the bike probably weighed more than he did.

I made my way along the route, most of which, at this point, was fairly flat.  At Cheddar Gorge I stopped for a coffee at one of the many tea rooms.  I then headed off through Cheddar Gorge towards Bristol.  A couple of miles after Cheddar Gorge I met a guy from Germany on his bike who had arrived in England the week before.  He was cycling to some place in Wales, he wasn't quite sure where exactly, but he knew he would know it when he got there.  He was just cycling in the general direction of Wales.  We chatted for quite a while. When he left,  he headed east, he then changed his mind and headed south towards Cheddar Gorge not at all convincing me that he knew where he was going. It was strange, meeting him really lifted my spirits.  He was in no hurry, he was just accepting life and seeing where it took him.  I wonder what the world would be like if there were more people like him?

I cycled on, looking for my next left turn, which never seemed to come.  After a good few miles, I realised I had missed my turn so I was back out with the map trying to get myself back on track.  Quickest way was on the A37, so the A37 it was.  Once I neared Bristol, I managed to pick up the original route, which would take me around Bristol.  It's quite weird, but whenever you need to find your way around a town or city, the CTC route always manages to find hills to send you up, even when the terrain is generally flat. 

I was coming to Bristol from the south and I needed to get north west, to Alveston.  My route took me east, anti-clockwise right around the outside of Bristol.  At almost exactly east, I got lost again.  Well not exactly lost, I just didn't know which direction I was heading.  I thought I would ask one of the kind, friendly locals for help. I stopped a chap and asked him which direction Siston was? He stuck up his middle finger in response, which I took to mean that he wasn't quite sure, either that or he didn't like cyclists.  Not to be deterred, I stopped a man and woman and asked them if they knew of Siston.  Apparently, they had lived around there all their lives and had never heard of a village called Siston. This wasn't good.  With no other option, I headed off in the direction I thought, and after about 200 metres, much to my relief, there was a sign, Siston was only one mile away.  Seems like that man and woman didn't stray far from their home.

After Siston, I managed quite well, apart from a vicar sending me three or four miles out of my way.  I was slightly perturbed when his lady companion passed a comment something along the lines of "You can't get to Alveston that way, can you?" upon hearing his directions.

I arrived at Alveston, safe and sound, after a long day, 104 miles, lots of hills and a rather alarming 5942 calories burned.  I rather enjoyed my Peroni while waiting on my Italian takeaway.

We were staying at a campsite in Slimbridge for the night and guess what, it rained and another thing, it was windy.  Joy!

Song for Today:  Blur - End of a Century

13th July 2010 - Otterham to Winsford

Holy moly, it's hilly round here. A couple of 20% climbs and one 25% climb made for a tough day in the saddle.  Weather mixed, had my waterproof on and off all day with some heavy downpours and it was pretty windy, great for cycling.  The route took me into North Devon and on to Exmoor.  Exmoor was stunning, very eerie at some points, especially when the black clouds came overhead. The climb out of North Molton was quite something, it is part of the Beast of Exmoor Sportive so I knew it was going to be tough.  Lots of little arrows on the map today.  Luckily it stopped raining during the last big climb and indeed for the rest of the cycle.  Whilst this was a fairly short day, in terms of miles, only 66 miles in total, I still managed to get in over 6,000 ft of climbing.  Glad I packed so many gears on my bike, I needed them.  This was my slowest day of the whole trip with an average of only 11.7 mph.  I was quite surprised with North Devon, it was really run down, lots of businesses closed, not at all as I had expected.  I was planning on stopping for some cake but never passed anywhere open.

After, 5 hours and 37 minutes of cycling, I arrived at the campsite in Winsford after another steep climb.  Carol, Katy and the girls and put the tent up, their first go.  A great effort and they were well chuffed with themselves as you will see in the photos.  Just at that, the heavens opened and it absolutely bucketed down.

We rewarded ourselves with dinner out at the local hotel, The Royal Oak.  The staff were very kind and let us dry some of our clothes in their laundry room.  Excellent food, great local ales and very friendly staff.

On the way back to the campsite, we saw some Exmoor ponies that live wild on the moor.  This was quite special as we had been told that they are quite difficult to find, the girls were thrilled.  Then it rained again, infact, it rained pretty much all night and it was very windy to boot.  Carol and Katy did very well to put the tent up.  Again, another night with very broken sleep.

Song for Today: The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It

12th July 2010 - Otterham, Rest Day

Today was the rest day that I should have had yesterday.  We had an easy morning.  The kids wanted to go to the swimming pool so we stayed around the campsite.

In the afternoon, we went to the nearest town, Camelford.  We walked the dogs and then I went to a beer garden, with the dogs, whilst the ladies looked around the shops.  Louie is a bit of a mare in busy places and Fergus just wants to bother people.

We didn't take any cooking gear with us, so we headed to Crackington Haven to find somewhere to eat.  We had a walk along the cliffs and watched the surfers before going to the hotel for some dinner.

Song for Today: The Byrds - You Ain't Going Nowhere

11th July 2010 - The Big Off : Land's End to Otterham

A bit of a stormy night last night, pretty windy and raining, lots of broken sleep.  It was quite cloudy, so I decide that today is a good day for cycling and I will rest tomorrow.  We had promised the girls they could go to the swimming pool today so they weren't happy, anyhow, we set off for Land's End, they can go swimming tomorrow. 

It took about an hour and a half to reach Sennen, right next to Land's End, where we stopped off for a quick bite to eat, superb Cornish pasty at the local shop.

We arrive at Land's End and I get the bike off the roof of the car, eager to get on my way.  We head for the sign and find out you need to pay a tenner to get your photo taken. Sod that! We wait for an opportunity when nobody else is there to get our photo taken, we are, after all, Scottish and as tight as a sharks a£$e at fifty fathoms, when it comes to that kind of thing.

OK, now I am ready to get on my way, 85 miles of hilly terrain in front of me and it is 1:30pm.  I say goodbye to Carol, Poppy, Rosie and Katy and head off, feeling all excited. I was following the CTC Bed and Breakfast route, largely due to my lack of preparation.  This first part in Cornwall looked like it need a lot of navigation and I found that out the hard way after three miles.  I was looking for a right turn and turned off too early and away down a steep hill before I noticed my mistake.  Sugar! Back up the hill and back on the right road.  My first town to navigate through was Penzance and today it was super busy.  Pretty scary half mile along a dual carriageway and around a busy roundabout.  I remember thinking that I hope I don't have too much of this as a boy racer whizzed past me.

A couple of hours later, I was right.  It was a navigational nightmare.  I had arrived at Truro, forty miles up the road and it had taken me three and a half hours.  This is no good I thought to myself as I was getting lost in Truro.  I needed to find a quicker way.  I decided to head towards St Austell along the A390 to pick up the B3275.  Wise move, the B3275 was quiet and had a good surface and I was moving along at a steady rate.  I was starting to feel tired and decided that I would try the A39, even though I had been advised it wasn't great for cycling along, narrow and busy.  I figured that it was the night of the World Cup final, so the road would be quiet. 

Thankfully, the A39 was indeed quiet.  This was good as there was no-one around to witness my suffering as I endured a rather long ride up the A39 through Wadebridge and Camelford.  At Camelford, I hit rock bottom, over 6,000 feet climbed, and my Cornish pasty had reached it's limit.  I called Carol and asked her to come and pick me up. She gave me a little pep talk and I carried on, calling her a few choice names under my breath as I proceed up yet another hill. I was now down to about 8mph and feeling very sorry for myself and it was getting dark and I was missing the World Cup final. Luckily, there was a garage in Camelford and I went in an bought some Lucozade Sport and a Mars bar. I think I just swallowed the Mars bar whole.  The Lucozade did the trick.  Here started my journey long affiliation with the Lucozade brand as it would save me again, quite a few times infact.  

After another hour or so, I reached the campsite, saying "that is the hardest day (on paper) over and done with".  Looking back, how I laugh, what a fool, it turned out to be probably the easiest days cycling in England.

Song for Today (before I started cycling): Queen - Bicycle Race

10th July 2010 - Drive to Cornwall

OK, we're off.  Alarm set for 6am to prepare for the big drive down to Cornwall, ready for the start of my cycle from Land's End to John o Groats in aid of Cancer Research UK. Carol's packing the lunches and I'm packing the car.  We leave the house at 9:30am, which is more or less on schedule.  Very unusual for us, we are normally two or three hours late.  Good start!  I drive all the way because the car is packed to the gunnel's and there isn't enough room in the passenger foot well for me to get my size tens in.  First stop, 200 metres down the road, throw the ball for Louie the Labrador to tire him out so he doesn't whine in the car.  Ten minutes later, job done, he's cream-crackered and too tired to even jump in the car, let alone whine.  Cue Fergus the Sheltie, eye for the main chance, Louie is too tired to resist Fergus' amorous advances (Note to self: Take Fergus to the vets when we get back, he's a confused boy).
Drives going well, no traffic jams and everyone is excited. We stop for lunch and let the dogs stretch their legs.  Poppy decides the time is right for a game of 'Smick Stick'.  This game involves chasing people around with dog's doings on the end of a stick.  Poppy was of course pretending, however, we quickly became aware that 'Smick' was indeed involved and somehow Poppy had managed to get it all over her shoes, socks and legs.  Yikes!

Back in the car, with a few more stops, we are in Cornwall.  For the next three nights we are staying at St Tinney Farm Camping and Caravan Site.  Tomorrow is going to be a rest day after the long drive, so to avoid putting the tent up and down twice we are basing ourselves here in North Cornwall.  We quickly put the tent up, then down to the pub for a modest refreshment or two.  Oh no, Katy discovers cider.

Song for Today: Jack Johnson - You and Your Heart

The Bike is Finished...

That's it, she is finished.  Here she is in her finished state, complete with Carradice Pendle saddle bag and Tubus Cargo rack. A few issues (needed a 116 link chain and I had bought a 114 link chain, front mudguard was a real pain). I have ridden about 100 miles so far and apart from squealing back brakes, everything feels good.  Planning on a 100 miles tomorrow, lunch in saddle bag, might even wear a pair of corduroys.  The girls have christened her Choccoccino instead of Truckaccino. 
Not had much time over the previous couple of weeks and Carol has been away, so not much cycling. A couple of weekends ago, I did the 100 mile DCC tourist trial via Crieff, Lochearnhead, Callendar, Stirling and Alloa. I have reverted back to the clipless pedals now too, it is a lot of effort cycling 100 hilly miles with flat pedals, so the Speedplay Frogs are back on.  Looking forward to some good cycling tomorrow:

Song for today: Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans

Nearly Back to Normality

I haven't managed to find the time lately to update my blog as I was away on holiday and then I started  new job down in St Annes and I turned forty so I have been busy partying.  Bike still in bits in the garage but it is now my number one priority and it is a bank holiday weekend.  Going to rust-proof the frame over the weekend and then I can start assembling it next weekend. I have now got my wheels too, hand-built by Craig at Hardie Bikes.

Not managed to get much cycling in these last two weeks because I have been in St Annes.  The week before that though was tremendous.  We had a weeks holiday in Skye and I managed to cycle everyday.  Thirty to forty miles a day which was great and the weather was good too.  Cycled down to Portree from our cottage in Uig one day, the rest of the days I had a circuit that took me over the Quiraing, it was tough going as it was quite windy a few of the days.  Still, I really enjoyed it.  I will keep the blog more up-to-date in the coming weeks.

Song for today: The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

Brooks B17 Standard - I love it

It's not often I feel the need to review a product, however, in the case of the Brooks B17 saddle I feel the need. I have often thought about buying one of these but when I have felt how hard they are I have always been put off. The guys over on the CTC forums rave about them.  Anyway, for my touring bike I decided to get one and I am so glad I did.  This has to be the most comfortable saddle ever. Even straight from the box, the breaking in period, it has been great. Best piece of bike equipment I have ever spent £50 on. Build quality is excellent and I hope me and it are going to be friends for many happy years.

Song for today: James - Sit Down

Gotta Get Out of this Place

Well, everything was going so well then I went and quit my job. Not the best preparation for my trip in the summer.  Anyhow, couldn't take it anymore, sometimes you just have to make a decision and stick with it.

Any road, back to the cycling.  Just got my Modolo Yuma Traveller Bars through the post. A lot lighter than I was expecting. I am going to stick bar-ends somewhere in the middle to give me another hand position option.

Training going well. I'm not doing too much cycling at the moment, back and forward to work and on a Satuday. That said, probably going to have a lot of time on my hands very shortly :-) On the rowing machine three times a week now, 30 minuntes each session.  Starting to feel good, lost a fair bit of weight and feeling quite strong.

Song for today: The Animals - We Gotta Get Out of This Place

The Plan

I have been dithering about this for a while now and it's time to commit. In the summer of 2010 the plan is to cycle from Land's End to John o' Groats, knees permitting. I have bought myself a new touring bike frame, a Surly Long Haul Trucker in Truckaccino Tan. I have acquired the various bits and bobs, mainly Shimano XT components (rapid-fire shifters etc), a Brooks B17 saddle, Modolo Yuma Traveller handlebars and my club mate Craig from Hardie Bikes is sorting me out a pair of touring wheels. Just got the build the thing! Photos to follow and possibly lots of swear words.
I have figured out most of the route, pretty much following the CTC bed and breakfast route until I get to Scotland, then I'll sort myself out when back on home soil.
My biggest worry at the moment is whether my knees will hold out for two weeks on the bike. Soon going to find out.

My song for today: The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice