The End!

Woo hoo!

Day 8

Good one! Morning was great along the lochs... loch Ness is very long. Turned off to be greeted by a very long, steep hill, which I really rather enjoyed (is that a bit strange?).
Some nice stops but I generally got going for long stints. Not really stopping to take pictures so my moving pictures could be amusing. Scared the camera will run out of juice just as I arrive at jog (no charger). Oh well!
At 100 miles I gave out a little yippy, only 10 left. Then I saw a sign for Tain. 20 miles. What? Not sure what went wrong there but I pulled over and had a large chocolate biscuit.
I hit the last 20 with a sugar high. I flew along. I must have had a tail wind but was cruising at well over 20mph. Scenery wasn't amazing but I was loving it, the last 5 miles I gave myself a running commentary "could the rookie do the final 20 in under an hour on his very first tour?" "Yes!"
The (pretend) crowd went wild as I flew into tain... ahem... it was a long day!

Lovely B&B. Not sure about this pub. McEwans 70 the only beer. Wtf??! Could regret ordering the chicken curry.

BIG day tomorrow. Need to really push. 110 miles. Have to get the 430 train! Oh and make it to the top. Really looking forward to the day. Will be a big challenge... here's hoping the commentary team turn up...

Thank you!

Wanted to say a massive thank you for all the support I have received. I've been completely overwhelmed. Friends, colleagues, family and complete strangers have been sending their best wishes. Thank you all so much, hearing from you all has been a huge boost along the way.

Anyway, there are rumours of some kind of monster in the area? Scary. Quick lunch then out of here, fast.

70 done. 40 to go. Been an easy day so far.

Second Breakfast

Slept like a log, view from hostel this morning below.
Went to bike shop in Fort William to pick up spare inner tube, asked him for a good cafe.
"you should go to Morrisons, they do a good breakfast"
It is famous!
I'm in the station cafe.
Anyone know why Scottish sausages are flat and square? Puzzled me for years.

East coast, west coast, east coast, west coast...

... a lot of people have asked why such a zig zag route? Well don't bother asking, I drew the route and I can't remember why. Maybe I was drunk? Another possible reason was to miss the hills. No. I think I've been over every hill in Britain.

So a quick recap of the last couple of days:

Day 5 - Avid blog readers will remember I put a glum Ed on the train in Lancaster (after nabbing his bike lock, inner tube and pannier cover). All because he didn't like a bit of rain.
Setting off for the lakes, I soon realised this was going to be a fair bit tougher. My spirits were raised when having a break a cyclist stopped to ask if he could help... I wasn't alone!
Kirk-thingy pass in the lake district is one of the steepest hills I've been up, but sensational. Certainly the most dramatic road I've been on in England. Coming down the ortherside was clearly even better. With the help of sat nav (katie directing me on the mobile) I finally found Eds uncles cottage, an amazing location overlooking ullswater. Walked to pub 2 miles up the road, to have venison and gruyere lasagna. Yum! I forget the name of the delicious local pint, but I wrote it down... somewhere.
Slept like a log (as always) in chilly cottage.
92 miles for the day. Most days have been a fair bit longer than expected.

Day 6 - set off at 6. Couldn't find proper breakfast, ended up in Morrisons Carlisle supermarket eating their 'famous' big breakfast. Famously _ _ _ _ ?
Sad to leave lake district so soon, but still brilliant scenery. 125 miles into a STRONG headwind was tough. Throw in a few mountains for fun.
I certainly can't complain about the weather up to that point, and reaching Scotland was incredibly satisfying, "I've cycle the length of England!". I think I took a silly route to Edinburgh, taking in all the hills but the roads were excellent, smooth and quiet. It's surprising what a difference a smooth road makes.
Arrived at Andys flat in Edinburgh after about 10 hours on the bike - yes I was slow, did I mention the wind? Fed and wined to Andys usual exceptional standards (roast black-faced lamb - I think?). And breakfast was laid out for my departure!

My finger hurts from typing, better get another beer.

Day 7 - coming out of Edinburgh was ok, but I've got used to quieter roads and polite drivers (my usual commute will be scary). Well 99% of drivers are considerate, excuse me as I go off on a tangent... on day 3, Ed and I were cycling side by side talking about important stuff (like the virtues of radio 4) on an empty, wide road when a car sped past way too close hooting at us. Well I gave him a cheery wave and smile. Car screaches to a halt in the side of the road. Small man gets out. Small man rushes to the boot. Small man opens boot. Small man produces a golf driver. We pass small man. Small man waves club at us swearing... I decide not to wave at anyone else.
Back to day 7 - was reminded of our university bike rides to south queensferry, and wobbling home... no pubs this time but got pictures of forth bridge (it is magnificent).
Grangemouth was gloomy, as was weather. But stumbled across the best cafe ever in Stirling for a cracking 2nd breakfast. Will post a link at a later date, it really is not to be missed! Set me up perfectly for the day.
Although it rained all day the wind had changed. Happy chappy!
Such a nice ride, took it easy, long lunch (homemade pie, tea, shortbread) at the 'golden larches'. Immediate puncture after lunch (pothole disguised as puddle) couldn't dampen the spirits.
(I know some readers will be interested so I will try to blog about tyre strategy later, think I made the right decision not going for the 'harsher ride'!).
Glencoe is spectacular even in the poring rain (once you're wet, you're wet). Hostel is very good, local pub was also good.
121 miles for the day. 800ish gone 200ish to go. Boom!

Bedtime.

Sorry to waffle, I hope some of my typing is comprehensible... Thank you all for the amazing support, more about that tomorrow, I need to catch some zzz

Woo hoo!

Scotland - rained all day, 122 miles, cold, windy hilly, but bloody brilliant! What a fantastic day, so beautiful through the highlands, smooth roads too. Did the last 40 miles in one go twas so enjoyable...
Sorry didn't manage to stop to take many pics.
Off for a shower, I stink.

Oh bother...

I'm having a cuppa near lochearnhead, more about that later.
Day 5 started ok heading out of wigan into more rural areas. But ed was slowing. Clearly in pain he pushed himself on to Lancaster, where it started to rain. We took cover at Costa in the station and it was clear ed was hurting, although he wasn't admitting it. We phoned a number of doctors, phisio, and nurses, all of which said ed should stop. So after 3 Costa coffees, ed decided to go on. Around the block it wasn't any better so I had to make him go back to the station. I don't think I have ever seen ed that annoyed and upset as we bought a train ticket back to London.
Massively upset for ed but I know he is already planning to finish the trip off at a later date.
So I'm on my own. Gulp! But the rain had stopped!
Right, finished lunch, I better get back into my wet clothes and pedal off. Hopefully more to come from glencoe.
Not taken any photos with my phone, sorry!

Brother, can you spare an achilles?

Oh dear.

Well, very sadly my journey to Scotland came to an end yesterday in Lancaster due to an inflamed Achilles tendon and a sprained knee.

There was no great accident or shock that triggered it, from making good progress on Sunday morning I felt a slight ache in the achilles area after lunch. We completed the ride into the Premier Inn with the usual aches and pains associated with riding 100 miles a day and set off for the steak supper and a bit of golf watching before hitting the sack.

Hopes that the ache would be gone in the following morning were dashed within a couple revolutions of the pedals as the aching came back. After pushing through for about 30 miles we reached Lancaster and stopped and called a couple of people for advice. The general consensus of describing the symptoms was to rest and that this wasn't an injury that would go away in the short term, nor were there any quick fixes.

Pushing on would have made very slow going and might have ended with a much more serious injury, so the very sad decision was made to get on the train home from Lancaster and after about 500 miles of cycling.

Back home now, I've been the doctor and had our thoughts confirmed namely - rest, no cycling/strenuous excerise for 2-4 weeks, depending on progress, and referal to a physio.

I was really devastated to have to stop when the trip was progressing so well and feel terribly guilty about leaving Dave to go it alone through the wilds of Scotland whilst I sit at home with the leg strapped up thinking about when I'll be able to get back on a bike.

I will cross that line on the road in John O'Groats, though it will be with Catherine later in the summer, not with Dave on Friday, and planning for the second half will begin soon, more to follow...

Day 4

Early breakfast at the fantastic mount b&b. They even dropped the price of our room so we could put the difference to our charities!
Headed out of ludlow towards warrington, another stonkingly hot day.
Made good steady progress to shrewsbury. Then stopped for a late lunch at a strange pub, but good though.
Warrington and wigan grim. Too scared to stop. Sped through to get to the premier inn. Not bad steak and chips in brewers fayre with a bottle of red.
Now back in brewers fayre for breakfast after being sent out for being 1 minute early. The kind lady in charge has just informed us 'I feel like death warmed up... I was working yesterday being nice to people all day, now I have to be nice again, ahh!'
Lake district today, can't wait.
Rain expected, might get to try out my jacket!
Distance 102 miles day 4.

Day 1-2-3

I'm sorry not to keep you all updated. It seems that this blog has gone viral... with more followers than Justin biebers Twitter. And the people aren't happy! Well we've been busy, here is a very quick catch up:
We're in ludlow! Three days gone each over 100 miles. We've been plodding along at a slow and steady pace, very much enjoying the incredible scenery. Cornwall, hilly. Devon mountainous! But very enjoyable.
Day 1. Steady through cornwall. Ed felt rubbish all day. Struggling to breath, not ideal for 104 miles of cycling... but he pushed on brilliantly. Arrived at the anchor inn and promptly disappeared up the road to the Hart Inn for supper. Yum! Bath gem beer, also yum.
Day 2. 108 miles. Fantastic to have the VW support for the day. Ed much better, think it was shaking off a cold. Meeting up with tony and tricia for a delicious lunch. Exmoor np, stunning cycling. The wifes (and child) joined us in the evening and we stayed in a lovely b&b. Local pub 'plume of feathers' for supper and beer.
Day 3. 99.5 miles. Support from the girls (and harry f and b). Great picnic lunch. Lovely cycling. Beautiful ludlow for supper 'the church' (i got ID'd!) and great guest house - the mount. They washed all our kit!

Weather has been phenomenal, we didn't expect to be stocking up on sunblock. Fingers crossed for more of the same.

Sorry not to make much sense. In a rush. Will expand at a later date!

Dave
Ps sorry all the photos are of ed drinking beer (he doesn't stop). But all the day time photos are on my camera not the phone...

Day 1

We made it! 103.78 mi. Further details to follow.

Day 0

So the journey begins...
My colleagues provided a huge send off from the office with much fanfare and streamers. Leaving the raucous cheering behind us, we risked the lemmings of oxford street to reach Paddington. The longest ever train journey through some stunning countryside got us to Penzance.
We got on our bikes, and within 5 minutes we were happily cycling through the corning countryside... the wrong way. A great start. We corrected our course and within an hour we arrived at the lands end hotel. Unfortunately, they had stopped serving food.
"just a sandwich?" We pleaded.
ten minutes later the barman returned from the kitchen and asked "what sandwich would you like?"
"what do you do?"
"we don't do sandwiches"
"oh"
Eventually a couple of chip sandwiches and a cheese board arrived and we went to bed happier.
Breakfast isn't until 8 am but we feel we need it.
Oh tribute. Good pint!

D-day -1... again

Thinking about it, we actually start from Lands End tomorrow, rather than today!

Anyway, if the next 990 odd miles are as plain sailing as the first 10 to get to the office this morning, with the sky clear, a warm sun and reasonable breeze then it's going to be great! Oh, and very few hills... there aren't any hills on this route are there?! That could throw a spanner in the works!

Feeling good with the weather so nice this morning. The bike felt smooth and easy and the average speed at the end was 15.1mph, perfect! I think that's going to be important, just finding the right gear for the conditions so we can just cruise along, that and eating thousands and thousands of calories a day and litres and litres of water, especially if the weather does carry on like this.

Tracker enabled

Just to add to Eds blog below, i'm glad he's confident that we'll make it. Personally, I'm terrified and don't feel very well. My tracker is now enabled so our millions of adoring fans can see exactly where we are by clicking on the location tab above.

Until tomorrow, goodbye!

D-day -1

Gosh, right, well, here it is then. I'm sure the last few weeks have sped past with greater speed than normal and here we are on the cusp of the start of the journey / adventure of cycling from one end of the Kingdom/Queendom (?) to the other.

All a little daunting now and just like most people before a big exam, you find yourself wishing you'd just done a bit more revision and watched a little less television during the run up!

This is certainly going to be an examination and a half. We're very grateful for the support we will be receiving over the first few days, which I think will make a great difference to allowing us to settle into it all whilst we can off load the bags for a while.

On the plus side, what you tend to forget is that we have done a lot of cycling, to and from work, evening and morning sessions, longer rides on weekends and sessions in the gym. We've both got a lot of miles in the tank, and think that's going to be key.

I also think we're both getting a little twitchy from not having done any exercise for the last few days and I for one am enjoying being able to walk around during the day and not have my legs be in pain!

All of which points towards a good level of fitness, so I'm sure all will be well. It's a marathon, not a sprint and the idea is to enjoy the journey and some of the great sites, and maybe the odd local ale, on offer throughout the UK.

Once again, so many thanks to all your support and sponsorship and we'll be updating as we go!

Celebrity wishes!

Hello,

It's been a fair while since I've blogged, which probably means I haven't been doing enough training to warrant putting a comment on!

Anyway, in recent exciting news, we have our first celebrity good wishes; none other than double Olympic Gold medal winner James Cracknell! Not only has James achieved so much in the world of rowing, he's also a very keen cyclist and adventurer, so it was rather exciting when Catherine produced the note from him expressing his best wishes for the trip!

In other news, my bike is now clean and shiny with new wheels and, sadly but essentially, a pannier rack, following its service. The first go with the new set up this morning and it was all good - I'm sure the shiny new wheels made all the difference!

A massive thank you also from me to all those people who have sponsored me so far. The response has been overwhelming and extremely generous. Please keep following the blog whilst we're away, Dave is very excited about the app he has downloaded to allow for updates as we go along!

A week today we'll be heading off to Paddington to get the train to Cornwall and the start of the trip. Training is beginning to wind down, light weights sessions and nothing longer than the normal commute in to work will then fall away to the best bit of all, carb loading!

Start praying for tail winds and no rain.....

New bike

Here's my new bike:

Ok it's a courtesy bike while mine has its final check over.

I can highly recommend the London Cycle Workshop, polite, knowledgeable, reasonable value and free courtesy bike!

13 days to go. Gulp.

Mobile blogging

New mobile phone app! Allows me to blog on the go... "how exciting!!" I hear you all cry. Well this is the first test of it, hopefully it includes a rather boring photo of some bikes?

An unbelievable response to my sponsorship yesterday thank you all so much. I'm blown away by the generosity. Thank you.

Well, 16 days to go.
I hope we're ready... probably not done as much training as we hoped, but we did well with the organising! Trains booked, route planned, kit bought, accommodation sorted, donations received. What are we forgetting?

Windsor and Eton

Well the two of us went on a jolly nice Saturday afternoon ride to Windsor then three laps of Dorney Lake. Easy.

Stats: 76 miles - approx 5hrs - 16.6 mph


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Ed. lost. "Oh a pub!"

One month to go!

Dave's sponsorship page is ready, go there and donate now! I have added a snazzy justgiving widget on the right of this page. Your money will go directly to the Children's Burns Foundation. Donations will not fund the trip.

With a month to go the training is still plodding along. Over the weekend Dave discovered the merits of the gym, Ed did 76 miles on the bike.

We think we have booked all of the accomodation (listed at the bottom of the route page).

Still need to make some proper maps, but I think we are getting there?

Sandwich

At last a good week! 40 miles on Tuesday. Plodded along the rest of the week. 75 miles to Sandwich on Friday. 80 miles back on Sunday (routes below).

We also got lots of planning done and it's all coming together. Will update the route info soon.

To Sandwich Stats: 75 miles - 4hrs 29mins - 16.6 mph


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From Sandwich Stats: 81 miles - 5hrs 16mins - 15.4 mph
Wind in the face!


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PS - Lots of road kill including two dead badgers...

First day off work - ever!

So training is up and down. Illness last week put me back a few days - my first ever day off work!
Going for it this week. Bike went to the workshop for a tuning, and feeling bit sharper. Going to attempt about 30 miles most days this week then do 100 miles on Friday and another 100 on Sunday. Should be a real test to see where I'm at. Also need to get organising the route...

Last week

Not a bad week last week, an even 100 miles and a couple of sessions in the gym all contributing to the cause. Reflecting on what was effectively a bit of a recovery week, the fact that I can do 100 miles and consider it light training is positive for the endurance levels.

The reality is that what was done last week wouldn't cover what is needed to be done in a day when the trip gets under way, which means there is probably a long way to go. Though having said that, the riding style going to and from work will be very different to on the trip; 10 mile sprints vs 100 mile marathons. A much longer ride is required at LEJOG pace to really see how things are going.

In other news, my back wheel still isn't ready, or the shop has lost my number, and my roadkill sightings have increased to one and a half foxes!

Nine and a half weeks to go...

Reader request!

I have had feedback from someone, somewhere out there in the world who has asked for, amongst other things... pictures of roadkill.

So, duly informed about the requests of our loyal readers and trying to follow the media mantra of 'give the people what they want', I was on the look out for squirrels, rabbits, or indeed deer, that might have been hit in Richmond Park.

Reporting back, I'm afraid there were none to be seen, and so, sadly, there were no excuses to stop for a breather and take photos.

I will keep my eyes out on future rides, though it begs the question; in such a place as Richmond Park, why were there no casualties? Ultra vigilant park wardens to clear up, or just savvy squirrels who know to avoid the roads? More to follow.

Bargain Berths

So here we are, back end of February, both of us now blogging (although no readers yet), plans forming and training slowly picking up.

Bad week for me on the bike last week. Not going to talk about it. Must/will do better.

Having watched the Scotrail website hourly for the last fortnight, I’m pleased to say we bagged the only £29 tickets. So, the two of us (and our bikes) will be returning on the 20:46 sleeper train from Inverness to London on 15th April. Also booked Thurso to Inverness (£12) 16:29 - 20:09.

It’s becoming a reality...

Lovely ride on Tuesday night

The route from Iselworth along the A316, down the Kew Road then back along the Mortlake Road to home encountered only a few sets of lights, only one of which was red, and hardly any traffic. This was after a breezy ride round the majority of Richmond Park took the total for the journey home to approx 24 miles.

The conditions have improved significantly from the last couple of months, with temperatures above freezing, little rain, no snow and the nasty northerly wind having dropped a lot. Tuesday's ride was a joy in comparison to the hard, headwind effected miles of last week.

January's mileage will be a big step forward - much needed before the day after day 'century' rides that await in April when we set off!

The Spoke Saga vol. 4

The issue with my back wheel has still not been satisfactorily resolved. Following a rebuild of the wheel with new spokes, different tensions and different spoke configurations I thought it had been sorted the last time... which was Saturday (15th Jan)... but after a few days and about 100 miles a fair few of the spokes had come loose.

One more problem and it'll be a new wheel and in the mean time the courtesy wheel will keep me going until mine is ready... again...

Let's get going!

So it's been a while. Neither of us have been doing much over the break, hence lack of activity here. Looking to have a big push in January. Not long to go!

Dave's morning ride:
Three laps of RP and one big lap.
Bit icy (excuse for being slow).
Stats: 46 miles - 2hrs 51mins - 16.25 mph



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Weekly mileage

We might keep a weekly mileage count on the blog...

Ed's total for the week, Tues (21), Wed (21), Thurs (52) = 94miles.
Dave's total - Mon (16 + squash!), Tues (run 8), Wed (16), Thurs (44) = 84miles

To buy - Frame mounted phone holders! (Ed got lost)

Cold toes...

Ah... so left at 6am only to find Richmond Park is shut so deer can be killed...
So very very cold. My feet are still defrosting an hour after my ride. Going online now to buy woolly socks, overshoes, lycra and thermo-pants.
Stats: 44 miles - 2hrs 36mins - 16.7 mph


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First post!!

The training has started! Only a mild 27.63 miles (according to Dave's Cardiotrainer App) and a steady 16.4mi/hr but a good practice run nonetheless. Ed's main comments: "That was good last night!... It felt nice just to go and not worry about traffic lights and cars and things, just cycling". Ed helpfully pointed out "Deer – should be avoided." We just need to sort out dates and more training.

Stats: 27.6 miles - 1hrs 41mins - 16.4 mph
Here's the route (two laps of RP):


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