Hi Guys,
Thought I would share my experiences with you, hadn't ridden a bike for nearly 20 years until Sep 12 after deciding to do LEJOG for my daughters appeal. For training only managed about 30 x 15 mile rides a 60 mile and 2 x 50 miles...... then set off......
Day 0 Friday 9th August 2013
Well, we set off to Lands End, Alison, Elaine and myself, it seemed to take forever. It suddenly struck me how far I have to cycle each day when I saw the sign for Okehampton (which was my 1st overnight stay and it took what seemed like forever to drive from that point to Lands End!!!)! Anyway, we arrived at the hotel at 8.47 pm to be told they stopped serving food at 8.45pm so we couldn't have anything to eat (that's customer service for you). We proceeded to the bar, which to be honest was a bit of a dive, so I started on my last drinks before the OFF, which were to consist of 4 pints of Guinness, unfortunately they ran out after two so resorted to bitter!. Bed time arrived at 10.15pm to be ready for the big day….
Day 1 Saturday 10th August 2013 Lands End to Okehampton
Woke up dry retching, nerves or the stinking saniflow toilet I will never know. Start time of 8am so down for early breakfast at 7am. Sat and ate bacon on toast with coffee and a shed load of tablets and energy gels. Got changed and awaited for the troops…….. 9.30 still waiting…… 10am they arrived, better late than never. Posed for a few photo's, then a few more, then a few more before setting off at about 11am!!!!!. OMG, hills, hills, hills, never seen as many so steep in all of my life. At this point I began to think of the distance to travel and IF I would actually make it. We lasted as a group for about 30 min then managed to lose the 'Greyhound' group…. Myself, Daryn, John and Craig formed the slow but steady group. We stopped in Truro for lunch and the heavens opened, everyone got soaking wet whilst eating their Subway, we did however find shelter for an hour in a multi storey car park in Sainsbury's but this lost us time and on day one already behind schedule, this seems to be quite consistent for the trip. I do have to say B roads are not much fun for several reasons, one very easy to get lost and two it appears the way they make roads in Cornwall is find the highest point on a hill and tip the tarmac down (a philosophy I still hold today). Soon the group got split down further to just me and Daryn, then it went dark!!!!!, our support vehicles followed us through the tiny roads (to give you an idea how steep the hills where the clutch on the car nearly burned out), at the point were I was 20 miles from the finish it was 10.20 at night and Daryn got a puncture!!!!!. Plan B into operation, Daryn takes over the support vehicle with his bike in the back and follows me with full beam on to light the way along the small dark roads, we then got onto the extremely busy 'A' road which he shadowed me from the lorries as I made my way to the end on day 1. It has to be said I only just made it at 11.53pm after a 1 mile walk up a dirt track to the finish point. After that a quick ride to my guest house which was locked up when I got there, after hammering on the door and waking up a resident I got to bed shortly after 1am. Alarm set for 7am, lets see what tomorrow holds.
Distance - 99.6 miles
Total Elevation - 8,068 ft
Max Elevation - 983 ft
Moving Time - 9:18
Calories burned 4,164
Ave speed - 10.7 mph
Max speed 42.5 mph
Day 2 Sunday 11th August 2013 Okehampton to Bristol
Alarm went off at 7.30 and dragged my carcass out of bed, knee sore and backside very sore!!!!! Showered and down for breakfast, full English followed by a shed load of tablets!!!, back up stairs, applied under carriage cream and got changed into my gear (at this point didn't realise I had left my cream in the guest house!!!!). Well my 8.15 am lift turned up at about 10am!!! Another good start. By the time I got back to where the others where staying and walked the 1 mile down the dirt track we were again behind schedule!!!!! Oh well not to worry just jump on my bike and cycle like hell, unfortunately when trying to do so I realised I had lost a screw out of my cycle shoes along the path so needed to do an emergency and temporary repair…. another 20 min lost!!!! Devon as far as I can remember was quite uneventful, just more bloody hills….. We carried on until it went dark and then carried on in the pitch black, at about 15 miles from our scheduled stopping point we realised it was far too dangerous (have you ever tried cycling down a hill at speed in the dark when a car comes at you with high beam on… aaaarrrrgghhh where's the road gone?). After gaining our eyesight again we called for back up, again the support vehicle guided us to our stopping point. Whilst hurtling down my final hill I spotted my guest house which turned out to be a pub, yey!!!!. The next manoeuvre consisted of me braking really hard and nearly causing an accident as I veered off to my right to my destination for the evening. A quick knock on the door at 11pm and the landlord greeted me with "Mr Davies, I presume you want a drink, here's two pints of lager on the house", these I drank very quickly whilst trying my best to keep my eyes open before retiring to bed. Alarm set for 7.30…..
Distance - 103.1 miles
Total Elevation - 5,703 ft
Max Elevation - 848 ft
Moving Time - 8:37
Calories burned 3,606
Ave speed - 12 mph
Max speed 39.1 mph
Day 3 Monday 12th August 2013 Bristol to Shrewsbury
Finally heading North…..No breakfast today so straight into my cycle gear, apply the under carriage cream, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I left it in the last guest house!!!! A quick text to Ali to order me some next day delivery and I can pick it up when passing, a quick root through my bags and I look with dismay on a half pot of Vaseline!!!! Better than nothing I suppose…. I later found out it wasn't. Onto my bike and a quick couple of miles to meet the rest of the group who stayed on a nearby campsite (really don't know how they could stay in tents!!), then set off at about 9am. Our small group tried the 'Slip Stream' method, but to be honest we were crap at it, so we just went along in our own shambolic fashion, after what seemed like going through the worlds biggest industrial estate surrounded by a million impatient lorries we made it to The Severn Bridge before finally joining the A49 which eventually goes past my house. We made decent progress I have to say on this day, I think I even got to my digs before it went dark, I took this opportunity to take a quick bath and then go for a curry!!!!. On arrival at the curry house I ordered a glass of iced water and a pint of Cobra, both never touched the side….. Then my curry arrived. At this point I knew something was a bit wrong, as I couldn't hold my fork!!! I then realised that I was so focussed on the pain in my arse that I failed to realise that my little finger and ring fingers on both hands were completely numb!!!. I persevered eating my Chicken tikka Jalfrezi looking like some demented loner and tried to finish my second pint…… this again caused another worry. Those who know me know that I like a drink or two, but the shock off feeling drunk off a pint and a half of lager was a shock to the system. I ate up quickly and wobbled back to my bed. Alarm set for 7.30am
Distance - 89.1 miles
Total Elevation - 4,951 ft
Max Elevation - 632 ft
Moving Time - 7:25
Calories burned 3,299
Ave speed - 12 mph
Max speed 39.1 mph
Day 4 Tuesday 13th August 2013 Shrewsbury to Preston
Well on getting up my 1st thought was aaarrrgghh my arse, my 2nd was aaaarrrgggh my knee, my 3rd was aaarrrrgghh my calf, my 4th was oh! I will sleep in my own bed tonight hurrah!. So off downstairs for my full English, grappled with my knife and fork then got changed to wait for my lift to the start point. Today Rachel my daughter was joining us on a stage, so it was lovely to see her when she picked me up. We then drove back to where we finished last night and awaited the troops……. 10am again!!!! I think we managed to set off about 30 min later but at least it was onward to home territory. We slogged away on what appeared to be flat which was nice, my strapping on my calf was holding up okay but Rachel conceded after about 45 miles…. We carried on as a group and arrived in Warrington around 7.30pm, we then descended on Decathlon for supplies, I purchased 2 x tubes of anti chaffing cream, 1 x sports bandage and a new pair of cleats for my bike shoes as I seem to have demolished them on my 1 mile walk down a dirt track (x2) the other day. I then put a chippy order in to Alison and told her we would be there in 30 min. At 8.30 we arrived at mine, loads of chips, peas, gravy and a cheeky can of beer, 9pm we then set off for Preston. At Wigan one of the guys decided he needed a poo, so went into a nearby pub…. We got worried after he was in there for 20 min, but he looked so much better when he eventually emerged. Eventually got to Preston about 11pm, Ali was there and ran me back home. On return I had a bath, put on some soothing cream, cried like a baby when Alison told me my 'special under carriage' cream had not arrived, then went to sleep. Ali stayed up until about 2 am washing my clothes….. Alarm set for 6.22 am
Distance - 108 miles
Total Elevation - 3,177 ft
Max Elevation - 621 ft
Moving Time - 8:04
Calories burned 3,177
Ave speed - 13.4 mph
Max speed 34.4 mph
Day 5 Wednesday 14th August 2013 Preston to Gretna
A small tear in my eye as I left my bed for Preston… little did I know this is where we start with problems. Arrived about 8am, ready to go by 9am but my bike develops a rattle! Closer inspection shows that 2 x spokes have shook loose…. Dismantled the front wheel and spend 20 mins trying to shake out the spoke bolt, eventually sorted and ready to go by 10 am. Set off with some speed and soon passing through Lancaster, past Kendal and into the hills. The rain then started over Shap, hard climbs and soaking wet, the support team were amazing, hot tea out of the back of a transit van. My arse was now killing me and a quick text volley with Ali resulted in her 'offering' to do a 200 mile round trip with my cream (what a star). Powering on to Penrith B&Q car park my pain was soon to be soothed, there in front of me like a vision of beauty was my cream (oh and Ali). I quickly took advantage of this by stripping down to my waist and scooping out a generous dollop of cream which I then applied it to my under carriage to the horrified looks of some customers……. Sometimes needs must!!!. So after a quick kiss goodbye to my good lady it was off again on the trek. Then disaster struck……………….. On a climb and needing to change down whilst standing on my pedals my gear cartridge somehow engaged with my back spokes which resulted in it being torn from my frame and ending up as a crumpled mess!!!!!!!! No more miles today, it needed major surgery and my spare bike was hours away. So off I went, 20 miles short of where I should have been on my way to my digs. I was dropped off and arranged to be picked up next morning at 7am with my spare bike to go back to the point of my mis-hap. Very down and despondent I decided to walk the 2 miles to the closest pub and drown my sorrows with one and a half pints of lager. Walking back was a grim affair, it was raining, I knew I had an extra 20 miles to do before catching up to everyone else along with having to do a day on a hybrid bike and the expected costs of repair. Ah well, these things are sent to try us, off to bed, alarm set for 6am
Distance - 84.5 miles
Total Elevation - 3,603 ft
Max Elevation - 1,367 ft
Moving Time - 6:36
Calories burned 2,841
Ave speed - 12.8 mph
Max speed 35.3 mph
Day 6 Thursday 15th August 2013 Gretna to Glasgow
Bad start to the day, heaving down with rain, early start, different bike and miles to make up…. So found my disaster point and started off like a demon, ignore the rain and just get on with it. Got back to the digs and had breakfast for 8.45am then carried on to my 'supposed' end point yesterday in Gretna. Eventually arrived about 10am and none of the other group in sight!!!!! Had they set off already? A few phone calls in the rain established they were on their way, so after a soggy hour in the far south of Scotland we eventually started abound for Glasgow. I do have to say the roads were shocking, the old A74 has the feel of an abandoned road which feels like rubble glued to tarmac, even the pot holes were filled in with 'Red' tarmac as I think this is all they had left over!!. We cycled through the wind and rain and eventually arrived in Glasgow (our stop point bizarrely was at the end of a slip road on a busy dual carriageway!!). When picked up I was taken to the 'Hotel' where I had a bout of the shakes and dithered my name whilst attempting to write my name with hands that have no feeling what so ever…. The staff there were great, I asked what time they served food until, they replied 9pm, it was 8.58. They said 'No worries, tell us what you want, you go and have a shower and it will be ready for you when you get down' marvellous!!!!. Steak pie, chips, veg and 2 pints of Guinness later I got into conversation with a local who I couldn't understand, I made my apologies and went to bed.
Distance - 98.2 miles
Total Elevation - 3,879 ft
Max Elevation - 1,069 ft
Moving Time - 8:20
Calories burned 3,150
Ave speed - 11.8 mph
Max speed 31.5 mph
Day 7 Friday 16th August 2013 Glasgow to Fort William
This was definitely a day of two halves. I started the day in front of where I needed to be (I realised that I had travelled about 200m further than I should have done yesterday) ‘result’!! Secondly at this point it wasn't raining, again a good sign, thirdly I now have my road bike (1 x cassette, 1 x chain, 1x sprocket = £165 which was not too good) but I was back on schedule. I can honestly say on this day I had 30 min of 'this is nice' as I cycled along a cycle path running along the side of Loch Lomond (this I promise was the only time during the ride that I actually enjoyed it). This day felt hard though even though it should have been one of the easier days (still don't know why, maybe exhaustion was kicking in!!). We cycled for what seemed like an age but when it got to 8.30pm we arrived at a café and shops, the last before a certain set of hills that hold such places as Ben Nevis and Aviemore ski centre, it was decided that this road was too dangerous to tackle in darkness so the decision was made to tackle this the next day and make up the miles then…. This would mean us being 50 miles behind where we should be, but no other real options…. The support vehicle took me to my digs, two bad things…. One I saw all the hills I would need to climb and two it took 90 min to get there….. Got to the bar 2 pints of Guinness a depressing conversation with a barman that I struggled to understand then off to bed. Alarm set for 7.30
Distance - 73.5 miles
Total Elevation - 3,724 ft
Max Elevation - 768 ft
Moving Time - 5:55
Calories burned 2,722
Ave speed - 12.4 mph
Max speed 33.3 mph
Day 8 Saturday 17th August 2013 Fort William to Inverness
Totally hacked off, eating breakfast like a 'special' person, sore arse and knowing it's going to be a crap day. Rain lashing on the windows and the wind whipping it up again from the floor, oh joy!!!. Waited outside for my lift, eventually got picked up and to the start point for an 11.30 start!!!!!. Set off and hit a horrible 12% climb that went on forever and ever and ever…. Eventually got near the summit and met with a burger van, had a bacon barm and a cup of tea with 4 sugars before setting off again. I can say that from this point onwards I can only remember a few thing over the next few hours, these included having to ride my bike tilting over a bizarre angle to enable me to peddle in the cross wind, being wet through to my skin as my waterproofs were not a scuba diving suit, wincing with pain as the rain hit my face which felt like wire brush being pressed into my cheek. I do however remember finding shelter in a lay by, this consisted of a 4 foot high rock which I sat against in the pouring rain (a motorist even pulled up to see if I was alright!!). Feeling sorry for myself was not going to help matters so just got back on the bike, put my head down and peddled in a monotonous trance. This proved worthwhile as by the end of my (short day) I had made up 20 miles of my deficit. Every cloud and all that….. Picked up, dropped off at my digs and attempted to dry my clothes……. Then bed!!!
Distance - 85.1 miles
Total Elevation - 5,493 ft
Max Elevation - 1,151 ft
Moving Time - 6:28
Calories burned 3,292
Ave speed - 13.2 mph
Max speed 35.1 mph
Day 9 Sunday 18th August 2013 Inverness to Brora
Clothes still wet, which was an absolute joy to put on, had a full English then picked up and taken back to yesterday's end point, 30 miles to make up. Well it stopped raining for one and the day looked a little brighter as the end was now in sight…. A quick dash along the side of Loch Ness across a few bridges and straight to my digs. Travelling on the flat on a nice straight road doing about 30mph I hit a large stone, when running your tyres at 120psi this is not advisable!!!!!!!, two simultaneous punctures I have never stopped as quickly in my life, cue a 30 minute wait for the support van with two new inner tubes!. Apart from that an uneventful day really but fantastic to now be back on schedule again and only about 60 miles to go… happy man. Even happier when arriving at my guest house which was a magnificent house with great views across the North Sea, the guy running it showed me my massive bedroom with a huge bed along with massive bathroom and Jacuzzi……. Yey. I even got a pot of tea and 4 slices of chocolate and banana cake. Wonderful, alarm set for 8am, a lie in and the thought of only a few miles until the end. Happy bunny
Distance - 95.1 miles
Total Elevation - 4,113 ft
Max Elevation - 523 ft
Moving Time - 6:22
Calories burned 3,642
Ave speed - 14.4 mph
Max speed 40.7 mph
Day 10 FINAL DAY Monday 19th August 2013 Brora to John O'Groats
Awoke with a skip in my step and went for a fantastic breakfast, chatting to the landlady she talked about the remaining few miles that there were a couple of 'nasty' hills in the first 20 miles……. Knowing what I know now she really does need to get a better grip of the English language…… they were horrendous!!!!!!!, how can 13%+ gradients that last for miles be called 'nasty hills' I christened them something else……….. Anyway I was due to meet the rest of the guys at Tesco in Wick so 40 miles later I was sat eating lunch and drinking huge latte's awaiting for the rest of the group. We all set off together for the last 17 miles of which we mastered the method of slip streaming, the guys then said for me to lead them all into the finish for Leah. I have to admit that I cried behind my sunglasses when we approached John O'Groats, then the finish line was in sight. We FINISHED!!!!!! I then cried a lot, thinking about Leah, the reason I did this ride, the lads gave me a minute and then a hug. I strolled to the end of the harbour and placed a Love Leah band on the wall, cried again then went back to the group for photo's.
Distance - 54.6 miles
Total Elevation - 3,262 ft
Max Elevation - 742 ft
Moving Time - 4:27
Calories burned 1995
Ave speed - 12.7 mph
Max speed 37.1 mph
And then it was over………… A tent, Beer and cigarettes (stopped smoking in December 2012 for this ride but took a packet to smoke when I finished, they tasted foul so only had a couple!!). Tried to drink but too tired so went to 'bed' in my tent. What a crap nights sleep, I was freezing!!
Day 11 Homeward bound Tuesday 20th August 2013
Up at 6am, tent packed away by 8am, one bike loaded onto the car, the other on it's way to Glasgow to be picked up at a later date! Called in at Tesco in Wick for some 'travelling Home' supplies, 12 bags of Disco's, a massive packet of custard creams, packet of breakaways, chicken and bacon sandwich and 2 litres of coke……… we are on our way home. Twelve hours later, twelve bloody hours……. a two hour traffic jam at Preston (I could have cycled the last bit quicker….) Arrived home to a congratulations banner, a Cornish pasty and a bottle of single malt Scottish whiskey. Absolutely knackered so it was two huge glasses of red wine then bed.
Would I do it again? No, did I enjoy it? No, am I glad I did it? Definitely, I did it for Leah and succeeded……………….
So Overall, here's what I did
Distance - 891 miles
Total Elevation - 45,973 ft
Moving Time - 71:53
Calories burned 31,888
Ave Speed - 12.5
Thought I would share my experiences with you, hadn't ridden a bike for nearly 20 years until Sep 12 after deciding to do LEJOG for my daughters appeal. For training only managed about 30 x 15 mile rides a 60 mile and 2 x 50 miles...... then set off......
Day 0 Friday 9th August 2013
Well, we set off to Lands End, Alison, Elaine and myself, it seemed to take forever. It suddenly struck me how far I have to cycle each day when I saw the sign for Okehampton (which was my 1st overnight stay and it took what seemed like forever to drive from that point to Lands End!!!)! Anyway, we arrived at the hotel at 8.47 pm to be told they stopped serving food at 8.45pm so we couldn't have anything to eat (that's customer service for you). We proceeded to the bar, which to be honest was a bit of a dive, so I started on my last drinks before the OFF, which were to consist of 4 pints of Guinness, unfortunately they ran out after two so resorted to bitter!. Bed time arrived at 10.15pm to be ready for the big day….
Day 1 Saturday 10th August 2013 Lands End to Okehampton
Woke up dry retching, nerves or the stinking saniflow toilet I will never know. Start time of 8am so down for early breakfast at 7am. Sat and ate bacon on toast with coffee and a shed load of tablets and energy gels. Got changed and awaited for the troops…….. 9.30 still waiting…… 10am they arrived, better late than never. Posed for a few photo's, then a few more, then a few more before setting off at about 11am!!!!!. OMG, hills, hills, hills, never seen as many so steep in all of my life. At this point I began to think of the distance to travel and IF I would actually make it. We lasted as a group for about 30 min then managed to lose the 'Greyhound' group…. Myself, Daryn, John and Craig formed the slow but steady group. We stopped in Truro for lunch and the heavens opened, everyone got soaking wet whilst eating their Subway, we did however find shelter for an hour in a multi storey car park in Sainsbury's but this lost us time and on day one already behind schedule, this seems to be quite consistent for the trip. I do have to say B roads are not much fun for several reasons, one very easy to get lost and two it appears the way they make roads in Cornwall is find the highest point on a hill and tip the tarmac down (a philosophy I still hold today). Soon the group got split down further to just me and Daryn, then it went dark!!!!!, our support vehicles followed us through the tiny roads (to give you an idea how steep the hills where the clutch on the car nearly burned out), at the point were I was 20 miles from the finish it was 10.20 at night and Daryn got a puncture!!!!!. Plan B into operation, Daryn takes over the support vehicle with his bike in the back and follows me with full beam on to light the way along the small dark roads, we then got onto the extremely busy 'A' road which he shadowed me from the lorries as I made my way to the end on day 1. It has to be said I only just made it at 11.53pm after a 1 mile walk up a dirt track to the finish point. After that a quick ride to my guest house which was locked up when I got there, after hammering on the door and waking up a resident I got to bed shortly after 1am. Alarm set for 7am, lets see what tomorrow holds.
Distance - 99.6 miles
Total Elevation - 8,068 ft
Max Elevation - 983 ft
Moving Time - 9:18
Calories burned 4,164
Ave speed - 10.7 mph
Max speed 42.5 mph
Day 2 Sunday 11th August 2013 Okehampton to Bristol
Alarm went off at 7.30 and dragged my carcass out of bed, knee sore and backside very sore!!!!! Showered and down for breakfast, full English followed by a shed load of tablets!!!, back up stairs, applied under carriage cream and got changed into my gear (at this point didn't realise I had left my cream in the guest house!!!!). Well my 8.15 am lift turned up at about 10am!!! Another good start. By the time I got back to where the others where staying and walked the 1 mile down the dirt track we were again behind schedule!!!!! Oh well not to worry just jump on my bike and cycle like hell, unfortunately when trying to do so I realised I had lost a screw out of my cycle shoes along the path so needed to do an emergency and temporary repair…. another 20 min lost!!!! Devon as far as I can remember was quite uneventful, just more bloody hills….. We carried on until it went dark and then carried on in the pitch black, at about 15 miles from our scheduled stopping point we realised it was far too dangerous (have you ever tried cycling down a hill at speed in the dark when a car comes at you with high beam on… aaaarrrrgghhh where's the road gone?). After gaining our eyesight again we called for back up, again the support vehicle guided us to our stopping point. Whilst hurtling down my final hill I spotted my guest house which turned out to be a pub, yey!!!!. The next manoeuvre consisted of me braking really hard and nearly causing an accident as I veered off to my right to my destination for the evening. A quick knock on the door at 11pm and the landlord greeted me with "Mr Davies, I presume you want a drink, here's two pints of lager on the house", these I drank very quickly whilst trying my best to keep my eyes open before retiring to bed. Alarm set for 7.30…..
Distance - 103.1 miles
Total Elevation - 5,703 ft
Max Elevation - 848 ft
Moving Time - 8:37
Calories burned 3,606
Ave speed - 12 mph
Max speed 39.1 mph
Day 3 Monday 12th August 2013 Bristol to Shrewsbury
Finally heading North…..No breakfast today so straight into my cycle gear, apply the under carriage cream, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I left it in the last guest house!!!! A quick text to Ali to order me some next day delivery and I can pick it up when passing, a quick root through my bags and I look with dismay on a half pot of Vaseline!!!! Better than nothing I suppose…. I later found out it wasn't. Onto my bike and a quick couple of miles to meet the rest of the group who stayed on a nearby campsite (really don't know how they could stay in tents!!), then set off at about 9am. Our small group tried the 'Slip Stream' method, but to be honest we were crap at it, so we just went along in our own shambolic fashion, after what seemed like going through the worlds biggest industrial estate surrounded by a million impatient lorries we made it to The Severn Bridge before finally joining the A49 which eventually goes past my house. We made decent progress I have to say on this day, I think I even got to my digs before it went dark, I took this opportunity to take a quick bath and then go for a curry!!!!. On arrival at the curry house I ordered a glass of iced water and a pint of Cobra, both never touched the side….. Then my curry arrived. At this point I knew something was a bit wrong, as I couldn't hold my fork!!! I then realised that I was so focussed on the pain in my arse that I failed to realise that my little finger and ring fingers on both hands were completely numb!!!. I persevered eating my Chicken tikka Jalfrezi looking like some demented loner and tried to finish my second pint…… this again caused another worry. Those who know me know that I like a drink or two, but the shock off feeling drunk off a pint and a half of lager was a shock to the system. I ate up quickly and wobbled back to my bed. Alarm set for 7.30am
Distance - 89.1 miles
Total Elevation - 4,951 ft
Max Elevation - 632 ft
Moving Time - 7:25
Calories burned 3,299
Ave speed - 12 mph
Max speed 39.1 mph
Day 4 Tuesday 13th August 2013 Shrewsbury to Preston
Well on getting up my 1st thought was aaarrrgghh my arse, my 2nd was aaaarrrgggh my knee, my 3rd was aaarrrrgghh my calf, my 4th was oh! I will sleep in my own bed tonight hurrah!. So off downstairs for my full English, grappled with my knife and fork then got changed to wait for my lift to the start point. Today Rachel my daughter was joining us on a stage, so it was lovely to see her when she picked me up. We then drove back to where we finished last night and awaited the troops……. 10am again!!!! I think we managed to set off about 30 min later but at least it was onward to home territory. We slogged away on what appeared to be flat which was nice, my strapping on my calf was holding up okay but Rachel conceded after about 45 miles…. We carried on as a group and arrived in Warrington around 7.30pm, we then descended on Decathlon for supplies, I purchased 2 x tubes of anti chaffing cream, 1 x sports bandage and a new pair of cleats for my bike shoes as I seem to have demolished them on my 1 mile walk down a dirt track (x2) the other day. I then put a chippy order in to Alison and told her we would be there in 30 min. At 8.30 we arrived at mine, loads of chips, peas, gravy and a cheeky can of beer, 9pm we then set off for Preston. At Wigan one of the guys decided he needed a poo, so went into a nearby pub…. We got worried after he was in there for 20 min, but he looked so much better when he eventually emerged. Eventually got to Preston about 11pm, Ali was there and ran me back home. On return I had a bath, put on some soothing cream, cried like a baby when Alison told me my 'special under carriage' cream had not arrived, then went to sleep. Ali stayed up until about 2 am washing my clothes….. Alarm set for 6.22 am
Distance - 108 miles
Total Elevation - 3,177 ft
Max Elevation - 621 ft
Moving Time - 8:04
Calories burned 3,177
Ave speed - 13.4 mph
Max speed 34.4 mph
Day 5 Wednesday 14th August 2013 Preston to Gretna
A small tear in my eye as I left my bed for Preston… little did I know this is where we start with problems. Arrived about 8am, ready to go by 9am but my bike develops a rattle! Closer inspection shows that 2 x spokes have shook loose…. Dismantled the front wheel and spend 20 mins trying to shake out the spoke bolt, eventually sorted and ready to go by 10 am. Set off with some speed and soon passing through Lancaster, past Kendal and into the hills. The rain then started over Shap, hard climbs and soaking wet, the support team were amazing, hot tea out of the back of a transit van. My arse was now killing me and a quick text volley with Ali resulted in her 'offering' to do a 200 mile round trip with my cream (what a star). Powering on to Penrith B&Q car park my pain was soon to be soothed, there in front of me like a vision of beauty was my cream (oh and Ali). I quickly took advantage of this by stripping down to my waist and scooping out a generous dollop of cream which I then applied it to my under carriage to the horrified looks of some customers……. Sometimes needs must!!!. So after a quick kiss goodbye to my good lady it was off again on the trek. Then disaster struck……………….. On a climb and needing to change down whilst standing on my pedals my gear cartridge somehow engaged with my back spokes which resulted in it being torn from my frame and ending up as a crumpled mess!!!!!!!! No more miles today, it needed major surgery and my spare bike was hours away. So off I went, 20 miles short of where I should have been on my way to my digs. I was dropped off and arranged to be picked up next morning at 7am with my spare bike to go back to the point of my mis-hap. Very down and despondent I decided to walk the 2 miles to the closest pub and drown my sorrows with one and a half pints of lager. Walking back was a grim affair, it was raining, I knew I had an extra 20 miles to do before catching up to everyone else along with having to do a day on a hybrid bike and the expected costs of repair. Ah well, these things are sent to try us, off to bed, alarm set for 6am
Distance - 84.5 miles
Total Elevation - 3,603 ft
Max Elevation - 1,367 ft
Moving Time - 6:36
Calories burned 2,841
Ave speed - 12.8 mph
Max speed 35.3 mph
Day 6 Thursday 15th August 2013 Gretna to Glasgow
Bad start to the day, heaving down with rain, early start, different bike and miles to make up…. So found my disaster point and started off like a demon, ignore the rain and just get on with it. Got back to the digs and had breakfast for 8.45am then carried on to my 'supposed' end point yesterday in Gretna. Eventually arrived about 10am and none of the other group in sight!!!!! Had they set off already? A few phone calls in the rain established they were on their way, so after a soggy hour in the far south of Scotland we eventually started abound for Glasgow. I do have to say the roads were shocking, the old A74 has the feel of an abandoned road which feels like rubble glued to tarmac, even the pot holes were filled in with 'Red' tarmac as I think this is all they had left over!!. We cycled through the wind and rain and eventually arrived in Glasgow (our stop point bizarrely was at the end of a slip road on a busy dual carriageway!!). When picked up I was taken to the 'Hotel' where I had a bout of the shakes and dithered my name whilst attempting to write my name with hands that have no feeling what so ever…. The staff there were great, I asked what time they served food until, they replied 9pm, it was 8.58. They said 'No worries, tell us what you want, you go and have a shower and it will be ready for you when you get down' marvellous!!!!. Steak pie, chips, veg and 2 pints of Guinness later I got into conversation with a local who I couldn't understand, I made my apologies and went to bed.
Distance - 98.2 miles
Total Elevation - 3,879 ft
Max Elevation - 1,069 ft
Moving Time - 8:20
Calories burned 3,150
Ave speed - 11.8 mph
Max speed 31.5 mph
Day 7 Friday 16th August 2013 Glasgow to Fort William
This was definitely a day of two halves. I started the day in front of where I needed to be (I realised that I had travelled about 200m further than I should have done yesterday) ‘result’!! Secondly at this point it wasn't raining, again a good sign, thirdly I now have my road bike (1 x cassette, 1 x chain, 1x sprocket = £165 which was not too good) but I was back on schedule. I can honestly say on this day I had 30 min of 'this is nice' as I cycled along a cycle path running along the side of Loch Lomond (this I promise was the only time during the ride that I actually enjoyed it). This day felt hard though even though it should have been one of the easier days (still don't know why, maybe exhaustion was kicking in!!). We cycled for what seemed like an age but when it got to 8.30pm we arrived at a café and shops, the last before a certain set of hills that hold such places as Ben Nevis and Aviemore ski centre, it was decided that this road was too dangerous to tackle in darkness so the decision was made to tackle this the next day and make up the miles then…. This would mean us being 50 miles behind where we should be, but no other real options…. The support vehicle took me to my digs, two bad things…. One I saw all the hills I would need to climb and two it took 90 min to get there….. Got to the bar 2 pints of Guinness a depressing conversation with a barman that I struggled to understand then off to bed. Alarm set for 7.30
Distance - 73.5 miles
Total Elevation - 3,724 ft
Max Elevation - 768 ft
Moving Time - 5:55
Calories burned 2,722
Ave speed - 12.4 mph
Max speed 33.3 mph
Day 8 Saturday 17th August 2013 Fort William to Inverness
Totally hacked off, eating breakfast like a 'special' person, sore arse and knowing it's going to be a crap day. Rain lashing on the windows and the wind whipping it up again from the floor, oh joy!!!. Waited outside for my lift, eventually got picked up and to the start point for an 11.30 start!!!!!. Set off and hit a horrible 12% climb that went on forever and ever and ever…. Eventually got near the summit and met with a burger van, had a bacon barm and a cup of tea with 4 sugars before setting off again. I can say that from this point onwards I can only remember a few thing over the next few hours, these included having to ride my bike tilting over a bizarre angle to enable me to peddle in the cross wind, being wet through to my skin as my waterproofs were not a scuba diving suit, wincing with pain as the rain hit my face which felt like wire brush being pressed into my cheek. I do however remember finding shelter in a lay by, this consisted of a 4 foot high rock which I sat against in the pouring rain (a motorist even pulled up to see if I was alright!!). Feeling sorry for myself was not going to help matters so just got back on the bike, put my head down and peddled in a monotonous trance. This proved worthwhile as by the end of my (short day) I had made up 20 miles of my deficit. Every cloud and all that….. Picked up, dropped off at my digs and attempted to dry my clothes……. Then bed!!!
Distance - 85.1 miles
Total Elevation - 5,493 ft
Max Elevation - 1,151 ft
Moving Time - 6:28
Calories burned 3,292
Ave speed - 13.2 mph
Max speed 35.1 mph
Day 9 Sunday 18th August 2013 Inverness to Brora
Clothes still wet, which was an absolute joy to put on, had a full English then picked up and taken back to yesterday's end point, 30 miles to make up. Well it stopped raining for one and the day looked a little brighter as the end was now in sight…. A quick dash along the side of Loch Ness across a few bridges and straight to my digs. Travelling on the flat on a nice straight road doing about 30mph I hit a large stone, when running your tyres at 120psi this is not advisable!!!!!!!, two simultaneous punctures I have never stopped as quickly in my life, cue a 30 minute wait for the support van with two new inner tubes!. Apart from that an uneventful day really but fantastic to now be back on schedule again and only about 60 miles to go… happy man. Even happier when arriving at my guest house which was a magnificent house with great views across the North Sea, the guy running it showed me my massive bedroom with a huge bed along with massive bathroom and Jacuzzi……. Yey. I even got a pot of tea and 4 slices of chocolate and banana cake. Wonderful, alarm set for 8am, a lie in and the thought of only a few miles until the end. Happy bunny
Distance - 95.1 miles
Total Elevation - 4,113 ft
Max Elevation - 523 ft
Moving Time - 6:22
Calories burned 3,642
Ave speed - 14.4 mph
Max speed 40.7 mph
Day 10 FINAL DAY Monday 19th August 2013 Brora to John O'Groats
Awoke with a skip in my step and went for a fantastic breakfast, chatting to the landlady she talked about the remaining few miles that there were a couple of 'nasty' hills in the first 20 miles……. Knowing what I know now she really does need to get a better grip of the English language…… they were horrendous!!!!!!!, how can 13%+ gradients that last for miles be called 'nasty hills' I christened them something else……….. Anyway I was due to meet the rest of the guys at Tesco in Wick so 40 miles later I was sat eating lunch and drinking huge latte's awaiting for the rest of the group. We all set off together for the last 17 miles of which we mastered the method of slip streaming, the guys then said for me to lead them all into the finish for Leah. I have to admit that I cried behind my sunglasses when we approached John O'Groats, then the finish line was in sight. We FINISHED!!!!!! I then cried a lot, thinking about Leah, the reason I did this ride, the lads gave me a minute and then a hug. I strolled to the end of the harbour and placed a Love Leah band on the wall, cried again then went back to the group for photo's.
Distance - 54.6 miles
Total Elevation - 3,262 ft
Max Elevation - 742 ft
Moving Time - 4:27
Calories burned 1995
Ave speed - 12.7 mph
Max speed 37.1 mph
And then it was over………… A tent, Beer and cigarettes (stopped smoking in December 2012 for this ride but took a packet to smoke when I finished, they tasted foul so only had a couple!!). Tried to drink but too tired so went to 'bed' in my tent. What a crap nights sleep, I was freezing!!
Day 11 Homeward bound Tuesday 20th August 2013
Up at 6am, tent packed away by 8am, one bike loaded onto the car, the other on it's way to Glasgow to be picked up at a later date! Called in at Tesco in Wick for some 'travelling Home' supplies, 12 bags of Disco's, a massive packet of custard creams, packet of breakaways, chicken and bacon sandwich and 2 litres of coke……… we are on our way home. Twelve hours later, twelve bloody hours……. a two hour traffic jam at Preston (I could have cycled the last bit quicker….) Arrived home to a congratulations banner, a Cornish pasty and a bottle of single malt Scottish whiskey. Absolutely knackered so it was two huge glasses of red wine then bed.
Would I do it again? No, did I enjoy it? No, am I glad I did it? Definitely, I did it for Leah and succeeded……………….
So Overall, here's what I did
Distance - 891 miles
Total Elevation - 45,973 ft
Moving Time - 71:53
Calories burned 31,888
Ave Speed - 12.5
