Back in Manchester

It was getting hot as we left Mousehole yesterday morning for the 110 mile drive back to Exeter where I caught the train back to Manchester getting home around 8pm. It was good to be home. I'm still contemplating the adventure. Some photos below perhaps give an idea of the sense of joy we all had at reaching Lands End.

Of course we can't forget Sandra and Ruby who were also an important part of the team....

... or the 4 guys who set off 30 minutes before us 12 days ago and arrived 30 minutes before us at Land End via a different route.   The guy to my left (below) had a full bone marrow transplant 12 months ago - an amazing achievement considering the many months he had to spend in an isolation ward.   

We were wearing the cycling shirts provided by the Prostate Cancer Charity, one of the 5 charities we were sponsoring. I was sponsoring the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the other 3 charities were Starlight (for children with terminal diseases), Cancer Research UK and the Samantha Dickson Charity for children with brain tumours. In total we have raised well over £10000 and I know we are all very grateful for the generous contributions everyone has made.

In total we rode 960 miles, at an average moving speed of 13.7 mph over 70 hours of cycling (typically a further 2 - 2.5 hours a day was spent resting and eating) climbed around 50000 feet and burnt 30000 calories. However it wasn't all pain; I came back 5 pounds heavier which I put down to the Cornish Pastie we had for lunch on the final day.

Many, many thanks. It has been a worthwhile adventure.

Finished! One trusty bike for sale.

8pm 25 June
Ship Inn, Mousehole, Cornwall.

I'm sure there are some people who on completing an adventure like this say that they want to do it all again. My reaction was different, a mixture of joy, surprise, achievement and more than anything, relief that tomorrow, and for some time to come, I don't have to ride a bike up hills with the wind blowing me backwards.

At the finish line we met up with the guys we started with in John O'Groats 12 days ago. They did over a thousand miles - it was great to meet them again and we shared a drink.

We also got talking to another group who we recognised; they had cheered us on a couple of times from the side of the road as we struggled up a main road. They had also cheered us from their cars as they passed us by moving nearer Lands End. They were friends and family of another group of MAMIL's (middle aged men in lycra) who were due to arrive after doing the trip in 10 days. They were raising for another cancer charity as the organiser had a kidney removed just 12 months ago. There were lots of tears when this group arrived. It was easy to empathise with them and helped to put our ride into perpective.

There were other events going on at Lands End; a wedding (high risk with regards to wedding photos given the potential for strong winds) and the finish line for a 44 mile cliff run that started at Lizard Point. Some guys had been running for 10 hours on a narrow cliff trail. All in all there was a lot of emotion in a small space at the end of the country.

The ride itself was not easy again. 57 miles at 12.5mph, climbing over 4700 feet. I was feeling twinges in various parts of the body and am very glad to give it a rest for a few days.

I'm putting together some photos for a final blog tomorrow. Thanks to everyone, once again, for their support. Now I'm off for a celebration meal.
  

Almost there

24 June 2011 7pm

A very good night’s sleep was had by all. This was not surprising as we are winding down and had that extra glass of wine, soaking up the atmosphere in the excellent Lamb Inn at Sandford. After a relatively light breakfast (no eggs) we were joined by Alan’s family (Sarah, James & Emma) who had set off early from London, before heading off into the lanes.

The lanes were narrow, winding, steep and flanked by tall hedges. The climbs up were not compensated by fast downhills as there was no way of knowing what was around the next bend (tractor, road junction, gate, cows etc). But the sun was out and we slowly worked our way through the four relatively big climbs before we reached Okehampton after 20 miles. After a quick cup of tea by the Motorway we then skirted Dartmoor and ended up in Launceston where I thought I had finally met the hill that I would have to walk up. It’s called St Stephen’s Hill and is a busy, narrow exit road from the town at the top of which is the Church of St Stephen the Martyr. I can only imagine he was the first guy to try and cycle the hill and failed fatally in the process. Three times I had to veer into a drive just to get 2 or 3 seconds respite from the incline and to keep my heart from exploding out of my chest. One or two degrees steeper and I would have had to push,

From Launceston we went over the top of the hills to the north of Bodmin Moor, peaking at around 1000 feet. We met with Sandra, Sarah and kids for lunch at Hallworthy before a final 15 mile descent into Wadebridge – fast but in a busy tight road and by now it was raining. In total 63 miles at 13mph with 5200 feet of climbing. Steve King was magnificent in keeping up with us – we’re getting used to all this climbing stuff and have trained for months – he joined us yesterday and I think he’s glad his two days are over.

We still have work to do tomorrow but we’re now confident of finishing. Mark’s bike still has gear problems but we are all OK physically and mentally (although some people would differ on that). I think we might have that extra glass of wine again tonight at our hotel, the Molesworth Arms.      

Welcome to Devon

Thursday 22 June 6.30pm

Axbridge is lovely but we had to leave.

Today was a relatively easy day, ‘only’ 67 miles and 3500 feet of climbing at an average moving speed of 13.9 mph.  It was fairly cold this morning, overcast and quite dull for the first 40 miles or so as we ground out the miles on the busy A38 through Bridgewater and Taunton.  A hot chocolate and slice of carrot cake at a Costa Coffee by the side of the M5 relieved the boredom followed by a few minutes sleep. Then Mark developed a problem with his gear switcher and we diverted to Tiverton town centre bike shop where it was fixed by someone who understood how these things work. Whilst waiting outside it was noticeable how many younger people wore studs in their faces. Perhaps I am maligning the fine people of Tiverton and there was a face piercing convention in town. Alternatively perhaps it reflects a lack of things to do in winter.

The novelty of cycling is wearing off and I am tired one minute and then mysteriously rediscover my cycling legs. There is no consistency in my ability to climb; I struggle on some hills that look easy and make steady progress on hills that are harder. This inconsistency makes every hill we approach quite daunting and we have a lot of hills again tomorrow.   

I was keen to get to our destination quickly. We left the A38 shortly after Tiverton onto the A361, and then, following a route we found on the internet, a network of back lanes that we navigated using the Garmin sat nav. This was the first time the Garmin has proved useful on the trip and it guided us through the rolling countryside we associate with Devon, via single track lanes and avoiding the worst of the hills.

The sun came out and after a final stiff climb out of Crediton we arrived at our destination at the Lamb Inn in Sandford.  Again we have been very lucky in our choice of accommodation – another 16^th century Inn with excellent rooms and wifi. If the food tonight is as promising as the Inn looks then we are in for a good night.

Thank you to everyone who continues to read this blurb and who has donated to the MNDA. I understand some people have had difficulties adding comments to the blog – please send me an email if you would like to add a comment and I will try to fix the problem.

For those who are interested in our route tomorrow, details can be seen on:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31079476

Yesterday's route is at:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31079400

Today's route is at:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31079442

We have 2 days to go. Tomorrow will only be 65 miles but almost 6000 feet of climbing. I am already feeling out of breath. Al’s family are joining us tomorrow night in Wadebridge and I’m looking forward to a pre final day celebration.
Highlight of the day: Arriving at the Lamb Inn – great rooms and shower.

Surprise of the day: Maximum speed of only 34mph on the A38 – I was going flat out downhill but again we had the wind in our face all day and this cost at least 5mph on this stretch of road.

Body report: Calf twinge this morning which was worrying but everything back working this afternoon.

Expectations for tomorrow: Short, sharp pains repeated every hour or so. 

Day 9 - the best and worst day

Thursday 22 June 7.45am

Alan had a good night’s sleep the last two nights courtesy of the ear plugs Sandra bought him on Tuesday. The ear plugs also had the mysterious effect of making Alan snore; so not only could he not hear me snoring, he also couldn’t hear me complaining about the noises he was making. Oh did he laugh as we enjoyed a lovely breakfast in an open sunny dining area yesterday. The Steppes bed and breakfast in Lugwardine is to be recommended.

However I was nervous; from the day we planned our route, day 9 was the day I was most worried about. I know the area reasonably well and the routing software told us we would need to climb over 6000 feet with 8 climbs worth mentioning.

The software was correct – we ended up climbing 6200 feet over 76 miles (at a low average of 12.5 mph even including a maximum 39 mph). I was mostly bringing up the rear, especially in the morning when the climbs were toughest coming over the Hereford hills, into Monmouth and then into Chepstow via Tintern.  These roads were difficult (for me) but the weather was good and the scenery along the Wye Valley was simply stunning. 

We had a couple of stops; first to inspect some poppy fields which have been planted to provide opium for licenced drug making– masses of red poppies with a background of rolling green hills. Unfortunately Mark left his sunglasses up here which he only discovered after cycling down the hill from the fields to the road so he had to cycle back up again – he was very annoyed so cycled quickly. Soon we stopped at the Tump Inn at Wormelow where Alan and I spent many hours some 25 years ago when we used to come to Hereford for fancy dress and cricket parties. This brought back many memories.

During a fuel stop in Chepstow (in the form of a large chip butty) a lens fell out of my sunglasses while we sat outside the fish and chip shop.  Alan spotted it on the pavement but I didn’t think it was mine and proved this by poking myself in the eye through the frame where the lens should have been.  Fortunately an optician was no more than 50 yards away and it was fixed in 10 minutes. 

Next stop was the Severn Bridge and this experience made the route worthwhile.  There’s a cycle path by the side of the road and we stopped at the middle of the bridge. It is huge, as is the expanse of water below. The currents below, wind blasts and the vibrations on the bridge as heavy trucks pass by make it a very physical experience.

Over the bridge we started on busy, dangerous roads but soon found back roads into Bristol. Alan took an instant dislike to Bristol and its steep hills. His response was to make up a very poor, abusive song about the place which he sang for the next 30 minutes until we reached Clifton suspension bridge. This was another fantastic experience – the Avon gorge below is a long way down and the views are spectacular (although we couldn’t stop for pictures).

A great ride down through a park took us into Somerset. Another few miles and we met up with Steve King at Barrow Gurney. Steve is joining us for the next 2 days and I last saw him 29 years ago when he recruited me at Schlumberger – I think I’ve changed more than he has in the meantime. He subsequently went on to work at Inchcape where he met Alan and they have remained good friends since.

The final ride to Axbridge was along the A38 which goes up and comes down, many times. Mark got to 41mph which is fast when you’re pedalling.  The arrival in Axbridge was superb. This is a wonderful 15^th century village mostly untouched over the centuries. We arrived at the Oak House Hotel in glorious sunshine and sat in the sun enjoying a beer overlooking the old market square and the 1450 ‘bistro house’. It is at times like this when you don’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Many of the old houses look like tyhey were built for Hobbits and are totally unsuitable for today's larger sized people. It really is a quaint village and I would like to spend more time here.

Sally was at Wimbledon today and got a bit of rain and it’s been raining at Glastonbury which is close by, but for us the weather has almost been perfect today. We have been lucky and the day has been memorable. We’re on the last stretch now. The sun is still shining as I'm waiting for breakfast to be served.

Farewell Cheshire & Shropshire, hello Herefordshire

Tuesday 21 June 11 pm

Themes for today:

1.       The further we go the prettier it gets and the less I care about it. We travelled through stunning countryside, back lanes, hidden valleys, ancient hamlets and villages and arrived at a lovely picturesque thatched cottage with a modern comfortable annex. I noticed it all but when you’re hurting it is hard to appreciate fully.

2.       Cycling from south to north is easier; cycling into a strong southerly wind for 87 miles is hard. When a gust hits you it is like the brakes are being applied and there were times when we did have to pedal downhill. The wind and hills brought our average mph down to 13.4 (6 hours 30 of cycling) and my average heart rate up.

3.       There are some big hills in this country which are not well known, probably because no-one is stupid enough to go up them. We found lanes on hills that have probably not been travelled since the time of Dick Turpin.  None of us know the names of these hills to the south and east of Shrewsbury; I did think up a few appropriate names, none of which I can divulge for risk of offending anyone reading this.

4.       Punctures happen. Not one of us had ever fixed a puncture for real and we all assumed that if we did get a puncture one of the others would have the necessary skills. We all knew this was a fiction. So when Alan got a puncture this morning, the moment of truth arrived. The truth was that we were far away from being Formula 1 pit stop efficient. The truth is that it took the 3 of us an hour to fix the puncture (and the puncture that immediately followed because we didn’t fit the first replacement inner tube correctly).  Our punishment for such ineptitude was to be denied lunch. Next time our target is 30 minutes.

5.       Sleep is important. Waking up at 5.20 am, blogging, breakfasting, applying heat rub (apologies to next occupant in my room at Crown Hotel in Nantwich), setting off at 8.30, arrive at destination at 6.30, knackered and in need of a leg massage (supplied by the fantastic Sandra) is likely to have repercussions. Today my legs felt like they were filled with lead.

Highlight of the day:  The fresh berry frozen slushy drink served up at Coast Coffee in Ludlow, just heavenly and put me into a 15 minute slumber from which I could easily remained for several hours if we didn’t have another 25 miles to go.

Surprise / (lowlights) of the day: Where to start?

1.       The route I mapped into my Garmin (GPS) disappeared so we had to rely on Alan’s maps ripped from a road atlas. I could live with the humiliation of a £10 atlas winning out against a £400 GPS. What made it totally demoralising was that Alan’s road map, unless I am mistaken, wrongly directed us up the road from hell – see below.

2.       The road from hell. My map showed only 2 ‘serious’ hills on our ride today. They both occurred within a 5 mile stretch and peaked out at 700 feet. Our route carried on to well over 1000 feet up a very steep, wet track which caused the wheels to skid and slip when you got out of the seat.  I was a feeble, panting wreck bringing up the rear. This track must have been built by ancient folk as a walking track because I’m fairly sure no horse ever had the energy to drag a cart up there.

3.       The other hills we didn’t anticipate; we ended up on the A49 on the basis that there was more certainty that the road planners go out of their way to avoid having major roads running up big hills. This theory worked well until we reached Hope under Dunmore just north of Hereford.  Some daft bugger cocked up and built a main road over a big hill when a tunnel would have been much more sensible. 

Body report: Sore, leaden, tired legs.

Expectations for tomorrow: Hilly!! Haha! Rain preferred to wind.

Anyway sleep is important so must finish now. Sandra had a stroke of genius today and bought some ear plugs for Alan so hopefully I’ll survive the night without him smothering me with a pillow. Anyway I’m more worried about the hills around Monmouth tomorrow.

Another long ride

Tuesday 21 June 06.30

My legs are now getting sore. Yesterday was another hard day, 94 miles at 15mph. We set off around 9 after a good breakfast and singing happy birthday to Alan's wife, Sarah. The Longlands Inn was a great stop and was very generous in donating to our charities. Chris joined us in the ride down to Preston and he set off like a man on a mission. The sun was shining, at last, and the 32 miles was covered in just over 2 hours via Lancaster. We had more bacon sandwiches and tea at Chris’s care home business (which was very impressive). We did think about checking in. Continuing down the A6 via Chorley and past Wingates where I worked for many years; on through Westhoughton, Leigh, Culceth, over the Manchester Ship Canal at Warbuton, Glazebrook, through Lymm, High Legh, Northwich, Winsford and finally to our destination at Nantwich.

The ride was a slog, being our third consecutive 90+ miler and we just wanted to get it over with so not much scenery was absorbed. It was heads down, watch out for the holes and count the different varieties of road kill (lots yesterday – hedgehogs need to walk faster).

Nantwich is a lovely place. We’re staying at the Crown Hotel in the centre which was rebuilt after the great fire of Nantwich in 1584. Everything is crooked including the stairs which lean to the left. Our bikes are stored on the first floor and we had to carry them up the stairs which required some balancing skills.  My legs were black from dirt picked up off the road so I had a quick shower before meeting up with my cousin Tony around 6 for a quick drink. He also resupplied me with jelly babies – thanks Tony.

Sally, Penny and Alex arrived at 7. We’re an hour’s drive south of Manchester and it was good to see them and recount some of the stories than can’t be published in the blog.  Sally brought some old pictures of Alan from university days; he bears a remarkable resemblance to his son James.  Alan expressed the view that I bear a remarkable resemblance to someone he knew at university, who snored like a rutting warthog and since the hotel had a spare room he had availed himself of it to get some sleep.  My children were sympathetic to his plight (thanks kids).

I had technical difficulties all day with my Garmin, PC and internet connectivity. Somehow I can connect this morning despite spending 30 minutes last night failing to do so. Technology!

Highlight of the day:  Arriving in Nantwich

Surprise of the day: How black my legs were from road dirt.
Body report: Sore legs and feet
Expectations for tomorrow: A bit easier (please).