The final Push - Lands End Sun 25 jul

St Agnes (Chiverton Services) - Lands End 32 Miles

Jane and my Dad dropped me off at 0900 and it was straight onto the A30 for the final push to Lands End.

I made great time to St Ives covering the 16 miles in under an hour which taking into account the hills was pretty good going.

I was traveling a bit lighter as i ground dumped my front bag (about 10kgs) which made a tremendous difference in the ride and handling.

Headed onto Penzance and then onto Lands End which had some cheeky hills, one of which i had to get off and push my bike as it was quicker than cycling.

Arrived at Lands End at 1120, got my my form stamped and signed the End to End book. I am now officially an "End to Ender".

My parents, sister and Jane turned up about half an hour later and I had the obligatory picture taken at the Lands End sign.

JOB DONE! NOW FOR THE NEXT CHALLENGE! ANY IDEAS?

A long Day - Sat 24 Jul

Tiverton - St Agnes Services (110 Miles)

After some loading my self up with carbs the night before and an early night I planned to get up and leave by 0600.

Everything was going to plan up until about 0615 when I got my bike out of storage and yes, a puncture! and it was on the rear which is a real hassle as you have to take all the gears off.

I checked the tyre and removed the inner tube to find a small bit of glass embedded in the tyre.

Anyhow 45 minutes later and two broken tyre levers I was loaded up and on my way. After much deliberation I decided to take the the main road for ease and less hills. Going across country to Okehampton looks like a good option on the map and was shorter but being a B Road the hills are plenty and fairly steep. So decided to head for Exeter which was about 16 miles.

So leaving at just gone 0700 I headed for Exeter which was a nice run with only a few slight gradients, following the valley most of the way.

Through Exeter and onto the dreaded A30 a road I have driven loads and so knew what to expect; Heavy traffic and lots of long steep hills.

I was assisted most of the way by a slight SW wind which helped immensely and made good time covering the 25 miles to Okehampton in a couple of Hours even with the hills.

The traffic was especially heavy with the School Holidays starting and it being changeover day. I did enjoy overtaking lots of traffic when the traffic backed up and I made some good time over some of the vehicles taking over an hour before the same vehicles I had passed past me again, "Pedal Power!"

Riding on the A30 or any other dual carriage way is an experience. You end up having to ride on the side which is narrow and normally covered with all the debris and glass from the road and the banks.

You need to have the reactions of a fighter pilot when descending at speed as margins are narrow; the lane being about 3ft wide and generally poor quality with reflective cats eyes to the right and drain holes every so often; this with all the debris means you are just concentrating on the road ahead making small adjustments at speed to avoid these obstacles which would end up being messy if you hit at speed. Having the white line to the right as well which is raised to to wake up drivers that sway off the road can also throw you off. All in all it does not make for good or easy cycling.

The day was hard and I was having to keep myself fueled up constantly so my leg muscles would carry on as the hills were never ending and the descents were fairly hair raising touching over 45mph on 16" wheels is quite an experience.

Launceston was the next stop over 17 miles and then onto Bodmin which was another 22 miles.

Time was pushing on and although I could have made St Ives I decided that as I had family visiting my parents in St Ives it would be nice to see them.

I arranged with my dad to RV at St Agnes Services at Chiverton Cross which was about 8 miles away. It took another 40 minutes to cover the final 8 Miles as the road was seriously hilly and my legs after covering 100 miles were starting to tire.

It was now 1620 and I had been on the road for over 9 hours but had covered about 110 miles. taking into account stops it had been a good ride. Pulling into the services I was met by Jane, my sister and my dad which was nice to see.

A quick 30 Minute drive back and it was home at my parents which was great and was especially nice as my Auntie Nancy, Uncle Harry, Sharon and her Husband Nigel were down from Foye visiting for the day.

First things first, a bath and shave of the 10 day old ginger beard! not a nice look and then a nice cuppa.

Only 32 Miles to go to Lands End but that can wait till Sunday.

A little bit of trivia! I found out that you can't break wind and cycle at the same time! you have to stop cycling. Strange but true.

No Rain Today And I can't Stop Eating

Chepstow-Tiverton 92 miles

After some porridge, toast and a couple of brews it was time to leave Mathern a small village just south of Chepstow.

A big thanks to Anne for putting me up and feeding me it makes a real difference.

A quick photo by the village sign and it was across the Severn and down to Avonmouth.

I should have learnt my lesson and stated off cycle tracks as you have no idea where you may end up.

A slight detour via a cycle route where I lost the road meant coming out on a road in the right direction but with no signs I ended going back on myself for half mile until I saw the severn bridge, "oops better turn back"

A slight wind behind makes all the difference and I made good time to Clifton Suspension Bridge.

A bit of a climb up to Clifton and was impressed with the town, very quaint.

Across the bridge and again a mass of signs and road markings.

The miserable bloke in the toll office who I walked pass let me walk a quarter of the way across only to find it blocked off due to maintenance. Nice one mate!

I went back thank him for his help and crossed over only to be told off by some jobs worth, "no cycling on the pavement" and pointed to another lane divided by paint.
I told him he was the first person to say that in over 600 miles and perhaps he and his mate on the other side should try and be a bit helpful Twat!

The nightmare continued with a shortcut that took me all over the place ( national cycle path again).

The signs say the route, dist, destination but half way down the road at a junction it's get your crystal ball out time!

Eventually I managed to get on the A38 towards Bristol airport and headed for Bridgewater and Taunton.

Along the way was a few cheeky climbs and with the weather being warn it was hard work. The descents were fast though lacing out at 42mph.

The A38 is a busy road with over 723 casualties in 5 years. I witnessed this first hand with a nasty accident causing massive tailbacks just after Taunton. The car was in a bad way and there was a lot of claret over the place. Not nice and such a waste.

Some of the drivers come so close and so fast it's unbelievable and quite un
nerving.

Bumped into a group of guys on road bikes who left on Friday last so it shows how many more miles they are doing per day to catch up, also they don't carry any luggage.

Arrived at Tiverton at about 17:15 so made excellent time, over 90 miles in about 7 hours cycle time.

One observation is that Iceland deliver! So not only do they sell frozen processed food but they deliver to exactly the people that should be exercising, not having their food delivered.

Early night tonight as a really long day and early start as I want to get as close to my parents house in St Ives.

Early start 0600.

Knees are holding out but my legs are a little tired.

Eating loads, today's intake;

Porridge
Toast
3 x Bananas
1 x Marathon (snickers in new money)
1 x energy bar
1 x carbo gel sachet
1 x McDonalds Chicken burger and chips
1 x chicken and pasta for lunch
1 x large Fruit and Nut bar
2 x flapjacks
1 x pasta and chicken (evening meal)
1 x chocolate cheesecake
1 pint Milk
1 x packet of peanuts
3 litres of carbo drink

Shrewsbury - Chepstow 110 miles

It was nice to catch up with PJ and his family and a big thank you to them for putting me up, washing my clothes and feeding me.

PJ's wife Alison dropped me of on the way to work at the place I had my puncture and it was off down towards Shrewsbury and Leominster. Leaving at 9:00 I skirted around Shrewsbury and it was a good run down to Leominster which was a good 43 miles.

A couple of hills but with a slight crosswind I made good progress getting to the lovely Market town of Ludlow for lunch (32 miles).

A lovely town with a nice feel and a great bakers so it was rude not to have one of their pies and chelsea bun which I had in the square.

After lunch and steep climb out of Ludlow it was back on the A49 and onto Leominster another 14 miles.

Once through leominster And a long steep climb up to Hereford with some fast downhill sections ( max speed 37mph) I managed to negate the traffic through Hereford and on to Monmouth.

The A49 is pretty narrow along this stretch so after another cheeky climb just outside Hereford I turned off onto the A466 which for the first 6 miles was pretty good and then the mother of all hills popped up. I managed mist of it but my speed was so slow it was quicker to walk up it.

The sun had been out most of the with the odd cloud so I was drinking more and it's the first time I have cycled just in my shorts and shirt all day.

After the mega climb it was a hairy descent into Monmouth for about 4 miles.

Popped in to see the Adjutant Dom for a break and to top up the water bottles as I was running dry.

I left Monmouth at about 16:45 and within minutes of leaving, bosh! The heavens opened up with bit of thunder and lighting thrown in.

18 miles to Chepstow and following the Wye valley the first 10 miles is good going and then a climb out of Tintern which was epic and hard as my legs were tired.

Soaking wet and cold I arrived at Annes house who fed me with a nice steak and washed my clothes.

Aching today and the hills are getting tougher as my accumulated tiredness kicks in.

Tired but looking forward to getting to lands end and seeing my family and Jane who is travelling over with my sister.

Road kill:

1x badger
1x rabbit
1x field mouse
3x Bee
1x kestrel

From Here It's All Downhill Sir.

Lancaster - Shrewsbury 110 miles

Up early today as I wanted to leave by 8:00 as I had a long day ahead.

The porter at the hotel wished me luck with " don't worry it's all downhill from here sir" What a Joker!

He was partially right as for the first hour it was pretty flat.

I was heading for Preston then on to Wigan which I had reached by about 11:45 and covered some good distance. A quick stop at McDonalds for a drink then I was on my way heading south.

The sun was in and out but it was fairly warm with only a few minor showers. It's the first time since I started that I took my long bottoms off and was in my shorts.

Through Chorley and onto the A49 heading for Whitchurch which I arrived at about 17:00, " great only 20 miles to go to Shrewsbury and it's a good run in mainly downhill.

Then about 9 miles out of Shrewsbury the heavens opened. I pulled over to put my waterproof on and my mate PJ pulled over in his car " fancy a lift?"

I thought I'd push on for the last few miles as PJ (a fellow Squadron Member) was putting me up for the night in Shrewsbury.

Within minutes I was soaked and the roads were awash with surface rainwater making cycling pretty tricky.

About a mile and a half I felt the front feel strange, looked down and, you guessed it a flat!

I decided to give PJ a call and he picked me up and went to his house.

The fold up bike was soon in the boot and we were of to Shrewsbury

His wife Alison was cooking some pasta and I jumped in the bath, ahh bliss.

After some good food I fixed my puncture which turned out to be some glass that had pierced the tyre.

The plan is PJ's wife will drop me of in the morning on the way to work where I was picked up so I can carry on to Chepstow.
Alison kindly washed my clothes and dried them and put my shoes in the airing cupboard to dry out.

Pj was a sight for sore eyes as I cud not be arsed sorting the puncture out there and then.

Not much else to report except that after nearly 10 hours in the saddle my backside is feeling a bit sore. Sudacream has been required.

I have to say there were a lot of people in Wigan with silly haircuts. May be it's a northern thing?

In summary a good day apart from the last 30 mins.

Road kill:

1x badger
2x rabbit
1x crow
1x starling

I'm Moving To Holland As It's Flat

Carlisle - Lancaster 72 Miles

A late start this morning as I was faffing around in Boots trying to find a decent knee support. After two visits and two neoprene knee supports sizes later I ended up using my tubular old standby bandage. I shall return the knee support when I get back as it's pretty useless.

I think Carlisle Council need to rethink how their roads are laid out. Talk about confusing, bus lanes, cycle paths, one way only, taxis only, more pedestrian crossings then St Helier all with different road markings and signs just causes sensory overload.

I managed to navigate my way out of Carlisle along the A6 straight into the first climb off the day. About 17 miles to Penrith and I was lucky with the weather with the rain stopping and the wind easing off so made good time.

On to Shap which was about another 10 miles of quite hilly roads.

Through Shap and headed to Shap Fell Pass which at 1300ft is pretty high. The climb up was pretty tough but the views from the top were amazing with the Yorkshire dales to the east and the hills of the Lake District to the west.

Again I seemed to be in a pocket of good weather.

Some club cyclists passed me on the way up with cries of " keep those small wheels turning mate good effort" as they sped past. Is at times like that I wish I was on my road bike travelling light instead of on my Brompton and carrying 12 Kgs of baggage.

A fast decent followed clocking 46 mph which was pretty hairy on my little 16" wheels.

Before I knew it I was in Kendal. At this point i would like to say thanks to the the fat family in their Citroën Piscaso that were to busy eating their McDonalds (driver included) and who nearly knocked me off my bike at a roundabout.

I could see the fat kid in the backseat with a Big Mac (probably supersized at the counter) stuffed in his gob looking at me saying" where did you appear from with your bright florescent waterproof on!

Never mind "drinking and driving" there should be a law against people, fat people eating McDonalds and driving full stop!

I was looking good for an early arrival in Lancaster but with 18 miles to go the heavens opened up and looking at the local news it's been the heaviest this year with 50mm in 1 hour.

Soaked and pretty risky on the roads with the conditions and traffic. The trouble is the more you cycle the more your aware that you are a second class citizen on the road. Most drivers just don't care . The road conditions on the side of the road are normally bad, potholes, drain covers, debris and big pools of water which hide a few surprises. It does not make for good cycling.

Eventually arrived at about 1700hrs so pretty good ride today all be it a bit shorter at 72 miles.

Most interesting thing seen today: sign that said you should be aware of red squirrels as if they were dangerous!

Road kill:

4x hedgehogs
2x rabbits
1x blackbird

. _?Q

England at last but it's still raining

What a day! Left Strathaven at about 8:30 and within 10 minutes it started to rain.

Getting out of the village proved difficult as the road signs were a bit vague and also road diversion to complicate matters. I decided to swallow my male pride and ask directions. The trouble was that I decided to ask the village idiot who totally confused me!

I eventually found my way out and headed for the B7078 which would take me alongside the A84(M).

The first 7 miles was very undulating and was passed by a lady out for her morning mountain bike ride. As she passed she shouted " cam on", I thought it's alright for you I've got another 80 miles to go!

The weather has been relentless with string headwinds and driving almost horizontal rain. This was to remain for the rest of the day.

Some of road south was very good with a good cycle path running on the old main road (national Route 74).

In summary the day was wet and windy and really tested my mental strength to keep going as I was struggling to make 6 mph. Apart from a couple of stops I was in my saddle for 11 hours.

Best thing seen today: A deer and it's fawn which was nice.

Road kill:

1x rabbit
1x cat
1x blackbird
1x hedgehog.

Total milage; 85 miles

England Within Reach

Nearly there! Should make Carlisle tomorrow.
Left Crianlarich this morning after a good nights sleep and a hearty cooked breakfast and porridge (Scottish style with salt).

Left at 9:30 again in the rain and a steady climb out of Glen Falloch towards Loch Lomond which was pretty good going although the wind and rain made things uncomfortable.

Again the scenery was spectacular.

Met a fellow local cyclist who rode with me for a while which was nice and gave a few tips on the route to take through Glasgow.

The sun came out about 11:30 which has been long overdue and I headed over the Erskine bridge and skirted round Glasgow via Paisley and East Kilbride.

Stopping off for something to eat I saw a McDonalds so I cycled through the drive-through only to be told "sorry we can serve you on your bike due to insurance and health and safety" unbelievable! I decided to pop into M&S and get some decent food.

The road through Paisley and east Kilbride was pretty bad, potholes and loads of traffic lights. It's also pretty undulating which does not make things easy with the knee which is giving me terrible pain.

I have bandage it up but it has become so painful I'm putting about 20% on my left knee with my right leg doing most Of the work. I can't even stand up out of the saddle as my knee just gives way.

Anyway made good progress with another 80 miles done.

Hotel is a god send with a nice bath and an ice pack should help .

Saw a great sign today which said " don't be a tosser!" throw your rubbish in a bin.

The state of the roads give away how rich or poor a local authority is. This has been evident with the state of the roads in Paisley compared to say more tourist areas.

Let's see what tomorrow holds.

Road kill seen:

1 x rabbit
2 x blackbirds

Cycling In The Highlands Get Me Out Of Here

Another long day in the saddle left Fort Augustus about 9:15 in the rain and headed for Fort William following the Caledonian Canal and Lochy. Stopped off for a photo shoot at the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge which provided some spectacular backdrops and is a fitting place for the impressive memorial.

Stopped off at Fort William for some food and tried to search for a bandage.

Ben Nevis was obscured by low cloud and cycling past the actual mountain range I carried out my winter mountaineering training.

My left knee has got worse today and have had to strap it up and start taking Ibrufen. It's an old injury from a pulled ligament that has reoccurred and is with me for the next 750 miles.

The ride to Glencoe was spectacular but dampened by the wind and rain. Climbing out of Glencoe I was lucky to have the wind behind me which made a big difference. A long climb out of Glencoe leading to Rannoch Moor at 1150ft

A real mixed bag of weather but at least the last hour and a half was dry with the sun making a appearance.

Scotland is bigger than you think and it's the BBC 's fault as they tilt the country on the weather report which makes Scotland look a lot smaller than it is.

Scotland is a beautiful country but I have not been inspired by the architecture, to sum up it's pretty dull and non-descript !

The Brompton continues to cause intrigue by people with even drivers slowing down to take pics.

But the comedy bike isn't that funny at moment as it's been hard going with the limited gear range.

Most interesting thing seen: A three wheeler Morgan and a Nice SII E Type

Road Kill: 1x Deer

Distance covered today 84 miles

Cycling Downhill

Left Dornoch this morning at about 9:15 after a nice breakfast and a good nights sleep.

Set of in the rain which is not a good start to the day. Within minutes I decided to don my £9.99 Argos yellow cycling cape which proved very effective against the heavy rain and spray from passing trucks.

Heading along the A9 south I decided to take a short cut by passing Inverness saving about 10 miles.

The trouble was I spent the next 3 hours on a undulating gradual climb which was hard work against the wind. I had about 2 hours of respite from the rain which was nice. The sun even made a appearance; be it all for about 10 mins.

Saw a few cyclists going the opposite way and they were flying with the wind behind them.

Again some stunning scenery and passed a lot of distilleries. Also in abundance were a lot of those Brown places of interest signs specifically aimed at american tourists searching for a past to their home "Glen this, Clan of Gunn, house of Ord etc".

I have noticed a huge amount of Germans and Italians over the last couple of days, of who I had to remind one that people queue in the United Kingdom when I popped into the post office in Drumnadrochit home of the world famous Loch Ness Museum.

Leaving Drumnadrochit at about 1600 I had another 18 miles to go to Fort Augustus following a very undulating road alongside loch ness.

Arrived at Fort Augustus at about 1815 which wasn't to bad considering the weather.

B&B tonight (thanks mum) as need to dry of my gear and get a good nights sleep.

Long day tomorrow heading to fort william and beyond to Grampian mountains with the weather looking the same.

A few strains and pains. I am going to ensure I stretch off every hour as it seems to make a difference.

The Brompton is going well but is a little hairy at speed, coming down to Drumnadrochit i had a cheeky 3/4 mile descent reaching 35mph.

Total mileage today 80 miles.

Best thing seen today: another bird of prey that flew alongside me briefly, pretty spectacular.

Road kill:

1x field mouse
1x hedgehog
1x frog
2x Blackbird
1x Small bird of prey

A bit of wind and rain doesn't hurt anyone!

However it can make you life quite uncomfortable.

Arrived at JOG this morning at about 0900 to find the chap who has the post that says JOG not there!

Great had photo taken a
D couldn't see much else due to the low cloud (RAF day of) and fine drizzle.

A bonus was the wind which was behind but not for long. I noticed that my little pump was pretty useless as the tyres need about 95psi to perform. I ended cycling the 17 tyres on flat tyres which was hard going.&

Next stop Wick where I attempted to pump my tyres up at the Tesco garage. What a surprise when I had to pay 20 pence for the privilege to only find out it was only capable of pumping out about 60 psi errghh!

I managed to find a tyre garage and they pumped them up and what difference, flying! Lesson learnt take decent pump.

Saw a few cyclist's going the other way with the wind behind them and strangely hav'nt seen anyone else on a brompton. After 80 miles I know why.

Arrived in Dornoch and headed straight for the B&B my mother kindly sorted out for me, thx mum x.

A lovely soak in a bath, sudacream, ibulieve and tiger balm and of for some scoff. Burger and chips and i think it's hit the sack. Shattered.

Best thing seen today: a bird of prey big enough to take a small child.

Still no deep fried mars bars.

Road kill:
2 x blackbirds
2 x Segulls
1 x vole
4 x hedgehogs Ahhhh
3 x rabbits

Quite low, it shows how considerate the Scottish are when it comes to animal welfare

Scotland is beautiful but I can see why most of Scotland live elsewhere.

The challenge begins

In Wick at the moment and not what I expected. It's all very drab and grey. The weather does not help but It seems that slot of these small towns in highlands once had a magnificent past with fishing etc and they now seem a shadow of their former pasts.
An interesting journey up, especially the train where I witnessed my first ever scheduled "fag stop!" unbelievable! The sad thing was I had already identified the offenders before they stepped out on the platform.

Most exciting thing seen today: A Tornado GR something flying very low justifying why we have an RAF harsh I know but true.
Still on the lookout for deep fried mars bars, it's only a matter of time.
Most thing or things seen today: Ginger people there are bloody hundreds of um! Must be all that Iron Bru.

Is my bike going to be there?

I have to say that BA have been very good, £35 to take my bike straight through even though the connecting flight is with flybe. But will the bags turn up and will my bike be in one piece?

Heading to Wick tonight and staying overnight there. John o groats in the morning and the journey begins. Looking forward to the challenge, apart from the weather which is forecast rain for the next four days. Rain and wind a cyclists worst nightmare.

A big thank you to Jane for all her help and support, much appreciated. And thanks to all those that have donated already.

D-13 Picked Up Video Camera

Picked up a Digital Camera today courtesy of Alan at Orchid Communications who has lent me his own personal video the camera so I can shoot a Video Diary whilst on the ride. The plan is for CTV to do a short piece on the ride. I must remember not to swear too much!

Next week is the big week for getting everything sorted and packed. As I am travelling Solo unsupported I will need to travel light and with the airlines current weight and baggage allowances it means I am going to have to selective in what I take. As they say "Travel Light- Travel Fast" or "Travel Light and end up rather smelly".

Rest day today as I had a good 40 mile ride yesterday.