A LEJOG Diary for Bike1000 June 2006

2006-06-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

Day 14 to John O'Groats Friday 23/6/6
We made it. This last leg of the journey was relatively easy, with the hills getting smaller the closer you got to the end. We passed Dounreay Power Station which seemed quite popular as a tourist stop. But in truth we were just trying to get to the end as quickly as possible by now so we could make our way home.
We arrived at John O'Groats around 2:30 and it is much less developed than Land's End. It still had tourist shops, but also a small working harbour and seemed a lot more open.
That afternoon we drove down to Selkirk arriving around 10pm and stayed and the same B&B, went to the same pub. It was great to see much of the route we had travelled on by bike from a van. Did we really ride up such big hills?
Back home by 6pm on Saturday. We decided not to go for a short ride on our bikes - at least not for a few days.
978 miles gone - finished.

Thank you to the great many people who have sponsored us and helped us through this trip. It was always a great motivator on the occassions when you wondered why you were there, usually in the cold and wet. Would I do it again? Well not this year, maybe I'll wait until I'm 70 like my Uncle Dave did.

Regards
Ed

2006-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Day 11, 12 & 13
Day 11 to Newtonmore, near Aviemore Tuesday 20/6/6
Probably the best day of the trip by some way. From Drum we traveled through the Glen of Devon to Dunning. A quiet road with stunning views to end with a breathtaking sight of the Grampian mountains which we were then aiming for.
On the way across the valley we picked up route 77 of the National Cycle Network. This effectively followed the river Tay all the way to Pitlochery (the most expensive place in Britain for jacket potatoe at Â£5.50). The route to Newtonmore was then on NCN7 which is broadly the old A9 road. A brilliant surface to ride on and loads of space. The only snag was that it started to rain at the beginning of the climb where we read a sign that said even in Summer conditions at the summit could beappallingg! Brave (or is that stupid) souls that we are we carried on. By the time we got to the top we were drenched, but what we were looking forward too was a very long descent down the hill. It was brilliant for 10 miles or so we hardly peddled. We finished at 7:30 having travelled around 95 miles and straight in to the hotel which was able to offer a great drying room.
That evening was spent in the local Italian and then on to the pub which was a Camra award winner - I wonder if we would suffer the next day?

785 miles gone - we are starting to think of the finish

Day 12 to Evanton, north of Inverness Wednesday 21/6/6
A miserable day from start to finish. It was a bit drizzly but the main problem was the wind, or as Breakfast news said, gales - we were cycling straight into them, and it was hard work. We went through Aviemore, which has got tackier, if you ever come up here stay in one of the nearby villages they are much nicer and better value (Aviemore: most expensive flapjack in Britain at £2.50, and not very good).
The wind was so strong at one point it blew me from one side of the road top the other. This was unfortunate as by now we were on a public highway and there was a river on the other side. I bounced of the side of the wall and just about kept on the bike. Not good so from then on, I in particular was very cautious not wanting to go too fast in case the wind caught us again.
We then went onto the A9 as a short cut to Inverness and the bridge over the river. I am sure we would have been more comfortable riding along the M4, it was terrifying. The cars were flying past, we were going down hill at a rate of knots and the gale was blowing. As for the bridge I ended up scootering across as the side fence was quite low and between the lorries and the wind you kept being pushed into the fence.
The good news was that we made our original destination target, Evanton. The day was appropriatelyly ended as the pub then had a power cut, so we were all asleep by 10pm.

Day 13 to Bettyhill, on the Northern coast Thursday 22/6/6
At least today was dry and wind dropped a little, but it was still straight into us. We were traveling through the remote Highlands, vast areas surrounded by mountains and not even any sheep! When we did see houses they often had in the driveway tractors with caterpillarer tracks.
The Lochs we we saw were huge and scenery was just brilliant. The last 20 miles was through and area that that had suffered with the clearances of around 1812. It was very sad to see the places where whole villages had been thrown off the land. Bettyhill is on the Northern coast of Scotland and it has a magnificent beach: mountains down to the water and sand dunes. The sunset and the sea view was well worth the £20 a night B&B we were paying at the local hotel. The King of Denmark for some reason used to frequent this place during WW2.

926 miles gone - And now the end is near ---

Ed

2006-06-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Day 10 to Drum near Kinross Monday 20/6/6
A great day from start to very near the end. From Selkirk we headed back towards the original route at Peebles. Here we were met by Michael Hughes (of T. P. Hughes, Tenby) and family - they were checking up on us to make sure the sponsorship was valid. It was very funny as when they honked their car horn at Richard he assumed it was someone looking for a fight.
Then on to Edinburgh where the route took us through the centre (Princess Street) and then to the Forth Road Bridge which we hit at the rush hour. Fortunately there is a cycle track but that was very busy too. Great views from the bridge.
Ray suggested we take a short cut through Dunfermlin so of course we got completely lost - despite asking for directions from the police! Never mind the hotel at Kinross was great, big rooms and friendly staff, and David Dimbelby was staying that night too ( but he forgot to interview us). Did you know Kinross was where curling was invented.

691 miles gone - we are getting close.

2006-06-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

Day 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9! There are not many internet cafes onroute.
Day 5 Ross to Little Wenlock Wednesday 14/6/6
A ride through familiar country - Leominster, Ludlow to finish at the top of the Wrekin. We met up with our Dutch friends (Rinus and Dick) again and rode with them for 15 miles or so. Dick was raising money for a local hospice in Gloucester whilst Rinus who is a retired fisherman was riding for fun.
The countryside is rolling hills and posh houses. There has been a lot of money here for some time. Richard booked us into the Best Western at Ironbridge another 2 rosette hotel. Can our luck hold? It was probably the best food so far.
Our luck did not hold out, the next morning we had a major problem with the bill. After an hour the manager turned up and agreed to the figure we thought we had already agreed to. A lesson learnt.
341 miles gone.

Day 6 To Hoghton near Blackburn Thursday 15/6/6
100 miles in one day!!! My first century.
The ride from the Wrekin through Cheshire and Manchester was as flat as you could hope for. The average speed was 14mph. It was the day of England's 2nd match so we guessed the roads around Manchester would be quieter. What we had not realised was that possibly we could have done with a police escort through North Manchester, it was very rough.
We finished at 10:30mpm the light virtually gone and in fits of laughter. I had got faster over the last 15 miles, despite the first signs of hills, just so we could beat the light and make the 100.
We stayed at the Best Western at Camelot! A major theme park. The rate was not quite as good but the bed was well appreciated.
441 miles gone

Day 7 to High Bentham Friday 16/6/6
We took it easier today, visiting Paul Hewitt's bike shop in Leyland to get a few adjustments to my bike. Here we were chatting to Gethin who works with Paul. He me
ntioned that he had done the End to End trip in 2001. We asked how long it had taken him - 1 day 20 hours 4 minutes - he is the current record holder! Paul told us that Gethin on arriving at John O'Groats then turned round and carried on cycling to claim the UK 1000 mile record. Really nice people.
This was a hard day after the previous days efforts. We only did 40 miles that afternoon. The Pennines hit us with a vengeance. We stayed at a great B&B with Jill and Glen. Glen is a keen cyclist and took Richard's bike out for a ride.
481 miles gone.

Day 8 to High Bankhill near Penrith Saturday 17/6/6
Another shattering day. The mountains are beautiful but my legs are shot.
A near death experience coming down the A685 towards the Tebay M6 junction. I am flying down a hill at 35+mph and a Morrisons lorry decides to come towards me on my side of the road . Unfortunately there is a stream of traffic following him so I have no option but to ride the rather small gap between two lorries coming towards me. I was bouncing along the cats eyes and just hung on. Oh and it was on a bend too.
Our luck with hotels completely left us tonight. We ended up in a B&B in Carlisle which probably took illegal immigrants normally. Carlisle was like St Mary's Street, Cardiff and Wind Street Swansea combined. Still the Italian restaurant was good. Richard was pleased that the B&B was the cheapest accommodation so far, I think they should have paid us.
542 mile gone - over half way.

Day 9 to Selkirk Scotland Sunday 18/6/6

To be honest I just wanted to come home at breakfast. I was fed up being tired We set off and for the first 3 miles I was riding at maybe 9mph. Then we met Barry who rode along with us for the next 10 miles to Brampton. He was great fun and turned out to be an ex world champion triathlete and at 53 was still competing in national championships. My average speed increased to 16mph over that section. The tiredness seemed to go. The highlight was beating Barry on a hill to his surprise - but to be fair he and Richard had slowed down for the railway crossing that I bounced over just prior to the hill starting.
As we crossed the border we met the group from www.specialride.co.uk. These people were amazing. They were doing the same trip as us in 13 days with some great guys with special needs riding at the back of a tandem. They had raised Â£65,000 so far for the trip and they deserved every penny. A fantastic experience for the likes of Laurence as well as a major boost to their charity.
Did I mention it rained all day. A change of route was called for so we stuck to the longer but thought easier and more sheltered A7. This time the B&B was brilliant, loads of space, clean, friendly and on the route, no traveling. So we had our first Indian on the trip and enjoyed the local pub
A much happier day.
612 miles gone and Edinburgh 40 miles away.

2006-06-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Day 4 Tuesday 13/6/6 Cheddar to Ross on Wye

The by now standard climb, this time up the Mendips. But Praise Be! it was then flat all the way to Chepstow. A quick stop at Clevedon where we waved to Richard's customers in Barry. On to Avonmouth where we stood outside my customer, Heatstore's office and waved.

Then the heaven's opened and we got soaked and some. The trip to the Severn Bridge was interesting: lorry after lorry sped past and soaked us.

Then we went back into Wales and the sun came out as it always does. Ray met us and gave us a great pasta meal as well as the usual goodies.

Then back into England and suprisingly another huge climb to Coleford. The bonus however was the descent down to the river Wye and Ross on Wye a very pretty area.

Richard excelled himself by booking us into the Best Western at Ross, Pengethley Manor. The food, wine and service were excellent. I could do this again.

276 mile down, loads to go.

Ed

2006-06-13T00:59:00.000-07:00

Day 3 Monday 12/6/6 End To End
I hate Exmoor. It may have very pretty villages, thatched cottages, cute fords but it has huge hills. At the the top of the first one which went on for miles I had my Buster Keaton moment - on meeting Richard at the top I said "you are never going to believe this, but I found that hard" and promptly fell off my bike! Now one of us found this very funny whilst the other has been moaning about a sore wrist ever since.

Revenge is sweet however as when we checked our fastest speed at the bottom of Exmoor I had beaten Richard by 0.1 of a mph at 41.5mph ( I told you it was high). He spent the rest of the day vainly trying to get the record back. He has no chance until we get to the Pennines.

Now someone is taking the mickey. From the bottom of Exmoor you then go up the Quantock Hills. Why did they not join them together? It hurt.

The journey down To Bridgewater was followed by beautiful flat land to Cheddar. I had forgotten what the flat was like. To cap it all Richard had booked us into the Great Western Hotel at a fantastic rate and we spent the night in luxury, great.

Special mention for Ray who has really perfected the pit stops for us. We are greeted with tea, fruit, cakes etc. Just the job to get you fired up for the next leg.

202 miles gone, loads to go.

Ed

2006-06-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

Day 1 & 2 of LEJOG
Day1 True to form we are all stressed out at the beginning. Nervous tension or right bolshi, take your pick. Our farewell crew of Lesley & Linzi coped very well (of course they did they have had plenty of practice) They let us get on with it.

Richard nearly hit a German who inadvertantly tried to push in at the Land's End photo post, but the bloke was quite understanding! Anyway at 10am we finally got on the road, 8 miles later we made our first map reading error - I think that is a record. Now we were ok.

Before we started we said we would take it easy and just enjoy the ride. Then I realised we would never get to Truro by 2pm to watch England play! So today was the first and last time I had ever been called a boy racer - by two Dutch blokes who I tore past on a hill. Honest that does not happen often if ever. The match was a bit dull but then again they won.

At 7pm we reached our predetermined destination Wadebridge in one piece. The B&B was in Padstow where we had a great meal over looking the harbour and drank far too much. Lovely.

Day 2
This is the business. Now it felt like a holiday. We got 15 miles up the road and found the British Cycle museum. We were the only two there and the owner gave us a guided tour: bliss.
Boscastle and Bude were pleasant stops. Shortly after we met Larry from Little Rock, Arkansas who had a sat nav on his bike, very impressive except he was going the wrong way. Larry rode with us for a while and was great fun. This was his second End to End trip, the first one being the best experience he had ever had. Just what we wanted to hear.

When we reached Great Torrington our intended stop we felt so good we carried on. The next 15 miles to South Moulton was the hardest most painful bit so far: 25% hill followed by 20% hill. We were shattered so we went to the pub. Another great day.

136 miles down loads to go.

Ed

2006-06-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

The LEJOG training is at an end, but has been enough to get us from End to End? Yeah, easy - no bother (he lies).

The last two weeks we have tailed down the mileage considerably as we concentrated on fund raising for Macmillan Cancer Support. The response from friends, customers, suppliers and the public has been tremendous. As of today we are over £2200 and our target is now £3000.

The charity rather than us has been the draw. So many people have been touched directly or indirectly by Macmillan and they are so keen to help - as we have been.

We spent two afternoons on a Turbo trainer (or more accurately Richard did) first in Tenby and then in Saundersfoot. The general public stumped up almost £500 and again it was their respect for Macmillan that made this such a success.

As regards the trip we are all raring to go and hoping the weather stays kind for us.

Thanks again to all of you who have supported us so far, or are about to do so. Your donations do make a difference and they have certainly motivated us to another level.

Regards
Ed

2006-05-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Medicine and mechanical stuff have never been strong points with me. Ask me to work out a route, train timetables, budgets etc and I am ok. Luckily I have been rescued from my uselessness by my wife, Lesley, who despite not having formal training knows everything about illnesses and more importantly how to get better.

I could not understand, again, how it was that the more I trained the worse I felt. The easy solution, when you are a medical genius, is to prescribe multi vitamin pills. I have now been taking these for around three weeks and I feel loads better. It seems I needed a top up as the training was using up all the vitamins from my diet and therefore leaving me lethargic.

Secondly and probably more embarrassing was a mechanical deficiency. My chain needed oiling! Thank you to Enterprise Cycles in Neyland for spotting this difficult mechanical issue. It is so much easier to pedal when the chain can go round easily. They also spotted that my chain was worn and I subsequently got them to replace it and the rear cog set. Now my chain does not come off: amazing.

So with renewed vigour the training was taken up a level. We spent one weekend in Carmarthenshire around Llandovery, Carmarthen and Llanelli. Fantastic scenery, greatly under rated, I guess it suffers from being next to Pembrokeshire, which takes most of it's glory.

The toughest weekend was riding up to Brecon from Cardiff along the Taff Trail. A great route but there is nowhere to eat along it, so were trialling disgusting energy bars: I think I would rather do without than eat the ones we had. The next day we cycled from Brecon back to Manorbier, all 82 miles and nearly 6,500 feet of climbing. Our longest and hillyest ride this year. The encouraging point for me was I still felt able and willing to go for a short ride the next day.

This week has seen some high winds and rain so the mileage has slumped. There is only so much training in the rain you can do before common sense kicks in and you stop.

The training is nearly at an end and the final preparations for the trip are all going along well. The fund raising has also taken a lift and we are already at ÃÂ£600+. The next few weeks hopefully should see that grow considerably, thank you to all of you who have helped so far.

If you would like to donate because the prose has moved you so much please log onto www.justgiving.co.uk/bike1000

Regards
Ed

2006-05-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Training in Manhatten has been the highlight of the past three weeks. Well training might be a bit strong Lesley and I rode up Broadway, through Time Square to the Staton Island ferry and then down the cyclepath on the Hudson river side. Oh and we crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge. A brilliant short holiday added to by our guide being a movie star, or at least he has a short talking spot in a new film All The King's Men which has loads of famous bods in it. Anyway Charlie was a very good guide and good luck to him in his career.

My mileage went up considerably last week with the Bank Holiday. I completed two very hilly rides on Saturday and Sunday, around 110 miles and 11,000 feet of climbing. Broadly I was following Route 47 from Llanelli to Fishguard, a very pretty, but hilly route. The downside is I was dead on Monday. I went through terrible pain to complete 19 miles. I thought I would never ride again.

My training guru has however given me a telling off for not taking enough rest days. I do not understand but after a rest of 36 hours I seemed ok again if just a little stiff. So there we are I have to take 2 days off per week. How your body knows on the actual trip that you need to keep going for 14 days heaven knows.

Talking of my Svengali he took part in a horrendous race/ride at the weekend. The Forest of Dean suicide race: 80 miles, 8,000 feet. I feel ill just thinking about it. Richard averaged 14 miles per hour over the course although he was dead by the end. Apparently if he had worn Assos he may have had an even better time judging by the other competitors in the event.

Regards
Ed

2006-04-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well this is a first for me ,Those who know me well would say I should be sponsored to write this Blog, I don't do paper work !.Well as you have all ready read Ed s not well with flu / cold. I would put this down to over training and he's done me a favor as I have taken To day off from training, am really tired .My New bike is just great I don't want to come home I'll do a Quick Twenty and be just coming in to Tenby and the turn and do five more .Twice last week I went around a small circuit just to make up the miles , one was on my route back in to Tenby by Carew it adds two miles up and Two miles back I was riding around it 3 times and the other was around the Esplanade in Tenby 5 times round adds a mile SAD! b

2006-04-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

A new routine started this week - commuting by bike to work.

The hardest part is getting up at 6am ready to be out on the road just before 7, not something I am noted for. Anyway it all worked really well, although the frosty mornings have been a surprise. If I did not sell electric heaters I would have been cheesed off- but it is good for business.

The return trip home in warm sunshine has been a real bonus, I had almost forgotten how warm weather felt. There have been quite a few other cyclists which is great to see. I raced one on Thursday for around 6 miles - he did not know he was in a race, but he won anyway, this time.

This week I got my bike computer up and running again. I had been happy to do with out whilst building up some sort of stamina but now I am doing a regular journey it is useful to bench mark my progress. The round trip is 30 miles with nearly 1800 feet of climbing so it should be a good base for Lejog if I can keep it up.

The real bonus of commuting is you get 2 hours training for the price of 1, as I would have spent at least an hour traveling in the car anyway. Consequently I am not disrupting the families routine too much.

Friday saw me wrecked by bird flu, or possibly a cold, either way I have not seen my co-cyclist Richard this week. He has been tearing up his speed records on his new bike so I will remain in his wake for some time. Thankfully he has also got rid of the squeak on his bike which could have become quite annoying over a long day.

Today we have also set up our charity donation web site at www.justgiving.com/bike1000 so I hope this helps people donate to Macmillan on our behalf.

Regards
Ed

2006-04-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Last week was terrible!!

I hit the wall, bonked (a strange cycling term - not something you wish to happen), came off the rails, just felt rotten for the first time this year. It was so bad I took three days off.

The problem has now been resolved though. I was not eating enough. You can not cycle apparantly 6 days a week on the same basic diet you had before you started. I know that is obvious but it was quite good seeing the weight come down only last week my energy levels collapsed. The solution has been great - double size lunches. Hopefully this new regime will have an impact.

On top of the energy problem I had three puntures in three days! And that was after going 3,000 miles with only one previous puncture. More embarrasing the third puncture happend on my first attempt at commuting to work.

On a more positive note a did manage to get to work and back on Friday by bike, so I was able to christen the new shower block, and very nice it is too. A picture is attached primairily to stop Richard asking me all the time to post one.

The grotty week was completed when Richard and I rode out to Pendine where we met up with Andy, a really good bloke. Andy let me borrow his Trek Pilot 5.2 (bikes can be quite techie), a machine I had been keen to buy. After a very fast ride to Laugharne and then back along the coast to Pendine Sands we hit Pendine hill. For the first time in a year I had to get off and push! The humiliation of it all.

I know I could have got up that hill with my Hewitt Cheviot. It weighes twice as much if not more than the Trek and is made of steel none of this modern carbon stuff. You see it is all down to the gears. Why do the press keep this a secret! Yes a lighter bike with the same gear ratios would be better but there seems a reluctance by manufacturers to give you an easy life. Still now I know not to spend a small fortune on the Trek.

Richard unveiled his new titanium bike. Very nice it is too, it goes very fast and looks the business. It is not quite for me as it does not take mudguards, so you get a muddy streak up your back and he does not want to ride it in the rain? The compact gearing was not for a wimpy cyclist like me, it nearly killed me trying to ride up the hilll at Amroth. So it back to the drawing board as regards my next bike.

Hopefully next week will be much better!

Regards
Ed

2006-03-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

We are Ed and Richard from Tenby in the UK. With the help of Ray our support driver we intend to cycle the 1000 miles from Land's End To John O'Groats -LEJOG- or End to End or a b-- long way during 2 weeks in June 2006.

The ride will hopefully raise a lot of money for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

You can read more about the ride and the charity on our website www.bike1000.co.uk

This blog is intended to update you on our preparations for the ride and give daily reports once we start.

For the past two months we have been training for the trip. So far we have not been stopped by the police - despite our strange behaviour. Lycra clad, cycling in the dark, cold, snow and rain we should not have been let out unsupervised.

With the clocks turning back this weekend hopefully the training will appear less clandestine and we will not have to wear so many layers to keep warm.

We have been ramping up the miles most weeks and a major increase is about to occur as I start to cycle the 14 miles to work (so it is bound to rain a lot). Thanks to Consort who have installed a shower block for me. If this commute does not prepare me for the trip I'm in trouble.

This week should see the finishing touches to our web site - thanks to Chris for all his hard work- the bank account should be active ready to receive all the Macmillan cheques. Please let us know what you think about the site.

We have booked the first accommodation so I guess we are well committed to the trip now.

I will do my best to keep the blog updated on our progress towards the trip.

Regards
Ed
26/3/6