Woohoo, I’ve been invited to join a fellow JOGLEr, Tom Patterson, on his final leg of his JOGLE. Tom has been held up since September because he had a ‘cardiac arrest’ just south of Bristol last year!
What an honour to ride with someone who simply hasn’t given up. I’m looking forward to getting back to my previous ride fitness levels ASAP.
1st day of Spring & the clocks go forward this weekend, it’s also 8 months since I finished my ride and I am missing the focus it gave me. Beginning to nurture an idea of doing an unsupported solo LEJOG next year!
Due to the miles we put in the day before I only had 35m to go from The Lizard to Land’s End which didn’t warrant a break apart from waiting for my ride partner to catch up and a few route consultations in Penzance to try and work out where our route was trying to take us!!
I explained to my ride partner I was going to stop 2-3 miles out to change into the T-shirt my son had made for me, thinking we would ride to the finish together from that point. However to my surprise rather than stopping she chose to ride to the finish alone! Somewhat disappointing, however despite that I was exceedingly pleased to have finished the ride with over half a day to spare from my original target.
Of course then there is the customary picture to be had by the Land’s End Signpost before I headed of to stay with one of my best friends who had conveniently rented a house in Polzeath
The End (of this ride)
I would like to thank all those that gave so much support in my preparation for this adventure, especially my family from whom I was absent for so long during my training. and those that have so generously sponsored me. THANK YOU ALL
The original plan was to ride from Okehampton to Redruth via a lunch stop in Padstow however the thought of getting to The Lizard became very attractive as that would mean I had achieved “Top to Bottom” in 11 days and would only leave a short ride for the final push to Land’s End. The ride down the old A30 to near Launceston was fabulous as I covered quite a few miles quite quickly with very little traffic. The hills were long and drawn out which was a refreshing change from the Herefordshire experience of Day 9!
During this ride I began to have an absolute loathing of bridges! Yes, I know bridges can be things of beauty however when cycling bridges are the pits of a dip and therefore reaching one means you are going to have to climb from that point on (99% of the time) or so I thought until I came across this little beauty:
As you can see this one saved quite a steep climb as it linked the top of two hills.
I had often wondered what the other end of the Camel Trail (Wadebridge to Padstow) was like and this was my opportunity to try it and as you can see the views were wonderful.
The Chelsea of cycle paths
The coastal road to Newquay was sweltering and my Garmin registered 86f at one point despite the temperature and the hills it was somewhat of a pleasure compared to the A3075 from Newquay to Redruth which must have as much traffic as a minor motorway. Of course ‘sod’s law’ says if you’re going to get a puncture it has to be at the worst of places so sure enough along came puncture number 5. Quick change of inner tube should fix it? No the valve blew out of the inner tube!! 2nd inner tube had been given to a stranded Dutch cyclist 2 days previously and I had forgotten to pack a replacement in my cycle bag!! Thankfully I did have some glueless patches that kept me going for 5miles before I had to pump up again (x5)!!
After 11.5hours on the road I reached The Lizard
Mainland UK's most southerly point! Just caught the last of the sun with my beautiful daughter
Ride statistics = 106miles over 7,000ft of climbing!
95 miles to Okehampton!
Writing from iPad without WiFi so will be very brief. Great ride down to Bridgwater from where we broke our route principal of avoiding A roads and realised how boring it must be for those that do an End o End on them, in my opinion! ‘A’ roads are about destinations as they simple connect you/them in an efficient way. My route was about connecting with the scenery/countryside as much as possible. Anyway I digress, we did our ‘A’ road bit and the got into Devon where we had hoped to have built up enough strength to take the hills in our stride! Only glitch with that theory is that we had not allowed for the exhaustion factor so them hills were blooming hard work!!
Kington to Congesbury
Probably our worst night’s B&B in Prestiegne and what a struggle to get going after our day of racing each other the day before. Today proved to be a serious mapping error day or certainly morning! It appeared we had endless short hills and then sharp descents on single track gravelly roads which meant before you could blink you had to climb again. By the time we got to Monmouth and lunched in Waitrose we decided to deviate from our planned route, up & over to Chepstow as neither of us could face another hill.
Endless hills to begin on tired legs was not much fun but crossing the bridge to Bristol was! It felt as if we had arrived home, well certainly onto home turf and familiar roads. Our arrival to England was all the more special as a friend, Owen Neal, rode out from Keynsham to meet us and accompany us to Pill. Thank you Owen we needed that boost more than you may realise! Nine days of riding were really beginning to exhaust us
Shortly after we left Owen at Pill Sara met up with her dog, in the company of Nigel & wife, and during our stop a family of stranded Dutch cyclists appeared who needed an inner tube as they had an unrepairable puncture! Their chances of finding a bike shop on a Sunday evening were non existent so I gave them one of mine hoping that 4 punctures later I wouldn’t need it.
We were both delighted to arrive at Sara’s house in Congesbury, she so she could collapse in her own home and I so I could drive 40 mins home to a waiting wife, bath and my own bed. I had been advised that this might not be such a good idea as getting up the next day might prove impossible however given my exhaustion, the bad night’s sleep the night before I was prepared to take that risk.
Will complete detail on return
Old Acton – Kington, our race day.
As I decided to go and buy a new tyre Sara started ahead of me! I nearly caught her but when I found out I was only 2 miles behind decided that an ice cream had become irresistible. We met up for lunch @ Baschurch village fete that simply epitomised quintessential England. The local brass band were playing merrily away the primary children proudly performing against the backdrop of the local fire engine. Lunch was a delicious burger & a hot dog cooked by some charming volunteers who most generously given a fiver for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Sara was convinced she rode faster than me until she saw my Garmin showed a higher average speed! We kept our pace up until we came to what we discovered to be the worst hill of our whole trip. This was shortly after Habberly alongside Westcott Wood en-route to Bridges. This was the first and last time I was pushed to the point I thought I might have to get off and walk a bit!! However I managed to draw on what little reserves I had and push on up. Sara couldn’t quite do it and she was bitterly disappointed especially as this was our most competitive day.
We were so glad to find the Wentnor Village Store a little further down the road where we were able to buy a much needed ice cream and cold drink as not only was the climb hard the temperature rose to 30c and we were HOT. Despite refilling our water bottles at the same time our thirst meant we had to stop for water again this time at the Royal George pub in Lingen and a generously regular gave me another fiver!! It wasn’t too long before we finally made it to Kington and were truly relieved to have caught up the distance we lost the day before.
High Bentham to Acton Bridge
What a start to the day, a very long climb up Tatham Fells and onto Lythe Fell. Reaching the top 50minutes later was a huge relief and we then enjoyed a lovely descent to Slaidburn. When we found the Country Kitchen in Waddington we couldn’t believe our luck as the ladies there had a wonderful selection of home made food. So our mid morning snack became more like an early lunch as we fuelled up after our early climb.
As the hills diminished as the weather got worse, again, and we negotiated the urban sprawl of Blackburn. We happened across the Top Lock Inn @ Wheelton where we decided to have a quick break. The sight of the Leeds to Liverpool canal tow-path heading south looked too tempting compared to the climb we were meant to go so we asked a few locals if it would take us where we were hoping to go. The general consensus was it would so a change of route was agreed and as the heavens opened we took to the rather gritty/bumpy tow-path but enjoying a break from hills. Not quite so sure of the wisdom of this as Sara’s road bike struggled with the surface and we lost pace and tired more easily.
We cam off the tow-path at Adlington and made our way around Warrington through the Friday afternoon traffic. The morning climb and the slowness of the tow-path meant we were running late today. Georgie also had a stressful day driving through the urban sprawl and even greater difficulty finding somewhere for us to stay at our intended destination. Our energy levels were so low that we both decided to start looking for a place to stay 15 miles short of our target. A quick pub stop and a couple of lads recommended a B&B just over Acton Bridge. This is where fate inevitably plays a part and as we crossed Acton Bridge psssssh puncture number 4! This happened right beside the 1/4 mile sign for the B&B which gave us the name, Wall Hill Farm Guest House. A quick call, 2 rooms booked, Georgie summoned to pick me up as I was in a foul mood (puncture anger).
That soon dissappeared when I saw our room!! The Wall Hill Farm Guest House was the BEST B&B we stayed in and was akin to a 5 star hotel. Richard Clegg, the owner, is a true gentleman and provided every possible assistance he could. The Leigh Arms gave us a splendid dinner and all our troubles were soon behind us. I decided that in the morning I would let Georgie have a lie in while I drove to Northwhich to buy a new tire while Sara made her way on our route solo until I could catch her up. A good plan always helps a good night’s sleep.
Never shall I complain of being tired now I know what tired really means.
We had a stiff breeze blowing right at us all day and that just about sapped all our energy. The hills took what remained so we only averaged 11mph over the 90miles we covered to day.
After nearly 11hrs on the road I am struggling to write anything as all my eyes want to do is close.
Goodnight
A very long day! Left Arran @ 8am and only just arrived in Annan @ 8pm. Over 110 miles of cycling though some pretty horrendous weather (thunder & lightening with the rain that goes with that) plus another puncture! Had my 3 now so hopefully no more!! Thankfully this one was spotted by the kindest of girls in Halfords @ Irvine who did everything she could to help us on our way. Such an early setback when we had such a long day ahead of us dampened our enthusiasm almost as much as the pouring rain. It’ July and I reckon we are getting all the rain we lacked in April.
The Southern Uplands had intimidated us since we left the urban area of Irvine and it was hard to press on when what laid ahead was so blatantly obvious = a lot of climbing. We tried to get a cafe lunch in Damellington but it was closed so we ended up buying sandwiches from the petrol station and eating them in the car as the rain was exceedingly heavy. Thankfully the rain did start to clear as we started our climb in earnest. Bladder breaks are always a challenge on rides like this, especially in such open country and then low and behold we happened accross a public WC inthe middle of nowhere (aka Carsphaim) and it turned out to be the most spotless public WC I have ever visited!! Soon after we turned off the A713 for Moniaive the afternoon had become quite pleasant.
This stretch has to be one of my most memorable rides as the next major climb really didn’t feel at all arduous and was in fact quite gentle. The single track road gently rising up with the sheep meandering across it was very pretty. Eventually we came to the top and then enjoyed a full 3 miles of free-wheeling down the other-side!! Wow that was fun and a very welcome rest. Just as we started to hit Dumfries my Garmin battery died and I had no reserve today!-( Thankfully I had a paper map backup and my iPhone map helped us through town and out the other side however it was early evening and we still had 20miles to go!!
Some 12hrs after leaving Arran we made it into Annan and found Georgie at the The Old Rectory B&B where Dave showed us around and locked our bikes away safely. The comfortable beds were oh so welcome after such a long hard day.
