Dates on this blog

As you have probably worked out already, the dates on each of these blog entries are incorrect as, due to my bad blogging skills, late finishes due to bad weather and rubbish internet at Travel Lodges the blogs had to wait!

Day 10 ? Did we finish ?

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out as due to 30 mph winds and torrential winds I didn't take a single photo as evidence!

Day 9 Tiverton to Oakhampton - Hospice visits and the Tarka Trail

We left Tiverton a little later than usual today to give time to wash up and get 12 sleeping bags and blow up beds back into their bags! How do the factories get them in to start with... they never go back in. The weather was great and we made good progress today with a climb up the famous 'Black Cat' hill near South Molton. We were expected at the North Devon Hospice at 12.00 so we had time to stop off at Peter Nancekevilles Surveyors and Estate Agents for coffee and croissants first.

I wasn't reallyexpecting what happened next. As we arrived at the Hospice we were met by hundreds of family and friends who applauded us into the hospice grounds and there was a marquee with drinks and biscuits. It was really nice to see my son Sean and wife Carole but a bit like coming out of a bubble for just an hour before we went back to the job of cycling again. We were joined by a group of about 50 other cyclists including the riders children and escorted by police motor bikes to the children's hospice at Fremmington where a fantastic lunch had been prepared for us.

I must apologise if there were any Ashleigh children who missed us on the Tarka Trail as due to the Hospice reception the ride along the Tarka Trail was delayed by at least an hour. We passed the strand and the station at 12.45 and it was a very windy ride up to Fremmington!

I had a bit of a tear in my eye as I said good bye to my family and we headed off to our final Travel Lodge in Oakhampton. One more day to go! Land's End here we come!

Day 8 Bristol to Tiverton - Back to Devon and punctures!

We headed off this morning South West towards Tiverton leaving both the Bristol bridges behind. This was easily the hardest 'get up' at 6.30 as the body was beginning to say "Do we have to go cycling today?" and it would have been very easy to roll over and go back to sleep.
But the weather wasn't bad and was forecast to improve and once you start pedalling all seems well again and the body foregets what might hurt a bit. For me this was my right knee which was needing the help of ibuprophen each day from now on and a few top tips from Andy T and his knowledge of massage.

But then the rain started and so did the punctures, I was first, followed by Adam Jewlsey and although repairs were quick the traffic through Bristol was slow. It was actually quiet amazing that until that point 10 riders had travelled over 800 miles each and that was the first puncture day!

As we got closer to home, roads became more familiar and some we had ridden before and this made the riding easier. Our place to rest was Tiverton Fire Station where Andy Brock had arranged sleeping bags and blow up beds. Not quite the Ritz but we had fun playing 'pop quiz' until 1.oo am guessing intros to 80's music on Andy Unstead's ipod. Ten riders and two film crew all in one room saved loads on the cost of accomodation but made going to the loo in the middle of the night a bit of a problem as you carefully tried not to stand on anyone's head!!!

Day 7 Shewsbury to Aust, Bristol. Sunshine, Wales and the 'Smello Jersey!'

Today found us leaving Shrewsbury and heading south fast in the sunshine towards Wales. It was great to be back in jerseys again and the red machine was picking up pace as we headed towards the Bristol Channel. 96 miles today, although there's always a few extra miles thrown in for fun.

You'll notice that one of the riders in our pelaton is always in yellow, as in the Tour de France but this 'maillot jaune' is actually called the 'Smello Jersey!' As cyclists burn thousands of calories each day, it's really important to ensure that we eat enough high energy food known as carbohydrate each day and protein for muscle rebuilding over night. This has a certain side effect which I'll leave you to work out!!!! ;) The 'Smello Jersey' is not awarded to the best cyclist but the one who you don't want to cycle behind in the pelaton. I don't think it's an award that is recognised widely across the world!

We had a fantastic climb through the Forest of Dean in Wales which had bend after bend of Alpine style road going through the forest. It was a real work out with a rewarding decent the other side. All the boys pushed hard to prove they could climb like Contador and I felt rather old as most of them went past me. I got my revenge as we descended and Andy Timothy (Monsieur Champignion) reminded me that 'Fat goes fast down hill!'

It was great to roll across the Old Severn Road Bridge and know that we were close to home ground. Just three more days to go and we'll have gone end to end.

Day 6 Kendal to Shrewsbury - Does it ever stop raining?

I didn't take many pictures on day 6 as the mood had to changed from 'adventure' to 'lets just get this done' and the camera on my phone was in danger of rusting !

Mornings are getting harder now and the first 10 - 15 miles are spent spinning in a low gear to try to remove the lactic acid that has built up in the leg muscles from over 500 miles of cycling. Added to this, we hadn't had much 'down time' the evening before so we just wanted to get through what was going to be another long 120 miles in pretty bad weather. At least the wind had moderated now! Even in the rain though, the lakes are a truly beautiful place. I guess the name Lake District must give a clue that the water for the lakes has to come from somewhere!!!! ;)

I sent my sister Lisa a text when we got close to her home in Altrincham near Manchester ( we grew up there) and she sent one back full of encouragement. She was sensible enough to be busy as we passed in the drizzle.

A long day with countless junctions and busy roads with lots of clipping in and out of cleats. We had to call the traffic and look after each other as folks with caravans pulled in a bit too close. I wasbeginning to wish we were back in John O'Groats with the empty roads and midgies!

We were all really glad to find the Travel Lodge at Shrewsbury - another long 120 miles and a late finish!

Day 5 Dumfries to Kendal - Scotland, England breakdowns and weather!

Today was always going to be a long one. We awoke to find the forecast of 40 mph winds and rain had come true and today was one of the longer 120 mile sections, taking us aross the border from Scotland into England with a changing of the socks ceremony to be held on the border!

Now some of us have ridden in 80 mph winds on quiet moorland roads, during the 'Exmoor Beast' last November.However, it's something quite different, when at the side of a very busy duel carriage way, you have to hold a line, a foot wide during a fast decent whilst articulated lorries hurtle past, six inches from your shoulder! Extreme sport this end to end lark!

The socks were changed but all were very, very, soggy! Here I am with a foot in Scotland and one in England!

The day was made longer by another mechanical, as Andy Brock's gears decided they'd had enough and we had to make calls to bike shops in Carlisle from Gretna Green. Here are some of the boys hiding from the elements while the bike is returned to us after Andy had ridden another spare bike for a couple of hours!

When we finally made Kendal in the beautiful Lake District it wasn't really visible in the rain and fading light!

Day 4 Dumbarton to Dumfries - The Peg!

On day 4 it gets more difficult to get out of bed when you've ridden 100 miles plus each day and I was imagining what it might be like on the morning of day 10???

Each day we get up at 6.30 am and have a team breakfast in a rather cramped hotel room and we're on the road for 8.00 am. Although some of the team can ride a 6 or 6 1/2 hour 100 mile sportive event,this riding is different, with loo stops, occassional wrong turns, food stops and mechanical problems we could some days be in the saddle for 8,9 or 10 hours. Getting in as late as 6.00 pm with a few hours for shower, food and sleep to do it all over again the next day!

Most of the time the scenery and team mate chat passes the time but we were introduced to a new 'game' by experienced cyclist Andy Timothy which really helped keep morale high - The passing of the peg!

Very simply, between the departure and the arrival a peg can be secretly passed from rider to rider and the last one with it has to buy a round of coffees or cakes at the next day's stop for all the riders. It results in bluffing that you don't know where it is, distracting others whilst a team mate pegs someone else and very careful following others up hills trying to reach out with one arm to get the peg on without being found out. If you're caught 'pegging' you have to take it back and if everyone knows then they'll keep their distance until they forget. Great fun but I now find I'm automatically checking my jersey pockets every half hour without even thinking why!

Day Three - Fort William to Dumbarton - Magic & Midgies

For me and many of the other riders on the End2Endin10 team, this was the best day of our epic ride! We left Fort William in sunshine and even saw the top of Ben Nevis briefly before the cloud rolled in and the Scottish drizzle started. But this wasn't enough to take away the magic of this place especially for cycling. The road is smooth and relatively quiet and the climb is a gentle gradient but goes on for ever, allowing you to push harder and harder, accelerating to the top of the pass and into a long, fast, descent.

I found myself humming Queen tracks from the film Highlander, inspired by the dramatic scenery and at times (in gaps between the cars) the only sound I could hear was my heart beating! Fantastic!

We only stopped briefly for water at the team van as the midgies were everywhere and if you stopped for more than a second you were covered and the biting began. We chatted with the owners of the Hostel about life with midgies and discovered that they can only fly at 5 mph so if you keep moving they don't really bother you!

Day 2 Inverness to Fort William - Seat post disaster!

What a fantastic day! We left Inverness around 8.00 am and the Travel Lodge heading along the famous Loch Ness and to a hostel at Fort William. The scenery here is superb and we rode for many miles along the banks of the Loch. Although I didn't see the 'Monster,' it is an incredible place, surrounded by the highlands and the water was mirror still as we enjoyed the light winds.

Then disaster struck as suddenly my seat post went "bang!" and I was left with a bike with no saddle. Tony who was riding behind me got quite a shock as he rode over the saddle, post and bag and I was lucky not to get cut on the sharp aluminium and carbon shards that were sticking up out of the frame. I managed to keep riding for about 10 miles without a saddle to Drumnadrochit where I was able to swop for Andy Unstead's spare bike and the guys swopped the pedals whilst I was busy stretching my legs!

We were then rewarded by one of the longest, fastest decents I've ever had. Miles of fast curving roads with no cars in sight. Pure joy and well worth the long trip up!

Apologies

Well the blogging hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped due to a number of reasons. Mainly because the internet at each of the travel lodges has been really rubbish and connections are always failing but mainly because we keep arrivng late at the end of the day after 8 or so miles on the bike with just enough time to unload the van, stow the bikes, shower, eat and get some food. Then the whole thing starts again at 8.00 am.

We're now at the end of day 9 with just one last 101 miles to Land's End tomorrow. So roll on tomorrow!

Got some great photos so will try to add as many as possible.

Day 1 John O'Groats to Inverness

And off we go on the first 123 miles of our adventure along the East coast of Scotland. What a fantastic ride today was. I've never ridden this far in one day and we set off at a sensible pace knowing there are 9 other days to get through on the way 'home'.



The roads are flat and pretty fast with some superb coastal views. We could see the oil rigs out to sea where our North Sea Gas and Oil comes from and the miles wizzed by with no punctures or problems!

Riding in a group of ten (officially a pelaton - a team is nine - so only just!) you have to concentrate hard on what's going on ahead. It would be easy to run into the rider in front but you need to stay close at times to 'hide' from the wind and then be prepared to do your turn on the front and let others have an easier ride. This stage of the ride was pretty quiet for traffic and we spent time chatting and enjoying the views.

This was the run in to Inverness across the bridge (will add the name when I get the map from route planner Colin!)

Felt good afterwards, without too much tiredness and having seen some great sights. Roll on tomorrow! :)

Ferries, Planes and Automobiles

Friday France, Saturday England, today Scotland ! The Hendersons left France on Friday lunchtime and drove up from Bordeaux to St Malo getting a delayed ferry through the night across to Poole in Dorset and then I drove home to get 2 hrs sleep! Then for me, it was up at 10.00 to minibus it to Bristol airport and fly up to Inverness. And guess what? The flight was delayed! Finally arrived at John O'Groats at 1.00 am last night!

Today is day 0 of the ride, time to meet the drivers with our bikes, the film crew from Falmouth University, and stretch our legs out with a short ride to Dunnet Head Lighthouse - the most Northern point of the British mainland. The weather is great and it's really exciting to know we'll be heading off tomorrow on the first day of the ride, 120 miles from here to Inverness. We noticed quite a few hills on the road from the airport so it could be a tough first day!

The bikes are all unloaded, the vans packed with spare bikes, water and energy bars and wet weather gear is all ready for use. The weather looks fine for tomorrow but heavy rain is forecast for the next few days.

Just need to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, have a beer or two and get some much needed sleep ready for tomorrow!!!

Cicadas and the Lake

Most mornings I've been getting a 45 - 50 mile training ride around Hourtin Lake on my cyclocross bike which with its knobbly tyres is perfect for the rough tracks and the odd bit of sand. It tires the legs out though and I can't wait to change back to my road bike for the End 2 End.

The massive Lake of Hourtin is beautiful to cycle round and what I love more than anything is the smell of pine resin in the forest and the sound of the cicadas which can be really loud as the temperature rises. Cicadas are beetles that are difficult to see as they're camouflaged against the pine tree bark and make a noise with a special membrane in their body.

Here's the lake early in the morning and one of my noisy training partners!

Only 5 days to go until we leave for Scotland!

Early morning miles and afternoon windsurfing

Managed to get some training miles in on my cyclocross bike every other morning.Ususally with Sean drafting behind.Two mornings have been beautiful the other we got caught in a number of showers and quite a strong wind.That could be good training for Scotland as the weather is almost certainly going to be bad. Every time I visit the home of the Hendersons it rains!

Managed to tot up 140 miles so far with a couple of additional family rides to the market. In the afternoons been teaching both my kids to windsurf at the lake which has been really fun. There's a lovely beach there with parking right next to the water.

This is our pitch at the camp site. Making the best of the great weather! i wonder what it's like back at home?

Sean is keen to ride to Bordeaux next week as there's a cycle track that goes all the way. Haven't looked at the map yet but it must be a long way inland!

Bonjour! Vive le cyclism!

Bonjour ! Ca va? We have arrived in France. Had two days with no cycling but lots of packing and driving and a night aboard a Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth.

Now found my favourite bar on the way back from the beach has wifi so have logged on to update my end to end blog. I hope the summer is going well for everyone and the weather is as good as it is here in France.

We arrived at our camp site on Sunday and I managed to get up at 7.00 am and get a lovely 40 mile ride around the lake of Hourtin near Bordeaux. The cycle tracks here in France are fantastic. The French love 'le cyclism' and everywhere you go there are cycle tracks which have lots of families out and about. This morning we rode through the pine forests in Hourtin to the market and arrived to find the whole world had arrived on bike!

Hoping to cycle every other day as we have to spend lots of time surfing and windsurfing in between. It's a hard life but someone has to do it! :)