25 September 2011
Day 14 - Truro to Land's End
I'm writing this a little after the event (the day after) but wanted to do it for completeness.
It was a shorter route than any other on the challenge at a "tiny" 60 miles. This meant that Andy and I agreed to set off a bit later which would still enable us to get to the finish for about 3-3:30pm.
A few testing hills at the start to get the legs working straight away and it wasn't long before we'd reached Helston and RNAS Culdrose where we turned south and headed down the Lizard Peninsular. A strongish headwind and constant drizzly rain made progress more of a chore than a pleasure, but we soon arrived at Lizard village and Lizard Point. After a few photos and standing on the most precarious spit of land I've ever stood on over a rather large drop, we headed back up to the village for some lunch.
Fed and watered we turned back north and headed back towards Helston. This time with a tail wind progress was very swift. At Helston we turned west towards Penzance and Land's End. It's actually quite hilly on this stretch and despite being early afternoon we were riding in the densest fog I'd experienced since the England/Scotland border in the Cheviot Hills.
After descending down to near sea level as we approached Penzance the fog cleared and it turned into a beautiful blue sky and warm day.
With a few steep hills going through Penzance and the first 5 miles or so out the other side things got a bit harder again, but with only 4 or so miles to go it was more or less a flat ride along the cliff tops to the finish line.
Amanda and Kieran, and Andy's family were there and it was great to have Kieran on his bike riding with me for the last bit. As all the restaurants were shut we missed out on the Cornish Cream Tea that we'd been pining for all day but it was more than made up for with a few pints of Tribute and some good food in The Old Success Inn in Sennen Cove in the evening.
A good end to a good day, to a tough but good challenge.
Rich
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It was a shorter route than any other on the challenge at a "tiny" 60 miles. This meant that Andy and I agreed to set off a bit later which would still enable us to get to the finish for about 3-3:30pm.
A few testing hills at the start to get the legs working straight away and it wasn't long before we'd reached Helston and RNAS Culdrose where we turned south and headed down the Lizard Peninsular. A strongish headwind and constant drizzly rain made progress more of a chore than a pleasure, but we soon arrived at Lizard village and Lizard Point. After a few photos and standing on the most precarious spit of land I've ever stood on over a rather large drop, we headed back up to the village for some lunch.
Fed and watered we turned back north and headed back towards Helston. This time with a tail wind progress was very swift. At Helston we turned west towards Penzance and Land's End. It's actually quite hilly on this stretch and despite being early afternoon we were riding in the densest fog I'd experienced since the England/Scotland border in the Cheviot Hills.
After descending down to near sea level as we approached Penzance the fog cleared and it turned into a beautiful blue sky and warm day.
With a few steep hills going through Penzance and the first 5 miles or so out the other side things got a bit harder again, but with only 4 or so miles to go it was more or less a flat ride along the cliff tops to the finish line.
Amanda and Kieran, and Andy's family were there and it was great to have Kieran on his bike riding with me for the last bit. As all the restaurants were shut we missed out on the Cornish Cream Tea that we'd been pining for all day but it was more than made up for with a few pints of Tribute and some good food in The Old Success Inn in Sennen Cove in the evening.
A good end to a good day, to a tough but good challenge.
Rich
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Location:Land's End
24 September 2011
Done it!!!!
What a huge relief after a very long and arduous journey. Amanda and Kieran were near the entrance to the Land's End complex and Kieran rode his bike with me to the actual finish line. What a superb way to finish.
I don't have much of a data connection but I will upload some photos later.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me. Not only would it not have been possible without the hard work of so many people, but also the very kind messages that people have been sending me both before and during the challenge. It really did make a massive difference, kept my spirits high and gave me confidence to keep going.
A special thank you must go to Amanda who has wholeheartedly supported me right from the start and has made significant sacrifices, not only in these last two weeks, but also over the last four months or so to support me with the seemingly endless training and preparations. She is the one who has looked after Kieran when I'm home late and off on long training rides at the weekend. She is the one who has constantly reassured me that I could do this challenge when in the darkest of moments before and during it. There is no doubt in my mind that without Amanda this challenge couldn't have happened, so I'd like to say to you Amanda, thank you very much, your help and support has been utterly amazing. I love you very much and I hope I've done you, Kieran and Elliot proud.
Rich
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I don't have much of a data connection but I will upload some photos later.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me. Not only would it not have been possible without the hard work of so many people, but also the very kind messages that people have been sending me both before and during the challenge. It really did make a massive difference, kept my spirits high and gave me confidence to keep going.
A special thank you must go to Amanda who has wholeheartedly supported me right from the start and has made significant sacrifices, not only in these last two weeks, but also over the last four months or so to support me with the seemingly endless training and preparations. She is the one who has looked after Kieran when I'm home late and off on long training rides at the weekend. She is the one who has constantly reassured me that I could do this challenge when in the darkest of moments before and during it. There is no doubt in my mind that without Amanda this challenge couldn't have happened, so I'd like to say to you Amanda, thank you very much, your help and support has been utterly amazing. I love you very much and I hope I've done you, Kieran and Elliot proud.
Rich
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Location:Land's End
Most Southerly point reached
A drizzly and gusty day but here we are!
And a quick video. No idea about the sound quality I'm afraid.
Now for some lunch then on to Land's End!
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And a quick video. No idea about the sound quality I'm afraid.
Now for some lunch then on to Land's End!
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Location:Lizard Point
23 September 2011
Day 13 - Oakhampton to Truro
It was good to see Andy, Fran and Aiden first thing this morning. After unloading Andy bike from his car, getting the last few bit and pieces together and agreeing our route for the day, we were off.
Firstly was the slight cross country route to get us to Mortonhampstead before we could pick up the main road the crosses Dartmoor. Some pretty steep hills made themselves known early on as we climbed up to the top of the moor. Fortunately there wasn't much wind today and the sun was out so the exposed position on top of the moor didn't hamper our progress. There were nice fast descents back off the moor and we ended up in the old town of Tavistock where we found a cafe and enjoyed a quick coffee.
Pressing on, we immediately came across the steepest hills of the day which were pretty hard work, before we headed onwards towards Liskeard and a quick lunch break (a proper Cornish pasty from a local bakers!).
By this time there were still hills to be conquered but the worst had past. Instead of the very steep slopes, we were facing longer drags up slightly shallower hills and with the odd opportunity on the flat to increase the speed and get some miles under our belts.
A quick chocolate break in St Austell and we were off again in search of the last town before the campsite - Truro. The roads were pretty busy (there must still be some grockles around Nick) but 86miles later we turned into the campsite.
A very good day, probably the best I've had so far to be honest. Good scenery, some good roads, some tough climbs but the reward was some spectacular descents. I also managed to see the sea for the first time since Lowestoft which was great.
Andy did well. He's not done a ride that long or with hills that tall or steep before but he battled on and did really well. Good stuff mate!
Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for for so long now. It's the final 60miles to the Lizard Point and then on to Land's End to finally finish this challenge. A pint of Tribute in the pub at Sennen Cove will be in order I think!
Rich
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Firstly was the slight cross country route to get us to Mortonhampstead before we could pick up the main road the crosses Dartmoor. Some pretty steep hills made themselves known early on as we climbed up to the top of the moor. Fortunately there wasn't much wind today and the sun was out so the exposed position on top of the moor didn't hamper our progress. There were nice fast descents back off the moor and we ended up in the old town of Tavistock where we found a cafe and enjoyed a quick coffee.
Pressing on, we immediately came across the steepest hills of the day which were pretty hard work, before we headed onwards towards Liskeard and a quick lunch break (a proper Cornish pasty from a local bakers!).
By this time there were still hills to be conquered but the worst had past. Instead of the very steep slopes, we were facing longer drags up slightly shallower hills and with the odd opportunity on the flat to increase the speed and get some miles under our belts.
A quick chocolate break in St Austell and we were off again in search of the last town before the campsite - Truro. The roads were pretty busy (there must still be some grockles around Nick) but 86miles later we turned into the campsite.
A very good day, probably the best I've had so far to be honest. Good scenery, some good roads, some tough climbs but the reward was some spectacular descents. I also managed to see the sea for the first time since Lowestoft which was great.
Andy did well. He's not done a ride that long or with hills that tall or steep before but he battled on and did really well. Good stuff mate!
Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for for so long now. It's the final 60miles to the Lizard Point and then on to Land's End to finally finish this challenge. A pint of Tribute in the pub at Sennen Cove will be in order I think!
Rich
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22 September 2011
Day 12 - Shepton Mallett to Oakehampton
A nice and relatively easy ride today which got me to the campsite by about 3pm. Plenty of flat roads from Shepton Mallett so that I could keep the speed up and the sun was out so things were good.
Managed to get a bit lost in Exeter though due to the bizarre one-way systems in the city centre but nothing major and I was soon spat out the other side for the final 14 miles to the campsite.
As soon as i left the city the roads instantly shot up to gradients routinely in excess of 15% (and frequently a lot more) and for what felt like a huge amount of time and hence altitude gain. I was effectively cutting across the north east corner of dartmoor and it was certainly making it's presence known. Once at altitude it generally stayed pretty high although all changes (either up or down) were incredibly steep. I came across a couple of local cycling club members and racers so I spent much of the last 7-8 miles chatting with them as the steep hills went by. A bit of peer pressure not to show myself up and a good distraction in terms of the conversation made those miles fly by. Good guys.
For tomorrow it's the killer leg that I've not been looking forward to for sometime. It's the most amount of climbing of any leg and if today's late hills are anything to go by it's going to be a long hard day. At least that will only leave a nice relaxing 60miler to finish off on Saturday. Roll on tomorrow night!
For the next two legs I'm joined by my friend Andy who has driven down today. Will be good to have company on the road again. It feels like a long time ago that Ross left to head home from Glasgow. A lot of miles have definitely been ridden since then.
More tomorrow
Goodnight all!
Rich
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Managed to get a bit lost in Exeter though due to the bizarre one-way systems in the city centre but nothing major and I was soon spat out the other side for the final 14 miles to the campsite.
As soon as i left the city the roads instantly shot up to gradients routinely in excess of 15% (and frequently a lot more) and for what felt like a huge amount of time and hence altitude gain. I was effectively cutting across the north east corner of dartmoor and it was certainly making it's presence known. Once at altitude it generally stayed pretty high although all changes (either up or down) were incredibly steep. I came across a couple of local cycling club members and racers so I spent much of the last 7-8 miles chatting with them as the steep hills went by. A bit of peer pressure not to show myself up and a good distraction in terms of the conversation made those miles fly by. Good guys.
For tomorrow it's the killer leg that I've not been looking forward to for sometime. It's the most amount of climbing of any leg and if today's late hills are anything to go by it's going to be a long hard day. At least that will only leave a nice relaxing 60miler to finish off on Saturday. Roll on tomorrow night!
For the next two legs I'm joined by my friend Andy who has driven down today. Will be good to have company on the road again. It feels like a long time ago that Ross left to head home from Glasgow. A lot of miles have definitely been ridden since then.
More tomorrow
Goodnight all!
Rich
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Location:Edge of dartmoor
21 September 2011
Day 11 - Chipping Norton to Shepton Mallet
What a ridiculously hard day!
Weather was fine with no real wind to speak of yet my plan to have shorter routes an go via the scenic roads at the end of the challenge appears to have backfired. I must admit that I do not know this part of the world at all so my plans were purely based on using small roads that headed in the right direction. Whilst progress as far as Cirencester went ok, beyond that it was an unrelenting 40 odd miles of constant 20%+ gradient hills. Not too big individually but very steep and narrow often on broken roads covered with loose gravel (to ensure that the decents were slow as well). Progress was incredibly slow and the shear number of them quite simply drained all the the energy out of me and turning the final corner into the campsite couldn't have come quick enough. It was a stunning descent off the hills down I to the city (?) of Wells. The mist was forming, I could see the spire of the cathedral with the Glastonbury hills and Tor in the background. I think the decent was 4-5miles without pedalling and ending up at the foot of the cathedral. A stunning highlight in an otherwise tortuous day.
Today has made me wonder if it's not the routes that are so hard (today's definitely was though, but the previous couple of days have been harder than expected as well) and that actually this just simply tiredness creeping in from having done 1100 miles in the past 11 days without any break to try and recover. I think I need to adjust the route planning for tomorrow to stay more on the main roads and avoid the type of hideous climbs I had today, but also to try and save some strength for the Oakhampton to Truro leg that's coming up soon.
At the moment that has more climbing than any other leg and is still 90 miles long. I'm doing that leg and then final one with my friend Andy so I'll have a chat and see if we can find an alternative. Whatever it ends up being, if we want to avoid the dual carriageways there are only lots of small roads and lots and lots of hills.
Only two counties to go now. I can't wait.
Rich
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Weather was fine with no real wind to speak of yet my plan to have shorter routes an go via the scenic roads at the end of the challenge appears to have backfired. I must admit that I do not know this part of the world at all so my plans were purely based on using small roads that headed in the right direction. Whilst progress as far as Cirencester went ok, beyond that it was an unrelenting 40 odd miles of constant 20%+ gradient hills. Not too big individually but very steep and narrow often on broken roads covered with loose gravel (to ensure that the decents were slow as well). Progress was incredibly slow and the shear number of them quite simply drained all the the energy out of me and turning the final corner into the campsite couldn't have come quick enough. It was a stunning descent off the hills down I to the city (?) of Wells. The mist was forming, I could see the spire of the cathedral with the Glastonbury hills and Tor in the background. I think the decent was 4-5miles without pedalling and ending up at the foot of the cathedral. A stunning highlight in an otherwise tortuous day.
Today has made me wonder if it's not the routes that are so hard (today's definitely was though, but the previous couple of days have been harder than expected as well) and that actually this just simply tiredness creeping in from having done 1100 miles in the past 11 days without any break to try and recover. I think I need to adjust the route planning for tomorrow to stay more on the main roads and avoid the type of hideous climbs I had today, but also to try and save some strength for the Oakhampton to Truro leg that's coming up soon.
At the moment that has more climbing than any other leg and is still 90 miles long. I'm doing that leg and then final one with my friend Andy so I'll have a chat and see if we can find an alternative. Whatever it ends up being, if we want to avoid the dual carriageways there are only lots of small roads and lots and lots of hills.
Only two counties to go now. I can't wait.
Rich
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Location:Just outside Shepton Mallett
20 September 2011
Day 10 - Willingham to Chipping Norton
Not too much to say about today I'm afraid. A strong side wind which made the bike a bit lively on the less sheltered stretches but it didn't really hamper my progress. Some larger hills in the last third of the route for the first time since north Yorkshire so that was good to get the legs working in that way again ahead of the rest of the Cotswolds tomorrow and Devon and Cornwall in the days after. The route was still 148km (93 miles) but i'd finished by 1630 which is the earliest yet. I also feel the best after a days ride than I have during this entire thing. No problems with the knees either today. Overall pretty textbook stuff which is unheard of this trip so far!
Tomorrow is the trans-Cotswold route to Shepton Mallet which has the potential to be very hilly but I don't recall it being that bad when I planned the route before that start. It's more into-wind than today so that will be a greater challenge than today if nothing else.
I was reminded yesterday that yesterday increased the total mileage past the 1000mile mark! That means that had I been doing the JoG to LE directly I would have finished it yesterday morning! An 8.5day direct route (which is also a lot flatter by the way, and probably done in better weather) is a very good time, so that was a stat that I liked as it gives a very real comparison against my progress.
Rich
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Tomorrow is the trans-Cotswold route to Shepton Mallet which has the potential to be very hilly but I don't recall it being that bad when I planned the route before that start. It's more into-wind than today so that will be a greater challenge than today if nothing else.
I was reminded yesterday that yesterday increased the total mileage past the 1000mile mark! That means that had I been doing the JoG to LE directly I would have finished it yesterday morning! An 8.5day direct route (which is also a lot flatter by the way, and probably done in better weather) is a very good time, so that was a stat that I liked as it gives a very real comparison against my progress.
Rich
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Location:Chipping Norton,United Kingdom
19 September 2011
Day 9 - Beccles to Willingham
Another long day at 177km (110 miles) but I took in the most eastern point after about 25km. From there I headed west towards mum and dad's house in Willingham. I'd see Kieran and Amanda there for the first time in a week and a half. I'd also get to see Katie the campervan who will be our home for the next week!
The going was slow but steady. Travelling through Norfolk I realised I'd forgotten how hilly it can be. After that was Cambridgeshire, it's a lot flatter but the roads were busier and I was more exposed to the elements and the westerly headwind which had been present all day was magnified in the latter stages.
I had a huge motivation boost at the Cambridgeshire border where a lady appeared in the middle of the road and started photographing me. It was my cousins wife Kim. She had also made a banner which she had put below the welcome to Cambridgeshire sign yesterday in case she couldn't be there today. Thanks Kim it was great to see you, it really spurred me on to complete the day. I'll post some photos up if I can.
All in all a long slog but good day. The weather held up and my knees were ok (started off painful but that soon disappeared) . The longest stages are done now and it feels good to be looking ahead to slightly shorter days in the saddle and the end is almost in sight. Tomorrow should be straight forward. It's reasonably long at 97 miles but puts me at the start of the Cotswolds for the push down to the South West.
Rich
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The going was slow but steady. Travelling through Norfolk I realised I'd forgotten how hilly it can be. After that was Cambridgeshire, it's a lot flatter but the roads were busier and I was more exposed to the elements and the westerly headwind which had been present all day was magnified in the latter stages.
I had a huge motivation boost at the Cambridgeshire border where a lady appeared in the middle of the road and started photographing me. It was my cousins wife Kim. She had also made a banner which she had put below the welcome to Cambridgeshire sign yesterday in case she couldn't be there today. Thanks Kim it was great to see you, it really spurred me on to complete the day. I'll post some photos up if I can.
All in all a long slog but good day. The weather held up and my knees were ok (started off painful but that soon disappeared) . The longest stages are done now and it feels good to be looking ahead to slightly shorter days in the saddle and the end is almost in sight. Tomorrow should be straight forward. It's reasonably long at 97 miles but puts me at the start of the Cotswolds for the push down to the South West.
Rich
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Location:Newington,,United Kingdom
Most Easterly point reached
A huge relief to get here. Now it's a straight run to Cornwall.
The 25km to get here this morning wasn't easy at all as my left knee which I stupidly twisted a few days ago when I slipped off my pedal is niggling away and stopping me from putting anything like full power down. I need to get some more ibuprofen anyway so hopefully that will sort things out and I can make some good progress over to Cambridge.
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The 25km to get here this morning wasn't easy at all as my left knee which I stupidly twisted a few days ago when I slipped off my pedal is niggling away and stopping me from putting anything like full power down. I need to get some more ibuprofen anyway so hopefully that will sort things out and I can make some good progress over to Cambridge.
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18 September 2011
Day 8 - Lincoln to Beccles
Wow, what a difference good weather makes. It's been sunny all day (I've even caught the sun on my face) and almost no wind whatsoever which has meant the progress, whilst initially a bit slow whilst the knee got itself sorted soon turned into a full blown TT-style run down the main road that links Sleaford and Kings Lynn. The road is incredibly busy and on another trip should be avoided but with 135miles to get through today the fastest route has to take precidence. Fortunately the entire road is in excellent condition and with a hard shoulder that's perfect for staying out of the way of flying cars and HGVs. After Kings Lynn the b-road I took was also in great condition and also completely flat. I managed go get the first 100miles done in about 6.5hours Which is phenomenally fast considering the immense weight of the bike and panniers. The last 35 miles however changed into twisty, hilly roads that made progress painstakingly slow finally I reached the end after about 10 hours and just before it started raining.
A good day I'd say and probably the closest the I can say that I've "enjoyed". The other days have been so arduous that it's really been a case of getting your head down and getting to the end, but today was different.
Tomorrow will tick off the most easterly point before I then ride back to Cambridge to my mum and dad's house where I'll also get to see Amanda and Kieran for the first time for a week and a half. I can't wait.
So there are no more nights in tents anymore which should certainly make things more pleasant and I also stand some chance of getting my kit dry if it's wet and getting a good nights sleep.
Assuming the weather for tomorrow is the same as today it should be a good one.
Rich
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A good day I'd say and probably the closest the I can say that I've "enjoyed". The other days have been so arduous that it's really been a case of getting your head down and getting to the end, but today was different.
Tomorrow will tick off the most easterly point before I then ride back to Cambridge to my mum and dad's house where I'll also get to see Amanda and Kieran for the first time for a week and a half. I can't wait.
So there are no more nights in tents anymore which should certainly make things more pleasant and I also stand some chance of getting my kit dry if it's wet and getting a good nights sleep.
Assuming the weather for tomorrow is the same as today it should be a good one.
Rich
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Location:Beccles
Day 7 - Northallerton to Lincoln
I messed up on this one before I had even started. Firstly I hadn't managed to sort out getting the battery extender charged up so last night I had the choice between the Garmin navigation device or the iPhone, and well, being selfish I'm afraid the satnav had to take priority, hence the lack of blog updates and no live tracking. Normal service should be resumed tomorrow.
The second thing that went wrong was that I knew this was a nice flat route but I also thought it was about 100miles long. a quick check this morning though reminded me that it was actually 116 miles and therefore the later start time I had prepared for was now questionable about whether I could finish in the light. Not much I could do at that point except to get my things together and head off.
As seems to be the norm at the moment the first 15-20 miles were incredibly tough due to knee pains and a general lack of energy. Even small rises would bring me to a stop to recover. After that though things seem to fall into place, the knee eases off and some serous progress can be made. Strange really, it's almost as if it takes some time for your body to start producing a form of natural anaesthetic. If anyone knows I'd genuinely like to know what causes this.
The ride off the Yorkshire moors from the campsite was mostly downhill so that went ok then the long flat slog south began. It's weird riding on the flat as it's a complete different style of riding compared to very hilly regions. For those it's about explosive uphill climbs and normally coasting down the other side to recover. Flat cycling is less intense but it's relentless in that you cannot stop pedalling at all otherwise you stop. There is no opportunity for recovery except to physically stop and accept the loss of time. I don't think that one is necessarily harder than the other but they are definitely different.
The route headed South from Northallerton and through the centre of York where I grabbed some lunch. It then carried on south via Selby, Thorne and Gainsborough before heading south east to Lincoln.
For some reason it didn't seem as quick as I was expecting this leg to be, I guess partly because I was once again up again the possibility of seeing in the dark but looking at the stats afterwards my times were actually pretty quick. If only I'd set off a bit earlier. Whilst it did rain heavily in parts it was mostly bright and sunny so for the first time in this challenge I could ride without a wind or waterproof jacket on. So much better. The only real downside is that whilst my right knee seems to be improving, I managed to slip on the pedals earlier and twisted the left one! A stupid accident nothing more.
Whilst painful at the time it soon wore off after a few mins until I'd stop then it would hurt again. Now I've stopped it's still painful so I hope this is just one of those stupid things that will sort itself out overnight and will be gone by the morning. If not it's going to be a ridiculously long 20miles first thing.
Tomorrow is the longest leg of the challenge but as its flat again I'm hoping I can finish it at a reasonable hour. 135miles is still a long way no matter how you look at it though!!
I will let you know how I get on.
Rich
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The second thing that went wrong was that I knew this was a nice flat route but I also thought it was about 100miles long. a quick check this morning though reminded me that it was actually 116 miles and therefore the later start time I had prepared for was now questionable about whether I could finish in the light. Not much I could do at that point except to get my things together and head off.
As seems to be the norm at the moment the first 15-20 miles were incredibly tough due to knee pains and a general lack of energy. Even small rises would bring me to a stop to recover. After that though things seem to fall into place, the knee eases off and some serous progress can be made. Strange really, it's almost as if it takes some time for your body to start producing a form of natural anaesthetic. If anyone knows I'd genuinely like to know what causes this.
The ride off the Yorkshire moors from the campsite was mostly downhill so that went ok then the long flat slog south began. It's weird riding on the flat as it's a complete different style of riding compared to very hilly regions. For those it's about explosive uphill climbs and normally coasting down the other side to recover. Flat cycling is less intense but it's relentless in that you cannot stop pedalling at all otherwise you stop. There is no opportunity for recovery except to physically stop and accept the loss of time. I don't think that one is necessarily harder than the other but they are definitely different.
The route headed South from Northallerton and through the centre of York where I grabbed some lunch. It then carried on south via Selby, Thorne and Gainsborough before heading south east to Lincoln.
For some reason it didn't seem as quick as I was expecting this leg to be, I guess partly because I was once again up again the possibility of seeing in the dark but looking at the stats afterwards my times were actually pretty quick. If only I'd set off a bit earlier. Whilst it did rain heavily in parts it was mostly bright and sunny so for the first time in this challenge I could ride without a wind or waterproof jacket on. So much better. The only real downside is that whilst my right knee seems to be improving, I managed to slip on the pedals earlier and twisted the left one! A stupid accident nothing more.
Whilst painful at the time it soon wore off after a few mins until I'd stop then it would hurt again. Now I've stopped it's still painful so I hope this is just one of those stupid things that will sort itself out overnight and will be gone by the morning. If not it's going to be a ridiculously long 20miles first thing.
Tomorrow is the longest leg of the challenge but as its flat again I'm hoping I can finish it at a reasonable hour. 135miles is still a long way no matter how you look at it though!!
I will let you know how I get on.
Rich
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Location:Lincoln
Day 6 - Jedburgh to Northallerton
Utterly brutal. That's probably the only way I can sum up what today was like. I knew it was going to be hard but I can categorically say that the 171km from Jedburgh to Northallerton was physically and mentally the toughest thing I've ever done in my life.
I was expecting lots of climbing but perhaps naively thought it would be long drawn out slogs up to and around the Northumbrian national park. What it was actually like was a constant up and down with no, and I mean zero, flat sections. They were steep ramps up which is really draining which meant that the natural thing to do is to coast down the other side to recover a bit before the next one, but as the downhills were also steep you don't actually make much progress horizontally. The result of this was incredibly slow progress. I knew the route was 171km long but by around 11am I had only moved 20km and by 1pm I had only covered something like 40km. Less than a quarter of the distance. Bearing in mind that it's dark at around 1930-2000 and cycling on busy roads isn't ideal at night it was really hard to see whether it was even possible for me to finish the leg. All of this was compounded by the fact that there's been torrential rain all day and a headwind (again!) it was at best a miserable experience. By about 1630 I had reached Consett which left about 80km still to go.
Fortunately from that point onwards the landscape flattened out and I was able to finally make some decent progress. Desperate not to fail I got stuck in and finally made it to the campsite at 2030 completely knackered and soaked to the skin.
I'm very happy that I managed to finish this one as it was always going to be the hardest leg. Indeed it would be ridiculously hard to do being completely fresh let alone having ridden something like 550miles in the previous five days. I am so glad that's over.
The knees(s) are fine. It was painful for the first 20miles or so but after that it was fine.
Tomorrow by contrast should be the easiest day of the challenge. It's still 100+ miles but it's the flattest of the legs and the roads should be in good shape. I'm hoping for a slightly later start and a slightly earlier finish if at all possible.
Eyes can't focus any more so I'm going to get some sleep.
See you all soon
Rich
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I was expecting lots of climbing but perhaps naively thought it would be long drawn out slogs up to and around the Northumbrian national park. What it was actually like was a constant up and down with no, and I mean zero, flat sections. They were steep ramps up which is really draining which meant that the natural thing to do is to coast down the other side to recover a bit before the next one, but as the downhills were also steep you don't actually make much progress horizontally. The result of this was incredibly slow progress. I knew the route was 171km long but by around 11am I had only moved 20km and by 1pm I had only covered something like 40km. Less than a quarter of the distance. Bearing in mind that it's dark at around 1930-2000 and cycling on busy roads isn't ideal at night it was really hard to see whether it was even possible for me to finish the leg. All of this was compounded by the fact that there's been torrential rain all day and a headwind (again!) it was at best a miserable experience. By about 1630 I had reached Consett which left about 80km still to go.
Fortunately from that point onwards the landscape flattened out and I was able to finally make some decent progress. Desperate not to fail I got stuck in and finally made it to the campsite at 2030 completely knackered and soaked to the skin.
I'm very happy that I managed to finish this one as it was always going to be the hardest leg. Indeed it would be ridiculously hard to do being completely fresh let alone having ridden something like 550miles in the previous five days. I am so glad that's over.
The knees(s) are fine. It was painful for the first 20miles or so but after that it was fine.
Tomorrow by contrast should be the easiest day of the challenge. It's still 100+ miles but it's the flattest of the legs and the roads should be in good shape. I'm hoping for a slightly later start and a slightly earlier finish if at all possible.
Eyes can't focus any more so I'm going to get some sleep.
See you all soon
Rich
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Northallerton
England
I cannot put into words how happy I was to reach this today.
I've been seeing the messages people have posted so thank you all for the encouragement. It means a lot to me and makes a bit difference.
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I've been seeing the messages people have posted so thank you all for the encouragement. It means a lot to me and makes a bit difference.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Corsenside,United Kingdom
17 September 2011
15 September 2011
Day 5 - Gartness to Jedburgh
For the first time this trip the weather was almost perfect for cycling. A nice 15 degrees with a slight tail wind and blue skies overhead. Was a cold start though.
Woke up at 0630 and my cycling computer was reading 2 degrees inside the tent. I guess outside it was more like 1 degree. That alone made it very difficult to get motivated as holding a warm cup of coffee was much more tempting that stripping down into cycling gear and pushing on through the 2 degree air.
The knee was definitely still sore although no worse that at the same time the day before so after a rather late departure, including waving goodbye to Ross, I headed off hoping that the knee would hold up for another day.
The route today broadly dropped me South to the outer suburbs of Glasgow before travelling East through them and the South again once I met the eastern suburbs (Airdrie, Motherwell etc) it was surprisingly hilly. I really hadn't appreciated that before, but that's ok. The thing that did make a difference was the state of the roads. I can categorically say that the first 40km of today were the roughest riding I've ever done. Progress was really hampered, and by about 11am I'd only covered about 45km of the day's 168km. Not good at all.
Fortunately after turning east from Motherwell and leaving Glasgow behind things improved and with the tailwind helping progress really stepped up a notch. The pain in my right knee had all but disappeared by the end however I was starting to feel some tightness in my left knee instead. I'll be taking all necessary precautions to avoid a repeat of the last couple of days.
Some stunning scenery along the Tweed valley and in the Scottish border region generally. Will definitely have to come back here again.
Feeling good that I finished but pretty exhausted if I'm honest. Five days back to back are starting to take their toll but I'm hopeful that a good nights sleep will work wonders. I've also decided to pick up some multi vitamins tomorrow to see if that helps. The last thing I want is to pick up a cold or flu.
Tomorrow is the day I've been dreading from the start of the route planning preparations. It's a long ride but with the most climbing of any leg I think. It's supposed to rain all day as well but at least there shouldn't be a headwind. I'll also be heading back into England, which I'm really happy about. I don't mean that as a negative remark on Scotland, it's a fantastic place, but mentally it's a fairly major landmark in the journey and it means that it's not far until the home straight.
More tomorrow I hope but for now I need to get some sleep.
See you all soon.
Rich
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Woke up at 0630 and my cycling computer was reading 2 degrees inside the tent. I guess outside it was more like 1 degree. That alone made it very difficult to get motivated as holding a warm cup of coffee was much more tempting that stripping down into cycling gear and pushing on through the 2 degree air.
The knee was definitely still sore although no worse that at the same time the day before so after a rather late departure, including waving goodbye to Ross, I headed off hoping that the knee would hold up for another day.
The route today broadly dropped me South to the outer suburbs of Glasgow before travelling East through them and the South again once I met the eastern suburbs (Airdrie, Motherwell etc) it was surprisingly hilly. I really hadn't appreciated that before, but that's ok. The thing that did make a difference was the state of the roads. I can categorically say that the first 40km of today were the roughest riding I've ever done. Progress was really hampered, and by about 11am I'd only covered about 45km of the day's 168km. Not good at all.
Fortunately after turning east from Motherwell and leaving Glasgow behind things improved and with the tailwind helping progress really stepped up a notch. The pain in my right knee had all but disappeared by the end however I was starting to feel some tightness in my left knee instead. I'll be taking all necessary precautions to avoid a repeat of the last couple of days.
Some stunning scenery along the Tweed valley and in the Scottish border region generally. Will definitely have to come back here again.
Feeling good that I finished but pretty exhausted if I'm honest. Five days back to back are starting to take their toll but I'm hopeful that a good nights sleep will work wonders. I've also decided to pick up some multi vitamins tomorrow to see if that helps. The last thing I want is to pick up a cold or flu.
Tomorrow is the day I've been dreading from the start of the route planning preparations. It's a long ride but with the most climbing of any leg I think. It's supposed to rain all day as well but at least there shouldn't be a headwind. I'll also be heading back into England, which I'm really happy about. I don't mean that as a negative remark on Scotland, it's a fantastic place, but mentally it's a fairly major landmark in the journey and it means that it's not far until the home straight.
More tomorrow I hope but for now I need to get some sleep.
See you all soon.
Rich
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Location:Jedbank Dr,Jedburgh,United Kingdom
Day 4 - Strontian to Gartness
After waking up after the previously horrendous day's riding my first thoughts were for the state of my knee and whether or not I could carry on, and if so could I do the 103mile route that was planned for today. To be honest it hurt like hell. It wasn't swollen which I took as a good sign but even walking was painful. Perhaps it would loosen up though? perhaps some ibuprofen for any inflammation and pain relief would help? I got up as normal and decided to go through the normal ritual of the 0630 energy drink and two energy gels to make sure I get as much carbohydrate in me as possible in the hour before the start of the exercise (I'm not joking, it's really hard to stomach that stuff at that time in the morning but it's important that it happens), before having some normal breakfast, checking the bike over and packing the bags etc. During breakfast I noticed that the cleat on the bottom of my right shoe (the thing that clips me to the pedals so that I'm physically attached to the bike) was twisted, and by a hell of a lot. It was a chance find and only because my shoes were so wet the day before that they were propped up against the radiator exposing the soles. If this was the cause of the knee pain then it would mean that'd spent at least the last two, possibly three days with a slightly twisted right leg. Not enough to tell straight away but plenty enough to cause problem for a repetitive movement over 300+ miles. Perhaps just straightening the cleat could solve the problem?
At this point a decision needs to be made about whether to go or not. My thinking was that to wipe out an entire day without trying was a complete waste whereas if I started and had to give up after a certain distance I could always pick things up from that point the next day without having to reride the entire leg again. It would require alterations to the planning to catch up the days on other legs (or changing the stop overs and increasing the distances between them) if I were to try and stick to the original target of finishing in 14 days. Aside from a few lost deposits it would be possible but it would rely on me being fit enough to cope with these extended days and keeping the immediate recovery time to the absolute minimum. There was no guarantees on either of those
No, it's better to press on now and see how things feel on the bike rather than just from the bunkhouse. The route allowed for several obvious decision points about whether to proceed or not so I shouldn't be stranded too far from civilisation should the worst happen.
The first 15 miles or so were pretty bad as the road I finished on the day continued its undulating way all the way to the Corran Ferry, each hill putting pressure on the knee. Here there would be a natural beak in the riding whilst we waited for the ferry and took the 4 minute crossing over the Corran Narrows. Whilst bad, I felt that I could carry on as long as it didn't get much worse and with the next decision point at Glencoe only about 8 miles away it wasn't too far if things did get worse. After a couple of ibuprofen we carried on and by the time we we reached Glencoe the severe pain had stopped and had become something closer to the dull ache I'd had the previous few days. The next decision point was much further away in Tyndrum the opposite side of the Glencoe mountains and Rannoch moor. A distance of perhaps 30 miles or so with some quite substantial climbing thrown in. At least the wind was now behind us and with the knee feeling a bit better the decision was made to go for it. It went surprisingly well. The weather was good, the knee continued to make it's presences felt but not unbearably so, and the tail wind allowed us to make speedy progress on the flat. For those of you that haven't been to this part of the world, go. It's stunning. Quite touristy but it's easy to see why. Some of the descents were spectacular. I think at one point we didn't have to pedal at all for perhaps 3 miles or so. Amazing stuff and it left me wanting to come back with my race bike with sticky tyres and no panniers etc to have another go.
At Tyndrum we stopped for some lunch and for the first time we felt that we were actually enjoying ourselves. Up to that point it had been purely about enduring the distance and the elements and just trying to get to the end of the day, but knee aside, this was turning out to be a good day.
We continued on the the top of Loch Lommond which we would then follow for it's entire length until we then headed east for 10km or so to the campsite. The A82 is the only road in the area that lets me go where i need to. It's also a busy tourist route plus it's the main road for all the car and lorries heading up from Glasgow to Fort William and Oban (and the islands). It's also one of the twistiest and undulating roads I know with very limited forward vision for cars etc to see it it's clear before overtaking. It's probably the single road that I've worried about travelling on in the planning of this challenge. Sure enough it was busy and there were a few dodgy overtaking manoeuvres but we got through in one piece. The knee did however start to play up again half way down the Loch but with the end almost in touching distance we carried on. Finally we made it.
I'm still very concerned by the knee but I've managed to do 103 miles on it today and it's a lot less painful this evening than yesterday. I'll keep taking the ibuprofen and see how it goes but as this was Ross's last day with me I will be losing his encouragement and the option of being able to slipstream him sometimes to give the knee a bit of a break. thank you Ross, I'm not sure that I could gave got to end of today without your help. It's hugely appreciated.
Tomorrow is the slog over to Jedbugh before Friday's when I then cross back into England. It's a bit of a positional ride as I'll only really be going East rather than making much progress south, but from Friday onwards that will change dramatically. I think the approach for the knee has to be the same as today. Try my hardest to do as much as I can without overdoing things so that I have to abandon the whole thing. The only way to know what's possible is to try it.
Rich
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At this point a decision needs to be made about whether to go or not. My thinking was that to wipe out an entire day without trying was a complete waste whereas if I started and had to give up after a certain distance I could always pick things up from that point the next day without having to reride the entire leg again. It would require alterations to the planning to catch up the days on other legs (or changing the stop overs and increasing the distances between them) if I were to try and stick to the original target of finishing in 14 days. Aside from a few lost deposits it would be possible but it would rely on me being fit enough to cope with these extended days and keeping the immediate recovery time to the absolute minimum. There was no guarantees on either of those
No, it's better to press on now and see how things feel on the bike rather than just from the bunkhouse. The route allowed for several obvious decision points about whether to proceed or not so I shouldn't be stranded too far from civilisation should the worst happen.
The first 15 miles or so were pretty bad as the road I finished on the day continued its undulating way all the way to the Corran Ferry, each hill putting pressure on the knee. Here there would be a natural beak in the riding whilst we waited for the ferry and took the 4 minute crossing over the Corran Narrows. Whilst bad, I felt that I could carry on as long as it didn't get much worse and with the next decision point at Glencoe only about 8 miles away it wasn't too far if things did get worse. After a couple of ibuprofen we carried on and by the time we we reached Glencoe the severe pain had stopped and had become something closer to the dull ache I'd had the previous few days. The next decision point was much further away in Tyndrum the opposite side of the Glencoe mountains and Rannoch moor. A distance of perhaps 30 miles or so with some quite substantial climbing thrown in. At least the wind was now behind us and with the knee feeling a bit better the decision was made to go for it. It went surprisingly well. The weather was good, the knee continued to make it's presences felt but not unbearably so, and the tail wind allowed us to make speedy progress on the flat. For those of you that haven't been to this part of the world, go. It's stunning. Quite touristy but it's easy to see why. Some of the descents were spectacular. I think at one point we didn't have to pedal at all for perhaps 3 miles or so. Amazing stuff and it left me wanting to come back with my race bike with sticky tyres and no panniers etc to have another go.
At Tyndrum we stopped for some lunch and for the first time we felt that we were actually enjoying ourselves. Up to that point it had been purely about enduring the distance and the elements and just trying to get to the end of the day, but knee aside, this was turning out to be a good day.
We continued on the the top of Loch Lommond which we would then follow for it's entire length until we then headed east for 10km or so to the campsite. The A82 is the only road in the area that lets me go where i need to. It's also a busy tourist route plus it's the main road for all the car and lorries heading up from Glasgow to Fort William and Oban (and the islands). It's also one of the twistiest and undulating roads I know with very limited forward vision for cars etc to see it it's clear before overtaking. It's probably the single road that I've worried about travelling on in the planning of this challenge. Sure enough it was busy and there were a few dodgy overtaking manoeuvres but we got through in one piece. The knee did however start to play up again half way down the Loch but with the end almost in touching distance we carried on. Finally we made it.
I'm still very concerned by the knee but I've managed to do 103 miles on it today and it's a lot less painful this evening than yesterday. I'll keep taking the ibuprofen and see how it goes but as this was Ross's last day with me I will be losing his encouragement and the option of being able to slipstream him sometimes to give the knee a bit of a break. thank you Ross, I'm not sure that I could gave got to end of today without your help. It's hugely appreciated.
Tomorrow is the slog over to Jedbugh before Friday's when I then cross back into England. It's a bit of a positional ride as I'll only really be going East rather than making much progress south, but from Friday onwards that will change dramatically. I think the approach for the knee has to be the same as today. Try my hardest to do as much as I can without overdoing things so that I have to abandon the whole thing. The only way to know what's possible is to try it.
Rich
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Location:Gartness
14 September 2011
Day 3 - Fort William to Strontian
Looking out of the window from the Ben Nevis bunk house there was no way that anyone would have looked forward to stepping outside let alone the 100mile+ bike ride that we faced. The wind was truly horrendous and drove rain horizontally. I wish I had taken a video of it as it's difficult to really describe how hostile things had become. That said, the logistics of this trip are tight and losing a day isn't really an option except in extreme situations so we set out to at least give it a go. Actually, away from Ben Nevis things were better. Still pretty terrible but an improvement from the scary stuff we had left behind so we headed west, still against the wind and still in driving rain until we reach Glenuig (where the elephants live, apparently!)
At that point we headed south and inland which offered some welcome protection whilst we climbed over the rather untouched and beautiful hills between Ardmolich and Salen.
Over some lunch we decided that, as with the night before, it would be better to not camp in Repisol that night but to head to a bunkhouse in Strontian as it would give us a chance to properly dry everything out. Ross left me at that point and headed East to the bunkhouse leaving me to travel West down the Ardnamurchan Penninsula before turning round and making my way back and then on an additional 7-8 miles past Repisol to Strontian as well.
What I though would be a rather flat coastal road turned out to be anything but that. The constant short, sharp dips and rises in the first half made progress slow, however the real stung in the tail was that after the village of Ardslignish the road turns north inland and rises sharply to over 1000ft to then traverse around a mountain before heading south again and descending back to sea level at the village of Kilchoan. It then turns north west and ascends to a few hundred feet over the most ridiculously bad roads and severe gradients before descending back down to the most Westerly point of the UK mainland. Ardnamurchan Point and Ardnamurchan lighthouse. There was a brief pause in the atrocious weather so I managed to take a few photos and videos and strangely there was no sign that mentions the geographic significance of this place. There had been 25 miles back in Salen I guess to try and encourage people down the peninsula but not at the point itself. Very strange.
Here's the video I took with me looking somewhat.....worn! It was after about 75miles so that's my excuse.
By now things were starting to get a bit tight in terms of when I'd finish riding vs when the sun sets so I headed straight back, over the 1000ft mountain pass again and back to Salen. I had a slight niggle in my right knee for the previous day and it had persisted that morning but when I got to Salen it suddenly became a very sharp stabbing pain just on the inside of my right kneecap :-( instead of a short 3 mile ride, due to the change of heart of sleeping arrangement I now had a 10 mile ride in front of me and a road with lots of hills between me and the end. I can tell you without hesitation that this was the worst 10 miles that I've ever spent on a bike. Physically I had already ridden 100 miles that day, not to mention the ridiculous climbing on the peninsular but now I was having to crawl the 10 miles effectively only pushing the pedals with my left leg! Mentally of course the worry's that something serious has happened that might need a few days rest (which would cause all kinds of logistical nightmare later in the challenge) or in a worst case might need me to abandon the challenge completely. I think it's fair to say that when I finally crawled through the bunk house door I was a wreck and I genuinely don't remember much about what happened that evening except that I recall sitting on a sofa and applying an ice pack to my knee. Needless to say I fell asleep very early, hence why I'm writing this blog entry the day after).
Overall, the toughest day so far for me. I didn't think things could get harder than the first day but the wilds of Scotland have corrected me on that one! 171km (106miles) ridden and almost none of it easy.
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At that point we headed south and inland which offered some welcome protection whilst we climbed over the rather untouched and beautiful hills between Ardmolich and Salen.
Over some lunch we decided that, as with the night before, it would be better to not camp in Repisol that night but to head to a bunkhouse in Strontian as it would give us a chance to properly dry everything out. Ross left me at that point and headed East to the bunkhouse leaving me to travel West down the Ardnamurchan Penninsula before turning round and making my way back and then on an additional 7-8 miles past Repisol to Strontian as well.
What I though would be a rather flat coastal road turned out to be anything but that. The constant short, sharp dips and rises in the first half made progress slow, however the real stung in the tail was that after the village of Ardslignish the road turns north inland and rises sharply to over 1000ft to then traverse around a mountain before heading south again and descending back to sea level at the village of Kilchoan. It then turns north west and ascends to a few hundred feet over the most ridiculously bad roads and severe gradients before descending back down to the most Westerly point of the UK mainland. Ardnamurchan Point and Ardnamurchan lighthouse. There was a brief pause in the atrocious weather so I managed to take a few photos and videos and strangely there was no sign that mentions the geographic significance of this place. There had been 25 miles back in Salen I guess to try and encourage people down the peninsula but not at the point itself. Very strange.
Here's the video I took with me looking somewhat.....worn! It was after about 75miles so that's my excuse.
By now things were starting to get a bit tight in terms of when I'd finish riding vs when the sun sets so I headed straight back, over the 1000ft mountain pass again and back to Salen. I had a slight niggle in my right knee for the previous day and it had persisted that morning but when I got to Salen it suddenly became a very sharp stabbing pain just on the inside of my right kneecap :-( instead of a short 3 mile ride, due to the change of heart of sleeping arrangement I now had a 10 mile ride in front of me and a road with lots of hills between me and the end. I can tell you without hesitation that this was the worst 10 miles that I've ever spent on a bike. Physically I had already ridden 100 miles that day, not to mention the ridiculous climbing on the peninsular but now I was having to crawl the 10 miles effectively only pushing the pedals with my left leg! Mentally of course the worry's that something serious has happened that might need a few days rest (which would cause all kinds of logistical nightmare later in the challenge) or in a worst case might need me to abandon the challenge completely. I think it's fair to say that when I finally crawled through the bunk house door I was a wreck and I genuinely don't remember much about what happened that evening except that I recall sitting on a sofa and applying an ice pack to my knee. Needless to say I fell asleep very early, hence why I'm writing this blog entry the day after).
Overall, the toughest day so far for me. I didn't think things could get harder than the first day but the wilds of Scotland have corrected me on that one! 171km (106miles) ridden and almost none of it easy.
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Location:Strontian
13 September 2011
Day 2 - Invergordon to Fort William
A shorter day today at only 85miles, and with less severe terrain the going was good. I felt a bit stiff from yesterday's horrendous journey but that disappeared after a few miles.
Yesterday we were told of an impending tail end of a hurricane hitting the west coast of Scotland and quickly moving east, and whilst is was raining hard when we left this morning the sun soon came out and the 20 mile ride to Inverness was genuinely enjoyable. Turning westward towards Loch Ness however and things rapidly deteriorated. The headwind was back, albeit much weaker than yesterday, but this time the heavens opened and remained that way for the next 6 hours whilst we made our way the full length of Loch Ness and down to Fort William. "Soaked to the skin" probably best describes it, even through a goretex jacket. That said, give me rain over a strong headwind any day!
The conditions in Fort William are a lot worse (and predicted to get even worse overnight) than on the east coast so a decision was made to not bother setting up the tents, so instead I find myself writing this blog entry from the Ben Nevis Inn bunk house which is the main place from which people start their climb of the mountain. It's a pretty basic but functional sort of place but with some interesting people. It's communal sleeping but to be honest having a nights sleep on a proper bed when the conditions outside are so bad more than makes up for it.
Tomorrow should be one of the highlights of the trip with the stunning scenery of the far west coast and quiet roads to ride on. That however can only be the case if this weather improves otherwise it's going to be a nightmare with the strongest headwinds so far. It's going to be an early start so that we've got as much time as possible to do the 100 miles as planned before it gets dark, and as we found out yesterday we might need every minute of that time. The limited Internet access that I've got makes finding info on the weather very difficult (even this post is sent to blogger the day after I wrote it) and as we found out today people and the media have a habit of exaggerating things - today was wet but generally ok despite what was reported. That said one look out the window tells me that this is a major and very real issue in these parts. I hope that the worst blows over during the night. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things look in the morning.
The good thing though is that if the weather does stay, the morning and early afternoon will be incredibly hard but from that point onwards if should be a tailwind all the way from Ardnamurchan Point all the way to Lowestoft! That would be fantastic.
I'll try and report how things have gone but due to the remoteness of where I'm going and camping tomorrow it's unlikely that I'll be able to say anything until the end of day 4 when when I get near to Glasgow (writing anything during the day just won't happen as I need to concentrate on getting the miles done). I'll try my best but mobile reception for calls is patchy at best, and mobile data connections very rare.
Rich
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Yesterday we were told of an impending tail end of a hurricane hitting the west coast of Scotland and quickly moving east, and whilst is was raining hard when we left this morning the sun soon came out and the 20 mile ride to Inverness was genuinely enjoyable. Turning westward towards Loch Ness however and things rapidly deteriorated. The headwind was back, albeit much weaker than yesterday, but this time the heavens opened and remained that way for the next 6 hours whilst we made our way the full length of Loch Ness and down to Fort William. "Soaked to the skin" probably best describes it, even through a goretex jacket. That said, give me rain over a strong headwind any day!
The conditions in Fort William are a lot worse (and predicted to get even worse overnight) than on the east coast so a decision was made to not bother setting up the tents, so instead I find myself writing this blog entry from the Ben Nevis Inn bunk house which is the main place from which people start their climb of the mountain. It's a pretty basic but functional sort of place but with some interesting people. It's communal sleeping but to be honest having a nights sleep on a proper bed when the conditions outside are so bad more than makes up for it.
Tomorrow should be one of the highlights of the trip with the stunning scenery of the far west coast and quiet roads to ride on. That however can only be the case if this weather improves otherwise it's going to be a nightmare with the strongest headwinds so far. It's going to be an early start so that we've got as much time as possible to do the 100 miles as planned before it gets dark, and as we found out yesterday we might need every minute of that time. The limited Internet access that I've got makes finding info on the weather very difficult (even this post is sent to blogger the day after I wrote it) and as we found out today people and the media have a habit of exaggerating things - today was wet but generally ok despite what was reported. That said one look out the window tells me that this is a major and very real issue in these parts. I hope that the worst blows over during the night. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things look in the morning.
The good thing though is that if the weather does stay, the morning and early afternoon will be incredibly hard but from that point onwards if should be a tailwind all the way from Ardnamurchan Point all the way to Lowestoft! That would be fantastic.
I'll try and report how things have gone but due to the remoteness of where I'm going and camping tomorrow it's unlikely that I'll be able to say anything until the end of day 4 when when I get near to Glasgow (writing anything during the day just won't happen as I need to concentrate on getting the miles done). I'll try my best but mobile reception for calls is patchy at best, and mobile data connections very rare.
Rich
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Location:Ben Nevis bunk house!
11 September 2011
Day 1 - John o'Groats to Invergordon (200km)
It was a very long drive up yesterday and the campsite was pretty much a marsh due to the huge amount of rain they've had up here so it was a nice surprise to wake up this morning to find no clouds in the sky and a stunning sunrise. We aimed to be ready for 7am but as these things can end up it all took a lot longer. First time packing the panniers and loading the bikes (much heavier than expected) etc not to mention the obligatory photos at the start meant that we didn't leave until about 8 am. As the day was 125 miles today and there was a very strong southerly wind it was looking tight as to whether we'd finish before it got dark. A quick detour to Duncansbury Head (the actual furthest point from Land's End) and we were off. 15 miles or so later and we had reached Dunnet Head which is the most Northerly point in mainland Britain, quick photo taken and we were off west again to Thurso.
After reaching there we headed south across the Heart of Caithness which is probably best described as a moorland wilderness. Very very desolate. The openness of the landscape meant that there was no shelter at all from the southerly wind which was probably a constant 20-25mph but constantly gusting to more than double that. Throw in quite a few steep hills and progress was very slow and very tiring. Neither of us can remember having to ensure such a sustained effort before just to keep moving but 4 hours later we emerged from the moors onto the Coastal road that connect Inverness to Wick. Things were a bit easier here as there was a lot more shelter from the wind but this time the hills were even steeper as we went from headlands to the beach and back up to the headlands again. a couple of hours of torrential rain was thrown in for good measure and eventually, some 11hrs 30mins after we started, we arrived at the campsite just as it was getting dark. We're felling ok. Tired as you might expect but some dinner and a good night sleep will do wonders I'm sure.
Tomorrow is in theory an easy leg in comparison at only 85 miles and with much less climbing but we've been hearing stories of the tail end of a hurricane hitting Scotland overnight and into tomorrow. Could make things interesting to say the least!
Rich
Ps I know the live tracker has been a bit variable how often it's been updating itself. This is because of an almost complete lack of mobile phone reception, and even where it does exist it never seems to be able a GPRS or 3G connection which means that I simply can't broadcast my position. This might continue for the next few days but I'm hoping that from Glasgow onwards thing will improve quite a lot.
Pps. For those wondering who I'm talking about when I say "we", my cousin Ross has joined me for the first four days.
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After reaching there we headed south across the Heart of Caithness which is probably best described as a moorland wilderness. Very very desolate. The openness of the landscape meant that there was no shelter at all from the southerly wind which was probably a constant 20-25mph but constantly gusting to more than double that. Throw in quite a few steep hills and progress was very slow and very tiring. Neither of us can remember having to ensure such a sustained effort before just to keep moving but 4 hours later we emerged from the moors onto the Coastal road that connect Inverness to Wick. Things were a bit easier here as there was a lot more shelter from the wind but this time the hills were even steeper as we went from headlands to the beach and back up to the headlands again. a couple of hours of torrential rain was thrown in for good measure and eventually, some 11hrs 30mins after we started, we arrived at the campsite just as it was getting dark. We're felling ok. Tired as you might expect but some dinner and a good night sleep will do wonders I'm sure.
Tomorrow is in theory an easy leg in comparison at only 85 miles and with much less climbing but we've been hearing stories of the tail end of a hurricane hitting Scotland overnight and into tomorrow. Could make things interesting to say the least!
Rich
Ps I know the live tracker has been a bit variable how often it's been updating itself. This is because of an almost complete lack of mobile phone reception, and even where it does exist it never seems to be able a GPRS or 3G connection which means that I simply can't broadcast my position. This might continue for the next few days but I'm hoping that from Glasgow onwards thing will improve quite a lot.
Pps. For those wondering who I'm talking about when I say "we", my cousin Ross has joined me for the first four days.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Just north of Inverness
Most Northerly point reached
Ok it's not far from the start but that's the first of four extremes done. So far so good. Very strong wind head-on for the next few hours.
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And I'm off!!
Finally the day has come, there's a stiff wind but the skies are blue. Will write more this evening. 125 miles to go today
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:United Kingdom
10 September 2011
Next stop John O'Groats
Its 0525, the car is packed and we're off. Fingers crossed that the journey will only take about 12 hours today but who knows what will happen. If we don't make it by 9pm we'll be locked out of the campsite and to start the trip with a night in the car wouldn't be good.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow so that I can finally get the challenge underway. It's a 123 mile first leg which is the second longest of the whole thing and is reasonably flat so there's a good chance to make decent progress. I really hope the rain holds off and the threat of a 20mph headwind goes away!
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I'm looking forward to tomorrow so that I can finally get the challenge underway. It's a 123 mile first leg which is the second longest of the whole thing and is reasonably flat so there's a good chance to make decent progress. I really hope the rain holds off and the threat of a 20mph headwind goes away!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Newington,,United Kingdom
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