Day 9 Inverness to Helmsdale (and beyond)

Change of plan

Day 8 ended with an offer that I couldn't refuse.  "We have a plan" Richard announced as we sat down for dinner..."well a proposal really and we can vote".  As three of us have a plan and one person is about to cast their vote the odds of overturning seemed unlikely.  We do run a democratic system in our team of one man one vote but sadly I am not that man.

The cunning plan was to get up early and ride away from the Travelodge to get in some of the initial climbs we had planned prior to breakfast.  This seemed like a fair enough plan especially considering nothing locally served breakfast until around 8 which would make our setting off time very late. 

We all met outside at just before 7-15 to put the plan into implementation when Bob looked at Mike and asked "Where are the keys?" just as Mike looked at Bob and asked "where are the keys?".  Hence two people both scrabbled through their luggage to see if they really were the last ones to have them last night.

" I gave them to you..."

Now there was a second part of the plan that we will get to later.

The ride away from Inverness is possibly the most picturesque part of our entire journey so far.  You ride away over the river on the suspension bridge with the football ground on your right and the harbour on the left before climbing up towards Dingwall on the A9.  

Not the best bridge

Our first drinks stop was 10 miles out and we were making good time with the climb now behind us we descended down towards sea level again and the bridge spanned across the Loch.   Just before we got onto this bridge we saw the first sign for John o Groats which was 109 miles away.  By the time we would finish the day that distance would be down to 35 miles.

At the drinks stop Richard suggested Barry was preparing for the wrong sport as his lineout bandages seem to have slipped beneath his knees (these were actually Platella supports but we could see the point).  After crossing the first bridge and turning right towards breakfast at Skiach truck stop, we saw Seals in the water just off the road.  This is going to sound daft but when you first see something moving in the water up here you do look particularly closely but there was a small family of seals playing around the rocks which was great to see.

Not nessie

We had also been making good time.  40 minutes for the 10 miles from the last stop to breakfast with Captain Potts leading the way obviously encouraged by the thought of a truck stop meal.  During breakfast healthy debate ensued about how to build a business empire and Mike performed an interesting impersonation of Richard's "starman" onto his bed that reduced the entire group to tears.   Sadly this doesnt work so well in the blog but I have to record it because in years to come when I re-read this this really was one of those moments that I want to remind myself of.

There have been a lot of those during this trip.  There are times, when tempers are probably shorter than people want them to be but mostly that is linked to times when we are hungry, tired, soaking wet or a combination of the three.  This is far outweighed though by the genuinely funny moments that we have had as we try to encourage each other to the finish line.

A good breakfast had a unifying effect

The picture above is probably my favourite one from the blog so far.  It is a shame we are not wearing our Sparks shirts (held in best for tomorrow) but this is the four of us together as a team and the brighter moments over the last few days have also had that as a common link.

Fish and chips

It was around 10 o'clock when we left breakfast and it was dawning on us that given the time we had made in the morning we could get to Helmsdale (our destination) by mid afternoon which enthused all of us.  We headed off and would get in two more 40 minute times for 10 miles which at this stage of the trip was surprising.  

Could be Wales

As we crossed the third bridge of the day (fortunately the Forth bridge was behind us ;-)) we planned for lunch in Glospie and the scenery off this bridge reminded us of a lot of the training runs we had done around North Wales.  Richard took this photo with the flag on Barry's back and the hills off in the distance which could be near Bala.

Lunch was at the Fish and chip restaurant in Glospie and during the lunch I spoke with my Grandma who was really enthusiastic about the whole trip and what an achievement it was.  Hearing the pride in her voice made me quite emotional but also very enthusiastic to get to the end and finish what we had started and looking out at the beach the end was only 75 miles away.  Adrenalin was kicking in.

As we left the town slightly weighed down by the various meals we had eaten we did come across this funnily named castle that amused us all.  It's been a long trip.

Thieves retirement home

We rode along the coast road all the way up to Helmsdale which was fine apart from the last few miles where there were suddenly some more hills.  The view behind us was amazing though with the last of the Caringorms and the hill we had started the morning climbing now far in the distance.  This was probably the first day where you could see, if not the actual place, a rough idea of where you started the ride and the distance we covered in the day was unexpected.

Stating the obvious time but 60 plus miles is a long distance but to have this view down the coast of the distance emphasised the point.  

We rode into Helmsdale and straight to the hotel we were staying at which prompted a cheer from Barry.  At last we had done a day without getting lost.  " it was one road!" the others chimed but a victory is a victory. 

Whilst we waited for Bob to return from the ice cream shop he was waiting at, Richard took the time to take some self portraits the best of which is beneath.

Get your motor running...

The cunning plan

Now stage 2 of the plan could kick in.  As we had made such good time on the 68 mile trip to Helmsdale we decided to try and get a head start on day 10.  Particularly because day 10 started with three climbs within 15 miles totalling around 1400 feet of climb which we wanted to avoid tomorrow when the weather forecast was predicting both rain and a headwind.

So after refuelling and Barry changing his own back wheel (with just a little help from Bob...to prove he still is useless in practical terms) and making sure our tyres were up to pressure we headed off for the largest of the hills which was an 800 feet climb not dissimilar to the horeshoe pass.

Barry at least tries to help fix his bike

These hills were hard.  Really hard.  Up until now the Bristol airport climb had been the hardest one but these three hills and the first two in particular were the toughest ones we had done.  

The first climb went straight from the harbour at Helmsdale and wound its way around the hill with an increase in altitude of 800 feet in just over three miles.   The road then flattened out a little and descended slightly allowing some good speeds to be attained until it descended 500 feet on a 13% incline before returning the same on the other side with an Alpine bend thrown in for good measure.  This 500 feet climb was torture on our legs and the woman in the layby laughing at us was not particularly helpful but I can see her point as we puffed and panted our ways to the top.

Our target point was a tea room at Dunbeath and the next few miles were quite pleasent as the coastal road meandered on and you could see further down the road to what we thought may be John o Groats but turns out is probably Wick.  

The end is in sight (well nearly)

One last valley at Dunbeath where you dived down into the harbour before climbing back out on the other side was finished off with a few hundred yard climb to the tea room.  We were all surprised to see the van pointing the wrong way down the road and being guided to the tea room further down the road particularly when the last two were told that Bob would see them back at the hotel before the van turned around to come and collect.

We returned to Helmsdale at pace in the van and we all surprised at just how far the 17 miles actually is when you get to replay it just after completion.  We will do this 17 miles again tomorrow to return for our start point for the 10th and final day.   36 short miles to go.  

Day 7 and 8 photos

Having managed to deal with the technology here are some of the photos from day 7 and 8 that we had taken.

view from the top of the cairngorms

Next peak on the road

The sign at Aviemore

Breakfast time.  Bad choice of colours 

Mike's light from the Manchester airport approach lighting

You can just about see the rail bridge off the forth bridge

View over the loch coming into Inverness

Found in Sainsburys

Fixing the puncture outside of Pitlochry

The 1000 feet climb was worth the view

Day 8 - Pitlochry to Inverness

Firstly, apologies for the lack of photos but my phone is still not working but we will try and put them up once we get access to those on the camera.

Cycle path or not

We had breakfast in the B&B and had a decision to make about whether to take the A9 proper or the A9 cycle path.  

Either way both run the entire distance from Pitlochry to Inverness however the road does this in around 84 miles whereas the cycle path takes well over 90 and is slightly more hilly.  It has to be said we all have road bikes the type of which have very thin tyres and the type of saddle tha,t if you are old enough to remember the yellow pages adverts, look like razor blades.  The thought of bouncing along on an uneven service on a proper road is unappealing enough before you add being not as well maintained into the equation.

Given yesterdays experience we decided to go with the road although given we would have three punctures to fix during the course of the first few hours maybe the cycle path may have been more forgiving.  Whilst changing one puncture the usual team of Richard, Mike and Lee shot into action and after most of the work was completed handed the tyre back to Barry to put on the bike.  Ten seconds later they took it back just after Barry realised that the spikey wheels on the back should probably be on the same side as the chain and fractionally after he realised the chain may need to go around the spikey thing.  

Main road riding

Riding on the main road is not as bad as you may think.  99% of the cars and lorries behind you are aware of you (given we were wearing lime/fluorescent yellow we were visible from space) and give you a wide berth when overtaking.  We also ride very conscientously and ride on the left of the white line marking the lane by and large unless the number of gutters makes this unsustainable.  Obviously that leaves the 1%.

If you are the type of person who feels the need to shout abuse at cyclists using the rural country roads then we have some news for you.  The mixture of the 60mph of the car, 20 mile an hour winds and the Doppler effect mean that all the cyclist will here is a primeval grunt.  Although in some instances this may actually have been the noise emanating from the vehicles, for the others our advice is whatever it was you shouted you should probably have just said it quietly to the person next to you.  They were the only person who heard it anyway.

The Cairngorms

Had you told me a few weeks ago that on this ride one of my least enjoyable days would be the trip past my house and one of the most enjoyable when we traversed the Cairngorm mountain range I would have thought you crazy.

However, whilst there was a large 1000 feet climb to start the day it was over a duration of about ten miles and the view at the top was spectacular.    We also tried to convince Mike the lake we could see was Loch Ness but he has vowed to never believe us again so this didn't work.  It was at the top that Mike realised just how bright his front light was.  When Bob asked where he had got it from, Richard quickly replied "the runway at Manchester Airport".  To be fair this is such a bright light that was flashing away we briefly considered whether we needed to put a warning for people approaching with photo sensitive epilepsy.

What goes up must come down and the next twenty miles were down hill and we were averaging well over twenty miles an hour on the approach to Kingusise where we would have a drink stop before heading on for Lunch at Aviemore.  This spell of riding was fantastic as we were able to wind back the aching in our legs and ride along at speeds for consistent periods we thought we well behind us.  In fact our average speed today was equivalent to those of day 1...some 600 miles ago.

For lunch we found a Pizza and Pasta buffet at the first restaurant as you approach Aviemore and using the excuse of Carb loading and Replacing lost calories attacked it like we had not eaten for days.  The food was fantasttic and after our first plates were finished we went back for second helpings at which point Barry realised Lee was just about to start a meet dish on his plate despite being vegetarian and Mike arrived with more food on his second plate than his first.  Rumour that the company is suffering financially after our arrival are greatly exaggerated.

Perfect Pizza

Aviemore itself is an odd town.  This is a world renowned ski centre despite being quite flat and has a number of shops most of which are mountain clothing and outdoor sports related.  There was a kids funland with three or four rides but I assume the tourists in February time are not that concerned with this as they are flying down the hills.

Returning to the A9 we climbed back up for the next 10 miles to Schlod summit at about 1315 feet which was a tough climb but the weather was with us and the sun block was woken from hibernation as the temparature increased.  The view from the top of here was amazing with the Cairngorm mountains now in our rear view mirrors (or would be if we had one!) and the sunshine and this is truly an area you should visit if you have not.   I think we would all recommend driving though.

The other bright side at this point was that we were now within 10 miles of the hotel and a 5-45 ish finish which would allow for extra time to recover before tomorrow.  Whilst there were still some climbs to come which slowed us down once these were out of the way, the A9 view of Inverness and the sea is fantastic as you descend into the town.

Jinx strikes again

So...it would appear I could get being on one road wrong.

And what is worse I actually got it wrong about ten days ago when I searched for the Inverness Travelodge to plot the route into the Navigation unit and it guided me to the Travelodge Fairways.  Sadly, there is another Travelodge in Inverness which is about two miles away which is where we are actually staying.  Pants.

We maybe should have suspected when the Van was at the Travelodge and there was a message that there was nowhere to stop in between the A9 and the hotel to meet as arranged.  This appeared odd as we had two miles per the computer so we set off to finish the day before 6 for the first time in a while only to find out that the Van was about 500 yards from us.  Double Pants.

I have already searched Helmsdale to make sure there is only one hotel there with the same name and after that there is only one more night away and I have promised I wont have anything to do with the navigation on that day.  For now.

Day 6 part two.

Oops

Not so many photos here sadly, as during the cafe break, but after heading the hanging potted plant, Barry found out that his mobile phone had died.  One of Lee's friends visited tonight and said he had received about 40 emails a day with the updates however this has reduced dramatically since the phone death.  Those of you who know Barry will know that being without his phone is a bit like having an arm surgically removed so coping with it will be interesting.

Cross the border

Despite the pouring rain, seeing the sign below was very welcome.  We had made over 500 miles since the start.  Scotland was a long way away from home and telling me that I would have ridden here from home let alone driving a few hundred miles in the other direction first would have been unbelievable.

Why there is only Barry in the photo I dont know.  Why he looks quite so camp is really beyond comprehension.

Anyhoo, what you may not be able to see is the sign in the background which says "heavy rain expected Thursday".  If the weather we had ridden trough to that point had been "light rain" then the Scottish interpretation was obviously different to ours.

Last 15

We had lunch in Sainsbury's at Hawick where Lee told us that he had played on a particularly tough rugby tour before and hence knew how to pronounce the name of the town and then on towards Perth.

Now we have noticed that the last 15 miles of the trips have been the hardest on all of the days.  You could say this is stating the obvious however there always appear to have been events that happen at this time such as a big hill, Barry getting us lost or rain.

Had this ride stopped at 85 miles, it would have been an excellent day.  However it didn't and we had to battle on for the final 15 miles which seemed to take a long time especially as it started once more to rain.

This really got me thinking about the cause of why we are doing this and how deep people struggling with their child's illness must have to dig when the think they can take no more.  I realize this is a bad comparison and our extra 15 miles pails into insignificance but there are times towards the end of these days where you do think about whether you can continue and you have to dig.  One pedal at a time.

Hydro

As it was Mr Williams senior and Mike Shelley's last night with the team we were staying away from our usual travelodge at the Peebles Hydro spa.  After arriving, we all headed to the pool for some time relaxing our aching legs in the pool/tub/sauna and this helped to ease some of the miles out of our legs.

Dinner was excellent in the restaurant and a surprise came in the form of Bob (Barry's dad) arriving just after we had ordered.  Now Bob was expected as he kindly volunteered to take over from Mike with the van duties but we had been busy planning how we could hand over the van as Barry's phone had died.   Turning up a day early sorted this problem nicely.  (Given the events on the rail network today (28th) even more so!).

The dinner was great and there were some toasts in honour of Mike and Barry for their company over the preceding days and generosity in supporting us in a number of other ways.  There had been many laughs shared and both of them had contributed massively to our effort.  Thanks.

Day 7 - Peebles to Pitlochry

starting right...

Waking up this morning in your own room with no noise was now an unusual and slightly unsettling experience.  There was the usual rush to pack all of your stuff and get ready for the start of the ride but the banter that has accompanied the trip so far was missed.  

View in Peebles

Now it has to be said that like with most events where a few men are away together a lot of the conversation has reverted to nine year old type mickey taking a lot of which we probably can't publish.   However the sense of team spirit from this can not be underestimated and I for one was put into a slightly odd mood from this which I don't think I recovered from until a few hours after getting to Pitlochry.

First stop 

We made reasonable time for the first ten miles along the A703 and A701 in towards Edinburgh and decided that there really are not many books that are worse than the subsequent movies.  We were also slightly embarrassed at the cafe stop when after two of our team members tried the bathroom door and assumed it was occupied a young mother said "it just sticks a bit" and opened it easily.

We met the van just outside the ring road and said the farewells to Barry and Mike, who were heading back to Wrexham tonight and loaded up our provisions to make way around to the Forth Road Bridge whilst the van went to town to drop them off at the train station.  

Whilst the actual navigation around Edinburgh was reasonably easy, the weather deteriorated and we were soon riding through a fine rain (the type that soaks you through) and a mist.  To put this into context, we rode past Edinburgh airport and at one point could hear a plane that sounded very close.  looking up, the A320 was around 200 feet above the road when it finally came into view on its approach.

The Bridge

Having crossed the bridge in a car on numerous occasions, I was really looking forward to this.  The weather had not helped but after a stop at the garage just short of the bridge and some more Millionaire shortbread (that I think I am becoming addicted to) we rolled around to cross.

Now, the Bridge is a famous landmark and in my own mind this was a part of the ride that probably meant the most to me.  The picture beneath was not what I had in mind.

The famous turrets

The view improved as you crossed the bridge but I couldn't help but be saddened that this was not as I had pictured it in my minds eye.  

Kelty

We then climbed about 500 feet out of the Forth estuary up through Inverkeithing and on the way out to Perth.  We met up with the van for lunch having rang to see where Bob was only to find out he was actually just 100 yds down the road.

We had a nice sandwhich only to find out that the type of cafe we would have preferred was by the van but we had already ordered by that point.  It was turning out to be one of those days.

The Goat

A common theme has arisen over the last seven days.  Richard spent a long time painstakingly plotting the route and Barry (paying less attention it would appear) put these into the Garmin navigation.  

Now aside from just missing the unit telling you to turn or not being able see which road we should turn down most of these changes have resulted in a climb.  Today's example was particularly spectacular.  

Richard had planned a sedate (but slightly longer) route out on the A91 and then into Perth.  Barry translated this into a B road route with around 800 feet of climb and one truly spectacular descent.  This was compounded when Bob told the others about how flat the A91 route is into Perth and what a nice drive it had been.  Thanks Dad.

So it has been decided that in a former life I must have been a goat as given a hill in front of me my natural inclination is to climb it.  I suggest this just means I am probably going to continue cycling :-).

Perth

We have met some great people in the various cafes and restaurants on this trip and the Brig Farm shop would prove to be another example.  If you ever get a chance, the cakes are fantastic!

Sadly due to poor planning on Barry's part the Garmin ran out of battery and due to an unfortunate geographic mix up we didn't meet the van either and so we headed into the city centre with no real instructions as to how to navigate our way around. Which led to the obvious result.

After asking a policeman and passing through a housing estate where everybody was discussing the affairs of the day in their garden we found signs for the A9 where we will spend the next 124 miles.  Five miles onto it we caught up with the Van for refuelling and this was probably a point where the team was at a real low.  

It was 6pm due to our delayed start and couple of early stops, we had 24 miles to Pitlochry which felt like a long way away suddenly.  So we set our sights on riding as far as we could in the next hour and we would stop there and restart from the same spot in the morning.  

It has to be said this motivation re-energised everyone as we were actually stopped about 1mile short of the Pitlochry turn off due to a slightly flat tyre being turned into a destroyed valve whilst trying to fix it.  

We thought this was enough in terms of messages and called the van to come and collect us so that we can recover for tomorrow's trip to Inverness.

Aul Smiddy

Just to confirm Barry's goat tendancies, after a fantastic meal at the above named pub where the mood lightened greatly after a nice stroll from the hotel on the way back the group was directed up a left hand turn by a certain member of the group.

As we started to climb the hill Richard and Mike asked "did we see this co-op earlier?"..,."Oh no!!!  he even gets us lost walking back to the hotel!".

The A9 is the only road we are on tomorrow.  Surely I cant get that wrong?

  

Day six - penrith to Peebles

Its raining....

The day began with Richard exclaiming, "it looks like rain, lets ride like the wind!".  This was met with derision, catcalls and general disbelief as Mike and Barry came around realising the words "it looks like rain" probably would have a lot more impact on their immediate future than riding like the wind.

After another Early starter breakfast at Little Chef (our diets have synchronised following three days in the room) we boarded the van to the start point back on the A6. 

The start was greatly anticipated as the Williams Team Pit Crew had spent a lot of the previous night fixing Barry's shoes whilst he sat on the couch and watched.  "I'm doing the blog" was my only defence and this was not greeted warmly.  After it was decided that not only did the shoes need fixing but my bike needed new pedals we set about a tactical mission the A-team would have been proud of to get the bike into the room unnoticed.

If only they had told me of the plan as I walked in with the bike behind the "diversionary" tactics of "how many free rooms are there?" happily saying hi to the receptionist.  Barry continued his helpfulness by then sticking his shoe to the pedal before it was attached to the bike. This meant Richard had to thread the peddle with the shoe and then wind the shoe until it could be removed.  Sorry :-).

Their efforts were not rewarded though as Barry managed to start without falling off the new pedals but not before the photo beneath was taken.  It was not as painful as it looks, and was done because Richard had started playing a game to come up with as many words as possible from the letters in Livestrong.  The current record is 106. 

Does my bum look big in these?

here comes the rain

The route took us up to Carlisle where Richard carried on a fine tradition he started in the training courses in relation to his bike computer.  These are small little devices that sit on the handlebars and tell the rider helpful information like cadence and speed which we have been using to measure our rides and keep everyone to acceptable pace so that we dont tire too easily.

Richards tradition though is to break them and his third today detached itself from the bike and bounced into the path of the oncoming traffic.  Despite the first few cars missing it, the second to last one connected perfectly and split the computer into a number of component parts.  Hence, Richard has been asking rather a lot what speed we are going today.

Leaving Carlisle, we stopped at a great cafe that is attached to a caravan park.  By this point, we had been travelling for around 20 miles in a heavy rain and we were soaked through our various waterproof coats that were not quite living up to the billing.  In particular this was the point Barry realised that his phone was no longer functioning which is a bit like him having had an arm surgically removed.

Now I have to be honest.  Having just spent twenty minutes writing this the computer crashed and I lost it.

:-(.

Given its gone midnight now I will update tomorrow on the trip into Scotland.   Sorry.

THANKS

The one thing I definitely want to have on here though is our thanks to Mike Shelley who has been with us driving the support van for the last six days but returns home tomorrow.

There is no word of a lie when we say we could not have done it without you.  You have truly been part of the team, joined in the banter, been exceptionally generous and above all of our expectations.  Thanks.

Day 5. - haydock to Penrith

Day 5

Closest to Speedy we got all day

This was a day we were all looking forward to and dreading.

Looking forward to as by now we were supposed to have "ridden in" and our bodies adapted to what we were asking them to do on a daily basis.

Dreading because of Shap which we were scheduled to hit at about 72 miles and was a 1400 foot climb over the next eight or so miles.

BADGERS

This mornings ride flew past and we made great time mostly by sticking to the route. The only time we went slightly off route Barry blamed on having put a route point three hundred yards down the road and the remainder blamed on Barry following the lady cyclist ahead of us.

Badgers for a cup of tea

Still we found a great little roadside cafe at about thirty miles and had a cup of tea there whilst waiting for the van to arrive as the team has managed to overtake it in Preston.

Just a small hill in the center of Preston

One amazing point here though was that we had gone through Preston in under two hours and I know from bitter past experience that it has taken me that log before on the M6 if you hit the wrong type of roadworks.


LANCASTER

Lancaster is a place that I know solely for the university.  However, I now know if for the fact that it is "twinned" with five places.  By my simple maths shouldn't that mean it is sextupleted?  Although I was banned from considering this too much primarily because it was just pedantic.

Lancaster one way system was fun

We also found at this point that at times the Garmin does not have a great deal of respect for one way streets.  This was highligted as I shouted to Richard to turn right and he replied "into three lanes of traffic??". Still, brave sole that he is, he did go across and we walked down the pavement instead.

Lancaster is "twinned" with five places

LUNCH

We continued our search for lunch and eventually stopped at the Lakeside wildlife Oasis.  Just in front of a school trip.

Donation at Lakeland Wildlife Oasis

The lady who served us then provided a donation to the course after Mr Williams senior explained what it was we were doing and in advance of us leaving we were given two bags of biscuits which would provide a good source of energy for the next part of the day.


APPROACH

As we approached Shap the general approach of all of us changed. It went from an insurmountable monster to a hill the likes of which we had all done in multiple training rides.

half way up Shap

We were not doing the tour de Cumbria and our time was only important to make sure we got dinner.

Even the rain didn't really dampen our spirit we just accepted it and continues at our steady pace.

Creating the final peak and seeing the van waiting ahead of us was a great feeling and the elation helped greatly for the descent to Penrith.

The joy of reaching the top of Shap

Barry getting us lost again with a mile to go didn't help but we eventually got to the travelodge at about 7.

MESSAGES

The messages of support we are getting are fantastic and we really appreciate the stuff we receive by text/Facebook etc. Sometimes a few small worlds can have a big impact.

In part, today's success can be attributed to a very moving message that the team received last night.

It nearly reduced three of us to tears but as we all avoided each others eyes there was a new resolve that we are doing this for a great cause.

Day 4 Ludlow to Haydock

FIRSTS

Today has been a day of many firsts.

Barry made a cup of tea for Richard and Mike and also spoilt the habit of a lifetime (well four days) by following the directions on the Garmin and staying on course. Success!

In fact the only time we were off course was for lunch at a great little cafe just outside of Whitchurch. This coincided with Mike the driver using the find my I phone app to locate us and then ringing thinking we were lost.  How ironic as this was the first time we deliberately strayed off the course albeit by around 400 yds.

Actually the quality of food today has been much better. We started at church Stretton in a small cafe as the Ludlow travelodge doesn't have breakfast facilities. This was after having done the first hour riding on some frusli bars and was a nice way to do it as it made the day feel a bit shorter.

Breakfast Cafe

We then pretty much headed up the A49 to Shrewsbury. One considerate moment came from Richard when a truck was trying to pass us and he pulled into a junction to allow the lorry time to get past.

When complimented on this he said "I thought it was trying to draft me!".

Shrewsbury

Navigating Shrewsbury can be a challenge as there is a big hill with cobbles in the middle that would not have made pleasant riding today. However, at risk of being controversial Shrewsbury council has done a great job with cycle lanes all around the by-passes such that we could navigate with no trouble whatsoever.  

Shrewsbury cycle lanes

I know lots of places struggle with space but this part of the ride felt excellent as we went through a busy town separated from the traffic at a good distance.

They knew we were coming

NEARLY HOME

We then passed very close to our houses in Wrexham and for me personally this part of the ride was tough. Perhaps because the road was familiar, perhaps because home was just a left turn and twelve short miles away, perhaps because there were no real climbs or descents just repetitive rolling road, perhaps because we had stopped on "sequals better than the original movies" at Godfather II and the Empire Strikes Back.

Meeting Nia for Lunch

It did help greatly though seeing some friends for Lunch and then also at our last drink stop.  It is quite humbling that people would go out of there way to come and just say hi and it means a lot to us.  Chris actually just got onto the A49 and drove with a view that he would go as far as Warrington.  He caught us about 5 miles before we got there.

Lockview cafe.  We recommend all sandwhiches

The remainder of the day was smooth and steady progress with us now having found our pace (one step up from pedestrian) we made it to the end of the route in good time.

The Warrington Wolves stadium

Tomorrow we face Shap. Ho hum.

Day three - Bristol to Ludlow

Start

After a night of fitful sleep due to shouts of "AHH cramp", random light switching on and the Bristol nightlife outside of the window all deciding this was a good place to laugh, shout, cry have a sirens blaring car chase we made breakfast at around opening time of 8am.

In the corner was a man carrying a can of Fosters who had obviously had an enjoyable night in one of the above categories.

Given the above and the adventures of day 2 the mood was generally a little downbeat as you can see from the before and after photos of Mike below.

Day 1 vs Day 3

It was apt then that day three started as day two had ended.  Near Bristol airport.  This obviously needs some explanation so we had decided that after our hour long one mile trip around Bristol the night before we would take the van and make sure we were on the right A38 within the town centre which would then see us pretty much all the way to Gloucester.

The first sign of the issue is when the road sign read A38 Taunton, but this was calmed by Richard with the excuse that we were going to a ring road and it would take us back.  When we got to the next junction and it not only said Bristol airport straight on but we started to recognise the route we realised we were aiming in the wrong direction.  But fortunately in the van.  Apparently this comes down to Bristol having an airport at Felton and Filton!

We then headed back to find the A38 in Bristol which again proved more difficult than expected even with the aid of a sat nav, normal map and google maps.  Eventually we did find the A38 and started our day and ride away from Bristol albeit a little later than expected.

Severn bridge in the background

The ride to Gloucester was fairly uneventful although we were relatively cold and hence all set up in our rain gear. We generally made good progress and by the first stop the temperature had increased to be quite a nice if not breezy day.

Pain....

Sadly, Mike suffered with his knee leaving Gloucester which meant he had to have some time in the van icing it and trying to reduce the pain/swelling.   Overnight he is having a lot of ice/heat treatment in preparation for tomorrow and walking around the travelodge with two towels on his knees.

To put this into context we had done about 250 miles in two days when this happened...this is apparently equivalent to running three marathons on consecutive days. So some pain is to be expected. Sadly.   However waiting for the van did mean we were stood next to the sign below which caused some amusement.

Apparently this is an "attractive horse"

Lunch

Lunch was next on the horizon at around 40 miles and this is where the day took a slight downward turn. Lunch has been experimental on the two days...first day not enough and too small a stop, second day about right and third day we tried for a pub lunch at one of the en route pubs.

We probably should have worried when we were asked for the name when placing the order despite being the only people in the bar except for a party sat around the corner.

An hour or so later, lunch still hadn't arrived.  When it did arrive, to say it was underwhelming would be an overstatement.  But the more major problem was the hour and twenty mintue stop meant we were now under pressure to make our six o'clock dinner with our families and had also cooled down and started to ache again.

"Yes the name is Williams."

As one quick footnote as were leaving two lads walked into the bar and looked at the two for £10 offer on the menu.   "Not in any rush to get back are we?" said one.  If they had a second course they may still be there.

The afternoon was tough. We had cooled down, ate in a rush and now it started or climbs for the day. These are nothing compared to the climbs in the first two days but the toll on our legs amongst other body parts was beginning to tell.

The view over Hereford was stunning and at points we did find ourselves tracking along nicely at thirteen miles an hour.  This pace is not fast but it is steady progress and we were proud of ourselves. Especially once we turned into the wind and the heart rate was higher automatically.

It doesn't help us to then see another group doing the LEJOG fly past at well over seventeen miles an hour. But they are looking at doing it a whole day quicker than us so are at a different and very impressive level.

Richard returns for his drink

Revival

Now you may see that the general mood of today is a lot more positive than yesterday.  We met up with our families at the end of today and were able to speak with them, share stories have a hug with wives and children.  The tension from the group visibly lifted, mood lightened and instead of us sitting staring at the plates in front of us we all ate the meals with a good appetite.

This is why we are doing this overall so that other people can have some of the moments that we shared this evening with their loved ones and just that thought alone makes me far more optimistic for the next few days.

Day 2 Okehampton to Bristol

Day two

Day two was tough.

To put this into context when we stopped we ran for the showers given we were doing a good impression of drowned rats with those joke teeth in our mouths.

The day had started well with sunshine in Okehampton and a reasonable breakfast at little chef.

We set of with our plans to follow the route on the Garnin. This lasted until the first odd looking turn down a lane that looked more useful for hiding evidence than a bike journey. At which point we all agreed to ignore the rule and headed straight on into Crediton. 

We then decided to go through "Robs passage" to go around the Cadbury mountains. Although this added some mileage, it was supposed to reduce the amount of climb we made in the day.

It also meant we ended up on some great country lanes with stunning views of the countryside.

Through Taunton (no free cider samples were forthcoming) and out the other side we then needed to stock up on food and found a fantastic restaurant in a local garden center.

Despite aches and pains we rode for the next twenty miles in a similar way to a proper team and actually made great time for the next twenty two miles upon the flat roads. 

We then had our final stop and looked at the foreboding hills that lay ahead. 

Now up until this point things had gone well.    We had covered a lot of miles, had made good time and were within 20 miles of our destination for the evening. This was a fantastic achievement and one we should all be proud of.

Day 2 - Part 2.

What happened next made the above feel like such a long time ago that writing about it is a stretch of my memory.

Firstly, there was a hill that would be a tough climb at any point let alone after 80 miles. As we descended from that climb, insult was added to injury. It began to rain. Hard.

Now it had rained briefly this morning but in a biblical fashion now this rain began again just as we hit the start of the climb up to Bristol Airport.

This climb is about 600 feet which is a long way and done over a short space of time into a wind with rain pouring down made it worse.

Briefly stopping three quarters of the way was a mistake on my part solely because my slick tyres could not then grip on the slope and water so getting going agaib meant I nearly fell off. Twice.

I finally got to the top and awaited the group. Having not put my waterproof on this was not a pleasant experience. Remember your school life saving lessons and then imagine standing under a cold shower for fifteen minutes.

All that waited now was the drop down into Bristol. Which should have been easy. However the Allanis Morissette lookalike upstairs had different ideas and Dodging floods, traffic jams buses taxis, random kerbs in cycle lanes and and Bristols one way system was not fun.

it was around now (ie when we found it) we realised that the Garmin on my bike was aiming to the wrong travelodge. This would not have been that bad but I could not see the directions it was telling me due to the rain on the screen, my glasses, contact lenses ...and it's habit of putting a big arrow for directions over the whole screen so you can't tell which road to take.

So It took us the best part of an hour to find what should have taken five minutes. 

Roll on tomorrow.

ROUTE

Miles 102

Climb 1451 metres

Rainfall - more than I thought possible

Say hello Mr Thatcher

First stop and eighteen miles down....

British Countryside we often overlook

They knew we were coming

Some of the great lanes

Lunch time..and a few potted plants

No chance of a tunnel?

"The greater Good"

Bristol Airport by monsoon