Anyone want to buy a bike?

Anyone Want to Buy a Bike? - One careful owner

As if, I might not have ventured back on the bike since Sunday, but I’m blaming the weather this week.

So how do you describe over 900 miles in 10 days?

This is the card my mum sent to the team on Monday

and that innocent excitement just about sums it up. At John O’Groats there was a real high that you’ve completed something that you’ve never done before and when you set out you didn’t actually know that you could do it.  On the downside you also realise quite quickly that once it’s over it’s over – a bit like Christmas as a youngster; lots of build-up, preparation and excitement until all the presents are open and then………….

You’ll not be surprised to know that there were “moments of discomfort” and I wouldn’t take this challenge on without a good sized tub of Sudocrem. The aches and pains fade fairly quickly and the memory is really good at pushing those moments of discomfort to the back of the mind. It means that you can chose to keep all of the good memories of being part of a great team – Richard. Mike and Barry on the bikes and Mike, Barry and Bob in the minibus.

Sparks

Most importantly, however, this challenge was undertaken to raise funds and awareness for Sparks. If you’ve followed the blog then you’ll already know about the work Sparks undertakes. If you’ve not picked up on Sparks yet visit their website at www.sparks.org.uk . As a children’s medical research charity their objective is to improve the quality of life for babies, children and their families and it’s a privilege to be a supporter of Sparks and to participate in an event that helps to raise funds and awareness for such a great cause. For all of us involved this was a Sparks event more than a team and personal challenge.

It’s surprising how many people have been involved in bringing Sparks Wrexham  LEJOG together and can I add my personal thanks to everyone who has donated their time and/or money to this great cause. In particular I’d like to thank: Richard for the initial idea and asking me to take part. The support team Mike, Barry and Bob for getting us to Lands’ End; for being there every 10 to 15 miles to John O’Groats and for returning us to the day jobs. It’s not a glamorous task driving the minibus for a couple of thousand miles there and back but you’ve no idea how welcome the sight of a white minibus can be. Also on a personal note – thanks to Colin and Caroline for making a 3 hour round trip to wish us well at Pitlochry - above and beyond but great to see you guys.

Finally I can’t sign off without acknowledging the fantastic effort that Mr Potts put in. After two days Mike could barely walk and I thought his next destination was more likely to be Bristol Royal Infirmary than John O’Groats. How you cycle another 600/700 miles in such pain I don’t know but Mike did – respect. Oh, and he still made the tea every morning and evening.

Where do I plan to cycle next? – Probably to Dodleston village shop to get the paper in the morning…… Hey, it’s a start

Mike's final blog

A Neighbour's Journey...............

Seeing John O'Groats in sight and marking the end of our journey, brought with it very mixed emotions - happiness to have reached our goal, sadness to have reached our goal.

Our journey has  been filled with  highs, lows and lots of good times in between. The good times far outweighed the bad. There were so many funny moments that my sides actually hurt laughing. For me, those memories are priceless and I will hold them dear for many, many years to come.

Not forgetting the reason we embarked on this journey, to raise funds for the much deserving children's charity "Sparks", I would like to thank all those people who kindly donated, you really have made a difference.

Thanks to:

Wives:

For putting up with our absences and occasional moans during training (although I bet you were glad to see the back of us at times).

RPM Cycle Shop (Buckley):

Thanks James for the donation of spare wheels and other crucial parts to complete the journey

The Support Drivers:

Mike, Barry & Bob - couldn't have wished for 3 nicer guys to be there for us and to share this experience. Always, there with the much appreciated supplies and words of support. We really couldn't have done this without you.

Finally, my fellow cyclists:

Richard, for the idea and all your hard work in planning and making this happen.

Barry, for getting us each night (eventually :-)) to a hot shower and warm bed and taking the time to write the blogs, which I know everyone looked forward to reading.

Lee, for your cheery attitude whenever we needed support.

But most importantly to you all, for your encouragement, humour and friendship.

It's been a privilege to be part of this team and I am proud to call you my friends.

Until next time........

Mike

Moments that define you

"There are places I'll remember all my life" - Lennon/Mcartney

If you have never heard this particular Beatles song then I heartily recommend that you do.  This song has a particular place in my personal make up given that it was written by the Beatles (who are also from my home town of Liverpool) and used by Sky television following Liverpool's champions league win in 2005.  

Apparently it is John Lennon reflecting on his memories from childhood and how certain things stay with you.  Funny therefore that as a 36 year old dad this still seems as pertinent to me as at any time in my life.

The 2005 champions league game is one of the greatest of all time (unless you are a fan of certain other clubs - like Richard) with Liverpool being on the brink of an embarrassing defeat at half time before coming back to eventually draw and ultimately win on penalties.   This was possibly the greatest comeback ever and one of the most amazing ways to achieve a sporting goal perhaps until Manchester City decided to win the league in the last two minutes of this season.  If you still have them recorded on your sky plus/video and I have just messed up the ending for you then I apologise. 

As I sat on the grass bank looking out at the Orkney isles, talking to my wife and son to tell them that we had made it to our destination and completed what seemed impossible just six short months ago, I knew this is a place I will remember all my life.   The poignancy of the words in the song and this line in particular then really sank in and over the last few days I have had time to digest the trip and some of the thoughts that I had during it.

I can still see the waves lapping up against the far shore, feel the cold damp of the grass on my back and smell the fresh sea air just writing this and that is a memory that is just so alive.   

Thanks

Thanks have to go to a number of people on this trip such as Mike, Barry and Bob for manning the support vehicle that broke our journey up not into one 900 mile trip but a number of shorter targets.  Their company was a great break from just the four of us and their enthusiasm for being with us and a part of the achievement was highly contagious.  As this is a team event, we have signed the books for them at both ends to reflect their contribution to the team success.

Our friends and family who contributed to our success as well deserve special mention.  My wife for being so keen that I take this challenge on in the first place. Perhaps I should have worried more about Chelley wanting me to be away but I know that the main idea was the complete break from work would do me good and it did.  My son for wanting to know exactly where I was when we spoke and asking how was "Duncan" which meant he read the blogs we produced.  

Barri, Simon and Jamie who helped us to learn that getting fit can be fun, how to control our breathing on a bike to ride for longer and how to get lost in country lanes respectively.  The latter a skill I employed on many occasions. Jamie, thanks for the training rides you came on with us.  I learnt a lot from watching you disappear up those hills and that was very helpful at points on this trip.

To all others who joined in on our no doubt annoying Facebook posts, playing along with the silly games we were creating to take our minds of our aching muscles, reading your posts was a welcome distraction.  The record for words in the letters of Livestrong is now at 250+.  Some people (you know who you are!) are so competitive.

For everybody who has sent just a good luck message or been able to support Sparks as well we thank you as that was our main goal to assist a fabulous charity.  

It goes without saying that the team I rode as part of deserve a lot of thanks.  This was a team effort and we did it together at the start and finish as shown on the photos below.  Lee, Mike and Richard.  Cheers.

Lands end to...

John O Groats

I do feel however the need to single out two people in particular and acknowledge their stories which have inspired me over the course of the last two weeks.

"the extra 10%"

A few years ago I was lucky enough to meet Bear Grylls as he was a guest speaker at one of our work functions.  For those of you who don't know, he is famous for a TV programme called Born Survivor where he is dropped into inhospitable environments and then survives by using a variety of unsavoury methods, Before this, he also served in the British SAS and was the youngest Briton to conquer Everest (the mountain not the window manufacturer).  

As part of his speech that day he talked about the moment he was told he was accepted into the SAS.  He had always pictured himself in his best dress uniform crisply ironed and his shoes sparkling in the sunshine when he received this news.  When he actually did find out he was apparently wearing ripped clothing covered in mud and blood and had actually lost one of his shoes.  I will need to paraphrase, but the Commanders' (?) speech went along the following lines:

"you have been selected because when you had nothing else to give, when everybody else would have given up, you found the extra 10% to keep going."

Mike Potts is a hero in this mould.  Even per the Mariah Carey standards of simply having the strength to carry on.  I saw the pain he was in on the third day and the icing of his knee that was taking place.  At one point, he and Richard looked like Arnie's Mr Freeze in one of the Batman films with the amount of ice packs/freeze gels they had on them.  

One of my favourite moments was on the fifth day when a combination of a good down hill and Mike's fearless approach to descending them meant he and Richard flew past me screaming " coming throughhh."  At that point Mike seemed to be coming to terms with all that his knees were throwing at him and his determination to reach the end was truly heroic.

"If an idea is not at first absurd, then there is no hope for it" - Einstein

A few months ago, we all wrote a small story as to why we were doing this.  Most of us laid the finger of blame firmly at Richard's door.  In fact if you go back (and I have) this was Richard's "fault" that we were all putting ourselves through training sessions, the harsh weather and preparing for something as monumental as this.

By the end of last week, nobody was using the word fault anymore.  Richard had been the inspiration behind the whole trip and thanks to him we were all getting to contribute to helping make such a dream a reality. 

When we had finished I got back to the hotel room for the night and logged into Facebook to catch up on the messages we were receiving.  My aunty had liked the following picture that Richard had posted months before into the group:

Richard's devotion to this idea made it happen.  Although he would never have it said that way.  Andrew Carnegie once said

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it"

If we had a yellow jersey to wear as opposed to fluorescent yellow rain jackets then Richard would have been wearing it from day one to day 10 but I suspect it would have been hidden under his blue wick away t-shirt.

The yellow jersey is not normally plastic

Richard and Lee do these challenges every two years to "give something back" which is a tremendous mindset in itself and I am just looking forward to seeing what 2014 has to offer.  

Challenges

We chose to undertake this challenge.  However, some people are forced to take on the most horrendous of challenges when they find out that their children are ill and need to cope as they have no choice but to be strong for all concerned.    

One of the things that I thought about whilst approaching John O Groats was that our challenge had an obvious end to it.  A target point at which point our pain and discomfort would be relieved and we could rest or return to our "normal" lives.  As above, we were looking forward to the next stop, lunch, end of the day and only really on the ninth day when it was in sight did we start focusing on the actual destination.    For the people we were trying to help they do not always have a clear target point in mind and in this case their strength of character must be phenomenal to keep going.  

As we slowly rolled down the hill, nobody seemed to want to speed to the finish and actually end the journey.  It was as if we wanted to cling on to it and make the moments last that much longer given what they had meant to us.  This was my most emotional moment on the trip as the thought occurred to me that this was also potentially true for the people we were trying to help as the alternative may be too hard to contemplate.

This ride left me with great memories but more importantly I truly hope, borrowing somebody else's wording, that we will help some families have some moments that mean the world to them as that was the whole point.  

Cant vs Wont

We had people tell us repeatedly how hard this would be.  I am sure some people said that "we wouldn't do it"; some people probably also said "we couldn't do it" and the difference between those two words had never really struck me before.  

Six months ago I flippantly said "its just 8 hours a day of riding at 15 mph".  Then I bought the bike and realised what riding for an hour entailed.  Then I tried to repeat the effort on the following day and the effect was scary.  

My hardest moment during training was when I attempted the horseshoe pass in Llangollen for the first time.  Halfway up this 800 feet, 2-3 mile climb, I stopped in a lay by.  I was hot, wanted to vomit, was struggling to breathe (having stopped twice already) and had tears in my eyes as I stood there thinking I could not do it.  Thankfully at that point another part of my psyche kicked in.   It said "you will do it".  I paused, took deep breaths, sent Richard a text saying "struggling" and then got back on the bike.  


Whether you could do it is your body, but I realised that this is controlled by your mind which deals with the would component.  I think we were all amazed at the relative strengths of those two different components on this trip as we pushed our bodies beyond what they had ever done before.

When we hit the hill just outside of Helmsdale on day 9 that was so reminiscent to this, the fact that you had done something before is a great boost.  This wasn't a new task it was just repeating an old one so despite having ridden for around 65 miles already you used that memory and training to get to the top.  My mind had been trained as well.

The vans view from the top.  The hill starts way back in the top left corner

Surprise yourself

I hope you have enjoyed reading our stories and somewhere on these pages (assuming you read them all) you have found something to inspire you to take on a challenge.    The challenge may not be cycling one end of the country to the other, you may have far grander ideas than that, it may simply be to pick back up that new years resolution that has slipped.

The fear of failure can be immense, and also potentially a great motivation if you have told lots of people your plan, but from my perspective what defines you as a person, is not whether you finish the challenge but that you have the courage to start it in the first place.   

With dedication and time, we can all do things that surprise everyone; particularly ourselves.  

Day 10 - Helmsdale to John o Groats

And now...

Breakfast on day ten was a buoyant affair.  Lots of jokes being swapped as the team sat down to its last guilt free big breakfast before we would have to start watching our calorie intakes again.

It was made more buoyant by the fact that knew we had the toughest 17 miles of the day out of the way.  Those three hills between Helmsdale and Dunbeath are truly breathtaking and very reminiscent of the horseshoe pass near Llangollen that thankfully we had all trained on. The knowledge that they were not in our path to John O Groats now and we could drive to the top and continue our journey was very uplifting.

Wick away

The ride this morning was slightly odd though.  There was 36 miles to go when we left the van at the tea room on top of the hill outside Dunbeath which normally would take us around 3 hours to ride on one  of our training sessions.  However, nobody seemed to want to race this distance away and instead we settled into a more gentle pace and really began to look around and chat as we made the trip.

For most of the journey we rode two aside chatting away to each other.  The level of conversation has always been a good indicator of the mood of the group.  The hour dash from Perth to Peebles there was practically none for instance whereas this morning was filled with laughter and chatter as we pushed along the very north of Scotland.

There were discussions about how we felt, what it had meant, what would we do at the end and (importantly from my perspective) was crying allowed when we got there?

After a brief stop in Tesco in Wick, where a few of us got the food we had actually ordered as the staff (Richard) struggled with the drinks machine buttons, we were chatting to two guys who were waiting for the airport having just completed the trip.  They had done it unsupported over 19 days ad the stories they told of the human kindness they had encountered, people genuinely wanting to help them, were touching.

We got back on the bikes and headed off to the final stop on this tour.

Rolling finish

Approaching John o Groats you sweep down to the coastal path near where Donald Trump would like to build a new golf complex.  If the wind yesterday is anything to go by you would need to learn to hit punch shots and run shots PDQ to be anything like successful on it but I digress.  We had to climb up one last hill to finally get the view of the finish line.

As a group we stopped in the layby at the top overlooking the sea and then started to roll down into John O Groats.  When I say roll i mean it. In this case we litereally rolled.  Not much pedal power was exerted or considered and gravity pulled the four of us to our destination.

We had made a promise on the top of the hill that having started at Lands End together we would roll across the line into the John O Groats car park together as well.  And that is exactly what we did. At a pace of about 3 mph.  Personally, I was glad of this.  The wave of emotion and pride in the team that swept over me coming down that hill hit hard and looking up was a challenge, cycling practically impossible.  Lets just say I was very grateful for my mirrored sunglasses :-).

Team together at the finish line

We crossed the line and then headed for the official signpost for the photos below.  Calls were made to loved ones and it was amazing how quickly the news spread with messages and calls then coming back to us practically within seconds as the news broke onto Facebook.  I now know how football teams must feel when a transfer is about to take place.

We had a photo like this 9 and a half days ago.

Having posed for photos from multiple angles with David Bailey Bob we headed back to the visitor centre to sign the book to confirm we were End to Enders.  We also signed the book on behalf of our support drivers who we could not have done without.  Bob, Mike and Barry a great thanks and your names are also in the book as part of our team.

The last thing on our agenda was to get ice cream from the shop which was fantastic and we could then load up the van, board it and head to Fort William for our celebratory meal.

Heather

You may or may not remember Richard asking for some motivational songs to put into his Ipod.  Thanks to Stephen who chose Proud by Heather Small which was a great choice.  This song was in my head most of this morning as we were coming closer and closer to making this achievement. Just as the van made the jump to light speed outside of John O Groats, the question in the chorus filled my mind.

"What have you done today to make you feel Proud?".  This.

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 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.

Getting ready and in touch with our feminine sides

Entering the last week before we go was an odd experience.

I thought this would be a time when the challenge would hit me and I would start to realise what I has let myself in for. However, as Friday the 15th rolled around the more foreboding thing on the horizon was the leg waxing we had scheduled.

If you read back through these blogs this had been a perennial topic of conversation and consternation. When Richard fell off his bike in a story that becomes slightly less believable with each telling (two playboy bunnies In a convertible Aston Martin at last telling) and then spent twenty minutes picking small stones out of his leg the casting vote was placed.

Which left more questions.

1 Who on earth would wax the legs of three men

2.Where on earth would they do it.; and then (more worryingly)

3.  How far up your legs do you go???

After enlisting the help of some friends we found a friendly beauty therapist who volunteered to give up her Saturday and day off to help.  The fact this was the niece of a good friend of the group is purely coincidental.

Ready to go

A local farm shop called Bellis brothers also volunteered to allow us to set up an ad hoc waxing clinic outside its main gates where we could have our hair ripped out of our legs whilst passing shoppers could watch claiming "it doesn't hurt that much" or "look at the pain on this guys face!" to their spouses and small children respectively.   It seems Beadle caught onto something in the human psyche a long time ago and there really isn't much that people like more than the sight of a fellow human in relatively safe pain.

Mike went first which was a bit of a waste as to be fair he does not have a leg hair to start with.  This is blamed upon wearing wellies a lot as a youngster.  So there you go ladies a useful hint for a future of reduced grooming is to have worn wellies.

The one hair being removed

Richard then followed and instigated a game of how many other people can be involved in waxing your legs. The highlight being the pensioner who donated a pound to use tweezers to extract one hair.  We have no clue.  Honestly, not one.

He also let his daughter and wife have a go and started a trend of pained looking husbands and grinning wifes as below:

"love yoouu"

I went last. Primarily because being the most masculine (the privilege of writing the blog) I have had the most hair on my legs.  So lets be honest here, it doesn't really hurt that much there is just a stinging sensation akin to nettles a second or so after the wax is removed.  Except for my knees.  They hurt.

So after my wife and son also had a go I was eventually free to leave the table and continue with my day safe in the knowledge that having the bottom half of my legs waxed and the tops not with a pair of rugby shorts was not a look that would be catching on soon.

Family event

 Our thanks to Sam Nicklin for her help with this and also to Bellis Brothers.  We can all say we were in very safe hands and she did a great job so if you decide you would also like your legs waxed then we all recommend the 1st 4 Nails and Beauty salon in Vicars Cross where Sam works.  Its a family run business that offers the full range of nail and beauty treatment for all so not restricted to just leg waxing for men. :-)

Chester loop again

Looking forward to a Saturday and Sunday ride to keep the stamina point we headed off on the loop of the Chester and the Sunday off to Corwen

As these are rides we have done before there is not too much additional
Info to give except for noting some interesting statistics.

1. The average speeds were pretty consistent across the two rides despite the Chester ride being quite
Flat and the Corwen ride including the steep climb out of Wrexham.

2. My average heart beat on the Chester ride was 13 Bpm lower than when I did the same trip with Jamie about a month ago. Given the conditions were similar on both occasaions I am taking this as a good sign.

3. There was a point on the ride where I decided to overtake our very own jack Russell Mike (has to be at the front). In order to inxrease my speeds by about four miles an hour on a relatively flat road, my heart rate increased by around 20 Bpm. Note to self. Dont bother in the future. :-)

The last point of note was the interesting variety in our choice of clothes for the Sunday ride. Getting up at six thirty to head out it is hard to judge what the weather will be like.  As its Wales, rain is  reasonably safe bet at some point during the ride but actually the heat or lack thereof is more of a consideration.

The sun just starting to creep through...

Mike went for safety with long leggings, jacket overshoes and duvet whereas I was more optimistic in shorts and under armour with cycling shirt. The main reason for this is I have found a cycling jacket gets hot very quickly and therefore I would rather than run the risk of getting wet but staying cool on big climbs.

As a result for the trip I now have five different under armour tops ranging from arctic to nevada and a variety of shorts and leggings to try and accommodate whatever the british "summer" throws at us.

I look forward to repeatedly looking at the bag over the ten days, looking outside and thinking in time honoured fashion. "what shall I wear?"

Whatever it is hopefully the helmet hair beneath wont be repeated. :-)

Scared by my own reflection