The End

We road into JoG at around 17:00 with an escort or ambulances sirens wailing to an amazing reception. I was to  learn that I have been adopted as an honorary member of  The Papworth Team. The best part was being welcomed by my wonderful family with a surprise ( I will post about this later) my final day which included a ride up to Dunnet Head (The most northerly point on the UK mainland) was 94.98 miles and 5042 feet. A super days ride in great weather with an inspiring group of people. Off for dinner and some beers now

Day 13 Inverness – The Crask

"After some navigation through Inverness you will cross the Kessock Bridge & continue along the NCN1 route through Tore & Dingwall. There are a few hills away from Dingwall as you continue to Evanton. Leaving Evanton behind you will later climb & venture deeper into open country & appreciate the beautiful scenery of the area (or curse the sometimes brutal nature of the weather). .. A spectacular yet barren ride awaits as you cycle through woods & high moor land to the Crask. Indeed it was both spectacular and at times barren."

The route was as described but understated just how varied and wonderful it was. The road took us up deep valleys past the Falls of Shin (famous for its Salmon), Bonar Bridge brought lunch (a seafood extravaganza of Salmon and Langoustine (not easy to fit into jersey pockets). From here we climbed up and into "flow country", a land of wide empty skies, Curlew calling, and finally The Crask.

The Crask is a haven in another wise empty land, filled with dogs, wood smoke and a welcome drink. Sadly I was not staying there and was transported with a few others to a hotel in Lairg.

Day 12 Glen Coe - Inverness

"This is another truly spectacular day but also a long day in terms of mileage. ... The 1^st 20 miles is relatively flat until Fort William.... If you take the hilly route after lunch you will be rewarded with quiet roads & some of the finest views of the trip."

The morning brought soft rain (lots of it) and a long flat ride to Fort William and then via the Mallaig road to Spean Bridge and the Commando Memorial. At one point I was joined by two Germans who were fully loaded touring around Scotland, they had been camping for 10 days and admitted that they would be glad to catch the ferry at Inverness. From Spean Bridge the only options was to follow the A82 to Fort Augustus.  After 50 miles lunch in The Scots Kitchen was needed,  good a bowl of really delicious soup with mounds of sandwiches, this was to fuel us for the next challenge "General Wades Road" 

Fort Augustus is at around 30-40 ft above sea level the "General Wades" summits at over 1100 ft in about 5 miles  it was long but not overly steep, yet again demonstrating the need for training on long hills, and a "vitesse grand mere". As with all climbs there was a reward as the road headed back toward sea level.

The next section along Loch Ness through Foyers and Dores was undulating, scenic and sunny at last.

Arriving at Inverness was a shock, so many people, cars, and huge buildings filled with things to buy!

Stats: 83.72 miles 4614 ft of climb 12.4 avg 36.3 max (again without pedalling)

Day 11 Loch Lomond – Glen Coe (Into the Glens)

"...the route from Loch Lomond to Glen Coe is the most scenic days ride of the entire tour. You will cycle along the traffic free cycle path along the banks of Loch Lomond from the south to the north. The road continue away from the north of the loch until Crianlarich. You will pass by Crianlarich before stopping for lunch at Tyndrum. After lunch the scenery is truly majestic although if the weather is bad this will be a challenging day"

Well the description didn't lie! Having driven the road many times I had a good idea of what to expect, but even I was surprised. Riding immersed us into the scenery, the scents of the land, and the weather. After Crianlarich we hit rain and some sleet, and in the Pass of Glencoe headwinds that meant every inch of motion had to be won from the unseen enemy! The drop into Glencoe Village saw the back of the wind and a tranquil and enormously beautiful ride alongside the river  with its gentle Beech woods to Loch Shin and rest for the night.

Stats for the day 69.77 miles 3150 ft avg 12.5 
People new to The Highlands were almost awestruck by what they saw an experienced 

Stats for today 

Day 10 Moffat – Loch Lomond

"Although there aren’t too many hills, navigation through Glasgow requires attention & it is one of the longest days in terms of mileage which makes this a long & tiring day."

As I am writing this at around 21:30 the last stragglers from our team are just arriving in Balloch (on the shores of Loch Lomond) they have spent over 12 hours riding a "route of differences"

The morning in Moffat dawned clear and cold with windscreens covered in mist, Autumn seemed to be close. The first 3 miles or so was a long climb up through the glorious hills to the West of Moffat before a descent into the valley to climb to Beattock Summit. The descent in the shade of the hills was very cold.

Having crossed the M74 the route along the B7076 was a tooth filling loosening, bone shaking torture. It seems that the Scots authorities may have bought a job lot of very rough Tarmac, with chippings of about 2/3 cm diameter. We shook rattled and cursed along this through high moorland for about 25 miles before a descent into Glasgow.

Initially the route through Glasgow was on roads, not busy and with generally well behaved and considerate drivers. Then it took the NCN75 and the NCN7. The former ducked and dived through the city and along the Clyde, parts of which have been redeveloped with some grand modern buildings. NCN 7 would initially follow canals and then the River Leven all the way to Balloch, which was reached in wonderful evening sunshine

Overall it was an enjoyable but tough day, not helped by hail and high winds at times, a route of many contrasts that revealed how different Scotland can be from; grand hills, to bleak moor, industrial squallor, and finally tranquil beauty

78.35 miles 3560 feet of climb 11.6 mph average max 26.2 mph

Day 9 Keswick - Moffatt

"This is another hard day with a tough climb away from Keswick. ... Today we leave England & enter Scotland & the road surfaces do seem to be worse than in England so be prepared for punctures! Having said all that you will be rewarded with some fine views & after the initial climb away from Keswick the route isn’t too hilly."


After the rain of the day before we woke to a dry day with clouds scudding across the top of Blencathrathra. It was cool and windy.

The climb out of the Lake District was "vigorous" but led to some amazing downhills (max speed for the day 45.7mph) and wonderful scenery. What the northern most Lakes lack in grandeur and tea shops is compensated for by emptiness, and unspoilt tranquility.

Carlisle wasn't too much of a problem with either traffic or navigation and the border was reached at 12:30.

With winds gusting to 25-30 mph some parts of the afternoon section were interesting.

Stats for the day 70.72 miles 4199ft of climb avg 13.6 mph max 45.7

Arrival in Moffat was heralded by a cloudburst that set the roads awash

Day 8 Slaidburn - Keswick

"This is a great day in the saddle with many great views as you pass through the spectacular Cumbria scenery. A tough start will take you through the Forest of Bowland & up to the heights of the ‘Cross of Greet’ before the superb descent to High Bentham"

"A tough start" = 2.9 miles of climb after a 50m downhill before a short drop and a climb for the next 3.1 miles to "The Cross of Greet". At 3.5 miles rain started to fall and this would continue for most of the day, only easing as we road alongside Rydal Water. 

It was a tough and miserable day but had many highlights, some sweeping down hills, a great lunch at    "The Crooklands Hotel" voted by us all as one of the best carvery lunches ever, a lovely coffee stop at Windermere, actually tea and plum bread was consumed rather than coffee.  

Overall we did around 69 miles and 4800 ft at 12.0 mph (I will confirm stats later as Garmin went flat)

Many of the riders were suffering from the cold and the wet, (Evans cycles in Kendal is likely to have done a good trade in waterproof equipment) and one dropped out at around 40 miles with "nothing left to give" he is now at hospital being checked over! Hopefully nothing will be wrong. 

As yet (at 18:30) it appears that only 30% or so of the riders have made it into Keswick.

Day 7 Runcorn to Slaidburn

"This is a tricky day in terms of navigation & for the most part you will pass through many built up areas and along some busy roads as you cross the Manchester-Liverpool conurbation. The end of the day is marked by some fantastic scenery (and hills) as we move away from the built up areas & into the Forest of Bowland"




Another sunny morning saw us setting off through Runcorn, Warrington, and Wigan. The traffic in Wigan was awful but we soon escaped onto back roads. The route was initially flat with the climbing beginning near Bolton as we climbed up and over the moors.. There was then to be a long slog up before we dropped into Slaidburn and an overnight at The Hark to Bounty.

This is an ancient inn which has great potential but the rudest staff I have ever encountered.

Stats for the day 61 miles 3814 ft of climb Avg 13.0 Max 41.1

Overall a much more relaxed day with people enjoying themselves after the marathon that many had ridden on day 6

Day 6 Clun to Runcorn

"This is a long day in terms of mileage but an easy day in terms of terrain. The route away from Clun is undulating through to Shrewsbury with a couple of notable climbs (nothing like the hill to Clun) & also a long gradual descent that seems to go on for ever"

The howling of wind in the night made an ominous start to the day, with gusts of 25+ mph promised across what was to be open terrain.

Last night I had the pleasure of Julie's company and she was to provide some pictures. Dinner in the White Horse was good and they serve a lovely pint (Hobsons in this case)

 
 The morning briefing was a particularly good humoured affair and 5 of us decided to set up a chain gang, which came together after the climb out of Clun, when we had the road to ourselves. Working with one another we were soon bowling along and by the first tea break (which was too early and spoiled the wonderful descent from Hope) we were averaging over 16mph.

Leaving the B&B

As a result we arrived at the lunch stop at 11:30 (30 minutes before it opened, and we missed the afternoon tea stop because the van had not arrived.

The route was fast and long and many of the riders have been in new territory today hitting their biggest ever distances, many are very tired.

Our peleton arrived at the finish at 15:20 just before the bags! I dropped off to sleep for a couple of hours I was brain dead tired.





 Stats for today 79.79 miles, 3416 ft of climb average 15.2, max 43.5.

In summary a long fast day into headwinds

Day 5 Monmouth to Clun and a Reunion

"This is perhaps the easiest day’s ride of the tour. It is the shortest in terms of cycling & while there are a few hills to tackle, notably away from Monmouth & at the end of the day towards Clun the route is generally quite easy. Today is also one of the most scenic days with many hidden gems






The description failed to explain that the climb would be concentrated into the last third of the route, with two rather nasty sections (several people bailed out) that lead to a white knuckle descent to the ford at Clun. 

It was despite this a glorious ride especially  the section in Shropshire, a county  which continues to reveal new treasures on every visit even after over 30 years.

Totals for day 


73 Miles
5128 feet
13.5 avg
42.7 max

Day 4 Glastonbury - Monmouth

"This is a tricky day in terms of navigation. There is a tough climb away from Wells & there are a few other hills along the way but there are a lot of flat sections of route throughout the day. It is fun cycling over the Severn Road Bridge, especially if it’s windy & the Wye Valley is a superb scenic ride."

On the hill out of Wells the Puncture Fairy struck, the bike in question was shod with very skinny 23mm tyres and a small thorn did the damage. In view of the number of riders, the surfaces crossed, and the high density of hedge trimmings in the lanes I would have expected more punctures. People seem to have listened to advice and gone for larger 25mm or larger tyres with protection bands, a lot of Gatorskins and Schwalbe Marathons are to be seen.

Bristol was a difficult route navigationally and many people got lost missing various key turning points. 

Crossing both the Clifton and Severn Bridges in quick succession was a highlight but neither was a match for the Wye Valley absolutely glorious country and cycling.

Got in before 17:00 in order to get one of the guys to the bike shop.

66.48 miles 4134 ft of climb Average 12.5 Max 34.4

Day 3 Morton Hampstead - Glastonbury

"This is another hard day with a few long climbs & careful navigation required. The terrain is easier than the 1^st two days but your legs may be tired so it can feel like a long day"

Ernesto entering Henbury

Escape from Devon did not prove easy after the morning briefing we set off downhill for about 100m. Then as might have been expected we hit a hill. In the first 1.7 miles there was a climb of almost 450 feet. The univited appearance of hills  was to continue to be the case the rest of the morning. 

Exeter was busy and had confusing navigation before it ejected us back out into country lanes. Lunch was taken early (11:45) in the delightful village of Henbury. Refuelled we left to attack "Stafford Hill" when asked what it was like the barman answered; "Its so steep that tractors struggle to get up it". He could have added "There's a clutch repair centre at the top". It was longer than expected and steep .

Having summited the road was idyllic lined with trees and for a while flat and fast. Without any fuss or notification we entered Somerset.

 It seemed for a while that we might be able to put to one side our obsession of "steep tarmac admiration". A terrible affliction that requires the cyclist to slow down and admire the texture and intricacies of near vertical black stuff, the steeper it is the longer the time that has to be given to its study.

Sadly the Somerset Levels aren't and sucessive long climbs into Street and finally Glastonbury followed. 

Glastonbury is delightful (if a little whacky) without a single clone shop in its High Street.

Some of the Papworth "Team"

In the end we arrived at 16:20, others took another 2 - 3 hours and are having very long and tiring days.

Stats the Garmin will speak for itself.    The maximum speed was achieved courtesy of a glorious hill from Corfe to Taunton

Day 2 Update Devon isn't Heaven

Fowey Ferry

Day 2 started with a ferry crossing and an immediate climb, at this stage we were still in Cornwall. We sneaked into Devon via the back door (The Homoase Ferry into Plymouth, ) and rain started to fall as we worked our way round the city to the Plymm Valley Trail - a delight, an old railway line tarmaced with an easy gradient. Leaving the trail brought us into contact with a horor a hill of beween 1:3 and 1:4 with no run up, several people "bailed out" From here we rode up to Yelverton (excellent tea room) and then on to Princetown, Dartmoor Prison, Two Bridges and finally Moretonhampstead. 

Dartmoor Prison - opressive

On descents three of our party fell on cattle grids, viscious things especially when wet happily no serious injuries were sustained, which is suprising when I saw how far one guy bounced. (Don't brake or steer on cattle grids!) Overall the day was eventful one person developed Tachycardia in the night and was rushed to the Cardiology Unit at Truro with a pulse of over 180, and another had to have emergency dental treatment. The dentist saw him within 5 minutes of opening and didnt charge because he is riding for charity.

The weather eased as we dropped off the moor and Mortenhampstead was dry.

Stats for the day: 64.27 miles, climb 6599ft, avg speed 11.6, max speed 46.8mph - what a hill

Day 2 Fowey - Morton Hampstead - Dartmoor

"The day starts with a short ferry & a steep hill followed by many quiet & narrow country lanes. ....The route is tough but only 58 miles and very scenic for large parts so if the weather is good & you’re in the right mood then it will be an enjoyable yet tough day’s ride, however this is one of the toughest days ride of the tour."

A fair assessment by the Peak Tours team. In the end we covered 64 miles with 6598' of climb. Some of the hills were incredibly steep around 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 but thankfully short(ish) unfortunately they came in waves, unlike yesterday there was little time to roll along as a result average speeds were around 11mph. 

Dartmoor was wonderful and very eerie with clouds scudding across the tors. 

Rather late now so more to follow at a later time

Day 1 Lands End to Fowey - Cornish Granite (True Grit) 68 miles 6000' Climb

The Peak Tours route sheet says "This is a tough start to the trip with plenty of short, sharp hills to tackle. The road from LE to Penzance is largely undulating with only a few fairly steep but short hills"

We set off from The Square in St Just at 08:15 after an efficient breakfast (Well done to the staff at "The Commerical Inn") for the ride of 7 miles or so to "The End".

Conditions were cool, overcast with a strongish SW wind 

Lands End was effectively shut the "mini Blackpool" did not open till 10:00. After the customary photos we left at about 09:20

The original group

The route would take us through Penzance following the main road (this was quiet and not the nightmare describe by others, past Marazion (poor light so I didn't stop for a picture of St Michaels Mount) and then on to; Leedstown, Praze an Breeble, Porkelis, St Stithians, Perranwell (lunch at the Royal Oak was just what was needed, and was waiting for us so no delay), King Harry Ferry, Tregony, St Austell, Par (bit of a dump very industrial), to Fowey

The Papworth Team
Ian, Margaret, Richard, Ernesto, Jaz, Mike

Hills in Devon operate on guerilla tactics, some jump out at you. These are usually short and steep and can be quelled with a bit of extra effort and a large handful of gears (get a Triple!). Others work on the basis of a war of attrition and appear tame but go on and on. Importantly some have been tactically misalinged and face the wrong direction, here the downhill slope can be deceptive and with bends could be lethal (perhaps they have another tactic, to kill rather than humiliate the rider?) In all seriousness I found myself running along at speeds that were not expected, good brakes are essential.

In between the hills there are often plateau like sections that let you roll along merrily without a care in the world, until you see a drop ahead of you and the hills in the distance!

As for the Peak Tours description? It was accurate but probably didn't identify that the second half of the day, after the King Harry Ferry, was harder with a sting in the tail on the last section from Par to Fowey

The King Harry Ferry

A nice touch - work stand, tools, track pump for the use of
passengers on the KH ferry

Donations

Thank you 

To every one who has sponsored me so far, a thousand thanks, we have now beaten the target of £2 per mile, and the total donated continues to grow.

To Julie (my best friend and soul mate) thank you for; support, putting up with loosing me for so many hours over the months of training, the kit, lending me to the TCT for 2 weeks, and the Bonne Voyage balloon

To Jon H for your weighty contribution of my first, and probably only, "bottle of money" which is a further (as yet unknown) donation to the cause

To Ruth  who has worked for hours to produce my poster

An exchange of messages via Facebook led to Ruth volunteering to produce what has been her biggest piece of work so far. I hope Pattern Tree is a success and that the Dragon (when let out of the Den) is nice when she works with them

18 Days and Counting

This morning a "count down alarm" announced that I have 18 days to go before the start of LeJoG. In the months since I "booked on" a lot has happened; training, kitting myself out, trying new tactics, work, and living in general have meant that the time has flown by.

In case anyone in interested:

Who am I going with and why did I choose them?

Options considered included; Peak Tours, Saddle Skedaddle, The CTC, and Bike Adventures were considered but in the end the recommendations of a number of people tipped the balance in favour of Peak Tours. If you are interested Jim Jenkins (USA) article or Nick Priors blog give some valuable insights into what is involved, and importantly the ethos that seems to underpin Peak's approach. So far Steve and Lee have been really helpful. 

The route

The shortest route from "End to End" is 837 miles or so following "A" roads and Motorways. The fastest cycling route avoiding Motorways is around 875 miles. The record for riding this on a bicycle was set in 2001 by Gethin Butler who rode it in 44 hours, 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Gethin sold me the bike that I will use on my ride, one that will take me 14 days, it after all a "holiday".

Day 1 Lands End - Golant                       72 miles 
Day 2 Golant - Moreton Hampstead         60 miles
Day 3 Moreton Hampstead - Glastonbury  74 miles
Day 4 Glastonbury - Monmouth               66 miles
Day 5 Monmouth - Clun                         57 miles
Day 6 Clun - Runcorn                            80 miles
Day 7 Runcorn - Slaidburn                     64 miles
Day 8 Slaidburn - Keswick                      75 miles
Day 9 Keswick - Moffat                          75 miles
Day 10 Moffat - Loch Lomond                 83 miles
Day 11 Loch Lomond - Glen Coe             66 miles
Day 12 Glen Coe - Inverness                  83 miles
Day 13 Inverness - Crask                      66 miles
Day 14 Crask - John O' Groats               82 miles
TOTAL EXPECTED MILEAGE                 1003 miles

Any eagle eyed reader will see that the mileages differ from those quoted by Peak Tours, various people who have ridden the route give different readings, probably due to; getting lost, taking diversions, or cycling to the start

The route avoids major roads as much as it can and there is likely to be between 65,000 - 70,000 feet of climbing. As I ride it I will post statistics.

The Bike - It really has quite a lot to do with it

I will be riding the latest addition to my stable of bikes. Having become less and less happy to be covered in mud and water I decided to invest in a bike with mudguards and the like, suitable for long distance Audax rides (If you want to know more about Audax take a look at Audax UK ) After considerable research I opted to buy an "old guys bike" made of steel by one of our many UK frame builders. Making the final choice was hard but in the end Paul Hewitt at Leyland has built me a wonderful bike. The process of building started with measurement on a jig. From the moment I sat in the saddle it felt different and comfortable.

In a later blog I will supply more details and some information on the bike. 

Training

"To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail", and reading of peoples experiences and the advice of "experts" training has been key. With time commitments and the awful UK Summer of 2012 training has been a mix of; riding an exercise bike at the gym, and getting out as often as I can for rides around the byways of Worcestershire and Shropshire. The gym work has seen my mileage for an hour (using the same programme, machine and settings) rise from 31km to over 38km [The maximum time programmable is an hour, and due to the amount of moisture that has leaked from my body by the time I have completed this it is probably a health and safety restriction, since fellow gym users could aquaplane on the pools of moisture that accumulate around me].

Rides through sleet, rain, mud, and occasionally in glorious sun, sometimes alone and sometimes with club mates have led to rediscovery of some wonderful places, cafes, and the fact that I rather like climbing hills 

Over the months my fitness has built and mileages have increased, as have the lengths of rides. In March the average length of rides was 28 miles by July it had reached 68 miles. Importantly "hill hunting" has increased. 

Hopefully I will have enough miles in my legs by September