"EPIBLOGUE"

Psalm 121: "I will lift my eyes unto the hills: from whence cometh my help" 

It did take a few days for it to arrive!! 

The dust has now settled and we have arrived back home after a fantastic 11 days of riding through mostly beautiful British Countryside.
We covered about 950 miles, did 13,891 metres of climbing - that is approximately one and a half Mount Everests that we have cycled up (and down). No, we did not see any Yetis but the closest we came to something that might have been a Yeti was in Dingwall, Highlands (don't go looking yourself - just trust us!!).
We have been extremely fortunate with the weather - and at the same time also a bit challenged. We had little rain (3-4 days of drizzle) but then we had headwind on 8/11 days. 
October was not a bad month to do it (Paul's choice - thank you, P!!). The great advantage was no Midgies and NO CARAVANS in Scotland. The Scottish roads would have been a nightmare during the high season.
We had no punctures (Tyre Choice important!) and no serious mishaps.
We met loads of lovely helpful people, enjoyed great hospitality, ate some good meals  and drank some good beer (my favourite was Skinner's Lushington, Paul's was St. Austell's Proper Job although we both became very fond of Dark Island from the Orkneys). And although I rarely drink whisky they were absolutely fantastic when imbibed at JOG.
What were the highlights? For me Wye Valley, the climb up to Shap (more enjoyable had it not been for the wind), the ride on the paths through Glasgow and on to Loch Lomond, the ride from Rannoch Moor down into Glen Coe, the ride along Loch Ness and the ride from Lairg and up to Betty Hill.
For me seeing the North Sea at Betty Hill was rather emotional - actually it had more of an impact than getting to the signpost in JOG. 
In Scotland we saw birds of prey (or were they nightingales?I am afraid I still cannot remember their song, Peter!!) - one in particular sat on a road sign until I was 3-4 metres away and then elegantly took off. The same morning a stag with its girlfriends crossed the road in front of us.
We moved from Summer in Cornwall to Autumn in Scotland.
We had some great banter in the evenings - "the crack was good" as Van the Man would say!
And the lows? The hills in Cornwall were really really tough and progress was demoralisingly slow. And the headwind!!! The worst time was a completely flat bit of road from the Severn Bridge towards Chepstow. I was pedalling for England (and Denmark, France  etc) and I could keep a speed of 5 mph - I even swerved to get shelter for split seconds behind road signs to improve my progress! Likewise the ride into the wind at Carlisle was absolutely awful. But then we found a lovely B and B with a lovely woman who even agreed to feed us breakfast an hour earlier than normal on the Sunday and all misery was forgotten. 

So are we glad we did it - you bet we are!! Would we do it again - Paul would not (still a mountain biker!), me probably not - I have done it, now let's do something else. But then again......perhaps....given the right......
Through it all it has been absolutely fantastic to have the support from friends and followers via Facebook, blog-responds(sorry about the misprints - never alcohol induced as the blog was done before, and in spite of what you think we always knew that our beasts were waiting for us at the crack of dawn), texts etc. When you feel as if your bib-shorts have been padded with peppercorns and carpet-tags, your back is achy and the wind is pushing you back south you need all the support you can get.


And to those of you who have donated to my charity, Kids Company - thank you ever so much.
I have raised around £ 2000 thanks to everybody's generosity.
If I can provide any advice re. doing LEJOG I am happy to do so - if you have any thoughts about doing it - just do it!!!!!
Photo gallery can be seen on https://picasaweb.google.com/100886847186183415061/LEJOGOctober202013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIP1y-fCs4eYmwE&feat=directlink

The Conversion of MB Paul on the road to JOG

Several weeks prior to our adventure I received a parcel in the post containing the cyclists (the Velomenati) bible: The Rules. Soren predicted that I would soon be sporting razor tan lines and be converted to being a roadie. Having read the bible I prepared for the trip adhering to the Rules. Tyre labels perfectly aligned with valve stems, camelpak left behind with the mountain bike, no cycling tops such as Sky or Rainbow jerseys that I haven't earnt the right to wear, black cycling shorts, and a bike at the start of the trip that made no noise. Soren was a fantastic leader by example and great mentor. Soren was a great travelling companion - thanks Soren I could not have done this on my own.

During this trip I adhered to the rules: cornering with confidence, riding in all weathers and descending like a demon.

The only rule I could not bring myself to obey was "shaving my guns".

For the Velomenati the key rule is rule "V". I believe both Soren and I have lived by this rule riding through significant discomfort and pain and as such should be considered disciples of the "V".

However my conversion did not materialise. I am a Mountain Biker at heart and the call of Broxbourne Woods with all of its unpredictability is where I want to be. I just want to get back to my dirty ways!

PS: If Soren's Blog inspires you, as it should, to attempt LEJOG or JOGLE please be advised that this time next year (2014) you may face extra hurdles such as customs at the Scotish Border, don't forget your passport and Scotish currency whatever that may be.

Betty Hill to JOG

Here you were meant to see a photo of Paul Nd me at the famous post at JOG - but if you think that cycling 940ish miles is hard I can tell you that getting bloody google downloading photos is much harder!
-Anyway we  started the day with our usual breakfast consisting of everything that was once good, was then bad and is now good for you again . Applied the various crimes and layers of Lycra  and off we went on the final leg. The first 1 'Mille was great, straight down hill until we met Molly-2 straight uphill again. An incline that rekindled memories of cornwall ! Like this we continued for 20-30 miles in a gentle drizzle and an easterly wind . We stopped for tea after 20 miles but there was no tea nor any tea belles! Let this be a warning to you all. When a map og Scotland shows what in England would be a sizeable settlement it means two derelict buildings and a blown over caravan. No luck re nutrition until we reached the metropolis of Thurso, where a Polish establishment provided us with dishes from their eastern homeland - a burger for Paul and CHicken curry for me. Both excellent.
Off into the wind and the last 20 miles to JOG which we ached just after lunch. My final thought was "what a great wind to propel you southwards on,". We had finally done it 11 1/2 days and we could have our picture taken at the famous pole (not the Eastern European one).
Paul refused to pedal one stroke more - he had been pedalling valiantly on inspite of a rather angry tendinitis of his tibial is Anterior tendon and insisted on walking to the Seaview hotel where we had booked accommodation.
We were received with a couple of large Scapa malts and a gat pint of Orkney special bitter - lovely dry, slightly hoppy. Excellent!
Then for me 4 sandwiches and two energy bars , a hot shower Nd mugs of tea before supper.
An extra surprise was a present from my friend David - two bottles of Twisted Wheel were waiting behind the bar!!
So what has the overall impression of the trip been - it probably needs time to sink in - and the pain of the backside settle! But it is a bit like life in general - and as Tom Lehrer said "life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it." We have certainly had some rather shitty times but had great great times as well. Paul has been an excellent travelling companion, just get on with it. Pedal for England! And we have had great evening chats in front of fireplaces (real and imaginatory!). It has been a great adventure , one I can strongly recommend - and possible even this time of year. We have been lucky to escape rain but has had the blasted head wind to battle with. As in life you cannot win all the time but generally things will rather go well. Which it did, and we did it.
Thanks to all supporters and all (both?) blog readers. Your encouragement has been most appreciated.
There will probably be an "epiblogue" when it has all sunk in.
But now the haggis and the whiskye and the beer is calling!!!

Dingwall to Betty Hill

Sorry about late blog - all this was written on Wednesday evening (I have no idea of the date but presume that it is still October?)
We left the charming establishment of the National Hotel , (an american visitor's choice of footwear caught my eye - when he chose those white snakeskin boots what else did he decide NOT to purchase?)  with me leaving behind 7/8th of a pint of mcEwans Best (ha!! If there was ever an inappropriate name) - the beer had been served by a rather unflattering over-tatooed member of the female race (allegedly) which brought on my morning contemplation - in England all bar/pub/tea room girls had qualities that can  invigorate and support faculties of struggling cyclists. The landscape of England is in places charming, even pretty.
In Scotland the landscape is absolutely stunning, breathlessly out-of-this-world but the female attendants leave a lot to be desired. The aforementioned specimen in Dingwall may have been nested in the most beautiful tree in the most beautiful Forrest but something clearly happened when she left her nest.  So I felt pretty certain about the validity of this theory as we progressed through the lush autumnal landscape towards Bonar Bridge. The mountain sides were covered in bracken and heather just past its most beautiful display of purple. We descended  through thick mist to Bonar Bridge where we found a delightful tearoom with wonderful homemade cakes (chocolate cake AND velvet cake for me, toast for Paul, Mr Sensible!). This was served by a charming and pretty young girl, and as our next stop in the Boathouse in Lairg was of similar high quality (Adam, please note - the girls and the quality of the soup and sandwiches was impeccable ). So I have to come up with another theory!
We travelled on surrounded by beauty to Alt Na Hara where we hose an even narrower track up though the mountains (and the head wind had  found us again). Fortunately the road followed a river DOWN-stream (it had not occurred to the great Contemplator that most rivers flow towards the sea!).
We arrived at our destination Betty Hill late afternoon and booked into our accommodation.
But the thrill of the day was seeing the North Sea in the bay - after 900 something miles we had bloodywellalmostdoneit!! We spend the evening surrounded by possibly very friendly locals whose every other word started with f and sometimes several words started the same way.
And having suffered poor quality beer for days (including that wretched Belhaven - I hope someone from Greene King reads this - if this was a game of Monopoly you would sell it immediately!- we were much encouraged to be reunited with that old favourite of ours, Dark Island from the Orkneys. Ah, bliss. And tomorrow for the final push!

The Great Glen

We are staying in a possibly once very impressive hotel (in :Dingwal, 15 miles north of Inverness) which like the roads,of Scotland have seen better days. The Internet connection is "challenging" and photos cannot be added to this.
But mentioning the road surfaces of Scotland - they must have been designed by someone who thinks that rubbing coarse wool against your bare buttocks is suitably comfortable clothing . In my opinion both are in need of some redesigning.
Anyway - we headed off at 0800 from the Clan MacDuff hotel in Fort William with low , very low hanging clouds but above  them a. Glorious blue sky - and we saw it because the clouds did disperse with the rather late but even more welcome rays of the sun. The morning temperature was only 4*.
We followed a lovely single track bumpy road on  the western  side of the Glen and from there all the glorious autumnal colours soon became visible. Ranging from purple, to all shades of red, earthy to lighter shades of brown, with blue bits interspersed. I am of cause talking about the colours of our backsides which in spite of having been submerged in Chamois cream, Arnica,and Ibugel were playing up and had they not been modestly covered in Lycra would very likely have made it worth the trip for the hundreds of Chinese tourists lurking everywhere cameras in hand.
But the non-Lycra covered nature was certainly also a spectacle worth enjoying (photos taken can not be attached due to the slow connection),.
We followed  the road past castle Urquehart on Loch Ness - the water as still as a mirror with boats barely making any headway due to the absence of wind.
We journeyed to Inverness where we purchased our train tickets from Wick this coming Friday. Yes, they can take our bikes but in general there is room for 2, max 4 bikes per train! And as there is one perhaps two trains per day from Wick that might cause a problem during high season.
We then headed northwards over the Bridge to Ross Shire and followed cycle tracks to Dingwall - probably the grimest place we have visited so far ( a shop window advertised men's shirts size 2XL - 6XL.
The evening meal was taken in a Chinese establishment called Ding - it was followed by a to me i drinkable pint of McEwans 80 shilling in the hotel bar. Paul managed to finish his so he gets the day's medal for bravery in the face of beverage not fit for human consumption.
Tomorrow we will try to convince our backsides that a further ride 80 miles along a bumpy road will do them good. That will bring us to Bettyhill, leaving a 60 mile ride on Thursday to "finish the job".
All your mails and comments are gratefully received received and enjoyed by the entire band of brothers and their steeds.

On Rannoch Moor

We left Glasgow on a bonnie Scottish morning, took the magnificent cycle track along the river Leven to Loch Lomond where head wind and rain found us waiting their arrival. We followed the river to Craig- something where the landlord warned us against going over the moor. The weather was at best unpredictable. However it turned out to be unpredictably agreeable (cold, yes. Windy, yes. headwind - why ask). But after the somewhat strenuous , but short climb we were enjoying the moon scape of the moors. We had by the usual village idiot who clearly had never left the place of his birth been told that once up it was a free-ride down to Glen Coe. Well, that was not exactly how we experienced it - but the last 8 miles were fantastic- a roller coaster ride surrounded by autumn colours illuminated by the setting sun. Between holding on to the handlebars whilst descending at 35 mph I did manage to get some photos of the scenery (no I was not fast enough to take the one of P and me). We decided to press on to Fort William in order to fulfil our duties as justices of peace in the local bar. The Belhaven on Tap is really rather disappointing , but the bottles of Red MacGregor and Dark Island were spectacular (both from the Orkney brewery, 5000 years in the making). The R McG had a  Malty quality but S also thought there was a hint of Rum. The DI according to Paul had a "sitting around the fireplace" quality to it - lovely sweetish malty perhaps with a hint of iodine ( it will probably do our ever sore backsides some good!) . Possibly not session ales but a wonderful change to Belhaven which was also forced upon us (we did struggle and protest!!) in Glasgow.

Tomorrow we aim to pass through Inverness, purchase our return tickets to civilisation, welcome home parties, media obligations, and visits to our local watering holes. We will break up the remaining 220ish miles into three stages and a similar amount of beers. So much to experience and taste, so little time.

A Glasweigan Guardian Angel

We had an early start from Carlisle. Excellent full breakfast and with two full stomachs we set off. The wind was (temporarily) gone and we arrived in Scotland via Gretna at 0855. At the anvil in the smithy we renewed our vows to stick together through thin and even more thin until JohnO'Groats or perhaps even until the train station in Wick.
We stopped for tea and food in Lockerbie (the staff did not have the same presence as they did south of the border but we remain hopeful and unbiased). As we got back in the saddles again the wind remembered that it was there to blow and preferably against our direction of travel. We fought on and gradually the ancient God of the wind (Flatus Maximus?) realised that by now Paul and I are Hard Men (velominTi apprentices) and will take no nonsense. So we gradually got a sideways push and then a tailwind as we made it up past Moffat.
We decided to aim for Glasgow and made it trough Hamilton (every time we saw a kid with hands in his pocket we feared that he would throw stones at us but our fear was completely unfounded). In fact  we were embarrassed by the arrival of our new Best Friend and personal Guardian Angel, Bobby (G.A's have no surnames but he did go to university with Charles Kennedy, no angel!). Booby arrived on his Chariot of Steel - he had been out on a wee trip doing 60'ish miles. He suggested to take us through Glasgow avoiding death traps and traffic hotspots. We had a super route laid out for us which included 40+ minutes on beautifully tarmac'ed roads along the Clyde, cycleroute 75 (by the way the general quality of the road surfaces in Scotland, home of the inventor of asphalt, MacAdam, is atrocious. Bobby told me that in the time leading up to the Referendum a lot of roads are suddenly resurfaced!). We reached  the centre of Glasgow safely and then continued west wards along the Clyde. By then it was pitch dark and we sought temporary refuge at the Beardmore - originally built as part of a Private Hospital set up. We had by then clocked up 111 miles and felt that we deserved some luxury. And here we are , the steaks and chips are down, the Belhaven ditto (owned by Greene King in B St E) and the pudding will be washed down with a tumbler of Leffe.
Bobby has advices us on the route for our further travel and I am sure that he will be watching over us form his seat on the top of Mount Velominatus.
Loch Lomond calls!

The climb from Kendal to Shap

We started the day early - the first bad omen of the day was that we were on the go before breakfast was served and we took it on the road- delicious bacon sandwiches
Made it  in fine time to Kendal, although the famous ole' northeasterly did slow us down. had a nice cuppa served by young ladies of the standard that we have become accustomed to. No mint cakes though. I got myself some new padded shorts as the old pair had worn through. I had noticed flocks of reindeer following us on the misconception that Rudolph was riding pillion - but alas it was my red butt showing through the fabric.
Onwards , upwards , winwards! The 14 mile climb to Shap followed. The climb was not steep but made almost impossible by the weather. The wind was so fierce that when stopping for nutrition we had to lean against the bikes to prevent us from blowing over! We could keep a speed of approx 5 mph till we reached Shap (the highest motorway in the UK). Here we had another cuppa of T and half a pint of delicious Hawkshead Bitter 3.7 %. Useful info - you can actually buy bitter in halves and it tastes just as good!!!! Amazing what you learn on such an educational trip. Tomorrow we may try to get half a cup of tea as an experiment.
The scenery was stunning and the weather dry and we continued to Penrith and Carlisle - but the last 17 miles (into the wind - from now on it is ITW to save time!) were b.... hard work and we decided to abstain from pursuing  our goal of reaching Scotland today.
We have now had a good Indian meal and a couple of double-half pints of Kingfisher (no comments) and buttocks allowing the banks of Loch Lomond may be in site tomorrow evening.

Hard men and their machines turn into one (or rather two)

This morning we woke up to yet another blustery autumnal semi-gale blowing down into our by-now hardened faces. After stocking up on bacon and eggs we faced the elements and decided to show them what we are really made of. Well we were made of sterner stuff than Paul's pedal which disintegrated and had to be replaced. Whilst doing this I enjoyed the excellent hospitality of Paul's mom, Jackie. To celebrate our passing though she had even invested in cans of Budweiser to go down with the day's second helping of bacon and eggs. However as a card carrying CAMRA member I felt duty bound to point out that the said brewery has little rights, legally or skills-wise to honour that name. We did enjoy a most excellent lunch before we headed off into the northerly gale. By now we had decided to follow the Velominati Rule No. 5 and become one with our bikes and carry on regardless. And we did - to such an extent that by the time we reached a charming town, Garstang, south of Lancaster our bums had become firmly welded to the saddles - unfortunately the sensation this resulted in was as if the blow torch had been left on, and the last 4-5 miles were performed in Cavendish style trying to wrench our abraded sensitive parts out of the saddle.
So by the  time we had settled into the Royal Oak hotel with its vast selection of local beers we felt that we deserved something special - may we suggest  a pint of Cumbria Way 4,1 % from Hartleys, a nice session ale, followed by Dizzy's Blonde and Dizzy's Dark Side. Both perfectly palatable perhaps with the Dark Side coming out tops with its oaky flavours.
And to you, Pharisees , who think that beer and bikes don't match may we suggest that you talk to your raw bottom what it would prefer after a day in the saddle - a lovely local pint or. Pot of green tea. We know what our backsides prefer.

Contemplations so far

It is 0400 hrs and  the wind is howling outside - tomorrow may be interesting. It will be what we in Danish call "sylte - vind " i.e. blowing right into our hooters. We aim to skirt Manchester to have lunch with Paul's mom before doing a short stage northwards.If we are lucky the wind will change into the North East Saturday and we will have it sideways (IF we are lucky - HA!!!!).

Lessons learned so far:

1.Do not underestimate Cornwall and Devon. The signposting is atrocious and the hills are everywhere.

2. Ask the locals. Flag down motorists , they are generally helpful. It is unbearable to head downhill in the wrong direction only to have to drag yourself back up again. But do not expect the locals to know what goes on outside the village boundary. A lovely Devon lady when asked if she could help us stated"I should think so. I have lived here for 40 years" however, she did not know the name of the next village!!!

3 if using the CTC route be aware that if there is a choice between uphill and flat, uphill is chosen.

4. Wear padded bib shorts with padded shorts on top. Use plenty of lubricants. You WILL get sore.Bring very little else - you will be too tired to care in the evening and the amount of hours parading non-Lycra is minimal.

5. Double handlebar tape on the drops - your hands WILL get sore.

6. Wear trainers or SPDs. Some hills mere mortals like us have to walk (20-25% inclines)

7. There are few shops along the CTC route. Have a sandwich, bananas etc in your bag. There is a limit to how many energy bars you can digest. Nuts/almonds are good but food is best.

8. Use bulletproof tires - Marathon or heavy Continental

9. book accommodation ahead early in the day. It can be slightly upsetting to reach your destination only to find out that even the stable is taken and the three wise guys on camels behind you have booked the rest of the rooms.

10. Have a proper meal every evening, preferably with a couple of drinks but stick to non-hangover inducing beverages. It is not a relaxing adventure and a beer or two makes it all more tolerable.And there are a lot of great breweries along the way. Support local business!

11. Prepare, but then again it is difficult to prepare for situations where you HAVE to push into the wind / rain (this is Britain and the weather is made by Leyland!) all day every day.

12. Ask yourself if you really want to torment yourself this way! It is physically and mentally challenging. The A-roads are busy, all other roads are often difficult to navigate.

A back-up vehicle carrying the luggage would make it much easier also w.r.t arranging accommodation but is certainly not essential.

13. In spite of the pain - enjoy. This is a very pretty country with mostly lovely helpful people - and very pretty cake-shop attendants (the boys may be handsome too - never noticed any though).

OK time for one more hour of sleep - on the front. The back is too sore!!

                             Northerly winds part 2

 After a good meal at the Roebuck in Eye just north of Leominster we woke up to a stiff northerly wind sendingArctic  temperatures our way. For the first time it was arm warmers, leggings, thermo shirt etc. Before that we had been served a healthy breakfast by our hosts (full English) whilst admiring the soon to be well-hung beef grazing outside the window. We bid our friends from B St E farewell and headed into the wind.

And it was pretty hard going - it was smack into our faces all the way. Very pretty but very windswept scenery.Ludlow - very pretty. Stopped for a sandwich in Much Wenlock (followed by big climb), chocolate brownies in Shrewsbury (followed by climb - why are cake stops always placed before a climb? And where do they find those extraordinary pretty English girls who work in the cake shops? No not Polish, Lithuanian or even Danish! There is some hope for this country after all - although not for us sweaty, smelly and tired old geezers!). Anyway we carried on, by the end of the day more standing than sitting as our backsides were crying out for a rest (in spite of masses of chamois creme, arnica etc - we almost need seatbelts to prevent us from slipping off the saddles). We finally threw in the towel close to Middlewitch. 80+ miles done. Too tired for a drink or a meal. It's lights out - the wind will still be there tomorrow. Is this fun? Well it is about 80% pain and 20% ache - but for the kids who will benefit from the generosity of our donors (> £1500 raised for Kids Company so far) it is worth it.

 But my butt is really sore - and not a beer in site, not even a Buttweis... , no that is too silly. Goodnight all.

Professor Higgins may be right but.....

Early'ish start from Felton south of Bristol. We navigated through the city by sticking to the waterfront, crossed the Severn Bridge -where the northerly winds hit us.
Up the beautiful Wye Valley  (passed Tinton Abbey) sticking to the river bank (thanks Steve Newman!). Lunch in Monmouth (rabbit and salmon - not mixed though) then on towards Hereford - and it is perfectly possible that hurricanes never happen there, nor in Hertford or in Herefordshire - but Prof. Higgins never thought of headwinds!
So against the not very prevailing winds we made our way to Leominster where all accommodation was sold out. Found a B& B north of town where we arrived slightly hypothermic but a beautiful logfire was burning. We met up with good friends from Bury St Eds - David and Jung Hee - who had come over to provide us with some much needed moral support. They also  offloaded me of a significant amount of unnecessary stuff (including my bloody lock! If someone wants to steal my bike well then at least that gives me an excuse for quitting - no thoughts of that now!!!).
And we had a good meal at the local pub, the Roebuck.

. We enjoyed a couple of pints of Hobsons Best Bitter , delightful 3.8% hoppy and dry, and Ludlow Gold - slightly heavier but perfectly enjoyable at 4,2%. We also had some food the nature of which escapes me - but it was perfect with the beer.
 A great time was had and today's mileage of 80 left us feeling quite pleased with our efforts.
Tomorrow we aim for Manchester - weather depending!

Pain Pain and more (wet) Pain

We started off from South Mouton in high spirits but soon they were dampened - the first 6 miles were straight up into a foggy, wet sky - with inclines up to 25%. Even dragging the bikes up was an ordeal. And standing still required all brakes  activated or we would end up in a heap at the bottom.

We struggled on for about three hours through this miserable scenery - the visibility was 0 , but the scenery may have been lovely. We never saw it. And then the rain came. After three hours we had covered 18miles or so. We stopped for tea in Withypool - we tried to offload the bikes but the pretty young lady turned us and them down so we carried on. Next stop was tea rooms in Bishop Lydeard - lovely chocolate and fruit cake surrounded by garden ornaments, ladies outfits, bags etc (well the shop was "eccentric"). The climb out was absolutely awful  even the locals warned us and they were right.  By now  we had given up getting rid of the bikes  and we travelled on to Bridgewater where we decided that the CTC route (Climb to   Climb? Con the Clowns? Suggestions please ) and we took the A38 towards Bristol. we made it to  Felton where we checked in in a wonderful old pub, with. High quality beer, Butcombe's Bitter - absolutely excellent - hoppy and all you want in exchange for a bike. The food is great and we have decided to carry on. Tomorrow it's Wales!!!

We have considered joining the Ramblers organisation but they will probably turn us down!

By the way  - today's illustration show some of our wet gear and my great DVT stockings, kindly provided by Sister Lesley, in order to reduce the post exercise edema and squeeze out some more rainwater.

Ah, here comes Paul with another beer....

Climb every mountain.........

We are still on route although progress is slower than expected. Today we started out from Waybridge ( had an excellent meal yesterday at the local pub accompanied by a pint of Lushington from Skinners - absolutely lovely, hoppy and only 4.2%, followed by Proper Job (st Austell), 4.5% pleasant but not op notch and finally a Sharp's Special 5.2%, too strong and too Chrismassy)

Anyway a challenging climb not even registered on the map was the start of the day followed by a straight run to Camelford and then the main road to Bude aftert which we went inland. The hills may be alive but it ain't with the sound of anything but grunting. We were faced with 20% and 25% inclines -    enough said. The weather stayed dry, the scenery (as far as I could see through my steamed up specs resulting in  the screen on my Garmin getting so wet that I could probably have launched a few ships on it) beautiful but why is it so hilly?

We stopped tonight at South Moulton on the Somerset border having done 70 miles. The next shelter was 20 miles further and as the local pub did B & B we unseated/unsaddled ourselves , had a mediocre meal with a couple of pints of mediocre beer from Exmoor : Ale (false advertising, it was wet but that's all) followed by Wild Cat ( a slight improvement) . We have now transferred our custom to the Town Arms where they do real ale.

But to all you cyclist who have "done " Cornwall in a day - I bet you did not carry your belongings as we do - a lovely local lady even stopped to ask us if we were OK or needed rescucitation or puncture repair at he top of a 20% hill. We were OK but it's tough - and winter seems to be approaching. Anyway onwards upwards although we could do with some downwards soon!,

Houston, we have lift off.

Those of you of a certain age will recognise those words and the excitement they caused. Off to explore far away planets, orbit the Earth or whatever.

Well we are still on this planet although we feel a bit spaced out. We left Land's End this morning and started off at great speed. The ride out which took us more than an hour yesterday took us 45 minutes today. For a short while we thought that our fitness had increased overnight but the hills soon had the better of us. We passed Mount St. Michael in the mist and headed inland.

My physique is absolutely marvellous in the hills. My power to weight ratio is Olympic material but unfortunately only when going down! And to paraphrase the old Blood Sweat and Tears song " What goes down must come up" - and boy did we get our comeuppance! Especially around Truro - it is like Hartest but an "Alpine" version.

We had some navigational problems - Dad's Army must have done an episode here and moved all the signposts! 

The locals are courteous and helpful. A lovely young woman not only filled our water bottles, offered biscuits but also insisted on getting my Justgiving details so she could sponsor me(the tally so far is approx. £1500 for Kids Company - great! But it hurts - everywhere!). 

We called it a day after 65 miles, are now dressed up for the local pub in our TED - stockings (to reduce peripheral oedema - seen after sports and beer drinking). 

Mañana? Onwards, upwards. "Major Tom, to ground control"-  "to infinity and beyond ", or hopefully somewhere near Bristol!

After a long train journey we have arrived at the start line. The ride from Penzance to Land's End was - how should I frase it? - hilly does not do it justice , perhaps bloody hilly gives a better description!
We were riding into a beautiful Cornish sunset and lesson no. 1 of this trip was learned: do not (NOT!) have a bacon sandwich on the train before you embark on a hilly ride. Just like Christmas - you think it is over and then it is back with you again!
Anyway we made it, checked in and went off to the pub, appropriately named The Last Inn in England on the sign facing north east, and The First Inn in England on the sign facing south west.
We had fish (time is too short for descriptions) and one pint of Doombar - an excellent beverage with a slight hoppiness and a lovely amber hue. Rating 8/10. This was followed by a pint of Annie's Revenge which was slightly disappointing - a bit bland so she cannot have been too excited about whatever it was that upset her. (5/10)Now for an early night - there will be hills tomorrow!

Fund raising

The weather has changed - and the day of departure approaching. The forecast for the week-end is good but we will be heading up the weast-coast - water-proofs at hand (and foot)!.

The bike is ready, the bags packed (2 panniers and a small rucksack - 14 kilos in total - including energy bars which will be consumed continuously). I had a trial ride on the Suffolk hills (yes they do exist!). My quads have benefitted from yoga-pilates and I guess that I'm ready too.

The girls at the hospital had a cake-stall - by threats, intimidation and sweet- talking (in that order - some of you will know by whom!) they raised £ 261 for Kids Company - the charity I am supporting. Well done!!!!! And as I only had two cakes (as part of my pre-ride carbo-loading!)I still hope to be able to drag myself up the Cornish hills.

So it is one more visit to the Dove (in the running for the best pub in the UK!!) and I am off. Here's to tail winds, courteous drivers and high energy levels.

The missing first blog.

Exactly one week from now I will be heading off from Land's End towards the North-East of Scotland, John O'Groats. My friend Paul and I will carry our few (sniff, sniff) possessions, rely on a gentle South-Westerly breeze and preferably dry weather, and rely on Chamois cream and well-padded shorts (as on the Scream by unknown cyclist). We aim for approx. 100 miles per day, with B & Bs wherever they are as our daily destination. We have almost-pullet-proof tires, tools and credit cards.
I am doing it for Kids Company - a London based charity looking after children with very little hope in life. If you are tempted to support them please visit www.justgiving.soren-upton-sjolin
Any donation would be most welcome. Now off to the turbo - a bit more exercise will do me well!