Lands End

Lands End - the end!

Made it....!

Friday 18th September-The final Day

And they are off on their final leg. This was them this morning as they set off. We will keep you posted. I am off to meet Kate and Heather in Penzance- horraay! I will finish my little adventure and will be able to say that I have driven from John O Groats to Lands End, and when I say it took 2 weeks I will wait for some bright spark to say "you could have cycled it in that time"!

Statistics for the trip so far

Time for a stretch!
Photo opportunity on Dartmoor

With just one leg to go the stats for the trip so far are:
Total distance = 954 miles (1000 tomorrow)
Total height climbed = 60226 feet
Highest point = 1524 feet ( 6 days above 1000ft)
3 punctures, 2 broken spokes, 1 broken shifter, 2 jammed front mechs;
52+ bananas
104 litres of rocket fuel drunk .....

High point of the Tor - day 13

Sorry about no update yesterday - we were up on the Moor in moretonhamstead which was a bit of a communication black hole. Yesterday generally went well and we made good time. Another broken spoke but managed to get it repaired in Tiverton while we had toasted sandwiches in a tea room a few doors from the bike shop. Day finished with a very hard climb up to the moor including a 20% gradient at one point.
Today we crossed Dartmoor and climbed to the highest point of the journey over 1500 ft. Also set a record on way down with Steve recording a max speed of 50.7 mph! Finished Devon by 12 and then on to Cornwall. Pasties for lunch in Liskeard. Hard afternoon ride which anybody who knows Cornwall will understand - long climb, quick descent, long climb, quick descent etc..... It went on forever but we made it to our last stopover near St Austel. Tomorrow Lands End......

Heavy legs (day) eleven

Started out this morning with a couple of hills and all agreed that the cumulative effect of riding 800 miles was starting to tell - legs felt heavy right from the start. First big milestone was crossing the M4 (see pics below).
Highlight of the day was a breathtaking descent through Cheddar Gorge into Cheddar. Stopped for a cup of tea and a bite to eat - chose the only cafe that seemed to have sold out of everything. Had to do a 5 mile section on the A38 so Steve led us out and we held 20+miles an hour for the first time on the ride. At that pace we could get to Lands End in one day instead of the planned 3 days!

Couple of mechanicals today - one front mech jam and another puncture.

We are staying in a B&B tonight so are going in hunt of some dinner in a local pub. Only 3 days to go - whoopee!!

Simon

Van has a day out sightseeing!

Burnham- sands

Cheddar Gorge.

Hi there here are a few pictures taken on route from Stroud to Burnham-on-Sea.

Day 10 - Kenilworth to Stroud

After such an easy days riding Steve Holtom won't believe us but today was another hard ride. Only 65 miles compared to yesterdays 70 but loads of climbing through the Cotswolds. As always a real sting in the tail with a very steep climb out of Stroud to our hotel in Rodborough.
Tim has been in a really chirpy mood since Villas 1 0 demolition of the Blue Noses!
Everybody fit and in good shape but tired - another early night.
Sorry no pictures today as no Internet connection. Burnham on Sea tomorrow, an easy ride .......

Home -part 1!!

A castle and some cyclists!! Managed to get both together for a change. The guys pose for a photograph in front of Kenilworth Castle.

Sorry- not the best photo- I was too excited and had left the camera on landscape. However if you look closely you will indeed see the guys cycling into the Green Man car park this afternoon.

Can I say a big, big thank you to all of you who came along to cheer them home and giving them so much support. It is really appreciated.

Clitheroe to Leek(day 8)

"Refuelling" near the top of a big climb

Another day of good weather and hard riding. Initially very different riding conditions to yesterday- riding through city roads getting round Manchester. Special mention to Windsor Deli in Oldham for a great cup of tea and the best flapjacks in the north of England- we can recommend them if you are In the area. Also thanks for the donation to the charities.

Some difficult navigational challenges today which added some miles and took us into Maccelsfield, not the planned route but avoided the Snake Pass. Even so some BIG climbs today like yesterday. Run into Leek was good and fast thanks to some hard work on the front by Steve. It was strange to arrive with no van sitting in the car park and Sarah handing out refreshments- Sarah we miss you already.

Looking forward to Aidan joining us for dinner tonight and Steve H (and any others welcome) joining us for the ride tomorrow. But all really looking forward to getting home tomorrow!

Best Day Yet!

Having finished last night and started this morning in a quiet and sombre mood, we have all surprised ourselves by having the best day cycling yet. The morning was full of beautiful scenery, sunny and fast miles on good roads to Sedburgh where a refuelling lunch set us in good stead for the afternoon. The only blemish is that Simon is now being investigated by the BCF for substance abuse following his awesome performance up some of the hills. Steve and Tim have suggested he tries strapping a 4 stone weight to his stomach to even things up! Martin tested the durability of his GPS by bouncing it on the road at about 30 MPH just north of Sedburgh. Thankfully all is in tact. An afternoon of more serious climbs of at least 50% and 2 climbs over 1,000ft ensured that we arrived in Clitheroe well tired but in better spirits than we started. Tomorrow we are on to Leek and to meet with our mates-and Sunday to meet our families. We are all really excited about this as it has been really tough, long week. It would be great to see any familiar faces at the Green Man in Kenilworth on Sunday around 4pm.

Posted by Tim

ps We lose Sarah for a couple of days tomorrow as she drives to Leek to drop our bags off and then on to Kenilworth to drop our smelly washing off. Please think of Sarah having to carry out this most odious of tasks.

Day 7

More scenery for you from my drive from Edenhall to Clitheroe

Hi -I've arrived ahead in Clitheroe. All checked in and now waiting for the guys to arrive- they have about 15 miles left. Lovely scenery again and the weather is fabulous. How sad am I- I tested out the delay option on my camera- too much time on my hands.

The guys will give you a detailed account later- if they have the energy.

Photo Gallery

Sweetheart Abbey-in New Abbey nr Dumfries

Shambellie House Museum
Lunch in Carlisle -Tim's first ever Subway
Outside hotel at Dumfries

Edenhall-End of Day 6

Another good day of glorious sunshine - the rain and gales are a distant (but still painful) memory. Good start to the day out of Dumfries, riding through very pleasant scenery and crossed the border around 11.00 am. We called ahead to the bikeshop in Penrith to check that they had the parts for Tim's bike and could do the job - not very helpful so decided to detour to Carlisle. Many thanks to Kate for researching the bike shops and finding a store with the parts and a mechanic on standby, ready to do the job. Arrived in Carlisle around 1.30 and had Subway lunch in sunshine while the bike was fixed. We met up with Sarah who had had a lovely time visiting Shambellie House musuem of costume and the Sweetheart Abbey (pictures to follow). From Carlisle scenery got even better and we had a good ride to Edenhall. Another 65 miles today- total now around 450 so nearly halfway! Knees and bums the main problem areas but all sticking with it. Another big day tomorrow - close to 90 miles but we know we can do it......

Lunch day 6

Detoured into Carlisle to find a bike shop. Having a subway lunch while tim's bike is repaired. Crossed the border around 11, Scotland complete and only England to go. 25 miles to go today.

Happy Days

Great day today - we have all remembered why we used to like cycling! 70 miles of enjoyable cycling through attractive scenery into Dumfries, helped in no small part by the sun coming out - quite a contrast from yesterday's gales and heavy rain. A couple of "mechanicals" on the bikes, Tim's front shifter rachet mechanism has broken (top speed down from 40 to 30 mph now) and Steve was unable to clip in (now fixed by adjustment with 2.5mm Allen key which of course none of our "cool tools" that we were carrying had). Thanks to Sarah for scouting out a cycle shop in Dumfries before we arrived.

Thanks for all the comments and texts of support, it's got us through our darkest moment. We are looking forward tomorrow; England beckons .........

A culture photo

Castle Doon on Loch Doon - Ayrshire

pictures

think this sums up yesterday for me- but Steve and Si have clean kit now!!

Bad News

Have been told by hotel staff that we will 100% NOT be able to see the England game tonight.

Dumfries

Hi just quick post to say that they have arrived in Dumfries. They have had to take a detour to a bike shop as Tim's brake needs sorting. They had a much better ride today. Glorious sunshine and lovely scenery.

I'll find out more when I see them.