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The LE-JOG Diary
Note: Below is the text from a diary which I kept during the Lands End to John O'Groats ride in June/July 2006. I am gradually working on this and expanding the notes into a more readable text. I also hope to add some photographs. However at present there is little time before the Rhine trip and I think that this will have to wait until time is less scarce. However the diary notes do reveal the route, distance and the more memorable moments, it is sprigging to me just how much I can recall two years later prompted by these notes.
Lands End to John O'Groats
by tandem
Start date: 21 June 2006-07-10
Prologue
I can't remember the exact
date and in any case it does not matter other than I was sitting at my
desk at Roke Manor Research some time during November 2005 doing a fairly
mundane day's work when an email came in from Graham Lee, a friend and
colleague from the Rotary Club. Graham and I had not long before completed
a very enjoyable weekend tandem ride with our Rotary friends, cycling
from Brussels to Amsterdam. Earlier that year we had sat together at a
Rotary dinner and the subject of cycling had come up in conversation.
I had enjoyed several of the previous Rotary cycling excursions but as
time has gone on my eyes were deteriorating enough to make cycling on
unknown roads more difficult. For this reason I explained that I didn't
think that I would go on the forthcoming Brussels to Amsterdam trip and
this was much to my regret. Graham had the sudden inspiration that perhaps
we should get hold of a tandem and give it a try to see if it would be
practical and enjoyable to take it on the trip. I was keen to give this
a try and Clive Collier came up trumps when he asked an acquaintance Jane
Goddard, who he knew owned a tandem, if she would allow us to borrow it.
Jane agreed and Graham and I gave it a go. After a shaky start we found
that it was quite good fun and in fact a very companionable way of cycling,
since conversation is much more practical than whilst on two solo bikes.
Soon afterwards I bought my first tandem, an Explorer from Thorn Cycles
of Bridgewater. At the time this felt to be a huge plunge into the dark
because £1000 seemed like a lot of money to spend on a whim. My
family certainly appeared to be of the view that I had gone mad, but that
in itself is probably nothing unusual. Prior to actually purchasing a
brand new tandem I had spent some time looking at EBay and bidding, mercifully
unsuccessfully for several old and unsuitable cronks. The Explorer duly
arrived and after a panic about the frame being too large, we settled
down to some very enjoyable cycle rides concluding in Brussels to Amsterdam.
So back to that email … It said: "Bill, My son Oliver has challenged
me to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats as a birthday challenge. Do
you fancy doing it on the tandem?". For me it was not a hard decision
to make because many years before as a student I had cycled quite a lot
to pass the time when I lived in Chelmsford and had toyed with the notion
of doing it one day at that time. This seemed like a great and in all
probability a once in a lifetime chance for me to do this ride. My answer
was therefore quite prompt and succinct i.e. "Yes".
Training started in earnest just after Christmas with some quite cold
and wet rides. My knees immediately began to play up and were a considerable
concern to me over the following months since I really did not know how
they would respond to the day after day cycling activity. I was worried
that I might start the ride and then let Graham down if my knees became
badly swollen or simply too sore to cycle with. Happily having completed
the ride I can now say that my fears never became a reality and my knees
are better now than they have been for ages. A lesson there, I think.
Early training also got me worried about the Explorer tandem because I
knew that Robin Thorn had been concerned about whether the frame was strong
enough for two 12 stone men to ride. With luggage this issue would be
exaggerated, so after some discussions with Robin Thorn by email I was
of the view that we should upgrade the rear wheel by going to a 48 spoke
rim and add an Arai drag brake. To avoid overloading the frame we were
going to use a single wheel trailer such as the "Yak". During
winter training several of our rides were in the pouring rain and under
these conditions the derailleur gears were noisy and did not really work
very well. After each ride of 30-50 miles the gears would require a bit
of TLC to get them back to full working order. This was mainly due to
lubrication although finally I did solve one issue of poor mechanical
advantage on the front changer by re-positioning a cable. However overall
things did not bode well for a 1000 mile marathon. After much discussion
and deliberation we decided to jointly purchase a new machine specifically
for the LE - JOG ride but hopefully also for future expeditions if LE
- JOG went well.
The new machine was a Thorn Discovery fitted with the Rohloff speed hub.
Importantly as it turned out, at Graham's suggestion, we also decided
to buy a frame with S+S fittings. This has proven to be so useful that
I could not possibly advise anyone to buy a tandem without these fittings
since they allow the frame to fit into a normal estate car for transport.
Our whole LE - JOG adventure became entirely dependent on this feature.
The fittings are absolutely brilliantly designed and totally effective,
the frame can be broken down in 5 minutes and similarly rapidly reassembled.
There is zero noticeable impact on the performance of the frame. The new
bike arrived around 22 April 2006 and in the following two months to the
21 June when we left for Lands End, we succeeded in doing 1002 training
miles on the new bike.
Looking back on the training which we put in, I now know it to have been
adequate. Graham and I were both in full time work and because Graham
works for himself as an Engineering Consultant, there are frequently times
when he must work long hours to meet a tight timescale. My job as an Electronics
Engineer for Roke Manor Research tends to leave evenings and weekends
free. Added to this was the fact that my wife Sandra was either busy or
away in London with her work as an MP. This meant that Sandra was not
worried about the time I spent cycling, I think that in her view it stopped
me complaining and kept me occupied. In contrast Graham's wife Ann was
keen that Graham should spend at least some time with her during potentially
good cycling daylight hours. So time was continuously a challenge. Ideally
I would have done more miles, but in practice the 1000 miles in 8 weeks
plus the earlier less intense training was just sufficient to make the
journey enjoyable rather than agony. Additionally I had insisted that
Graham's route planning should average no more than about 65 to 70 miles
per day. A particular problem in Hampshire is that we do not have any
real hills. I knew how different things were from Bath where I had cycled
when not in Chelmsford. When reading LE - JOG logs on the internet everyone
said how difficult Cornwall and Devon are. For this reason I was keen
to keep the first few days mileage down. I am now convinced that this
has proven to be exactly the correct decision and that over optimism in
this part of the country and perhaps more importantly, the first few days
of the ride, could be quite disastrous. The key thing, I believe, is the
pre-ride training. I would advise that the first few days should not exceed
a normal average full day training ride. Also training rides should be
chosen to include hills not to avoid them.
My saddle also became a terrible preoccupation and I should think that
I drove Graham and anyone prepared to talk about the subject insane. We
had chosen to fit Brooks B17 saddles to the new tandem. I immediately
found my Brooks saddle to be just about the most uncomfortable saddle
that I had ever placed my rear end upon. I persevered but after about
500 miles I gave up and bought a rather odd looking noseless saddle from
the Comfort Saddle Company. Just before the saddle arrived I tried the
Brooks B17 with a suspension seat post and found this to be a significant
improvement. However the new saddle arrived and I started to use it with
positive results. The Comfort Saddle seemed to be a solution but then
the weather got hot and suddenly I found that I was having problems. This
was due to the distances that we were doing in training and due to the
fact that cycle clothing assumes a relatively narrow saddle will be used.
Consequently seams were rubbing which would normally not be under any
pressure from the saddle. With only two weeks to go before we started
riding I was faced with a decision. Thankfully I made the correct decision
which was to go with the Brooks B17 plus suspension seat post and to use
padded cycle underpants plus padded cycling baggy shorts on top i.e. a
double layer of padding. I was confident that the Brooks would not chafe
and the suspension post took away much of the deep bruising problems which
were causing me discomfort due to riding as stoker on a tandem (you are
more directly over the back wheel and you don't see the bumps coming which
is why a suspension post makes a big difference). I also took the radical
step of dampening the B17 with a wet towel for 30 minutes before a few
rides. This successfully reshaped the leather to my unique and no doubt
very odd shape. Fortunately the B17 proved to be relatively comfortable
during the ride, but the key word here must be noted to be "relatively".
However I would be happy to agree that it has been the most comfortable
saddle that I have ever used, a total and complete contrast to my original
views.
With a little over a week to go before the ride began, I bought some "Slime"
anti puncture bands to go in the tyres. To start the job I turned the
tandem upside down in my workshop and span the back wheel. To my horror
and disbelief the rear wheel was not running at all true and with a sinking
heart I discovered that two spokes had snapped. During a recent training
ride with loaded panniers we had heard a bang but at that time had not
found any problem. With the bike inverted it was easy to find that two
spokes were broken and oddly they had broken at the rim end not at the
hub which I have found to be normal in the past. Fortunately Graham had
a little spare time and was able to run the wheel back to Bridgwater.
Thorn were very good and rebuilt the wheel from scratch whilst Graham
waited. They carried out some machining on the rim and whatever was done
seems to have worked seeing as we have now completed a further 1046 miles
on the wheel fully loaded with in excess of 20 kg of luggage in two panniers
plus our tools plus spares bag.
So finally all was ready, we had done our training, the bike was repaired
and ready to go, Graham had planned the route. B&B's had been booked
by Ann for the first few nights in Cornwall and Devon. Friends along the
way were expecting us. Our panniers were packed. Rotarian friends were
ready to take us to Lands End and pick us up from John O'Groats. There
was no excuse for it we had to get down to Lands End and get on with it.
Day1, 21st June 2006
Finally it has begun, after
months of thought and preparation here we are on the way.
I am currently sitting on my bed in the Portreath Arms PH after enjoying
2 pints of Abbot Ale plus a green Thai curry. A most satisfactory end
to day1. Tonight we shared a table with Richard a meteorologist who is
now walking LEJOG having cycled it some years ago. Good fun - suitably
eccentric to fit in well!
Today began at about 6:30am, usual shower, cheerio to Nick as he left
for work, breakfast - 2 teacakes, yummy!! Then mad panic to get ready
for Dave and Lyn Healy to pick me up at 8am. All OK until I discovered
that I had lost my keys. Er um - in my pocket all the time. Picked up
Graham at about 8:30am I guess that we left Romsey at about 8:45 ish.
The Journey was fine - light traffic. Picnic lunch in garage services
thanks to Lyn. Ah yes, … GPS. By now Graham was working on the GPS
tracking and had to download new software. Finally all OK and Rob reported
that we no longer appeared to be in mid channel on his map.
Arrived LE at 2:30pm which was exactly ETA. We had the bike loaded up
by 3pm and set off for LE signpost. We had the obligatory photo taken
and said goodbye to Lyn and Dave - then we were on the way by about 3:30pm.
Cycling has been generally good with a strong westerly wind to help us
on our way. Cycles via St Just to St Ives and stopped in the harbour for
20 minutes for a break. Set off from harbour and passed by Tate Modern
- then awfully steep hill to rear of TM where we had to jump off. We were
somewhat comforted by a shout of "Good effort" by a nice looking
young lady of about 25. Perhaps she was talking to her dog!
Next through Hoyle and on to Portreath - found the Portreath Arms just
in time to avoid a rain shower. Graham went in only to be told "Sorry
no booking" (Ann had been worried about this one). Finally found
out that 2 blokes i.e. us, had not turned up ~ booked in as Graham and
Bill Gidley. Hey ho - this is Cornwall.
Stats:
Distance = 36 miles
Cycling time = 3 hrs 11 minutes.
Day 2. Portreath to Camelford
Portreath
Porthtewan
St Agnes
Goonhavern
St Newlin East
Lappa Valley
St Columb Major
St Wenn
Nan Stallon
Camelford
Miles = 55
Climb = 1100m
After an excellent cooked breakfast
at the Portreath Arms we set off under grey skies for a day of hard cycling.
Only 45 miles today but 1100 m of climbing!
The climb out of Portreath was not too bad and soon we came to Porthtowen
- a zoom down into the valley and then start of a hard slog out. We made
it almost to the top but I think that neither of us could see the point
of busting a gut - so we stopped at a corner with a convenient bench to
have a breather and enjoy the view. We walked the next 50 yards and then
onwards. At St Agnes we found an excellent bakery where we bought our
first Cornish Pasties plus cakes. Good value at just under £5. We
resisted but regretted not buying the picnic cream tea. Onwards to Goonhavern
where a wrong turn cost us about 5 miles or more. Navigation was really
quite difficult on the small roads without Ordnance Survey maps which
were too heavy to carry.
On via Saint Newlin East to the Lappa Valley Railway. Scenery beautiful
- great views making the climbs worthwhile. We stopped close to the Lappa
Valley Railway in a gateway for a well earned lunch - pasties excellent!
At this point Graham phoned a friend who was monitoring our progress via
GPS. The system was working well and he could place us correctly on the
map to a few tens of metres.
Now on to Saint Columb Major where we stocked up on water and rested our
legs for 10 mins. We sat on a wall outside an attractive church and took
some photos. Next on to St Wenn and via some lovely valleys to Nan Stallon
and up an impossible hill. At least 1 in 6 for ages. We got about a quarter
of the way up but realised that there was no chance of finishing. So after
a long push walking we reached the top.
On now to fast B road into Camelford. Very fast traffic and not very enjoyable
with tired legs. Finally made it to the Countryman Hotel just out of Camelford.
Aided by the lovely lady hotelier we locked the bike safely away in the
cellar and her husband helped us with our bags. Dinner was a wonderfully
home cooked meal. We both chose to eat liver and bacon casserole because
neither Ann nor Sandra will cook liver for us and we both love to eat
it.
At dinner we met a group of walkers from Enfield who despite being well
into retirement keep themselves fit and young in spirit by regular walking
holidays all over the UK and further afield.
And so to bed. Tired legs today but saddle OK so far. Weather good - wind
still blowing from the west.
Day 3. Camelford to Crediton
Friday 23rd June
Distance 57.24 miles
Avg 10.6 mph
Top speed 46.6 mph
Up at usual time of about 7am
after sleeping reasonably well thanks to a comfortable bed i.e. not too
soft. The Countryman provided us an excellent breakfast and we said cheerio
to our friendly fellow guests the walkers. Much to our surprise and pleasure
Colin and Dai gave us a donation of £20 for our charity fund. Also
said farewell to Debora and Michael the hoteliers.
On the road at about 9:30 am and started from the hotel straight into
a big climb out of Camelford. Only regretted the big breakfast slightly!
The weather today was good for cycling - little wind and fairly chilly
for June. We were glad not to be with kids on a beach holiday. Again wonderful
scenery at times over Bodmin Moor. All looking quite desolate under grey
skies. Arrived at Launceston just before 12 where we bought lunch at a
bakery shop and looked for a cycle shop. (I had forgotten my cycling visor
specs.) I eventually found the cycle shop tucked away in a very small
off road complex. It seemed to sell mainly motor cycle parts and a few
bike bits but no visor specs.
Launceston is a steep and hilly town with shops above the valley bottom.
Seemed odd but maybe floods had forced this choice.
Onwards to Oakhampton after a lunch stop at a perfect wooden bus shelter.
My BLT sandwich in pita bread tasted absolutely wonderful and was followed
by a very good Chelsea bun - yum! Yum!. Definitely the best sandwich of
the whole trip.
Oakhampton has a very good little bike shop on the Bostock Garden Centre
- Oakhampton Cycles. The assistant was very helpful and sold me a very
nice pair of cycling specs plus a small handlebar bag which was ideal
for holding my camera in a more accessible place. While chatting to the
assistant I mentioned what we were doing and asked him whether he had
many people drop in who were doing the LE-JOG ride. He said that he had
a few. He also told of someone living in the area who had done the ride
several times and tried to improve his time. This was something fairly
extraordinary like 5 days!
After the bike shop we took the opportunity to visit the local supermarket
to stock up with water plus juice and energy bars. We discovered that
Liddel prices really are an awful lot lower than Waitrose and despite
the bars being a bit smaller were not bad at all.
Out of Oakhampton we had a fairly long climb. I think that this was followed
by a long straight and quite steep downhill where we set our Land Speed
Record of 46.6 mph - we can't exactly remember where this was and Graham
thinks that it was outside Launceston - it is so hard to remember after
a long day of cycling.
At Coleford we met a nice guy riding a Thorn solo with Rohloff gears.
He was almost finishing JOG to LE and was not looking forward to the hills
of Cornwall. We wished him well and felt reassured because he had said
that the hills of Scotland were not too bad.
Arriving at Crediton we soon found Fircroft our B&B which is a beautiful
old brick built house. We were greeted at Fircroft by the son of the landlady
who arrived shortly afterwards. After a shower to freshen up we set off
for the town and had a good blow-out meal at the Three Little Pigs PH
(the pub was very nice except for the loos which were a bit of a shock
- desperately in need of refurbishment to put it politely!).
When we got back we saw the son of the landlady who was again minding
the fort. He was busy on the internet and watching TV with a friend. Kindly
he allowed us to use his
PC for a quick look at the net to see if we could find any information
about the route around Bristol. I couldn't find a page which I had found
at home and did not want to overstay our welcome, so I gave up after a
few minutes.
And so ends day 3 - good fun and good cycling.
P.S. GPS tracking played up badly today despite Graham's efforts to re-boot and re-load the software. Well that's technology for you!
Crediton to Cannington (Bridgwater)
Sat 24th June 2006
Distance 65.6 miles
Crediton
Thorverton
Bickleigh (location of bridge, pub and weir)
Tiverton
Bampton
Wiveliscombe
Wellington - King's Bike Shop
Taunton
Bridgwater
Cannington - The Priory
Once again a most enjoyable
breakfast supplied by our landlady at Fircroft. After a very pleasant
chat with our charming landlady who turned out to originate from Edinburgh
we finally got away at about 10:15 am. A bit of a late start really. The
weather was excellent blue skies and some cloud but not too hot. Out of
Crediton to Thorreton via small lanes and some hard climbs. Through some
very attractive valleys where we took some photos. Chatted to postman
and village resident who persuaded us quite easily that our intended route
was too hilly, so we set off via the main roads to Bampton. Route took
us via Buckleigh where there is a very picturesque wier, bridge plus pub.
Looked to be on main tourist trail. Then via Tiverton to Bampton. There
we called on Graham's Aunt Barbara who treated us to tea and sandwiches.
Graham's relatives Jane and husband Bill plus their daughter Rebecca also
called. We had a very nice half hour and I was made to feel very welcome.
On returning to the bike and doing the usual inspections we noticed a
very nasty bulge developing in our rear tyre. This just had to be fixed.
The nearest bike shop appeared to be in Wellington, a bit of a detour
but so be it. The route was moderately hilly and we got to King's Bike
Shop at around 4:15pm. When we arrived the rather lackadaisical female
assistant clearly did not know her stock. Fortunately for us her assistant,
a very helpful young lad, soon sorted us out with the best replacement
that they had. This was a 1.5 inch x 26 rather than a 1.75 inch tyre and
at first I was a little doubtful. (This tyre actually got us through the
remainder of the journey and 2 years later is still perfectly serviceable!).
With the bike up-ended outside the shop we replaced the tyre as fast as
we could. The old tyre at this point was found to be very close to total
failure and we could not have ridden much further on it, so we were quite
lucky. It was at that moment that Dave Healy rang to ask us how things
were going. Dave, an excellent engineer, appreciated with some amusement
the minor technical hitch and timing of his call and wished us well.
Finally back on the bike and now both of us were feeling some fatigue.
With that in mind we decided to take the fastest route to Bridgewater
- via Taunton, about 17 miles if I recall correctly. A phone call revealed
that the B&B was actually in Cannington, some 3 miles outside Bridgewater
on the Minehead road. So we would need to retrace our steps the following
day.
The B&B, The Priory, was very comfortable and old-worldly. Our landlord
spent most of his time farming and was a very pleasant and friendly chap.
After some bike and car related discussion we left the tandem chained
to a waste pipe to the rear of the property.
After freshening up we set off across the road to The Spirit PH for a
very acceptable meal and a decent pint of Buckscombe beer.
As I noted in my diary "Another day over, tomorrow to Newport"
Cannington to Langstone near
Newport
Sun 25th June 2006
Distance 67 miles
A good breakfast seems to be
de riguer at a good B&B and the Priory was no exception. We said good
bye to the proprietor Stuart Biggs who wished us luck. We had also met
a lady named Sophie at breakfast who was in Cannington on retreat getting
a welcome break from house improvements and children.
On the road at 9:45am and set off to Bridgewater then on to A38 towards
Bristol. Expecting an easy run we had not counted on the Mendips being
in the way! This range of hills presented us with several medium climbs
and one huge one. On the latter we were forced to stop outside the Donnington
Arms, a pub which looked to be even more knackered than we were.
We bought lunch at a garage and ate it later on some grass outside a crematorium
- beggars can't be choosers!
After lunch the A38 was busy and noisy but was relatively quick for us
and we finally made Bristol at about 2 pm ish. I had had some worries
about getting through the Bristol traffic but the A4 along the Avon passing
under the Clifton Suspension Bridge proved to be no problem. Then A406
to Aust. The A406 goes via Avonmouth industrial area which was suitably
grotty but being a Sunday was very quiet (My guess is that this route
could be murder during weekday busy periods).
Nearing Aust we passed two elderly chaps out cycling. They were able to
direct us on to the Severn Bridge cycle path. Very useful as the signposting
was bad at one point.
When we finally arrived on the Severn Bridge we realised that the football
match between England and Uruguay (or was it Ecuador ??) was about to
begin so it must have been 4pm Graham put on a small radio that he had
with him and tried to listen in. I could not hear much on the back of
the tandem but as I have less than no interest in football I was not terribly
concerned. (If I remember correctly this was a world cup match but as
I have no interest I am not sure of this).
Cycling along the cycle way on the Severn Bridge was really quite bizarre
as there was no traffic at all. Total silence. It rather reminded me of
Neville Shute's "On the beach". At first we were completely
mystified as to what was going on and wondered if the entire country was
glued to the box by some national decree that we had missed enforcing
the watching of the football. Graham could see traffic on the new M4 Severn
Crossing which made it seem all the more odd. Eventually we realised that
the old Severn Bridge was closed to motor traffic for essential maintenance.
This was a real bonus as without the noise of the traffic the bridge was
a very pleasant cycle ride.
On arriving in Wales we joined the A48 and headed towards Newport. We
arrived at my sister's house at about 5:30 pm both feeling quite tired,
the roads had been quite hilly and we were feeling the distance, Graham
complaining about having a sore bum.
On arrival at Lorraine's we had some problems with a combination lock
and phoned Sandra (my wife) to get Lorraine's mobile number. Problem solved
we settled in and waited for my sister to return. Lorraine, Martyn and
their daughter Rebecca plus friends Pete and Tracy with 2 year old child
Jazzie arrived home at about 7pm. Pete and Martyn had been watching the
England game and were both a bit the worse for wear clearly having partaken
of some fine ale to accompany the football.
Later in the evening we all trooped off to the Barn PH where Martyn had
to use his influence to persuade the chef to provide us dinner as we had
arrived a little late. Anyway, all was well, we had good steaks and a
few beers. Just the job after a hard day's cycling.
Later on Martyn worked out our bill for our 1 night stay … never
did pay him, I hope that he has forgotten!
Newport to Little Hereford
Monday 26th June 2006
Time cycling 5hrs 31mins
Distance: 64.57 miles
Work up after some welcome
sleep to find the weather overcast and raining steadily - just a bit more
than drizzle.
Lorraine cooked us a lovely breakfast which we shared with Pete, Tracy
and Jazzie. Finally set off at about 10.30am, a bit of a late start. Rebecca
was at home so she videoed us leave (she had a dentist appointment so
wasn't at school and Martyn had left for work).
We had decided not to go back to Chepstow and Wye Valley due to distance
and hills. The A449 starts only 1 mile from Lorraine's house so we set
off towards the Coldra then crossed on foot to A449. The A449 is the main
arterial route for heavy goods vehicles for the southwest to Birmingham,
so it was very busy. On a damp and dreary day it was pretty bad but got
us quickly to where we wanted to be. At Raglan we were diverted off as
bikes were not allowed on the contra flow.
Arrived at Monmouth at about 1pm ish and stopped at Waitrose to buy nutribars
and lucozade. Got under cover and were comfortable for a while out of
the rain. There we ate the great pile of sandwiches which Lorraine had
provided. Graham commented on the size of doorstep butties - clearly not
used to Gidley family practices when it comes to sandwich thickness! Dinner
over we cut through the High Street and set off towards Hereford.
The route had some small hills but nothing compared to previous days and
was quite picturesque. Arrived in Hereford at around 4.30pm ish and decided
to have a look around the town centre. Stopped in market square for a
while and chatted to a guy who took part in time trialling. Eventually
found the Cathedral and stopped under a bit tree canopy to shelter from
the rain. I rang Sandra, which was a good thing as she was off to a dinner
in the evening. Earlier, on the road out of Monmouth, Lorraine had rung
to say that she had found us a B&B at Little Hereford. Rather unfortunately
timing had meant that our original target of Ludlow was enjoying its Arts
Festival and no B&B was to be found for miles around. (When the phone
rang we were going up hill and I just unclipped, Graham not realising
what was going on brought us to a bit of an undignified halt!)
Out of Hereford, following A49 (I think) and took a right-hand turn towards
what we hoped was Little Hereford. Turned out to be one turn too early
and after some advice from a nice lady who stopped at a junction, the
route took us over a big hill - legs complaining. At last we found Haynall
B&B.
We were made very welcome by Rachel Edwards, who was a busy farmers wife.
We were interested to hear how they made a living and how hard things
were these days in farming. Got the bike safely locked away in the shed
and then Rachel kindly offered us tea and cake, which went down a treat.
We were then joined by Rachel's son, Michael, who had studied at Sparshalt
and knew Roger Coffin, a friend of Graham's. A rather strange coincidence.
Had a nice relaxing shower and changed to walk down to the pub, which
was one mile away. A nice walk down a quiet lane - nice to stretch other
muscles! Over river bridge to nice Public House called the Temeside. They
had a superb local brew called Hobson's which was the best pint so far.
Had a good dinner - Rustic Steak Pie. It was very quick and was surprised
to find that our total bill was only just over £38.
A quick walk back, then report to Gemma - signal bad at pub.
And so to bed.
Little Hereford to Ferndon
Tuesday 27 June
Distance 76 miles
Woke at 6ish and listed to
radio. Got up at about 7 and started to get ready. Clothes had dried overnight,
which was quite a relief. Used a hair drier to help gloves to dry out.
Went down to breakfast at 8am. Had another chat with Rachel and met her
husband, talked about quad bikes and use on farm. Another excellent breakfast
Finally got away at about 9.45. Set off towards pub and discovered that
roads to A49 were quite flat so our big hill climb of the previous day
had been avoidable - never mind! Knowing that we had lots of miles to
do we bypassed Ludlow and did some miles on the A road heading for Shrewsbury
passing via Church Stretton - if my memory serves me correctly.
GPS was playing up and charge had failed to revitalise the PDA. Rob rang
and as we were about to come off the A road, Graham let it ring and called
him back as we got off onto B roads.
Quite pleasant route into Shrewsbury only small hills and little traffic.
Stopped by statue of Clive of India - think that's who he was anyway!
Bought chicken tikka roll at Greg's bakery and bought a new charger at
O2 shop.
Out of Shrewsbury on pleasant lanes heading for Elsmere. Whilst being
overcast and a bit chilly, it had so far been dry. Came on to rain a little
bit outside Shrewsbury but not heavy and stopped quite soon. Countryside
now quite flat and good for cycling, just an occasional rise to tell us
how tired our muscles were.
Arrived at Elsmere around 4.30 or so. Elsmere seemed to be a nice place.
Chatted to a couple of people and had a rest on a bench for a while. Something
like 17 miles or so to go to Ferndon where Dan and his friend, Vic, had
agreed to pick us up.
Picked up some speed for the last five miles on the promise of a pint
at the pub. Got to Ferndon at about 6.15 just as it began to rain more
heavily than earlier in the day. Broke the bike down and put it in Vic's
car. Had a quick pint of Black Sheep and welcome sit down in the pub.
Then on to Chester in the car, helped Vic to unload the bike and on to
Danny and Sylvia's lovely house. Arriving, we were greeted by Sylvia and
Steph - made to feel very welcome.
Had a great shower and started to feel more human. Followed by G&T
and a lovely dinner. A most enjoyable evening.
Finally off to bed after some excellent malt whisky. Slept like a log
until about 6am.
Farndon to Burscough
Wednesday 28 June 2008
Distance 50 miles
Tuesday evening had concluded
with a wee dram of Danny's Glenroche malt and so when I woke at 6am, I
had enjoyed the best sleep for a long time. Bit of a lie in after completing
diary and finally got up at about 8.30. Danny cooked a sumptuous breakfast
and gave us a pile of sandwiches to keep us on track to lunchtime. Said
goodbye to Sylvia and Danny took us off to pick up the bike from Vic's.
Got to Farndon at about 12 and reassembled bike in pub car park. Set off
at 12.20.
Cycled through Chester and on to Frodsham where we ate lunch. I rang Brian
Stokes who had been watching out progress via GPS. Then on to Runcorn
and bridge - heavy industrialised area. Traffic diabolical. Took photo
at bridge, had to run back to river side.
Previous to this we had picked up some wire in the gears but all ok.
Through Widnes and on to Prescot. Stopped in Prescot town centre and chatted
to Jim Brady, a road sweeper. Turned out to be very knowledgeable about
the route to Burscough and gave us some good advice about location of
cycleways. Asked us if we were riding for charity and gave us a donation
of about £2 - really appreciated by both of us.
Via Rainsford Bridge and pleasant countryside to Burscough. Arrived about
6pm. Great to meet Chris, Jill and Victoria (Martin Harman's brother,
wife and daughter) and dogs! Relaxed with beer and had a nice dinner and
later to pub. Good pint of Old Dog. Had lift to pub by Jill. Good amusing
chat and left about 10.15.
Went out with Chris to check the horses and finally to be at about 11.30
after staying up to write this.
Note - Burscough is pretty well exactly the half way point of our journey.
Burscough to Kirby Lonsdale
Thursday 29 June
Distance 61 miles
Got up at about 8am and Chris
Harman provided us with a superb cooked breakfast much to the surprise
of his daughter Vicky, who seemed to think that dad was a very dubious
cook! Chatted with Vicky about training horses for dressage, hoping to
gain some inside knowledge so that I could train Graham. No luck on that
score!
Chris decided to do the first few miles with us and took us over the drained
land of the Lancashire mere. Flat as a pancake and very fertile for crops.
Chris left us at the A59 road to Preston. Road was quite good and much
quicker than a lot of others - some cycleways.
Decided to have a look at Preston and eventually found centre which was
of course up hill. Bought lunch.
The on to Lancaster via a detour to Glasson where we ate lunch looking
out at a marina.
On the way back noticed cycle route into Lancaster which was excellent.
Followed river and had a look around the town centre and large market,
and found the loos.
Took pleasant scenic route off A6 to Nether Kellet and on to Over Kellet
via reasonable big climb but OK. Stopped on green at Over Kellet. On via
Whittington to Kirby Lonsdale. Found Sun - a nice old inn and went to
visit Dave & Lynne Skinner.
Two massive G&Ts later got back to pub 3 sheets to the wind. Friend
of Graham's, Andreas Mauthe, visited us and was waiting at The Sun. Fortunately
Graham was still coherent as I was barely conscious! Had a pleasant meal
with lots of water and crashed into bed.
Another day done.
Kirby Lonsdale to Carlisle
Friday 30 June
Distance 69 miles
Got up at usual time and went
down for breakfast at 8am. Talked to a couple staying at The Sun for a
day or two and had a nice chat over breakfast. I had full English again
- now a "traditional" start to the day.
Nice morning so went down to Ruskin's view - awesome view over unspoilt
valley. Took photos of church etc. Called on Dave and Linda Skinner to
say cheerio and to thank them for their hospitality. They had paid for
our stay at The Sun. Refused offer of G&T!!
Set off for Windermere at about 10.30 and stopped at Kirby Lonsdale bakery
to buy some lunch. Headed for Windermere via busy A road. Decided that
I hate A roads even if they are faster. Got to Windermere but turned off
to Kirkdale pass just before town. Stopped at small church at beginning
of pass and had leisurely lunch. Set off at 2pm. Amazingly pass was ok,
tough but doable. 450m of steady climb with some bits about 16%. Stopped
once for a drink and then made top - stopped for photos. Breathtaking
views made it easier I think. Down the other side at about 35mph using
brakes - good fun but pity about cars, damn nuisance.
Along side of Oldswater and took scenic route towards Carlisle. Following
a few hard climbs, got on to superb road into Carlisle - seemed like ten
miles of gentle down hill and we were doing about 27mph for some distance.
Arrived Carlisle at around 6.45 and headed north out of town.
We were met by Andrew & Rosemary (Graham's friends) just outside Carlise
and put the tandem in their cars. They drove us back to Penryth. Rosemary
cooked an excellent meal - both very hospitable. I am now in the cottage,
a fantastic little pad.
During the evening, sorted out tomorrow's accommodation at Dalmellington
- a six berth caravan - should be interesting. I had some very strange
messages when I rang but Graham got through first time. Hey ho, why me?
Carlisle to Dalmellington
1 July
Distance 83 miles
Woke up this morning before
7am and got up to write my postcards to the neighbours. Andrew cooked
us a delicious breakfast and we loaded up the cars ready to be off. Got
back to Carlisle at about 10ish and reassembled the bike, thanked Andrew
& Rosemary for their magnificent hospitality and were on the road
at exact starting point at 10.30.
Out of Carlisle following Bike Britain book route via Longtown and entered
Scotland at Gretna. Took the bottom road following the Solway Firth but
about 1 mile in-land. Occasional views but not high enough to see much.
Next to Anna where a carnival was about to begin. Rather bad disco in
street and lots of policemen. On the outskirts of Annan, the bike computer
completely stopped working - then started working again, not clear why.
Left Annan by the fastest route again following Solway Firth (Solway Tourist
Route).
Arrived at Dumfries to sound of piper. Turned out to be a wedding.
Stopped by the river in Dumfries to eat lunch and bought drinks at Spar.
Outwards via Dunscore and Kirland. Weather had been dubious to Dumfries
but now improved becoming quite warm and sunny. Also countryside becoming
more attractive. Some big climbs.
Arrive Moniaive, where we overshop the sweetshop and ended up parking
outside bakery. Excellent produce - bought date and walnut cake plus savoury
bread for potential breakfast. Outward via Carsphairne, high moorland
and descended into Dalmellington.
Eventually found Dalmellington County and Inn. A bit ropy but basically
ok. Hot showers and good steak.
Just realised have had 3 pints (2 beers) and not needed to go to the loo.
Shows how hot and hard today's work was. Drank three litres of water on
the way. Tonight sleeping in caravan with bike locked to propane cylinder.
Saddle noisy - attempting repair with gaffer tape.
Dalmellington to Balloch
2 July 2006
Distance 70 miles
Woke up several times as normal
but finally got up just before 7am. Weather looked beautiful so went out
and took some photos. Started work to reassemble saddle and suddenly from
nowhere it started raining. Got the saddle back together and gaffa tape
looked as though it might have done the job (Rails looked chaffed which
confirmed movement). Set off from Dalmellington at about 9am - no breakfast
as Country Inn would not service until 10am. We had cycled no more than
200 yards when it started to rain again. The sky was very overcast and
it rained on and off all morning. Some thunder too.
Through Patna Drongon and Tarbolton - countryside pretty boring. Stopped
to take pictures at a bridge somewhere around Tarbolton and chatted to
another cyclist who asked if we had been through rain. He was local but
out for a Sunday run. He wished us well on our journey.
We also notice the "Bachelor's Club" at Tarbalton - wondered
what went on there! Thought about recommending to Roger Basford.
Arrived at Kilmaures at about lunchtime and noticed small shop. Again
it had started to rain, so sheltered bike under overhanging next to the
bus shelter. The skies then opened and the rain hammered down. Bought
cakes and chocolate. Chatted to nice lady in the shop who thought that
we were nuts for cycling so far - inclined to agree at that time.
Sat in the bus shelter in teeming rain and ate our lunch. After some time,
the rain stopped and we set off for Stewarton then Dunlop and on to Barrhead
via main road to make up some time.
Skirted Glasgow via Paisley and on to Erskine Bridge. Found road closed
as we approached Erksine Bridge area. Graham was all for taking the diversion
but I said that we should "think bike" as we should always be
able to get through. Turned out to be ok and went alongside Glasgow airport
on an empty road. Stopped at bridge and watched some aircraft take off.
Crossed Erskine Bridge on cycle path and took some photos of the Firth
of Clyde.
Over bridge went on cycle way alongside busy A road to Dumbarton.
Finally on to Balloch. We had stopped for Graham to phone the B&B
when someone stopped to talk to us, they also ran a B&B and had recommended
our B&B as they themselves were full. Were very friendly and gave
us good directions.
B&B was very cosy. Cameron (Cam) had been helpful and recommended
dinner at the Balloch House. This turned out to be very good indeed. Graham
had sardines and I had salmon fishcakes - following by liver & bacon
and then granny apple crumble.
Today has some mechanical problems during the morning when the chain was
wet and chain had come off. Bought some WD40 and cleaned chain at B&B.
Also re-set eccentrics to tighten chain. 4 eccentrics on a tandem?
Another day over - tomorrow will be a long day, aiming at Fort William
probably 80 miles and weather not looking good.
Balloch to Fort William
3 July 2006
Distance 92 miles
Cam and Margo had made us very
welcome indeed and were interested in the charity aspect of our ride.
We had an excellent cooked breakfast at 8am and then met the other guests,
Peter and Liz (we think) who kindly gave us £10 for our charity
funds. Much to our surprise so did Margo and Cam - very generous of them.
Set off at about 9.30 and all took photos. Said cheerios but got about
200 yards and found that Graham had left his waterproof jacket on the
bed. Had to return for a quick pick-up.
Set off towards Fort William alongside Loch Lomand. Regrettably only occasional
views close to end of Loch. Stopped at small shop and bought rolls, sweets
and insect repellent.
Earlier, when I woke I had heard noise from water on the road so had expected
a wet day. Fortunately, it had become dry and by the end of the Loch was
beginning to be sunny.
Start of hills - bought drink over Bridge of Ochey and chatted to nice
American lady walker. Further climb up on to Western highlands (Blasts
Mt and Remoch Moor). At first, quite open with hills all around. Finally
into Glencoe where the scenery was breathtaking.
Dual track road - bridge works. Turned right towards Glencoe Village -
very pretty vale. Had ice cream at Glencoe but no pub or any where to
eat.
Mad dash 14 miles to Fort William and arrived at sign at about 7pm Very
long town. Eventually found B&B. Landlady Mary was very friendly and
we put our bike in the shed before showering. Mary took us to the pub
where we met an Australian hiker and ate some good steaks, there was also
a tartan bar. We got chatting to a biker fanatic whose ambition is to
do fastest wheely at 180mph. He was also a Loch Ness researcher.
Washed clothes and went to bed. Mosquito bits are itchy.
Fort William to Dingwall
4 July 2006
Distance 76 miles
Woke up to glorious sunshine
and had breakfast in the conservatory. The landlady Mary McLean served
an excellent breakfast, including black pudding which I much enjoyed.
Chatted to other guests who were having a few days holiday in the general
area.
Set off at 10am over Spean Bridge and alongside Loch Lochy. Had call from
Ann to tell us about Echo article "Olivers Army of two near Journey's
end". Ann also sorted out B&B for us at Dingwall and farmhouse
at Dunbeath. On with the cycling with wind against us. Really quite tiring.
At end of Loch Lochy had to wait briefly at traffic lights for sway bridge
over Caledonian Canal. Alongside Loch Dich stopped for lunch at general
store. Had only made about 23 miles at that stage. All a bit slow. Finally
got to Fort Augustus. Bought Nessie toys, I listened to piper and got
some point from cashpoint.
Cycled alongside Loch Ness wind now strong. No sign of Nessie.
After what seemed like ages got to Drmnadrochit. Loch Ness scenery good
but cycling too hard to enjoy it much. Out of Drumnadrochit saw Nessie
expo, no time to stop.
Started on a very steep hill got to within 200 yards of top, sound of
tractor behind. Finally got to top - open bleak countryside at first.
As we dropped own, countryside become green - almost like Hampshire.
Rapid descent into Bealy. Looked like a nice place. Stopped at Muir of
Ord for Graham's phone - chatted to two young lads of about 7/8 about
tandem and cycling distances.
On to Dingwall. Shower then on to Indian Tandoori - very good.
Dingwall to Dunbeath
5 July 2006
Distance 78 miles
Huge breakfast including Haggis.
Set off at 10am and called in at Liddls for supplies.
Headed out on to A9 towards Tain - took B road up hills etc. In Tain bough
sandwiches and iced ring bun. Sat in rose garden, the weather was very
warm with a little cloud.
Tony Abbott SMS'd about Glen Morangie distillery.
Crossed Firth of D?? into sea mist which was cold and damp. Called in
on Barra and talked to chap about bike racing etc. Warned us about big
hills to come.
Steady climb - big but not too bad. Out of sea mist and back into good
weather thanks to high cloud.
A steep fast descent was slowed by cars but we managed 46.6mph. Around
sweeping bend and back up steep climb but we managed to do it. Dropped
into Dunbeath. Had scampi and chips at the Castle View and cycled on later
to B&B at farm - Mrs Mcdonald House with ivy heart.
Dunbeath to John O'Groats
6 July 2006
Distance 38.51
Total miles: 1046
Woke as usual around 7am and
made Graham a cup of tea - given with the comment "here's a cup of
tea in bed you lazy git".
Mrs McDonald gave us an excellent breakfast. We filled our water bottles
with orange and water and set off around 10.30am.
The weather had started off misty when we first were up but that soon
burnt off and by the time we set off we just had high wispy cloud. We
decided to stick to A road, as per Bike Britain. Mrs McDonald had mentioned
an attractive route via B roads but the main road was really very quiet
by southern standards.
Fortunately we had cracked the big hills yesterday so today, although
the route was rolling up and down, in general no major obstacles were
in our path.
Stopped at Wick for lunch and went to local Somerfields then found a bench
in a nearby park. Had calls from Ian B? and Tony Abbott.
Called Fred and found that they were only about 20 miles south of us as
we left Wick (Dunbeath).
Headed north in good spirits. God to final 100m climb before John O'Groats
and thought any minute now the lads will come past - sure enough, close
to the top of the hill… beep, beep, beep.
Aubrey was taking photos. The run down into John O'Groats was great -
doing about 30mph. Lads had stopped and again Aubrey took some photos.
We carried on about one mile to finish point.
F, A and D arrived and congratulate us. Oddly it rained briefly. We had
our photo taken at signpost and went to a café and had a cup of
tea.
Talked to a couple in yellow shirts who came from Devon - they now had
to cycle back to Wick.
Brief visit to gift shops for souvenirs. Quick trip to Duncansby Head.
On the road back south we stopped at the Conan Hotel close to Dinwall.
Good dinner and wine and whisky.
A good evening enjoyed by all.
