May 11, 2009
Following a lovely breakfast courtesy of my brother (Andrew) and his wife (Julie), we searched the yellow pages for a bike shop on today’s route so that we could get Jon’s bike repaired (again!). We ignored the GPS at the start as I knew the area well and was able to lead the group via a few short cuts to: first, New Mills (Deryshire), where the bike shop couldn’t provide any help; and secondly, Whaley Bridge (also Derbyshire), where we had more success. While Jon’s bike was being repaired, I scoffed my Easter egg (including the two cream eggs) and we had a drink in a nearby cafe (milk in the latte’s apparently on the turn, but my tea was fine). Eventually, Jon emerged from the bike shop with two functioning gear shifters (one silver, the other black). We told him they looked cool (they didn’t!), and then we pressed on, firstly to Buxton for a quick pee stop; and then to Leek for lunch. On one particular descent on the way to Leek, the cross wind was so strong that (not for the first time) my front wheel started to shake so violently that I nearly lost control (I must get that looked at sometime). At our lunch stop, Corinne’s attempt to obtain a sausage and stuffing pitta proved unsuccessful (if it’s not on the menu!...). Despite the delay for repairs, the cross, rather than head winds, helped us make decent progress. The surroundings of the potteries were a little grim and not helped by the overcast conditions that we were now experiencing (at least it wasn’t raining). We paused for a break in Eccleshall (28 miles outside Bridgenorth and not far from Loggerheads (honestly!)) to satisfy my craving for a Mars bar and a coke, and decided to break the final stint into one 17 mile and one 11 mile chunk to help our motivation. No sooner had we started on our way when we bumped into Jon’s sister (Kim) who was driving to Bridgenorth to join us for dinner. As Corinne said at the time, ‘it’s really nice to have an impromptu break’ (any excuse for a break was good by then). The remainder of the ride was relatively flat and we enjoyed the change of pace this allowed as we sped towards our destination (the Swan Inn), finally arriving at around 8:00 pm. Our evening meal was really nice and Kim’s conversation provided some welcome cheer, particularly given that we were too tired to provide much of a response. We were also delighted to hear that she was hoping to join our support crew for Race Across America (woo hoo!).
Posted by Mark Glaister.
May 8, 2009
The day started with a short sharp climb out of Askrigg, followed by a nice little diversion across a river footbridge to rejoin or route towards Kettlewell to meet up with Cozza. After about 10 miles we hit what was probably the hardest climb of the whole trip (16% for far too long!). It was one of those climbs where if it hadn’t ended when it did, I’m not sure we’d have made it. Anyway, we did, and following a much more enjoyable descent we met up with Corinne who was sat on a bench p... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
May 6, 2009
At breakfast we met Jon Furnham who was trying to outgun us by doing J.O.G. to L.E. in seven days to raise funds for sudden infant death syndrome. He had cycled the first couple of days on his own, but his family had now arrived to support him for the rest of his trip. We were glad to be taking a less direct route and avoiding the major roads that he was taking to accomplish his feat. Despite a good night’s rest, Jon’s knees were still playing up as were Tom’s a little along with some s... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
May 5, 2009
Today was to prove the most challenging yet satisfying day of our tour. After a slight delay to the start of our ride, due to our driver taking us to Prestwick airport (idiot!) rather than back to our original hotel to collect our bikes, it became rapidly apparent that Jon was in serious trouble with his knees. Later, Jon said that the pain was so bad that he was close to tears at one point. Anyway, we pressed on at a very steady pace with Corrine acting as Jon’s chief Lieutenant to try to ... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
April 28, 2009
Awoke to more rain (most miserable start so far), but enjoyed a lovely breakfast before setting off on a massive climb up into the highlands of Scotland. After climbing in the driving rain and strong winds that blew Tom and I clear across the road at one point (fortunately, nothing coming in the other direction at the time), we reached a huge lay-by where we sheltered behind a mobile burger van (after purchasing 4 teas of course) for a brief respite. We chomped on large cookies, courtesy of C... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
April 24, 2009
The day began with a phonecall to Scott at Alpine Bikes in Inverness who very kindly offered to repair our injured bikes free of charge (faith in humanity restored: thank you Scott). The trip to the bike shop also enabled me to purchase a new ‘pair’ of gloves. At around 11.00 am we were back by our hotel ready to start the day’s stage which thankfully, given the delayed start, was only 77 miles. Apart from some poor road conditions, the stage started well with all feeling relieved now t... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
April 23, 2009
Awoke at 7.30 am for breakfast (full English for the rest; cereal and toast for me). Lee picked us up at 8.15 am with bikes still in trailer and drove us the last 12 miles to John O’Groats. The start was overcast, though not too much rain initially. Although the damp conditions weren’t too conducive to hanging around, we posed in front of a sign to Land’s End (the one on the signpost was missing due to constant thefts, apparently), before getting Tom to pose as the signpost (see photo a... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
April 22, 2009
After carefully packing kit (apart from one cycle glove as it turned out) in my new lightweight rucksack, I was picked up at 5.00 am by Jon and Corinne. After unclipping the front wheel, we squeezed my bike into the back of the Mondeo Estate that we’d hired and I squeezed into my seat. After a further 5 minute drive to collect Tom and go through the same procedure, we were off. A while later I woke from the half sleep that I’d fallen into as Jon veered on the motorway to avoid the M6 toll... Continue reading...
Posted by Mark Glaister.
April 11, 2009
Well it has been an eventful 3 days - scenary has been stunning as you might expect cycling through the highlands; Glencoe was spectacular. We have had rain and wind and a little bit of sunshine.... had a crash, twisted 3 wheels, warped a saddle, twisted and warped a wrist. Scott at Alpine Bikes (Inverness) did a grand job of striaghtening the wheels out and did it for charity - thankyou Scott, what a champion. Essentially we are all and various stages of "good health" - knees and bottoms are... Continue reading...
Posted by Cozza.
April 6, 2009
Here it is. The first real test. The first real hurdle. The first real chance of failure. John O'Groats to Land's End kicks off tomorrow. 1000miles in 10 days. Me'thinks there may be some breakage on the horizon! (Jon) It's also our first real chance to show what winners we are....!
Fingers crossed for the weather :-)
(Cozza) Continue reading...
Posted by Jon.
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