Sat 21st.
The day started with a bang. Literally. We waved goodbye to Pete and Jenny, zipped round the corner, and 5 metres later, there was a huge BANG and Rich's back wheel was flat again. It turned out that his rear tyre had ripped yesterday (or during the course of this huge trip), forcing the inner tube to bulge, making it pop. This created a huge problem as new inner tubes wouldn't help the situation. Fortunately Pete (who had heard the pop), is a keen cyclist, and by a miracle had a spare tyre, thr right size, which we were able to fit onto the bike. PHEW. If that had happened anywhere else I really dont know what we'd have done.
So...onwards and upwards for the LASTDAY!!! We both set off feeling quite strange actually, that this was to be the final leg on the road, after an incredible, adventurous, and quite crazy 12 days. 3 miles along, and we reached the big 900 mile mark. Felt awesome. We had hoped for some clearer weather for the final day, but noooo... Was similar to the previous day in that we saw pretty much nothing, besides the roads under our feet and each others' arses, but at least the rain wasn't to drastic, just Cornish Drizzle. To be honest, we both realised how lucky we'd been having sun the entire trip up until this point, so it really didnt matter, and we pedalled on.
Head winds, again, were pretty intense and hard. Worst and most ridiculous bit was the fact that Amanda (after a big refuelling lunch and pints of shandy in a pub in Helston for lunch), said her legs felt like lead and that she was carrying a carthorse, until realised her front tyre was totally flat, and might have been for a good while. Oops. By this point, we'd used up all our spare inner tubes on Rich's activities, and so stood on side of road, attempting to use a 5 year old tesco value puncture repair kit to patch up the hole we finally found after listening for the air leak in the rain.
Turned out the kit was so old, the glue didnt stick v well, so had to turn to the first aid kit for a bit of plaster help. Worked a treat! And actually great as meant we hadnt been carrying around that kit for the whole trip unnecessarily. As we were going about the patch-up job, a little old man with green gardening trousers and big ears (Bevan) came out of his Cornish house with an old Yellow Pages, and gave us the number for a bike shop in Penzance. We also had help from a long curly-haired mammoth looking hippy on a bike, who had all the kit the Tour de France could need, and swung by and sorted out a few other things that had gone wrong with the brake cable. To be fair, Rich could have fixed it all himself, but he was one of those do-gooders so we let him take charge, and it was a welcome bit of friendly neighbourly help :) And loved the Cornish accents. Bevan also gave us £5 towards our breast cancer fund. Though we were coping with a few tribulations, it was actually a v pleasant 20 mins. Set off again hoping the plaster would out for another 8 miloes to Penzance.
Got to Penzance, stocked up on another couple of inner tubes just in case, and headed on on our final 10 mile push! We were jumping around like loonies outside Halfords, suddenly fully aware we were actually going to make it, and that we only had one leg left.
Had heard that this last stretch was hard - hills and narrow lanes - but it tured out to be fine. Think that was due to our manic hill training over the past few days. We pedalled along, counting down each mile, stopping with abotu 3 miles to go to take a picture outside 'The First/Last Inn in England'. Road was empty and bleak and misty and gradients seemed out of focus, and we started to feel really quite emotional as we rode through the last 3 miles, without even being able to see the sea but just feeling so happy and overwhelmed.
Was a weird feeling crossing the finish line. If you've seen the Truman Show, and remember that bit when he heads out to sea in a boat, thinking he has miles and miles of solitary journeying ahead of him, and then all of a sudden he hits a wall in front of him, and the whole thing abruptly comes to an end... That's sort of how it felt. We have been so used to just pedalling and pedalling, and then out of the blue, we just hit the end, and stopped. So strange. Took a few mins for it all to sink in really.
Took the classic shots, walked around the strange tourist entity that is 'Lands End', looked for the Atlantic we could just about make out amidst the fog, and then almost went to go and put our helmets and gloves back on before realising, no - we're done! - and went to the Lands End hotel bar for a pint of guinness, and signed the big JOGLE/LEJOG bible :)
Memories forever - WHAT A TRIP.
A Few Thank Yous....
Scotty - For his GPS which helped us through the towns
Sean and Fran - for their water bottles and amazing buffs!
Keeno - For his pedals for Rich, and advice on lucozade-water-mixing
Stewy - Who has already done this! And gave us amazing inspiration and a great benchmark and belief we could do it.
Rich's family- for meeting us in Blackburn and treating us to a slap-up curry and gourmet pudding
Amanda's family- for amazing words to support and encouragement throughout
The B+Bs along the way - who were so incredibly generous in giving us discounts and looking after us so well, from offering us supper with friends, to drying out our sodden shoes.
Finally a mAAAAsive thank you to all the people who have donated so generously to our sponsorship fund for Breast Cancer Care: www.justgiving.com/RBAS
Land End
we made it... despite the weather!
Sunday, 22 August 2010
The bleak Moorland...
Friday 20th.
Cant even describe what a nightmare day this was. Honestly. There we were thinking Dartmoor would be scenic and blissful, and instead we had to endure 25 miles of of pretty much the most evil cycling conditions you could imagine. Think of crossing Dartmoor on the bleakest day, without being able to see a thing, and then add in horizontal and vertical rain attacking you like knives from all angles, a head wind pushing you backwards like a brake which means that downhills and uphills all merge together becuase you have to pedal like a trooper all the time, and so strong that you have to lean right down over your handlebars to avoid being pushed off. Ha! In fact, we had just set off and were only just on the first few miles, when I looked up and Rich in the middle of the road (luckily only a tiny lane) - the wind had literally pushed him over.
Can laugh about it nowand actually was an incredible experience seeing Dartmoor like that - bleak but magical in a strange way - but at the time it was actually quite scary, we just headto get our heads down and NOT STOP. The most inhospitable national park in the whole of the UK. A ride we will never forget. 7mph average - wow. Normally its around 11. I was actually quite amazed it was 7, feltlike it would have been more like 2.
So, we finally saw the sign to Tavistock and realised the Moor would actually end, and that we would be ok. Had a long downhill into the town, which sounds all good but it was horrible as it was so wet and windy we had to squeeze our brakes the entire way down, which by this point were pretty shot and sreaching like hell, and also we were freezing for the first time on the trip. But we made it in, and dragged ourselves into a tiny cafe dripping (had to ask the owner first whether he'd mind us coming in). Dried off and change of clothes in the mini loo, and then spent about an hour there eating and eating and drinking cups loads of tea and not wanting to leave and head back out into that wild day. why on earth would we? We did, because we both had this crazy energy and drive to tackle it and get on with it, and actually surpised ourselves at how upbeat we were aboutthe whole thing.
In the cafe had out tour t-shirts on that Rich had made us, and had an old lady, Rose, come up and offer to donate, she was so sweet and interested to hear about what we were doing, and also another couple who used to be into cycling, who also offered to sponsor.
So, refuelled, we set off again in the rain with about 40 miles still to go. it wasHARD. that's pretty much all I can say. It was the hardest day of the trip by far, I think because the Dartmoor bit had taken so much out of us. We went up and down through various villages, but couldnt see much because of the weather, and then hit the world's worst road for cycling, pretty much all the way into St Austell. Busy and dark, luckily a man at a garage gave us some extra high vis stuff to wear which made us feel better. Up to this point, any road I would happily cycle down again, it has all been amazing in various ways, even when hard. But this one I hope we never have to cycle again!
Finally we were about 1 mile outside Grampound, the place we were staying, and feeling relief, when Rich had a blow out. Noooo! Stopped, put in new inner tube, and carried on and turned off onto a rugged tiny little path-type road up to friend's of Rich's parents, Pete and Jenny, who lived in a gorgeous farm house in the back of beyond. SO thankful to reach it, we could barely utter our hellos, flopped on bed, but then had most wonderful slap up supper which sorted us out. J+P so welcoming and lovely and made us feel utterly at home....
GOOD SLEEP in giant bed.
Cant even describe what a nightmare day this was. Honestly. There we were thinking Dartmoor would be scenic and blissful, and instead we had to endure 25 miles of of pretty much the most evil cycling conditions you could imagine. Think of crossing Dartmoor on the bleakest day, without being able to see a thing, and then add in horizontal and vertical rain attacking you like knives from all angles, a head wind pushing you backwards like a brake which means that downhills and uphills all merge together becuase you have to pedal like a trooper all the time, and so strong that you have to lean right down over your handlebars to avoid being pushed off. Ha! In fact, we had just set off and were only just on the first few miles, when I looked up and Rich in the middle of the road (luckily only a tiny lane) - the wind had literally pushed him over.
Can laugh about it nowand actually was an incredible experience seeing Dartmoor like that - bleak but magical in a strange way - but at the time it was actually quite scary, we just headto get our heads down and NOT STOP. The most inhospitable national park in the whole of the UK. A ride we will never forget. 7mph average - wow. Normally its around 11. I was actually quite amazed it was 7, feltlike it would have been more like 2.
So, we finally saw the sign to Tavistock and realised the Moor would actually end, and that we would be ok. Had a long downhill into the town, which sounds all good but it was horrible as it was so wet and windy we had to squeeze our brakes the entire way down, which by this point were pretty shot and sreaching like hell, and also we were freezing for the first time on the trip. But we made it in, and dragged ourselves into a tiny cafe dripping (had to ask the owner first whether he'd mind us coming in). Dried off and change of clothes in the mini loo, and then spent about an hour there eating and eating and drinking cups loads of tea and not wanting to leave and head back out into that wild day. why on earth would we? We did, because we both had this crazy energy and drive to tackle it and get on with it, and actually surpised ourselves at how upbeat we were aboutthe whole thing.
In the cafe had out tour t-shirts on that Rich had made us, and had an old lady, Rose, come up and offer to donate, she was so sweet and interested to hear about what we were doing, and also another couple who used to be into cycling, who also offered to sponsor.
So, refuelled, we set off again in the rain with about 40 miles still to go. it wasHARD. that's pretty much all I can say. It was the hardest day of the trip by far, I think because the Dartmoor bit had taken so much out of us. We went up and down through various villages, but couldnt see much because of the weather, and then hit the world's worst road for cycling, pretty much all the way into St Austell. Busy and dark, luckily a man at a garage gave us some extra high vis stuff to wear which made us feel better. Up to this point, any road I would happily cycle down again, it has all been amazing in various ways, even when hard. But this one I hope we never have to cycle again!
Finally we were about 1 mile outside Grampound, the place we were staying, and feeling relief, when Rich had a blow out. Noooo! Stopped, put in new inner tube, and carried on and turned off onto a rugged tiny little path-type road up to friend's of Rich's parents, Pete and Jenny, who lived in a gorgeous farm house in the back of beyond. SO thankful to reach it, we could barely utter our hellos, flopped on bed, but then had most wonderful slap up supper which sorted us out. J+P so welcoming and lovely and made us feel utterly at home....
GOOD SLEEP in giant bed.
Hello Devon!
A late start to the day after a lovely evening and fantastic breakfast at the best place we'd stayed at yet. Lizzie the owner even took our picture and put it on their website blog along with our sponsrship address ( www.justgiving.com/rbas ). We set off with sore legs and sad to leave our little log cabin. Definitely a place we'll come back to one day!
The first leg was relatively uneventful as we took the main road to Taunton... As we entered Taunton the sign proclaimed it as the "best large floral market town in the South West". This made us both chuckle and as we made our way through a bit bemused as we saw virtually no flowers and even fewer markets. We then took a pleasant B road onto Tiverton which had a few climbs and where Amanda almost gave a horse riding school a bit of a fright as she climbed over another fence for a toilet break...
We passed 800 miles just before Tiverton and feeling like we were edging closer and closer to our final destination. We crossed into Devon and with only 2 counties left felt good, although we knew these were going to be two tough ones!
A lunch stop in Tiverton with only 25 miles to go felt like we were having a good day but we were slightly naive as to what we had ahead of us. The leg from Tiverton to Crediton was tough enough as we climbed and climbed through the tiny village of Cadbury but with spectacular patchwork fields surrounding us as the red earth of Devon welcomed us into its pastures. After a quick chat with a local farmer as to the name of the black and white cows you see everywhere, which Amanda then immediately forgot, we dropped into Crediton on a lovely downhill.
Not many people who do this trip choose to go through Dartmoor, and prefer to go around it on the more gentle road through Okehampton. We decided ages ago that we would though, we were already doing the trip the hard way, so why not throw in another challenge, and it was surely going to be the most scenic route!
Anyway after Crediton we had 11 miles to go and plenty of time, although we both knew the next leg was going to be one of the toughest of the whole trip, as we navigated through tiny lanes through Tedburn St Mary and onto the moor. The challenge did not disappoint, and we battled over and down ascents and descents like none we had encountered yet. To make things better Dartmoor decided to welcome us with some lovely winds and rain and a cloud covering meaning we had no views. The worst of it was one hill leading up to Moretonhampstead which was literally the steepest we had ever come across, to the point where you couldnt even lift your arse off the seat as you would just wheel spin. It was actually quite scary, and we were both so out of breath by the end of it, but felt pleased to have chosen this route, as we had ended up on the top of the moor with no one in sight except a few sheep.
We finally arrived into Moretonhampstead to our B and B feeling pretty dead but had a lovely evening in a pub which served amazing pizzas and live music playing with long bearded old men.
The first leg was relatively uneventful as we took the main road to Taunton... As we entered Taunton the sign proclaimed it as the "best large floral market town in the South West". This made us both chuckle and as we made our way through a bit bemused as we saw virtually no flowers and even fewer markets. We then took a pleasant B road onto Tiverton which had a few climbs and where Amanda almost gave a horse riding school a bit of a fright as she climbed over another fence for a toilet break...
We passed 800 miles just before Tiverton and feeling like we were edging closer and closer to our final destination. We crossed into Devon and with only 2 counties left felt good, although we knew these were going to be two tough ones!
A lunch stop in Tiverton with only 25 miles to go felt like we were having a good day but we were slightly naive as to what we had ahead of us. The leg from Tiverton to Crediton was tough enough as we climbed and climbed through the tiny village of Cadbury but with spectacular patchwork fields surrounding us as the red earth of Devon welcomed us into its pastures. After a quick chat with a local farmer as to the name of the black and white cows you see everywhere, which Amanda then immediately forgot, we dropped into Crediton on a lovely downhill.
Not many people who do this trip choose to go through Dartmoor, and prefer to go around it on the more gentle road through Okehampton. We decided ages ago that we would though, we were already doing the trip the hard way, so why not throw in another challenge, and it was surely going to be the most scenic route!
Anyway after Crediton we had 11 miles to go and plenty of time, although we both knew the next leg was going to be one of the toughest of the whole trip, as we navigated through tiny lanes through Tedburn St Mary and onto the moor. The challenge did not disappoint, and we battled over and down ascents and descents like none we had encountered yet. To make things better Dartmoor decided to welcome us with some lovely winds and rain and a cloud covering meaning we had no views. The worst of it was one hill leading up to Moretonhampstead which was literally the steepest we had ever come across, to the point where you couldnt even lift your arse off the seat as you would just wheel spin. It was actually quite scary, and we were both so out of breath by the end of it, but felt pleased to have chosen this route, as we had ended up on the top of the moor with no one in sight except a few sheep.
We finally arrived into Moretonhampstead to our B and B feeling pretty dead but had a lovely evening in a pub which served amazing pizzas and live music playing with long bearded old men.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Full steam ahead
After a solid performance in the saddle yesterday confidence was high in the team and we set off bright and early thinking the day would be a breeze...
As it turned out the 'breeze' would haunt us as after two sweat-inducing climbs at Stroud and Nailsworth we got onto the Cotswolds plateau and a literal gale put the brakes on massively. It was cycling with an extra 20kgs of weight and we soon figured out the art of drafting as we battled on through 700 miles for a lunch stop in Bath. A quick sandwich by the Abbey and we decided to make the short detour (about a mile) to see where Mand went to boarding school. The mile we had to cover however was up the steepest hill Rich had ever seen but it was good for Mand to reminisce about her times there. After a quick stop at an old family friends' of Mands we pushed on out of Bath, which has a great similarity with Blackburn in that it is in a ditch and surrounded by what seems like vertical cliffs, and we headed for Wells. Here the hills and wind were at their worst but we got our heads down and pushed on...
Wells provided a nice photo opp and the end of the hills as we felt Bridgwater was finally within reach. The unexpected then happened at Glastonbury as we got caught in the most intense downpour either of us had ever been in. It was conpletely insane, only lasted about 5 mins but soaked us through. The next bit to Bridgwater went a bit quicker although we had some close encounters with the Somerset drivers who are by far the worst we have come across yet on the trip.
By this time we were both feeling pretty weary and a final snickers probably gave us the final energy we needed to conplete our final few miles of a very tough 87 mile day. We arrived at our b and b which is the Huntstile Organic farm one of the prettiest places you can imagine, right on the edge of Exmoor, where the owners John and Lizzie so kindly invited us to an amazing supper with them and their friends...
3 days to go... Good sleep should sort us out for more hills tomorrow as we head for Dartmoor.
As it turned out the 'breeze' would haunt us as after two sweat-inducing climbs at Stroud and Nailsworth we got onto the Cotswolds plateau and a literal gale put the brakes on massively. It was cycling with an extra 20kgs of weight and we soon figured out the art of drafting as we battled on through 700 miles for a lunch stop in Bath. A quick sandwich by the Abbey and we decided to make the short detour (about a mile) to see where Mand went to boarding school. The mile we had to cover however was up the steepest hill Rich had ever seen but it was good for Mand to reminisce about her times there. After a quick stop at an old family friends' of Mands we pushed on out of Bath, which has a great similarity with Blackburn in that it is in a ditch and surrounded by what seems like vertical cliffs, and we headed for Wells. Here the hills and wind were at their worst but we got our heads down and pushed on...
Wells provided a nice photo opp and the end of the hills as we felt Bridgwater was finally within reach. The unexpected then happened at Glastonbury as we got caught in the most intense downpour either of us had ever been in. It was conpletely insane, only lasted about 5 mins but soaked us through. The next bit to Bridgwater went a bit quicker although we had some close encounters with the Somerset drivers who are by far the worst we have come across yet on the trip.
By this time we were both feeling pretty weary and a final snickers probably gave us the final energy we needed to conplete our final few miles of a very tough 87 mile day. We arrived at our b and b which is the Huntstile Organic farm one of the prettiest places you can imagine, right on the edge of Exmoor, where the owners John and Lizzie so kindly invited us to an amazing supper with them and their friends...
3 days to go... Good sleep should sort us out for more hills tomorrow as we head for Dartmoor.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
The counties unknown...
Shropshire, Staffordhshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire...Counties we've all sort of heard of but have no idea where they are. But we found out today! Whizzed through them all on a giant 90 mile journey through to Gloucestershire. Now here in Gloucester, eating poppadoms, quite amazed that we actually made it to the South West.
Day started a bit grey and monotonous, heading out on busy A road, all we could see were signs ahead for a delightful place called Wolverhampton - didn't fill us with much glee. And head wind attacking us made things even worse. But, that was only the first hour, and soon we were B-ing it through the countryside away from Brummyland and towards Bridgenorth - a little old market town with a famous beautiful bridge.
Stopped along the way and had to use one of those horrendous trap-like middle-of-road talking portaloos, which you have to pay to enter. Stocked up on more lucozade - new flavour (cherry) went down well :)
Quick picture stop in Bridgenorth, right on the River Severn, before peddling on south on a nice B road towards Bewdley, which was pretty up-and-downy. Plenty of 1:1 gear usage.
Today will have been the longest day of the trip - up at 630, breakfast and ouit on road by 730 - which meant, by lunchtime, we had already covered just over 50 miles, and arrived in a place called Stourhead absolutely starving! Leapt off bikes and straight into Subway and ordered 2 foot-longs with every single filling they had, and a giant re-fillable cup of coke. Felt amaaaazing.
Then off we set, refulled, through Worcester, and had a much easier time of it on the bikes. In fact we seemed to whizz, and a later bright green energy drink seemed to give us an extra burst which powered us up and down hills. So hot and sunny, and more and more amazing views. All pretty good really except for momentry alarm when amanda sprung out from behind a hegde wondering if an adder had bitten her on the bottom... Turned out to have been nothing more that an insect or nettles or something, though 'numb bottom' persisted for a few miles...
Stopped for final break at 80 miles in a hay bail field, and so excited to be feeling so good at that stage that we absolutely flew the last 10 miles into Gloucester like Lance on EPO ;)
Awesome view of the city and cathedral from top of hill as we free-wheeled in.
Back tomorrow with more from the westcountry...
Day started a bit grey and monotonous, heading out on busy A road, all we could see were signs ahead for a delightful place called Wolverhampton - didn't fill us with much glee. And head wind attacking us made things even worse. But, that was only the first hour, and soon we were B-ing it through the countryside away from Brummyland and towards Bridgenorth - a little old market town with a famous beautiful bridge.
Stopped along the way and had to use one of those horrendous trap-like middle-of-road talking portaloos, which you have to pay to enter. Stocked up on more lucozade - new flavour (cherry) went down well :)
Quick picture stop in Bridgenorth, right on the River Severn, before peddling on south on a nice B road towards Bewdley, which was pretty up-and-downy. Plenty of 1:1 gear usage.
Today will have been the longest day of the trip - up at 630, breakfast and ouit on road by 730 - which meant, by lunchtime, we had already covered just over 50 miles, and arrived in a place called Stourhead absolutely starving! Leapt off bikes and straight into Subway and ordered 2 foot-longs with every single filling they had, and a giant re-fillable cup of coke. Felt amaaaazing.
Then off we set, refulled, through Worcester, and had a much easier time of it on the bikes. In fact we seemed to whizz, and a later bright green energy drink seemed to give us an extra burst which powered us up and down hills. So hot and sunny, and more and more amazing views. All pretty good really except for momentry alarm when amanda sprung out from behind a hegde wondering if an adder had bitten her on the bottom... Turned out to have been nothing more that an insect or nettles or something, though 'numb bottom' persisted for a few miles...
Stopped for final break at 80 miles in a hay bail field, and so excited to be feeling so good at that stage that we absolutely flew the last 10 miles into Gloucester like Lance on EPO ;)
Awesome view of the city and cathedral from top of hill as we free-wheeled in.
Back tomorrow with more from the westcountry...
Monday, 16 August 2010
cruising
After yesterdays exertions the last thing we wanted first thing was a big hill. Turned out that's exactly what we got as we climed to over 900ft (almost glen coe) just to get to bolton of all places. Although this was tough once we reached the summit a huge tailwind threw us over the other side into a wicked downhill which Mand described as the best on the trip yet.
Todays weather couldn't have been better with gorgeous sunshine and a light cooling breeze as we made swift progress through some interesting places such as leigh and bolton which reminds you of the north south divide in the country. We powered on well through warrington where I showed mand where I used to live when I worked for accenture and before we knew it it was lunchtime and we were in cheshire! A lovely afternoon was to follow, the flat plains meant we kept the speed up and the gps took us on a lovely route into market drayton. Really nice scenery and an easy day when we finally arrived at a good hour-4.30 so chance tonight to catch up on sleep admin and clothes washing before an early start tomorrow on our longest day into gloucester...
Todays weather couldn't have been better with gorgeous sunshine and a light cooling breeze as we made swift progress through some interesting places such as leigh and bolton which reminds you of the north south divide in the country. We powered on well through warrington where I showed mand where I used to live when I worked for accenture and before we knew it it was lunchtime and we were in cheshire! A lovely afternoon was to follow, the flat plains meant we kept the speed up and the gps took us on a lovely route into market drayton. Really nice scenery and an easy day when we finally arrived at a good hour-4.30 so chance tonight to catch up on sleep admin and clothes washing before an early start tomorrow on our longest day into gloucester...
hills hills hills
Day 7 saw us travel from shap to blackburn. Altho I had anticipated sonm hills on this leg of the trip, I had completely under estimated what was to come!
We set off early on a beautiful misty morning and realised it was sunday and at that hour we were pretty much the only people up, apart from walkers doing the coast to coast route and some sheep who thought the road was a good place to hang out which os quite scary wheb you're hurtling down a hill at 25 mph. We soon got held up by more sheep, as we joined a farmer and his flock on the road which reminded us both of how the coubtryside works irrespective of other peoples agendas and made us feel a long way from the craziness of london!
After a short break we found a tiny lane which ran parallel to the main road and decided to take it. Mand had a tiny crash but otherwise it was a stunning road to be on, very up and down but so quiet and peaceful, the kind of place you want to be in on foot or on a bike. We dropped down into sedbergh and shortly after hit the half way point (by my very rough estimations). Very weird feeling and quite sad in a way that this trip will actually end at some point. We both feel like we could do this forever!
Went through a sunday arvo motobike meet at kirkby lonsdale before hitting the main road towards settle for the next 15 miles, which were very tough. The sun was beating down and it was just up down up down up down. Never enough to get a rhythm or anything and hundreds of gear changes. We finally got off the main road and stopped at a pub in wigglesworth. We only had about 25 miles to go and felt ok about it so set off to clitheroe where we passed 500 miles.
Once we got to clitheroe I thought we,d be alright, out of the national parks and into the metropolis of the north west. No one ever told me that blackburn is only accessible by a succession of violent and nasty hills. After the dales this was all we needed and the last 15miles were a killer. Turned out to be our hardest day so far and we climbed 4000ft overall. Got into blackburn and my parents were there to greet us with colde beers, a curry, and some cool tour t shirts!
We set off early on a beautiful misty morning and realised it was sunday and at that hour we were pretty much the only people up, apart from walkers doing the coast to coast route and some sheep who thought the road was a good place to hang out which os quite scary wheb you're hurtling down a hill at 25 mph. We soon got held up by more sheep, as we joined a farmer and his flock on the road which reminded us both of how the coubtryside works irrespective of other peoples agendas and made us feel a long way from the craziness of london!
After a short break we found a tiny lane which ran parallel to the main road and decided to take it. Mand had a tiny crash but otherwise it was a stunning road to be on, very up and down but so quiet and peaceful, the kind of place you want to be in on foot or on a bike. We dropped down into sedbergh and shortly after hit the half way point (by my very rough estimations). Very weird feeling and quite sad in a way that this trip will actually end at some point. We both feel like we could do this forever!
Went through a sunday arvo motobike meet at kirkby lonsdale before hitting the main road towards settle for the next 15 miles, which were very tough. The sun was beating down and it was just up down up down up down. Never enough to get a rhythm or anything and hundreds of gear changes. We finally got off the main road and stopped at a pub in wigglesworth. We only had about 25 miles to go and felt ok about it so set off to clitheroe where we passed 500 miles.
Once we got to clitheroe I thought we,d be alright, out of the national parks and into the metropolis of the north west. No one ever told me that blackburn is only accessible by a succession of violent and nasty hills. After the dales this was all we needed and the last 15miles were a killer. Turned out to be our hardest day so far and we climbed 4000ft overall. Got into blackburn and my parents were there to greet us with colde beers, a curry, and some cool tour t shirts!
Border Crossing
We made it into England wohoo! :) Quite mixed emotions actually - incredible feeling to have made it across the whole of Scotland, but sad to say goodbye to it. No more highlander accents, haggis for breakfast, or middle-earth-like scenary...
BUT...on to new English adventures! Journey from Moffat to Shap was amazing... 76 miles, another sunny day, and mostly stunning country-side views, if you skip over Carlisle... Luckily a brass band and hot sun and huge chicken tikka baguette made up for it.
Passed through Lockerbie and stopped for snacks - old,slightly odd guy walking past stopped to chat to us as we were munching on Greggs delights on the street. Told us all about the plane coming down,and how it had affected the whole village. Was actually quite a strange feeling being in Lockerbie - a place you've heard so much about, and suddenly you're in it, and all you know of it is its horrific history. But it was a sweet, v friendly village - during the time this guy was chatting to us, at least 5 other chaps passed by who knew him, raising their caps and going about their mid-morning business.
Heading South through England, roads became a bit busier, but colours seemed more varied and oddly things felt more familiar, even though neither of us know this part of the world.
One of the strangest parts of the day was cycling through Gretna - there had been no-one in any of these tiny villages we'd passed since leaving Moffat,and then all of a sudden this bizarre tourist trap,and all because of the old tradition. A bit like passing through Loch Ness and finding it heaving with tourists, whilst Lomond and countless other beuatiful Lochs were blissfully empty.
Felt like a fair amount of uphill. Kept passing fields with those ancient old wibbly-wobbly walls - incredible that they were built with nothing like cement, just each rock miraculously fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle - and still standing today!
Came into Shap around dusk, an old, farmy-feeling village with stone houses and one main street with a pub where we stopped for some guinness.
Made a big load of pasta in the hostel we were staying in, and hit the sack (Rich on mini camp bed). :)
BUT...on to new English adventures! Journey from Moffat to Shap was amazing... 76 miles, another sunny day, and mostly stunning country-side views, if you skip over Carlisle... Luckily a brass band and hot sun and huge chicken tikka baguette made up for it.
Passed through Lockerbie and stopped for snacks - old,slightly odd guy walking past stopped to chat to us as we were munching on Greggs delights on the street. Told us all about the plane coming down,and how it had affected the whole village. Was actually quite a strange feeling being in Lockerbie - a place you've heard so much about, and suddenly you're in it, and all you know of it is its horrific history. But it was a sweet, v friendly village - during the time this guy was chatting to us, at least 5 other chaps passed by who knew him, raising their caps and going about their mid-morning business.
Heading South through England, roads became a bit busier, but colours seemed more varied and oddly things felt more familiar, even though neither of us know this part of the world.
One of the strangest parts of the day was cycling through Gretna - there had been no-one in any of these tiny villages we'd passed since leaving Moffat,and then all of a sudden this bizarre tourist trap,and all because of the old tradition. A bit like passing through Loch Ness and finding it heaving with tourists, whilst Lomond and countless other beuatiful Lochs were blissfully empty.
Felt like a fair amount of uphill. Kept passing fields with those ancient old wibbly-wobbly walls - incredible that they were built with nothing like cement, just each rock miraculously fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle - and still standing today!
Came into Shap around dusk, an old, farmy-feeling village with stone houses and one main street with a pub where we stopped for some guinness.
Made a big load of pasta in the hostel we were staying in, and hit the sack (Rich on mini camp bed). :)
Border Crossing
We made it into England wohoo! :) Quite mixed emotions actually - incredible feeling to have made it across the whole of Scotland, but sad to say goodbye to it. No more highlander accents, haggis for breakfast, or middle-earth-like scenary...
BUT...on to new English adventures! Journey from Moffat to Shap was amazing... 76 miles, another sunny day, and mostly stunning country-side views, if you skip over Carlisle... Luckily a brass band and hot sun and huge chicken tikka baguette made up for it.
Passed through Lockerbie and stopped for snacks - old,slightly odd guy walking past stopped to chat to us as we were munching on Greggs delights on the street. Told us all about the plane coming down,and how it had affected the whole village. Was actually quite a strange feeling being in Lockerbie - a place you've heard so much about, and suddenly you're in it, and all you know of it is its horrific history. But it was a sweet, v friendly village - during the time this guy was chatting to us, at least 5 other chaps passed by who knew him, raising their caps and going about their mid-morning business.
Heading South through England, roads became a bit busier, but colours seemed more varied and oddly things felt more familiar, even though neither of us know this part of the world.
One of the strangest parts of the day was cycling through Gretna - there had been no-one in any of these tiny villages we'd passed since leaving Moffat,and then all of a sudden this bizarre tourist trap,and all because of the old tradition. A bit like passing through Loch Ness and finding it heaving with tourists, whilst Lomond and countless other beuatiful Lochs were blissfully empty.
Felt like a fair amount of uphill. Kept passing fields with those ancient old wibbly-wobbly walls - incredible that they were built with nothing like cement, just each rock miraculously fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle - and still standing today!
Came into Shap around dusk, an old, farmy-feeling village with stone houses and one main street with a pub where we stopped for some guinness.
Made a big load of pasta in the hostel we were staying in, and hit the sack (Rich on mini camp bed). :)
BUT...on to new English adventures! Journey from Moffat to Shap was amazing... 76 miles, another sunny day, and mostly stunning country-side views, if you skip over Carlisle... Luckily a brass band and hot sun and huge chicken tikka baguette made up for it.
Passed through Lockerbie and stopped for snacks - old,slightly odd guy walking past stopped to chat to us as we were munching on Greggs delights on the street. Told us all about the plane coming down,and how it had affected the whole village. Was actually quite a strange feeling being in Lockerbie - a place you've heard so much about, and suddenly you're in it, and all you know of it is its horrific history. But it was a sweet, v friendly village - during the time this guy was chatting to us, at least 5 other chaps passed by who knew him, raising their caps and going about their mid-morning business.
Heading South through England, roads became a bit busier, but colours seemed more varied and oddly things felt more familiar, even though neither of us know this part of the world.
One of the strangest parts of the day was cycling through Gretna - there had been no-one in any of these tiny villages we'd passed since leaving Moffat,and then all of a sudden this bizarre tourist trap,and all because of the old tradition. A bit like passing through Loch Ness and finding it heaving with tourists, whilst Lomond and countless other beuatiful Lochs were blissfully empty.
Felt like a fair amount of uphill. Kept passing fields with those ancient old wibbly-wobbly walls - incredible that they were built with nothing like cement, just each rock miraculously fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle - and still standing today!
Came into Shap around dusk, an old, farmy-feeling village with stone houses and one main street with a pub where we stopped for some guinness.
Made a big load of pasta in the hostel we were staying in, and hit the sack (Rich on mini camp bed). :)
Friday, 13 August 2010
City to Shire
How are we getting so lucky with the weather?! Can't believe we've had another day of sun. In fact this whole day's been pretty incredible. Not quite the scenery of yesterday, but pretty staggering for all sorts of differnt reasons... Not the desotae mountians of the highlands, but amazing rolling hills of Lanarkshire..
Morning started off pretty slowly; had to fix rish's rack, then got stuck in Glasgow a bit confused about directions, but nothing a MaccyD's couldn't sort out :)
Afternoon seemed to be continuous uphill, though q gradual. Reached 1000 ft and went through Abington, Scotland's highest village. Had lengthy periods of time on cycle paths, so nice as off the main roads and quite funny, Amanda wacked into one of those cycle gate things which are meant to slow you down.
Coming into Moffat was the most amazing feeling ever - About 15 mins straight downhill no pedalling, stunning scenes all around - thick forest and hills and fields and fields of cows and sheep and not much else, not even cars. Felt free and peaceful and so exhilarating.
Moffat is the sweetest little place, we're staying in the best b+b yet by far - huge room, huge ceiling, absolutely silent and views stretching on and on from the big windows. Amazing little italian where we had supper - first proper meal out besides fish and chips and jackets potatos, felt amAzing, and had delicious bottle of Gavi.
75 miles today, knees hurt a bit but feel fit and strong and praying that lasts.. :)
Morning started off pretty slowly; had to fix rish's rack, then got stuck in Glasgow a bit confused about directions, but nothing a MaccyD's couldn't sort out :)
Afternoon seemed to be continuous uphill, though q gradual. Reached 1000 ft and went through Abington, Scotland's highest village. Had lengthy periods of time on cycle paths, so nice as off the main roads and quite funny, Amanda wacked into one of those cycle gate things which are meant to slow you down.
Coming into Moffat was the most amazing feeling ever - About 15 mins straight downhill no pedalling, stunning scenes all around - thick forest and hills and fields and fields of cows and sheep and not much else, not even cars. Felt free and peaceful and so exhilarating.
Moffat is the sweetest little place, we're staying in the best b+b yet by far - huge room, huge ceiling, absolutely silent and views stretching on and on from the big windows. Amazing little italian where we had supper - first proper meal out besides fish and chips and jackets potatos, felt amAzing, and had delicious bottle of Gavi.
75 miles today, knees hurt a bit but feel fit and strong and praying that lasts.. :)
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Glens and Lochs
91 mile day. Zonked! First 20 miles out of fort william were just stunning as the light was reflecting off all the lochs and it felt good to be out early. It had rained all night but we got lucky today.
After a quick snack stop at glen coe village we headed up over the glen coe pass which at nearly 1200 feet was going to be one of our hardest climbs of the whole trip. We took it steady and got up there fine and the scenery going up beat anything we had seen yet! At the top was a lovely plateau and it felt very wild. We then had a nice 13 mile downhill section which we sl
We stopped at crianlarich for lunch then continued down to the shores of loch lomond which we followed all the way to dumbarton where we are ataying. The loch was amazing and kept us going through a long day on the bikes!
Ok off to sleep now.
After a quick snack stop at glen coe village we headed up over the glen coe pass which at nearly 1200 feet was going to be one of our hardest climbs of the whole trip. We took it steady and got up there fine and the scenery going up beat anything we had seen yet! At the top was a lovely plateau and it felt very wild. We then had a nice 13 mile downhill section which we sl
We stopped at crianlarich for lunch then continued down to the shores of loch lomond which we followed all the way to dumbarton where we are ataying. The loch was amazing and kept us going through a long day on the bikes!
Ok off to sleep now.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
middle earth
Heard a lot of people say that we'd be encountering a fair bit of rain today, but we seemed to get a bit lucky again, as we only got wet for a couple of hours in the whole day. Even when it does rain, it doesn,t seem to bother us as its not cold and its actually quite peaceful in a way...
Anyway, the day started well with mand proclaimin her knees were feelin much better after some good rest, massage, stretching and nurofen gel so I was back to my old role of trying to keep up! First few miles were fine through highlands rush hour then we turned off towards drumnadrochit which was a beautiful quiet road which consisted of a steep climb, an ever steeper descent, and some gorgeous landscapes. Dark brown hills with bright green ferns which mand said made her feel like she was in middle earth. Must be that ring she carried around these days...
Afternoon was also great, sped along the shores of lochs ness, oich and lochy, kept a reasonable pace and were happy to hit 200 miles just before our b and b. Feels like we're properly on our way now and got the post cycle routine sorted I reckon... Also amazes me to see how much kit other people we see are carrying-you literally need nothing really and its crazy to see what people think they need. We got sone good advice from friends to bring nothing and its made a difference already!
Covered a solid 70 miles today, a big one tomorrow as we go over the top of glencoe!
Anyway, the day started well with mand proclaimin her knees were feelin much better after some good rest, massage, stretching and nurofen gel so I was back to my old role of trying to keep up! First few miles were fine through highlands rush hour then we turned off towards drumnadrochit which was a beautiful quiet road which consisted of a steep climb, an ever steeper descent, and some gorgeous landscapes. Dark brown hills with bright green ferns which mand said made her feel like she was in middle earth. Must be that ring she carried around these days...
Afternoon was also great, sped along the shores of lochs ness, oich and lochy, kept a reasonable pace and were happy to hit 200 miles just before our b and b. Feels like we're properly on our way now and got the post cycle routine sorted I reckon... Also amazes me to see how much kit other people we see are carrying-you literally need nothing really and its crazy to see what people think they need. We got sone good advice from friends to bring nothing and its made a difference already!
Covered a solid 70 miles today, a big one tomorrow as we go over the top of glencoe!
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Coastal Cruising
Day 2. Soooo much better than yesterday! Most incredible weather, and absolutely stunning coastline. Felt like could have been in Scando or NZ or anywhere. If only Scotland had more sun the world would be flocking here it is just SO remote and peaceful and so many beautiful beaches.
Took some awesome pics, including of highland coos which Amanda got pretty close to and then sped off when it grunted...
Met a couple of guys en route doing the same - tho of course the other way with tail winds pushing them along nicely... What a cop out ;)
In cute little b+b now in Dingwall, run by a woman named Mo who is a total legend and bought us tea and lemon cake on arrival, and let us cook big load of pasta in her kitchen.
Well stocked up for tomorrow (had a bit of peanut m+m / snickers crisis in tesco),and bottle of red going down a treat.
Please send us more sun manana...
Took some awesome pics, including of highland coos which Amanda got pretty close to and then sped off when it grunted...
Met a couple of guys en route doing the same - tho of course the other way with tail winds pushing them along nicely... What a cop out ;)
In cute little b+b now in Dingwall, run by a woman named Mo who is a total legend and bought us tea and lemon cake on arrival, and let us cook big load of pasta in her kitchen.
Well stocked up for tomorrow (had a bit of peanut m+m / snickers crisis in tesco),and bottle of red going down a treat.
Please send us more sun manana...
Monday, 9 August 2010
baptism of fire
A really tough first day today. We woke up to rain and it pretty much didn't stop all day. A 4 hour train trip was followed by a soggy 20 mile trip just to get to the start line! Great vibe at john o groats, prob because most people were finishing their rides. After some pics and a quick burger we were on our way, with a guy called dave we,d met on the train in tow.
We soon found out the hard way why most people cycle from south to north, as we were battered by a horrible headwind for the next 50 miles. It really took a lot out of us but we did go through some of the spectacular scenery I've ever seen.
In a lovely little called helmsdale now and both dead so early night so we can start early tomorrow :-)
We soon found out the hard way why most people cycle from south to north, as we were battered by a horrible headwind for the next 50 miles. It really took a lot out of us but we did go through some of the spectacular scenery I've ever seen.
In a lovely little called helmsdale now and both dead so early night so we can start early tomorrow :-)
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Heading north...
On the train to Inverness! Pretty hungover day, after Dani and Mikes wedding and legs dead already after too much leaping around on the dance floor and YMCAing on chairs, now on leg 4 of 5 train journeys to reach Wick, where we'll get to tomorrow after stopping for the night in Inverness.
Trains have been ok..made all the connections (last one with one min to spare at Perth). Rich dropped a plastic fork accidentally down my shorts which I didn't discover for about an hour, but it reappeared along with a fork-imprint on my thigh. Just thought it had been an uncomfy seat. Have eaten a lot of tescos own brand haribo type sweets and drunk bit too much coke so feeling quite sugar-high,but in actual fact totally zonked.
Looking forward to getting onto bikes tomorrow-big day ahead,heavy rain forecast,but won't dampen our spirits,all part of the adventure right? :)
Trains have been ok..made all the connections (last one with one min to spare at Perth). Rich dropped a plastic fork accidentally down my shorts which I didn't discover for about an hour, but it reappeared along with a fork-imprint on my thigh. Just thought it had been an uncomfy seat. Have eaten a lot of tescos own brand haribo type sweets and drunk bit too much coke so feeling quite sugar-high,but in actual fact totally zonked.
Looking forward to getting onto bikes tomorrow-big day ahead,heavy rain forecast,but won't dampen our spirits,all part of the adventure right? :)
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