Fingers on his Bike!!

[Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart]

Greetings all, it's great to be back in world of modern technology (I don't think Devon & Cornwall have heard of 3G!).

Anyway, it's now 3 days in and i'm sure that you are all dying to hear how it has gone.

Well day 1 Lands End to St Columb Major. 54.9 miles and a total ascent of 3812 FT.
I arrivedat Lands End just\after 10am to get the paperwork completed before the short half day cycle (which combined with the last make 1full day). It was shut! the famous sign was just a post with nothing on top. after about 1/2 hour they finally opened up and put the sign together, andi was able to register and get the all importnt paperwork completed. Now about the sign (picture to follow), you can pay an exorbitant fee for a photo next to it, or as i did, whilst someone else in enqiring simply ask someone to take your photo and jump over the barrier. well 55 miles of hell later i arrived on site for a relaxing beer only to find out that my internet connection didn't work. i say hell as it has become apparent to me that the word flat in not in the cornish alphabet asit was hill after hill after hill,followed by another hill for good measure! This was to become a recurring pattern over the next 2 days. i should also add that i started in brilliant sunshine, 10 miles later a massive storm, just as i had dried off another storm and the sunshine all the way.

Day 2 St columb Major - Exmoor 106.7 miles total ascent 4913 ft.
Another dayof hills, I followed the Atlantic Highway today,and the views were fantastic. Unfortunately the roads are so small that you are unable to stop to take a photo. theclimb ontoexmoor was a killer at the end of very long day.if you want to get away from it all then Exmoor is the place - no mobile reception what so ever!

Day 3 Exmoor - Monmouth.113.7 miles total ascent 3812ft
Well today has been a nightmare. 15 miles into todays ride i got sideswiped bya caravan and ended up crashing not too gracefully into the hedgerow. A badly gashed leg and a few other bumps and bruises for me, but for the bike a bent back wheel and a broken chain. All repairable easily enough with a bit of help. One problem, NO MOBILE RECEPTION meant that I couldn't contact my parents who are my support team. So i tended my leg,and then set about repairing the bike. 2 hours later and all was well, apart from a very sore leg. Fortnately after getting off Exmoor, another big climb, there was some nice downhill parts, so the miles were clocked up quickly and my leg rested for a while. Due to the delay, i arrived on site at 8pm, wet (it rained again),tired and sore ( the leg, everything else is holding up well). a short day tomorrow, only 60miles, do internet connection and accident permitting i should have some time to post abit more detail and add a couple of pictures.

Daniel

[ebfccraig]

Sounds good !!

And if the weather there is the same as hear its just right for biking... not to hot and not too cold !

[Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart]

Next episode just received........

Hi all

Well it's been a week since I have been able to connect to the internet (so much for 3 saying that have 95% of the country covered !) and what a week it's been.

When I last posted I was in miserable monmouh and looking forward to the short day, well...

Day 4 Mommouth - another part of Wales. Distance 58.9 miles ascent -a lot.

So the short day started off with a flat front tyre. A short delay ensued whilst that was changed, no drama. I then happily set off for the short run to the next site. 2 hours in and a punctured rear tyre. 2 hours after that the chain broke again (the link next to the break from the day before!). These mechanical faults combined with some very, very big hills meant that my short day ended at about 7pm. After a shower and dinner I went to fix the punctures. The flat front turned out to be just that.

So after 4 days 2 chain breaks and 1 punture. 2 chain breaks ore than expected.

Now one thing before leaving Wales (that is day 5), I think that there is a boy racer called ARAF in Wales as all of the signs telling you to slow down have slow araf on them.

Day 5 wales to Northwich. 99.6 miles, ascent a lot but not as much.

Today I donned my Lance Armstrong Tour De France replica yellow jersey as cycle adventures were at tonights site. It seemed as if the great man's abilities somehow rubbed of as i was only 12 miles from the site when I decided thatI needed a breather. Got soaked several times today, te weather is starting to get me down now.

Day 6 Northwich toWindermere. 88.2 miles, ascent a lot.
A few showers again today ( this is becoming a recurring theme here), and again a tough day's cycling. This ride is tougher than I thought. Minor aches and pains are becoming major gripes now. My right hand, thanks to the cold,wet weather and lousy road surfaces is now either contantly numb or pins and needles. My legs ache, my back aches, and the only thing that isn't sore is my backside !

Day 7 Windermere - Dumfries. 98.2 miles. ascent a fair bit.

Well today i finally made it into bonny Scotland. After nearly killing my self on the struggle up over Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District, it was fairly good going bar the weather - again! I was so wet & miserable that i missed the welcome to Scotland sign and only realised that i was in Scotland when i saw passed through Gretna Green. Bike holding up fine, rider not so well.

Day 8 Dumfries - Dunoon. 101.7 miles.

A good day at last. sunny weather appeared in the afternoon, after a morning tackling a couple of big hills (so big i was in the cloud for a while. A few sheep accompanied me for a little while (about 100 yards) on the summit, so i suppose that i can now add shepherding to my list of skills. A nice little ferry ride completed the day.

Day 9 Dunoon - Oban. 118 miles.

To day has to have been the best day so far for riding and scenery. Loch Awe was absolutely amasing ( I would say awesome but it's too corny). the hills were not too bad and there were some great descents. So good was it that I had covered 90 odd miles by just before 4pm. weather was fantastic. My spiritshave been restored, even if the body is near breaking point. The only down side is midges. The little beasties have bitten every exposed (and some unexposed) part of my body!

Day 10 Oban - Inverness. 101.2 miles.

Another great day's cycling. Loch after Loch. Loch Ness funnily enough was a nit of a disappointment when compared to the ther lochs I've seen.

So here I am with a day and a half to go, 160 miles and that's it. I'm saving my camp/ caravan site coments until the end so that I can be completely un biased in my opinions, i shall also doall the facts andfigues bit as well.

I'm now going to bed, completely knackered, sore, stiff, and bitten to kingdom come, but happy with how things have gone, and looking ofrward to finishing the ride.

Daniel

[Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart]

** ** ** UPDATE ** ** **

Phone call tonight at 6pm ..... Dan has now made it to John O'Groats!!!

[danward999]

Well I made it.

After leaving Inverness and about to head in land for the assault on Bettyhill, I passed a sign that along with other locations stated the John O’Groats was a mere 115 miles away. Well as it was 7.30 am, the sun was shining and the thought of finally finishing this ordeal a day early made me decide to go for it. I rang my back up team (it seems that they have mobile phones in Scotland!) and informing them of the route change, it was head down and away I went up the North Sea Coast.
It was a very interesting days cycling. One minute your cycling into a rather strong headwind, next minute it’s a tailwind, then all of a sudden you’re being blown off the road. There were a couple of dicey moments cycling across long bridges, but I ventured on.
The one disappointment of the day came when I crested a hill to be greeted by a sign for the Glenmorangie distillery saying tours available. I was gutted! My favourite Scotch and I couldn’t stop (the fear being if I did I would have to be poured back onto the bike and would be unable to carry on). So I carried on past it (drooling all the way).
I met up with the folks at Wick a mere 30 miles from the end to replenish my drinks, pass on the camera and to change into my chosen jersey for arrival (a rather understated tuxedo cycling jersey) and set of on the final leg of my journey.
With the clock ticking on to about 6.30pm and end of the road up on the sat nav it was a case of it must be over this next hill. But no, the road veered around in direction to another hill, great. But then cresting the next hill, there it was, and a downhill finish to boot!. Photo’s taken at the sign and my arrival, bike on the back of the motorhome, out came the bubbly.

I’d done it !!! and a day early.

A full days rest and completion of the paperwork then resulted in the start of the journey home (my folks wouldn’t allow a stop a the distillery on the way back either!)


Now I am home, rested, knees & right hand still aching, I will give my views on the caravan sites.

In general all of them were very good. Nice size pitches, showers generally ok, prices for showers were either free (most), 20p, 40p or in 1 case £1.

Caravan club sites are definitely the best ones, excellent facilities, locations and they have tv ariel points to go with electric (no need to try and tune in the ariel on the van.)

Special mention has to go to the caravan club site in Dorchester for it’s green agenda. Self composting toilets are somewhat rare, but because of the way it was done, it was very entertaining. A sign on the entrance to the block stating that children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult seemed weird on first going to the block, but it some became apparent why as a small child could quite easily jump down the loo!

For those of you who like the figures here they are

Day Miles Ascent (ft) Time
Day 1 54.9 3812 5
Day 2 106.7 4913 9.5
Day 3 113.88 3812 10
Day 4 58.94 4744 5
Day 5 99.64 4482 8
Day 6 88.17 2900 7
Day 7 98.25 4508 7.5
Day 8 101.7 3894 8
Day 9 118 5778 9
Day 10 101.2 3256 8
Day 11 121.37 5718 10.5
[be]Total 1062.75 47817 87.5[/be]



[be]Total Distance 1062.75 Miles
Total Ride Time 87.5 Hours
Average Speed 12.15 mph
Total Ascent 47817 Feet
Total Ascent 14574.6 Metres



Bike problems
Punctures – 2
Chain breaks – 2 (same bit so only really 1)

Rider problems
Sore knees – 2
Sore hands – 1
Insect bites – too many to count[/be]

So 1062.75 miles later would I do it again? Yes the scenery is stunning, the weather overall was ok (great in Scotland) and I did enjoy it – weirdly, so if it was with a group of people and over a longer period of time yes (probably), otherwise NO.

Daniel