Day 13; morning of the final day

Wind is strong able to hear it howling. About to go for breakfast before prepping our bikes and selves.

Mind full of differing emotions. It has been hard at times especially mentally. Glad I took part but be glad to have finished.

Day 12; Evening

Well we cycled 68 miles from Oakhampton to a set of services on the A30 known as three borrows.

The road is the main trunk road from the M5 to Penzance etc. So it is a fast road along which for a majority of the length appears to have hedge rows planted along side obscuring the views.

But looking at the map any alternative route would add another day. The weather for the most part was dry though around lunch we had a spell of rain and drizzle as we did after four as we neared the end.

For me I had a total of 5 punters 3 in the first 24 miles. The first was a slash through the Kevlar tread and into the inner tube. Whilst we carry on us spare inner tubes we had to wait for a spare tyre to be delivered. The remaining four were all double punctures often referred to as a 'snake bite' due to the resemblance of a bite by the fangs of a snake. Not sure what caused them as these type of punctures are cause by hitting some thing. The different locations rules out a lose spoke or similar. Normally I would through them out but another team member also had a double puncture so spare new inner tubes are at a premium. Two out of three repairs appear to have worked.

So it was an emotional day for one reason or another, like the A30 full of ups and downs but we got there.

Hearing about the below performance of the two English squads didn't help either!

Currently in my room dealing with admin. No dongle reception so unable to upload any ride stats. I can hear the wind blowing outside and see rain on the window; hope it clears up for the remaining 30 miles. Riding a bike the last few days hasn't been as enjoyable as it normally is, several members have commented it has almost become a job....

Chat tomorrow

Adrian

Day11; Aftermoon

Well as we left the camp around 0815 the wind was blowing, sky overcast and cold. Ten minutes later I'm the town of Oakhampton the wind was much reduced. And soon we were on the way to Taunton. For once we had a tail wind!

We stuck to local roads initially and at times the hills were challenging to say the least. But the views were glorious and soon the clouds started to part revealing a blue sky and sun. But the wind was still brisk in places and chilly.

We stopped several times before reaching Taunton . Today's ride

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Currently stuck in rush hour traffic I'm Exeter, my coffee drying up on the floor :-(

Well we have ~100 miles left to cover between Oakhampton and Lands End. The plan is to push out 70 tomorrow on the A30 and the remaining 30 on Sunday.

Back later

Day 11; Morning

Well it has been a rather stormy night up here on the edge of Dartmoor. Blustery wind and a driving rain against the windows. Currently not raining though. But having heard the weather forecast of Scotland with 70mph winds and the first snow in the Glencorns of the season makes me realise we started by pure coincidence In the best window. The previous weeks weather inScotland was pretty wet.

During the night a fuse tripped in the room making a humming noise. After which the heaters ceased to work. So the room is slightly chilly. The fuse has been reset but still hums but hopefully the heaters will work this evening!

How lucky we were to cycle along Loch Ness in sunshine.

Today's ride will be the ~50 miles between Oakhampton and Taunton and then back up to the camp. Weather conditions will make it interesting.

The hole on my right shin kept leaking last night, every now and then it would just trickle some blood so now covered in a plaster(didn't want blood in sleeping bag!)

Time to get ready and then breakfast in the cookhouse.

Chat later

Adrian

Day 10; evening

Hi all

Currently on a hill top on the edge of Dartmoor close to Oakhampton. Orange is not offering 3G service in these parts nor is Virgin Media.

Consequently I am unable to upload any data files.

Adrian

Day 10; afternoon

Well what a ride. Showers, hail stones blustery head winds and cross winds!

Also got taken out by a colleague, he skidded along the kern to a carpark; and lost control. Mean while I could see what was happening but had a 'cleat' moment. Body and bike were as one as I hit the deck!

But a minor cut or two but bike seems okay. Will inspect for damage later.

So we covered ~63 miles to Taunton and now heading off to Oakhampton for our accommodation for the next two nights.

Lunch was soup and bread at a pub; Paul and I indulged in half a guinness with our food.

What a days ride. Three days left to cycle ~145 miles

Day 10; Morning

Good morning world. Day ten of our mammoth challenge and we are driving back to Chepstow.

Slept Reasonably well. Roomate crashed out after nine snoring like no tomorrow! I followed around ten but woke up cold despite the ro being warm - it does help being under the duvet!

Nosh in the TGIF wasn't bad at all now were the two pints of wife beater!!

Looking forward to food as stomach is rumbling again! Next week will need to watch what I eat!

Weather for today is mostly dry but blustery with 50mph gusts increasing to 60mph later. Hopeful wind appears to be a NW direction and we are going SW so more of a cross wind with a tail wind across the severn bridge! Time will tell . But with the winds will come a chill factor.

Plan is to complete 60-70miles of the remaining ~225 that we have to cover to Lands End and then head home Sunday afternoon evening.

Chat later

Adrian

Why are services so expensive? As always the emphasis is on more ; double this for £1.00 or add that for a £1.50: bottle of water for another quid yet won't offer you a substitute for beans. But the larger the meal (and less healthy) the better the value. And the government wonder why we a a nation of fat bar-stewards....

Rant over

Day 9; Evening

Well at the Premier Inn with a TGIF for food/beer. But no breakfast deal so we will be leaving 0630 tomorrow morning,

As we got the bikes out this evening to clean my back tyre was flat :( It was fine when we stopped so changed the inner tube. Pumped up the flat one and when last seen it still had air in! Will wait till tomorrow..

For those who are interested today's stats

Heading for scoff shorlty

Adrian

Day 9; afternoon

Well what do I say? A short ride of just shy of 70 miles but several of us found it a hard day? Was it the blustery Head wind? Was it the late start? Was it fatigue? I suspect that it was a multude of factors.

We are now heading to Cheltenham for out hotel accommodation which was booked last week as our original accommodation was cancelled!

I feel some what Bum sore but we only have four days left. We have passed a couple of groups/riders who where heading the other direction with full paniers, LEJo'G ers ?

The route today took us on the A49 again from where we left of down to Hereford. From there we joined a route that I cycled in early September along a roller coaster of a road. We perserverd up what felt like the hardest ascent yet to the top. Then we were In Monmouth where I took the lead through the small Market town and on past the back garden of my Uncle in law. Unfortunately no social call(apologies).

Then we continued down the Wye valley and up another longish hill before reaching Chepstow and embarked on the transport.

More later ;-)

Day 9; Morning

Morning world. It is now around 0645 as I wait for breakfast this morning; and my stomach is rumbling!

Sorry for not making much of a post last night but my Internet dongle was very slow.

A fair amount of trepidation to today's ride. The weather forecast isn't great showers and yet more blustery head winds to fight. The last twenty miles yesterday was hard going. The puncture issue that Chet had didn't help especially when we were so close.

Also my saddle problem isn't helping me, I cannot get comfortable onit ESP as the day progresses.

Need a new saddle on my return, but is making me uncomfortable at best! So today's route will take us down to Hereford along the A49 and then Momouth Chepstow and the old Severn bridge crossing into England and the south east. Due to poor Internet speed I have not looked at the elevation or distance.

Wonder if Clare mentioned to her Uncle that I will be riding close to them today?

Team spirits still seem high lots of banter still as well as assistance to technical issues such as the puncture yesterday, need to replenish my spare tubes on the ride from my red bag.

Yet another lovely RAF mess and the food last night was good hope breakfast is too.

Well time to collect my stuff and head up to reception and then the dining room.

Have a great day and see you later please keep those comments coming

I will admit I prefer those mornings were we ride out of the accommodation. Firstly admin is easier just to load the bike with water bottles etc. But more importantly we have more riding time to complete the distance so less of a rush. It isn't the speed as such but seems more relaxed and so more enjoyable.whilst this is a challenge so will at times be hard work mentally and physically, it is also about enjoyment in carrying out the challenge and of course suceeding!

Day 8 - Back on the road...

Well we hit the road again after our rest day, and for various reasons it was hard going, at least for me. Not necessary physically, but mentally.

We met for breakfast at around 0630 as the restaurant opened, and had a good nosh up, cereals, fresh fruit salads (and a still frozen forest fruit dish) as well as the usual cooked breakfast. All was very good...

Unfortunately I have had major internet speed issues here tonight. Consequently had issues in uploading the Garmin data, but here it is..

I will try and finish th epost when speeds are more amicable to writing

Day 2; The First ten miles

Here is a photo of me standing like a mong at JoG before we departed. as we departed, the wind picked up and the sky emptied, forcing us to cycle into a driving head wind with a driving rain,

At that moment in time I realsied I was a fool....

Day 7 Rest Day

Evening all...

Been an interesting rest day, at the rather luxurious Holiday Inn here at Haydock park.  It is now 2105 as I sit alone in the bar with a pint of Wife beater waiting for food. I am not that hungry (I know some of you wont beleive me) but I feel I need some food before back to riding tomorrow. We have an 80 plus mile route tomorrow; the weather for wednesday and Thursday is strong head winds so we might take advantage of the conditions tomorrow...

I also need to be a GOM sohere goes.

Price Rises at the Hotel!

Last night a pint of stella was £4.00. Expensive but yeswe are in a hotel, Cheese board as a desert was £5.40

Tonight the  same cheese board was £6.10!! WTF!!  The same beer was £4.50 WTF  Apparently they apply business rates during Monday to Thursday....  Not only that the cheese board arrived with two small pieces of cheese and ten biscuists! no where enough cheese to cover the biscuirts :(

So us non business types who ahve to pay out of our own pocket rather than corporate expesnises are made to suffer.WTF Fecking hell and all that malarky!!

Rant over!!

So what did I do today?

We had a few beers in the bar last night and ate before hitting the sheets. By ten I was in bed eyes closed as my room mate Chet was on his lap top.

Woke up early and went down for breakfast at ~830 for a good nosh up! Had fruit salad to begin with before having a good English Breakfast. Sausages tasted of meat, the bacon was meat rather than fat, the black pudding seemed almost real, and the tomatoes lightly grilled.  Tea and coffee was consumed..

At ten we were on our way to the launderette (Well some of us) to do some admin before walking the local shops, I was able to replace my flip flops tht gave way at Glencoe, and PAt was able to get his rather improtant brakepads replaced!

And then it was backto the hotel to finish the washing and an after noon of shear laziness,,

We watched some TV briefly surfed the net before I suggested to Paul tea/coffee!  We RV'ed in the bar area and had a good chat about all sorts, before agreeing a swim. So after 1600 we met in the pool and swam a few lengths and chatted more, Finally it was 1715 and time for my all body massage for £40 cash. And no "Extras" were offered!!

But Wendy was awesome. Various parts of my anatomy was covered in warm oil and then massaged into my skin, before having hot dap towels/flannels placed over the area. And then runbbed down to remove excess oil...

God it was soooo relaxing, Music was weird almost hypnotic but relaxing, and eased the tensions from the muscles. It also gave me time to ponder,,,

But the massage was truely an experience, that I will repeat!! Guess I will have to arrang eone for Clare tooooooo

So here we are on day 7 a rest day. How have I found the  ride so far?  Overall not as hard as I imagined. But thanks goes to those friends on cyclechat.net for their support; especially on m y 'training rides' tha tI undertook with them, Dr Squirrels' ride in the black mountains (Will be in Hereford Wednesday/Thursday) and Abs and her Olympic Ride organised with other keen London riders.  Combination of my own training, these rides and the votes of confidece that have helped made this week go well.

I am not saying it is plain sailing, it isn't. For me the hardest part of the day (Other than getting up) is after lunch, and knowing we still have 30-40 miles to cover.  These are the longest legs as the legs are cold from the break, Doesnt matter if it is a short break or a longbreak it is hard. But a long break with hot soup (especailly when raining like on Sunday) is a godsend, the soup warming youup from the iside, and the roll offering some carbs.

But soon these periods end, and the ride comes back into play.  We are making good times overaall, and the last couple of days have broken the best  average speed per hour, which is good news. This is probably a combaination of becoming conditioned, and the desire to end the ride! Specificlaly when the weather conditions are adverse.

But i still find myself breaking down hill or on the flat as not to break the 'order or march' This can be annoying. frustrating but  we have six different riders at different levels of experience/training/ability and those on cyclenet know very well we always go at the speed of the slowest person. But it is still hard pyscologiclaly at times

As to the next six day, this will be interesting,. The route from here down to Monmouth and the severn Bridge is essentially the A49 as was a lot of yesterday's ride. A busy road and not much in the way of scenary though I am hoped to be proven wrong. Tomorrow we aim to cover 85 miles maybe more, if conditions are in our favour. But we are booked in the mess at RAF Cosford around 1730 so again we will have that factor to contend with in our ride...

But I am also confident that we can all complete the ride. The next 2-3 days have no major hills to shock us, the route is gentle (ish) rolling country side. As long as we can pick up a sensible tempo of around 13.5 - 15mph happy days....

Well I will now attempt to tidy up theblog slightly

Until tomorow....

Adrian

Day 6 Evening

Hi all


We are now in a Holiday Inn hotel at Haydock park (races fame) and just had a lovely bath.

Today's ride was quick averaging around 14.6 mph, combination of good level ish roads and rain....

Here is the link to today's ride from the garmin

I will update more information tonight or tomorrow

Day 6 Sunday morning

Had a quite pint or two in the barbefore it closed early. Never see the bar at warcop empty before.

Another food breakfast in transit accommodation. If some can do it why can't they all?

About to drive up to Shap hill to rejoin were we left of yesterday. Terrain analysis suggest first 12 miles down hill and the remaining 70 miles to Haycock (Liverpool) is rather flat.

Should be an easy fast ride at least to begin with.

Morale is high, aided by knowing that tomorrow is a rest day.

It obviously rained again over night so now cool and overcast but not threatening. Forecast is for another dry day, fingers crossed .

Day 5 Evening

Well now at Warcop Camp for the night having cycled ~70 miles in the end. 

Essentially we have followed the M74/M6 on various A and B roads, going through Carlise, Penrith and up Shap hill, a climb ov around 1000 feet though, over all was higher as we had several small descents before the next ascent' having to recalim the ascent we had made!  Just a case of finding the 'Granny gears' and keep spinning, inhaling deeply at times.

Details of the Garmin output can be viewed here!  Progress initially was good averaging ~ 14.3 mph though as we ascended, this dropped down towards 12 mph.

The view from Shap hill though and the route up it was incrediable, with the Lake district on our right, and the Pennines (?) on our left, it was spectacular.

The weather was also with us, with a minimal headwind most of the day, the only head wind was as we ascended Shap Hill, and wasnt to unbearable comapred to the Glencorns head wind it was nothing.  Sky was overcast thismorning, and though when we woke up there was evidence of rain on the window of our hotel room, we encountered none.

Another puncture free day ;-)

 Now laying on my bed/sleeping bag sipping a glass of South African Merlot before debating  a trip to a pub, my thighs certainly need a pint of muscle relaxant; as well as those vitamins contained in a good real ale