day 11

Day 11

Strava details day 11This was the last big day, 87 miles from Tain to Thurso.  Weather forecast was for dry but windy.  We set off along the A9 from Tain which wasn't as bad as expected and drivers on the road were courteous. After a toilet stop in Golspie we headed up the hill to Helmsdale. There we turned left on to a narrow toad which we were to follow for the next 39 miles. It would its way up onto moorland and we stopped for lunch " in the middle of nowhere". After lunch the next 20 miles was an easy sweep down the other side of the valley down toward the main Ullapool to Thurso road.  Soon we past through the village of Reay, where my friends Frank and Dorris were married and pats the nuclear power station at DounReay. At this point there were a couple of digs and the speed rose while we all dove into the town of Thurso. The weather was good and the south westerly wind helped us today.  BPF 6.    Tomorrow we complete at JOG which is about 30 miles from here. I can't quite believe we have nearly reached our destination.

Day 10

Day 10,

After a night on the hostel where we all had to do cooking and stuff I am feeling quite domesticated ( don't worry Netty, I'm sure I'll be back to normal as soon as I get home) . Bacon roll for breakfast and we set off together along the road to Fort Augustus and then up the side of Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit for morning break. Just beside castle Urquhart Castle I noticed my gears slipping and jumping a bit. At break I had a look but couldn't see anything. I cleaned the gears a bit and it looked ok. We then set off towards Beauly and up a step 15 % hill, after about 100 yards the chain broke and I had to call for rescue.( that's why I like supported trips). I told others to go on and eventually I got chain changed and began up the steep climb again. There was then a long fast decent towards Beauly and a bit of a drag up to Dingwall for lunch. 51 miles in at lunch and only 27 to go to Tain.  The road to Tain started with another long hill and my catch up exploits in the morning were taking their toll. As we reached. Tain there was a stiff tail wind which meant a big tight group speeding along at 28 mph. By the time we reached the hotel the others were buzzing as few had experienced riding in a fast group like that.  Early back in Tain at the Royal hotel ( 2 nd floor with no lift and a back that weighs at least four tonnes is not fun). I'm off for a showers and a wander round the town, last big day tomorrow.    Day 10 Strava stuff

Day 9

Day 9 started poorly. Overnight the lever must have been switched on and my DI 2 was dead. Changed battery and everything ok again. Alex and I left Inveraray about half an hour after the others. The climb out of town wasn't too bad and soon we were speeding our way to the first stop at Connell. There to greet us was Annette's parents friend Jill. It was great to see Jill out for support.  From Connell we pushed on for lunch near Fort William. Out of Fort William we passed Jason's memorial which reminded me about how vulnerable we are on the bike. Eventually we reached our last stop at the commando me memorial at Spean Bridge. By this time the weather had turned and it was cold and damp so we fairly belted down towards the hostel at Loch Lochy. At this stage we had done 96 miles so it seemed rude not to do a few more miles to get the ton up. BPF 7 ( ibruprofen seems to be working at dulling pain)

PS, yesterday's faller, Grant started and finished today's run. It's 10 years to the day he was told he wouldn't walk again.

Day 8

The day was bright and sunny but quite cold when we left Kilmarnock and headed for the coast. We made good time and stopped for a photo shoot at  Ardrossan We then sped along the coastline to Largs.just before we got to Largs, Grant decided to take a corner too sharply and clipped a traffic cone. He went down quite heavily but landed in another cone which broke his fall a bit. An ambulance was called and Grant was carted off. This obviously put a real dampner on the morning which even an ice cream in Largs didn't brighten up. We cruised up to Gourock and took the ferry over the Clyde to Dunoon. The afternoon was spent cycling up to Inveraray after a short stop for a quick pint in a beer garden. Scotland managed to do itself proud today with fantastic weather and spectacular scenery. Grant turned up in the van a little bruised and sheepish. He has had a bad mountain bike crash previously, when he broke his back and still suffers from the previous injuries. At time of writing I'm bit sure if he is going to carry on.  Cracking hotel in Inveraray. I'm just away to have a quick swim before dinner.  BPF 7
Day 8 data

12th May - Day 7

Day 7

Left Carlisle at 8 and we soon arrived at the border at Gretna. A huge dig from Allanach took the sprint at the line for the border crossing. After the obligatory photos we headed north again to Dumfries and then along the A74 to Kilmarnock. This was quite a busy road and although undulating was not too hard to cycle except for the road surfaces in places where every lump and bump sent red hot spikes into my sit bones.  Lunch was served in a barn which was interesting and even the leaky roof was welcome as it was hammering down with rain again. We stopped for a nice cuppa at a cafe just outside Kilmarnock. Unfortunately it was three minutes past four and they shut at four. I wasn't overly impressed by their hospitality.  So we pressed on to complete the ride and stayed in the Park Inn which is attached to Rugby park which is the home of Kilmarnock FC. 97 miles all in today.  The southern members of our group had never heard of Red Hot Chilly Pipers. They know all about them now having been subjected to their entire repertoire during the evening meal.😀    BPF 8 today, and that was with double shorts.  Next time if I do this again Ill be using bigger tyres to soften the impact on the posterior.

Day 6

11th May. Day 6

Set off from Preston in the rain with our organisers warnings of severe gales and very wet weather over Shap hill.  We pressed on up the A9 which was quite quiet and through Kendal. The rain had mostly stayed off and luckily we managed to beat the severe storm while we tackled the eight mile climb up To Shap ( tour of Britain go over this ). After lunch at Shap we detoured off the A9 and took the back roads to Penrith and onwards towards Carlisle.  As per normal the heavens opened just at 10 miles to go and we were soaked on our decent.  Staying at a Premier Inn which is basic and difficult to clean and dry stuff.  BPF 6 today as I doubled up on padded shorts😄 91 miles today, 503 miles so far this week and 26,000 ft of climbing.  This was our last full day in England. Cross the border and through Gretna and up to sunny Kilmarnock tomorrow.

Strava route details day 6

Day 5

Saturday 10th May

A flatish ride from Chepstow to Preston.  Most of the run was on fairly main roads so no real chance to see any beautiful scenery. The weather forecast was for cloudy but dry in the morning and rain in the afternoon. Alex and I deceived in a game plan where we would ride bit and bit till lunch and have a short break and head up to Preston so we could try and beat the rain.The run to Warrington was fine and we actually stopped to take a few photos of barges on canals and whatnot. At Warrington the traffic got horrendous and we had to weave our way through jams to get out of the city.  All through the morning it was jacket on and jacket off as showers and sunshine swapped control of the sky. The afternoon turned wet and son the deluge started. As we cycled through Preston my bottom bracket started creaking badly. Once back at the hotel investigation showed bearings were gone. Luckily an Evans shop was just down the road and the mechanics there were fantastic at pulling the bearings and replacing them.      87 miles in and job done today to get to next hotel and rest up for more climbing tomorrow.

Day 5 strava stats

Day 4

Friday 9th may

Much better today and back to enjoying cycling rather than just trying to get the day finished. . Weather was fine at about 14 degrees with no rain but blustery western winds.  We started out from hotel and at 7 miles we stopped for a photo op at Tintern Abby.  After that we cruised up up the Wye Valley which is beautiful and is great cycling territory.  At Monmouth we had our usual  issues with garmin a and getting lost but soon we were all on the way to Hereford.  After morning break we headed up on some lovely country lanes with some great climbs until a quick pint at 80 miles and then swooping downhill to chesterfield. A lot of stopping and fairly easy paced riding to take in the scenery today so we were out for a long time but lovely countryside so it was worth it. 96 miles clicked on garmin. Some of the others got lost and managed 101 miles.  My room mate Alex is a wizard with the computers and garmin a so I tend to cycle with him. He points me in the right direction and I just pedal.  Hotel is a wee bit of a dive tonight. Let's just say it needs refreshing . Not quite what we have been used to on the trip so far.

Day 3

 A flatter day today only 4000 ft of climbing and 90 miles.  Very wet again and not exactly the best cycling day.  We crossed the Avon bridge and the Severen into Wales.  The hotel is nice in a golf course. Unfortunately I hit a pothole about 500 yards from the hotel and came off. Luckily landed in the grass and only have a few bruises from thigh thumping the bikes bars.

Here's the Strava stuffLEJOG day 3

Day 1 & 2 strava data

Day 1 morning


Day 1 afternoon.


Day 2

Day 2

We set off earlier today for the hilliest day on the schedule up to Dartmoor and on the Exeter.  Decided to keep it calm today and keep HR under 150. Some long stuff climbs interspace with some steep sharp ones during the morning but again the wind was favourable giving us a wee push up the steep inclines. The morning was damp but nothing like the deluge yesterday. Lunch was in a village hall on Dartmoor.  Very rustic and luckily we could see the views over the moor. My gears were now changing up to the big ring but wouldn't go back down to the small ring.  I had to stop a few times to manually shift gears when hills became too steep. After a few more climbs we descended towards Exeter and again managed to get lost through the town.  Luckily one of the guys fiddled with his garmin maps a bit and got us through with no real issues.  By this time some of the group were flagging as the hills in the morning had taken their toll. We nursed them back to the hotel. Chris the mechanic helped me adjust the front mech and it looks like we are back in business with full gear shifting even with a shorter lever.  Legs still feel fine but the bum was beginning to feel a bit tender towards the end of today's stint.

Day 1

Set off from lands end at 9.30 and spent the first five miles with Grant ( amazing guy who broke his back 19 years ago and is badly affected by that but has guts and determination in bucket loads)  and but then some hills came along and I moved up to the faster group ( testosterone kicking in). My DI2 wasn't working from the train incident so I was stuck in the smaller chainring. This was probably a good thing as it stopped me from going too hard. The wind was mainly behind us and the first 25 miles flew in fairly quickly. A snack at the refreshment stop meant we all gathered together again before a group of five of us hit the road again.  The second 25 was hillier but again nothing too bad before lunch at 45 miles.  Lunch last just over an hour and the last of the group got in just as we were ready to leave.  As we left the rain started and so the second half was a wee bit damp. Most of the afternoon followed the A390 which to be honest wasn't a lot of fun. I prefer quieter back roads. The last 6 miles my garmin packed in so I didn't  record that. It's a pity because the heavens opened and we got absolutely drenched then got lost looking for our hotel.  I pity the guys still out in that. All in all a good day with no major issues, back is a wee bit twingy but otherwise nothing over stressed. That could change tomorrow as we climb up to Dartmoor and the rolling roads there. Andy, the Discovery guy reckons we are going to get wet again tomorrow.  

Start day minus 1

It's real now. I managed to get onto the right train. Phew, first stress over.  Netty has packed a humongous amount of food but it is a long way.

So I've been checking the bike every so often on the way and it's been fine. Just checked after Plymouth and noticed that the lhs brake lever is broken.  Gears still work and brake is ok but the end of the lever has been broken off. Someone must have pulled it very hard.  Not happy canopy at the moment. Must have been done in last hour or so.

Start day minus 2

Lie in this morning since its the last one for a while. Packing bags, emptying bags, repacking bags (and repeat) lube chain. remember to pack DI2 charger. Check spares are working.  Get blog up and running quickly.

Start Day minus 3

Last day out on bike to see that it runs fine. All going well. DI2 all charged up. Nice run out for 30 miles or so.

Strava Link to last jaunt