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Lands End to John O'Groats- Sponsored Cycle Ride
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Day 1 - After months of waiting we are finally on the road. Both of us were really nervous and just wanted to get going. Got to Lands End at 0845 only to find out the post is not open until 1000. Had the photo session anyway ……who needs finger posts…we know where we are going !!!!! For the first 12 miles we played cat and mouse with a tractor. Penzance then to Hayle , arrived just outside Newquay and the heavens decided to open on us…..just after I had taken my waterproof off (actually its Doms). Met Norm and Geoff near to St Mawgan. Quick lunch and off again. Through Wadebridge and then it seemed like 10 miles of uphill roads in to Camelford for the overnight stop. Tourist information…..don’t go to Camelford for your hols as its rubbish. Booked in to B and B. Norm and Geoff are in the van for the night. I am sure John and I will still hear them snoring even out there !!!!!! Geoff and Norm nearly caused an explosion at the petrol pump when the van rolled back and the hose wouldn’t come out. Geoff blamed Norm…..but we all know the real truth!! Stats - Miles - 69.3 Saddle time - 4 hr 21 mins Av speed - 15.9 Max speed - 39.3 Calories - 1993 Av HR - 148 Max HR - 174 Av cadence - 74 Total ascent - 1290 metres Notes - no punctures or mechanicals. Weather - warm but wet (heavy at times). Wind - mainly over our left shoulder but it was helping us most of the way. Cracking lasagne courtesy of Geoff and Norm for evening meal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 2 - Left the B and B following a great nights sleep courtesy of Penlea House guest house. All uphill to the local wind farm and then a lovely ride to Launceston. Left Cornwall, entered Devon then on to the A30 and a long, long drag up to Okehampton. Support crew stopped for a healthy full English in Okehampton prior to their morning nap to re-charge the batteries…….again… Joined the van for lunch at Crediton then 2 x big climbs toward Tiverton. Down to 5 mph at one point !!! Note to self - - make our own energy drinks as the support crew gave us something resembling soup - On toward Wellington where we were allowed through by 8 horse riders who then started to gallop and catch us up again. Used some small back roads which were worse for wear after the rain the area has had. Met up again with Geoff and Norm just prior to Taunton for the overnight at the Anchor Inn. A good hard day today. Still no punctures or mechanicals to date. Decent weather and wind mainly from West. Managed to do the whole Devon section in one day. Stats - Miles - 81.44 Saddle time - 5 hr 12 mins Av speed - 15.6 Max speed - 40.1 Calories - 2096 Av HR - 135 Max HR - 172 Av cadence - 73 Total ascent - 1581 metres Notes- still no mechanicals or punctures. Wind mainly from the rear left quarter. Dry and bright. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 3 - Left Taunton and travelled for about 25 miles across the Somerset Levels. The levels disappeared at Wells and the hills started. A 5 mile climb that got the juices flowing. A long drag to Bath and then a negotiation of the town centre where John questioned my navigational skills……I replied by not replying. John decided that he would give some traffic advice to an OAP who pulled out in front of us, thankfully he was deaf….the OAP that is not John.. Lunch at Batheaston just outside Bath and then a monster hill to let the food go down. Managed to find a road that was closed and put us about 4 mile off track but eventually joined the A46. Were surprised to see a notice board on the road that was identical to the one off the back of the motor home….a quick phone call and we found that it was the one off the home and was now a little worse for wear at the Gloucestershire border. Arrived at Stroud 30 mins before the support crew who were trying to find the board off the home and then a lovely shower at the local health club, Fifth Dimension. Overnight at the Imperial Inn in Stroud with a cracking Thai meal to boot. Norm and Geoff in the room tonight with John and me in the van. Support crew had a hard day as they lost the tin opener and had a real problem providing the beans for lunch. Stats - Miles - 86.7 Saddle time - 5 hr 31 mins Av speed - 15.7 mph Max speed - 40.3 Calories - 2184 Av HR - 134 Max HR - 170 Av cad - 72 Total ascent - 1321m Notes- again dry but overcast. Still have favourable tail wind. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 4 - A rude awakening at 4.45am as we are woken up by a local s*** trying to break in to the motor home. A few words of advice and a quick patrol of the area by John in his ‘Calvins’ and the oyk was on his toes. I was trying to provide back up but the zip on my maggot got stuck and I couldn’t get out of it. PS . . . We rang the local old bill…got a incident number and are booking on at double time for 4 hours, as well as claiming a meal. Porridge and banana for brekky courtesy of Norm and we were off just before 0900. Within 10 minutes we were both soaked and knackered as there was a big hill out of Stroud. Some big lorries proved a bit of a pain on the road to Ledbury with all the spray and water on the roads. B roads to Tenbury for lunch and then off again to Ludlow which is a lovely town if you just want to ride round the centre of it about 3 times due to the road works. Finally Church Stretton for the overnight stop at the aptly named Travellers Rest. It took about an hour to get the grime off our legs and out of our kit. Support crew managed to completely miss the overnight stop which obviously upset Geoff as he had to have another nap to get over the grief of it all. Norm provided a top spag bol for the meal washed down with a glass of red……only one though. Stats - Miles - 70.6m Saddle time - 4 hr 51 mins Av speed - 14.5 mph Max speed - 34.8 Calories - 1734 Av HR - 125 Max HR - 161 Av cad - 71 Total ascent - 1184m Day 5 -Don't ever, ever, ever cycle through Liverpool as it is the most scary place I have ever sat on a saddle and pedalled through. What a shame to end the day on a downer as the first 50 miles were the best part of the journey so far.
Left the hotel south of Shrewsbury before 0830 and were cruising at an average speed of over 18.5mph for the first 2 hours. The wind was obviously in our favour and pushing us along. Used the A528 to Ellesmere and then Chester which was probably the quietest A road we have ever ridden on. Managed to avoid all the floods in the area although we did see them from a distance. Lunch at 52 mile point then onward to Liverpool. We were both genuinely scared as we rode over the bridge from Runcorn to Liverpool on the 'Bridgewater Expressway'. At one point we took refuge on the pavement before putting our heads down, kissing our arses goodbye, and pedalling for all we were worth to get across to what we thought would be safety. Little did we know there was a 3 lane carriageway to endure as well on the other side. If I had the bottle to look down at my heart rate I think I would have fell over the parapet into the Mersey. We were both relieved to arrive at the Suites Hotel Knowsley. A Jacuzzi and shower and time to get the nerves back to normal for tomorrow. We asked for somewhere to store the bikes for the night only to be given room 105 which turned out to be one of the executive suites as it was vacant. We thought this was a bit below standard and requested an upgrade for the bikes to be told they can't be put in a better room as there were none of a higher standard in the hotel. It then became a surprise when we were put in adjoining suite of similar standard. When we checked the bikes out in the morning the receptionist wanted to know if they had used anything from the mini bar!!!
Stats - Miles - 92 Saddle time - 5 hr 34 mins Av speed - 16.5 mph Max speed - 33.4 Calories - 1858 Av HR - 120 Max HR - 148 Av cad - 76 Total ascent - 846m Day 6-Up and away on to what is the half way point on the trip. Eventually navigated out and away from Liverpool and the surrounding towns much to our relief. I can honestly say that I would rather ride in and around London than ever come back to Liverpool. Northwards to Preston and then quiet back roads toward Lancaster before joining the A6 through Lancaster and onward to the lunch stop at 57miles. I checked the map at lunch to see that we only had a further 14 miles to the overnighter in Milnethorpe on the edge of the Lake District. Its real 'ecky thump' country with a pint of bitter costing £1.44p!!! The maid took a shine to the fact that we were cycling to J.O.G and offered to wash all our cycle kit which we duly accepted as it saves us walking up and down on the kit in the bath and then covering every spare inch of the room with damp clothes in an attempt to dry them. The downside for the support team is the bar shut at 3pm as the staff had other things to do. Bike chain and cassette given a degunge and oil up as they were starting to grind. Weather today has been fine with a great 20mph tail wind which helped to push us along. Lovely steak and chips provided by the support crew and then to bed at about 8 o'clock. The bikes were a little upset as they had to slum it in the storage shed rather than their own private suite.
Stats - Miles - 72.3 Saddle time - 4 hr 27 mins Av speed - 16.2 mph Max speed - 29.7 Calories - 1417 Av HR - 117 Max HR - 155 Av cad - 75 Total ascent - 702m -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 7 -Up at the crack of dawn, curtains pulled back and a lovely country view out across the Lake District. Porridge and banana for breakfast and then onward and extremely upward to our next overnighter. We had good weather and decided that we would go up to Windermere and then across the Kirkstone Pass to Penrith. I had a bit of an 'incident' in Widermere where a car turned left in front of me and I locked up and nearly joined the passenger through his side window, only fantastic and extremely brave bike skills saved the day....... Turned right and then it was up and up and up to the top of Kirkstone Pass. It was a climb of 16% for 6 miles with some 20% sections thrown in just to test our climbing skills. A congratulary handshake followed by a photo next to the pub and then a nerve racking 5 mile descent to Ullswater. A quick stop for tea and caramel slice in Patterdale and then to the lunch stop via the edge of Ullswater to Penrith. After lunch it was a boring and bumpy ride along the A6 to Carlisle and then up to Gretna. A photo stop at the Scotland sign by Gretna and then off to Annan for the overnight stop. The B and B for the night is 'The Firth' which is a newly decorated and very pleasant establishment where the owners made us feel very welcome.....and they washed our cycle kit..... Norm decided today was a good day to wash all his kit which is fine but most of the stuff was strewn all over the van and it was a bit disconcerting to turn round and have a pair of Calvins staring at you.
Stats - Miles - 79.4 Saddle time - 5 hr 24mins Av speed - 14.5mph Max speed - 37.1mph Calories - 1909 Av HR - 125 Max HR - 166 Av cad - 75 Total ascent - 1311m -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 8 -Annan to Stewarton (north of Kilmarnock) today. Up and away by 0830 with a reasonable forecast for the day. A trip west to Dumfries then north toward Kilmarnock on the A76. After about 90 minutes it stared to rain and then as we climbed for what was the first 45 miles we ended up in the clouds and continuous rain for most of the day. The profile for the day showed that we climbed for what turned out to be the first 3 ¾ hours.....it wasn't steep but it took its toll. We followed what turned out to be the tour of Britain route for a few miles and at one point went through one of the sprint finish areas......we didn't speed up but just plodded onward and upward. Lunch at the 60 mile point and then a 20 mile finish to the overnight stop. For some reason the Scottish roads are either silky smooth or as rough as a badgers arse and they shake your fillings out, hopefully the smooth roads will take over on the trip northward. A wash and brush up and then a pint of black and tan (whatever that is!!) before dinner. The way we both feel it will be another early night......by that I mean 8pm. The culmination of the days and miles are catching us up now and little aches and pains are creeping in. By the end of tomorrow we will be ¾ of the way through, or, if you follow my theory that you never count the last day it is even more than that. Total mileage now topped 630. Today was a bit of an uneventful day in the grand scale of things and hopefully it will improve for tomorrow, along with the weather.
Tomorrow will be great if it's a nice day as we go up and round Glasgow and then follow the west bank of Loch Lomond for its entire length, Rannoch moor up to the slopes of Glencoe.
Stats - Miles - 80.1 Saddle time - 5 hr 10mins Av speed - 15.5 mph Max speed - 32.4mph Calories - 1754 Av HR - 122 Max HR - 149 Av cad - 76 Total ascent - 913m
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Day 9 -Now ¾ of the way through. Had a good nights sleep of about 10 hours which is becoming the average amount we seem to need. On the road for 0830 toward Glasgow. Went through some of the suburbs including Barrhead and Paisley. The roads surface was its normal self...crap. On to the bridge of Erskine which is actually cycle friendly unlike the horror of Liverpool. In to Dumbarton where we joined the A82 and then through to the banks of Loch Lomond. We will stay on the A82 until we reach Inverness in 2 days time. We followed the Loch for its entire length which was fine for the first part as the road surface was smooth but it then reverted to the Scottish norm of rough and even rougher. Lunch at the northern end of the Loch and then a further push to the overnight stop. Following lunch we climbed from sea level to 1000' in 12 miles not a steep climb but tiresome never the less. The benefit of that was the fact that we had a 5 mile descent to the Bridge of Orchy hotel where we are staying in the bunk house for the night. Washing and bikes sorted before we sorted our bodies out. We intend to stay indoors tonight to avoid the pesky midges which are in full season. The length of the trip is taking its toll now as we are both very tired and probably are not eating as many calories as we are expending. Sleep is a great healer but after about 3 hours in the saddle we certainly feel the effects of 9 days cumulative riding. Weather today was bright and sunny which is a stark comparison to tomorrows forecast of rain and heavier rain. We have to climb up and over Rannoch Moor tomorrow before we have a nice ride down to Fort William and along the banks of Loch Linhe toward Fort Augustus....A82 here we come...
Stats - Miles - 77.7 Saddle time - 5 hr 15mins Av speed - 14.7 mph Max speed - 27.7mph Calories - 1714 Av HR - 119 Max HR - 150 Av cad - 72
Total ascent - 906m --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 10 -On the road for 08.10 toward Rannoch Moor. A total of 10 miles climbing gently up in to the Highlands. A stop for a photo at the sign and then onward across Rannoch Moor. Some fantastic scenery and solitary cycling for what seemed like ages. The area is fantastic and as we had decent weather it was a joy to ride across the Moor. We passed Glencoe ski centre and then a downhill section lasting over 8 miles where we went from 350metres to sea level, a great way to travel across the Highlands of Scotland. Across Loch Leven via the bridge and onward toward Fort William still on the A82. Loch Linhe to our left with great views across to the mountains on the far side where the clouds were still covering the tops. Through Fort William and on to Spean Bridge where we had a short climb to our lunch stop. We then stopped at the Commando Memorial to pay our respects and take some happy snaps before continuing toward Fort Augustus and the overnighter. Along the banks of the next loch and then on to Loch Ness over the Caledonian Canal. In to Fort Augustus to the Lovat Arms hotel for the night. This is the last time we have to do any washing as we now have enough kit to get us through to the end. Late night tonight as we are in bed by 7.30....after a big night on the town.....we had two pints instead of the normal one. Support crew are worn out and are having an early night with a game of crib, what a load of boring old farts we all are !!!! Long day tomorrow with an 83 miler staring us in the face up to Inverness and then along the coast to Golspie, that well known Scottish town for the penultimate night of the trip. Total distance now 782 miles with about 150 to go.
Stats - Miles - 80.1 Saddle time - 5 hr 02mins Av speed - 14.2 mph Max speed - 30mph Calories - 1272 Av HR - 108 Max HR - 140 Av cad - 72
Total ascent - 813m
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Day 11 -We write this with 90 miles under our belt on what was the wettest day ever... It absolutely chucked it down last night and although it had eased a bit by the time we started at 0800 it never stopped raining all day. It took 2 1/2 hours to ride up the side of Loch Ness to Inverness which sounds nice but the traffic was a real pain as it is the main route from the West to East coast. The clouds were that low that they obscured the Loch in places. In to Inverness and across the Beauly Firth via the suspension bridge on to the A9. Thankfully we found a cycle route that paralleled the main road for the next 40 miles which made the ride safer but a lot slower as we had to keep crossing side roads. A quick stop at a roadside café where the lady took pity on us and gave us hot drinks for free, I wanted to ask for a refill but we felt that was taking the mickey a bit. By now we were getting cold because of the rain and slight headwind and were thankful for the lunch stop at Alness at the 60 mile point. I took the gold medal for having the longest dew drop hanging from my nose which at one point was almost 4" long before gravity took its toll and it plummeted to earth. We crossed over the Cromarty Firth and then pushed on toward the golf club in Golspie where there was a fantastic fish and chip meal waiting for us. We both walked in to the shower with all our kit on to try and get the road grime off. It took ages to warm up, in fact the shower started to overheat and started to chuck out cold water......time to get out we thought. One of the local golfers said that Golspie is officially the second driest town in the UK with only 30" of rain a year......all we could say is that 28 inches must have fell today. Yet again we will be in bed by 8pm as we are both completely knackered tonight. There is no doubt that the miles are catching up with us now although our legs feel fine. Tomorrow is the last leg of the 12 and we intend to have a leisurely ride of just over 70miles to John O'Groats. It will be similar to the Tour De France as the leader board has been settled so we can relax and have some champagne which we expect to be handed to us by the masses of supporters lining the route. We have turned down TV and radio appearances as they interupt our recovery programme although we are selling our signed photos to anyone who wants one.
Stats - Miles - 89.0 Saddle time - 6 hr 36mins Av speed - 13.5 mph Max speed - 28.1 mph Calories - 1821 Av HR - 112 Max HR - 148 Av cad - 69
Total ascent - 930m
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Day 12 -The final push ....... For the first time we have a sit down breakfast in the B and B, Glenshee guest house, that we are staying in as every other day we have had porridge in the van, leaving the support crew to dig in to the full English. John, unfortunately, is not feeling that great, to which I can verify by the rude awakening at 0400am by the sound of nature emanating from the toilet!!! A relieved looking John reappeared with a smile and a health and safety warning of "do not enter". We are on the road for 0830 continuing along the A9 on the East coast. A gentle start soon became a memory as we hit some really big climbs including some scary downhill sections where we were on the brakes for most of the descent. It was a lovely day although a little chilly but at least we had a tailwind to push us along. We were on the look out for a café to get a nice cup hot beverage but the only one we saw all morning had a queue of people on a Shearings day trip trailing out of the door so we decided not to stop. The view out to sea was great and we could spot oil rigs in the distance as well as local fishermen close to the shore. We could see that far in to the distance to notice the curvature of the earth. Some of the little villages along the road were really bleak and appeared as if a nuclear warning had been given causing all the residents to leave. Lunch at Wick, the most northerly town on our route, which came as a welcome break as we were both tired. We only had 16 miles to go now which was a great feeling because there was a tailwind forcing us toward the end. One last small climb and then it was there.....the view of the North sea with nothing but islands in the distance.....fantastic. It didn't really sink in that we were there, actually I don't think it still has yet. We rode together toward the large white building in the distance which we assumed was the main tourist reception area. A quick stop at the first John O'Groats sign on the edge of the village where we shook hands, patted each other on the back, took a photo and then rode the last mile or so toward the sea. What a great finish as the final part is downhill all the way to the finger post where Geoff and Norm were waiting to take some more photos and break open the Champagne. We put the bikes on the back of the van, got changed and walked down to the sea where we had the final photo of us touching the water, very corny but it had to be done.
Are we glad we did it? Absolutely, 100%, without doubt, YES. Would we do it again? Probably not as it wouldn't be such an adventure the second time round. What next? Home, clean the bikes, put them away for a couple of days and then think of something else to occupy our minds planning the next trip. It has been a long fortnight but we have not argued although there was a moment in Liverpool where I almost lost my teddy when it was suggested by John that I should have gone a different way!!!! Geoff and Norm have provided great back up and always been there at lunch with much needed food as well as their normal banter as to which one of them kept the other awake the most with their snoring. We want to say thanks to all the text messages and phone calls we received throughout the trip from all the guys and girls at work and from our respective families, they really were a boost to morale. Our wives, Linda and Janet, are worthy of a mention as they let us go on this boys adventure without any provisos or complaints....thanks girls.
Best bits - Bridge of Orchy to Fort Augustus as it was a fantastic days ride, one which we would do again just for the scenery.....absolutely breathtaking, get yourselves a bike and do it you will NOT be disappointed, trust us. The ride over Kirkstone Pass and through the Lakes was also up there as it was a great feeling to climb 6 miles up a 20% hill even though it was lung buster at the time, an achievement we will remember, there are no hills in Hampshire that even come close to that. The last couple of miles to John O'Groats was also fantastic as we probably will never do that again.....a once in a lifetime feeling.
Worst bits - The 10 or so miles up to and through Liverpool as they were dangerous and really scary .....we will never ride that bit again and I urge anyone thinking of doing the trip to get an alternative route around that bit for your own safety.
Stats - Miles - 69.23 Saddle time - 4 hr 58mins Av speed - 13.9 mph Max speed - 33.8 mph Calories - 1404 Av HR - 112 Max HR - 148 Av cad - 74
Total ascent - 1118m
Final stats -
Miles - 939.47 (daily av 78.29) 1878.94 combined miles Saddle time - 61hr 21min (don't our arses know it!!!) Av speed - 15.05 mph Max speed - 40.3 mph Calories - 39279 (average of 2 x readings) Av HR - 123 Max HR - 174 (Kirkstone Pass surprise, surprise) Pedal strokes - about 300,000 each 600,000 in total (and don't our knees know it!!!) Total ascent - 12915m
Thanks for taking the time to read this boys own adventure.....
The SponsorsWe are proud to announce that the following companies have agreed to sponsor this event:
See Judd Medical Supplies website here
See RBM Optical Direct website here
See RBM Industrial Supplies website here
Airways Optical Ltd, Southampton
Aldwick Bay Motorhome Hire are kindly providing the back up transport in the form of a Suntor (pictured above) - view their website here Many thanks to APETITO LTD they are a Catering and Frozen food company from Trowbridge Wiltshire , who have kindy donated to the cause. View their website here "Thank you to all the above companies for kindly sponsoring and helpingthis event." Geoff Smith
The EventStart date -September 6th 2008 Two Tactical Support Unit officers, from Hampshire, John Wardell and Ian Dunne, will be cycling the gruelling and physically demanding Lands End / John O Groats cycle ride for our charity. When asked why they both wanted to do this, the answer quite simply was "because we both want to" They set out with the intention of raising a small amount to "give something back to someone who is not as fortunate as us".
The route will be as follows.: Day 1 Lands End - Camleford 83 miles Day 2 Camleford - Wellington 80 miles Day 3 Wellington - Stroud 95 miles Day 4 Stroud - Church Stretton 64 miles Day 5 Church Stetton - Prescott 83 miles Day 6 Prescott - Minthorpe 76 miles Day 7 Minthorpe - Annan 76 miles Day 8 Annan - Kilmaurs 88 miles Day 9 Kilmaurs - Bridge Of Orchy 82 miles Day 10 Bridge Of Orchy - Fort Augustas 74 miles Day 11 Fort Augustus - Golspie 81 miles Day 12 Golspie - John O`Groats 68 miles
John and Ian are now in full training for this , and are out in all weathers riding up to 200 miles each week, building up their strength and stamina for the cycle ride. We desperately need more help with Sponsorship, as the cost of doing such an event can run into thousands of pounds, for such things as transport, accomodation, food, etc. If you as an individual or a Company can help us in any way, please contact me on 02380 422594 or please email me
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