Captains Blog Stardate 01/10/10
Posted: october 05, 2010 10:39am
Well it’s all over after 939 miles in 8 days and 2 hours. All the hard training paid off as I consistently cycled for 8 hours a day and always finished each day strongly. Despite the huge number of hills as steep as 12% and as long as 8 miles I got up every single hill although on the last day at barely over 4mph. Everyone was impressed by my focus, pace judgement and resolute determination.
My bike shows an average speed of around 17mph which I am very pleased with.
These are the towns we visited;
Inverness, Wick, Thurso, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Crianlarich (via Glencoe Mountain), Dumbarton, Glasgow, Ayr, Dumfries, Gretna, Carlisle, Penrith, Kendal, Skipton, Chesterfield, Warwick, Stratford, Chipping Norton, Witney, Abingdon, Wantage, Hungerford, Newbury, Basingstoke, Alresford, Portsmouth, Bishops Waltham, Eastleigh, Romsey, (Tour of New Forest), Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Yeovil, Taunton, Cullumpton, Exeter, Okehampton, Tavistock, Liskeard, Bodmin, Redruth, Penzance, Land’s End.
Daily Mileages
Day 0 Day1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Total
Paul 35 132 117 105 103 126 106 126 89 939
Colin 35 102 95 90 83 95 54 56 57 667
Calum - - - - - - 63 47 52 162
A lot of people have asked why we did not cycle a more conventional route.
The Beneficial Foundation asked us to detour into Portsmouth hence we had to improvise. To put the ride into context I cycled 70 miles more than the conventional John O Groats to Land’s End ride. Also we ‘chose’ the scenic route option on every occasion apart from the last day where we spent a lot of time on the A30.
The success of the ride was down to a great team attitude. Colin was there throughout and given his modest training his achievement was incredible. My nephew Jason was a brilliant support driver up to Newbury when he was replaced by Calum who also cycled although initially with some discomfort!
We filmed a lot of the ride which allows us to produce a short film under the direction of Shane and Andrew.
Summary of Weather
First night Wind against with rain.
1st full day First ½ day as above, 2nd ½ day wind with rain.
2nd day Beautiful blue sky with sun.
3rd day Initial frost then cloudy.
4th day Overcast.
5th day Mostly pleasant.
6th day Wet weather.
7th day Reasonable weather.
8th day Lots of rain, cross wind.
Ride Highlights
1) All the villages in the North East with Waite at the end.
2) Cycling to John O Groats, North Sea spectacular.
3) Road to Thurso, even better with stunning views of Orkney, Dunnet Bay amazing!
4) Loch Ness.
5) Loch Lomand even better.
6) Fort William sitting on wall in sunshine with Loch Linnhe behind and Ben Nevis in front.
7) Glencoe Mountain, beautiful but very tough climb.
8) Kippers at the Crianlarich Hotel.
9) The friendliness of the people in the Highlands in stark contrast to Newbury and Cornwall in particular.
10) Colin crashing in Hungerford but as usual getting on with it.
11) Cycling through Gretna into England.
12) 65.8mph down a hill in the Highlands!!
13) The Cotswolds towns.
14) The New Forest.
15) Drake’s statue in Tavistock.
16) Coming into Land’s End, lump in my throat and immense pride at the achievement.
17) Meeting the Mayoress of Portsmouth and Leroy Primus.
Guests
Bob Ford cycled all of day 6 and gelled instantly, what boots!
Rhys Satchell and Carl Govier cycled from the Hospice to Exeter, 39 miles in not much over 2 hours!!
Best Hotel
Crianlarich Hotel.
Best Bath
Newton Farmhouse – Good old Lizzie & Dave.
Worst Moments
1) The roads in Ayr were soul destroying, absolutely disgraceful.
2) The hills in Cumbria – 80 miles up hill unrelenting.
3) Devon & Cornwall – they desperately need the Romans.
4) Cycling through Newbury at rush hour in twilight – scary!
Thanks To:
1) Matt Foster of Stirling Network for the use of what was a brilliant van.
2) Stephen & Marion of Sedgemoor Drinks for enough drink to start up a business.
3) Nick Orme & Portrayal (you know where to buy your photocopiers!) for arranging accommodation at 5 Premier Inns – Service patchy, rooms good, food excellent.
4) All our sponsors particularly Wowee and Fit Swim.
5) Colin – a man to be in the trenches with.
6) JC and Cal and the daily messages of support.
7) Lisa for unrelenting support, wise counsel and making me take various pills etc. Thanks also to Ibuprofen, Sudocreme and Vaseline!
8) Sam & Darren of Distinctive for a great website. Young men going somewhere!
9) My bike – what a bike! Thanks Anthony (Skidmarx).
10) Mum, Sam, Sarah, Val & Lisa for driving to Land’s End.
11) Those in (10) plus Carl, Tim, Annie, Roger, Sam D & Andrew for sharing in the celebrations at the Half Moon Inn.
Party
Big party at Bar 27, Bridgwater on November 26th. £30 a ticket – it will be amazing!
Colin & I are threatening to wear kilts. I have a choice between the Scott tartan (mum) and the Manx tartan (dad).
In summary I feel proud of myself and my team. As someone who has a thirst for knowledge it was fascinating to see how my body and needs changed every day. I started off being able to eat a cow and did but as days went by my appetite reduced and the body ruled the brain. Life will never be the same again!
Basingstoke here we come...
Posted: september 28, 2010 04:24pm
Another day of cycling and I am en route to Basingstoke. It feels calming to be in the more familiar surroundings of Hampshire.
It has been a long cycle and I am beginning to feel a few aches and pains, the thought of a pint (or five!) and a few large brandies at The Half Moon on Friday are providing just enough motivation to keep me going however!
My star nephew, Jason, has as previously mentioned been terrific over the past few days and it was sad to see him go home today however I am looking forward to seeing my son Calum arrive with my gorgeous wife Lisa later to take over as support van driver from Basingstoke to Salisbury via Portsmouth.
Tomorrow I meet the Beneficial Foundation and the Mayor of Portsmouth at the Guildhall at 12.30pm should anyone be interested in showing up for some moral support.
Also, if anyone would like to turn up at the Hospice in Taunton when I arrive there on Thursday then you are more than welcome.
Back to the saddle for now...
Day 5 - Oh England, My Lionheart!
Posted: september 27, 2010 02:55pm
Today, we re-entered England after cycling through Scotland for 4 days. It felt good to be back in my green and pleasant land, however, i have witnessed many amazing sights and met some wonderful people in Scotland over the past few days.
Colin and I are very pleased with the progress we have made so far, both soldiering on cross country on our trusty bikes. I am amazed at how little aches and pains i have - not bad for a 50 year old eh!
The weather so far has been kind to us, however, it felt very cold north of the border! This was compensated by some truely stunning sights such as Loch Ness and Rannoch Moor which were simply breathtaking.
My nephew Jason is a true star and is supporting us wonderfully. Many thanks to him for all his help.
We are cycling to schedule with our next stop being Chesterfield tonight.
The Pre-ride Blog - 4 Days to Go!
Posted: september 20, 2010 11:53am
All in all a good week, the accommodation is at last fully booked although we are now in Basingstoke at end of Day 5 not Thatcham! A few pieces of unnecessary last minute stress and people letting one down which I have now got used to!
Andy Twemlow of FitSwim did an amazing thing on Friday! FitSwim had ordered 2 vans, one of which he had kindly said we could use as the support van. The vehicles did not turn up so while meeting with me on Friday afternoon he bought a van. Thanks also to Lewis who was at the sharp end doing the buying.
I had a lovely email of support from the Thomas family, owners of Upton Coaches; people I have got very fond of. Also, Marion and Stephen of Sedgemoor Drinks who are two of the nicest people you could ever wise to meet.
Lisa and I had dinner with Tony and Chris Green on Saturday night at The Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash. I know where I am going for my first pint on Friday 1st October!
Anthony (or Saint Anthony as I now call him) of Skidmarx has serviced the Wilienri and Guess bikes so again thanks to him. It was also good to meet Jack at the shop on Saturday, who has recently done the ride himself.
I have bought a multicoloured helmet and to my surprise actually did not mind wearing it and seemed to go faster, presumably being more aerodynamic (49.8mph down Wedmore Hill!!)
I went to the doctors for the first time in years on Thursday as even I did not want to ride with my coccyx problem and a chest infection.
I feel in good shape so fingers crossed! I hope we can produce a film of the event and daily coverage on the blog; far more interesting than Eastenders!
Please, maker, keep the winds away and I would not mind an Indian summer please.
Thanks to everyone that has helped and supported me, I will endeavour not to let you down.
P.S – So plan is beers in at the Half Moon Friday 1st October from 6.30pm.
Sunday 12th September - 11 days to go
Posted: september 14, 2010 05:16pm
I have always thought Paula Radcliffe was a bit of a whinger, rendering every excuse under the sun for why she might not win or even compete. However, at the age of 50 I have turned into Paul Radcliffe.
“Cracked coccyx, saddle too hard, I have a cold etc”...
I have been on a proper diet now for 2 ½ weeks which means basically nothing nice! This is rigorously enforced by Sam & Lisa. Sam would have made a good German!
Still, it’s working although I still hear the weekly “I thought you would be thin by now!” Look I have a 50” chest and I am 6’ 3” it’s not going to happen!
I find it vaguely amusing that people think you have to be thin to ride a bike. Very soon we shall see the reality.
Apart from having a cold it has been a good week with some brilliant news on the work front. Thursday night I went for a quick 25 mile spin after work and bumped into Colin and his mate Barry.
Yesterday I did a good 40 miles before the big one today; 6 of my 16 miles circuits all pretty much flat out! I need the ride to start to have a rest!
I did them in batches of 2 starting at 8.30am and then 12.30pm and 5pm.
The weather has been nice although as seems the norm these days it was blowy.
My times were 61 mins, 60, 63,62,64,64...NOT BAD!!
Cycling is still uncomfortable but I reckon the coccyx is 50% better. Having got today out of the way I feel the pressure is off and I can look forward with confidence.
Rachel at the Beneficial Foundation continues to do a great job and I can’t wait to try on the specially designed cycle shirts.
My longest standing client Bob Ford has confirmed he will be cycling the Newbury to Salisbury leg with me which I shall look forward to.
Please see the fantastic poster that Distinctive have designed which was also put on the website today!
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