Lands End - The Final Day!!

After a good breakfast, we drove back to St Agnes to commence the final leg of our challenge, an easy 43 miles to Lands End (or so we thought). Setting off at 10am in short sleeves and cycling shorts, we completed approximately 20 yards before the first drop of rain fell, which was rapidly followed by another and another and another. We donned raincoats and continued into what quickly turned into the heaviest downpour of the whole trip. The road disappeared under water and the headwind ensured the rain stung the legs and face; what a way to finish. Eventually the rain subsided, but the headwind continued to try and prevent us from getting anywhere, and what a good job it was making of this. Tracking the northern coastline of Cornwall, we passed through Gwithian, a favourite holiday destination from Andy’s childhood and made our way to St Ives. Negotiating the hilly zigzag climb out of the town, we decided to stop for refuelling at the first café we could find. Not long after we noticed a sign indicating The Munch Box Café - Open Next Left, brilliant we thought, just what we need. Turning left we were met with a vertical climb which led up yet another hill, the lengths we’ll go to, to get a Latté. Eventually we found ourselves at the end of a trading estate, no sign of a welcoming café anywhere, it was then we turned around to find the Munch Box snack trailer in an empty car park, with a few plastic chairs and a table. No speciality coffees to be had there, so it was a quick paper cup of tea and on we went. By now the headwind was really blowing and the rough road surface, combined with the long hills and a 1000 miles plus of cycling in the legs made the going quite taxing, but with the end now in sight we relaxed into a steady pace and enjoyed the last few miles. Imagine our surprise to be cheered on randomly by a chap in a lay-by who as we passed by, we recognised as Pete, one of our cycling pals who had been working in the area and had taken an extended lunch break to welcome us into the finish. Over the last few miles we caught a number of other End to End cyclists who were all working hard to reach the end of their challenge and in the opposite direction were a few who were just starting out (at least they had a good tailwind). The finish point soon appeared on the horizon and we pedalled into Lands End together to meet up with Papa Smurf who was there to welcome us in. Never missing an opportunity to fundraise he had been busy collecting donations whilst waiting for us. After taking numerous end of the challenge photos at the tourist signpost, (luckily they hadn’t taken the arms off the sign this time) we packed up the bikes and headed out to meet up with Andy’s Mum and Dad for a celebratory lunch. With balloons, banners and a mountain of food to greet us they made us feel like celebrities, and Papa Smurf awarded us a glass memento of the challenge which he had purchased way back in John O’Groats. Changing back into civvies we sat down to a lunch comprising of a giant Cornish Pastie each, infact we’re not sure whether the pasties were large or whether Andy had just wasted away from his exertions over the last 11 days, as his pastie appeared to be the same size as his head!! These were swiftly followed by numerous scones with jam and cream and several cups of tea. By now it was 4pm and time to head back to home. Total miles today 43 miles, total distance to date 1102 miles!! Challenge completed!!

Not too far to go now, or so we thought!!

We were looking forward to a couple of days of warm easy cycling through the English seaside Riviera, however we woke to damp drizzle with a challenging head wind so our positive finale looked unlikely! Things didn’t improve as we set off cycling, as we appeared to have chosen the “hilliest” route for our second last day towards Lands End. We worked hard through the wind, rain, mist and hills and climbed up to Launceston, where we decided not to stop but to carry on for refuelling at the next stop on the route. Going on from here we experienced a strange phenomenon “How can we continuously climb and never seem to find a downhill on this route?” Jon thinks it’s an excellent concept for his future studio cycling classes; watch out Spirit Health Club Eastleigh members!! Reaching Egloskerry we realised our decision not to stop in Launceston had been a mistake as there was no one to be seen here other than a refuse lorry collecting rubbish, so we carried on to the next stop on the route, Davidstow. Unfortunately all we found here was a large dairy, so in the rain and wind we decided not to hang around and to make for Camelford, there was sure to be a café there. Passing through the 1000 miles to date distance, we made a swift descent into the town and found the welcome sight of a coffee shop, conveniently with a free car park opposite. Meeting up with Papa Smurf we went in to warm up, dry out and replenish our caffeine levels, managing to have 2 lattés each in under 45 mins. Next stop was St Columb Major via a complicated cross country route, once again the iPhone saved the day and directed us along the lanes, although perhaps we should investigate whether there is an app for choosing the flattest route next time. Conveniently at the bottom of one of the seemingly never ending ascents Jon’s chain jumped off the chainring which allowed for a quick breather. As he was sorting it out a helpful local shouted from what looked like his upstairs loo window that the “the real hills start from here”. “Surely there can’t be many left to climb” we replied, “You’ll be surprised, everywhere is uphill from here” said the loo man. “Best of luck” he shouted and then shut the window and presumably went back to the loo!! We eventually made it to St Columb Major where we had our first real Cornish Pastie of the trip and grabbed a cup of tea from a pub, as it was the only place that was open. From here it was just a final 15 miles or so to our finish for the day in St Agnes, however it proved to be an extremely hilly run in, with a huge climb out of Perranporth, which really tested the legs. Nonetheless we made it to the finish point before the support car, so we decided to complete the climb out of St Agnes to make tomorrows final leg a bit easier. Met up with Andy’s Mum and Dad tonight, had a great Thai meal with an interesting young waiter who had just completed a Forensic Science qualification, we even managed a couple of beers!! 78 miles completed today, 1059 miles cycled to date. Final day tomorrow, approx 45 miles to the finish of the challenge!

Shock News…….Support Driver Geoff has been replaced by Papa Smurf!!

Holiday Inn Express Bristol North provided excellent accommodation for us, and even let us put our bikes in a vacant conference room overnight. After a great nights sleep (having sensibly booked 2 rooms for the team) we rose at 7.45am and enjoyed a large breakfast, making several trips to the buffet offering. Once the car was packed and bikes racked we drove back to last nights finish point and set off at 9.58am. Quickly negotiating Bath we slogged our way out of the city, quite a start for tired legs. By now we were warmed up and made good progress up the second long climb out of Chewton Mendip, after which Andy once again gave Jon a lesson in swift descending topping 42 mph on the drop into Wells. Reaching Glastonbury by lunchtime we met up with Geoff for coffee and cake. The strange mystical powers of the Tor had obviously taken effect on our support driver and it appeared that he had been replaced by Papa Smurf (see photos for evidence of this). Next we continued onto Wellington and it dawned on us that on this trip just about every village we have passed through from our start in John O’Groats has at sometime won a Britain in Bloom award! According to Andy every 3^rd village has a least one Dog Grooming shop as well, the best one we’ve found so far being called “Wallace and Groomit”. After an elongated refuelling stop in Wellington we eventually met up with Papa Smurf who had been sightseeing in Wells. Next it was the rolling countryside of Devon we had to contend with, and so we went up and down and up and down for the next couple of hours for a quick meet up in Crediton (who incidentally & unsurprisingly didn’t appear to have been bestowed a Britain in Bloom award). With the last 17 miles ahead of us, we took a handful of midget gems from the car (Many thanks Andy’s Mum) and set off to our finish for the day at Okehampton. Despite signs advising us that the road ahead was closed, we continued on the planned route and found every other local driver was ignoring the signs as well. Needless to say the road wasn’t closed to traffic at all but obviously they weren’t encouraging “tourists” to use the route whilst the roadworks were undertaken. Cycling up the final few hills took some effort but we eventually made it to Okehampton. Amazing a whole day and no punctures!! 107 miles completed today, total distance to date 981 miles. We’re on the last page of the road at last!!

A Sunny Day at last!!

With the longest day of the challenge ahead of us, we rose early, breakfasted packed the support car & prepared the bikes for the day we also managed to collect two more donations to the fundraising from the residents of Hazeldine Court. So at 9.18am in shorts and cycle tops (no wet weather gear) we set off (a new personal best). In the absence of an ice bath facility to assist recovery, Jon had inadvertently decided to create his own version by sleeping on the floor directly under an open window last night, the healing qualities of a “freezing” nights sleep obviously worked, as he led out for the first 26 miles setting a cracking pace all the way to Ludlow. Although it may have been the lure of a latté which proved the real motivator for this. After refuelling on Ludlow sausage and egg sandwiches off we continued in the warm summer weather through the Welsh/English border country enjoying smooth rolling roads. Meanwhile Geoff had stopped at the local Methodist church and managed to get another donation to the fund. We soon arrived in Ledbury our next refuelling stop and by now the skies were blue and the sun was enjoying it’s day out of the clouds. As we progressed along the route we found a road sign for a place named “Edwyn Ralph – Please drive carefully”, what a great idea, personalised road signs, perhaps if this catches on we’ll see a “Geoff Eggett – Please drive carefully” in the future. Passing through Gloucester we enjoyed the benefits of their cycle path scheme by-passing most of the busy main roads and soon found our first big climb of the day out of the city towards Stroud. A swift descent from this was closely followed by a second big climb out of Nailsworth, whereupon a helpful passing cyclist advised us “Don’t worry, it’s only another mile to the top!!” By now it was after 6pm, and we were just thinking how lucky we had been today in comparison to yesterday with regard to punctures, when Jon hit a pothole and low and behold got his first puncture of the day. Good job he’d spent last night repairing all those inner tubes from yesterday!! After this it was just a final 15 miles or so to the finish for the day, so we “spun” our way over the rolling roads and covered this distance to finish just after 7pm. 116 miles completed today, total distance to date 874 miles. Somewhat sunburnt arms!! Somerset and Devon tomorrow, cider and cream teas for refuelling?

Leyland to Shrewsbury or is it “Shrosebury”?

We left our accommodation in Southport and drove to our starting point for the day in Croston just outside of Leyland. Much to our relief today’s route looked decidedly flat compared to the last few days, in fact we climbed more metres in the first 2 hours yesterday than we were due to do in the whole of today, nevertheless we had a lot of big towns and busy roads to negotiate. The weather looked rather ominous with forecasters hedging their bets predicting sunshine with showers for the whole of the west coast. After 30mins Jon had his first puncture of the day (3^rd in total), this was swiftly changed and the cycling continued for approx 15 mins before puncture number 2 occurred. By this time Geoff had befriended a local resident and made friends with her whippet Patsy, so we left him chatting and rode on, after a further 10 mins the back tyre on Jon’s bike was looking rather flat and unbelievably he had his 3^rd puncture of the day (5^th in total). By now we were convinced that the tubes were from a faulty batch, so we changed to a different brand and rode on. Numerous other cyclists were out enjoying Saturday morning rides although it appears that the majority of riders in Lancashire don’t believe in wearing helmets, which seems very alien to us and they also seem to be all riding the opposite way to us as well. Eventually at some traffic lights we caught up with a local rider (who was helmeted) and when he asked where we were cycling from he nearly fell off his bike (lucky he was wearing a helmet!!), after a few miles he wished us all the best and headed off in the other direction (no change there then). After negotiating/surviving the dual carriageway around Wigan, Widnes, St Helens & Runcorn we stopped for lunch in Frodsham (and bought some spare inner tubes from the bike shop). Fortunately it still hadn’t rained on us yet, so fingers crossed we’d make it to today’s finish without getting wet. We headed on South following some tiny unsigned roads which fortunately thanks to Andy’s (I’ve got an app for that!) iphone Google maps app we were able to navigate. Heading towards our last refuelling stop of the day Jon’s front tyre decided it was feeling left out and wanted a new inner tube as well, and gradually got flatter and fatter, a quick pump up and we raced into Ellesmere to change tubes (4^th puncture of day and 6^th of the challenge). On entering the town we found Geoff surrounded by a hoard of hoodies, “What on earth has he got himself into now?” we asked ourselves. “Meet the Ellesmere crew” said Geoff on our arrival “they want to know all about your challenge”, so we spent the next 10 mins changing Jon’s front tyre, telling the gang about our cycling, showing them our bikes and then hearing all about their joy-riding exploits. Finding nowhere obvious to refuel in Ellesmere and being slightly apprehensive of leaving the bikes unattended judging by the “light fingered” skills of the locals, we sat in a Tesco car park and ate the remains of Ginger Cake made by Wynne in Alexandra Court in Windermere (Many thanks Wynne your cake was wonderful). With just 16 miles left to go for the day we sped along the main road to Shrewsbury or as Andy calls it “Shrosebury”, made our way through the one way system and found our accommodation for the evening Peverel development Hazeldine Court. Wow a whole day of cycling without having to don raincoats; lady luck was on our side, although this was evened out by 4 punctures in one day!! A cup of tea, quick shower, change and walk into the city centre for an evening meal, and we’re ready for tomorrow. Total miles covered today 90 miles, total to date 758 miles in 7 days. One week of cycling completed and a long day in the saddle planned for tomorrow, so off to bed.

Back to the Lakes

Our junior host Joseph decided to give us an early morning call creeping in and whispering to his Dad who was celebrating his birthday today “should I jump on each of them to wake them up?” After breakfast and a wide and varied cabaret act courtesy of Joseph, including issuing us all with musical instruments, playing trains and hula hooping, we packed the car and waved goodbye, only to realise just in the nick of time that with the bikes on the roof of the car we wouldn’t be able to get out of the usual exit from our night’s stay, phew disaster avoided!! We then drove back to Rheged for the fourth time in 3 days; their CCTV security team must be very interested in why we’re visiting so often!! Starting out on the bikes at 10.40am, our latest start to date meant we’d achieved a new personal best immediately. Riding along Ullswater we loosened off the legs in preparation for the big climb of the day Kirkstone Pass, a 1500ft climb over the fells to Windermere. At last we benefited from a tailwind, which helped us up the climb and with the sun shining we enjoyed a speedy descent topping 40 plus mph on the run into Windermere and lunch. The sun continued to shine throughout the afternoon as we passed into Lancashire and we rode through the busy city centre of Lancaster, stopping at Garstang for a coffee and cake refuel. As we entered the outskirts of Preston at around 6pm the rain started to fall and Andy needed to stop for a pit stop (or at least that’s what Jon thought he said!) whilst awaiting his return there was a faint hissing sound and low and behold Jon had suffered his second puncture of the challenge. A quick tube change was performed and thereafter we put our foot to the floor and pedalled through the dark early evening rain to the finish for the day in Croston. A swift car transfer to our nights accommodation at the Peverel development in Southport allowed us to quickly get showered, changed and head out to refuel, unfortunately all we could find was a Chinese takeaway, as everywhere else was closed. Tomorrow we head on South to Shrewsbury, having to negotiate Widnes, Runcorn and Chester on the way. Hopefully no more punctures as we’re running out of spare tubes. Total distance today 95 miles, total distance completed to date 668 miles.

Coast to Coast (C2C)

The residents of Alexandra Court in Windermere waited with anticipation for us to leave this morning, although this was due to them wanting to wish us all the best in person, rather than escort us off the premises. After photos and handshakes we thanked them for their hospitality and bid them farewell. Once again the sun was shining, although the grey skies in the distance were looking ominous. After a steady first 30 minutes the climbing began and passing a number of other C2C cyclists we slogged our way up Hartside (1900ft) stopping for the first coffee of the day. On this ascent Jon got involved in an impromptu hill race to the summit with a mountain biker, which he fortunately managed to win but only just!! Little did we know that we would be going up and down every hill between here and the North Sea for the rest of the day!! As we started to work our way across the Pennines the rain started so we donned raincoats by which time it had stopped so we took them off, by which time it had started again so we put them back on and so it continued for much of the day. After yet another long steep climb we passed the highest point on the C2C at over 2000ft followed by a swift descent and (yet) another climb. We stopped at Stanhope for refuelling and managed to avoid a huge rainstorm, then it was off for the final long and steep climb of the day and the start of the descent to Newcastle. Negotiating the rush hour traffic (and Geoff’s driving) we made it to the quayside of the Tyne and the final 13 miles of the C2C. Riding past the numerous pubs and bars with lots of people enjoying an early evening drink showed excellent self control and we arrived at Tynemouth just after 6pm to be greeted by Jon’s sister in law Alyson and nephew Joseph. Delighted to welcome us to the finish, Joseph brought his bike along and joined us in a celebratory dip of the wheels of our bikes in the North Sea, the C2C completed. Total distance completed to date 573 miles, altitude climbed today approx 8000ft!! Looking forward to a flatter day tomorrow.