Day 6: Cheddar to Arlingham

Decent Breakfast, but a late start after a late finish the previous night and feeling pretty cream-crackered. Nice accommodation though. The proprietor explained over my 2nd bowl of cereal that they were unfortunate that two couples who were due to arrive last night weren't able to make it due to flooding. I didn't pay too much attention to this at the time.

A good day overall, involving a fair amount of luck.

From Cheddar I followed the cycle path from Cheddar through to Winscombe as best I could - there was a fun section along a disused railway line and through an old tunnel lit only by small lights along the floor. The route then wiggled up towards Clevedon. I managed to lose the route for the 2nd time at Sandford, and was getting a bit annoyed and depressed.

A few miles my luck turned, as a cyclist caught up with me. We got chatting and he explained that he'd done the trip the previous year. He commented on how he developed all sorts of aches and pains which never seemed to go away, but which he just got used to. This gave me heart, as I've developed a whole range of odd niggles - including dodgy Achilles - which aren't getting any better, but which are bearable once warmed up. We talked about the reasons for doing the trip, and it turns out that he was diagnosed with Parkinsons a couple of years ago. Cycling was recommended to him as a means of helping the brain to compensate for the problems that Parkinsons can cause with balance. He was quite inspirational, and as a bonus he was heading my way across the River Avon on the M5 bridge, so I didn't have to fanny about trying to find my way around the Bristol Suburbs.

After picking up my cheapset lunch yet at a service station in Long Cross, Bristol, I made my way across to the Vale of Berkeley. This was a fine and peaceful run across thorugh Berkeley and Slimbridge to my accommodation for the night in the village of Arlingham with friends.

It was only that evening that I learned that I'd been lucky getting through to Arlingham at all. The village sits on a peninsula in a large bend on the Eastern Bank of the Severn and the previous day the single road out to the village from the A38 was flooded. I also learned for the first time about the massive flooding in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire - the two counties I'd be passing through next. Oh dear. My hosts for the evening very kindly went to every effort to try to work out a route which would enable me to get around the floods.

The accommodation was of course brilliant !

Stats of the day:

Flapjacks 2
Friendly Cycling companions 1
Days Mileage 65.1
Total Mileage 319.3

Cheers,


Mat.




Amusing Sign spot:

Yet more Ham ...

Day 5: Crediton to Cheddar

Excellent breakfast - cereal and Salmon and Scrambled Eggs on toast. Recommend Taw Vale if you're ever in Credition.

Fatigue had started set in a little after the hills and today turned out to be challenging. For a start I'd somehow underestimated the distance by some 10 or 15 miles. Secondly I struggled with route finding, taking a number of time wasting wrong turns. Today I was again following a route recommended by Phil Horsley. The first section was pleasant, but then the 'B' road up to Cullompton wasn't especially so. Stopped for an early cuppa and flapjack, but should've really been moving on. The next section through to Wellington took ages, although it included a nice stretch along the canal near Sampford Peverell on a National Cycling Route where I bumped into the couple I'd met the previous day at Lydford Gorge - small world and all that. It turns out that due to the downpour the gorge had to be closed so their walk was cut short, must've been quite strong after all.

Stopped for my now usual lunch - from a service station - at Wellington before heading right through the busy centre of Taunton on a busy Friday afternoon. What were all of these people doing shopping at 2pm on a Friday ?! I was desperately trying to find another section of National Cycle Route along a canal, and eventually chanced upon it. This was a tad muddy, but quite pleasant taking me through to Creech St. Michael.

It was at this point that I think I realised I'd underestimated the distance. It was getting on into mid afternoon and I was still a good thirty miles away from my cosy B&B. It also started to tip it down. And then I got lost. ... But once back on track there was nothing for it but to get my head down and virtually ignore the scenery of the Somerset Levels and get to Cheddar asap.



The B&B was decent enough, but with time short dinner was picked up from Cheddar's local 'Express' Supermarket.

Stats:

Flapjacks 2
Hot Chocolate 1
Days Mileage 74.7
Total Mileage 254.2

Cheers,


Mat





Amusing sign overflow:

Fine choice of native deciduous trees...

Day 4: Liskeard to Crediton

A decent enough breakfast, with a kind donation from some fellow guests. But glad to leave Liskeard.

A lovely day this one. It was as hilly as the previous days, but with plenty of lovely views and some wonderfully quiet lanes. I'd decided after yesterday not to try to go over the top of Dartmoor, but around the northern edge. However, the route I chose took me straight up a long climb on the far eastern edge of Bodmin Moor which gave me the Dartmoor feel with less than half the pain. The top provided some fantastic views. It also lead to the Highest Inn in Cornwall.

From the top I headed off East through some enjoyable quiet and narrow lanes - with 8 ft tall hedges and strips of grass down the centre of the tarmac. This took me down to the Horsebridge over the River Tamar which marked the end of Cornwall for me. The next section was pretty quick up to Lydford, and a pleasant suprise to find the spectacular Lydford Gorge and associated National Trust Visitors Centre and tea room. The staff at the NT centre provided a substantial baguette and 'survival' bar (a flapjack derivative will all sort of nuts and dried fruit within). Top stuff ! I met couple who were making day trips out on their bikes from a base at Okehampton - they were off to walk down the Gorge, but I headed off ...

Into a downpour. But it was quite warm, and the thunder and lightning I'd heard earlier over Dartmoor didn't appear. More importantly it coincided with my stretch on the Sustrans 'Granite Cycle way', a hard surfaced cycle track along a disused railway. This took me swiftly into Okehampton, when I managed to will away the showers over a cup of tea, piece of tiffin and a doughnut.

The final stretch from Okehampton to Crediton was brilliant. The sun came out and the roads flowed. Here I'd picked up one of the recommended routes from the Phil Horsley guidebook, and have to thank him for picking a winner.

Credition looked welcoming, and the accommodation turned out to be excellent. Phew.

Stats:

Flapjack 1
Tiffin 1
Chocolate Coated Doughnut that was a bit dry 1
Days Mileage 56
Total Mileage 179.5

Cheers,

Mat

Amusing Sign bit:

Its a good effort to signpost them in Devon ..

Or maybe you're looking for a Donkey ..

It felt like I'd been riding for this long already ..

Perhaps a 'Trundlebeer' would help ...

Day 3: Penryn to Liskeard

At last some updates ! Opportunities haven't presented themselves thus far, but I'm here on my rest day in Penkridge so taking advantage of my Mum's computer.

Fantastic nights accommodation at Penryn - as I probably mentioned in 'yesterday's' entry. Sent me on my way with a hearty breakfast. After a short downhill it was straight into the challenging ups and downs on the way to the friendly King Harry Ferry near Trellisick. The trip across the river provided a nice little break for a modest 50 pence. Very pleasant on a sunny morning. The next section was hills, hills and more hills. This proved to be a tad tiring, especially with the bike showing a fair degree of wobble. At one point at the top of a substantial climb into Tregony I passed a small post office and considered off-loading several of my weightier items of luggage there and then. But I didn't, and eventually rolled slowly around the edge of St.Austell and for a welcome lunch stop. After my break, i'd just started to pick up some speed when a humungous great blob of a hill got in the way of the route to the 2nd Ferry of the day at Fowey. The staff proved to be slightly less friendly on this one, and the charge was a hefty £1.10, scandalous. The weather turned a tad grim for the first time on the ride from then on, so I took the route of least resistance to Likseard including a brief stretch holding up the traffic through the roadworks at Doublewalls on the A38.


It was a bit of a worrying evening as the 'secure storage' for the bicycle wasn't at all. Despite asking if there was anywhere (like the shed a few yards away) secure and under cover, the proprietor insisted there wasn't and that I shouldn't worry as it definitely wouldn't get nicked. Fingers crossed that this sort of interpretation of secure isn't a recurring theme. Whinge over - the bike didn't get nicked, just wet.

Stats for the day:

Flapjacks 1
Ferries 2
Amusing signs 2
Disappointing accommodation 1
Days mileage 48.9
Total mileage 123.5

Cheers,

Mat

Silly signs for the day:

Day 2: Penzance to Penryn

Big thanks first to the proprietors of the Tamara Guest House - for their kind donation, substantial breakfast and hearty lunch, brilliant. More thanks to the Cycle Centre in Penzance who sorted out the gears after my panicked phone call at 1 minute past their opening time.

Lovely start to the day through Marazion, then onto the 'A' road to Helston and try to ignore the huge amounts of traffic (where are they all going at 10.00 o'clock on a Tuesday morning). Then things got a bit calmer down to Lizard, and I started to relax a little despite the strong winds. Lizard Point was lovely, and Lizard okay - especially after the kind lady at the cafe (whose name I can't quite remember) filled up my bottles and allowed me to jump the queue to pick up a very tasty chocolate flapjack (best of both snack worlds).

After turning off the main roads and swooping down to Gweek things became a bit hilly. I would say a lot hilly, but apparently it gets even more so from here on. Lovely lanes though and some nice views. Made it to the lovely Sunnyside B&B early, from where I'm posting this waffle. Soon to have some Fish & Chips c/o the very friendly proprietors.

For stat fans:

Days Mileage = 45.3
Total distance to date = 74.8
Days flapjacks = 1
Amusing signs (obviously this is qualitative data) = 2

Pictures will follow later.

Cheers,

Mat.

Day 1: Penzance to Lands End

Just a quick update care of the kind proprietors at the Sunnyside B&B. Made it to Penzance without hitches, with both trains spot on time. The journey through Devon and Cornwall is very picturesque.

As the weather was fine and the train on time I 'popped over' to Land's End in the evening - bloomin' good job I'd dropped off the luggage first. As I promised not to whinge, much, about knees etc I won't moan about the bike problems and won't harp on about my bottom (easiest) gears slipping !

Got the obligatory photos at Lands End, apart from the expensive one by the sign pointing to John o'Groats (phew), so I'll have to photoshop that one later. A kind chap took my photo on the 'START' line, not sure why he was so amused - was it the 'all the gear and no idea' cycling kit perhaps ?

Stats:

Days mileage = 29.3
Total mileage = 29.3 !
No. of flapjacks = 1.5
Amusing signs = 0
No. of overly aggresive drivers encounterd whilst crossing London = not sure as I had my eyes close most of the way from St.Pancras to Paddington ( is that why couriers jump so many red lights ?)

On to the first proper day....

Cheers,

Mat

All set ?!

I'm all packed up and ready to go. I know I've forgotten something, but I'm not sure what that is, so I'll be trying not to lose too much sleep over it tonight or on the train tomorrow.

Not done any more rides this week, my time has been spent sorting out last minute bike adjustments and picking up those essential extra bits of kit to weigh me down. Despite the likely continuation of the wet summer, I've resisted the temptation to buy a full wetsuit, so the neoprene body coverage will be restricted to the emergency footwear.

Although I've plotted my 'exact' route now on the OS Travel Maps which will guide my way, I've not found time to find out about more about the places of interest along the way. In particular I'm fretting about where to get decent food - which is probably why I'll be carrying a weeks worth of flapjacks 'just in case'. I'm hoping that the friendly B&B proprietors will be able to provide some suggestions. If you've got any places you'd like to recommend, be they pubs/cafes/museums whatever, please do so - I'm quite happy to make detours.

Many thanks to those who've made donations since the last update, you've all been very generous.

I'll be on the train from Loughborough tomorrow morning and getting into Penzance just after half six. The ride will begin tomorrow evening, weather and time permitting. I may get daily updates on here, but more realistically it'll be every 2 or 3 days.

Cheers,

Mat.

Kinky boots

Accommodation is fully confirmed now, thanks to family friends in Gloucestershire. I'm now starting the detailed route planning, in order to try to head towards interesting sights, good food & drink stops and conversely to avoid the busier roads, unecessary hills and avoidable built-up areas. Once done I'll post up a few more details.

Enjoyed what should be my last long-ish 'training' ride yesterday, popping over to a local bike shop and picking up these exciting looking shoe covers. They remind me a lot of some boots my Grandma used to wear, except her's had a fluffy woollen lining if I remember rightly. Perhaps she had the four-season version. She was a keen cyclist, so I'm confident I've made the right choice to keep out the summer (autumn ?) downpours.

Anyway, on the way home the weather kindly gave me the opportunity to test out how waterproof they area and they coped pretty well.

We're off to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France this weekend in London. If we get any decent photos I'll post them up. Back on Tuesday, then it'll be just three 'working' days to go !

The route !

I might at one point have thought that it would be quick and easy to book accommodation for my 22 nights away from home, if I did I was lacking a little foresight. Nevermind, a lack of appreciation of the probable difficulty of things should come in handy over the next couple of weeks. The accommodation is almost all confirmed now, so here are the stopping off points with notes in parentheses:

16th July - Penzance;
17th July - Penryn (via Land's End & Lizard Point);
18th July - Liskeard (via St.Austell);
19th July - Crediton ( possibly via Dartmoor);
20th July - Cheddar;
21st July - nr. Gloucester;
22nd July - Penkridge ( following the Severn for most of the way);
23rd July - Penkridge ( feet up );
24th July - Altrincham ;
25th July - Thornton, near Bradford ( via Holme Moss & Holmfirth, possibly);
26th July - Hawes ( via Skipton & Wharfedale) ;
27th July - Carlisle ( possibly via Buttertubs Pass & Tan Hill );
28th July - Sanquhar ( via Dumfries);
29th July - Brodick, Arran ( via the ferry from the mainland );
30th July - Port Ellen, Islay ( via the ferry from the mainland );
31st July - Port Ellen (distilleries);
01st Aug - Kilmartin ( via the ferry back to the mainland );
02nd Aug - North Ballachulish ( up the West Coast via Oban );
03rd Aug - Fort Augustus ( via Fort William & the Great Glen cycle trak );
04th Aug - Cromarty ( via Inverness );
05th Aug - Helmsdale ( up the East coast ) ;
06th Aug - Thurso ( via the Strath of Kildonan );
07th Aug - Thurso ( via Dunnet Head and John o'Groats );

The total mileage covered should be somewhere between 1100 and 1200 miles, with the longest day being around 85 and the shortest being almost exactly 0 (rest days). Thanks to all of my friends and family who are kindly putting me up for the night.

There are various bits and bobs to sort out now, not least some final tweaks to the bike and plotting my route between stops.

Many many thanks again to all those who have kindly provided a donation.

Cheers,

Mat.

Getting better

We've been away on Holiday at Penmaen on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. Despite increasingly wet weather we enjoyed a day long walk along and around lovely Oxwich Bay on Tuesday, a half-day walk at the fantastically windy Rhossili on Wednesday followed by an afternoon sheltering from the downpours at The Mumbles - only 50p to walk the pier. We came home a day early on Thursday when the rain looked to have set in for good.

I've made up my mind as to the route I'll take once I reach Scotland. I had a vague idea that I could travel across to somewhere south of Glasgow and then catch a Ferry in order to take a route to the East of Glasgow/Edinburgh. After reading through Phil Horsley's route suggestions this seems like a goer. If I've not taken too long to get there, the Ferries there & back work out and there's cheapish accommodation, I'm hoping to pop over to Islay for half a day of Distillery visiting - which would effectively be a rest day !

However, I'm dithering over how to start ! Need to decide soon or I'll be sleeping under the stars.

At least I'm getting a bit more used to the new bike, and cycling with a load. Had a lovely run today of about 60 miles, which wasn't entirely flat, but still gives me a little more confidence. At the end of the day the backside is okay, only 1 knee is giving me any grief and I don't feel like I imagine you would if you'd of spent the day on the back of a rodeo horse. I feel happy now to plan to cover 60+ miles on the less hilly days, which should provide more time to enjoy the hillier ones. Snapped a couple more taster place names.

Todays thanks for water go out to the lady at the Bosworth Battlefield visitor centre, and thanks for directions and added-value historical revisions to the chap at Barwell.

Cheers,

Mat.

Farewells

It was my final day at work on Friday 15th. My colleagues very kindly gave me some leaving presents, two of which are pictured here on the left. I've no doubt the book will come in useful, but I'm not expecting to be travelling fast enough to warrant the use of the horn, cute as it is. The other present was a goodly value of vouchers for use at a local bike shop - I've not decided how best to spend them yet, but when I do I'll pop a note on here to let people know.

I think I've made a bit of progress in getting used to the LEJOG bike, with a quick ride during the week and a longer ride this morning with panniers full to the brim. I set off today at 8.30am, to see what sort of progress I could make with an early start. Unfortunately, my destination, Belvior Castle, was closed when I arrived - I was too early !. So progress was good enough for me to miss out on tea and cakes. I'll perhaps not be in such a rush to get out of the door during the holiday.

Still on the way back home I got my first opportunity to take a photo of bike near funny, for me at least, place name. This obviously won't have the element of suprise for locals, but I'm hoping to snap some corkers further from home.

Overall, I'm feeling a little bit more confident now about covering 50 - 60 miles per day with about 10kgs of luggage on the back.

First Dry Run

I'm thinking that I may have left the 'training' a little late. For various reasons, this weekend was the first time I've ridden my End to End bike fully laden. Rather than just have a quick run around the block to see how things felt, I decided to have a mini-weekend tour. The journey started in Loughborough late on Saturday morning with a trip to Penkridge - a large village between Stafford and Wolverhampton. On Sunday I came back to Loughborough. Total distance for the trip was about 110 miles, but this felt a little bit harder than I'd expected. The pace was around about 10 m.p.h on average, which was fine, but my legs now hurt in ways I've not experienced before (not after a bike ride in any case). Nevermind, it'll all come right on the day/week/weeks/months (?).

I know its pointless, as they'll most likely never ever read these words, but I just want to say thankyou to a few people who helped me out with water during the weekend, including the slightly reluctanct chap in the pub at Packington (nice club sandwhich), the kind lady in Blithbury who provided it from her garden hose and the publican, in the pub whose name I can't remember, at Worthington. I was also lucky to get free entrance to the Curborough Sprint for half an hour or so, during the practice session for an even that afternoon, and found that tea and 'triple' (bacon, sausage & egg sarnie) were delicious. Its people like this who, although they don't know it yet, will make the ride possible.

So, plenty to work on before the big day arrives on the 16th.

First Post !

Starting on 16th July I'll be cycling from Land's End to John o'Groats. The tour will take between 2 to 3 weeks, covering somewhere between 50 - 80 miles per day. The total distance covered will be over 1000 miles. The exact route is yet to be decided, but it should take in: Lizard Point; Dartmoor; Cotswold Hills; Peak District; Yorkshire Dales; Scottish Highland (lots of) and Dunnet Head. There are a lot of beautiful places to pass through, so the pace is going to be leisurely rather than heroic, but either way its going to be a fantastic challenge.

Prior to the ride I'll post updates on my preparations here, and, somehow or other I'm hoping to provide an update on the ride at least every other day.

The trip has provided me with an opportunity to try to raise some money for the Parkinson's Disease Society, for which a fundraising page has been created on Justgiving at:

http://www.justgiving.com/matslandsendtojohnogroats

the aim is to raise a £1 for every mile ridden. If you're able to, we'd very much appreciate a donation.

If you've arrived here after kindly providing a donation , many many thanks again.

Cheers,

Mat