The day after

Yesterday started off quite well, a massage to my sore leg left it feeling great, the thought of only 65 miles to go, the thought of being able to relax tomorrow, my exited family, all spurred me on.

Then it rained.

It continued to rain for the next three hours, whilst I toiled up and down very steep hills, the miles seeming to go by extremely slowly.  By lunchtime, I had got less than halfway.  I rang Amanda for some moral support and as usual she gee'd me up, they were almost at Penzance, getting ready to welcome me to Land's End.

Then the rain cleared, the sun came up and I had a massive ten miles downhill stretch to Penzance.  By the time I got there, it was bright blue skies, and a sign saying "Land's End 8 miles".  Nearly there.

I caught up with another cyclist, Dave from Leeds in Penzance and we cycled together.  At this stage, the wind was over 20mph and directly into our faces.  Dave suggested he cycle ahead to protect me from the wind, which was fantastic and meant we raced along to the End.

About a mile out from Land's End, Amanda and the boys, James and Ted were waiting by the roadside, on their bikes.  The four of us rode the last mile together, one final procession.  A fitting end to the adventure, as they had been the difference between success and failure.  They had remained unfailingly positive and  supportive.  Without them, it just wouldn't have been possible.

We'd made it!



1008 miles.

Over 350,000 turns of the pedals.

57,750 feet of climbs.

More than 60 litres of energy drinks.

64,000 calories burned.

At times it was very windy, at times it was oppressively hot, at times it rained heavily.  Some days were easy, some hard, but all were extremely enjoyable.



What have I learned?

1. Scotland is very windy.
2. People are almost universally nice, wherever you go.
3. Nearly all drivers are considerate of cyclists.
4. Mainland Britain is an incredibly beautiful place
5. I have the best family in the world....

29 July

No words today, just a picture.  Final post soon...

28 July

Well, almost there.

A tough day this one.  Uphill initially over Dartmoor, long stretches of upwards incline and yes, the wind was back.  Back with avengeance.   20mph, diagonally into my face.  Felt just like the first day.

Added to this, I was still very nervous about my leg, lots of stretches and massage had left it feeling a lot better but I was still anxious it might deteriorate today. I needn’t have worried, it remained sore all day but none of the severe pain of yesterday and it feels fine as I write this. 

Dartmoor was severe but quite impressive.  Huge views over Devon and Cornwall.  I even saw some of the famous ponies.  Onwards I went to Princetown, the site of Dartmoor prison, then it was downhill towards Plymouth.  Getting through Plymouth wasn’t as bad as I had expected, plenty of cycle lanes and crossings meant I made my way without incident to the Torpoint Ferry, where after a short wait I crossed the water to Torpoint, then onwards towards Polruan, where the campsite is. 

This last half of the ride proved just as much as a challenge as the first part, with strong winds and plenty of hills. Still, my legs kept up and apart from a minor hiccup at the end, when I went to the wrong campsite, I arrived safely, to prepare for the final stage tomorrow.

No pain, anywhere.

Nearly there now...

27 July

Today started really well, albeit under the shadow of heavy rainstorms with potential thunder and lightening.   I decided to set off early, in the hope of staying ahead of the bad weather.  The first twenty miles was great, down through Somerset towards Devon.  Lovely scenery and villages with thatched roofs.  Then a right turn at Somerton took me towards an unexpected development.  

The Blackdown Hills run along the Somerset and Devon border.  I’d never heard of them but the road I took went directly over them and was quite steep, for five miles.  Still, up I went, enjoying the scenery and into Devon. 

Then a long downhill through some more lovely villages towards Exeter, my eventual destination.  The rain hadn’t appeared.  Everything was going great.

I arrived on the outskirts of Exeter in good spirits, only two days left after today.  

As I cycled around Exeter, I developed some sharp pains in the back of my right leg.  I stopped and stretched and they settled, but came back again a mile of so later.  I decided to take it really easy and the last five miles of so took ages, but, with only two days left, I didn’t want to risk any injury.

As I sit here, there is no pain and I had a chat tonight with Shona Eyre, our local physio who didn’t seem too concerned and gave me some very good advice for stretches tonight. It would take something really serious to stop me at this stage, but I’ve still got my fingers crossed for how I feel in the morning.

Fowey tomorrow, then the final push to Land’s End.

Nearly there....

B score 1. 

26 July

Good day again, today.  67 miles, a stinker of a hill in the middle but a sunny day and some great sights.

I woke up early again, clear blue skies and quite warm with no wind. 

Ideal.  

The first part of the ride took me down the Wye valley, along the banks of the river Wye. This was quite magnificent, great views and gently downhill to Chepstow, right past the race course.

From Chepstow, I made my way towards the Severn Bridge via a huge cycle path alongside the M48.  This took me across the Severn Estuary, from Wales back into England.  Then along to Avonmouth and skirting the western side of Bristol into a park, the grounds of Ashton Court.  Then over to Long Ashton and towards Somerset, with the Mendips awaiting. The countryside was lovely, the sun shining, I had no pain and felt strong after yesterdays easy day. 

Then I came to a small village called  Chew Stoke, turned a corner and saw a huge climb ahead. Five and a half miles later, I stopped climbing to be greeted with stunning views of Somerset in the sunshine. Then largely downhill, through Wells and into Glastonbury.

And all before lunch. 

Another afternoon spent with my family.  

Only three more days to Lands End. Could I do it?

B meter reading 2.  

25 July

My official ‘rest day’.  Just 45 miles of rolling hills through Shropshire, Hereferdshire and into Wales.

I felt remarkably good this morning, on waking.  No aches, no pains, raring to go.  We camped in the grounds of a pub and had a great meal there last night, then back to the van where I had another good sleep.

We had decided I would set off quite early today, the destination Monmouth and after leaving Bucknell, I made good time and arrived in Monmouth at 12pm.  The ride was great,  with gentle hills and descents and arriving in good time, meant I have spent a fantastic afternoon in the sunshine exploring Monmouth. Nothing of note, really, a short sojourn into Hereford, but otherwise just lovely countryside.

 As I write this, I am outside the van, the sky is blue, it’s 23 degrees and I have a beer in my hand.

Yesterday seems so long ago.

B meter reading 2

24 July

Today was tough.

Eighty miles, relatively flat until the end, but I really felt it today.  Aching all over, feeling tired and yes, my backside got sore.

I had slept well last night, a good nine or ten hours and woke feeling not too bad but after about twenty miles, everything started to hurt.  The worst was a splitting headache but my back legs and neck were also very sore.

Now there are many challenges to cycling over 70 miles a day, but a major one is reaching a point where it is easier to stop than to carry on.  This happens every day; halfway up a hill, into the wind, when you get over eighty miles.  At these points, I get through by setting small goals; make it past that tree, to the next corner, one more mile.  These are individual challenges which have punctuated every ride so far but today I faced a more general challenge.  Today it was easier to stop the whole thing.  The goal today was to get to the end of the day.  I discovered today that this is as much of a mental challenge as a physical one.   This is particularly true when you’re on your own on the road.   There is no one to gee you up, no one to moan to, no one to tell you not to be so soft. 

Several things kept me going today.  The ladies in a small shop in a tiny place called Hanmer, my best mate Nick, a group of RAF guys in a village called Clun, and the unerring enthusiasm and support of my family.

I arrived at Hanmer after about twenty odd miles of lovely countryside, through Cheshire and briefly into North Wales.  It was great to leave behind the endless urban landscape and be back in the fresh air, but tough going nevertheless.  I had a bad headache at this stage and my legs were quite sore, so I thought I’d just get some painkillers and load up with water.  They immediately knew I was on my way ‘End to End’, as this shop is apparently used my numerous cyclists doing the same thing and their encouragement really perked my up.  Half an hour later, the aches in my legs had eased, the headache was gone and I was feeling much better.  I then went further south, out of Wales and into Shropshire towards Shrewsbury, a beautiful town where I had a great lunch on the river side in the sun.  

Whilst I was eating my lunch, a text came in from Nick.  Nick and I go back a long way, to University.  A friendship which has lasted over thirty years.  He texts me every day to encourage me.  He has tried really hard to get over for these few days to ride with me but circumstances have prevented this but his moral support really spurred me on today.

From Shrewsbury, it was rolling countryside through numerous lovely villages back towards the Welsh border and then down further towards Bucknall where my family were waiting. My wife, Amanda had been texting support all day, as usual, and this also makes a huge difference. Almost there, I arrived at another small village called Clun where a large transit van was parked with several cyclists around it.  I stopped for a chat and found out they were traveling John O Groats to Lands End too.  The only difference was they were climbing all Three Peaks along the way and had just come from Snowden today.  That kind of put things into perspective a bit!

After a chat, I left them on their way to Hereford and set off the last eight miles to Bucknell.  After going through the village, I turned right across a ford then right again.  I was met with a 25% gradient!  This is all you need after 78 miles, but up I went, then a long downhill to the campsite, and to my family, the most important people who keep me going.

Given I am now in some discomfort, there will be a B meter.  Scale of one to ten.  One is no pain, ten is unable to sit down.

Day nine score: 4