The last leg is the longest....

So tomorrow morning we set off on our last leg - at 72 miles long it's the longest of the trip and as the first 50 miles are hilly we have a long day of cycling ahead!

At 5pm the 'cafe' closes and the guy that 'owns' the John O'Groats sign (seriously!?) goes home - so if i want to get 'the' photo at the sign and stand a chance of seeing what Dad wrote in 'the book' in 2007 i'll need to get there in good time....

Wish me luck... it's going to be a long push to the finish ....  oh for a tailwind to help us on our way!

The end is in sight...

I can hardly believe that I've almost done it, but with 116 miles riding to go today and tomorrow and no more big hills (we did the last of the 'Big 4' yesterday) we're definitely on the homeward stretch! This time tomorrow we'll be donning lycra for our last ride and heading off from Tongue ... I do hope that we can finish in decent weather.

I've woken early this morning and been reflecting on the last 3 weeks - is it only 3? It feels like so much longer. We've travelled through the change of seasons which has somehow stretched it in my mind, seems so long since we were cycling all the way from Cornwall up to Lancashire in short sleeved tops with no jackets! And since then have had 'weather' ... although whilst we have had rain and cold we've been very very lucky - some trips cycle in rain every day .....  For the last 3 weeks my daily routine has been so simple -

Get up at 7am, Breakfast at 8am, Briefing after breakfast. Leave bags at reception. Cycle. Arrive at new destination, Shower/Bath, catch up with emails (if there's wifi), wash clothes, dinner, sleep.

Repeat.

The only variation has been the scenery along the way ... some days finish with a beaming smile feeling like it's been a breeze, some with a smile of relief that the hills have finished (for that day at least!). Yet every day has finished with a feeling of delight .... even on the hardest days there's been such beauty and scenery to wonder at.  I have to commend Bike Adventures for the route they've set, I know that Dad questioned it and he felt that it took in more hills than necessary - which it does, but it does so to keep us off main roads and i have to agree with their choices.  It's only Scotland that has had us cycling on busy routes (through the highlands where there is little other choice) and it prompted me to realise how lucky we were to spend most of the trip on quiet traffic free lanes.

So my first cycling adventure is coming to and end .... Dad has been so much in my mind as i've done it. I still remember my reaction when he suggested that we did it together - i totally ridiculed the idea! Oh how i wish we could re-write history. I would have loved to do this with him, or even talk to him about it and share stories! That's the thing i've longed for most... to chat to him about how he found it.

Way back in Cornwall, on the long tough day that i thought would never end, Geoff told me that at John O'Groats there's a book that people who have done the 'End to End' can sign. Since then i've been looking forward to finding out what Dad wrote in it back in 2007.

I do hope he signed it.

So with that it's time to get up and have breakfast and for the penultimate time clothe myself in more Lycra than is good for anyone - get on the bike and pedal...   you'll hear more of me later.

Have lovely days xxx

Scotland the .... Brave?!

Well here i sit in a hotel that has covered pretty much every surface in an explosion of tartan relishing in the warmth of a crackling fire and the thrill that discovering a place with Wi-Fi now brings!

So a few days to catch up on .... where to begin!

Well - leaving Moffat i felt quite daunted, we were not far over 1/2 way and had only 8 days to do the remaining miles, and lets face it Scotland is not known for being flat! The weather was also coming in - and 'Gale force' was a term frequently used in the local weather forecasts! So - the old courage was screwed back on to the sticking place and we were waved off from Moffat!

There was a choice of 2 routes from Moffat to Strathaven ... one about 10 miles longer and hillier than the other which was - shorter, flatter and boring (i.e. straight up the A74...) Well as you can imagine I was wholly tempted to plug into my iPod and trundle up the shorter, flatter, dull route ... and my oh my I am so glad that Rob told me not to. Saturday's ride was so gorgeous ... a 7 mile climb out of Moffat - but a long sloggy gentle one which was fine... and then a whizz down the valley through Tweedsmuir and Boughton ... absolutely beautiful! I was in a funny mood and sadly didn't take any photos... but spent my time relishing the beauty...   anyway we got to Strathaven and stayed in a great B&B - well - great restaurant with rooms! And then to Luss on Loch Lomond... but first to cycle through Glasgow ...  where the cycle routes are renowned for glass & punctures...

1st puncture of the day ... Nick mending his outside the People's Palace 

This made me laugh ... 

Glasgow preparing for the Commonwealth Games...  I think the picture on the left is the Commonwealth Stadium... or so i was told! 

It was a 2 jacket day (windy and wet!) ... and a day where Bradley felt small! 

  

Then Bradley fell foul to the puncture predictions... first one heading out of town on one of the beautiful cycle routes ... and the second one near to the Balloch marina heading up to Loch Lomond.. Luckily i wasn't cycling alone and there were many helpful hands! 

 And then we got to Luss and a B&B which overlooked the beauty of Loch Lomond... 

So after a long and tiring day of 6 punctures and 3 topples between us we were all delighted to be relaxing in beautiful surroundings. 

From Luss we pedalled to Connel... a ride that has been in my mind for a long time as it included the famed 'Rest & be Thankful' pass... a 4 mile long climb on the way to Inverary. I'm not sure why this particular climb has been on my mind so much as it isn't a huge one - a long gentle grind up the hill. Possibly because i remember Dad talking about it - maybe because the name makes me smile (and i always get it wrong and call it 'Thank and be Restful' which somehow i prefer!) Anyway later on in the ride we had a longer 8 mile climb out of Inverary ... and combined with the day topping 63 miles it was a long and tiring one. I hardly took any photos again, mainly because the weather was shocking and between battling the wind and rain & keeping out of the way of the truckers thrashing along the A82 it was a hairy scary day all around... anyway, we all survived to tell the tale and felt all the stronger for it! 

Bleak lunch stop!!! See the pelting rain in Inverary! 

Staying in Connel was a step back in time! Right out of childhood holidays in the 70's - does anyone else remember these 'babysitting' services?!  

And they're still in use in Connel! 

The ride from Connel to Fort William was promised to be an easy one - and at only just over 40 miles one of the shortest on the trip! With good weather (i.e. bitterly cold but only occasional showers) it was a stunning ride to Fort William. Combined with the delight at finding the Sustrans Cycle Routes were fabulous paved routes along old railway lines it soon became one of my favourite days cycling ... along the sides of Lochs ... and into Fort William... 

It felt good to have made it to the Highlands... we must be nearly there now!! 

Pretty sure this is Loch Linnhe ... or is it Loch Leven?! 

Now this is crossing over Loch Linnhe for sure.... 

Gorgeous moments along the cycle route!

Four Seasons in every hour... typical Scottish Weather! 

And then we arrived in Fort William where we found this chap waiting! 

Arriving in Fort William by lunchtime felt like we had an unexpected day off! So with some time to whizz into the shops, do laundry and have supper leaving this morning for the last 4 days of cycling felt very much like the 'last leg' had begun.

We headed out via 'Neptunes Staircase' a series of Locks on the Caledonian Canal built by Telford. It's a seriously impressive piece of engineering and as I cycled away after a good look around it I was left wondering what Dad had thought as he cycled by.  Before I left the B&B this morning the Oracle advised me to embrace the feeling of the ancients that had been along this route before me - it was good advice and took my mind out of the nonsense of the day (there've been the first bits of cliquey nonsense within the group over the last day or so)... and it was things like these examples of engineering that sent me thinking of the ingenuity that has been required over the centuries to work within this landscape! On the one hand one of the things i love about Scotland is it's natural majesty and the beauty that bears little reflection of human change ... and then there are these little examples of how ingenuity has worked out how to overcome the challenges of the landscape!

Neptunes Staircase...  

 First glimpse of Ben Nevis ... almost in view! 

 The Commando Memorial just outside Spean Bridge ....  as we passed here I was able to see how much fitter i've become since my training day back in June. Back then i was lamenting the size of the hills along the side of Loch Lochy ... today i was laughing at myself as i didn't even acknowledge them as hills anymore - merely 'undulations'! 

The two seasons on Loch Lochy .. above the rain coming in from the West .. below.. the fair weather to the East. 

It didn't seem like too long before i was past Invergarry and heading towards Fort Augustus and Loch Ness... where the weather continues to change every 2 minutes!

 Loch Ness in the Summer... at about 1pm ...

 Loch Ness in the autumn... at about 1.30pm... 

A pretty bridge just outside Invermoriston... 

And now i'm sitting by an open fire in a hotel in Drumnadrochit about to have supper ... and sleep... and then do it all again tomorrow !

3 days to go ... 171 miles left and lovely Stuey is coming to ride the day tomorrow...  Not long now xxx

... Flower of Scotland!

So here I am - in Scotland and it was a lovely (if slightly dull!) ride from Armathwaite to Moffat ... we crossed the border after 25miles and found that the wind (as ever a headwind!) had blown the sign over!!! .... so a quick krypton factor'esque moment of putting it back together and the 'welcome' that Bike Adventures had put up was back in place...

But .. before we got to Scotland 'Bradley' had a little TLC,  over the last weeks the gears have not been happy and the cables needed replacing... so rather than spending the day off trundling around the Borders finding somewhere to sort things out when we passed through Longtown in Cumbria, just before crossing the border I popped into Bike Seven where Shane gave Bradley some much needed attention... new gear cables, wheel bearings tightened.... brakes checked ... and discovery of wildlife being carried!!! I'd picked up a worm who was nestled on the back brake callipers!!! Big thumbs up all round - thank you Shane! 

So we entered Scotland feeling buoyant - and with warm feet as i've finally succumbed to buying some overshoes... and not just any old overshoes... but 'disco' over shoes! ... passing through Ecclefechan, Lockerbie and across the hills... group dinner to celebrate getting thus far ... and we bade a fond farewell to lovely Geoff who has had to leave us to go home ... a new 'sweeper' will be joining us tomorrow... 

Can he possibly be as nice as Geoff?! 

Anyway it's good to be in Scotland but no early celebrations yet - we still have 438 miles to go - and lets face it, Scotland's not known for being flat!! I've had a lovely rest day catching up with old friends ... and revelling in that delicious feeling of 'picking up again' ... where oh where did those decades go?! 

I have to be honest - the last few days have been really emotional ... coming up through Lancashire, Yorkshire & Cumbria left me aching to chat to Dad.  Maybe because the weather and the hills were tough - maybe because they are areas that Dad was very fond of...  maybe i was tired and emotional! I had a lot of time to think whilst i was cycling ... it was a good thing, but quite unexpected. I so wish i could compare notes with him ... 

So back in the saddle tomorrow... Come on Bradley - only 438 miles to go!!! Let's turn the red line black!!! 

xxxx

Milestones....

So today we tipped the halfway mark .... i think we're now at around 560 miles and 20 miles (ish) into tomorrow's ride we shall cross the border into Scotland! 

The last few days have been hard - lots of climbing hills in the Dales & Moors (i'm pretty sure that the Moors are thus called as when you wonder how many more hills there are there's just more, MORE, MORE!)  and it seems like we haven't had many of the delightful swooping descents or 'free miles' as i like to call them! But they're over ... and we're off to Scotland... and more importantly - a rest day on Friday!!   

Thank you to all of you sending me lovely messages, voicemails, texts.... i wish i could listen to them, it seems that we only ever stop in places with absolutely no phone signal ....! Who knew that whilst the depths of Africa have almost 100% coverage... big tracts of the UK don't!!!  So forgive me for not replying - i look forward to catching up when i'm in Moffat - which surely must have signal! 

In the meantime - sleep beckons .... and the delight that tomorrow i will cycle into Scotland and towards a day off! 

Thought you might enjoy this photo.... i was somewhat relieved to get to the B&B... when i walked in - cold, tired and determined to get straight into a bath - i found some of the team in the bar and they talked me into a pint of Scrumpy! 

... Having avoided it in Cornwall, Devon & Somerset ... I had a pint in Cumbria! 

 

Over Hill... Over Dale...

Tough tough couple of days through Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales - we seem to be constantly climbing ....  and the blustery rainy weather is making it hard work.

It's true what they say - 'the wind is your enemy' -

However at least the views are pretty .....

Shropshire & Cheshire ... and cheerleaders all the way!

LOOK!... I seems slightly odd to think that i've cycled all of that!! 

But before i feel too excited - i've still got a long way to go - we're over 1/3 of the way ... but still have another 12 days of cycling to go! And some of them are going to be a bit tough ... but let's not worry about them, the last couple of days have been wonderful - great weather, wonderful countryside and lots of friends/family coming along to say hi. 

We left Weobley on a heavy misty/foggy morning with one of Dad's friends cycling with us ... a serious cyclist who thinks nothing of pedalling hundreds of miles! It was good to have him along - pedalling at our / my much gentler pace and stopping for cups of tea along the way! The cloud kept lifting a little and tempting us with sunshine, the countryside was rolling and delightful. Apart from one long slog of a hill after lunch ....it was my favourite day - 

Until today! 

Well... what can i say of today other than i loved cycling it so much i could almost move here! The route felt flat but apparently it wasn't ... it was swooping, so that you could keep your speed and momentum up hills and swoop along ....  and then my own 'Team Coyne' appeared ... The lovely Lloyd Williams family came from Denbigh with banners and loud cheers and would appear in unexpected places waving and cheering! Then they'd pass in the car cheering me (& all of the others) along .... to find the next cheer spot! My heart was singing as i was cycling wondering if they would appear - we lunched in Tarporley and then i cycled off ... and was at my B&B by 3pm! 

My favourite day so far! 

 
Team Lloyd Williams Cheering beautifully!!!

Lost in wonder......

The ride from Chepstow to Weobley was really very very special.... the day started with a long and gentle whizz down the Wye Valley past Tintern Valley and up to Monmouth - glorious sunshine and wonderful wide views as we criss crossed the Wye... we stopped in Monmouth (birthplace of Father Rolls..) and then continued through orchards and farmlands.

It was our first hot day .... and the countryside was alive with farmers working away ... anyway shortly after 1pm i headed up Galway Hill... a long slog of a hill between somewhere pretty and somewhere lovely - thankfully it was shaded in part so i would occasionally 'pause' for a gaze at the view and cool down in the shade....

Well.... as i was having a gaze i noticed what looked like smoke rings coming out of the bushes - very bizarre - was there a teenager hidden in there refining his cool smoke-ring blowing prowess?!  I was miles away in a world of my own when i heard a voice say 'Ahhh you're lost in wonder aren't you!'... a farmer was driving slowly down the lane and i hadn't noticed at all!

We had a lovely chat - during which he said that he'd make a donation to Acorns on my behalf and went on our way ...  but during our chat we agreed that the 'smoke' rings must have been a plant releasing pollen -

Stunning!

... and on the other side of things ... wow there's a lot of road kill on the roads..

Worst so far a huge badger the size of a small dog ....  required evasive action!

We're up in the North Midlands tonight at Acton Bridge... 2 weeks to go and making progress! xxx

Mass photo fest ....

Will try to get them in order!

This was at 7pm ... with a few uphill miles to go on Monday .... the 'bad' day ..... but i was so happy to have left Cornwall!!! 

The last slog home on Monday night ... dusk fell and it was all about determination... 

Tuesday morning ... after a 7 mile slog uphill from Tavistock ... finally made it into Dartmoor...

Typical Dartmoor... heavy mist hung... just after this photo the Bentley roared past! 

 It wasn't long before the mist lifted and the blue skies reigned! 

From Left to Right - Geoff, Emma, James 

 They weren't wrong when they said animals in the road!!! 

For a brief happy moment i thought i'd made it to Scotland!!! 

 Crossing the River Ex - the locals were having some fun! 

 I never imagined i'd whoop with joy to see a 'The Midlands sign' suddenly it felt like we were making progress!!

 Leaving Devon & Arriving in Somerset.... there wasn't a sign ... so we improvised (James, Emma, Mike) Getting into Somerset felt like cause for celebration 'cause everyone says - "Cornwall & Devon are the hardest bit"

And so far... it's true  ... without a doubt! 

 

 Morning coffee in Somerset ... cyclists galore!! 

 The reason that going up hills is a good thing! 

 Happy times... at the top of the Quantocks... downhill all the way to the Somerset Levels... the first day that felt good! 

                            

James & Emma
                            
 Mike & Geoff

Ahhhh the view i have most of the time!!! 

 Or this! 

 

House-dreaming as we cycle through somerset! 

 It's true - the levels are level!