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!

... 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

Hey Ho Hey Ho it's off to Chepstow we go.....

OK ... one day when i get to a B&B that has wifi which works better than something reminiscent of the 1980's i will write properly and upload photos... however for now ...

We're out of Devon and through Somerset ... off to Wales today .... via the Cheddar Gorge.... YAY!

Judging from a couple of texts / phone calls ... i'm wondering if my last post was a little gloomy? ... i haven't had chance to re-read it but when you see the photos you will see (a) me smiling and (b) that whilst the hills were tough - the views were BEAUTIFUL!

We've been so lucky with the weather... more sun ahead today ....  and my lovely friend Charlie is coming to cycle with me.....

Here's what i've learnt ...

When a stretch is described as 'undulating' it means hilly ... when it's gently undulating it means 'still hilly' ... Climbs out of town means ' there's a really BIG hill' and when it says 'Climbs steeply' it's basically a command to 'get off thy bike and walk'!

I will write and upload soon ...

All is good.....

xxxx

PS.. B&B's very variable .... like the hills... this one ... GAAAHHHH!!! Step back into Hi-De-Hi land! I'm a winceyette nightie and jar of cold cream away from it's clientele!!!!

Cornwall... DONE... Devon .... almost done!

So i didn't post last night for one enormous reason..... I made it out of Cornwall alive, but i merely survived it!!! I don't think i conquered Cornwall in any way at all.... i finished cycling as darkness descended after 8pm  - and all i could do was shower, eat and flake out .... also there was no wifi or mobile signal, so had i wanted to post i couldn't ...

Fair to say - incoherence would have ruled!

I had a real battle with the ride yesterday - it was an uphill slog out of Perranporth and we seemed to spend the day climbing the steepest of hills ... and descending their cliff like counterparts....  glorious weather meant that the sun drained energy and a bad choice to have a milk shake at lunch prior to grinding up some grim hill out of Bodmin saw me sick a few times during the afternoon... I did in the end make it up to Minions (the highest village in Cornwall! Up on Bodmin moor.... ) and the last 10 miles home were hard won.

Yesterday i really doubted my ability to make it to the end ... the briefing in the morning had told us that once at Minions it was a long descent to the River Taymar which marked the boundary of Cornwall - but then 3 miles of steep climbs to the B&B...

Well...i hit a real low point in the afternoon after I was ill... and I was pretty much planning that i would make it to the bridge and then fold & beg for the support van to pick me up ... to be honest there were times when i doubted that i'd get to the river... But Jeff/Geoff (must check!) the amazing sweep rider
from Bike Adventures (who is pretty much my riding buddy as i'm the slowest in the pack!) is brilliant and sorted my head out! He also knew that a bottle of Coke & a flapjack at Minions would restore me! Also the combination of the descent from the Moor,  knowing that we'd done with Cornwall, and Jeff's wise words was enough to get me 'home' ... and when i arrived the rest of the team cheered me in ... it brought tears to my eyes ... was a lovely lovely feeling!!

Now i haven't mentioned the rest of the group much - shall do in due course, but i really like the feeling that sits amongst us... a great mix of ages - some couples, some cycling solo, young and old alike...  there's a lively banter and great sense of team spirit ...  or that's what i've felt for sure...

Right - the internet speed is woefully slow... was going to do photos but i shall do a mass photo upload tomorrow!

And on to Devon - Well.... a longer day if you go by miles, but i was cycling better today - the climbs were long and arduous but not so crazily steep (well the odd one!) ...  and there were stunning stretches of 'undulating' roads ...  it was tough to be only at about 20 miles by lunchtime and i worried that i'd be crawling in at midnight ... but the main climbs were the long slog up to Dartmoor.... which, when up there, is not flat for sure but somehow the beauty and the sweeping views made the hills less imposing ... (having spent a good proportion of yesterday walking really steep hills i was in the saddle a lot more today) .... and so many animals... sheep - cows - horses wandering around ... getting in the way (why was it always when you were descending to 'catch the next hill' they'd stop you in your tracks...) i don't know - it just didn't seem as painful.  The descent from Dartmoor was naturally a joy ... and then through lovely Devon villages.... some nasty hills ... but also some 'flying roads'... and then i whooped with joy when we crossed the motorway and saw a sign 'M5 - The Midlands' suddenly i felt as though we'd made real progress...

And tonight we all went for dinner... and Rob (Team Leader!) let on that we're less than 10 miles from the Somerset border ... Devon ... nearly done....

And now for bed... that's all a bit factual ... and i'll share photos and the entertaining side of things tomorrow ... but for now brain is only able to spill the beans and let you know that i am surviving .... ahhh and i thought that the world was perfect when i arrived at the B&B to find my ensuite had a Bath .... AND the owner would put a wash on .... there is no more that a girl could wish for!!

Oh ... but you must know this.... as i was slogging my way up to Dartmoor this morning in the heavy mist .... a 1920's Bentley flew past ... pretty sure it was a 3 litre but may have been a 4 1/2 ....  just like Dad's... felt like he was swooping past to say hi....

I promptly burst into tears... and then pushed on up the hill - it was beautiful!!

Day 2 .... Perranporth to Tavistock....

So this is what lies ahead for today .... wish me luck - there are some long long long hills...

But Dad always said that Devon & Cornwall are the worst days so .... bring on Thursday!!! Slow and steady i will be taking it (particularly up that vast stretch of 'up up up' from 25-35 miles!) ....

Weather's looking brighter than yesterday - it would be amazing to get up to Bodmin moor in clear weather ... but ... all will be good as long as there's no headwind!!! At least it looks like the last miles are better than yesterdays!!

Courage - Sticking post and all that .... will write tonight! xxx

Day One... and we're off!

It's time to sleep but i will write properly tomorrow... but for now ...

 The night before ... staying at Sennen Cove (beautiful!) the sunset didn't disappoint!! 

 This is like a 'first day at school shot' ... not only the nervous/anxious smile..

... but also the 'she'll grown into' look of the jacket!!! 

 Beautiful coastline ... 

But the hills... oh ouch the hills!!! 

 Yay! Look at that!!!! 

Perfectly named... almost 'home' ... little did i know that the last few miles had some of the worst hills! 

So ... Day One under the belt .... aching legs and feeling happy that i'm 'on the way' .... but a long long way to go ... so sleep now, and i'll tell you more tomorrow... 

(But thank you - thank you - thank you - for your messages..... haven't had much time this evening to reply to you all - was tied up sorting out the gear problems that Bradley's been having ... and having 'team bonding' dinner... but the messages have helped me up hills for sure!!!) 

xxx

As i was going to St Ives.....

As I was going to St. Ives I met a man with seven wives, 

Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, 

Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives, 

How many were going to St. Ives? 

Earliest traced publication 1730

There we go, the perfect thing to take my mind of the hills on Sunday!  

We stopped in St Ives this afternoon and had a lovely wander ... the sun shone ... the beach was full and it felt like summer was in full swing! Pretty little coastal town ... with a tradition of art ... we didn't make it to the Tate - but i did note it's location... 

I also noted that on a bike St Ives is best avoided ... as it's a long 5 mile uphill grind out of town ... 

Must have a look at the route for Sunday.....  xx  

Screw your courage to the sticking place.....

I can still remember how clever i thought an old school friends parents were when they wished her luck in her O'Levels with a quote from Macbeth....

Macbeth -              If we should fail?

Lady Macbeth -     We fail?
                              But screw your courage to the sticking place,
                              And we'll not fail.

I have spent the day today metaphorically 'screwing my courage to the sticking place' ... I'm now in Penzance with Mum - staying in a charming hotel  and as we haven't seen a flat stretch of road since Somerset the reality of 'Cornwall and Devon are the hardest bit' has well and truly sunk in!  I'm not kidding - i can now see that the first 4 days will be spent either grinding up hills or free-wheeling down them... none of the lovely speedy pedalling along in the sunshine! 

But it is beautiful here... oh so beautiful .... we stopped for a coffee in Launceston a sweet little town with a stunning church and a hilarious attitude to parking restrictions. It would appear that the cornish way is to stop wherever you like and let everyone else deal with the consequences which generally meant mounting the pavements and scraping along the walls...  and then we had a tootle around St Ives before landing in Penzance....  Tomorrow i shall meet the rest of the gang, be-reunited with Bradley and on Sunday we shall head off from Lands End.....  when the day's ride shall look like this .... 

Which whilst hilly doesn't look too awful .... on Monday however we shall start at sea level and fairly quickly (??? well.....)  be up at the highest village in Cornwall on the edge of Bodmin Moor... but for now ... one day at a time and i'm heading towards possibly the most beautiful bed i've slept in for a while.... G'night x

"May the mountains be levelled for you ...."

Is one of my favourite messages over the last few days ....  almost halfway to my fundraising target already and i can't tell you how special it is to receive messages of support ....   they come in all shapes and volumes from the loud yells of 'Go for it'... to the strong and determined 'You know your strength comes from the hills, they're not your enemy' ... I just know already that each and every one will be echoing around in my mind as i battle the miles....

Mid last week i got immersed in helping a friend sort out his invitation list for an upcoming art exhibition which i have to admit has been a welcome distraction from my growing nervousness! Whilst most of the country was finding respite from the rain during this (not so) glorious Bank Holiday weekend I spent my time chained to the computer building a database for a few thousand addresses or out on my bike battling wind and rain!

So - if you're in London around the 17th/18th September then go along to Charlie's exhibition at Gallery 27, Cork Street.  He's a brilliant artist and there'll be a massive range of work on show...

You see... it's been easy to hide my mind from my upcoming ride!!

If i'm honest whilst i am nervous about the hills (.... oh damn those hills!) .. and the weather's not looking good for the first week or so at least ... i am also getting excited! I am such a fan of this glorious country of ours - and i'm really excited about the beautiful routes that i'm going to follow... the crazy place names that will cheer my heart and just the Britishness of it all ...

I wonder what my fellow cyclists will be like... there's going to be 10 of us ... i hope they're nice!

And ...  already plans are falling into place for friends coming along to cycle a few miles - or meet up in a pub en route ....

I've always known that my first big milestone is going to be making it through the hills of Devon & Cornwall ... so it's great to know that for the first day out of Devon my mate Charlie will be joining me (no not the artist ... another lovely Charlie.... !) to cycle from Cheddar to Chepstow ... where his wife and another mate of mine from London will be greeting us!!! I predict i may be ready to have a mini little celebration ....

My Bike goes to Lands End ahead of me .... i drop it off at 9am tomorrow...

Then it's just bags to be packed and off I go!

xxxx

So the Olympics are upon us!

And before i disappear into the frenzy of delight that is they bring upon us  (i've been excited about this for months now!) i popped up to see Mum and say hi ...

It's not bad you know trundling about with a bike - the only thing that surprises me is that mine is always the only bike on the train!  However i'm not complaining...

So i (for the first time ever!) arrived at home on 2 wheels ... woke the (oh so effective?) 'guard' dog up as  i walked past his bed ... seemingly the crunch of wheels and feet on gravel wasn't enough to disrupt his doggy dreams! And flaked out ... yesterdays miles were many short dashes about town - i racked up over 30 overall but there were up and down to hampstead....  NW3 - Soho - For coffee with a friend from my old Edinburgh days... great to say hi! .... back to NW3 to pack a bag .... dash up to Brent Cross (over the heath - in the heat!!) and back to NW3 to pick up bag... then sprint down to Borough market with rucksack (too hot!) to meet dear dear friend for a long drink (we had a couple of hours to catch up with each other whilst she was waiting in between hospital appointments!) Lovely sunny chats and stories to share... and then a dash to Euston to get the train to Brum!

 Amazing selections of freshly squeezed juices at Borough Mkt! 

 Yep... that would be the Shard. 

Bike... resting awhile in between dashes! 

This lovely weather is tempting me out of bed whilst it's cool ... so this morning i was on the bike by 6.30 and heading out from Sutton towards Staffordshire to revisit childhood homes and schools!! It was a bright cool morning when i left and with a stash of Brasil Nuts in my pocket i crept out of the house. Why is it that the first few miles hurt so much more than the next ones? For a while i felt the call of returning to bed... but quickly enough the countryside and big skies won me over...

This last week of sun has got the farms running busy ...  between Shenstone & Chesterfield i was passed by a convoy of equipment heading out to the fields ... and a Land rover full of cheering men! ... i was slogging my way up a particularly long hill ... and their cheers 'You're almost at the top love!!!'  'Grab the wing mirror we'll help' ... boosted me on...  Made me realise how oblivious to the 'land' we are in London ... i'm guessing that they were off to start bringing in the hay?

At 8.12am this morning the nation was meant to ring bells to celebrate the start of 2012 Olympics ... (shouldn't it have been at 20.12 this evening?.... but anyway) ... as i left Whittington i decided that i could get to the Cathedral in Lichfield in time if i put my mind to it so i pedalled as fast as i could and got there by 8:06 ...  then a lovely lady arrived on her bike and asked me if i'd come to 'ring my bike bell'.... we both commiserated when the cathedral didn't ring out (nor did any other churches that we could hear!) so we stood and pinged our bike bells together!!! 2 other cyclists joined us ... and we had a cheery olympic moment!  We rang our bells for Lichfield!

Lichfield Cathedral... 

And then i turned towards home ... aiming to be back comfortably by 9am for breakfast when calamity struck....  whizzing down a hill (the very one i'd been cheered up earlier) I suddenly felt the chain go slack and assumed that it had (bizarrely) broken or come off - so i pulled off the road and had a look. Well - i have to admit i didn't really know what i was looking at, but it was abundantly clear that something was missing as the chain was slack and hanging off the rear derailer... I put my best engineering brain to it and couldn't fathom how to fix it so i did what all good girls do...

(a) Phone Mum and ask for a lift home....

(b) Phone 'The Oracle' and ask advice - despite my crazy descriptions of things he managed to diagnose that the 'jockey wheel' had come off - which confirmed that there was nothing i could do in a field to fix it!

Not a bad place to be stuck for 1/2 an hour on a sunny morning! 

So ... the bikes now fixed and 2 cycle repair shops are baffled as to how it happened .. a fair bit of  'never seen that before love' type muttering and now the piece is replaced and the original one winging its way back to Shimano - Yay to warrantys!

Now back in London i'm ready to get the party going for the Opening ceremony tonight - and head off to see the Horses Skipping tomorrow (that is the Int Team Dressage!) ...  But before i go ..

I have been thrilled by some of the support i'm receiving from around the Globe .. and the number of Dads friends - who've known me all my life - who are getting behind me! My Godparents from Park City will be in the UK in September so are coming to see me en route... and other friends from Baltimore have asked to be kept updated on progress...

So for you Kevin - I'm still not stick thin (dammit!) - i am definitely getting fitter - I will always hate hills - but i have mastered clippy shoes for the pedals!!!  I shall keep you updated!!!

Redhead pushes 2 wheels!!!!

Well ...well...well... I shan't be lamenting the weather in this post! 

Oh no - oh no - oh no indeed, there are far more important things on my mind!! Mainly the crashing dose of reality that came hit me full force yesterday when I went 'hill training' in and around Bath! 

Now I know that London is lacking in hills... And my cycle in the highlands showed me that cycling uphill for 3-4-5 miles will not be uncommon ... And I have no problem with taking a breather and then continuing the climb.... But I really didn't think that I'd be pushing my bike! 

After all ... I'm happy (well, tired & happy) cycling 40ish miles these days.. surely I can cope with a few hills?! 

Until yesterday... I combined 'hill training' with seeing dear dear friends who were full of encouragement as I headed off from their house in Bath towards Wells... As someone not known for her athleticism we were all having a good giggle .... And believe me it wasnt long before I was considering an early retreat!! My aim was to cover The 40 miles to Wells and back - with the promise of a photo of the Abbey to prove my arrival! Well it didnt take much before I realised that I'd only be taking a photo if I was planning a taxi home or a B&B!  Leaving Bath after 1pm I saw that I wasn't going to make Wells and be back for supper!! After 5 miles I was shocked at how tired I was.... Granted it was a long and very uphill 5 miles... But still - it was ONLY 5 miles!! Thankfully the views were stunning and everything about the ride (except the lack of engine!!) was beautiful.. But it was a sobering ride! Once I'd decided (after about 11 miles) that I was re-routing I left the main road and started dipping and climbing the country lanes in and out of the prettiest of Cotswolds villages. 

I spent an inordinate amount of time using the smallest gear-set and was shocked/gutted/defeated a couple of times when I 'escorted' my bike up the steepest part of the hills! 

 As luck would have it my new route bought me 'home' via Monkton Combe not far from my god-daughter's house so I sprung a surprise visit and had a lovely 'hello' and some cheery support ... Especially as we left together (Tuesday-ballet lessons!!!) with Anna-Banana yelling out of the car window 'Coyney you're going ##mph' ... Best cheer leader a girl could have!!! 

So my mind is focused... The old power/weight ratio is not all that it needs to be ... My head is not as positive as I need to be (when I see a long hills approaching a little devil in my head starts to tell me how 'there's no way' I'll manage it!!!!) ... And I have a LOT of work to do in the next 8 weeks. 

I knew it wasn't going to be easy .... Dad always said that the hills in Cornwall / Devon are tough... Yesterday it sank in and I had a vey big reality check! So time to up the ante on the training front ...and kick into a pretty severe diet ... The hills aren't going to get any flatter, but every lb that I don't have to drag up them will help!! 

As for the wretched devil in my head .... All ideas on how to shut it up / drown it out .. Much appreciated!!!!

A lot to catch up on ......

I see with shock that i haven't written since the end of May ... which means that i must rap myself on the knuckles... shoddy i say shoddy! All of which means that this will be a long catch up as i have been busy out on the bike! 

Indeed i can feel the progress - yay - i can indeed!!!! 

So.... the highlights .... 

At the end of May much of my cycling was in and around London and included ... whizzing around town to meet people for lunch .. breaking out my bluey white legs in lycra down at Horseguards for a cheeky lunch break with my dear Olympic torch-bearing friend .... I had hoped that the lovely weather would gradually transform them - instead they are being whipped with rain!! Much circling of Regents Park and around Hampstead ... a wonderful whizz through London on the morning of the Jubilee Pageant delighting in empty roads and feeling the atmosphere build as i got closer to London Bridge... and oh we were lucky enjoying the pageant amongst dear friends on a sheltered balcony - what a wonderful spectacle it was....  The cycle home was however wetter and windier.... 

I finished off my Jubilee celebrations by jumping on a train with my bike and heading North to Edinburgh ... i stayed in a wonderful wonderful flat for a few days on Gayfield Square and had a wonderful time re-visiting my old University haunts and catching up with a dear friend from long ago... i also discovered that cycling in and around London isn't cutting the mustard as far as training is concerned!!! 

During my trip i headed north to Loch Lochy (NW of Fort William) and cycled a circular route of 34 miles which will form part of Day 19 of my trip.... and i realised that hills can be 3 - 4 miles long!!! I had a wonderful (if cold and wet) day ... and it was so beautiful... but it hammered home that good old flat London with its stop-start cycling is not good enough for the trip... after 10 miles my legs felt as though i'd cycled 20.... but i made it the whole route and was particularly chuffed to complete the 3 mile long uphill stretch at the end .... 

 6 miles in ... soaking up the views.... 

 Pause for 'lunch' at Laggan Locks .... 

On the home stretch the weather was closing in .... 

Day 2 North of the Border and i was back in Edinburgh enjoying the amazing network of cycle routes that they have there. 27 Miles of coastal cycling heading West to the Forth Bridge (the engineer in me will forever get excited when i see it!) ... blowy weather and i was cycling head on into the wind all the way home....  had a real lesson in the power of the wind! 

Yep .... heading East from Leith ... it was dreich! 

Cut inland at Cramond ... beautiful! 

 Hmmmm..... Scottish idea of a cycle path?! Or maybe i've detoured off it!!!! 

 Heading home i found the most wonderful network of cycle paths running along what i later found out to be the old railway lines... all around edinburgh ... FANTASTIC! This is heading into town from Trinity. 

So two good days with decent mileage under my belt! Then on Friday before i got the train home i had fun exploring the city itself - cycling down memory lane as i visited lots of old haunts and favourite places.  Sadly the cold and the time pressure meant that i didn't stop and click too many photos but i had a wonderful spin around town.... 

View across to Arthur's seat from Carlton Hill.... 

Just love the Gardens in the heart of town.... looking up the Mound across the Galleries... scene of much Fringe fun and street theatre in the good old days! 

Since i've been back the stormy weather (i hate to admit) of the last week has sent me swimming more than cycling and i've only done a couple of 30+ rides... but it's all good and (when the weather's good) i am loving it! Hills hills hills are the focus of the next few months.... 

What have i learnt? 

• Buses don't always stop when they knock you off your bike!! 
• New mantra 'Hills aren't my enemy as they always come to an end.... Wind however.... ' 
• Layer up .... getting cold is exhausting.
• Dogs seem to love running at the wheels of a bike. 
• 60 miles a day is a long long way! 
• Stretch out... stretch out .... stretch out..... 
• Music is great for lifting the heart i have no doubt that this adventure will have me stretching my playlists! 

I'm not going to say too much and languish on the miserable weather we've been having over the last 4 weeks - but ... Oh - how i hope summer will appear soon.