A few photos from the second week

Leaving Delamere - day 6

Lancashire

Charlie powering uphill

Slaidburn YHA

The tandem express - heading up to the Cross of Greet

Last lunch in England

Scotland!

Loch Lomond

Heather on Rannoch Moor

Simon and Joe heading to Glen Coe

Quiet roads

Ken leaving Whitebridge

Fort William

Suidhe viewpoint - 400m

Race?!

Broken spoke...

Sunny Scotland - The Crask Inn

Lunch at Lairg

Tongue SYHA

Last day...

John O'Groats!

The end of the road..

Group photo - thanks to the drivers!!! You've been great.

Van packed up and ready to head back south

Thank you Trant Construction! We couldn't have done it without your kind donation of a suppot van :)

Day 13 - Tongue to John O'Groats

It seemed appropriate when the day started wet and windy, very similarly to how we started our ride 13 days ago.

There was definitely an air of excitement in the group as we set off, although also some nervousness as we were aware the last day was going to be a tough one. We started on a steep hill climb through the woods out of tongue to rejoin the coast road. We all thought we'd made the wrong decision in wearing our long leggings and jackets as we approached the top, however as soon as we were on the flat  and the wind was gusting we were quickly changing our minds again!

The road undulated its way over to Thurso, there were a few big undulations, I went so far as to state we were not undulating we were in fact cycling up mountains, big big mountains, and many many smaller ones, so we were pretty tired by the time we reached our final lunch stop in Castletown. We quickly ate our pies and drank our tea and lucozade, trying not to hang around too long and get cold in the rain.  We met a friend of molly's from work, and their adorable dog and baby, this kept me very happy :) 

We pushed on for the final 25 miles into wind and rain. We took a detour up to  Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on mainland UK and had to battle the most ferocious winds to get there. Our average speed out was around 8 mph, but our return was a speedy 20 mph!

The final few miles went very swiftly, the wind was behind us at last and we were all very excited, me and molly made up new songs everytime we saw a mile marker, the songs weren't that great or imaginative, but they kept the excitement levels up.  We sprinted into John O'Groats at about 3 o'clock, all very happy. After many many photos we set off on our bikes once more to tick the actual most north western point at Duncansby Head. On our ride up here we clocked over 1000 miles. We were greeted at Duncansby Head by molly's work friend Andy and his wife, son and dog with bottles of fizz, yay!

We returned to John O'Groats to pop open the bubbly and swig from the bottle in the car park, classy.

We're now all about to head out for a final meal together before starting our epic journeys home tomorrow! Thank you to everyone for supporting us, sponsoring us and reading this blog!

Day 12 Evanton to Tongue

Our penultimate day started with another broken spoke, this time on Kens bike. Luckily this was just outside the bunkhouse, so we helpfully sat on the comfy sofa out of the drizzle while the boys fixed it. We had a couple of miles along the flat to warm up before the first hill. The rain soon stopped and we were back in the beautiful Scottish countryside.

Cadha Mor presented us with one of the finest vistas in the whole of Scotland! This was our first stop after a good blast over the moor on a nice single track road. We descended into the valley and through Bonar Bridge which was the start of the next long incline. We made good progress, with no incidents all the way to Lairg.

Lunch was rather leisurely today and consisted of pies, bagels, chicken, chocolate and winegums. We'd scoffed as much as we could and it was still only just gone midday. With 38 miles to cover in the afternoon, we were all reasonably confident that it would be an early finish. However we hadn't taken into account 3 puncture stops!

It was a steady climb after lunch up to the Crask Inn, which must be one of the remotest pubs around. There wasn't anything for miles. The 'A' road we were cycling on was single track with passing places. It was a great ride. We stopped to take more photos. This was the start of a succession of 3 punctures in 12 miles, which slowed our average speed. All fell to the tandems front wheel (now a clear leader), which was quite frustrating! On the last fix we used electrical tape on the rim for further protection which seemed to do the trick.

Another climb lead to the final descent into Tongue on the north coast of Scotland, our resting place for our final night...John O'Groats tomorrow. Very excited about finishing this epic journey and hopefully clicking over 1000 miles!

Day 11 - Fort William to Evanton

The day dawned dry and with patches of blue sky!! Ben Nevis loomed on the horizon, but still was in its cloud duvet.

We headed off up the Great Glen, admiring the view as we went. After a little while we split into on-road and off road groups as we tackled both sides of Loch Locky. The off road variant was relatively smooth at first, a few bumpy parts. We, the off roaders, descended back down to the Caledonian Canal, and followed the 'tow path'. I say tow path, but it resembled more like a Blue graded mountain bike route. I'm not sure if my Dad will ever take my word for the route choice again.

After a stop at Invergarry to regroup, we headed off as one group to Fort Augustus. The day's main hill loomed ahead, all 400m of it. It went without too much of an issue, and we were greeted with an awesome view at the top.

After an exhilarating decent (where an interactive physics experiment concluded even with enthusiastic pedalling from normal bikes, a free-wheeling tandem goes quicker downhill then anything else), we stopped at Whitebridge for lunch. We thought it was downhill to Inverness, however the road proved more undulating then we thought.

20 miles and a broken spoke later (bike still ridable, thanks to disc brakes), we arrived in Inverness. After a quick stop at a helpful bike shop which fixed Heather's wheel, we were on our way, over the Kessock Bridge and picked up the National Cycle Route 1 north.

We have been enjoying spotting the wildlife as we've cycled up the UK. However, a shrew wanted to get a closer look at us by darting between several bikes. A few screams later the shrew emerged unscathed.

Dingwall appeared on the horizon, and after sampling the delights of all three carparks in search of the toilets, we left towards Evanton up a devil of a hill.

A few of us still had a bit of energy left, and as usual this ended up as a competitive speed study. Again the tandem came out top on the flat and descents, though the normal bikes had the advantage on the ups.

Our accommodation soon appeared, and we dived into another great dinner.

87 hard miles covered as we crossed from west to east Scotland, with only two days to go!!

Simon

Day 10 - Dunbarton to Fort William

Today started out cloudy and dull as we left behind the delights of Dunbarton. We continued to follow yesterday's cycle path up to Loch lomond avoiding all the traffic. The seemingly dreary weather actually provided perfect conditions for cycling, cool but not wet and at last a relief from the wind.

The path took us through a field of fresh cow pats which Molly failed to navigate around and sprayed all over Charlie. We stopped briefly just at the south of the loch to use some of the most complicated public loos I've ever come across. About 20 minutes later,after a near miss with the cleaning cycle and much confusion, we set off round the Loch. The traffic free path continued, although it didn't take long for the tandem and myself to give up on the path and head for the smoother surfacing of the road. After a stonking 20 mph stint along the A82 we arrived at Tarbet for the first stop with the van. Before long the others rolled up and we all tucked into our first round of snacks. With only 25 miles on the clock we had to set off pretty sharpish.  The route continued along the road, although unfortunately the smooth surface was no more. The road continued around the loch for a few more miles before starting our first climb of the day. We climbed steadily to Crianlarich where we had a mini descent before completing the climb to our lunch stop. A small lunch was consumed as we all knew there was more climbing ahead of us.

The afternoon climbing gave way to fantastic views finishing up at Rannoch Moor, at 1142 ft above sea level.  The views just got better and better, by far the most amazing cycling I've ever done. The top was a bit windy so we didn't hang around too long before starting the long descent through Glen Coe. The headwind meant we didn't pick up any fantastic speeds, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride nonetheless. We stopped at glen coe visitor centre for some coffees then pushed on for the final 20 miles. I was a bit nervous of the last section as the adrenalin of the hills wore off and thought it might be a long slog to the end. However we got a really great pace on and were in fort William in no time.

Myself, molly and jesse did a quick booze run, listening to some fantastic fifties swing on the way, and came back to a delicous curry.  Longest day over, and only 3 more to go. Dingwall here we come.

Day 9 Moffat to Dunbarton

After a great nights sleep in our mansion...it was back on the saddle for our 9th day of cycling. It's crazy how a 72 mile ride is now a short day, we were all quite relaxed by the thought of it... Simon announced over breakfast that "it's all downhill apart from the ups" which lifted our spirits even higher.

Bandaged and ibuprofened up, the tandem duo climbed steadily to the days high point after 12 miles. The knees are taking a battering! The rest of the team took turns to play 'windbreak', we're now a well gelled team and know each others strengths and weaknesses.

We stopped for a well earned break from the wind at Abingdon services...tea and snacks were consumed. It was cold but no rain. The next stretch flew by, the tandem took a turn at the front on the flat and downhill sections.. We then came to a road closed sign, the van had to turn round and take a huge diversion. Fortunately for us the footpath alongside the road was ok, so we carried on as planned.

News then came in of a puncture...the 4th of the trip fell to Erica in the support car! The van went to assist and left us riders to our own devices for lunch. The Blackwood garden centre cafe ticked all the boxes...bacon & egg butty, cake and hot chocolate - good find Simon. Now for the section through the middle of Glasgow, a daunting prospect (if we didn't have a local in the team!)

We avoided all the major roads and weaved our way along the river and through parks which was a welcome surprise. News in from the support team; car all fixed and back on the road. We stopped for a mid-afternoon break by the river, but not stocking up on snacks from the van at lunchtime meant we were back on the road quicker than usual.

There were a few bollards, barriers and chicanes to deal with along the sustrans route...some tricky maneuvers on a tandem! The road surfaces have been noticeably worse today, sore bums all round. We all made it through Glasgow safe and sound..even over the patches of glass. The Dunbarton Travelogde came sooner than expected and the ravenous bunch tucked into pasties, pies, scotch eggs and wagonwheels. Day 9 complete. The evening was spent relaxing, bathing, watching Wimbledon (come on Andy!) and eating out at a pub...tomorrow is our longest day.

Day 8 - Grasmere to Moffat

The day dawned as the last day finished, raining. But it's the Lake District, so what should we expect?!

We headed over Dunmill Raise and headed around Thirmere. With the rain still coming and going we headed out of the Lakes over nice, quiet roads with good views to Welton where we met the van for the morning break.

Carlisle proved fairly straightforward as we headed to Longtown for our lunch stop by the River Esk. The weather was now sunny but the wind strengthening in a highly unfavourable NW'ly direction.

With lots of team riding we made it over the England/Scotland Border and up to Moffat, though the wind made 10mph near impossible at times. However we were greeted with a great overnight stop at the Wells Road Centre (see photo). With so many rooms including a table tennis room and football/basketball hall, it kept us amused for hours. We couldn't ask for a better place to rest our legs after 85 hard miles. Roll on tomorrow, the first full day in Scotland!!

Simon

Day 7 - Slaidburn to Grasmere

The day started out incredibly wet and windy with a steep climb up to the cross of greet. The tandem ran into trouble very early on, about 50 metres into the climb, when the chain got stuck between the spokes and the cassette. Joe thoroughly enjoyed being able to use his toolkit and engineering expertise to put it all right. With the tandem fixed we continued the climb and 6 miles later on we were at the top, all very wet and windswept. For the descent we quickly split into two groups; those with rim brakes and those with disc breaks, the weather was too wet and slippy for us road bikers to brave any high speeds, whereas the mountain bikers were far more confident. Joe was so confident infact he shot off down to the bottom and missed the turning we were meant to take! After some faff deciding how to regroup we eventually all ended up in Wray very wet and cold.

The rest of the morning went without any major hiccups and we ended up at Crooklands for lunch at 12.30ish. For the second day in a row we missed the van for lunch, or the van missed us, either way we ended up a few miles outside of the village on a wet and windy road. We took it in turns to huddle in the van to warm up before setting of for the final 25 miles of the day. At this point unfortunately Jesse realised his knee really needed to have a break, so he finished the day in the van whilst molly rode Erica's bike onto Grasmere and the tandem took a well earned break!

We had what was meant to be a relatively quick stop in Staveley to get my bike fixed, however the service wasn't quite as sharp as promised and we were hanging around for about an hour. We set off with my wallet feeling an awful lot lighter, and all of us feeling pretty dry and warm, however it wasn't to stay that way!

We were welcomed to the lakes with its classic weather but made relatively good progress through the villages. There were numerous showers and a lot of laughing at molly on her new bike. We got to the hostel at about 4 to find George and Jesse had very kindly brought all our kit in for us!

The evening in the hostel has been punctuated by a fire alarm, set off by a sneaky cigarette, the accused was insistent it was in fact her perfume that had set the alarm off...... So we all trudged outside to get rained on, again. We're dry for now, but none of us expect that to last very long! 

So our planned half day did infact take a full day, but I think we're all feeling relatively relaxed and pleased to have reached the halfway mark!

Day 6 - Delamere to Slaidburn

We left a very sad looking rolo (chocolate lab) behind this morning, he wanted to join us...it was nice to stay at home, no bed making! We set out through the Cheshire countryside with strong agricultural smells and made good progress to Warrington.

We stopped briefly to pick up some more ibuprofen gel to rub on sore knees before meeting up with my sister. Yet another group photo! We were soon back on the road and heading for some tricky navigation.

Urban cycling through Leigh and Bolton was a bit stop and start with endless roundabouts and traffic lights. We made it through error free and were greeted by hills and moorland.

A final climb to Belmont for lunch. In the zone, head down and pedalling hard, all 8 of us missed the van parked up outside a pub. We ended up a few miles down the road in a layby - the coldest place in England! Jo snuggled up in a sleeping bag, while a few others took shelter in the back of the van.

The afternoon saw us cycling through Blackburn, after a nice descent and a cycle path that led to nowhere.. One wrong turn after cycling over the Wainwright bridge was soon corrected and it was out into the countryside once again.

The sun was shining and we had a very pleasant afternoon, chatting away looking forward to our planned tea break. A shark was spotted in the river Ribble, perhaps an hallucination due to exhaustion... We climbed the hill, to find the tearooms closed! Our deserved tea and cakes were not too be.

Puncture no.3 fell to Jo's back wheel, nothing too dramatic this time.. She fitted her new sparkly inner tube, and we were soon back in the saddle.

The final hill was tough in the heat, we dropped down into a nice spinney gear and slowly made our way up. The views from the top were amazing. Going down the other side was exciting, some hidden potholes in the shade nearly threw some of us off!

We arrived in Slaidburn safe and sound. 6 days done, 7 to go...

A few photos of our trip so far..

Lunch at Corfe -  after an exhilerating descent

Dartmoor hills!

Harry the hairy horse

Leaving Cheddar

Tintern Abbey

Leominster - sheltering from the rain

Molly, have you forgotton something?

Day 5 - Leominster to Delamere

We rolled out of our beds hoping for another sunny, but cooler day in the saddle. However, gone has the sun and blue sky, instead drizzle had set in, and the forecast didn't look much better.

Nevertheless we set off from Leominster and started heading north dodging the spray off the people's tyres (sorry, I was one of the guilty ones without mud guards). The weather cheered up as we headed up the A49, and a quick pit stop at the Lazy Trout cafe gave our caffeine levels a boost.

After 12 miles of efficient chain riding, 20+mph cruising and creating a new calming feature on the A49, we arrived in Shrewsbury bang-on midday, and tucked into an enormous lunch.

The weather continued to cheer up as we set off after the break. With a little team riding we wiggled through the town and headed north again towards Wem.

A quick stop near Whitchurch and we were ready for the final stretch of the day. However one last bit of drama was to come when the tandem suddenly slowed down with Molly unclipping the front brake. A few seconds later there was a loud bang, and the front inner tube resigned from its job and released its air through a 15cm rip. New tube please!!

The last few miles wizard by, and we finished at Chez Thompson with another 85 miles under our belts. With a great dinner and drinks curtsey of Ann, we were ready for another day in the saddle.

Simon.

Day 4 - Cheddar to Leominster

We left cheddar this morning in blazing sunshine and quickly sweated off all our suncream with a sharp climb to Shipham. 

Progress was good through Bristol, if a little tedious as we ploughed along the A4.  We then dodged death battling with hgvs on a busy roundabout heading into Avonmouth, we all got through though and are still baffled by their lack of lane discipline! Just before heading over the bridge we said goodbye to Mrs Thompson and hello to Mr thompson as the van drivers changed over.

The Severn crossing was really quite exciting,  whoever heard of a bike lane on a motorway? It was jolly though and the bridge didn't fall down, an added bonus.  Before long we were at Tintern abbey for our lunch break, a lovely setting. I had a mini breakdown over lost sandwiches but all was resolved and we merrily chomped away before setting off on what I had been told was a flat afternoon.....

The afternoon was far from flat and really quite eventful. I can't entirely remember the order of things but we saw an articulated lorry stuck in a village which will keep the locals talking for years, we were tempted to stay and watch the recovery but decided there were still many miles to cover.  We then had a steep descent followed by our first puncture of the trip, on the tandem, where else?! Expertly controlled from 40 mph to a neat stop and a speedy inner tube change over.

We then had a horrendous finish to the day where the roads just seemed to go on and on, each time we reached a settlement we were hopeful it was Leominster, but alas it wasn't, until it was.

So here we are, 8 very tired and very full cyclists!

Day 3 Dunsford to Cheddar

We woke bright and early again, having survived the night in the spider infested wooden hut! We set off just before 9...a very steep hill greeted us. Navigating through Exeter went smoothly and we made good progress, but were disappointed by the lack of dogs in Dog Village. So much so, we missed a turning and took a 2 mile long cut.

We stopped for a cup of tea in Broadhembury, which gave us enough power for the beast of a hill that lay ahead. We had some very efficient peloton riding along the plateau and had an exhilarating descent into Corfe for lunch. Pork pies! Yum.

The afternoon was relatively flat and we flew along.. We met the van briefly in Somerton to refill water bottles and take on some more food before the final stretch to Cheddar.

We caused a bit of a tail back heading in to Street but eventually gave in and pulled over to let everyone past. We arrived in Cheddar just before 5pm, 83 miles further along.

Legs are aching, but nothing a good sleep won't sort out! Next stop Leominster.

Day 2 - Golant to Dunsford

We left Golant and it wasn't raining! However that soon changed a few minutes in, normal service had resumed.

We descended down into Fowey, and boarded the first ferry of the day. The hill on the other side was less than nice, but it was over soon and we got to enjoy some Cornish lanes, a bit more rain and minimalistic road signing.

After one slight detour we were made it to Looe, where we were greeted with the remains of a landslide. With a bit of advice from the locals we negotiated the road closure with a bit of bike lifting and stair climbing, not fun with the tandem.

We powered on to our second ferry, crossing the Tay and into Devon. On approach to the ferry terminal we were tooted by a passing car. After mistaken the reason for the hoot, we found it was fellow hostellers who kindly donated money to our charity, WaterAid.

We floated over the Tay and pushed on through Plymouth, causing a mini rolling roadblock as we travelled north towards Yelverton for lunch. The weather finally realised it was June, and the sun made an appearance. Despite the hills and the developing headwind we made over Dartmoor and descended down towards Dunsford, the end of our second day. With a few aches and pains we found the rustic hostel surrounded by trees.

60 Miles or so covered, but it felt like more. After a big dinner, lots of cake and use of the muscle massager, we were ready to do it all again. Roll on tomorrow!!

Simon.

Day 1

One day down, only 12 to go!

The day got off to a very wet but efficient start, leaving lands end at 9.05, having cycled down from our hostel in St. Just 5 miles away.

We were all very soggy within about 5 minutes, but we were all still smiling (I think).

The rain continued all morning and we just had one very short stop before meeting up with the van for lunch. We all ate a lot of cereal bars and bagels and then merrily set off on our way.

The rain eased off and we got to go on a chain ferry, which pretty much rocked my world.....

The tandem broke a rear casette due to the insane power of the jolly messe duo, so we had an unplanned stop in St.  Austell to visit Halfords. It was all fixed very quickly, in fact so quickly that I didn't have a chance to drink all my tea!

We set off on the final 10 miles up to Golant in very high spirits. The final climb was a bit of a killer but we got to the hostel eventually at 4.10.

Now both the bikes and riders are washed and very much looking forward to a tasty dinner :)