03/09/2010 - AND SO IT BEGINS
Well well well (three holes in the ground) the challenge has begun! Max my little boy thought it was important that I didn't oversleep, so kindly woke me up at 05:30am and I was up just gone six.
Did all my final preparations and then went into Bromley with Mich (my wife, for those of you who don't know who Mich is) and Max and went to Costa for a coffee. An hour later I was saying goodbye and I have to admit there was a little lump in my throat as I left Mich and Max and my little boy was waving.
I met Pinhead at Liverpool Street station just gone midday and we cycled to Paddington. Lots of looks, pointing and laughing as Fathead and Pinhead strolled through the station in matching lycra outfits and cycle helmets with mohawks.
Pinhead started as he means to go on with a lunch that only top top athletes abide by
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| Pinhead with his special diet |
where as I went for a bagel, asked if I could have it for free as I was doing a charity bike ride and got a 50p discount!!
We put the bikes on the train and found our seats. 15 mins after leaving Paddington, we met Emily. What proceeded can only be described as a chess like Krypton Factor challenge, as she started to re-organise the whole carriage as she wanted to seat a Hen Do of 8 girls together and move them out of the quiet carriage. The whole operation was reliant on an unknown person not taking their seat at Reading. Luckily the person didn't materialise and the musical chairs began. I said that we would only move if they sponsored us, which they have promised to do. So Alex (Hen), Emily and co, you are in my blog as promised and photo is also on the site
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| Every girl's dream to meat 'famous' cyclists on her Hen Do |
For a while Pinhead and I wondered why they moved from the quiet carriage, as they were very quiet, bt as the wine started flowing, we had the joy of listening to a half hour conversation about a car allowance? and one of the girls saying Somerset in a South West accent about 192 times. Anyway, Good Luck Alex for your wedding and enjoy your Hen Do. PS, the time it would have taken you to get to Newquay, you could have flown to America.
The train was delayed, so we didn't get to Penzance until 8pm. We started cycling in the twilight, which soon descended into darkness which was fun to say the least in pitch black country lanes. Luckily we had both packed lights. Cornwall welcomed us with a couple of what Pinhead would call 'b@stard hills'
But we arrived safe and sound at the hotel in Sennen, just after 9pm and here I am now typing this. So time for a cup of tea and some shut eye.
Bye for now
Fathead
04/09/2012 - 50% COMPLETED
DAY ONE. Now before I continue, if you are reading this blog daily, each day, when you read the first two words, you must read them in a Geordie accent, just like Big Brother. So before you continue reading, go back to the beginning and practise by saying those first two words.
Excellent, so today the challenge started in earnest. Now you may be wondering how we have managed to complete 50% in the first day. Are Fathead and Pinhead super cyclists? Alas not, we have now completed 50% of the key landmarks, Land's End or as they say in Cornish ' Penn an Wlas' & Lizzard Point (the most southerly point of mainland UK).
Forgot to say in yesterday's blog that we didn't end up getting any food in the evening as it seems to be an unwritten rule that pubs stop serving food at 9pm. We bumped into 2 fella's at Penzance station yesterday who are also doing LEJOG and lo and behold they were staying in the same B&B as us. They said they went to the local pub last night and got there about 9.05 and were begrudgingly served a bowl of chips and that was it!!
Anyway had a good chat with them this morning and their names were Richard and, I for the life of me cannot remember the other chaps name, so I will call them Richard & Judy. They are Osteopaths and are doing LEJOG in 17 days. Nice chaps and we wish them good luck, and expect that our paths may cross in the next couple of days.
The good old weather report was accurate as always remember Michael Fish, 'There won't be a hurricane' we were promised sunshine, but as you will see from our photo by the Land's End signpost, me and Pinhead were both wearing jackets. I have now told pinhead that in any conversation that he refers to a jacket, he must know call it a 'Kenny' If you are a Millwall fan, you will understand why.
Anyway, whilst we were having the obligatory photograph, there must have been at least 6 over groups or pairs all arriving to start their LEJOGS.
The route to Lizzard point had a couple of lumps and bumps, but wasn't too bad, there was a 17% hill, but luckily we were going down the hill. En route I saw a sign saying 'Wild Camping, 1 mile' a little later 'Wild Camping, 500 yards' below another sign 'Toilet & Shower'. Now call me old fashioned, but that is hardly wild camping. I would also like to thank the Vauxhall Nova driver who decided to wash his screen as he drove past us at speed, I am sure the Halford screen wash will do wonders for my complexion!
When we got to Lizard Point, we ended up chatting to numerous groups of people and families and not one to miss a trick, I handed out some of our charity business cards and were promised by quite a few people that they would sponsor us. One group (mum, dad, children, Nan, Grandad etc) were very kind, took photo's and Nan offered to buy us both a cup of tea as well.
While I think of it, I would like to thank everyone who have posted kind messages on facebook either to me personally or on their own pages advertising this challenge, sent me text messages for good luck, or who have left me voice mails wishing me good luck and once again a massive thanks to everybody who has sponsored me. I am delighted to say that yesterday saw the £3k threshold broken, I feel very humble!!
We stopped for lunch at Lizzard, which involved a Cream Tea, Carrot Cake & Coca Cola; sugar rush and energy boost guaranteed! (see piccies)
Leaving Lizzard we were finally cycling North which was nice, this is where we met the undulating (sic) countryside. Most of the hills were long slogs, although there was one short sharp hill that just so happened to be called Raymond Road. We also saw a sign, which we just had to take a photo of. Chortle Chortle (see piccies)
I feel really good today. I haven't read Pinhead's blog yet as we have agreed to type our blogs up, post them and then read them, so there will hopefully be two perspectives on the ride. But I think, he struggled a little bit at the end. But I am sure Pinhead will have good days when I am finding it a struggle.
Pinhead was questioning my navigation skills as we rode up a very small narrow lane near the end of the ride and I must admit, I had my doubts, but the Garmin and my mapping did us proud and we arrived at what can only be described as a delightful B&B. Amazing views, jacuzzi bath. Terry the host sat with us on the Veranda made us tea and the 3 of us had a chinwag for half an hour.
We then sorted ourselves out and went to the local for some grub, a wonderful small country pub. One of the bar staff (Arran) was sporting a real mohican, maybe he did it in honour of us. It was a photo opportunity not to be missed (see piccies) and he also kindly offered to sponsor us. My ale of choice today with dinner, was a pint of Doom Bar from the Cornish 'Castle Rock' Brewery
Returning to the B&B we met Mindy, our other host and after having a good chat with her, she said not to worry about paying for the B&B. Considering they had already offered us our accommodation at a 50% discount, this was an extremely generous offer, so myself and pinhead will be adding another £12.50 each to our respective charities.
Anyway, today we cycled 109 kms and climbed 1302 metres, including yesterdays little bit of cycling our total distance to date is 138 kms and ascent is 1680 metres
Road Kill count today in alphabetical order
Adder 1
Badger 2
Blackbird 2
Kestrel 1
Partridge/Pheasant 2
Pigeon 2
Rabbit 5
UA (Unidentified Animal) 1
Wagtail 1
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Nice day for it |
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| Richard & Judy |
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| Down Sarf |
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| Divine Carrot Cake |
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| School Boy Humour |
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| The photo doesn't do the place justice |
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| Arran from the Bolingey Inn |
05/09/2010 - RAIN RAIN GO AWAY AND THE WIND CAN BUGGER OFF AS WELL
DAY TWO. (don't forget Geordie) We woke this morning and to put it frankly, it was pi$$ing down and it did so for the next 3 hours, which was nice.
Now today in terms of metres to be climbed, today was going to be the worst day and it was tough. I felt OK for the first 100k, but the last 20 odd kms really dragged, going up hill isn't fun, going up hill after 100k is really not fun, going up hill after 100k and into a headwind is really, really not fun!
Earlier in the ride we coasted down into a valley and came across the 'River Camel' now if you have read the 'About Us' section, you will know that some of Pinhead's mates call him Camel Toe, so once again, it was a photo opportunity not to be missed (see piccies). We were laughing and joking how we came across the River Camel, but our laughter was short lived because shortly after we hit the 'b@stard' of all hills. I don't even think a Camel would get up it, now I am not the fastest hill climber as it it, but with panniers, which incidentally I weighed before we started and they weighed in at 26lb, this was a tough test. At one point, i nearly crashed into the hedges as I went to power up a steep bit and with so much weight on the back of the bike, the front wheel came clean of the ground. If only somebody could have taken a photo at that split moment, I could have said yeah, hills were easy, I was wheelieing up them:-)
We had lunch at the Mason Arms in Camelford as I was wheeling my bike into the beer garden I was greeted by one of the friendly locals with 'F*ck Me that's a hair do and a half' he even thought that our Mohicans were our real hair poking through our helmets. After a quick chat, he took one of our charity business cards and promised to sponsor us. Jo the landlady gave us our drinks for free with lunch as well.
Leaving Camelford, we had a heart in the mouth moment when we saw on the horizon a bike laying by the side of the road and a bloke lying on the grass. We stopped and checked if he was OK and he woke from his doze and said, yeah just thought I would have a break as these hills are knackering, we had a strange conversation, as he said he was doing LEJOG and he would be in John O'Groats on Friday?, yeah right this is the bloke in Cornwall having to take a rest and he is going to make it to JOG in 5 days. I don't think he was the full ticket. And another thing, don't leave your bloody bike laying by the side of the road you muppet.
We started to cross Bodmin moor and big mouth hear, said well at it is raining and windy. Luckily the rain didn't materialise, but bloody hell the wind did. It is very annoying when you have to pedal down hill, and there is a lot of surface area on me for the wind to catch.
I felt like I was dogging today as I saw two butterflies mating in the middle of the road, maybe that is the thrill for them, the excitement of getting caught in public!?
There was nearly an addition to the roadkill count as a furry caterpillar crossed our paths, I managed to swerve to avoid it and shouted to Pinhead behind me who also managed to avoid it.
I also saw something today, that you would never ever expect to see, in fact you couldn't make it up. There were 3 hand made signs, 10 metres apart starting off with 'Please Take Care' then 'Blind Cat' followed by in road and they had even had a proper road sign of a cat made up (see piccies) I think the road sign should have shown the cat with a white stick or being led by a guide dog though, that would have been excellent!
At around the 90k mark we saw a Welcome to Devon sign which was a nice boost to know that we had managed to cycle the length of Cornwall.
After passing over a bridge over a body of water we had a lengthy conversation about the difference between a brook and a stream, and when does a brook become a stream. These things are important to know. So if anybody out there knows the difference (without WikiPedia) let us know. You can do so my adding a comment to the blog. Also it would be nice for any comments, so at least we know somebody is reading our blogs? Mich posted on my 1st blog, but no one else has since, sob sob :-(
Tonight's Ale was 'Legend' by the Dartmoor Brewery which washed down the roast Pork Belly on Bubble & Squeak nicely.
So to today's roadkill count, we have some new entries. Joint 1st new entry are Hedgehogs and Slugs at four a piece, we had a field mouse which was a surprise, our first squirrel and I am claiming an Ostrich! Now you know and I know that it was not an Ostrich, but it was a bird with a long neck, and despite it being only 6 inches tall, in it's flattened state it looked like an Ostrich. But I am going to have to resign myself that it will be added to the Unidentifiable Animal category. The rest of the roadkill in alpha order were
Badger 2
Blackbird 2
Kestrel 1
Pigeon 1
Pheasant/Partridge 1
UA 3 (including the Ostrich)
Distance covered today was 124.9kms and climbing was 1606 metres, so that brings our totals to date: Distance 262.9 kms. Elevation 3286 metres.
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Pinhead and his river |
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| Without this picture, no one would have believed me |
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| Lovely rustic bridge, the rest of the village was a dump |
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| I had taken my socks off, well I thought I had |
07/09/2010 - NICE WEATHER FOR DUCKS (EXCEPT TWO MALLARDS)
DAY THREE. It rained, end of blog!
Only kidding about the blog, but boy did it rain, ALL BLOODY DAY!! In fact I am going to dedicate today's ride to Marti Pellow, although if he had been with out us today, he may have renamed his group Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet.
I believe that the Met Office spend millions of pounds on technology to predict if it is going to rain. I use a far more simpler, yet just as accurate technique. There are two parts to this technique. Stage 1, look out of the window and see if there are clouds in the sky and wet stuff is falling. Stage 2, now this is the scientific part and I know it is true, as my mum told me. But if a cow is laying down, it means it is going to rain, today there were cows laying everywhere!
We left our B&B in Okehampton (which by the way was only one of two market towns to be mentioned in the Domesday Survey of Devon in 1086) at 9am, but didn't get cycling until after half nine. A trip to Boots for Pinhead and then we waited for the local bike shop to open, so we could put some air in our tyres using a Track Pump.
The first 30k was predominantly B roads and this is where I managed to reach my top ever speed on a bicycle, 67.4kmh which in old school is 40.2 mph. This was a pleasure and pain moment, the pleasure was going so fast, the pain was raindrops hitting your face. If you don't believe me, next time there is a torrential downpour, get in your car, accelerate to 40mph and then stick your head out of the window!
We passed through a village called Bow, it was proper Bow, I tell thee and there was a sign outside a pub saying '2 course meal for under a fiver, Tuesday to Fridays' The cynic in me reckons that the sign will be saying something different tomorrow. It was still raining
The annoying thing about today, and this may sound strange was a lot of the downhill sections. Some of the country lanes were not in very good condition, couple this with steepness and a raging torrent of water running down meant we were permanently holding onto our brakes to gingerly navigate down some of these roads.
Now I have a confession to make. Today I had to walk for a bit. Before I started I made a statement that as well as finishing LEJOG, I wanted to try and not walk up any hill and cycle up every one. However, I am happy to say that my walking was not up hill, but downhill. Due to the state of my brakes (see further down) there was one hill that was so steep and with the weight of not only me, but the panniers as well, and the torrential rain I had to actually walk down the hill.
Pinhead and I have decided to give the 'b@stard' hills names to help us recall them. So yesterday we had' Camel Hill', today we had 'Tractor Hill' where for a change a Tractor was stuck behind us rather than the other way round and 'Electric Fence Hill' I think that is the owners subtle way of stopping people leaning up against their fence!
Quote of the challenge so far came from Pinhead, as we topped a hill, I said ooh it looks like it is getting brighter, Pinhead retorted "that's because we are closer to the bloody sun" which really made me laugh. It was still raining.
We did manage to find a 10 minute window out of the rain, but this was only courtesy of a petrol garage canopy where we stopped for our first class lunch. For me this consisted of a hot sausage roll, a cheese and pickle sandwich and a hot chocolate. Surprisingly there wasn't a big queue for the Jet Wash?
Around the 60k mark, guess what it was till raining, I was coming down a hill and I said to Pinhead "I really need to change my brake blocks this evening", they were not brand new on the bike for the challenge and they had taken a real battering over the last couple of days and were pretty much down to the metal.
At around 80k I was coming down a winding hill, I was braking, but not much was happening. It was real squeaky bum time and the only way I could slow down was to make an emergency stop by dragging my left foot on the ground which ruined one of my overshoes. I said to Pinhead there and then, I have to change my brakes now, otherwise I am not going to make it to the B&B. Having to change your brakes in the pouring rain is not fun. I have a bit more natural padding the Pinhead and he gets cold very quickly, but even after this 20 minute stop I was beginning to shiver. I am glad I did decide to change them though, as I honestly do not think I would have made it down the next hill.
So kids if you are reading this and think your brakes need changing, listen to your uncle Ray and do them now, don't leave it until the last minute!
The last part of the ride was pretty painless, but it was still raining. We did pass one sign, which I thought was very good. It said 'Drivers Caution, Free Range Children'
We arrived at the B&B( in Somerset, our 3rd county) after being out in the rain for 8.5 hours, of which 6 hours 50 mins was cycling. Tony & Marina our hosts couldn't have been more accommodating, despite us trashing their place with wet gear everywhere.
After a shower, using the power of technology, I had a video call with Mich and Max, it was good to see them both. The little man couldn't quite work out how he could see and hear me but I wasn't there. He looked over his shoulder a couple of times, but he did wave at the camera when I said hello :-)
Tony then drove me, Pinhead and John, another guest (who happens to be a Geordie, maybe, I should get him to narrate the blogs) to a pub about 10 minutes away and the four of us had a nice meal. My ale of choice was 'The Barn Owl' by the Cotleigh Brewery. Typically, as we left for the pub, it had stopped raining and there was even blue sky.
I enjoyed today, I thought it was fun. Pinhead disagrees. I think the rain really got to him today and he struggled for the last 15k or so. But he is getting a lot stronger on the hills already.
Now the bit that you have all been waiting for, the roadkill count, I see from comments on my blog and on my facebook page that there is gambling going on which species will top the charts. Be warned, I have heard a rumour that the grandson of 'The General' of Watership Down fame has been caught on camera by the News of the World taking a bribe to ensure that lots of rabbits commit suicide!!
Anyway, it was 20k plus before we saw our first roadkill, probably because most of it had been washed away. There were another couple of new entries. 2 Mallards made a guest appearance and a fox got into the frame.
Making re-appearances were 6 UA's (the rain made them mush), 2 Hedgehogs, 2 Rabbits, another Field Mouse and I thought we were going to have a Badger free day, but alas there was one in the last 5k.
I also would like to apologise as I forgot a new entry yesterday and that was a frog. There was another frog today as well.
There will be no photos uploaded today as my camera doesn't work under water and there was no way that I was getting it out in this weather
Distance covered today was 109.3kms and climbing was 845 metres.
Totals to date: Distance 372.2 kms. Elevation 4131 metres.
Bye For Now
Fathead
PS. It was raining
07/09/2010 - DO I NEED MY PASSPORT?
DAY FOUR As I type this I am in a different country!! We have made it to Wales. We woke this morning to scattered cloud and sunshine. This put a spring in Pinhead's step straight away, in fact all day he was zooming down hills, attacking hills, it certainly shows that it can be mind over matter when it comes to endurance.
Incidentally, Pinhead will admit that his eyes are not the best. As he was looking out of the B&B's bedroom window this morning with blurry eyes, he asked 'Is that a mountain out there?' I replied 'Yes Pinhead, they built it overnight' he then said, 'oh no it is a chimney' I am not sure how he made it this far to be honest with his eyes so bad!
Once we had breakfast, we got to work on our bikes with the baby wipes, cleaning the accumulated crud of wheels, frames and chain.
We had a chaperone, or in cycling terms a domestique for the first 10k as Tony our host (see piccies) said he would like to join us and took us a slightly different route through the country lanes to Langport.
We then made our way through Glastonbury, Wells, over the Mendip Hills and then down into the Chew valley. Finally today we were able to appreciate and take in the scenery as visibility was a bit better, by about a million percent than yesterday (see picices) although the photos do not do the places justice.
During the first couple of days, as we have been riding down the winding country lanes, Pinhead or I have been shouting 'Car' if a car was was approaching from behind or from front to warn the other. Pinhead has now taken this to the next level. Even if we are riding down quite a major road, he is shouting 'Car'. Now as much as I appreciate his concern, I am fully aware that I am sharing the road with cars and he doesn't need to warn me every nano second. In fact today one of the two bastard hills we climbed today, I christened 'Car Hill' as Pinhead kept shouting 'Car' The other real toughy hill, I christened 'Invisible Dog Hill' we were obviously cycling past a large piece of owners land, a dog was going ballistic for ages, but we could not see it!
After my squeaky bum moment yesterday, Pinhead thought it was his turn to try and kill himself, we came down a hill and he shouted he could hear a tapping sound. We stopped, he checked his bike, couldn't see anything, so we continued. As we continued to whizz down the hill, he said he could hear it again, I dropped behind to see if I could see the problem and quickly shouted STOP. Pinhead had omitted to secure his straps on his panniers properly and the rogue strap was flailing around and tapping the spokes. If the plastic bit had snagged one of the spokes, I think Pinhead might have been added to the roadkill tally. I said to Pinhead that he was a wally (or words to that affect).
We passed over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and then onto the Severn Bridge, just as we started crossing into Wales, Mother Nature gave us a little reminder that she was in charge and the heavens opened for 30 mins. But this then gave us a rainbow over Chepstow racecourse and made the view even more stunning as we descended into the Wye Valley.
We had dinner in The Anchor Inn in Tintern and got chatting to a couple of fellas (Steve & Julian) who were cycling West to East, Land's End to Lowestoft. Before they left, they kindly donated £10 to each of our charities. We wish them the best of luck on their ride and thank them for their donations.
Tonight's Ale was Butty Bach by the Wye Valley Brewery.
The roadkill count was relatively quiet today. We have one new entry, a Raven and also a new category 'road stunned' as we saw a seagull sitting in the gutter. The rest included 6 UA's, 1 rabbit, 1 squirrel, 1 slug and a blackbird.
Distance travelled today 109.6 kms, climbing 1375metres
Totals to date: Distance 481.8 kms. Elevation 5506 metres.
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Tony our Domestique |
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| At the top of Mendips |
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| Chew Valley |
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| Clifton Suspension Bridge |
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| 3/4 the way up Car Car Hill |
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| You see that on the horizon, that's Wales that is |
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| North of the river and they still drive on the left |
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| Tintern Abbey, Wye Valley |
08/09/2010 - DAY FOUR - BONUS UPDATE - THE TWILIGHT ZONE
So Tuesday evening we descended into the Wye Valley, past Tintern Abbey and saw some lovely pubs and accommodation, but my Garmin said we still had a 4 kms to go. It hasn't let me down so far, so I followed the route I had plotted. We started to climb back into the mountains and eventually came across 'The Fountain Inn' Now they say first impressions count and our first impression wasn't great, eventually after knocking on various doors a bloke answered the door and said, yeah bring the bikes in, put them in the restaurant area, Pinhead said are you sure, but the proprietor (from this point on will be known as Johnny) said, oh we won't get anybody here on a Tuesday night.
We got shown to our room which was a box room with one single bed and one camp bed, with random velour headboards just wedged against the wall. Our bathroom was on the other side of the 1970's carpeted hallway. Delights included mould, a spider that had taken residence under the shower (as it obviously knew that the shower is rarely used), a used bar of soap with a pubic hair on and 2 inches of green water in the bottom of the toilet brush holder.
We quickly decided that maybe it would be better for our state of health to eat and drink somewhere else. Pinhead said he would go and speak to Johnny and sort out a cab. 10 mins later, Pinhead came back with a look of horror on his face. He was convinced that Johnny was an Axe Murderer, which I thought was a bit harsh, as I thought he would be more of a claw hammer man myself. Anyway, Johnny had tried all means possible to stop us going elsewhere. He said there was no wifi, but I found to secured wireless routers, we couldn't get mobile signals, he said that the public phone had a fault and when asked if there was any other phones, he said there was in his living quarters. So Pinhead asked if he could call us a cab. The bloke then went to the kitchen (not his living quarters) came back 5 mins later and said, sorry, no cabs available.
Luckily for us, but unlucky for him, another guest had just checked in and offered to run us back down to the valley in his van. Johnny did not look happy.
Whilst having a nice meal and beer down in the valley in The Anchor Inn (highly recommended) we found out from the locals that the Fountain Inn had gone down hill in the last couple of years, no-one drank there anymore, the local quiz team had defected and that the kitchen was shut down by environmental health. Begrudgingly, we made our way back to our accommodation for the night and 2 seconds after we had shut our bedroom door, there was a knock on the door. Pinhead and I looked at each other, but as I was closest to the door, I had to open it and there was Johnny to tell us breakfast was at 8am.
We locked ourselves in the room and then both had 5 minutes of uncontrollable laughter about the surrealness of it all. We both slept(tried to) fully clothed (cleanliness of the bed covers left a bit to be desired) with one eye open waiting for the 'Here's Johnny' moment, but as you can tell by reading this, we did make it out alive.
So as you can probably tell, it is not a place we would recommend. I am only posting this now, as we were worried that if I posted it last night and Johnny happened to read it, we might be currently in pieces in his chest freezer.
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| Exhibit A - Designer bedroom |
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| Exhibit B - All mod cons |
08/09/2010 - BRING ME MY BOW OF BURNING GOLD
PUM DIWRNOD (Try saying that in Geordie :-) After leaving Amytaville, we carried on along in the mountains for a while and then descended into the Monmow Valley, now the descent has to be the highlight of the ride so far. It wasn't our fastest decent, but it was long winding and we actually came through cloud!! We were that high up, we could see cloud cover lower than us and then we whizzed through it, it was bracing to say the least, but Pinhead and I both had a big smile on our face when we got to the bottom.
We stopped in a petrol garage to get a few supplies and they had Radio One on playing the Mark Ronson 'Bicycle' song that has the lyrics," I'm gonna ride my back until I get home" we had to laugh.
We made our way along the Monmow valley and then started a climb back up into the hills and ended up in a Village called Grosmont. We stopped at the village shop. This shop reminded me of Open All Hours. I wanted to go in and ask for a can of c..c..c..c..c..c, a can of c..c..c..c..c, a can of c..c..c..c..c..lemonade. But I am not sure the shop keeper would have got the joke. Whilst we were there, Pinhead was filling up the water bottles and got chatting to an elderly lady, Pauline who was on holiday from Lancarshire, she was with her dog Milly (see piccies). When she found out what we were doing, she opened her purse to give us a donation, but only had £1.60 in her purse. Neverless, she gave us an 80p donation each. Which has to be one of the kindest gestures I have ever known and we are both very grateful.
We then weaved in and out of Wales as we made our way up the border and then into an area known as the Golden Valley, we travelled along quite happily and then the Garmin was indicating a right turn and that is when we saw the dreaded road sign.... a 25% hill. (see piccies) By the way for the eagle eyed, you may notice that the 25% is going downhill, that is because we took the photo at the top once we had made it!
As you can imagine this makes the 'b@stard hill' list and it has been named 'Arthur's Hill' as there was also a sign saying 'Arthurs Stone'. I am proud to say that Pinhead and I both made it to the top without stopping or walking. We were going to go and look at Arthur's Stone, but it was up a long muddy and stoney track that wasn't really suitable for pannier ladden bikes. One thing I do know though, is that if the fable is true about the sword being removed from the stone, he damn well didn't cycle up the hill first as I struggled to get my water bottle out of it's cage let alone a sword out of a stone.
The countryside in Herefordshire and Shropshire is divine. So much so I would just like to sing
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green
And was the holy lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen
I would now like to share what it is like to be cycling LEJOG with Pinhead.
After just buying us both a Calippo lolly, he then states, 'ooh these are cold' No shit sherlock.
Cycling along one of the country lanes. PH 'Is that a deer over there?' I then take a look, 'No Pinhead it is a metal sheep trough'!?
After finally arriving at today's B&B, which is lovely, split level accommodation, and I have a double be for the night :-) the following conversation ensued
FH: "well we have made it to Shropshire"
PH "is that in Herefordshire"?
FH "No"
PH "Is it in Glouctershire"?
FH "No Pinhead, we are in Shropshire, Shropshire is a county"!
PH "Oh I didn't know"
FH "The clue is in the shire"
PH "Oh right"
I am glad I am in charge of navigation, otherwise we wouldn't have left Cornwall yet! If you want to know where we are in the country, we are currently in Bishops Castle which is about 20 miles south of Shrewsbury.
Tonight's Ale was a pint of Shropshire Gold from the Salopian Brewery. Had a Chinese tonight as well, lots of carbs in rice :-)
Road Kill Update.
Today saw a new big time player. Frogs!! There were 11 squished frogs, 1 frog made it into the the road stunned category and one little fella makes it into the road survived category, he joins the furry caterpillar, of which we saw another one today. Today's other casualties were pheasant 2, hedgehog 1, starling 1 (new entry), blackbird 1, squirrel 1, blue tit 1 (new entry) and sparrow 1 (new entry)
Distance travelled today 125.7kms climbing 1466m
Totals to date: Distance 607.5kms Elevation 7072m
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Morning mist in the Welsh mountains |
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| Open All Hours |
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| Pauline, Milly & Pinhead |
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| Bloody Steep |
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| The view from Arthur's Hill |
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| Back in England again |
09/09/2010 - CHASING THE POT OF GOLD
DAY SIX. I awoke having the best night's sleep so far on the trip, double bed with a firm mattress; no we didn't share, Pinhead had the single. Also, duck feather pillows and duvet. I would personally like to thank all the naked and cold ducks that kindly donated their feathers it was much appreciated last night. Brekkie also included black pudding for the first time this trip which was warmly welcomed by yours truly.
For the first 35k we stayed on the English side of the border and then had our final dip into Wales a village called Crewgreen. So as we have finished with Wales, quick language lesson, I now know that 'araf' means 'slow' in Welsh, as I have seen it enough times painted on the road. Today's climbing was all in the first 20k and there was only one hill that was really testing, although as the days go on, some of the hills seem a little less difficult than the first couple of days.
We then went through the Ness villages, Little Ness & Great Ness, based on Pinhead's geographical knowledge, I am surprised he wasn't looking for Loch Ness!
We then had our first opportunity to use the travel fishing rod that has accompanied us so far on the back of my pannier rack. We crossed the River Severn and just had to stop. So we had 10 minutes each of trotting a float down the river, we had a couple of knocks, but alas no fish caught yet and no stories of the one that got away.
After my brake pad escapade, I have now designed a new braking system. Cars have ABS, my bike now has Ray BS. This entails me intermittently pressing and releasing my brake levers to slow down the bike rather than slamming on the brakes, which not only causes heat and friction but also causes strain on the old hands. Pinhead tells me that car ABS applies and releases the brake pads about 5 times a second, my ratio is more like 5 times every 10 seconds, maybe not as fast, but just as effective and also my system is not reliant on electrics or a car battery. I will be patenting this when I get home :-)
We passed through the town of Wem, home of the Eckford Sweet Pea you know! Here we popped into the local bike shop (Jack Davies) Pinhead managed to get his gears adjusted by the chap working there (Mark) as they were making a bit of a noise, he had a look at mine, but said they were fine. We also stopped at the local tea shop, Wem Treacle Mine for a lovely cuppa and a slice of cake.
Once again Mother Nature showed who was in charge and 15k from our destination, the heavens opened and these were big rain drops that were hitting us really hard when we were coasting downhill. Now I know that a brick wall does not have feelings, but if it did, I imagine this is how a wall would feel if it was getting pebble-dashed!
What the downpour did do though was produce the brightest rainbow I have ever seen. As we came over the crest of the hill, you could see where the rainbow touched down (piccie again doesn't do it justice) and I am sure I saw a Leprechaun.
Just prior to arriving at the Cholmondeley Arms, we passed a stable and gallops which I have subsequently found out is Tom Dascombe's stables.
Tonight we had a divine dinner, I went with the Grilled Mackerel with Gooseberry Puree and Chorizo on Toast, only to find that there was no more Mackerel, so had the Smoked Trout Scotch Egg with Lemon Creme Fraiche & Apple Salad, this was followed by Slow Cooked Neck of Pork stuffed with Spinach & Black Pudding on a bed of Greens and Apple Mash and for desert I had a cheese board. We don't always eat like this, but the options were too good to turn down. This was all washed down with a couple of pints of Westwood Eastgate at 4.2% and I had to ask for the sparkler to be taken off, as they like their ale frothy up here!
Road Kill update. A new entry, although Pinhead and I are not sure if it was a Bullfinch or a Chafinch, the regulars were Blackbird 1,Fox 1, Hedgehog 2, Pigeon 1, Pheasant 2, Rabbits 5, Sparrow 1. I was nearly roadkill, but I knew nothing about it, read Pinhead's blog for more info.
Distance covered today was exactly 100kms (or 100.03 to be precise), climbing was 936m
Totals to date: Distance 707.5kms. Elevation 8008 metres
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Great way to start the day |
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| What shall we call this village, er Anything? |
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| Any toilets round here? |
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| My horoscope said I was heading for Greatness? |
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| Farewell Wales |
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| Gone fishing |
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| Thanks to Mark at this Wem bikeshop who sorted Pinhead's bike |
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| You cannot beat a nice cuppa! |
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| No Jeffrey, Bungle, Zippy or George to be seen anywhere! |
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| South Cheshire CAMRA pub of the year 2010 |
10/09/2010 - SIMPLES
DAY SEVEN (I hope you are keeping up with the Geordie accent)
So we have been cycling for a week now, not non-stop you understand. Today was an easy day, we didn't even reach the 100k mark today. We left Cholmondeley under overcast conditions and made our way North through the Cheshire countryside. We tried to blag a discount of the previous nights food but nothing was forthcoming. Incidentally, Pinhead and I both agreed that the toilet paper was not as good a standard as some of the previous places, more like triple velcro rather than triple velvet!
En route I am convinced I saw a Meerkat, Pinhead's eye sight, as I have already mentioned is not as good as it could be so he wasn't sure, have a look at the piccies and see what you think.
20k into the ride the rain started. Just before this there was a field with about 40 odd cows in, and only 2 of them were standing. Now these are my sort of cows, despite the overcast conditions not being in their favour, they were taking the gamble and standing up.
We stopped for a cuppa just before half way at a small services and the kind lady behind the bar threw in a couple of choccy bars for nothing. Can't beat a cup of rosy and Yorkie!
As we peddled on, Pinhead and I were chatting and I said it will be nice to see the Welcome to Scotland sign. Pinhead said he was looking forward to that as he had never been to Scotland. I replied that I had been to Inverness, Edinburgh & Glasgow. Pinhead then said he had been to Glasgow!! Seriously, I am not sure how this boy goes to bed at night without a map guiding him there :-)
We passed through Warrington, over the River Mersey and then the outskirts of St Helen's and into Wigan. So we are now in real egg-chaser country, where men are men. No man bags or exfoliating face scrubs required round these parts. Anyway, Pinhead said he needed a pee, so we stopped at a Petrol Garage. They told him that the pub over the road had toilets. Off he went obliviously into the pub. Now as I told him afterwards ignorance is bliss, but it takes a brave man dressed in lycra wearing a mohican helmet to walk into a working man's pub up north. He said that as soon as he walked in, everybody in the pub stopped and looked at him and he had very quick and a very nervous pee. I was chuckling away!
We went past Haydock Racecourse, a photo opportunity for me. Most people who know me, know that I am up to 60 odd of the 92 football grounds and 20 odd of the 59 race courses. So although this doesn't technically count, at least I know where it is.
We stopped at Ashton Cycles to top up our tyres with air and after 7 days Pinhead finally admitted defeat and bought some mudguards. A definite 'I told you so' moment for me. I think Pinhead wanted to kick me in the nuts :-)
We also passed by the Heinz factory, unfortunately no photo opportunity was forthcoming.
So we are now North of Wigan, just south of Preston. I am now getting a serious nose bleed being this far North.
Tonight's Ale was Natterjack from the Southport Brewery. I had to have 2 pints tonight as the barman was so quick on the draw on the first pint, I didn't get a chance to ask him to take the sparkler off. So I had one creamy pint and one 'normal' pint. The second pint tasted so much nicer!
Our B&B is very nice and Katy has even taken our smelly and damp cycling gear and giving them a proper wash in a washing machine. As they would say down South, "That is a right touch"
A quiet day on the roadkill front - 1 Badger, 1 Blackbird, 2 Pigeon, 2 UA's. The Cheshire/Lancarshire wildlife must be road savvy!
Sorry there isn't more piccies, conditions and scenery weren't very forthcoming!
Distance covered today was 95.25kms, climbing was 636m
Totals to date: Distance 802.75kms. Elevation 8644 metres
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Is that Alexander? |
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| 4 days to early |
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| The pub where Pinhead ran the gaunlet |
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| A trustworthy Bookie if ever there was one |
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| Pinhead checked, but he was all clear |
11/09/2010 - IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
DAY EIGHT Breakfast this morning was continental stylee and porridge, which actually made a nice change from the cooked breakfasts. Kate the owner delivered freshly laundered and dried cycling gear, and the dryness met to Pinhead's standards! We left the B&B with promise of showers and Mother Nature never breaks a promise. We had to cycle through Preston running the gauntlet of city centre Saturday morning traffic in the pouring rain.
I am proud to say that I am faster than a Porsche Boxster as I beat it away from a set of traffic lights in Preston, admittedly after about 3/4 second and 3 feet the Porsche began to get the upper hand, but let's look at the performance figures. A Porsche Boxster has 280 BHP, I have about as much BHP as a three legged Shetland Pony with a lisp.
Eventually we got back into the countryside and took advantage of brightening conditions to spend another 10 minutes each fishing the Lancaster Canal. Again no little fishies were forthcoming.
We cycled through Garstang which apparently is the World's first fairtrade town, I will need to find out what that means?
When we cycled through Cockerham, there was an official cycle event going on, so the high street was lined with railings to hold back the crowds, we got some funny looks as we cycled through there I can tell you!
We then cycled up through Lancaster and could just see the sea on the horizon on the left hand side. We carried on northwards through the outskirts of Carnforth and through Borwick, where we stopped at a pub for a cup of tea and a sandwich.
We carried on until we had to navigate a small section of the A590 on the outskirts of the Lake District, this is where we encountered our 2nd cycling event of the day, this time it was a Time Trial. For those of you reading who do not know much about cycling, these are the guys that have solid back wheels and sperm shaped helmets. A couple of these guys managed to overtake us, but only because we had wind resistance against our panniers!
We then officially crossed into the Lake District. The scenery was fantastic and the sun began to shine. The last 4 or 5 miles took a bot longer than anticipated as a twinge just above the right knee, that I felt just after our tea stop developed into being very painful and i think I may have a slight tear in my quad? So with rest not an option, lots of deep heat tonight, painkillers and taking it a bit easier tomorrow
Tonight's Ale (with the sparkler off of course) was a pint of XB at 4.0% from the Hartley Brewery
Road Kill count
New entry: Rat x 1
Usual suspects: Hedgehogs 4, Pheasant 1, Squirrel 2, Blackbird 1, Pigeon 1. UA's 6
Distance covered today 107kms, climbing 884m
As we are half way through the challenge it is time for a stat attack
Total Distance covered:
Metric 909.75kms
Imperial 565.3 miles
Copenhagen in Denmark is 584 miles from London
Total Elevation/Climbing
Metric 9528 metres
Imperial 31259 feet
Mount Everest is 8848m (29029ft) high
We have been out on our bikes (from when we leave a B&B to when we arrive at the next B&B) for 63 hours and 28 minutes. Of that we have been physically cycling (moving) for 51 hours and 26 minutes!
PS. When compiling these stats, Pinhead came out with another classic. When I mentioned Mount Everest, Pinhead asked "Is that the highest mountain in the UK?" I don't think they did Geography at his school!!
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Fishing the Lancaster canal |
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| Pinhead finally caught something, the tree behind him |
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| Our own little chain gang |
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| It would be nice if they could celebrate cycling with smooth roads |
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| Going to ride my bike until I get Holme :-) |
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| Nice of the locals to put a sign out for us |
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| Will he be the lucky one to penetrate the egg? |
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| Come by bike to Cumbria |
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| Glorious cycling country |
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| Lake Windermere |
12/09/2010 - COUNTRY NUMBER THREE
DAY NINE I woke this morning with a stiffy....my knee was really stiff. After breakfast as we were sorting ourselves out, Rhoda one of the owners approached us and gave us a tenner towards our sponsorship, this was on top of the £12 discount she had already given us on the accommodation costs.
I knew today was going to be a slower pace today as I needed to preserve the right knee and just to really test the knee we climbed over 400 metres (1312 feet) in the first 11.5kms (7 miles) But, the climb was well worth it as we made our through the Lake District and up to the Kirkstone Pass along the top and then down. The down was long, winding with multiple signs of 13% & 20% descents. To say it was exhilarating would be an understatement and despite us not being in Chesire, Pinhead and I were grinning like the cats from that region at the bottom and we both immediately agreed that the descent was absolutely amazing.
If you have been to the Lake District, I am preaching to the converted, if you haven't been, you really must. I will definitely be bringing Mich and Max here, even though the first time she will know about it, is by reading this blog. We skirted along the length of Ullswater going through lovely villages such as Glenridding. By the way if you ever want Damsons, go to the Lake District, every 100 yards are signs for them!
Travelling North (which is probably a good idea if you are aiming for John O'Groats, we made our way to Carlisle. Along one of the country lanes I saw a sign "DIY Manure". Now I am not a country lad, so this sign bemused me somewhat, do you go and shit in the field yourself? Seems a strange concept!
We stopped for a cup of tea at the Blue Bell pub in Dalston, I asked if they served tea, they don't say Yes up this far, they say 'I'
Dalston is on the B5299. This road is the longest, straightest single stretch of road that I have ever been on either by car or by bike. I think Pinhead wants to kill me as for probably about the 40th time this trip I broke out in the Hollies song 'The road is loooooonnnng,
We then went through Carlisle over the river Eden on a bridge aptly named 'Eden Bridge' and pushed on cycling along a B road that runs next to the M6, we went over the River Esk and then as far we were concerned we were in Scotland, although for a while Pinhead and I were worried as there was no 'Welcome to Scotland' sign to be seen anywhere. The bottom lip was quivering thinking there was no glory to be had in a photo, when there it was. Big smiles all round and lots of photos. It feels a massive achievement getting this far, but I know until I get to John O'Groats I will not be happy.
The B&B we are staying in 'Bojangles', great name run by Susan is delightful and she kindly put all our cycling gear in the washing machine for us, this is getting a bit of a nice habit.
The Ale tonight, is alas not on Hand Pump :-( It is a pint of Belhaven Best. I am typing this in a small local hotel that allow non residents in for dinner where I have had Haggis and where we have also found wifi so I have had to let my standards slip.
Today's roadkill count Rabbit 2, Hedgehog 3, Blackbird 2, Pheasant 2 UA's 5. I am also sad to report that one of the blackbird,s we actually saw it happen. It shot out in front if us across the road and was unable to avoid a Citreon doing 50ish coming the other way.
Todays distance 95.5kms (59.3 miles). Elevation 1164m (3818 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1005.25 kms (624.6 miles). Elevation 10692m (35078 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Approaching the Kirkstone Pass |
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| Ullswater |
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| Pitstop |
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| The road is loooooooonnnnnnnnnngg |
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| Scotland welcomed me |
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| Pinhead was welcome to |
13/09/2010 - SUNBLOCK NOT REQUIRED
DAY TEN The weather report said rain and as I found out shortly after we left, my usual scientific way of checking the weather doesn't seem to work in Scotland. The first stage of looking up and seeing if there is wet stuff falling is null and void because the rain comes at you horizontally. The second stage of looking for cows lying down is null and void because Cows in Scotland are proper hard nuts, they don't do lying down whatever the weather. Apparently amongst the cow community in Scotland lying down is for wimps. Nevertheless, it was raining.
We left Gretna and travelled through the outskirts of Annan, around the Solway Firth following what is known at the Robert Burns trail, surprisingly not many other people were following this trail on such a lovely day!?!? This took us through a village called Dornock, there is a lot of mileage to be have with that, so i'll give you the opportunity to make up your own jokes.
I decided that we should play a game and on the odd occasion that a car came in the opposite direction, you had to wave at them and see how many consecutive waves in return you could get. I got to 10, before a grumpy old bloke who looked like Santa refused to wave. So Pinhead had 10 to beat. He fell at the 3rd time of asking, when driving Miss Daisy approached in her Nissan Micra with her hands glued at the the ten to two position.
The scenery might have been nice and I am sure it is on a sunny day, but visibility was so poor, no photo opportunities arose, which is a shame. We did see our second Chinook of the trip so far.
I swear that the livestock were looking at us more than usual today and you could see it in their eyes, they were thinking 'what the bloody hell are you two doing out on bikes in this weather'.
We cycled into the centre of Dunfries, where the rain abated enough for us to stop and get a quick cup of tea from the Burns Cafe.
After Dumfries, we followed B roads that run parallel with the A76 towards Kilmarnock, we passed through a town called Dunscore, that proudly stated it was a fairtrade town, but we all know it was not the world's first!
We managed to cause three cattle stampedes, the first two were stampedes towards us, as the cows must have thought we were going to feed them. The 3rd one was along a fence line as we spooked them which in turn scared the life out of me as they ran beside us for 50 yards or so.
We also managed to have a race with about a dozen Grouse. Now these birds can fly, but they decided to all just run in front of us and then slowly one by one disappear into the hedgerow. It was very comical to see and all that was missing was the Benny Hill music.
The last 12k was on the A76 and this is where I have to make an announcement. Some people may think it is a cold way of doing this and I should speak to my wife face to face about this. But I have to announce that I have another love in my life..... it is newly laid smooth tarmac! We had this continuously for about 5k and it was the nicest 5k of cycling that we have had all journey, this soon changed back to the boneshaker-pot holed roads that we have been used to, but for 5k it was cycling bliss, well it would have been if you had removed the headwind and the horizontal rain.
The last couple of kms were painful, firstly because my knee is still playing up and secondly because the the wind and rain increased 4 fold. We are staying in a B&B in Kirkonnel which is about 20 miles south of Kilmarnock and 5 miles North of a small town called Sanquhar. I thought it might be pronounced San-Que-Har or maybe San-Kwa, but apparently it is pronounced San-Ker. So if I was trying to explain to somebody how to pronounce it, I need to think of a word that rhymes with San-Ker. I for the life of me can't think of one.!
But we were given a very warm welcome from Jenny at our B&B. Pot of tea, cycling shoes put in front of the coal stove and all of our wet stuff put in the wash. Plus a Roast Beef dinner and Apple Strudle & custard for dessert.
Road Kill count: Hedgehog 1, Rabbit 4, Pheasant/Partridge/Grouse 5, UA's 4
Distance covered today 99.9kms (64 miles). Climbing 505m (1656 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1106.15 kms (688.6 miles). Elevation 11197m (36735 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
14/09/2010 - VIVALDI
DAY ELEVEN I had a very strange night last night, woke up with severe stomach cramps, I was literally double over in pain and ended up having about 3 hours kip in the end. Nothing to do with the B&B, I think it might just be an accumulation of cooked breakfasts. Nevertheless I sat down to a hearty cooked breakfast, best so far including black pudding, haggis & potato cakes. Other than our scary night in Wales, all of our B&B's have been top drawer, but The Rigg House takes number 1 spot at the moment. Jenny & Malcolm were exceptional hosts and the food, accommodation everything was spot on. If only they had real ale on hand pump :-)
You would have noticed that there was no mention of real ale on yesterday's blog, and that is because I didn't have one.
Anyway, this morning we left to find it breezy with light showers, this was followed by blowing a gale which was followed by heavy rain, which was followed by the mother of all hail storms, which was followed by sunshine, which was followed by gale force winds, which was followed by.... I think you get the picture.
The hail storm was one of my most funniest yet most painful experiences. It honestly felt like somebody was throwing gravel at you. I had to cycle leaning to the left to try and stay upright and I know have a crick in my neck where I was trying to angle my head against the wind, rain & hail. Pinhead found it less funny and was frozen to the bone, although we did have 10 minutes of delirious laughter once the storm had passed as we contemplated the obscenity of it all.
Today's route followed the A76, although we avoided the actual road itself where we could. We passed through Cumnock and then stopped in a small village called Galstone, but it seems to have been removed from the map :-) We went into the local cafe and had a cup of tea and a portion of chips. We got chatting to the lady behind the counter, well I did as Pinhead admits he couldn't understand a word she was saying. When I told her that we were aiming for Loch Winnoch, she said oh it gets really windy there. We both said really windy!!! what the hell have we been cycling in so far??
Leaving Galston, we passed through Moscow, classic Pinhead quote coming ' This isn't the actual Moscow though is it?' Yes pinhead, we are now in Russia!
We passed through Dunlop, but was going so fast, it was just like a Green Flash! and eventually arrived at the Bowfield Hotel.
I think the weather really affected our mental state today, PInhead regauarly shouted F*ck off to the wind and/or mother nature, where as I found myself saying Moo and Baa to the livestock in the fields on a regular basis.
Pinhead and I have just spent over an hour in the Health Spa at our hotel, Jacuzzi and Steam Room heaven and I am now sitting in the bar typing this having a pint of Maclachans Best Ale and some food to follow shortly.
Despite today being the shortest day distance wise, it was probably the toughest going, the wind was relentless and energy sapping, especially on 3 hours kip.
Today's roadkill count. Hedgehog 3, Magpie 1 (New Entry), Rabbit 2, Pheasant/Grouse 2, UA's 4
Distance covered today 72.85kms (45.2 miles). Climbing 962m (3156 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1179kms (733.8 miles). Elevation 12159m (39891 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| There was even room to put our bikes to bed |
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| Shoes drying nicely by the fire |
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| Surely we haven't cycled that far? |
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| Loch Winnoch, notice the windswept water |
15/09/2010 - BY ECK THE WEATHER WAS ALMOST FYNE
DAY TWELVE After been woken up a couple of times during the night due to the gale force winds and torrential rain, Pinhead did not like my prognosis that we were DOOMED, I TELL THEE DOOMED whilst having breakfast. I also received a nice text from Mich to say Max is now saying Mumma, not surprising really when he hasn't seen Dadda for nearly 2 weeks!!
We had a lovely 3 course meal last night, a couple of drinks each, Jacuzzi/Steam Room, full breakfast and accommodation all for £26 each, so a big Thank You to Craig the General Manager for sorting us out and thanks to Sarah on reception who checked travel details for us before we left.
The first 20k took ages, if it wasn't the 20-30mph cross headwind that was slowing us down, it was the 60mph gusts that were literally blowing us all over the road, Pinhead more than me as he is a bit more lightweight than myself.
We did a what felt like loads of climbing, but that was probably because it was just as hard work cycling down hill into the wind as it was cycling uphill when in a sheltered spot.
We had a lovely long decent to Greenock and cycled through there to Gourock where we were to catch the ferry. Rest assured the distance cycled does not take into account the distance travelled by the ferry. Now I am sure you have all still been religously reading the first two words of my blogs in 'Geordie' as instructed, now the next name place has to be said in a thick Scottish accent and the second syllable has to be strecthed out. We were getting the ferry to DUNOON, or pronounced correctly Dunoooooooooon.
The ferry took 20 minutes, crossing the Firth of Clyde. On the ferry we got chatting to another couple of cyclists, Liz & her dad Rob. They were doing a 5 day cycle tour of the Scottish Islands. Liz is a keen mountain biker and Rob is a keen whiskey drinker, so they combined the two.
We arrived in Dunooooooon. As we left the port, we were passed by a removal company van. The name of the company was Brian Adams removal. I think Pinhead particulary liked my rendition of 'Everything I move, I move it for you'. We cycled into the Argyll Forest Park along the length of Loch Ech. To be honest my words couldn't do some of the scenery justice, so I hope some of our pictures paint the thousand words. A couple of times the clouds threatened, but luckily the most rain we had to encounter was about 2 minutes of a very light shower.
We then picked up the A815 on the east side of Loch Fyne. Where we were staying was only probably about 5k away, but unfortunately it was on the other side of the Loch on the west side, which meant in cycling terms it was still 30k away.
The last 10k was probably our most eventful 10k of the entire ride. We were stopping quite frequently to take pictures anyway, when Pinhead and I both saw some seals on the rocks, so we had to stop and take some piccies, alas, I think our mohawks scared them, and despite there being about half a dozen, by the time I managed to take a shot, only one was left, but I still managed to get a photo. We were just about to move off when two coaches came past, the first one saw us and gave us a wide birth, the second driver was paying no attention at all and if Pinhead had not yanked his bike out of the way, it would now be a meccano kit.
Next, I said to Pinhead, what the bloody hell is that, lo and behold a warship (frigate I think) sailing up the Loch!
We then saw a couple of lovely old stone bridges, the Inveraray Castle and the welcome to Inveraray sign, that all had to be photographed, with traffic zooming past us.
We are staying in a place called the George Hotel tonight, which is just heaven for me. Old style traditional pub, Real Ale on hand pump. Tonight's Ale was Vital Spark @ 4.4% from the Fyne Ales Brewery. Our en-suite bathroom has one of the biggest showers I have seen, and based on Pinhead's geographical knowledge and sense of direction, I was worried that he might not be able to find his way out.
Roadkill count was hedgehog 1, rabbit 2, pheasant/grouse 1, fox 1 and alas I am very sad to say that we also saw an Otter (RIP) lying by the side of the road as we cycled around Loch Fyne.
Distance covered today 94.7kms (which includes the 6.8km deduction for the ferry crossing) (58.8miles). Climbing 951m (3156 feet)
Totals to date: Distance 1273.7kms (792.6 miles). Elevation 13110m (43011 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Heart of Scotland, here we come |
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| It was so windy, even the hardened Scottish cows were taking shelter |
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| Stopping here to take a pic, Pinhead asked 'where are we' I kid you not |
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| Firth of Clyde |
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| Best Chinese takeaway in Scotland, apparantly! |
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| Travelling without pedalling, which is strange |
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| Liz tries to convince Pinhead to use an epillator |
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| Loch Esk |
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| Loch Fyne |
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| Loch Fyne |
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| The one that hung around, rippled can be seen from the one that jumped in |
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| Is that what I think it is? |
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| Yes it is |
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| Reflecting on the days cycling |
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| Fathead's Royal Burgh |
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| Invereray Castle |
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| If you like Scotch, you are spoilt for choice in the George Hotel |
16/09/2010 - BILL AND BEN
DAY THIRTEEN We left InveraRAY this morning a bit later than we have other mornings. Breakfast wasn't served until 8am and we had to go to the post office. So we didn't get on the road until 9.45. Almost immediately we were met with a 13% climb followed by a gentle but long climb in Glen Array. We cycled around Loch Awe bumping into Mr & Mrs Beresford and Mr Beresford sister when stopping to take a photo. Mrs Beresford kindly offered to sponsor us. As we continued around the Loch, we heard two jets fly over, low and fast, but we were in tree cover so didn't manage to see see them.
We then picked up the A85 around the other side of Loch Awe. This stretch of road has to be the worst road surface on a main road we have encountered. It may be OK for cars, but certainly not bikes. A wooden bike with square wheels would have probably been more comfortable.
We then went over our first bridge of the day, the Connel Bridge over Loch Etive and then stopped at Benderloch for some lunch.
Our 2nd bridge of the day took us over Loch Creran and through a village called Appin, it was so quiet you could hear ap pin drop.
We then started up the east side of Loch Linnhe. This time I actually saw a fighter jet flying low up the Loch which was quiet an impressive sight. As we continued up the road, a sheep was walking down the road to us. Pinhead aka Dr Dolittle wanted to get off the bikes and somehow catch said sheep and put it back in a field, how he proposed to do this is anybodies guess. Eventually the sheep went back into a field of it's own accord. We also saw some other wildlife in the shape of Highland Cows, a Bison, some Deer, but no Stag.
I would like to say thank you to the driver of a 'Battersby's' coach who flashed us, waved and took a wide berth. This made a distinct change to most of the other coaches, who seem to play a game of how close can we get to the bike when we pass. These drivers seriously do not pay attention, probably because they are on microphone headsets talking to their SAGA passengers making up any old rubbish as they drive along. To be honest, Pinhead and I have had more close shaves with lorries, coaches and cars in the last 2 days than we have had in the previous 11 days. A lot of the drivers are nutters, performing overtakes on blind bends etc. The problem is that a lot of the roads are literally the only roads, so we are unable to avoid the traffic.
About 15k before the end was when Pinhead finally lost his mind. A hover fly landed on his handlebars and stayed on there for about 2 or 3k. During this time, Pinhead named the fly 'Squishy' and had a conversation with said fly!!
As we cycled towards Fort William, a rainbow marked the spot where we need to get to and we arrived shortly after 6pm. So we are now at Fort Bill in midst of Ben Nevis, although we haven't actually confirmed that we have seen the mountain yet!
When in Scotland, do as the Scottish do and drink a Real Ale from America! Tonight's ale was Red Mountain from the Twisted Pine Brewery
Roadkill count was the quietest day today, 1 each of a Hedgehog, Fox, Rabbit and a UA
Distance covered today 116.8kms (72.6miles). Climbing 1036m (3398 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1390.5kms (865.2 miles). Elevation 14146m (46409 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| You know you're approaching the Highlands when you see these fellas |
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| Loch Awe Castle |
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| Loch Awe by the Hollow Mountain |
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| Loch Awe waterfall |
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| Connel Bridge over Loch Etive |
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| Road towards the mountains |
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| This bike was easier on the knees, but progress was slow |
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| Loch Creran |
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| Pinhead was so happy to reach the Highlands that he pulled a Brucie |
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| If you live here |
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| This is the view you would see every day! |
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| Another bridge to cross |
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| Chasing the rainbow |
17/09/2010 - LOCHS BUT NO KEYS
DAY FOURTEEN. I awoke this morning, having the best nights sleep I have had all trip, maybe the miles are catching up with me now. For the first time I couldn't face a cooked breakfast. Now everybody who knows me, knows The Hippo likes his food, but I have seriously overloaded on sausages, bacon and black pudding.
We left Fort Bill and cycled for a little way. I was swerving all over the place as I kept looking up to my right to try and get a good view of Ben Nevis. I then took a quick right turn as I thought I saw an opportunity for a photo, nearly killing Pinhead in the process. The cloud cover though wasn't allowing a good photo.
We came of the A82 for a while to take some B-roads, when we came to what we thought was a level crossing and for the first time we had to stop. In fact it was a swing bridge over the River Lochy which was swinging (not wife swapping) but turning to allow a boat through, what was really interesting was the railbridge also had to swing out of the way also. Incidentally, despite the rural nature of our route, we have only had to cross 4 level crossings the whole journey, now isn't that interesting!
Just before coming back on to the A82, we stopped off at the Commando Memorial. This was a very sombre moment. They is also a rememberance garden as well. It is very humbling to see who have given their lives for Queen & Country, especially seeing the ages of some of those who have lost their lives, late teens and early twenties. I have included a photo of the memorial, but I didn't think it was appropriate to take any photos of the rememberance garden. Lest We Forget.
We then cycled North East following Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. Now I reckon if there was a committee naming these Lochs, surely these two must have been last on the list. After a long night of naming hundreds of Lochs, they probably thought it would be a laugh to name one Loch Lochy and then someone who had a tot too many of Scotch probably was asked for the last name and came up with Loch Oich before he passed out.
Now there are 2 ways to cycle along Loch Ness, A82 on the West Side, the easy way of the B862 on the East Side, the hard way. Being seasonsed cyclists, or just down right stupid, we took the hard way. This meant a climb that went on for 4 miles plus and over 1300ft in climbing. But it was well worth it once we got to the top. The views were amazing, I have uploaded some piccies, but I am not sure if they do the views justice. Ideally, I would have liked to take the pictures with my SLR and some ND grad filters, but carrying all that kit would have probably killed me after the 2nd day.
We then descended to get along side Loch Ness. We stopped at a tea shop in Foyers for a well earned cup of tea and then cycled half the length of Loch Ness, this is a bloody long Loch I can tell you. We did manage to see two red squirrels though which was nice, but they were too quick to get any photos. The Stag still remains elusive! but we saw a toadstool that I had to take a photo of.
By the way what is the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool? Any ideas?
We arrived in Inverness (The Capital of the Highlands) just before 6pm.
Tonight's Ale was a pint of Trade Winds @ 4.3% from the Cairngorm's Brewery. The barmaid, did not have a clue what I was talking about when I asked her to take the sparkler off. I think she thought I wanted to nick her ring!
Roadkill count: We didn't see anything for the first 50k and then we only saw 4 grouse and that was it. The wildlife must have a bit more road sense up here.
Distance covered today 104.7kms (65miles). Climbing 1214m (3982 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1495.2kms (930.2 miles). Elevation 15360m (50391 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Nevis Range |
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| Ben Nevis is hiding behind that cloud |
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| The Commando Memorial |
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| Damn, we have to go that way |
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| River Tarff |
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| 400m above sea level after cycling the hard way |
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| Highlands |
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| Highlands |
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| Highlands |
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| Could be anywhere in the UK, but I know it was next to Loch Ness |
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| Loch Ness |
18/09/2010 - M
DAY FIFTEEN We left Inverness this morning in very damp and grey conditions. Neil and Margaret were lovely hosts at the Bluebell House B&B. We travelled over the Kessock Bridge on the A9, but got of this 2-land racetrack as soon as possible. Although along the A9 we passed 2 support vans for other LEJOG cyclists. The 2nd van, a blue van with a trailer and a couple of spare bikes, we had seen a couple of times before.
As we taking some of the back roads, we came to a junction, when all of a sudden we were joined by 9 other cyclists, these were the guys being supported by the blue van. We cycled as a group for about 5 miles chatting away, I was up front chatting to a chap called Stewart. The 9 of them were raising money for 3 Scottish Hospices. Their website is www.2010end2end.com They had a planned stop in a pub in the next village, Evanton and invited us to join them for tea and cake, an offer we couldn't refuse.
As we arrived in the village, lo and behold, Richard & Judy (sorry David) rolled up behind us, the chaps we had met 15 days earlier in our B&B at Land's End. It was really funny chatting to these two as it sound they have had a very similar time to us, with escapades, both getting on each others nerves, fun, laughter and killer hills. After a photo shoot, we all went our separate ways, as the 9 man team & Richard & Judy were taking the A9 route, I had planned our route across the wilderness!
Now I had been advised via an internet forum, not to miss Bonar Bridge. So we didn't, as cycled through the preceding village, despite it being a Saturday, nothing and I mean nothing was open, not the corner shop, not the garage, not the Post Office nothing. It was literally a ghost town, we then got to Bonar Bridge. Pinhead was seriously unimpressed with the bridge and said he could have built a better bridge with matchsticks in his CDT class at school.
Never the less, we stopped for a tea break. We went into the cafe and the 2 girls serving who were in the kitchen saw us and then promptly ignored us for 3 or 4 minutes, so I got the hump and said sod this and walked out. Eventually, we found the local pub did tea. The barmaid/landlady spoke to Scott, whilst the other 5 locals in their completely blanked us while listening to Radio Scotland.
So maybe the reason I was advised to go to Bonar Bridge was for the experience!? But I can assure you, I will never go there again, it is without a doubt the most unfriendly place we have been to!
After this we got onto the A836, this was to be our yellow brick road for the whole of the second half of the ride and to be honest there is bugger all other than pine trees, heather, a few sheep and a couple of mountains. This is one place you would not take a gamble with thinking you had enough petrol in the car!
I was looking at the sheep and this got me thinking, what a miserable life they lead. They stand out in a field 24/7, 365 days a year, chewing grass, trying not to stand in their own poo and get a hair cut 4 times a year and that is it!
The road I have now christened the Ariston road as it went Ariston and on and on and on and...
Shortly before our final destination, Pinhead and I stopped, shook hands and took a photo, this was the point where we had cycled 1000 miles!! give or take half a mile, but I am sure over 1000 miles we are entitled to a 0.0005 tolerance.
We eventually arrived at Altnaharra just before 6pm. Now I am convinced that Altnaharra literally translates as 'In the middle of bloody nowhere' chatting to Mandy our host this evening and the other 4 guests, Karen & Kevin from Sittingbourne, and Ivor & Christina from Germany (their 12th visit to Scotland) Altnaharra has 33 residents within an 8 mile radius. The primary school has 7 children (which means the teams are always going to be uneven, or the fat kid is always going to get picked last). The closest shop is 21 miles away and the nearest main supermarket is 51 miles away, not really the place to get home after going shopping and realise you forgot to buy the bog roll!
Also, last year Altnaharra was the coldest place in Britain when temperatures reached -21.
We have had a nice 3 course meal cooked for us, but alas no real Ale tonight :-(
Roadkill count: Rabbits were definitely on a suicide mission, one was even seen squished in the middle of the Kessock Bridge which is about a mile long. There were 11 today. Mouse 1, Hedgehog 1, Seagull 1 (New Entry), Grouse 2, Pigeon 1.
Distance covered today 118.4kms (73.5miles). Climbing 1096m (3595 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1613.6kms (1003.7 miles). Elevation 16456m (53986 feet)
Bye for now
Fathead
PS There is no mistake in the title, think about it!
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| Team LEJOG |
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| Pinhead, Richard & Judy compare sunglasses |
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| Ardullie Hill looking over the Cromarty Firth |
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| Bonar Bridge, Miserable Buggers |
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| Ariston & on & on |
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| 1000 mile cyclists, not bad for a fat bloke and askinny bloke |
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| Highland Lucky Heather |
20/09/2010 PAGE 150/151 OF THE AA LARGE SCALE ROAD MAP OF GREAT BRITAIN
DAY SIXTEEN (I hope you are keeping up with the Geordie accent)
An earlier start today. For the first time in 16 days Pinhead actually got up before me, I have never seen him move so fast, admittedly it was the speed of a duck waddling, but for Pinhead that is fast. The plan was to be out on the road by 8.30am. By 8.15am, we were ready....... well almost. I had lost one of my gloves, we literally turned the bedroom upside down, emptied my panniers, started checking the rest of the house, it was only when I went into the dining room for a quick scan that the location of my glove was determined! As I turned round, Lindsay one of the owners laughed and said "It's on your arse" Bloody velcro!!
Thanks to Mandy and Lindsay for their hospitality. Also Thanks to Kev and Karen who were also staying there who gave us both a fiver towards our charities
We were still on the road by 8.30am as planned and seeing the mountains in rolling cloud was amazing. A wild deer did cross our path, but alas it was not a Stag, although we could hear a stag calling. I also saw a Salmon jumping and we both saw an Eagle.
We were then passed by two Hercules aircraft. I got a few photos but not as good as I would have liked. Then after 1020miles, it had to finally happen, I got a puncture! This was annoying for three reasons. 1) It was a puncture. 2) it was the rear wheel 3) One of the Hercules flew back other really, really low which would have made for a great picture, but I was in the middle of changing my inner tube.
We made good time to get to the North Coast at BettyHill. All trip, we have had predominantly west winds, the day that we need to cycle 40 miles eastwards, well I am sure you can guess. There were a couple of killer hills and the rest was just a slog into the wind.
We stopped at Thurso (birthplace of Sir William Smith, founder of the Boys Brigade) for a cuppa and choccy bar before the final push. Pinhead was really suffering with one of his knees, but he kept plugging on. To rub salt into the wounds it started raining 10 miles from John O'Groats. We finally arrived just after 5.30pm. The only word that I can think of that would explain my feeling would be Euphoric. We almost made a cock up though as we both saw the white post and made a bee line for that, but a woman shouted at us to say the finish line is over there, we nearly cycled all that way and not actually cross the finish line!!
Applause and cheers from people waiting for other LEJOGers was really nice as we did actually cross the finish line. Hand shakes and photos followed. Pinhead even had a tear in his eye so I had to give the big Jesse a hug. Literally 5 minutes after we finished, Richard & Judy, the 2 chaps we met 16 days earlier at Land's End crossed the line, more hand shakes and photos and they kindly shared their champagne with us.
Another couple of finishers were walked in by 4 chaps playing bagpipes. Once again the camaradarie amongst all the cyclists was excellent
My only tinge of regret. It was nice to see others being greeted by their families and I would have loved it if Mich and Max had been there. But I am really looking forward to seeing them both on Tuesday.
Back at the hotel, Pinhead's fiance had arranged for a bottle of champagne to be waiting for us in the room which was demolished very quickly (the champagne, not the room). We had a huge roast dinner, followed by dessert and about 6 pints for me and a bottle of wine for Pinhead.
So we have finally done LEJOG. But our journey is not over, oh no. We still have to cycle to Dunnet's Head tomorrow morning and then back to Thurso to start our train journeys back down sarf. All we have to do though is a total of about 25 miles.
So fo all you avid blog readers, do not fear, there are still a couple more blogs to come. I will be doing another blog about our final cycle and train journey home and will also be doing another 'post mortem' blog with my thoughts on the how trip went, what was good, what was bad and maybe a few pearls of wisdom in case anybody else has a screw lose and decides to do LEJOG.
Road KIll count: Hedgehog 4, Rabbit 4, Seagull 2, Sparrow 1, Blackbird 1, UAs 3
Distance covered today 119.9kms (74.5miles). Climbing 952m (3123 feet)
Total to date: Distance 1733.5kms (1077.1 miles). Elevation 17408m (57113 feet)
With apologies to Tim Vine for plagiarism,
'This was a once in a lifetime challenge........never again!
Bye for now
Fathead
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| Early morning start in the Highlands |
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| Highland Ambush |
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| Support from the RAF |
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| Our first sight of the North Sea |
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| Another Fathead namesake, no letters being hidden, honest! |
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| Pinhead across the finish line |
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| Fathead across the finish line |
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| Put it there pal! |
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| At the post |
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| Celebrating with Richard & Judy |
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| Snap happy |
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| Pinhead pretending he is not cold! |
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| Say Cheese! |
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| 'Coistie' the legendary Jack Russell, note his picture on the wall behind |
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| Close inspection |
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
DAY SEVENTEEN & DAY EIGHTEEN
Before I continue, you may wonder why there are some pictures of a Jack Russell for day 16? This is Coistie (named after Ally McCoist) and is one of the Castletown Hotel regulars pet dog. The dog is a bit of a superstar and was the guest of honour when they re-opened the refurbished bar. As you will see from the first picture of him, he even has his own perch, so he can sit at the bar. As soon as Pinhead and I walked into the bar, he growled. Obviously because we were not locals, but he soon allowed us in for a drink. He is the coolest dog I have met and I wanted to take him, but didn't think it would be very friendly to stuff him in one of my panniers.
So, back to day 17. Technically our LEJOG challenge was done, but we still had the small matter of going to Dunnet's Head. As we had done nearly 1100 miles with panniers, we treated ourselves by doing the 18 mile round trip without them. The difference was amazing, we aflew there. My bike was literally 2 stone lighter!
It was really nice to go there and as Pinhead put it, "It was the icing on the cake" We had now cycled between the two furthest places apart in mainland UK and had also visited the furthest South and furthest North places in mainland UK.
Pinhead came out with another geographical classic, as we were looking west from Dunnet Head, he asked "Is that Ireland?". "er, no mate that is still Scotland!
We cycled back to the hotel, to pick up our panniers and then cycled back to Thurso to catch our first train of the day. This was a 3.5 hour journey back through the Highlands to Inverness. Highlights of this journey. Firstly I finally saw a wild Stag, 3 of them. So I was very happy about that. Secondly there was a woman sitting near us with a 9 month old girl called Lexie, she was in a head to toe pink outfit with a pink dummy. Along comes an old dear " Oh he's lovely isn't he" "How old is he?" "It is a he isn't it?" Someone should of gone to Specsavers me thinks!! Thirdly, as we approached various train stations, the automated tannoy as per usual would announce the station name. I loved it when approaching one station, the tannoy announced that it was a request stop? I couldn't see any bells to press on the train and if I was standing on the platform, sticking your hand out hoping for the train to stop seemed a risky proposition. So I haven't got a clue how this 'request stop' business works?
We got to Inverness about 4.30 and had 5 hours to kill, after wandering around aimlessly for 10 minutes trying to find somewhere, I managed to sweet talk a lady on reception of the Royal Highland Hotel to allow us to store our bikes there. Very nice hotel (see piccies). We retired to the adjoining restaurant to update blogs and piccies and consume 2 bottles of red wine accompanied by fillet steak for Pinhead and Duck breast for me. Caroline our waitress (from The Orkeney Islands) was really nice and sorted us out with a 20% discount. We had a quick dash to the local co-op for some supplies (booze) for the train.
Putting our bikes on the train, despite having reserved a space for our bikes, there wasn't enough room, to put them in properly, something to do with the 50 odd boxes of fresh lobster that was taking up most of the space, which we later found out were lobster for a certain Mr Gordon Ramsay. My bike now has a nice fishy aroma! So Gordon, if you are reading this, which I am sure you are, how about a little donation to each of our charities, I am sure you can afford it.
Pinhead and I got to our cabin with bunk beds and it was like being on a school trip, we made our way to the 1st class lounge area which we were allowed in, (as we had a berth booked) and bought another half bottle of wine each. At first there wasn't enough seats, so Pinhead sat on the floor. To say we were treated like lepers was an understatement, I have never seen so many people look down their noses at me. Obviously they are much better people then me and riff raff like myself and Pinhead dressed in cycling gear shouldn't be allowed to invade their space. But I was in a DILLIGAF mood, so sat back enjoyed myself and drank more wine, followed by a bottle of Wild Cat Ale, followed by a bottle of Stag Ale (both from the Cairngorn Brewery) followed by a bottle of Red Kite and a bottle of Porter (both from the Black Isle Brewery)
I think we crashed out just after midnight and woke at 6.30am. Pinhead wasn't feeling top of the world, I was OK. We got into London just before 8am and I had a quick panic, when I couldn't find my Garmin, but it was eventually found.
We then had to cycle from Euston to Monument where I went right over London Bridge and Pinhead went left towards Liverpool St. I still don't know if he made it there yet, knowing Pinhead he is probably cycling on the A2 at the moment. As we cycled past one of London's most iconic landmarks, Pinhead asked "Is that St Pauls?" I replied "yes", "Big isn't it" he responded!
I had cycled nearly 1100miles, the length of the country and had not had a single incident with a pedestrian. In the 3 odd miles from Euston to London Bridge, I had 4 people step out in front of me without looking. Add to that being cut up my 2 cyclists, 1 London cabbie and a Bus. It was nice to be back cycling on the streets of London!!
I popped into Mich's Work to say hello. She said my belly looked smaller but I smelt of booze, one thing you can say about Mich is that she is always honest :-) I had a quick coffee with her and it was nice to get congratulations from some of her colleagues (although Ade and Pete count as former colleagues anyway) Oh and you heard it here first, Ade and Pete are thinking of possibly doing LEJOG next year, so any E&Y people reading this, get on their case! Sorry fellas ;-)
After getting home, I was very domesticated and put all my cycling gear straight into the washing machine. Went and saw my Mum & Dad for some lunch and am now back home typing this and I will be picking my little boy up from nursery in about 45 mins, let's just hope he recognises me!
Roadkill Count for day 17. One worm and that was it
Distance covered on Day 17 was 35.7kms (22.2miles). Climbing 191m (626 feet)
Total Distance Cycled 1769.2kms (1099.3 miles). Elevation 17599m (57739 feet)
If you include the Euston to London Bridge cycle, we would have broke the 1100 mile mark.
I will be doing one final blog at the weekend, once I have pondered on and digested everything that has happened.
By the way I lost 6lbs in weight, don't forget muscle is heavier than fat ;-)
Bye for now
Fathead
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| T'up North |
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| Pinhead does his impression of Dick Turpin |
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| followed by his Ali G impression |
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| Red Wine, vital for blogging |
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| The Royal Highland Hotel, a nice place to store our bikes |
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| Sweet Caroline, da da da |
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| Can I have the top bunk, can I, can I ? |
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| I am not as think as you drunk I am |
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| DILLIGAF |
DE-BRIEF
But this isn’t brief! I have been back at work for a few days and the cycling already seems an eternity ago. I have had literally dozens of people come up to me and congratulate me or shake my hand which is really nice. Plus I have had some good comments about my blog, so it seems that more people were reading them than I thought. So a recap on the 18 day trip. I am going to cover it in different topics. Hopefully some of this will be helpful if anybody reading this is considering doing LEJOG at some point.
DURATION
Despite some of the individual days feeling long, especially the windy ones, although with cooked breakfasts most days, every morning was windy in a different sense, but my point is, the days might have seemed long, but the overall challenge absolutely flew by. I think 16 days was nicely realistic for doing the ride unsupported. The days were challenging, but doable (if that is a word). If you were doing it unsupported, you could do it quicker, a couple of stone of extra weight really does make a difference, but I have had the beer belly for years, oh and the panniers weighed a couple of stone as well. I would say doing it in 16 days unsupported would be lovely as you would have the time and opportunity to see some tourist attractions.
ROUTE
When planning the route, I tried to avoid major A-roads as much as possible. Overall this was a good strategy. The only thing I would advise though, is when picking minor roads, make sure they at least are displayed on a 4inch to 1 mile scale road atlas. Some of the route especially in the first 4 days included what can only be described as ruts in the ground, this is why my brake pads knackered up so quickly as on some of the downhill stretches we were permanently on the brakes. It was also the reason why Pinhead’s back was covered in cow shite (before he bought his mudguards)
EQUIPMENT
My Fratello (that is the model of my bike, not an ice-cream) did me proud. I was gutted to get a puncture on the last day, but it was a thorn through a side of the tyre, probably one of the times when Pinhead and I had to veer onto a grass verge to avoid some of the moronic drivers we encountered. Pinhead and I both had Continental tyres, so 1 puncture in 1100 miles is bloody good going.
I went through one set of brake pads and had to tighten my gear cable on the last day, but other than a few wipe downs with baby wipes (the bike not me) and a bit of oil everything was tiketyboo. The Ortlieb panniers get 10/10, they withstood some proper downpours, but everything was bone-dry inside. I would also highly recommend buying some of the resealable zipper plastic bags, great for your wallet, phone and camera in your back pockets.
My best non-essential piece of equipment would have to be my cycling cap, even though people seem to laugh at me when I am wearing it. It kept sun (not very often) and rain (often) out of my eyes. Kept my head warm in the cold or stopped sweat running down in my eyes. When suicidal flying bugs decided to make a bee-line (pun intended) for me, I didn’t really feel them, unlike Pinhead who screamed like a girl every time something flew into his helmet and started crawling around. On the subject of helmets (cycling helmets), as you have seen from our piccies, we both had mohawks on on our helmets, his obviously attracted some attention and a few comments, it wasn't until about day 14 until somebody said I look like a chicken, something Pinhead had been saying all along. Sometimes I didn't have a clue what people were actually saying, I am not good with northern dialect, being a sarf Londoner. Anyway, the reason for this paragraph, is to highlight the amount of people (including fellow cyclists) that said "nice hat". Can I just point out IT IS A HELMET, NOT A HAT. Right, I am glad I have got that off my chest, or should I say head.
ACCOMMODATION
Out of the 17 venues that we stayed in, there are only 2 that I would not recommend, obviously the Amityville Horror House in Tintern and we were not too impressed with our digs at Fort William. The rest ranged from very pleasant and good value to absolutely lovely. With the exception of ‘Johnny’ all of the hospitality we received was warm and welcoming. My fav would have to be The George Hotel in Invereray, but I would not hesitate to go back to any of the others.
MISCELLANEOUS
Other things that I need to blog about that didn’t make it into my original blogs. The dustcart that smelt of Lavender, be interesting to know whose job it is to spray the vehicle each morning and wonder if they change the smell on a monthly basis.
The sign for ‘Flicks in the Sticks’ a mobile cinema that travels to small villages. I think that maybe there is scope to expand this idea how about ‘Poker outside the Big Smoke(r)’ – a mobile casino, ‘Rock by the Loch’ – a mobile climbing wall or maybe ‘Clown in the Town’ – a mobile circus. Although thinking about it, a circus is by nature mobile anyway, so that last one may not be such a good idea.
Plumbers of the world, lend me your ears. Is there not a universal standard for taps on sinks. As we ventured further north, 3 venues had the hot tap on the right instead of the left, we even had one place where the tap turned clockwise rather than anti-clockwise to turn the tap on?
When you are tired after 80 miles cycling these things mess with your mind when you start brushing your teeth with hot water! For some strange reason I ended up talking in a strange dialect, a cross between Yorkshire and Pirate talk. Some examples for you. “There be rain in those clouds” “By eck that road was bumpy” “Hill ahead Lad” “We are doomed I tell thee” Strange as we didn’t travel through Yorkshire and didn’t sail the high seas! Hills!
One thing I noticed, particularly when we did the big climb in Inverness, that despite being fitter and more used to cycling up hills, is that we didn’t get any faster at climbing. It was just a case of plodding on and getting to the top when you get there. One of my mottos which Pinhead heard regularly is ‘Pain is temporary, Pride if for life’ Hills hurt, especially when I am dragging my fat arse up them, but I am proud to say I didn’t get off and walk up a single hill (neither did Pinhead), every one was cycled up, even if an 80 year old walking his scotty dog could moonwalk up the hill faster.
PINHEAD
I am sure you are aware from my blogs, to say that Geography is not Pinhead’s strong point would be an understatement. Which kind of explains why he let me plan the route and also navigate. To be honest, if he had navigated, I would probably be typing this now sitting in a B&B in East Anglia, and we would have done 2224 miles to date with still another 800 to go.
We had a couple of tense silences on the trip. I am sure I wound him up some times, but the two moments that stick in my mind when he wound me up were…
The Shopping trip! Pinhead was complaining his flip-flops (he wanted to save weight) were rubbing his feet and giving him blisters. So despite it being nearly six o’clock we quickly walked, well I did, Pinhead hobbled to the High St in Windermere. So stupidly I thought, feet are hurting, quickly buy a cheap pair of trainers/sandals, need to do it quick as shops are closing, problem solved. Oh no, not in Pinhead’s world. 1st shop, he apparently doesn’t like the range or colours, 2nd shop nothing that he likes. This was the shop that thought we were shoplifting and a woman came running down the road after us. We would have been the world’s worse shoplifters. Pinhead was hobbling with his blistered feet in his flip flops, I was limping because of my sore knee and I was in a bright blue MS Trust t-shirt and Pinhead was in a bright green Macmillan Cancer Support t-shirt, just the perfect attire to mingle into the crowd! Anyway, we get to shop number three, they are hoovering, this is how close they are to closing. Pinhead starts asking for half sizes, different widths, different colours, not liking the prices, wondering if they were fashionable enough. He can’t walk because of blisters yet thinks he is in Clarks Shoe shop on a Saturday afternoon in Bluewater. I had to walk out of the shop, because at this point he was seriously doing my head in! He did buy some though.
Getting ready for dinner! Once again I am sure you have gathered from my blogs, that for me it is a case of shower, change, get out for dinner or in the morning get up, go for breakfast, get changed, get out on the bike. Pinhead is how can I put it, put it this way in a previous life he was a tortoise and an element of his previous life is still with him. This night in question, I have showered and dresses and ready to go out for dinner. Now Pinhead takes his usual 30 minute shower, where he no doubts, showers, exfoliates, shampoos, conditions, moisturises, plucks his nasal hair and whatever else he does. I am not too bothered as it gives me a chance to work on my blog. Pinhead saunter’s out of the shower with a towel wrapped round him, potters around the room for 5 mins, not actually doing anything and whatever he is doing he is doing it slowly. He then decides to sit on the edge of the bed and start cutting his toe nails. This sends me over the edge and I politely ask “ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS” tense silence follows as Pinhead gets dressed in double quick time and we walk to a pub for dinner. I know Pinhead was a bit worried at the beginning because he said I was as a stronger cyclist than him. He did struggle for the first 3 days, but got stronger as the trip went on and I think he would have enjoyed the last couple of days if it wasn’t for his nagging injuries. But he didn’t give up on any hill and kept peddling with some encouragement form me (just keep peddling, just keep peddling, just keep peddling) If you have watched the film Finding Nemo and know the character Dorey, you will know what I am talking about. We had some real good laughs along the way and on at least four occasions I can remember we were actually in fits of laughter like little school kids.
FINALLY
This challenge was an amazing experience and a great way to see parts of this beautiful country. If you are mad enough to even consider doing LEJOG, go for it you won’t regret it. It’s been emotional, you have been a lovely audience! I would sincerely like to thank everybody who has sponsored me, you have made this trip all the more worthwhile and I know the money will help make a difference to MS sufferers. Thanks!!
Bye for now
Fathead
ROADKILL - THE FINAL COUNT
Based on popular demand, I have the final roadkill count. There are a lot of morbid people out there! But it just goes to show how dangerous roads are. Luckily Steve Jobs hasn't invented an i-pod for wildlife yet, otherwise I reckon there would be carnage on the roads. Anyway, top of the list but not really counting are the UA's which totalled 41 (including the Ostrich).
The identifiable final list was
Rabbit = 39 (Stewards Enquiry)
Hedgehog = 27
Pheasant = 23
Frog 13
Blackbird 12
Pigeon 8
Badger 6
Slug 5
Squirrel 5
Fox 4
Mouse 3
Seagull 3
Sparrow 3
Kestrel 2
Mallard 2
Adder 1
Blue Tit 1
Finch 1
Magpie 1
Otter 1
Rat 1
Raven 1
Starling 1
Wagtail 1
Worm 1
That's a total of 206, which over 17 days works out to be 12.117 bits of roadkill a day.
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