Day 6: Catterall - Shrewsbury

Start Time 08:30

Finish Time 19:00

Actual Mileage 96.5 miles

Average Speed (14.4 mph)

Some claimed this would be the toughest day but with a bright and blissful start at an M6 service station hotel we were well on our way to answering those critics. Our route master Ollie Houston did manage to lose us within a mile but due to Rhys's knowledge of navigation we managed to meet up again with no qualms. The morning session was delightful passing through enriching towns such as Preston, Wigan and Warrington. We then stopped for lunch at a Tesco's and as usual looked like beggers as we sat outside on the floor with a feast laid out (we managed to get a very generous donation of 91p from one woman). Rhys managed to drop his sushi on the floor but was so hungry he lapped it up in no time. The afternoon session was pretty ordinary but we did manage to top up our tans, get lots of flies in our faces (which felt like being shot by a really weak bb gun) and increase our cycling injuries to double digits:

Our Injuries Key: 
Yellow =  Minor
Red = Major
Blue = Serious

 Our Injuries Key: Yellow =  Minor / Red = Major / Blue = Serious

Guess who's hand from the glove tannage...

As the day had very few highlights here is top three list of our favourite roads so far:

A9 - very scottish with lots of highland cows fleeting around its edges - cycled 213 miles on it

A6 - very minor A-road but superb tarmack at times - cycled 104 miles on it

A45 - pretty direct but could have had more imaginative surroundings - cycled 63 miles on it

Energy Booster of the day (sponsored by Mcvities Jaffa Cakes): completing 30 miles in 2 hours in a speedy afternoon session.

Day 5: Canonbie to Catterall

Start Time 08:15

Finish Time 18:45

Actual Mileage 90.2 miles

Average Speed (13.3 mph)

Apologies for the double dossage of bloggage today but we failed to get internet up and running again in Scotand last night (the country is living up to its stereotype of being far behind England...)

First comment to make was that Joe asked for cooked breakfasts to be served at 7.30am on the dot and that it was... he managed to lean too heavily on the plate and it all ended up in his lap! Within a mile of setting off we came face to face with no-mans land (a 300 yard stretch of road that was neither in Scotland or England!!) So we decided like usual to get a photo to prove that we actually did cycle from Scotland to England.

We then headed down to Carlisle and on the way Steve managed to terrorise a learner driver and Ollie manage to pick up a cheap 4-pack of fake lucozades called explodade...(available in your local Aldi for £1.29)

Once Carlisle was eating our dust we headed for Penrith and visited our second supermarket of the day (Co-op) to stock up on provisions for some more hillage (first 50 miles was an uphill climb). But we were making steady progress so Joe decided to treat the team to a box of Roses and some Fab ice lollies which no-one really wanted so he ended up eating the box and 4 lollies by himself! (he actually got quite an energy buzz from them!)

The next part of the day saw us descend a very steep mountainous region into Kendall which was a good ten-mile stretch. What we didn't know at the time was a bolt had come off of Rhys's dodgy (for want of a better word) Mongoose bike and he had cycled down the steep incline with it jingling away like 'coins in a pocket'. Our third stop of the day was a Morrissons in Kendal where we failed to pick up any Kendal Mint Cake :'( but where we did manage to have a pleasant conversation with a stranger who managed to lecture us on the fact that bikes are now a lot cheaper than the olden days and so are washing machines and so many other things and how he had lived in so many places but preferred the north as it is very 'multi-cultural'.

Finally towards the end the day we headed for Lancaster and stopped off in a Tesco's (all we seem to do now is eat, sleep and cycle...) Rob had an awesome standstill fall, Steve went through red traffic lights to oncoming traffic, Joe got some nice leg tan, Rhys ate a 'space bar' and Ollie got his phone out every other minute to check directions to a country lane travelodge.Worthy mention is that this was our 3rd day in a row with no punctures - shows either that we are getting better at cycling or the roads further south are better laid or that Ollie has been told the story of the 'boy who cried wolf too many times'...

Red Nose of the Day (sponsored by Rudolph): a closely run contest between Steve and Rhys who both seemed to have caught the sun as much as England seems to have caught wedding fever (that's right we have been keeping up to date with the news...)

Day 4: Inverkeithing - Canonbie

Start Time 08:00

Finish Time 19:30

Actual Mileage 97.5 miles

Average Speed (13.5 mph)

We set off and within a couple of miles we hit the infamous fourth road bridge cycling. Then we skirted around the dodgy bypass roads of Edinburgh during the rush hour and took a break in a park on the outskirts where we felt like we were playing truant by pumping hip hop music out of a speaker and drinking stimulative drinks on a park bench.

We got a little lost tracking the back streets of Edinburgh but then managed to get on a country road taking us to the town of Peebles. Not much banter to report on the roads compared to previous days, more abuse than anything as we got increasingly frustrated that we were not getting anywhere fast. We did 45 miles in 7 hours and still had another 50 miles to go at 3pm…

Steve had some achilles pains, Rob got so excited he kicked his chain off, Ollie’s ipod died after an hour and he was very demotivated without his 2 earphones, Joe found out he doesn’t like energy satchets and Rhys had schoolgirls pushed out in front of him as he cycled along the 3’oclock school run. But then we hit a nice stretch of road and an awesome valley along the very scenic A7 and the world was our oyster. We picked up our pace and with Steve a long way in the lead we went for a 1 pit stop strategy over 30 miles to see us past the finish line quicker than Michael Schumacher can complete a F1 Grand Prix.

Horrendous road kill of the day (superbly sponsored by Mcdonalds Chicken Mayo’s): A fox with its bones sticking out and quite a few squashed rabbits.

Day 3: Newtonmore - Inverkeithing

Start Time 07:45

Finish Time 18:15

Actual Mileage 100.2 miles

Average Speed (15.2 mph)

The start of the day was not the best. We were in a very cold ski town with no heating, no hot water and we had to make our own breakfast!! Some would say that we are all being divas playing the charity card to be waited on hand and foot but in actual fact it was just Ollie ‘morning alarms mean nothing to me’ Houston requesting silver service.

  

We also had to face a gradual climb for the first cycling hour to reach a peak of 460 metres altitude (our noses were bleeding we were so high up..)  but when we reached the top there was no stopping us. The next hour was amazing cycling conditions (basically all down hill) so we clocked up almost 20 miles in an hour. So we were doing really well but then Ollie ‘2 earphones’ Houston cried wolf for the second time on the trip and claimed he had a puncture so we all stopped when in actual fact he didn’t but was just a ‘bit tired’.

Hip and happening tourist spots we covered through the day were Blair Castle (it is a common misconception that Tony and Cherie live here), the Scottish town of Perth (aka the ‘perfect centre’) and Loch Leven where we saw a very random clown cycle past… Rhys managed to brake his bike briefly by throwing rubbish in his chain and Joe and Rob managed to avoid an overturned campervan by taking an uphill stretch very slowly.

 

We also managed a McDonalds Drive Through and a lovely afternoon cycle ride through the country where some people mistook us for lost ‘Tour de France’ cyclists…

Finally we headed for the town of Inverkeithing (just north of Edinburgh) where Steve managed to challenge a local youtharian to a cycle race and where we all managed to grab a wide variety of takeaway food.

'Nice to see you to see you nice' moment of the day (sponsored by Bruce Forsyth): Seeing Bill Clarke turn up with a car to carry some of our luggage.

Day 2: Tain - Newtonmore

Start Time 08.15

Finish Time 18:15

Actual Mileage 78.4 miles

Average Speed (12.8 mph)

Steve's stretches...

What a way to spend an Easter Sunday – on a nice bike (except Rhys) in the Scottish Highlands (hanging with lots of cows) cycling 34.9 miles less than yesterday (we thought we would treat ourselves….) and drinking a collective 20 lucozades between us!

The first 33 miles we covered in excellent time with no mishaps to our names and finishing the morning session with a 10 mile stretch down a dual carriageway in 25 minutes!! (the clever ones out there can work out our average speed during this stretch and be modestly impressed). We arrived into the 4^th biggest Scottish city of Inverness at 11am to buy up as many tyres as we could carry while watching Inverness football club train at their stadium. Then it started to cloud over so we set off to complete the rest of the mileage.

Harry Potter Train?

Cairngorn National Park

The next hour was ‘hell on earth’ climbing 300 metres altitude on a full stomach (think of the altitude sickness… ) But we made it and after that we had a very comfortable ride through the mountains passing some minimalist ski resorts, some snow capped peaks and quite a bit of road kill. To see us to the end of the day Ollie gained his second puncture, Rob had a fall, Steve almost got hit by a lorry, Rhys ate an Easter Egg and Joe acted as a wind shield with his wide loaded pannier bags.

Early Risers

Ollie Houston or a traffic sign?

‘What have you done today to make you feel proud’ moment of the day (kindly sponsored by Heather Small): Getting some bargains in Co-Op.

Day 1: Wick – John O Groats – Tain

Start Time 07:15

Finish Time 20:30

Total Actual Mileage: 102.3 miles

Average Speed (11.6 mph)

So what have we got to tell you about today?

Well we turned up at John O’Groats to find that the sign was owned by a private institution and was missing… We phoned them up and had to pay the substantial sum of 9.95 for a photo – but it was well worth it as you can see:

Next we faced devastatingly ridiculous head winds, heavy rain and generally poor conditions for 180 minutes between the hours of 11:00 to 14:00. And during this time period we heard 2 gunshots that turned out to be popped tyres. Luckily Joe’s tyres didn’t break and Steve’s did but Rob had a spare so we were all good. There was also some nervous moments when Steve decided to go full pelt down a hill while iot was raining only to find that his brakes almost failed him going round a sharp turn next to a cliff...

But it wasn't all bad. After 3pm the sun started to come out and as we cycled parallel to the north east coast of Scotland we got to see a castle, a sunset, a highland cow and a couple of Co-Ops! We ended the evening with a very quick pub dinner and nice cold beer to keep our spirits high.

 'Wish you were here’ moment of the day (kindly sponsored by the Wish you were here Holiday Show): Being at the John O’Groats Sign with no sign.

A Hard Slog

Today we all met at a nice and early 7.15am to get 14 hours worth of trains from London to Wick (17 miles from John O'Groats). Steve got off to a great start.... he managed to get a puncture on his way to the station and had to call a cab! But we all made it with pannier bags in toe.

Getting in some much needed training....

To be fair there is only so much you can say about train journeys to make them sound interesting. So let's keep it short and sweet.

• Met 3 other people cycling John O'Groats to Landsend (2 of them doing it by themselves), 

• Saw some lovely scenery in Scotland 

• And most importantly managed to get on all our connections even though the two train conductors in Scotland were being completely preposterous and attempted to read us the health and safety act because their trains could not accommodate more than 4 bikes even though they were half empty.

Anyway enough said. Big day tomorrow - it actually includes some cycling.... Please tune in again same time, same place.