Day 5

Writing blog (Steve) after another looooong days riding. We clocked 131 miles yesterday and 131 miles today very strange coincidence. It's so mad thinking that we were setting off from Glastonbury at 8.30am yesterday and we are here at home two days later.
We are going to be down to two riders tomorrow. I'm totally gutted to be losing Lee. He will post his own blog when he can. We pray that he can join us en route asap. What a great ride to date mate, proud of you. It goes without saying how much you are going to be missed. We have become a tight bunch.

In a bit of a daze here, so tired and lots to do to get ready in the morning for the push up North.
Today was really tough, all running on empty for much of the day. But the good ting was that it was relatively flattish. Look up Aymestrey on a map and take in that it's south of Birmingham. A long trek up to home.
Really looking forward to getting out of here, a strange sensation being home, but also looking forward to riding out to Scorton with the club on our way to Grassmere.
Big mention to Denis and Jenny, who we have had giving the most amazing support in the first half of our epic journey. Drivers, navigators, masseurs, medics, pa's, organisers, the list is endless. We will be forever indebted to you both and will miss the pampering that you have given us. Welcome on board Stevie B, a great addition to our group.
Time for some shut eye and hope to update from the Lake District tomorrow.
X

Day 4

131 miles! Set off from Glastonbury at 8:30am arrived at B&B at 10pm with two 30min breaks! (blog updated via phone call to Amelia). Long day tomorrow. Pics of cheddar gorge, 7 bridge etc to follow. Off to sleep!!!!!
Pics of Cheddar Gorge and 7 Bridge (England to Wales).
Pics include Much needed drinks north of Monmouth Wales.
Setting off from Meare (Glastonbury).
Lee and Kev shattered after 131 tough miles of climbing.
Lee and Denis arriving at the accomodation in Herefordshire 10pm.
Kev and Steve tackling Cheddar Gorge.
Lee and Kev on the Severn Bridge crossing into Wales.

It's hot and no amount of linen will help....

We stayed in a great place last night and dined at the local eatery, the Harris Arms, which, as we have more or less found with everyone we encounter, we received a friendly and warm welcome. In fact the four people sitting close to us in the restaurant gave us £20 and the owners of the pub another £10. We woke up this morning really looking forward to the day but it started badly, 1 hour of pure hills followed by Lee's cassette on the back cog breaking. Thankully Matty M had provided a spare back wheel otherwise we'd have been in a right state. Things got better and going through a beautiful village called, well who knows, there are so many, a little old lady and her husband stopped their car where we were parked getting supplies and handed us £4 out of her purse. We also met a bloke called Rob in a big yellow jacket and a bike laden with two huge saddle bags who is doing the ride on his own. Hello Rob if you are reading. The country side is beautiful and we've had our best day yet...93 miles today and considering we've got over 100 miles to do tomorrow as well as negotiating Bristol and one of the bridges....who knows which one the sat nav will take us over...we'd better get some kip.

Me in Denis's gear

He still does't know I had his Safari outfit on! I look like Jom Carey in The Mask, smokin!!!!

day 2 (more pics)

Day 2

The most enjoyable day I think I (Steve) have ever had in the saddle. Glorious weather (Zebra tan), stunning scenery along a rugged coastline and monster climbs all day. Don't think Lee will agree re the hills and their steepness.
Set off from St Agnes at 9am and headed for Newquay. It tested us all fo the first hour or two with constant climbing. At Padstow I decided on a detour and the Camel Trail cycle route, which slowed our progress a little. Stopped for lunch overlooking Bodmin Moor and had Cornish Pasties all round (as we were about to leave the county). Cut inland and headed for Launceston. Made it to the B and B for 5pm with Lee looking for a new set of lungs and legs. But he lad did well and we spent a lot of the day allowing im to dictate the pace.
Met another End to Ender just outside Launceston and he's taking 18 days for his.
Totally loving this adventure and for some strange reason, I loved the hills today.
Denis has just left for he village pub, so I'm expecting there will be bunting and a brass band laid on by the locals after last nights saga!!!!!
Take the mick out of Denis, but his support driving and all it includes is first class. They (Denis and Jenny)are there at the side of the road, either handing out drinks or video camera/ digital camera in hand. Kev's going great and it's wonderful to see him riding with a huge grin on his face.

The day started with a lot of faffing (mostly by me, Kev) Weather was not good with a lot of sea mist which kept visibility down. We got all the photos, signed in at the Lands End Hotel then we were on our way.
I was pretty emotional at the start, Carla would have given me a slap, so decided to put my head down and just get on with it.
As we cycled towards our half way break the weather started to improve, we rode down into St Ives with the sun out and lovely blue sky. St Ives was packed, found it difficult to find somewhere to stop for a bit of lunch, eventually found a little place out the way. People are generally very supportive but some think we have almost finished....one more day, they shout......maybe that was because we were going in the wrong direction....sat nav decided to do its own thing...or was it because Steve had fixed it to his bike backwards? Who knows, but we made it eventually to St Agnes, having done an extra ten miles. We are staying in a lovely B&B called Kimberely..really lovely. We went into town to the nearest pub/restaurant, although Denis and Jen had gone ahead. We walked into the pub and received a round of applause...very embarrassing, who knows what Denis had told them, and as Steve pointed out, his postman had probably ridden further than us that day.
Tough day ahead today, very testing hills and the miles increase considerably.

Day 1

Penzance (eve before the start)

Arrived safely in Penzance after stress free 6hr drive down. Booked into Faulty Towers with Basil. I (Steve) ate a banana every time I spotted a significant hill South of Bristol. Got through 4 bunches and found myself swinging (like a baboon) out of the car when we arrived. Wish I had packed blinkers, it's either up or down, playing on my mind.
Took a walk around Penzance and had a quick coffee whilst we waited for Lees train to arrive at 5.30.
Passed a weigh bridge as we were walking near the sea front and had to climb on, me being the groups fat cyclist. Be interesting to see how much I lose by JOG.
Pics include Lee arriving, weigh bridge and 1st days nutrition. Off out now for more Food!!!!

Ready to travel to the start line

Well, it seemed like we had ages left and suddenly it's crept up and here we are setting off in the morning. (Steve) Opted to ride with the clubs social group this morning and it was a very gentle pace. Lots of stop starts too, as there was a fella with us called Flat Eric (Just the name I gave him due to puncturing several times). Been rushed off my feet with last minute arrangements. I have still got to pack, eat and then reroute the Gramin Sat Nav for parts of days 3 and day 11.
Poor Lee's last few days have been a nightmare and it didn't look like he was going to join us on Friday night as baby Eze was taken into hospital. Just spoken to him and the little fella has picked up and came out after 24 hours. So looks like we will be back to a three now. Lee's had no riding in the past week and will naturally be a bit rusty come Tuesday.
However, it's Kev who has had the biggest problems leading up to the ride. He can't decide what type of conditioner to pack (oh, to have hair).

Liverpool Womens Hospital

I (Kev) had an emotional return to the Liverpool Women's Hospital this morning, for a photo shoot for The Liverpool Echo with some of the Nursers. It was lovely to meet up with Chris Webster again the MacMillan Clinical Nurse Specialist, who deserves a medal for the amazing work that she does. She was fantastic with Carla.
Carla always talked about Chris.

Wax or Shave, you decide

Lee called before. The London boy has gone under the blade, he's shaved his legs in preparation for the big ride. We will look like a pro team now, with shaved legs, matching kit, top bikes and a fancy support car. Pity Lee still has his stabilizers attached!

Feet First

(Steve) Had an appointment with the chiropodist at 5.40, wanting my poor feet to stand up to the millions, yes millions of pedal revs in the next two weeks. Sheila Morris did a wonderful job and now I'm not so concerned about my toes giving me so much pain.
Chatted to Sheila about what lay ahead and what the charity is all about. Couldn't believe it when I came to pay up and she told me to donate her fee to the charity.
Thanks a lot Sheila, fantastic generosity.
A plug is the least I can do and highly recommended - Sheila Morris Chiropodist/Podiatrist, Aughton Surgery.

Loverly Lady

I (Kev) went into Ormskirk this morning to go to the Bank and as I locked the car a lovely lady on crutches came over to me and asked if she could sponsor our ride.The kind lady had seen the charity on the car and said that she had heard me on the radio.
She wanted to put some money into my bucket. I explained that I didn't have a bucket for her donation, so I gave her a Blog card and told her about our Blog and about the link to our Just Giving site. With help from her Daughter, she said she would be happy to sponsor us through Just Giving. I told her about Carla and she then shook me by the hand and said "you are doing an amazing thing"
I asked the lovely Lady for her name, unfortunately I didn't write it down, so typical me, memory like sieve I forgot it! If that nice lady reads this, I am very sorry for forgetting your name.
Bless you.

Queen's Park School Involvement

The St Helens Star arrived today to take some snaps of the children, Kev and I with the car. They should be publishing an article within the next week or so about the ride. The pic with this post is Mr Curran's attempt and not the Star's photographer's work.
The children were really excited meeting Kev and having their pics taken with the support vehicle. There's an own clothes day on Friday to support the charity and also a raffle being organised by the 'Friends of Queen's Park'. Kev and I have decided to open up a competition to all pupils who can have a go at guessing the exact miles we will cycle. The closest or exact guesses will be placed in a hat and will win a prize.
This time next week we will be in Penzance preparing our bikes and ourselves for the challenge ahead.
The plan for this week is minimum miles on the bike and lots of carbohydrates, with several early nights.
Can't wait to get started, especially after accompanying Steve D yesterday on his day 5.

End to Enders, end to homer and wanna be end to enders

Met the club, but decided to head South and try to meet up with Steve Diesel from the cycling club(who was on his day 5 end to end challenge). Kev got quite irate when I (Steve) couldn't quite get the Sat Nav to navigate out of Ormskirk on the route I'd plotted. After several attempts, I turned it off and relied on Steve Nav. I thought Kev was not happy with me at the start, but his anger built and peaked just after we had crossed the Runcorn Widnes bridge (I thought it was quite funny) as the traffic and main road was very busy and extremely unpleasant. He sounded like Mutley from Wacky Races, cursing me under his breath. His mood totally transformed when I got him to Frodsham and then on beautiful lanes through Delamere Forest. Took a refuel stop at Tarporley, very posh place and a nice cafe.
Headed back onto the A49 towards Whitchurch to meet Steve, who had called a few times. Got several miles up the road, then decided to pull over and wait for him.
Then at the brow of a long climb he appeared, but he had company (two lads from the club). Alongside him were Colin and Pantani (ex famous Italian cyclist) on a tandem. t was no ordinary tandem. It had the Skull and Crossbones flag flying from the back (The real Marco Pantani Christened himself el Pirate) and a white balloon flying high, attached by string. Upon closer inspection, they had insulation tape making allsorts of holders and cages. Sun cream, after sun, tools, tyre glue etc..... We set off with them and had a wonderful ride, which included a stop at a garden centre in Cheshire for fancy deserts and coffee. On to Stockton Heath, Warrington, (where we passed the stadium whilst a game was on), Ashton, Haydock, Billinge and home. Miles clocked today 89. something (not exactly sure, as I turned the Garmin off early on). Picked Steve D's brain and got great advice. Best of it was, "You will have all day to make it to the next B and B, so chill out and take all day if you want". Feel great after a Protein shake, shower and pasta. Scorching day today and so important to drink. Think I used 6 water bottles on the ride. Got 50 miles in yesterday too. Tapering training this week and eating lots of carbohydrates in preparation for the start in 8 days!

This Is It........

This time next week will be our last day in our own beds before embarking on a madcap adventure from Lands End to John O Groats. I'm (Lee) already knackered thinking about it. Tried to get out today for what I hoped would be a decent prep ride but god it was hot, not helped by Ava keeping me up all night with a temperature of 39.6. She's OK now. Anyway did my usual trip to Richmond Park and went round and round until my limited sleep deprived strength gave out and I headed home. Only 55 miles. Actually got out yesterday morning too for a quick 25 miles before breakfast. Hope it's not so hot next week. Hope you boys got out and honed those riding skills to the maximum...remember you promised you'd wait for me.......happy days

Support Car

This is the lovely BMW M5 that Phil Jones of Halliwell Jones has very kindly provided for us to use as our support vehicle.

Lord Lucan Appearance!

Very good Kev. How did you manage to get a shot of us two with hands on hips at the same time?
Here's the official shot for the papers etc.....
No Photoshop software would be good enough to improve these terrible mug shots.