Day 3 West Huntspill, Somerset-Astley Burf, Worcestershire

We were the only guests eating and once she had served us breakfast, she sat down in a chair next to us and watched us, throwing in comments such as how her homemade bread was the best we would ever have and barked at us when we didn’t immediately try her homemade marmalade.

After breakfast, it goes without saying that we wasted no time in departing but not before they had sponsored me, guess they weren’t all bad!

Toward the end of Thursday, the bottom bracket on my bike (the bearing that spin the pedals) developed a bit of a creak. I had replaced the whole unit before leaving home as it was starting to wear out. This particular model is prone to loosening itself over time but I chose it as it allows me to get the chainline exactly in line. Anyway, for whatever reason, this one had done just that so I headed to Weston Super Mare to find a bike shop that would be able to tighten it up for me. Two bike shops later, I was having no luck so I said goodbye to Tim and carried on my journey, as I had 108 miles to cover today.

After spotting another bike shop in Yatton (again, no luck) I came to the conclusion that the tool required for removing the bottom bracket wasn’t that common. I then made a call to arrange for my tool to be delivered by 9am the following morning to my stop over near Stourport. I then got the pedals turning again and started to get some miles under my wheels. 

After a quick stop at the Black Horse in Clapton in Gordano, I passed over the Avonmouth bridge, up a few big hills and onto the A38. By this point, the energy-sapping headwind had turned into a slight tailwind and I flew up to Gloucester and yet another county sign.

After Gloucester, I began to tire and by Worcester I was feeling pretty spaced out. I made it to a petrol station where I sat on the edge of the forecourt carbo-loading like never before. After this break, I felt ready for the last 10 miles, the last 4 of which I know were quite tough having done the same ride back in August. I got to my destination at about 6pm and was thoroughly exhausted; my host Matthew was house and dog-sitting for his brother so we spent a relaxing evening eating spaghetti Bolognese and consuming a great bottle of Rioja. There was going to be a sticky toffee pudding but due to Matthew’s unfamiliarity with the oven, it was burnt to a crisp.  

108.6 miles, 6 hours 35 minutes, average 16.49 mph, 4009ft of ascent

Day 2 Burnard’s House, Devon-West Huntspill, Somerset

I woke up on Thursday feeling OK but I knew I had done a hard ride on the previous day, my legs felt quite tired, especially when walking down the stairs!

After a good breakfast of cereal and scrambled eggs on toast, I packed up my bag and set off east towards Holsworthy. The first mile to Holsworthy was lovely – a flat section of new, smooth tarmac, a cyclist’s nirvana. Alas, the road out of Holsworthy kicked up to about 15% so that immediately took some of the freshness out of my legs. The road to Hatherleigh was relatively easy, more undulating than hilly. It then climbed again out of the village, another 10%+ gradient and the story continued through Tiverton and on to Taunton as I skirted round the southern edge of Exmoor.

I stopped for lunch in a small village called Halberton at a pub called the Barge. They gave me a great lunch of gammon, egg and chips, which went some way to refuel me. As I would find over the course of my journey, walking into pubs at lunchtime wearing lycra usually gets you some attention. After asking me what I was doing, the staff and locals clubbed together sent me on my journey with some extra sponsorship money.

After negotiating the cobbled streets of Taunton, I was cycling with more enthusiasm, as I knew the rest of the day was going to be wonderfully flat as I passed into Somerset.

I had arranged to meet Tim (a mate from home) just south of Bridgewater where we could then ride the last 8 miles to the B&B we would be staying in. These last miles passed quickly as the roads were flat and it was nice to have some 2-wheeled company finally.

Our B&B, Ilex House in West Huntspill was a lovely old building, run by an equally old and rather strange couple. The husband was pleasant enough, just exceptionally old and I was sure I would have to give him some kind of medical attention at some point during our stay. The wife was not quite as old but she made up for this with her bluntness and negative outlook on everything outside of her own little world. On arrival, we were immediately made to feel like 2 young schoolboys again and this continued through to breakfast on the following morning.

85.7 miles, 5 hours 40 minutes, average 15.1 mph, 4363ft of ascent

Day 1 Land’s End, Cornwall- Burnard’s House, Devon

I slept well considering the very squeaky metal-framed bunk bed. I was the only one in the room so I dare say that sleeping would have been much harder if there were three others in there.

After a breakfast of Weetabix and toast, I packed up my kit and coasted down the road to Land’s End. I realised when I got there that the tailwind that had blown me West was now going to be against me all day! 

I was surprised to have the place to myself apart from one lonely runner who took a photo of me at the start. I had a short wander round but thought I should better get going so at 8:30am I set off. 

Immediately I know the wind was going to be a factor today. It was always going to be a tough day with the constant hills, but the wind just sapped that little bit more energy from my legs.

My first stop was in Cambourne at about 25 miles in and then again in Redruth at 30 miles. By this point I was already pretty tired. The hills had indeed been constant (and steep), even on the gentle descents I had to pedal to keep moving let alone accelerate.

I stopped for lunch just West of Wadebridge on the A39 at the Halfway House pub. I had a big plate of chilli and rice and two pints of Coke. I was over halfway by this point which helped mentally and would be something I would try and do each day.

After Wadebridge, the hills became a little gentler which meant I could enjoy the nice roads and scenery a little more. Although I was on fairly main roads during the afternoon, they were wide and smooth and I didn’t feel threatened by traffic at all.

From Camelford, the hills returned and the last fifteen miles of the day from Poundstock onwards were on much smaller roads and they were really steep. I passed into Devon soon after which gave me a boost but my quads were close to cramping up on those final few ascents. 

I finally arrived at Oak Tree Farm B&B just after 4pm. I was the only guest as the owners were flying to America the following day.

After tea, biscuits and a shower, I walked to the closest pub, which was about a mile away, along the main road. I had steak pie at the Rydon Inn and managed to splash gravy down one of only 2 t-shirts I had!

92 miles, 5 hours 55 minutes, average 15.53 mph, 6358ft of ascent

Day 0 Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire-Penzance-Trevescan, Cornwall

Finished work at 9am then walked to Enterprise to pick the car up. Got a nice blue Focus. Once I got home, I packed it up with the bike and kit and headed west.

The journey was very straightforward down to Penzance where I dropped the car off. The staff very kindly let me use their office so I could change into my cycling kit and pack my normal clothes into my rack bag before taking the first tentative pedal stroke towards Land’s End.

After an hour’s hard cycling, I reached the hostel only to find it locked up. I rang the owner who said she was an hour away so she gave me the required door code over the phone so I could get in and have a shower. The hostel itself has only been open since May and is in a wonderful location about half a mile from Land’s End in the hamlet of Trevescan.

That evening, I met up with an old university friend who happens to live in Truro. We met in the First & Last Pub in Sennen for tea. I ordered chicken curry that appeared as a chicken breast covered in chip shop curry sauce and a very oily poppadum! I suppose if it’s the last pub, diners don’t have a lot of choice!

After tea we drove down to Land’s End and watched a great fireworks display that runs every Tuesday night throughout August. This was a lovely way to start my trip and I treated it as a personal send off just for me!

Can I change my mind?

Well, I've just got back from my hardest training session yet. 93 miles over to Stourport yesterday and then back home today. I had a headwind most of the day yesterday but it helped me out a bit today!
A big thankyou to Fiona and Matthew for putting me up and feeding me and also to James and Sam for offering me a place to stay next month. Stars.

Final few weeks...

It's now less than 4 weeks until I set off from Land's End. I have planned my final 'big' training ride this coming Monday and Tuesday when I will be cycling over to Astley, near Stourport. This trip is about 85 miles each way so will be a good test of cycling on tired legs!

Today I did a 56 mile ride, averaging 17 mph. I tried to include some decent hills and by the end I was quite tired!

I included 6 steep (ish) hills as you can see from the near vertical lines on the elevation profile! Spring Lane up into Flackwell Heath and the switchback hill at Longridge were the worst I think! I passed one guy pushing his many geared bike up Spring Lane, I really wanted to join him!

More miles...

In a bid to start recreating cycling on less than fresh legs, I decided this week to do two 60+ mile rides on consecutive days. The route took me through Haddenham, Thame, Watlington, Henley, Marlow and High Wycombe and contained a sprinkling of challenging climbs (up to about 15% I think). I have found that slowing the pace a little makes a noticeable difference to recovery the next day so here's to going slow!

I'm off on a 2 week USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) course on Monday so the cycling will take a bit of a back seat for a while but I've got a 92 mile ride planned for the beginning of August that again, I will be doing on 2 consecutive days so I should be well prepared come D Day!

Racking up the miles...

It's been a while since I last posted on the blog, but rest assured I have been training hard and have now completed well over 1000 miles since beginning this blog.
I have also been planning my route in every detail, so there are no nasty surprises en route!
I know a few of you might be joining me for some of the journey so I hope the following maps help with your planning.

31st Aug

1st Sept

2nd Sept

3rd Sept

4th Sept

5th Sept

6th Sept

7th Sept

8th Sept

9th Sept

The sponsorship is coming in well now so a big thanks to all of you who have have some money. We are over the £1000 mark including offline donations which is brilliant!

Here is one final picture of White Watch Aylesbury being sent some balloons for rescuing some people from a house fire last month. My first proper rescue!

Thankyou!

Just to say a massive thankyou to those of you who have already started to sponsor me! We're into 3 figures already.
Please pass my Just Giving page on to anyone you know who might like to sponsor this ride:

wwwjustgiving.com/marks2011lejog

We had a visit from our new turntable ladder yesterday at work. An extra 10 metres taller than the old one! Naturally as the new boy on the watch, I was sent up...

The training is going very well. I did 34 miles yesterday (now seems like a short ride!) and got to test my waterproof jacket! Average speeds on my 'undulating' rides seem to remain at aroung 17.5mph which is pretty good. I've also been carrying a fairly full rack bag on all my rides to get used to the extra weight over the back wheel. Roll on August!

Just Giving

Finally, I have now set up my fundraising page!

Please go to wwwjustgiving.com/marks2011lejog

This page will allow you to donate as little or as much as you want to Maggie's Centre in Cheltenham.

THANKYOU!!

Training is going well, managed a 53 and a 64 mile ride last week. I think when all this is over, I might invest in a bike with more than one gear! My thighs are going to end up like Chris Hoy's!

Dealing with forest fires near Bracknell this week...

Training ride with a difference

I've done a few rides since I last posted anything on the blog but I thought yesterday's ride deserved a mention.

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=228112

This has been the longest ride to date but I had a break about half way round due to another cyclist being involved in an accident. I had gone past him a few miles back, he then went past me on a steep uphill so I was surprised to see him lying in the middle of the road a little further along. A kid had pulled out (on his bike!) from a side road right in front of the cyclist who then went over his handlebars and hit the deck. I phoned for an ambulance, made sure he was ok and took down various contact details for him. In the end he said he had needed 8 stitches and had concussion so it could have been much worse.

I rode the second half of the ride very carefully, watching out for rogue cars and cyclists! It also struck me that I have nearly dealt with as many accidents in my own time as I have whilst at work!

This is the result of a head on collison when you try and overtake on a bend. Taken in Fleet Marston last Autumn.

Let's have a nice quiet 3 months of training now please!

Keeping you interested

I have come to realise that reading about me going for bike rides and buying tyres probably doesn't make for the most gripping reading so I have decided to keep you logged on by adding a few interesting photos of what I get up to at work!

Here is your starter for 10...

This it what happens if you go away and leave your heating off in the winter. The bathroom had a foot of water in it, both ceilings collapsed and everything as you can see, is ruined. Make sure all your pipes are lagged and if the loft is also lagged, don't insulate under the water tank, this will allow some heat from the house to keep this area a bit warmer.

This is a photo from last November when we all grew moustaches for Movember, a fundraising exercise to raise awareness for prostate cancer. Needless to say, all facial hair was removed on December 1st!

Shopping

My wish list from Wiggle arrived today. I had ordered a few bits that I though I would need for training rides and the BIG ONE itself.

1 x Hi viz waterproof jacket for the Scottish summer
1 x Set rear brake pads in case I wear mine out on those Cornish hills
2 x Tyres, my current ones are nearly worn out. Vittoria Rubino Pro, not one puncture in 1200 miles
1 x Gel padded cycling shorts as mine are a bit worn out!
1 x Handlebar tape (matches saddle which is a bit sad I'm afraid)
1 x Sports towel
2 x Water bottles and cages
1 x Inner tube

So far I have used the shorts which are great and the bottles too do their job! Hopefully won't need the waterproof!

Summer is here!

The weather yesterday was amazing so I thought I'd get a good ride in before work. I managed a 46 miler up through the lanes towards Milton Keynes and back through Thornborough and Padbury. 2 hours 40 mins and a 17.5mph average speed.

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=225380

It wasn't until I got changed at work that realised the sun had been quite strong and had left me with some interesting tan lines! I have never got had sunburn in April before!

Maybe I should add sun cream to my list for September!

Start adding weight...

On today's ride, I wanted to test out carrying a bit of extra weight with me. The ride was a 2 part affair. A quick 10 miles over a couple of hills, past Chequers and down to a pub for lunch with Char and Trendy then an undulating 35 miles back through Marlow, Lane End, Radnage and Chinnor. Biggest climb was a 13.7% gradient up into Radnage, good training for Cornwall but not very enjoyable!

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=223647

I have pinched a rear rack off my mum's bike which has been sat in the garage gathering dust since I last serviced it for her! Sorry Mum.

My little nephew Theo was very helpful in assisting me fit it to my bike. He has several suggestions that made the whole process go a lot smoother, I hope the chain oil came out of his jeans Jen!

Today, I loaded the rack bag up with a camera, phone, bike tools and a hefty D lock. The first few miles felt hard work just we put that down to the run I did yesterday in Wendover Woods. After lunch, it felt easier and I didn't notice the extra weight too much even when pedaling out of the saddle up the hills. I think the massive club sandwich (and half of Char's massive prawn sandwich) I had for lunch might have helped!

My Wheels

I built my bike a couple of years ago after selling my old Cannondale road bike. It was a good bike but was a bit big for me and holds bad memories for me as the last time I rode it, I was almost run over and the bike was.

I had stopped on the way home from work to fix a puncture when some rude boy in his Rover (my Grandpa had a Rover!) lost control on a bend and ran the bike over. I had by this point dived into the safety of a bush but the mental scars were there so the bike had to go.

I chose to build a single speed simply because it was simpler to do (no gears, shifter and derailleurs to complicate the job) and it would hopefully get me mega fit!


I chose a frame from On One, a small firm up in Doncaster who specialize in steel single speed delights and then got the other parts from various other sources. Alpina carbon fork, Miche chainset and hubs, Mavic rims... the list goes on. Anyhow, the result was a beautifully light and comfortable bike that is unique. Single speed bikes are quite rare in the Chilterns for some reason!

So now comes the sad job of weighing it down with a luggage rack and an extra bottle cage. I will also be adding some comfier bar tape before long. The blue track grips match the tyres nicely but they don't damp out much vibration!