Day 3 Ian and Hannah leave

What a day...we had it all going on....

We were met by Brother Phil Noakes who lived locally and was a keen cyclist so he said he would come down and lead us through the first 5 or 6 miles before he went onto work......

We were heading for the Severn Bridge and Wales.....just short of the bridge however David had a big blowout and his tyre and inner tube were wrecked...despite spare tyres being on the list, nobody brought one with them so we now a had a problem on our hands.......fortunatley Ian didn't live that far away so asked his wife to get a wheel out of the shed and bring it to us.....what a star.

We made it accross the bridge, all be it frangmented, the view was fantastic

 

We stopped for food just after fixing the tyre just over the bridge where Ian's family was waiting for us with lots of food.

A really kind lady whose house we parked outside brought tea and coffee out to us.
AFTER FINISHING OUR TEA WE GOT BACK ON TRACK. UNFORTUNATELY WE WERE NOW ABOUT 2 AND 1 /2 HOURS BEHIND SCHEDULE, IT WAS LUNCHTIME AND WE HAD AROUND 90 MILES LEFT TO DO.. SO WE PRESSED ON.

TINTERN ABBEY AND THE VIEWS WERE STUNNING BUT HEAVY ON THE LEGS. ONCE WE HIT THE MAIN A ROADS WE GOT INTO A RYTHM AND MOVED ALONG TOGETHER RACKING UP  THE MILEAGE.

UNFORTUNATELY THE TIME CAME TOO SOON FOR US TO SAY GOODBYE TO IAN.

IAN WAS GREAT COMPANY AND ALSO A GREAT HELP USING HIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF 2 LEJOG'S AND HIS FITNESS TO REALLY HELP SUPPORT IN ANY WAY HE COULD. THANKS IAN, VERY MUCH.

AT AROUND THE SAME TIME AS SAYING GOODBYE TO IAN WE HAD A CHANCE MEETING WITH SOMEONE ELSE  DOING LEJOG BUT HE WAS DOING IT ON HIS OWN, NO SUPPORT AND ON A FIXED SPEED BIKE....FOR THODE WHO DON'T KNOW KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, HE CAN'T FREEWHEEL DOWN HILLS, HE HAS TO PEDAL ALL THE WAY AND HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY GEARS. HERE'S A LINK TO HIS BLOG.

AFTER GOING OUR SEPERATE WAYS WE HAMMERED THROUGH MAKING QUICK WORK OF THE MILES AHEAD. OUR NEXT MAJOR STOP WAS HEREFORD MEETING HALL, JUST FOR A QUICK BREAK, HAD A CHANCE MEETING WITH THE RECORDING BROTHER, GOT TOOLED UP FOR SOME NIGHT RIDING AND OFF WE WENT AGAIN.

WE WEREN'T FEELING TOO BAD BUT NEEDED TO RIDE INTO THE DARKNESS WHICH WAS A LITTLE HAIRY AT TIMES AND COLD TOO.

FINALLY WE ARRIVED AT SHREWSBERRY MEETING TIRED BUT NOT BROKEN. DAVID'S PARENT'S MADE A REEL FUSS OF US AND YET AGAIN WE WERE SPOILT.....AND LOVING IT.....JUST WHAT WE NEEDED....QUICK WASH AND GOT OUR HEADS DOWN....

As a footnote this was Hannah's night of departure but this isn't the end of the story for Hannah's involvement as she will be back on Thursday, in the mean time Mike will be supporting us, he has some big shoes to fill, Hannah has done a superb job of looking after us, thanks Hannah

Day 2 Ben's Birthday

The Day started earlier than expected, everyone wanting a lay in but alas road beckoned. A fantastic breakfast was prepared for us by Gareth and Anne whose house we stayed in. whether they are now regretting it in the sight of the aftermath of letting 9 blokes crash on their floor...after all the protein shakes it's not the place to hang around for too long. Thanks again to Gareth and Anne

Lots of groaning about aches and pains we got going and surprisingly after a little while everyone settled into a good pace and we all stayed together really well. It was great to cycle so close together as a team, all of us together.

At the first stop the aches were starting to settle in fromt he previous day so out came the deep heat and everyone was feeling good and smelling great!

it has to be said that Hannah has been doing a sterling job of supported all of us with meeting us when arranged which is harder than it sounds and making up our provisions which are keeping us going no problem at all



overall the cycling today was great, we all coped well, Ben Adams had some trouble with one of his knees but kept going....well done...... link to todays ride is here
regarding Ben Adams....it was his birthday today....what a way to spend your birthday.....Happy Birthday Ben

The most entertaining part of the day was the cleaning arrangements. No shower at the hall so some improvising was needed...2 solutions were executed.....using the hot water from the ladies toilet to flannel down.....definately the more civilised option......or a hose down with cold water in the car park

After meeting everyone at the Downend Christadelphian hall which is our digs for the night we sang happy birthday this was followed by..........

 loads of delicious food....spoilt again.....and then.........

 birthday cake

Day 1 We're off

Due to the mishaps of the previous day 5 of us had to do 40 miles first thing in the morning to catch up
The plan was for the 5 of us to get up at 5:00am Aaarrrrggghhhh get down to Land's End then meet the others back at our hosts home in Cubert

here are the chaps who did it the day before











And here are the rest of us who are sticking with the 9 days
heres the first 40 miles




Tim Taylor (middle of the picture) was determined to go to Lizzard Point, the southern most point of england as well so after about 10 miles he split off to do an additional 35 ish miles.

We later met up again near Stratton with 40 ish miles to go to complete either 80 or 120 miles but for Tim this would be nearer 150










We finally made the 120 ride, finishing around 7:30 which meant that although we had a few stops we had been riding on and off for over 12 hours, we were all absolutely shattered
but arrived to soup, pasta and a barbecue followed by cakes and a hot shower...it was fantastic

We were indeed blessed with good weather, great fellowship and strong hearts, which made the difference to our only strong'ish legs

Day 0 The adventure begins

The start of the day wasn't a good one, problems with trailer lights and then with roof bars which considering we had 3 sets of roof bars and 10 different ways of mounting a bicycle to a car and still we struggled to mount a bicycle on the car

However after 3 trips to halfords we succeded

happy bunnys once again.....

next stop we had to sort out the trailer lights, for this we stopped off at a place that Guy found online.

There was much shaking of heads and many intakes of breath.......2 1/2 hours later....

we were on the road

 

This late start meant that we wouldn't be able to get down to cornwall until late in the evening, this would mean an early start the next day to start from Land's end. Some of the other guys decided it would be easier to start on friday to knock off 40 miles from saturday, as all the literature says 9 days we thought it prudent that some of us stick to the 9 days

Tim also had a torrid time making it to the start at the mercy of the train network he eventually made it to cornwall by taxi........

1 hour 45 mins to go before we arrive at our hosts for the night

Chris' LEJOG Training (3 weeks to go)

This past week was quite tough
target was to do 3 days on the trot commuting to and from work then rest for a couple of days before doing an 86'ish mile ride with a pal from work on saturday from emsworth to brighton and back

the commute wasn't too bad 27ish miles each way, a couple of firsts this week

Managed to do every journey without stopping for the loo and therefore avoiding the risk of being arrested for exposure in the process

I didn't get lost, i had a couple of moments where i wasn't sure at junctions and checked the sat-nav but i reckon that doesn't count as i didn't actually increase my journey mileage due to going the wrong way

the weather was pretty much perfect, slightly overcast and about 20 degrees with no wind to speak of so i churned out the mileage without too much trouble, although i was quite please to be home on wednesday night knowing i had a couple of days rest.

this weeks wildlife picture is another cute one for the girl's...baby swan's....all together now aaaarrrr

windsor great park again, just outside the post office

i have all the sporttracker files but i reckon they are much the same as the others so haven't included them

The resting period was a surprisingly achey one, friday was particularly sore, leaving me feeling a little concerned about the ride on saturday, which was to be my longest ever ride

saturday started well by getting up late meaning it was all a bit of a rush but i got to my pal Jon's house in reasonable time so we were ready to set off from Emsworth about 10:45. The day before i had purchased a few accesories to try out which i thought would be good for the big ride, these were in the form of a couple of small bags, they were almost perfect so i am chuffed with those.

Anyway, Jon had worked the route out so that it was hilly on the way to Brighton, crossing over the south down's way i think it was a couple of times and then a flat route back following thr cost road. Surprisingly the 2000'ish ft ascent on the way to brighton was quite enjoyable, it was tough but rewarding, the weather was sunny to cloudy and a plesent temperature, my new friend "Chamoix Butt'r" was performing well, the same could not be said of my cheap Karrimor cycling shorts as the padding sat in the wrong place and started to introduce some aching.

reaching the highest point was great, the views were fantastic, this is me feeling pleased but looking gormless

interestingly at this point we noticed that there was some kind of camping festival thing going on...to my left as you look at the picture, camping in more ways than one as it was Gay Pride weekend in Brighton, this was to be an interesting day indeed

It was down hill from here, we were both looking forward to some grub and seeing the seaside

and here it is

it was beautifull, although we both felt a little uncomfortable mincing about in Lycra

We found a great sandwich bar run by a mountain biker who was struggling to concentrate due tot he passing pedestrian traffic.

the sandwiches were massive and cheap, i'd recommend it if i could remember the name of the place.

So we sat in the park ate our sandwiches and then got back on our bikes

It this point the story takes a more miserable turn, what followed was a mostly flat ride into 15+mph winds virtually all the way back, it was miserable with a capital VERY. i had a headache within 5 miles, a combination of dehydration and the howling wind i think, the only interesting thing to look at was all the kite surfers struggling in the gusty conditions!!!! About 20 miles in in poured with rain, mile shoes filled up with water instantly which i coped with in fairness quite well, my feet only got cold within 5 miles of the finishing, oh yer that'd be the same time i got a puncture. My pal Jon dragged my along to a final average speed of 15.1 mph, which is the fastest i have ever ridden anywhere but i was a broken man, if only i didn't have an hour and 45 minute drive home!

heres the route

This day was a rwal eye opener leaving me with some positive experiences and some lessons learnt, i'm sorry to say it also left me feeling really apprehensive about the task ahead......Our first day would be half as much again on the 28th...mmmmmm..more training i think

Chris' LEJOG Training (4 weeks to go)

This week i set myself the challenge of cycling to work and back twice
previous weeks training have mostly consisted of 5 to 10 mile mountain bike blasts in the woods at the back of work, i did a few trips either to or from work on my bike, really striggled on a more than one occasion
so this was a big deal for me
work is roughly 26 miles each way, usually taking in a fairly long stretch of the A30 unless i can avoid it

Those that know me well will recall that my sense of direction is pretty poor at best and these trips to and from work work have really reminded me of that fact, 1 trip being extended to 33 miles cos i went left instead of right onto the A30, when i arrived at egham instead of sunningdale i knew something was not quite right

At this point it was time to engage sat nav and get myself to work!!!

so far i have yet to complete the same route twice either to or from work but feel i have now got the better of my nemesis which is the collection of roundabouts which makes up farnborough, i got lost there in the car doing dummy runs in preperation and have now after 5 failures got through farnborough twice without getting lost

A complete contrast to the A30 and farnborough is the perfectly serene section of my commute, through windsor great park, several miles of beautiful, peacefull, landscape

if i pick the right route through the great park i go through the dear enclosure, absolutely stunning, 100's of dear having their breakfast, largely ignoring me as i trundle through at 6 in the morning

This part of my journey really makes me want to praise GOD, every day i am surrounded by the hussle and bussle of the daily grind, working for the MAN, surrounded by technology and flashing lights and beeping noises but this is real creation at it's most complex and beautiful and what a blessing to be able to see it ad for it to be so accessable if only we take the time to look

Already looking forward to August 28th

see below for links for this past weeks runs, the last one is short because the my phone went flat whillst i tried to sat nav my way out from being lost again

Tuesday on my way in to work

28.7 miles in 2 hours 15 minutes at an average speed of 12.7mph

Tuesday on my way home

27.6 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of 11mph (had a puncture)

Thursday on my way to work

25.9 miles in 2 hours 16 minutes at an average speed of 11.4 mph

Thursday on my way home from work

average speed of 12.2mph