The End

As Sean has mentioned, last night's dinner was a somewhat unusual affair in a dining room the like of which I have never experienced.

The hospitality was great and despite my misgivings about the place, I really enjoyed the evening.

In the morning, neither of us wanted our adventure to finish and we distinctly dawdled over breakfast.  We had to leave eventually though, and when our hostess gave us a £25 donation on checking out, I immediately felt terrible about all the things I'd said about the place.

So off we set, towards the moment that we'd looked forward to for so long and then didn't want to arrive.  Once I got to John O'Groats it all seemed rather surreal and I whiled away some time talking to a lovely couple who were waiting there to meet their son who was also cycling from Land's End.  It felt good to exchange experiences of a loved one completing the challenge, and their pride was touching.  They also gave us a donation of £5, which I thought was very generous.

Sean arrived a little earlier than I expected, and I wasn't quite ready for him.  I'm not sure what ready would have meant in practice, but we hugged tightly and predictably I shed a few tears.  Romeo says he was totally dry eyed but I don't believe him.  The proud mum I was speaking to kindly took our photo and as usual, naughty Romeo managed to sneak into the shot.

I couldn't resist purchasing a doormat stating "The Lord giveth and the government taketh away" from the gift shop and after that we began our long homeward journey.  On the way we exchanged thoughts about our endeavours which could probably be summed up as "that was great wasn't it" "gosh, it's a long way" and "that was quite hard".  Our stop tonight was at Boat of Garten where we went to the pub for dinner and I ate and drank all manner of forbidden things.  Mmmmm.....

On Thursday it's our tenth wedding anniversary, meaning the next couple of days are just for us, so I'll bid farewell for now.  Thank you to everyone who has sent us messages of encouragement during our journey, it really has made a difference.  We get home on Friday, so I'll probably post some reflections on the trip as a whole over the weekend.

What a great experience.

Day 10 - And they think it's all over! It is now!

Last night was quite an experience. We were staying in a 1790 hunting lodge and dinner was, shall we say, quite interactive in terms of both the family who owned the house, their estate staff and the dogs. It was also exceptionally good and done in a style which has ceased to exist in many parts of the UK. The evening culminated in my trying the local malt in the company of the daughter of the family, and Guy, late of the Cameron Highlanders, and all round good man. I retired before things got out of hand, around the time that Guy suggested trying out the 7mm Mauser he had in the car. I wasn't going to mention this to Becky, but he left me a note referring to said firearm which Becky passed to me without comment in the morning. I also left with a £25 donation which I paid in via Justgiving today.

This morning saw a slightly leisurely breakfast interspersed with dog fussing, attempting to put off the moment when I would ease into the saddle for the last time. As you can see from the day's mileage figure below, the aim was to put in a very short ride to JOG, allowing time for the obligatory photos, before putting the bike on the car for the first leg of the journey home.

The ride was entirely incident free, and I have seldom felt so many mixed emotions as I did when I crested the final climb to see JOG at the bottom of the hill. I felt quite choked up as I passed the village sign, but had to get over it pretty quickly as there were still of couple of sharpish bends to get round.

Becky was there to meet me and give me a big hug by the "mileage sign", we chatted to few other people who had either just finished themselves or were waiting for their rider/s to appear. All done, we had a bite to eat, packed up the car, and set off to the south.

As we covered the journey in reverse down the A9 towards Inverness and picked up the route of Day 9, it began to strike me just how much ground we had covered, me cycling and Becky driving. It really has been quite a piece of organisation and sheer bloody effort to put this together. Once it has all sunk in,I will finish this blog and fill in the technical details.

Until then.

Mileage: 21.3

Total mileage: 867

Total calories: 52,517

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/552560922

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

Day 9 - The Hunting Lodge

Today was the last long ride of the trip, and given my overall state on the previous day, I was a little bit nervous about how the day would pan out.

It turned out I needn’t have worried; obviously consuming half my body weight in lasagne (thank you Denise) the previous evening has refilled the tank for the initial few miles to fly by. Detouring off the A9 before Tain brought the first drama of the day in the shape of a sociopathic golden retriever cross, which flew at me half way up a steep climb and unable to sprint away. He intended to wound at the least, so I was forced to dismount and resort to squirting water from my bottle into his eyes to make him back off. He was not happy at my presence on his patch, so I ended up walking backwards up the hill, while he still made the occasional rush at me for the next 50 metres or so.

Back on the bike, I eventually rejoined the A9, feeling pretty good and slogged it out until I reached the 55 mile point, where I hit the first of two fairly major climbs. The second of these, Berriedale, is a real heartbreaker and left me in bits with 20-odd miles still to go. Salvation appeared a couple of miles later in the shape of the tea room at the Laidhay Croft Museum, where coffee and ginger cake restored me a little. Note to other would-be LEJOG riders: if you want water or food, you will have to go into one of the small harbour towns. There are no petrol stations or the like on the main road.

At this point I did wonder about pressing on to John O’Groats, but decided that a 105 mile day was not on the cards and that I should stick to the agreed plan. Good choice, as the B&B for the night was well worth getting to on time; great dinner, and very good company.

So tomorrow; the last day, and I don’t really want this to end. A short ride to JOG, towel down, then bike on the back of the car and off back south. That’s the plan.

Mileage: 87.8

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/551786693

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

In which I am thrust outside my comfort zone

We had a wonderful evening last night.  We ate with the doors to the patio open and the table was set so beautifully it was like eating in a silver service restaurant.  The food was great, with ample portions of asparagus, cauliflower and a delicious courgette and chilli salad to go with my salmon.  While Sean worked his way through an enormous portion of sticky toffee pudding and ice cream, I was given white flesh nectarines with blueberries, raspberries and redcurrants from the garden.  I wouldn’t usually eat that much fruit but I was touched by the effort Denise had made, plus – it was just so nice!  After dinner we were invited to retire to the sofa for coffee.  I preferred not to drink tea or coffee?  No worries, they would slice some fresh ginger and make an infusion for me.  The setting, the wonderful hospitality and the beautiful weather made for an idyllic evening.  That night we both slept like babies.

In the morning it felt rather odd that this would be the last full day.  Partly because we had such a lovely stay at Knockbain House, I started to feel a bit nostalgic and didn’t want our adventure to stop.  Although inevitably it would have to, because once we got to John O’Groats we’d run out of road.

After settling up, David and Denise said I could stay as long as I wanted to and use the sitting room and gardens, so since I had enjoyed being there so much, I took them up on their offer.  I went into the garden and ran the first 20 steps of Ershibashi (actually it ended up being the first 18 steps, as I forgot about grasp the sparrow’s tail and twin dragons, but never mind) followed by a run through of the long form before heading inside for some meditation.  Wonderful.  I really didn’t want to leave, but I had to eventually, so off I went.

The journey to Thrumster was slow but easy and I stopped at a delightful cafe called Poppy’s in Golspie.  Yes, there was more scenery.  Yes, I still wasn’t bothered.

In Thrumster I had chosen an old laird’s house which has a room to rent, as I knew Sean would love the whole ancestral home experience.  I, however, was not so keen.  Insects began buzzing around my head as soon as I got out of the car.  The carpets were worn, the paint was peeling and there were spiders’ webs everywhere.  There were free range children and a dog that attempted to smell one’s crotch.  I fought down rising panic as I realised how far I was from John Lewis Oxford Street.

I attempted to make myself feel at home by unpacking, but it didn’t work, and I didn’t want to do any Pilates because I didn’t want to get down on that floor, so there was nothing for it but to find something to do outdoors.  I went downstairs and enquired brightly of my hostess what I could do for fun in the area.  “Fun?!”  She looked at me pityingly.  “Well, perhaps I could walk down to the coast?” I ventured.  She gave me directions – about a 2 mile walk – and I set off enthusiastically.

God, it was awful.  All the houses were grim.  

An air of desolation hung over the place.  Even the sheep regarded me suspiciously.  When I got to the coast, you couldn’t even get down onto the clifftop proper and the views were rubbish.  So, chastened, I turned on my heel to go back the way I came.

Immediately I found that it was uphill all the way.  A pall of heavy grey cloud hung overhead.  Midges buzzed around my face.  I shook my head to get rid of them and hit myself in the face with my ponytail.  I passed a box on fire by the side of the road.  

My thoughts turned again to John Lewis.  I trudged on.  I exchanged pleasantries with a man I passed working on his barn, and on hearing he had a Yorkshire accent, asked how long he’d been living here.  “15 years” he replied “and I love it here, I’d never want to live anywhere else.”  Dear God.

I was almost at the house when Sean pulled up beside me and my spirits were immediately lifted.  We walked back into the house together and d’you know what, the house seemed much nicer with him in it.

Roll on John O’Groats.

Day 8 - Running on empty

The sun screen stayed in the box this morning. Having spent much of the spring wearing Goretex (sometimes secretly in the the office), I was very reluctant to concede that I might need wet weather gear on this ride. Seeing a couple of animal transporters going past carrying  pairs of animals finally convinced me that the rain was here to stay, so it was on with the full monty of arm and leg warmers, overshoes and Goretex jacket. Which I needed for around 20 mins before the sun started shining, and it was off with the jacket.

It didn't take long to realise that I was very, very tired, and that the cumulative effects of the previous 7 days had caught up with me, but what are you going to do? Quit? I think not. So I plodded on, with the only concession to my weakened state being the abandonment of my plan to take the old military road on the south side of Loch Ness. The thought of a mile long climb with an average gradient of 1 in 10 was just too much, so the A82 was to be my route of choice. Actually, it is the only other road apart from General Wade's masterpiece should you wish to travel from Fort William to Inverness.

During a brief refuelling stop in Fort Augustus, I overheard one of the locals using the word "squally", normally one of my favourite words, but not when I have 50 miles still to ride. And squally it proved to be. On with the Goretex, off with the Goretex, and repeat ad nauseum. I was actually pleased when the rain settled down into a continuous torrent and I could just concentrate on being wet, tired and miserable.

Eventually (and it did seem like an eternity), the rain stopped, the sun came out and I reached Inverness. Somehow I missed the picturesque town centre and the coffee shop of my fantasies, and I ended up with some sort of machine made muck from a petrol station. Muck it may have been, but restored I pressed on to take the A9 in search of Dingwall. Avoid the A9 north of Inverness at all costs if you are cycling; it is a two lane motorway and is terrifying, even at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon.

I was relieved to take the Dingwall road and find the quiet lane up to the B&B; thank you again to the owners for a fabulous dinner and good company.

So, physically I am smashed, one more long day to go, bring it on.

Mileage: 81.9

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/551011049

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

More scenery

This morning when we woke up it was raining.  And I don't just mean raining, I mean bucketing down.  However our spirits were lifted by a morning greeting from the owner's dog, who was even more exuberant than the staff at the Milton Inn, and immediately fell in love with Sean.  Since check out wasn't until 11am today, I spent some time in the room after Sean had left doing a qi gong set and 20 minutes meditation.  This felt like a real luxury and together with a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, set me up for the day.

I found the drive a little easier today - either the roads were a bit better or I've got more used to that type of driving.  I stopped at an unpronounceable place to stretch my legs and was pleasantly surprised to find the cafe sold Illy coffee.  There was more beautiful scenery all along the route.  Like, whatever.

The weather was very mixed between sunshine and torrential downpours, and sometimes both at once, but by the time I reached Dingwall it seemed to have decided to be sunny.  The B&B here is absolutely exquisite with beautiful gardens

and the owners have taken great care to make everything just so.  It's indicative of the place that the tea/coffee making facilities in the room look like this.

I had e-mailed ahead with my dietary requirements and on arrival Denise, the owner, asked me if salmon was ok.  Of course it's ok.  Would we like some wine with dinner?  Sean would, but not for me.  Red or white?  Well if it's salmon, I said, he'll want white.  "Oh no!" she exclaimed, "he's not having salmon, that's for you!  He needs something more substantial than that!  I've got him a lasagne."  What a star.

On asking if there was anything of interest to look at in Dingwall, I received an emphatic "no" so I relished the opportunity to find a shady spot in the beautiful gardens to practise my long form.  The experience of doing tai chi surrounded by the smell of wild flowers, with swifts swooping around you and the soundtrack a gentle buzzing of bumble bees, I can tell you is quite a special one.  However I was somewhat embarrassed to find how much of it I had forgotten just since the clifftop at Land's End.  Anyone would think I'd had other things to occupy my mind since then.

I can't quite believe that tomorrow is the penultimate day.  I'm full of admiration for what Sean has achieved although I still can't imagine how either of us will feel when he crosses the finish line.

Day 7 - The bonnie hills

This was the day when it felt like the walls were starting to come down. Having spent a sleepless night in a very over-heated hotel room, I had very little energy and the initial climb up to Crianlarich was a slog of the highest order. I made it up to the Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum feeling dazed and on the edge of climbing off, stopped, restocked with water and put on my rain jacket as a light rain was falling. I began the next phase towards Bridge of Orchy with a feeling that it was starting to go bad. By Bridge of Orchy the rain had set in and I was climbing on pure muscle memory, forcing myself over the climb just past Loch Tulla and slogging over the moor past Glencoe Mountain. The rain got worse, and I began to doubt getting over to Glencoe.

As I crested the climb by Glencoe Mountain, I could see that a wall of cloud was rolling up from Glencoe, and as I finally reached the top of the descent into Glencoe itself, the heavens finally opened and the downpour began. I was on the edge of being too cold, so no option at this point but to open the taps and get downhill as quickly as possible, in very dodgy conditions, motorcycles and cars going past and soaking me in spray, and of course no chance of stopping in a hurry. I cannot tell you how glad I was to see the National Trust Visitor Centre and get under cover with a hot coffee and some cake. Still 18 miles or so to go from this point, all I wanted to do was get off the bike so again, open the taps, ignore the screaming from my legs and slam through the gears as quickly as possible along the bonnie banks until the welcome sight of the hotel.

Learning point: sleep and Goretex are your friends.

It is beginning to sink in that I have three days left, and the longest of those days is "only" 88 miles.

Mileage: 89.8

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/549971263

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

We enter the Highlands

Last night at the Milton Inn was a bit dismal.  Although dinner was great, the room was unbearably hot (yes, even for me) but our room looked out onto the kitchen extractor vent.  So we had a choice of closing the windows and being suffocatingly hot, or opening them and putting up with an overpowering smell of gasoline and stale food.  We picked the latter - and it was still pretty hot.  So unsurprisingly, we didn't sleep well.

Any bad temperedness as a result was immediately dispersed by the improbably cheerful staff who greeted us at breakfast with absolute exuberance.  That was the weird thing about the place, despite being an absolute dump, the staff were fantastic.  Despite that, I was not sorry to leave.

Sean and I took exactly the same route today, as there is basically only one road between Dumbarton and Fort William which is the A82.  It was comforting driving along knowing that he would later be following me.  However today's driving took me waaaay outside my comfort zone as it was narrow winding roads.  I found this hard going and coupled with the lack of sleep, after about an hour and a half I had a banging headache.  I pulled off at Glen Coe Mountain Cafe, which promised spectacular views, and did indeed deliver these.  It was the break from driving I really needed though, and that coupled with an espresso did the trick and I set off again fully refreshed.

I had to laugh at myself after a while, as the views really were spectacular and it was completely wasted on me.  I kept waiting for that feeling people go on about but... no.  I'm just not an outdoorsy/scenery kind of person.  Well we all knew that already, didn't we.

As I reached Fort William it began to rain, as forecast, and continued to do so, heavily, for the rest of the day.  It was a relief that the weather wasn't so hot any more, but I felt for Sean knowing that he was undoubtedly getting very wet and cold.  Nothing a hot bath and hot tea on arrival wouldn't fix, though.

Our hotel, Lime Tree House, was absolutely lovely and made up for the travails of Dumbarton.  It has an art gallery attached so I spent a little while looking around there (much better than looking at scenery!) before retiring to my room for my usual routine of resting, pilates, qi gong and reading.  It was a short day for Sean so he arrived around 4:30, which was a treat as we get to spend a bit more of a leisurely evening together.

Two milestones from today - we set the mileometer on the car to zero when we left, and today it passed 1000 miles.  And this is officially the furthest north I've ever been, the previous record being Dunblane.

Day 6 - Thomas Carlyle and Ecclefechan

I have always been fond of the writings of Thomas Carlyle, and this fondness was reinforced in 2000, as I was living in Carlyle Road in Cambridge when I met my now wife. I was therefore very pleased to see that Ecclefechan, his birthplace, has a suitably imposing bust of the great man erected on the village green.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle

This sight took my mind off yet another crippling bout of indigestion which lasted all the way to the 40 miles point. I am not going to dwell on this but breakfast tomorrow is going to be boiled eggs (no toast).

Apart from this, the ride was fascinating in that I rode almost all the way into Glasgow alongside the A74(M)/M74 on either the B7076 or the B7078. Why fascinating? For most of the distance I had an entire road to myself, and had the distinct sense of being a player in a post-apocaplyptic movie, complete with rubble-strewn road surfaces and missing cats-eyes. Some advice: if you are running low on water, do not listen to the siren song of the signs promising "local services" in Beattock. These signs are merely a ruse to draw the lone traveller in, for the services do not exist, and I was lucky to leave the village with my soul intact.

After Beattock there is a 10 mile climb, you have been warned. There is a descent which offers some recompense, but the real joy is that if you follow the signs for Crawford, there genuinely are local services in the form of a tea room attached to the post office. I made the most of it and despatched a can of real Coke (no diet stuff on this trip) and a Snickers bar, and restocked on water, which made my world a whole lot better.

The remainder of the ride was uneventful, but I couldn't help but notice the feeling of deprivation in some of the suburbs on the way into Glasgow. Ironic really seeing as the whole message of the Commonwealth Games is about new opportunities for the local people; I wonder what the impact will be in the medium and long term? As you might imagine, Glasgow was awash with people getting to and from the various venues, and my planned route was sent askew by diversions. By a strange coincidence, I almost ran over a former colleague from a previous life as she crossed the street in the city centre, proof yet again that this is a very small world and our past is never too far away.

Thank you to all of those who have been generous to sponsor me in recent days; apologies for not yet doing so. I will contact you all personally once this jaunt is over.

Tomorrow is Fort William via the glen of weeping, and the forecast is for some rain, which will be a relief after the temperatures of the last few days. Onward and upward.

Mileage: 100.4

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/549347350

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

A quiet day

Our dinner last night was better than we expected, we wandered down to a local hotel and had a meal in the bar there which was perfectly nice.  It was a little odd though, being surrounded by couples in full wedding attire.  Gretna really is a place that thrives on the business of weddings.

I had planned a quiet day today, partly as I would be managing the side effects of my weekly medication, but also because Dumbarton is not a place with a lot to offer.  I had an easy drive apart from going through the suburbs of Glasgow, where traffic was very heavy and I got a bit nervous.  Despite that, it has to be said that I have noticed a definite improvement in my motorway driving, I've dropped a couple of bad habits I've been working on and I've got better at anticipating other drivers' manoeuvres.

I did toy with the idea of going into Glasgow and visiting the Commonwealth Games site to soak up the atmosphere, but it all seemed a bit much especially as the heat today is just as fierce as it has been for the previous days.  London readers will probably raise their eyebrows at this, but it seems it's hotter where we are than back home!

We were a bit apprehensive about the hotel, as we chose it purely on availability.  Almost all hotels in the area were fully booked due to the Games and this was all we could get.  On arrival I found it was just as grim as expected, but the staff were very friendly and a massive bonus was that a large man carried BOTH my cases to the room, which was most welcome.  My room was also ready when I arrived, so I got to eat my lunch at an actual table, sitting in an actual chair, which felt like a treat as I was getting a little weary of the chopping board in the car routine.

I spent the afternoon resting in the room, catching up on e-mails and doing some Pilates and qi gong.  I was quite content but Romeo thought it was all a bit boring and has been quite restless.  Perhaps we'll have to let him out for a run about in the car park after dinner.  I don't think he's quite forgiven me for keeping him away from the chickens in the garden at Middle Holly Cottage a few nights ago.

Oh - and Sean liked the polo shirt!  Wonders will never cease...

Day 5 - No such thing as free speed

During the course of today, I was struck by the fact that there is no such thing as free speed. I had a good run up the A6 through Penrith and Carlisle, and realised that I had in fact paid for that good run earlier in the day by riding over Shap Fell. If you are daft enough to (a) attempt the End to End and (b) to follow any of my route planning, do not go over Shap unless you have a wish to severely damage your health. In particular, do not go over Shap when the temperature is nudging 26C and you have not drunk enough. For those unaware of the territory, the climb over Shap is ten miles long and the real pain is reserved for the last mile when the gradient kicks up and the road surface goes from rough to awful. This sufferfest was not helped by the first 25 miles of the day being hindered by the most acute attack of indigestion I have ever had; I had to stop several times and for a while considered abandoning as I simply couldn't breathe. Thankfully it eased off just in time for Shap to start, but by that the damage was done as I not been taking on liquids or food.

Once over Shap, I stopped in Shap village and had a sandwich. Guess what? The indigestion returned, just as bad as before. Common factor: wholemeal bread at breakfast and in the sandwich. I won't have that again.

I pressed on as best I could, with frequent stops to take fluid on board and also to get out of the sun, as I was starting to experience the first symptoms of heatstroke. On y va, drinking and soaking my jersey with water to try and cool off, until the signs for Carlisle came into view and I knew that all I had to go was to hang on for a few miles until Gretna. Job done.

For the techies out there, you may recall that my steed was being temperamental yesterday. I should explain that in the world of cycling, practitioners either use Japanese or Italian mechanical components. Mine is Italian, and like much Italian-engineered kit occasionally needs to be loved, otherwise it will express its displeasure, which mine did all yesterday. So I gave it some love this morning, and it spent the day loving me back. Thank you Signor Campagnolo.

One of the really good things about today is that it was a relatively short day at miles, so I have had more time than usual to recover and get a few things done. Tomorrow is another day.

Mileage: 85.6

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/548743591

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

We cross the border

We had a very pleasant stay at Middle Holly Cottage.  The owners, Gill and Andy, had only taken over the place the day before and we were their second guests!  I thought it was a privilege to share in their endeavours as they were sharing in ours.

This morning I practised my qi gong alongside Sean as he fixed up his bike, which felt very companionable.  The drive to Gretna Green was quite odd as the M6 was so incredibly quiet.  For 10-15 minutes at a time I was the only vehicle in sight.  And even I had to admit that the scenery through Cumbria was beautiful.

I stopped at Asda Carlisle to stock up and ate my lunch in the car park.  I've got quite a dab hand at this, balancing the chopping board on my knees and eating the tin of salmon without spilling any juice.  After checking in I decided to walk to the Gretna Green Outlet Village as it was only a mile away and there was not really anything else to do.  Gretna is a strange sort of place, it's incredibly tacky and seems to be entirely based around weddings.  It appears that people come here to get married in the same way they go to Las Vegas - as a kind of novelty.  The reason it has this reputation is that back in the 18th century, laws in England on marriage were much tighter than in Scotland, particularly for younger couples, so those who wanted to marry young and without their parents' permission would elope to Gretna Green, as it was the first town over the border.  Anyway, the outlet village was not very exciting, but the shops were air conditioned which was a blessing in the heat, and I got Sean a Ralph Lauren polo shirt at a vastly reduced price.  Check back tomorrow to see if he spurns it.

It was a shorter day for Sean today so he arrived at about 5pm.  Our bathroom has a spa bath with a TV, which he was absolutely delighted by, exclaiming "the TV is waterproof!".  Well, yes.  As I write this he is in the shower watching cycling on the TV, wearing his glasses of course so he's able to see the action properly.

Tonight our dinner options are few.  Gretna Green is not renowned for its fine dining, and on examining the pub that was recommended by the B&B owners, I decided against it as I didn't want to eat my dinner being pointed and stared at because I've got all my own teeth.

We're now halfway in terms of days, and over halfway in terms of mileage, so I was in reflective mood today.  I am absolutely in awe of what Sean has achieved so far, and I was feeling quite emotional with pride as I made my journey along the M6.  To think that he has cycled the length of England is incredible, and the idea that he can do almost the same again is even more incredible.  As for me, I think I haven't done badly either, driving to all these places by myself when two years ago I was too frightened even to drive to our local Sainsbury's.

So far I think it's worked well.  Everywhere we've stayed has been nice, and some places have been great in many ways.  I've managed to stick to my eating regime, and I've kept up my qi gong/tai chi and Pilates.  Nothing has gone wrong with the bike and Sean has been bearing up well.  We've got a good routine going which makes everything just that bit easier.  If there has been one difficult thing, it's been unloading the entire contents of the car and getting it up one or more flights of stairs, every day, in very hot weather.  That has not been fun.  However - SO much better than everything that would have come with driving a motorhome.

So I'm pleased with how things are going.  Hopefully our good luck will continue.  John O'Groats here we come!

Day 4 - From Wags to Wigan and beyond

OK, today was a long, hot day, which got progressively more windy as the day went on. I was very glad to finish and have possibly the best shower of the trip to date. Note to logistics types: the old technique of washing kit in the shower works, especially if you have a very good sports wash to hand. Very fluffy towels are a godsend for the rolling up and wringing out technique. 

In terms of kit, the bike is misbehaving very slightly; there are various clicking noises which I am finding very disturbing, and no, it is not the sound of my knees. I did strip the bottom bracket this morning and that has not helped, so tomorrow it is wheels out and bearings oiled. Many thanks to the very nice RAC man who lent me his oil can at the side of the A49 "our members’ needs are our priority, sir"; he would be crushed to know that the noise didn't stop. Another minor problem was the fact that one of the bottle cages worked loose thanks to the very rough road surfaces of the route and I stopped in the nick of time to re-attach and prevent the loss of both cage and bottle.   

How was the route? If I am honest, today was very dull. The A49 is not the most charismatic of roads and I spent around 70 miles exploring its delights before tasting the joys of the A6 to Preston and beyond. If you are thinking of doing this route, do yourself a big favour and get off the A49 to go through the towns it skirts. Well worth the extra ten or twenty minutes to get off the main road and also much better supplied with shops to resupply as necessary.

Highlight of the day was probably chatting to a couple of builders in a van whilst waiting for lights at some roadworks. They seemed astonished that anyone would to do this and as a solo rider to boot. They asked if I was doing it for charity and thoroughly approved of my choice; good feedback, which kept me going for the next few miles.

At the end of the evening, what impressions do I take from the day? Firstly, the A49 is dull, but is immeasurably improved by sunshine. Secondly, every day is a good day if concluded by a good meal with your wife. Thirdly, Garstang is a long way from Land’s End and even further from John O’Groats.

Mileage: 95.7

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/548036369

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

Lancaster Castle and our last night in England

We had a lovely evening yesterday.  I didn't have high hopes for the Corbet Arms, as the website wasn't very inspiring, but it really exceeded my expectations.  The high point was the patio at the back which had beautiful views over the river and meadows.  I couldn't work out why I felt so at home there until I realised it reminded me of Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge.  Sean's colleague Richard was really enjoyable company and after he left us we ate our dinner outside in the evening sun, which was just bliss.  It felt like a proper date.

After a good breakfast and tea out on the patio Sean spent some time refreshing his bike while I did some qi gong gazing out over the meadows.  After such a lovely time last night I really didn't want to be parted once we went our separate ways.  I had been a bit worried about him yesterday as when we finished at Almondsbury on the previous day he seemed so worn out and I wasn't sure how he would fare.  However when he turned up at the end of the day yesterday he seemed much fresher.  Over dinner we chatted about how it was all going and he said he was getting into the rhythm of it, so it was nice to be able to wave him off today with more peace of mind.

Once I set off I started to realise that we're actually doing it - that seems odd I suppose that it should take so long to sink in, but until now it had felt just like the other weekends away we've had with the bike.  It began to dawn on me that this thing we had planned and anticipated was now happening, and for the first time I imagined what it might be like finishing.  This was a bit scary as a lot could happen between now and then, so I put such fantasies out of my mind.

I decided to go to Lancaster today and visit the castle.  As you can imagine, this was right up my street.  In medieval times the castle was used as a debtor's prison and subsequently for criminals.  It was a working Category C prison until 2012, and is still operating as the Crown Court.  Because of this, entry is by guided tour only and sadly there are very few places you're allowed to take photographs.  However the tour was excellent, big shout out to Steve our guide who really made the history come alive.  As the court was not sitting we were able to go inside and look at the chambers which were stunning.  Other highlights were the Drop Room, where the prisoners would wait alongside their empty coffin before going out onto the scaffold to be hanged, and a visit to the cells.  This included being locked in to have the full experience!  Once the door was closed it was absolutely pitch dark and I certainly wouldn't have fancied staying in there more than the minute or so before we were let out.  Before we left we paid a visit to the modern cells, where Romeo somehow escaped from my bag and decided to have a nose around.

I managed to capture him before Steve noticed, which was just as well as I might have had to leave him there.

Afterwards I had a walk around the castle area of the town, which was very picturesque,

and then headed back to Middle Holly Cottage in Forton which is where we're staying tonight.  All in all a very enjoyable day.

Oh - and tonight is the last night we'll spend in England as our next stop is just across the border in Gretna Green.

Day 3 - John Wesley, Henry V and the Hereford Boat House

Preacher of the day is John Wesley and monarch of the day is Henry V.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devauden

http://www.monmouth.org.uk/index.php/local/history/famous-residents/31-henry-v.html

Note to self: the next time I meet a local cyclist and he tells me that the route I have carefully planned goes over the steepest hill in the area, please listen to him. Yes, following a relatively easy start to the day which involved cycling over the Severn Bridge, within 10 miles I found myself on an exceptionally rigorous climb which was only ameliorated by the mewling of a pair of buzzards. I also spotted a bust of John Wesley, who did get about quite a lot.

Happy to say, within 20 miles or so the evil climbs were over and I could concentrate on getting through Hereford and onto Monmouth. The roads past Monmouth were lovely and the day seemed to flow past easily; the only sticky part was negotiating the endless ring road around Shrewsbury.

2nd note to self: avoiding going into shops in Hereford because the locals look very dodgy is not a good strategy if the plan is to refill water bottles somewhere out on the back lanes. It took me around 15 miles to find a post office that sold bottled water, and that was mainly populated by elderly alcoholics topping up their stocks of Strongbow cider.

The evening was rounded off in splendid fashion by a visit from one of my colleagues (thank you Richard, lovely to see you, hope the BBQ went well) and a steak dinner sitting outside, something I never thought I would be able to do on this ride. Wonderful.

Finally, film fans, in which film does Robert de Niro refer to the boat house in Hereford?



For the record, the doors of the Hereford Rowing Club are blue.

Mileage: 97.9

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/547358331

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

In which I sort out the oil and fill up the car

Over dinner last night we decided the best option for sorting out the oil was to find a local garage and pay somebody who knows what they're doing, to top it up.  So first thing in the morning I called the nearest garage and arranged to pop down there on my way to Shrewsbury.  Massive shout out to John, an absolutely lovely chap who managed not to patronise me at all, even when I didn't know how to open the bonnet.  I'm SO glad I didn't attempt to top it up myself, because as he explained, the car needs a special type of synthetic long life oil, and I'd never have known that so the whole thing was bound to have ended in tears.

Once that was all sorted I set off down the M5 in the knowledge that I'd have to fill up before I got to my destination.  This was bothering me a bit as I had yet to fill the car up unsupervised.  However I breezed through it without a care in the world and I'm sure nobody would have guessed it was my first time.

When I got to Shrewsbury I stopped at Morrisons to restock on my lunchtime veg.  I found this surprisingly soothing, I guess because it was much more in my comfort zone than driving or any type of car maintenance!

I had started the day enthused to go into Shrewsbury for a wander around the medieval town, but by the time I got to the hotel I didn't have enough time left, so I contented myself with relaxing in the room, which was huge and had a big bay window with lovely views over the fields.  It was just as well I didn't have time for sightseeing as the efforts of the last few days really caught up with me, I had a banging headache and realised I was worn out.  I guess I hadn't appreciated how tiring the driving would be, and I haven't been sleeping particularly well as it's been hard to relax properly.

After a rest I opted to meditate instead of doing qi gong, which was particularly challenging today as my mind was full of thoughts about the journey so far and whatever might lie ahead.  This caused me to reflect that it's probably the times when it's most challenging that it's also most valuable.

Day 2 - St Boniface

For those of you reading this of a monkish disposition, I thought that you might be interested to know that St Boniface (675-754) was supposedly born in Crediton, Devon. I only mentioned that because I cycled past a memorial to him today. If you want to take this further, may I suggest keeping 5 June free next year, as that is his feast day.

So how was today? Well the first 40  miles or so was marked by a succession of climbs, each more vicious than the last. The less charitable amongst you might point out that it was me who planned the route and therefore put the damned things in, so they should not have been that much of a surprise. My Wildean response is: you try and do better. Things did improve once I joined the A38, which for a few blissful miles was like having my own private dual carriageway, such was the lack of traffic. This continued all the way to Bridgewater and beyond, with glorious weather and a tailwind, and I was starting to feel that the day might be an easy one. I was wrong. The Mendips. The climb to Bristol Airport. Sense of humour failure big-time as those two bad boys had me in bottom gear with sweat blinding me. Excellent. Not.

Then a long sweeping run into Bristol, where my route cards (tech note: printed off and in the plastic case on my handlebar bar) indicated quite vaguely "north to cross river". That was never going to work, so I asked a fellow cyclist (stuck at the same lights) the best way to get to Clifton Down. Andy: thank you, you are a star for cycling with me all the way to the station and getting me back on track. I have forgiven you for including a 10% climb, you were not to know that I had 95 miles in my legs at point.

So, was that it for the hills? Could I just relax and soft pedal the remaining few miles to the pub? Like hell. the climbs just kept coming, with the final climb about a mile from the pub. Massive sense of humour failure after 103 miles, which was speedily relieved by two glasses of orange juice and lemonade and a couple of bags of crisps. Once shaved and showered, I sampled the local brew over a good steak dinner with Becky. Good effort. Job done. Now for Shrewsbury tomorrow, a mere 97 miles.

Mileage: 102.9

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/547358582

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

First "incident" with the car

This morning the weather was even better than yesterday.  Before we left we met a man at the hotel who was born in Bermondsey and we enjoyed exchanging views about what a great place it is.  I also chatted with two chaps from Northern Ireland who were travelling around England on their motorbikes.  They were the complete opposite of us as they had absolutely no plan and no places booked to stay.  When I asked where they were headed that day they both shrugged, looked at each other and said "don't know really".  And this was as they were standing by their bikes ready to set off!  Hopefully they had a good day wherever they ended up.

On my way I decided to visit Slimbridge Wetlands Centre.  I was tempted by Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge which are also close by, but the promise of otters at Slimbridge swung it for me.  It was a relatively easy drive and once we got there Romeo and I settled down for a picnic lunch in the car park.

It felt like such a treat to eat al fresco in the shade of a tree.

After that I headed into the centre itself.  Gentle reader, it was a bit rubbish.  There were only two otters in the whole place and they were asleep inside.  I wandered around a bit trying not to be bored by it but quickly concluded that it had been a nice place to stop for lunch, stretch my legs and have a break from the M5.  And I got a nice picture of a flamingo.

As I headed towards the M5 though, horrors!  The dashboard beeped and a yellow warning light came on, informing me that the oil was getting low.  A hundred thoughts raced through my mind.  What happens to a car when the oil gets low - does it explode?  Does the engine spontaneously stop?  How long after the yellow warning light do these things happen?  Is there a red warning light at some point?  How the f*** do you top up the oil?  In fact, how do you even open the bonnet??  I remained calm and decided that the only thing I could do was stop at the first services and use my feminine wiles to get help.

So do you think there was a service station before the exit I required?  No, there was not.  So there was nothing for it but to drive to my destination, do some Pilates and have a nice lie down.  I decided I can sort out the oil thing tomorrow, perhaps with the help of YouTube.

I was quite pleased with myself when I reached our B&B as it's extremely picturesque.  When Sean arrived

we sat outside catching up on our day and in the afternoon sun it was just idyllic.

I also managed to squeeze in some qi gong before he arrived, as I was practicing indoors today (and therefore without an audience) I decided to use the opportunity to try a new set, the coiling set we learned recently at the workshop.  It was a good experience and I'm sure it will become more enjoyable as I get to know it better and can run through it without peeking at my notes.

Off downstairs for dinner now, perhaps it will be my second outdoors meal of the day.

Day 1 - 103.5 miles, with added hills

Firstly, Cornwall and Devon are hilly. Please note. For those interested in sprockets and gear ratios and the like (Andrew, I mean you), I will do a tech piece at the end detailing bike, wheels, tyres  and total expenditure since I started training. I will also put my route maps, training plan and the like into a Dropbox folder should anyone give a damn.

Today was a long day. I have not yet downloaded the Garmin data, but I was on my bike for around seven and a half hours, starting at 0930 and finishing at 1700. The highlight was extremely rapid progress along the A30 until I got tired of the constant roar of traffic in my ear at the halfway point (Bodmin),the low points the seemingly endless chain of climbs on the A390 from Liskeard to Tavistock. The climb from Tavistock over Dartmoor was particularly grim, not helped by gear issues such as my front changer not wanting to drop the chain from the big ring to the small ring. Note to self: when bike has been soaked in rain, get the lube out and get busy before you ride 100+ miles.

Learning point around food: stop for a sandwich around halfway, Percy Pigs will only get you so far.

On the credit side, I was amused to see signs to Minions (Despicable Devon?), Ventongimps (specially bred?), and a car dealer called Bigot Motors.

Right, that's enough for now. Bristol tomorrow and it will be another long day.

Mileage: 103.5

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/547358757

https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/

Land's End to Okehampton

As Sean has already commented, it all went well yesterday and we arrived at Land's End without incident.  Romeo was relatively well behaved during the journey and particularly enjoyed seeing Stonehenge,

but did get rather excited at seeing other cars with dogs in them, so after that had to ride on my lap.

I didn't do terribly well at dinner - the "carrot mash" that came with my fish turned out not to be mashed carrots but in fact mashed potatoes with bits of carrot in it, and I was so busy making sure there was no milk or butter in it I forgot to ask them to hold the sauce.  So yes, people, I actually ate some potatoes, and whatever of the sauce I couldn't manage to scrape off.  As far as I can tell the world is still revolving.  I was glad I had set aside the time to do some qi gong before we left that morning, as once dinner was done with we were fully focused on preparation for the next day and I don't think I would have been in the right mood.  I felt terribly nervous going to bed, I guess it suddenly dawned on me the enormity of the task ahead and I just wanted everything to go well for Sean.

This morning dawned absolutely glorious, and after a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs and mushrooms we were ready to go.  We had the obligatory shot at the start

and then I waved Sean off.  There was such a great atmosphere at the hotel with a group of cyclists and a few runners, all tackling the challenge in their own way and for their own reasons.  The excitement and positivity was infectious although I did feel a pang seeing Sean ride off, thinking whatever the day would bring, he would have to tackle it alone.

As I had a little free time before check out I decided to run the long form on the paved area outside the hotel, which seemed almost made for the purpose and had a spectacular view over the sea in three directions.  With a cool breeze over the cliffs it was truly an inspiring experience.

Then it was off to Okehampton, where we are staying in a 17th century coaching inn.  The interior seems not to have been refurbished since the 70s, giving an intriguing mix of decor.  I had my lunch on one of the tables outdoors while the room was being made up - celery, carrot, cucumber and pepper with a can of salmon, which worked out pretty well and is what I'm planning to have every day.

In the afternoon I visited Okehampton Castle, which is a medieval motte and bailey castle about 20 minutes walk from the hotel.

There's not much left of it but the audio guide really brought it to life and I enjoyed meandering around.  Getting to the top of the motte was a bit of a challenge but once I was up there the views over the hills and town were fantastic.

Romeo stayed back at the hotel, saying "castles are boring" but I expect he just wanted to have a good rummage around in the bins.  Just as well he didn't come, as the audio guide informed me about gentlemens' pursuits in medieval times, which included hunting animals considered noble such as deer and hares.  Foxes were not hunted by gentlemen in such times as they were not thought of as noble enough.  I don't think he would have been very impressed by that!

Sean did very well today, although I'll let him tell you about his endeavours.  We're just off to the hotel restaurant now, where hopefully I can be a bit more vigilant about my evening meal this time.

The End and the Beginning

So here we are, Land's End at last. Much to my surprise, everything fitted into the car and the bike rack stayed attached during an eight and a half hour drive from home (I had to stop at Fleet to make sure; see below). The weather was truly biblical on the way,with extremely heavy rain and lightning tempered with glorious sunshine by the time we reached the Land's End Hotel. For those interested we took the M3/A303/A30 route with the usual hold ups near Stonehenge. Dinner was excellent, given the somewhat tacky surroundings of the tourist trap shops and "King Arthur 4D Experience featuring Brian Blessed". A group of cyclists arrived at the same time as we did, having done the JOGLE; it was interesting to see how utterly destroyed they looked, and to wonder what state I will be in in ten days time. Almost time for sleep now; my bike is where it should be, in the room, shorts are to hand for the morning, and all there is to do now is sleep and face what tomorrow will bring.

And they're off!

We're just in the process of getting all our stuff in the car, and in under an hour we'll be on the road!  I'm full of excitement and anticipation, wondering what each day will bring and what experiences lie ahead of us.  What I'm looking forward to today is seeing the sea.

You'll all have noticed that the weather over recent days has been somewhat extraordinary, so it seems hard to believe the forecast which informs us that when we arrive in Land's End it will be 18 degrees with a light breeze.

Romeo is also very excited to get going although he's already in the dog house for commenting on how much luggage I'm taking with me.  It's all very well for him to say, foxes don't need clothes or beauty products.

Land's End here we come!

And so it continues...

It's our last weekend at home before we set off on Saturday and we're in the midst of final preparations.  The living room looks like a bike workshop and I'm busy sticking coloured blobs on maps to denote the places we're going to be staying.  We also need to have a "discussion" about how we're going to fit everything including the bike in/on the car.  Sean has concerns about putting the bike on the bike rack and wants to put it in the back of the car.  I don't think he realises how much stuff I'm planning to take with me... the bike simply won't fit in the back once I've got all my belongings in there.  Check back this time next week to find out whether it did - or whether Sean is going to have to ride on the roof.

Besides that, we're both itching to get going after months of training and preparation (by that I mean, Sean has been doing months of training and preparation while I've made encouraging noises and kept the unhealthy snacks out of arm's reach).  We've been talking about this and planning it for so long, now it's just around the corner the excitement is really building.  I've started to look at tourist activities I can partake in near each location we're staying and beginning to look forward to it from that perspective too.

Sean has started to look at the long range weather forecast but I can't bear it, ignorance is bliss I reckon.

I'm aiming to continue following my super healthy eating regime while I'm away so those of you interested in that sort of thing can monitor my progress in navigating pub menus and resisting toast at breakfast time.  Mmmm... toast...

I've also committed to doing some tai chi practice every day during the trip, whether that be form, qi gong or meditation - or perhaps all three!  I'm looking forward to the experience of practising in a variety of locations and hopefully finding some scenic places to enjoy my practice.

Finally, I should let you know that I won't be spending all my days alone while Sean pedals the length of the mainland.  Accompanying us on our journey will be our mascot Romeo the fox, who has made his home on our coffee table for the last couple of years.  He missed out on our trip to South Africa last year so we've promised him we won't leave him at home for our latest adventure.  Here you can see him checking that Sean's bike is roadworthy.

And so it begins

Today is the 1st July 2014 and in three weeks time I will have finished the 3rd leg of my cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats. At the moment it seems a long way off but the reality is slowly dawning that I am committed to 10 days of cycling the length of England and Scotland, and I am probably about as fit as I am going to get.

The ride became more real today as I started sending out the link to my Justgiving page and received the first few donations and messages of encouragement. And so it begins.