Sunday, 27 July 2008
The End (Land's End)
Well, dear Pasty Run Readers - the end is nigh!
We made it! On a gloriously sunny day in Cornwall, Chris and I set off through the mist out of Chapel Amble and eventually made it to Land's End - to be waved across the finish line by Daddy, Penny, Antonia, Uncle John and Aunty Pam, Hannah, Owen and Giles: what a welcome! For the last time, the vital statistics of the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 60.1 miles
Time taken: 5 hours 43 minutes (including stops)
Weather: mist, with the sun burning through quickly
Wind: none
Worst bit of the day: the rolling nature of the countryside
Best bit of the day: need you ask?!?!
Chris and I started out from Chapel Amble at about 7.40 am - as we wanted to cycle as far as possible before the sun burnt through the morning mist and the holiday-makers came out in force. The climb up to Wadebridge from Chapel Amble woke us up, to be followed by a rather large hill on the way up to Whitecross on the Wadebridge By-pass.
And that was the pattern of the day! There were very long up-hill sections which kept on looming before us along the A30 to Penzance and when we weren't going up ... we were going downhill, which was only spolit by the knowledge that we had to cycle up-hill very shortly! There were very few sections of the road that were flat and it made the cycling quite tiring.
The A30 was hairy at times, the holiday-makers were obviously in a rush to get where they were going and the day was marked for us by cars and caravans whizzing past us. The best answer to that was to adopt quite an agressive position in the road, so that the cars actually had to slow down to pull round us both - I am sure we were the reason for lots of tailbacks yesterday - but at least we remained in one piece!
It was strange cycling down to Land's End - our target was so near that we did not want to stop for long and our stops with Daddy to take on food and liquids got shorter and shorter. Chris also set a blistering pace and I think we cycled this section the quickest.
The last 10 miles between Penzance and Land's End were the hardest... the hills through Drift and Sennen were killers, but we did not have to stop up any of them, as I think the adrenalin was driving us on! About 1 mile from the finish, the countryside flattened out and Chris and I went for the sprint finish... we rounded the corner and could see the Land's End complex stretched out ahead of us. We could also see our welcome party waving from the finish line! Chris and I sprinted the last few hundred yards and crossed over the painted "Start/finish" line... all done!
As a change from our usual post exercise protein drink we had a couple of glasses of champagne to celebrate, took some photos and then wended our weary way back to Chapel Amble.
Last night found us in the Blue Tomato for a celebration with some of the lifeboat crew - with pastys washed down with champagne... perfect!
As a postscript to yesterday: the lifeboat crew had organised a surprise for me today (Sunday)... which Chris and Daddy managed to keep a secret ... We went down to watch the Lifeboat crew practice and it turned out that I was the third crew member for the day! I had to get in a drysuit and was all kitted up with lifejacket and helmet and then spent an hour on the water with Dave and Simon - two of the crew at Rock Inshore Lifeboat station.
What a fantastic experience - I even got to drive the boat, see all of the sights along the Camel Estuary and we took a long drive over to the new Lifeboat Station at Trevose Head, which is an amazing building with a slide launch for the boat (I am sure it must be called something technical)... I felt like a Blue Peter presenter!
It was a totally unexpected thing to happen and I felt really honoured that they spent the time to take me out for a ride and to see a little bit of what they do as part of the lifeboat crew at Rock - fantastic!
I am now about to get on the train up to London, to get ready for work tomorrow... so I must now hang up my cycling shorts (remembering once and for all that lycra is a privelege and not a right) and say thank you so much for reading this blog and for sharing the Pasty Run with me. I have had an absolute ball and I would recommend the ride from JOG - LE to you... if I can do it, so can you!
Pip pip and goodbye
Becca x
PS - we have raised about £11,000 for the Rock Lifeboat station (excluding Gift Aid add-ons!), but I will let you know the final figure - so do stay in touch via email, snail mail and phone!
We made it! On a gloriously sunny day in Cornwall, Chris and I set off through the mist out of Chapel Amble and eventually made it to Land's End - to be waved across the finish line by Daddy, Penny, Antonia, Uncle John and Aunty Pam, Hannah, Owen and Giles: what a welcome! For the last time, the vital statistics of the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 60.1 miles
Time taken: 5 hours 43 minutes (including stops)
Weather: mist, with the sun burning through quickly
Wind: none
Worst bit of the day: the rolling nature of the countryside
Best bit of the day: need you ask?!?!
Chris and I started out from Chapel Amble at about 7.40 am - as we wanted to cycle as far as possible before the sun burnt through the morning mist and the holiday-makers came out in force. The climb up to Wadebridge from Chapel Amble woke us up, to be followed by a rather large hill on the way up to Whitecross on the Wadebridge By-pass.
And that was the pattern of the day! There were very long up-hill sections which kept on looming before us along the A30 to Penzance and when we weren't going up ... we were going downhill, which was only spolit by the knowledge that we had to cycle up-hill very shortly! There were very few sections of the road that were flat and it made the cycling quite tiring.
The A30 was hairy at times, the holiday-makers were obviously in a rush to get where they were going and the day was marked for us by cars and caravans whizzing past us. The best answer to that was to adopt quite an agressive position in the road, so that the cars actually had to slow down to pull round us both - I am sure we were the reason for lots of tailbacks yesterday - but at least we remained in one piece!
It was strange cycling down to Land's End - our target was so near that we did not want to stop for long and our stops with Daddy to take on food and liquids got shorter and shorter. Chris also set a blistering pace and I think we cycled this section the quickest.
The last 10 miles between Penzance and Land's End were the hardest... the hills through Drift and Sennen were killers, but we did not have to stop up any of them, as I think the adrenalin was driving us on! About 1 mile from the finish, the countryside flattened out and Chris and I went for the sprint finish... we rounded the corner and could see the Land's End complex stretched out ahead of us. We could also see our welcome party waving from the finish line! Chris and I sprinted the last few hundred yards and crossed over the painted "Start/finish" line... all done!
As a change from our usual post exercise protein drink we had a couple of glasses of champagne to celebrate, took some photos and then wended our weary way back to Chapel Amble.
Last night found us in the Blue Tomato for a celebration with some of the lifeboat crew - with pastys washed down with champagne... perfect!
As a postscript to yesterday: the lifeboat crew had organised a surprise for me today (Sunday)... which Chris and Daddy managed to keep a secret ... We went down to watch the Lifeboat crew practice and it turned out that I was the third crew member for the day! I had to get in a drysuit and was all kitted up with lifejacket and helmet and then spent an hour on the water with Dave and Simon - two of the crew at Rock Inshore Lifeboat station.
What a fantastic experience - I even got to drive the boat, see all of the sights along the Camel Estuary and we took a long drive over to the new Lifeboat Station at Trevose Head, which is an amazing building with a slide launch for the boat (I am sure it must be called something technical)... I felt like a Blue Peter presenter!
It was a totally unexpected thing to happen and I felt really honoured that they spent the time to take me out for a ride and to see a little bit of what they do as part of the lifeboat crew at Rock - fantastic!
I am now about to get on the train up to London, to get ready for work tomorrow... so I must now hang up my cycling shorts (remembering once and for all that lycra is a privelege and not a right) and say thank you so much for reading this blog and for sharing the Pasty Run with me. I have had an absolute ball and I would recommend the ride from JOG - LE to you... if I can do it, so can you!
Pip pip and goodbye
Becca x
PS - we have raised about £11,000 for the Rock Lifeboat station (excluding Gift Aid add-ons!), but I will let you know the final figure - so do stay in touch via email, snail mail and phone!
Friday, 25 July 2008
Homeward Bound
Good evening all ...
I am typing this from the comfort of Homeleigh Farm, and have the extreme pleasure of sleeping in my own bed tonight! We have battled with Dartmoor, the A30 and the Atlantic Highway to make it back to Chapel Amble, and today's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 64.2 miles
Time taken: 7 hours 5 minutes
Weather: rain, wind, cloud and bright sunshine!
Wind: nothing to speak of
Soundtrack of the day: "Eye of the Tiger", "You Can Do It" by Ice Cube and the Robot Song by the Flight of the Conchords - all very motivational!
Worst bit of the day: Struggling along the A30 with lots of holidaymakers and lorries trying to push us off the road
Best bit of the day: Reaching Homeleigh Farm to be welcomed by Daddy, Penny, Antonia, Uncle John and Aunty Pam, Sue and John Welfare (and a bunch of balloons!)
We knew that the first bit of the day was going to be hard, as our B&B was situated at the bottom of a valley. We therefore had a long 2 mile climb out into daylight though the tree canopy (and rain) up to Moretonhampstead - a quaint but busy village in the middle of Dartmoor. We continued our climb out through the village up to the top of Whiddon Down.
The going in the morning was very slow as we had to make our way up hill over 3 more "downs" - Sourton Down, Lewdown and Lifton Down. Really exhausting work - we knew that Devon and Cornwall were going to be the toughest days - but the long hills were something else. It was also frustrating cycling along familiar roads and what normally takes us less than an hour in the car ... but the sun soon came out and revived our spirits!
We passed through a number of villages in our attempt to avoid the A30 - which is the main road down into Cornwall. However, we had to cycle a short stretch of it from Launceston to Tregadillett - battling for space on the tarmac with caravans, trailers, lorries and holidaymakers on their way down to enjoy the Cornish sunshine. It was not a nice experience, particularly as we have to join the A30 for most of tomorrow's cycling... therefore, we have resolved (if we can!) to get up early and try and beat the rush down to the West of Cornwall.
After the stretch on the A30 we cycled up to North Cornwall through Pipers Pool, Holsworthy and past the creamery at Davidstow. Surprisingly, the hills were not as steep as I remember them in the car - which was very good news and we soon found ourselves on the "Atlantic Highway" - the A39. We cut through the back roads through Slaughterbridge (where you can see King Arthur's last battleground!), Delabole and Pendoggett and - with huge smiles on our faces - turned left when we saw the sign for Chapel Amble!
Avoiding the grass in the middle of the road, we soon swept into the village and home! A welcoming committee was waiting for us - and the day's cycling over! I have to keep on reminding myself that I still have a day's cycling to go - argh!!!
Just off now to the Lifeboat Station for a "photo session" - what a glam lifestyle!
Pip pip
Becca x
I am typing this from the comfort of Homeleigh Farm, and have the extreme pleasure of sleeping in my own bed tonight! We have battled with Dartmoor, the A30 and the Atlantic Highway to make it back to Chapel Amble, and today's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 64.2 miles
Time taken: 7 hours 5 minutes
Weather: rain, wind, cloud and bright sunshine!
Wind: nothing to speak of
Soundtrack of the day: "Eye of the Tiger", "You Can Do It" by Ice Cube and the Robot Song by the Flight of the Conchords - all very motivational!
Worst bit of the day: Struggling along the A30 with lots of holidaymakers and lorries trying to push us off the road
Best bit of the day: Reaching Homeleigh Farm to be welcomed by Daddy, Penny, Antonia, Uncle John and Aunty Pam, Sue and John Welfare (and a bunch of balloons!)
We knew that the first bit of the day was going to be hard, as our B&B was situated at the bottom of a valley. We therefore had a long 2 mile climb out into daylight though the tree canopy (and rain) up to Moretonhampstead - a quaint but busy village in the middle of Dartmoor. We continued our climb out through the village up to the top of Whiddon Down.
The going in the morning was very slow as we had to make our way up hill over 3 more "downs" - Sourton Down, Lewdown and Lifton Down. Really exhausting work - we knew that Devon and Cornwall were going to be the toughest days - but the long hills were something else. It was also frustrating cycling along familiar roads and what normally takes us less than an hour in the car ... but the sun soon came out and revived our spirits!
We passed through a number of villages in our attempt to avoid the A30 - which is the main road down into Cornwall. However, we had to cycle a short stretch of it from Launceston to Tregadillett - battling for space on the tarmac with caravans, trailers, lorries and holidaymakers on their way down to enjoy the Cornish sunshine. It was not a nice experience, particularly as we have to join the A30 for most of tomorrow's cycling... therefore, we have resolved (if we can!) to get up early and try and beat the rush down to the West of Cornwall.
After the stretch on the A30 we cycled up to North Cornwall through Pipers Pool, Holsworthy and past the creamery at Davidstow. Surprisingly, the hills were not as steep as I remember them in the car - which was very good news and we soon found ourselves on the "Atlantic Highway" - the A39. We cut through the back roads through Slaughterbridge (where you can see King Arthur's last battleground!), Delabole and Pendoggett and - with huge smiles on our faces - turned left when we saw the sign for Chapel Amble!
Avoiding the grass in the middle of the road, we soon swept into the village and home! A welcoming committee was waiting for us - and the day's cycling over! I have to keep on reminding myself that I still have a day's cycling to go - argh!!!
Just off now to the Lifeboat Station for a "photo session" - what a glam lifestyle!
Pip pip
Becca x
The Dash to Dartmoor (Thursday 24th July)
Good Evening Pasty Run Readers!
Well, with a cough and a splutter we arrived at Steps Bridge which is just outside Moretonhampstead within the boundaries of Dartmoor National Park. Our vital statistics for the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 71.5 miles
Time taken: 7 hours 45 minutes (including stops)
Weather: hot and sweaty sun!
Wind: nil
Soundtrack of the day: Chris relived his cub-scout days today with a medley of “Quartermaster’s Stores” and “Ging gang goolie”, and the “Frog Chorus” got an airing again... fabulous!
Best bit of the day: cycling through the Somerset villages on the outskirts of Cheddar and seeing Dad’s car at the 7 mile interval marks!
Worst bit of the day: the hill sections from the St Thomas district of Exeter up to Longtown. Ugh.
Well today started with a goodbye to Penny and Antonia who had to head back to Homeleigh Farm and get ready for the arrival of the masses and party-time this weekend. We were sad to see the Camper Van disappear, but glad that Dad was not tempted to head homewards as well!
The cycle ride today was mainly through rolling hills, although it was fairly flat to begin with through the Somerset Levels – the big ditches and canals of the levels were impressive to look at – and the views went on for miles. The going was good through the country lanes in the morning sunshine.
The first town we cycled through was Bridgwater and that was fairly easy. We had a quick stop where Chris chose to apply some ibuprofen gel onto his knees wearing a latex rubber glove (there were a few interested glances from the locals). We then reached Taunton, which also passed without incident.
Exeter was a nightmare: we got lost once (when we got to a roundabout with absolutely no signs on it whatsoever), we lost each other (Chris carried on round a roundabout when I turned left), I got cut up by a bus, Chris nearly got knocked off his bike by an unobservant BMW driver (which goes to prove my theory!) and the hills out the other side of the city to Moretonehampstead were no laughing matter. They were the bad steep type... they make you burst your lungs on the way up, and poo your pants on the way down. By the time we got to our B&B we were absolutely done for.
We are now relaxing in probably the best pub in the world – The Teign House Inn in Cristow. Real Ale, Home-made Scotch Eggs over the bar for £1, and the best pub menu ever ... just no signal on the mobile phone, so will have to publish this tomorrow!
Pip pip
Becca x
Well, with a cough and a splutter we arrived at Steps Bridge which is just outside Moretonhampstead within the boundaries of Dartmoor National Park. Our vital statistics for the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 71.5 miles
Time taken: 7 hours 45 minutes (including stops)
Weather: hot and sweaty sun!
Wind: nil
Soundtrack of the day: Chris relived his cub-scout days today with a medley of “Quartermaster’s Stores” and “Ging gang goolie”, and the “Frog Chorus” got an airing again... fabulous!
Best bit of the day: cycling through the Somerset villages on the outskirts of Cheddar and seeing Dad’s car at the 7 mile interval marks!
Worst bit of the day: the hill sections from the St Thomas district of Exeter up to Longtown. Ugh.
Well today started with a goodbye to Penny and Antonia who had to head back to Homeleigh Farm and get ready for the arrival of the masses and party-time this weekend. We were sad to see the Camper Van disappear, but glad that Dad was not tempted to head homewards as well!
The cycle ride today was mainly through rolling hills, although it was fairly flat to begin with through the Somerset Levels – the big ditches and canals of the levels were impressive to look at – and the views went on for miles. The going was good through the country lanes in the morning sunshine.
The first town we cycled through was Bridgwater and that was fairly easy. We had a quick stop where Chris chose to apply some ibuprofen gel onto his knees wearing a latex rubber glove (there were a few interested glances from the locals). We then reached Taunton, which also passed without incident.
Exeter was a nightmare: we got lost once (when we got to a roundabout with absolutely no signs on it whatsoever), we lost each other (Chris carried on round a roundabout when I turned left), I got cut up by a bus, Chris nearly got knocked off his bike by an unobservant BMW driver (which goes to prove my theory!) and the hills out the other side of the city to Moretonehampstead were no laughing matter. They were the bad steep type... they make you burst your lungs on the way up, and poo your pants on the way down. By the time we got to our B&B we were absolutely done for.
We are now relaxing in probably the best pub in the world – The Teign House Inn in Cristow. Real Ale, Home-made Scotch Eggs over the bar for £1, and the best pub menu ever ... just no signal on the mobile phone, so will have to publish this tomorrow!
Pip pip
Becca x
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
A Bridge Too Far....
Well, a rather sweaty "good evening" from Cheddar!
We are now fully in the West Country and I feel so close (and yet so far!) to home ... especially when I saw the signposts to Plymouth (although it is still over 100 miles away!)
The days vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 58.5 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 38 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sunny again!
Wind: not a breathe
Soundtrack of the day (courtesy of Chris): "Mull of Kintyre" by Paul McCartney, "Mmm Bop" by Hanson, "Two Sleepy People" (I only know the Peter Skellern version!), The theme tune from Stingray ...
Best bit of the day: Cycling through the Forest of Dean in the shade - cool and breezy!
Worst bit of the day: Our speed - we never seemed to get going and we were quite slow.
We left Monmouth at about 0900 hours, and had a storming first hour. We had quite a bit of a climb through the Forest of Dean, but it was through the tree canopy which was shady and cool and the incline was not steep, just long.
The sun was burning today - and the school of silly sunburn continues - Chris' legs are looking like a tequila sunrise cocktail and my wrists/hands are looking like someone has had a fit whilst applying the fake tan... not very flattering!
The cycling was very stop-and-start today, we first went over the Severn Bridge, which was amazing. Looking up the Bristol Channel into the hazy sunshine was only blighted by the cars and lorries whizzing past only metres away.
The second bridge was the Avonmouth Bridge - and that was preceded by a cycle through the industrial district - past such delights as the "Columbian Chemical Factory" and other rather dubious warehouses. Dad was fantastic in finding the route to the cycle path across the bridge, which was not clearly signposted, and the whole experience of cycling from Avonmouth to Portishead was not very nice, but an evil necessity to skirt round the north of Bristol!
We then cycled along the B3133 through Clevedon, Kenn, Yatton and Congresbury: through some lovely countryside but a very busy road - lorries, tractors and trailers: argh! (Although none of them shared the qualities of a white van man, BMW speeder or a dutch winnebago driver!)
We finally turned on to the A38 towards Taunton and after a number of rather large ups and downs, we turned off that road and down into Cheddar. We avoided Cheddar Gorge - which is something to be thankful for, and found our hotel for some well deserved rest! It was quite a long day today and although the mileage was not high, we felt every single pedal-stroke ...
As a reward for reaching Cheddar in good time, we all bundled into the car and went down to the caves at Wookey Hole - we were the last ones in and got a private tour around the caves... Antonia was enthralled, so a really good end to the day. Tomorrow we are cycling to Dartmoor, ever nearer to our ultimate destination!
Hope you are all enjoying the sun ...
Pip pip
Becca x
We are now fully in the West Country and I feel so close (and yet so far!) to home ... especially when I saw the signposts to Plymouth (although it is still over 100 miles away!)
The days vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 58.5 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 38 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sunny again!
Wind: not a breathe
Soundtrack of the day (courtesy of Chris): "Mull of Kintyre" by Paul McCartney, "Mmm Bop" by Hanson, "Two Sleepy People" (I only know the Peter Skellern version!), The theme tune from Stingray ...
Best bit of the day: Cycling through the Forest of Dean in the shade - cool and breezy!
Worst bit of the day: Our speed - we never seemed to get going and we were quite slow.
We left Monmouth at about 0900 hours, and had a storming first hour. We had quite a bit of a climb through the Forest of Dean, but it was through the tree canopy which was shady and cool and the incline was not steep, just long.
The sun was burning today - and the school of silly sunburn continues - Chris' legs are looking like a tequila sunrise cocktail and my wrists/hands are looking like someone has had a fit whilst applying the fake tan... not very flattering!
The cycling was very stop-and-start today, we first went over the Severn Bridge, which was amazing. Looking up the Bristol Channel into the hazy sunshine was only blighted by the cars and lorries whizzing past only metres away.
The second bridge was the Avonmouth Bridge - and that was preceded by a cycle through the industrial district - past such delights as the "Columbian Chemical Factory" and other rather dubious warehouses. Dad was fantastic in finding the route to the cycle path across the bridge, which was not clearly signposted, and the whole experience of cycling from Avonmouth to Portishead was not very nice, but an evil necessity to skirt round the north of Bristol!
We then cycled along the B3133 through Clevedon, Kenn, Yatton and Congresbury: through some lovely countryside but a very busy road - lorries, tractors and trailers: argh! (Although none of them shared the qualities of a white van man, BMW speeder or a dutch winnebago driver!)
We finally turned on to the A38 towards Taunton and after a number of rather large ups and downs, we turned off that road and down into Cheddar. We avoided Cheddar Gorge - which is something to be thankful for, and found our hotel for some well deserved rest! It was quite a long day today and although the mileage was not high, we felt every single pedal-stroke ...
As a reward for reaching Cheddar in good time, we all bundled into the car and went down to the caves at Wookey Hole - we were the last ones in and got a private tour around the caves... Antonia was enthralled, so a really good end to the day. Tomorrow we are cycling to Dartmoor, ever nearer to our ultimate destination!
Hope you are all enjoying the sun ...
Pip pip
Becca x
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
The Welsh Marches
Bonsoir Bonsoir!
Well, we have just enjoyed the second day of summer 2008! Apologies for those of you reading this in the office, but it has been a glorious cycle ride along the highways and by-ways of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Without further ado, the statistics for the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 81.5 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 29 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sun, sun and more sun!
Wind: a little bit of headwind, but not much else
Soundtrack for the day (courtesy of Chris!): “Common People” by the Pulp; The Sound of Music as sung by Julie Andrews, “Reflex” by Duran Duran and “There’s Only One Way of Life” by the Levellers.
Best bit of the day: mini-milk ice creams 10 miles north of Monmouth – reminding me that I am on my summer holidays!
Worst bit of the day: the last hill of the day – always a killer, but this one was evil... lots of red faces, sore knees and heavy breathing!
We set off at 0915 hours this morning and cycled out of Shrewsbury, picking up some more energy drinks on the way. Chris had a bit of a problem with his back brake so we had to stop for a while to try and fix that, but we were soon on our way – winding our way up out of Shrewsbury and into the Shropshire countryside.
No sooner had we started out then we came across a sign saying that we were entering “the Shropshire Hills”... and didn’t we know it! Lots of hills – some sharp and steep, some slowly winding and long (and steep!) We climbed up to 1035 feet at one point, and although the downhill sort of made up for it, generally speaking - the downhills never seem long enough (or frequent enough!)
The luckiest part of the day was when we came out of Leintwardine – there was a big “Road Closed” sign on the A4110 courtesy of Welsh Water... but the diversion went through a village about 8 miles away, so we thought we might chance our arm and cycle down to the road works and see if we could charm our way across. Unfortunately, the road works were down a long hill in a village about 4 miles away from the original “closed” sign ... so we were getting increasingly nervous that we would have to retrace our steps back to the diversion signs. However, when we got through to the village of Wigmore – the road was indeed cut into 2, but there was a little side opening that we sneaked on through before the workmen could stop us.
As a postscript to that story – Daddy and Penny were not so lucky and had to the follow the diversion... 21.2 miles extra, having taken in Kington, Radnorshire and most of East Wales... they rejoined us just outside Hereford!
We quickly skirted Hereford and its one way system, and we were on quieter roads to Monmouth... although it was very hilly, and we had to cycle over at least 4 ridges between Hereford and Monmouth before we found ourselves speeding down the hill into the town.
We were joined tonight by the Pauls and Sutcliffes – Penny, Becky, Duncan and George, Susie and Richard – who drove over from Worcestershire - and we have had a good hearty supper... even if Antonia and George turned the restaurant into an obstacle course and ran around like headless chickens! It is lovely to see family and friends and Penny has given us a bottle of champagne to open at Land’s End... I see a podium finish coming! (Dad’s not keen though – he’d prefer to drink it rather than wear it ...)
Pip pip
Becca x
Well, we have just enjoyed the second day of summer 2008! Apologies for those of you reading this in the office, but it has been a glorious cycle ride along the highways and by-ways of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Without further ado, the statistics for the day are as follows:
Distance travelled: 81.5 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 29 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sun, sun and more sun!
Wind: a little bit of headwind, but not much else
Soundtrack for the day (courtesy of Chris!): “Common People” by the Pulp; The Sound of Music as sung by Julie Andrews, “Reflex” by Duran Duran and “There’s Only One Way of Life” by the Levellers.
Best bit of the day: mini-milk ice creams 10 miles north of Monmouth – reminding me that I am on my summer holidays!
Worst bit of the day: the last hill of the day – always a killer, but this one was evil... lots of red faces, sore knees and heavy breathing!
We set off at 0915 hours this morning and cycled out of Shrewsbury, picking up some more energy drinks on the way. Chris had a bit of a problem with his back brake so we had to stop for a while to try and fix that, but we were soon on our way – winding our way up out of Shrewsbury and into the Shropshire countryside.
No sooner had we started out then we came across a sign saying that we were entering “the Shropshire Hills”... and didn’t we know it! Lots of hills – some sharp and steep, some slowly winding and long (and steep!) We climbed up to 1035 feet at one point, and although the downhill sort of made up for it, generally speaking - the downhills never seem long enough (or frequent enough!)
The luckiest part of the day was when we came out of Leintwardine – there was a big “Road Closed” sign on the A4110 courtesy of Welsh Water... but the diversion went through a village about 8 miles away, so we thought we might chance our arm and cycle down to the road works and see if we could charm our way across. Unfortunately, the road works were down a long hill in a village about 4 miles away from the original “closed” sign ... so we were getting increasingly nervous that we would have to retrace our steps back to the diversion signs. However, when we got through to the village of Wigmore – the road was indeed cut into 2, but there was a little side opening that we sneaked on through before the workmen could stop us.
As a postscript to that story – Daddy and Penny were not so lucky and had to the follow the diversion... 21.2 miles extra, having taken in Kington, Radnorshire and most of East Wales... they rejoined us just outside Hereford!
We quickly skirted Hereford and its one way system, and we were on quieter roads to Monmouth... although it was very hilly, and we had to cycle over at least 4 ridges between Hereford and Monmouth before we found ourselves speeding down the hill into the town.
We were joined tonight by the Pauls and Sutcliffes – Penny, Becky, Duncan and George, Susie and Richard – who drove over from Worcestershire - and we have had a good hearty supper... even if Antonia and George turned the restaurant into an obstacle course and ran around like headless chickens! It is lovely to see family and friends and Penny has given us a bottle of champagne to open at Land’s End... I see a podium finish coming! (Dad’s not keen though – he’d prefer to drink it rather than wear it ...)
Pip pip
Becca x
Monday, 21 July 2008
The first day of Summer!
Evening Pasty Run Readers – I am in Shrewsbury!
We have all had a fantastically sunny day today, and are sitting here with slightly red faces and stories of sunshine and an English summer’s day – what a rarity in 2008?! To top it all off, the cycling was fantastic, and the days vital stats are as follows:
Distance travelled: 66.8 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 35 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sun, sun, sun!!!
Wind: From the west, across our path and sometimes on the nose
Songs whistled by Chris today: Holiday by Madonna, The Frog Chorus by Paul McCartney, various ballads from The Welsh Miners’ Choir Annual CD (1972)
Best bit of the day: long downhill stretches through the glorious sun-drenched Shropshire countryside
Worst bit of the day: bizarre sun-tan marks ... just on my wrists?!
Well, after a full English breakfast we set off from Wigan with a spring in our pedals. It was a bit hairy for the first couple of hours – navigating through the traffic of Wigan and then Warrington, but we finally got out the other side and started cycling through some rolling countryside again.
It is still very disappointing to be cycling through traffic and congestion with memories of deserted Scottish single-track roads with 1 car every hour so near ... however, a distinct lack of bad driving today – which was good for us!
We are now stopping in luxury, not only do we have the battle bus to recline in, but we can now stretch out in the back of Penny’s deluxe camper van while she makes us a cup of tea and fans us with palm leaves (well, the cup of tea bit is true... we are still working on the palm leaves...)
Most of the day was spent on the A49 towards Whitchurch, but Dad did a fantastic job of taking us on some B roads, which meant that we avoided a lot of the traffic and saw the best of the Cheshire and Shropshire scenery.
It was very bizarre cycling in the sun, as I am still very much used to the rain in my face – but the sun obviously bought all of the cyclists out, as we passed 3 cyclists heavily laden with kit... I don’t know if they were doing JOG – LE, but yet again I was glad not to be carrying all of my stuff on the back of my bike.
We finished in Shrewsbury by about 3.30 ish, thanks to Chris chivvying me on when I started lagging behind. He has been a good morale booster (although not too sure about the soundtrack – Duncan, I might be taking you up on the offer of those earplugs!) and I am gradually getting used to adjusting my pace to stay ahead of Chris- especially on those uphill stretches!
We have quite a big day tomorrow. My legs are holding out well, although my Achilles tendon on my right ankle is hurting, my knees are seizing and my left calf is coming out in sympathy with my Achilles tendon, but all in all – I can still walk and (more importantly) still sit down (and cycle!) ...
Pip pip
Becca x
We have all had a fantastically sunny day today, and are sitting here with slightly red faces and stories of sunshine and an English summer’s day – what a rarity in 2008?! To top it all off, the cycling was fantastic, and the days vital stats are as follows:
Distance travelled: 66.8 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 35 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sun, sun, sun!!!
Wind: From the west, across our path and sometimes on the nose
Songs whistled by Chris today: Holiday by Madonna, The Frog Chorus by Paul McCartney, various ballads from The Welsh Miners’ Choir Annual CD (1972)
Best bit of the day: long downhill stretches through the glorious sun-drenched Shropshire countryside
Worst bit of the day: bizarre sun-tan marks ... just on my wrists?!
Well, after a full English breakfast we set off from Wigan with a spring in our pedals. It was a bit hairy for the first couple of hours – navigating through the traffic of Wigan and then Warrington, but we finally got out the other side and started cycling through some rolling countryside again.
It is still very disappointing to be cycling through traffic and congestion with memories of deserted Scottish single-track roads with 1 car every hour so near ... however, a distinct lack of bad driving today – which was good for us!
We are now stopping in luxury, not only do we have the battle bus to recline in, but we can now stretch out in the back of Penny’s deluxe camper van while she makes us a cup of tea and fans us with palm leaves (well, the cup of tea bit is true... we are still working on the palm leaves...)
Most of the day was spent on the A49 towards Whitchurch, but Dad did a fantastic job of taking us on some B roads, which meant that we avoided a lot of the traffic and saw the best of the Cheshire and Shropshire scenery.
It was very bizarre cycling in the sun, as I am still very much used to the rain in my face – but the sun obviously bought all of the cyclists out, as we passed 3 cyclists heavily laden with kit... I don’t know if they were doing JOG – LE, but yet again I was glad not to be carrying all of my stuff on the back of my bike.
We finished in Shrewsbury by about 3.30 ish, thanks to Chris chivvying me on when I started lagging behind. He has been a good morale booster (although not too sure about the soundtrack – Duncan, I might be taking you up on the offer of those earplugs!) and I am gradually getting used to adjusting my pace to stay ahead of Chris- especially on those uphill stretches!
We have quite a big day tomorrow. My legs are holding out well, although my Achilles tendon on my right ankle is hurting, my knees are seizing and my left calf is coming out in sympathy with my Achilles tendon, but all in all – I can still walk and (more importantly) still sit down (and cycle!) ...
Pip pip
Becca x
Outside the RNLI Lifeboat Station at Largs
... remembering part of the reason why I am cycling all this way!
My new cycling buddy!
Chris - my husband and task master... he is making sure I stick to my schedule!!!
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Paul's paella ...
Good evening all,
Tonight finds us in Wigan – where 2 have become 5 – 2 cyclists, 1 mondeo (the “battle bus”) and 1 camper van... I don’t think the roads between Kendal and Wigan knew what hit them today! But we have all managed to get down here safely, so without further ado, the days vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 63 miles
Time taken: 5 hours 48 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sunny with some showers
Wind: on the nose, although Daddy says that it has been north-westerly all day, which should have been on our quarter...
Times Daddy got lost: once (first time in the journey, due to bad signage to Euxton and the A49!) Best bit of the day: cycling with Chris in the sunshine
Worst bit of the day: 4 miles north of Wigan where I got into a strop (very tired... all the toys went out of the pram!)
To start the day off, we drove down to Burneside, 2.5 miles north of Kendal to pick up my bike from where I had left it yesterday and started out – Chris and I quickly made it down to Kendal and picked up the A6 again. The journey today was fairly uneventful, the weather was sunny and although Dad says that the wind was vaguely in our favour, it seemed to be blowing in our faces for quite a bit of the time...
We cycled our way through Lancaster. There were lots of red roses on signs and over door ways, combatting the white roses of Yorkshire, I suppose... Lancaster itself was on the side of a hill and therefore we navigated our way up hill past modern warehouse units, 17th and 18th century buildings, a castle and a multi-columned town-hall. It looked a good place to stop, but we were being called ever South-wards, and therefore we continued on quickly.
It was really good to be cycling with Chris – although he was miles ahead of me in terms of speed. I tried to keep up so I could get in his slip stream, but to no avail, so he sat behind me for most of the journey, taking advantage of the big hole I made cycling along!
Cycling with someone has proved to be very weird after a week alone, particularly as Chris chose to whistle Madonna’s “Get into the Groove”, interspersed with Paul McCartney’s “Mull of Kintyre” for most of the day... it certainly made a difference to the more silent/natural soundtrack of my first week!
We arrived in Wigan and have spent quite a raucous evening around at the Lees’, where Paul cooked a fantastic paella. We have bottomed out the “world peace” issue and whether Ronaldo is going to leave Manchester (and everything in between) – and I am definitely ready for bed!
I hope you all had a good weekend – Happy birthday Ben, happy capsizing Hannah and all my love and cuddles to Tina.
Pip pip
Becca x
PS - still having problems with photos, so will upload them when I next have the chance (and access to broadband!)
Tonight finds us in Wigan – where 2 have become 5 – 2 cyclists, 1 mondeo (the “battle bus”) and 1 camper van... I don’t think the roads between Kendal and Wigan knew what hit them today! But we have all managed to get down here safely, so without further ado, the days vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 63 miles
Time taken: 5 hours 48 minutes (including stops)
Weather: sunny with some showers
Wind: on the nose, although Daddy says that it has been north-westerly all day, which should have been on our quarter...
Times Daddy got lost: once (first time in the journey, due to bad signage to Euxton and the A49!) Best bit of the day: cycling with Chris in the sunshine
Worst bit of the day: 4 miles north of Wigan where I got into a strop (very tired... all the toys went out of the pram!)
To start the day off, we drove down to Burneside, 2.5 miles north of Kendal to pick up my bike from where I had left it yesterday and started out – Chris and I quickly made it down to Kendal and picked up the A6 again. The journey today was fairly uneventful, the weather was sunny and although Dad says that the wind was vaguely in our favour, it seemed to be blowing in our faces for quite a bit of the time...
We cycled our way through Lancaster. There were lots of red roses on signs and over door ways, combatting the white roses of Yorkshire, I suppose... Lancaster itself was on the side of a hill and therefore we navigated our way up hill past modern warehouse units, 17th and 18th century buildings, a castle and a multi-columned town-hall. It looked a good place to stop, but we were being called ever South-wards, and therefore we continued on quickly.
It was really good to be cycling with Chris – although he was miles ahead of me in terms of speed. I tried to keep up so I could get in his slip stream, but to no avail, so he sat behind me for most of the journey, taking advantage of the big hole I made cycling along!
Cycling with someone has proved to be very weird after a week alone, particularly as Chris chose to whistle Madonna’s “Get into the Groove”, interspersed with Paul McCartney’s “Mull of Kintyre” for most of the day... it certainly made a difference to the more silent/natural soundtrack of my first week!
We arrived in Wigan and have spent quite a raucous evening around at the Lees’, where Paul cooked a fantastic paella. We have bottomed out the “world peace” issue and whether Ronaldo is going to leave Manchester (and everything in between) – and I am definitely ready for bed!
I hope you all had a good weekend – Happy birthday Ben, happy capsizing Hannah and all my love and cuddles to Tina.
Pip pip
Becca x
PS - still having problems with photos, so will upload them when I next have the chance (and access to broadband!)
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Eng-erland, Eng-erland, Eng-erland!
Good evening Pasty Run Readers!
Back in Penrith after a slight change of plan ... we only had a 52 miler planned for today, so I decided to lengthen the day and cycle to Kendall - Penny and Antonia are staying down there with a friend, and it means that we do not have to cycle 87 miles tomorrow - which is a bit much for a Sunday...
So the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance cycled: 83 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 10 minutes including stops
Weather: showers with a random hail storm!
Wind: behind me for a bit, but fairly still
Numbers of kestrels seen: 2 (1 in a tree and 1 squished on the road...)
Best bit of the day: seeing Chris again!
Worst bit of the day: being at the bottom of Shap Hill
Set off from Dumfries in light drizzle and had a storming 2 hours cycle - over 28 miles in that time, and it took me over the border into England, just south of Gretna Green. Stopped for a cup of tea and scone with Daddy in Longtown to celebrate and also to get my day sheet stamped in the Post Office.
Turning onto the A6 just south of Carlisle meant a little bit of a rollercoaster ride again, with long up and down hill stretches. Quite good going, but the weather failed me and I had to cycle through some very strong downpours and even a hailstorm! The scenery was fantastic though, rolling countryside and at the top of the hills you could see for miles.
Got to Penrith at about 2.30 ish, by which time Dad had deserted me to go and pick Chris up from Darlington train station (no West Coast trains at the weekend!) and so I was really cycling solo and felt very bereft without my wingman, navigator, tracker bar unwrapper and morale booster. Therefore, I kicked back and relaxed and had a very slow 10 miles, saving myself up for Shap Hill.
"The Shap" is 10 miles south of Penrith and rises up to 1400 feet. This had been the main obstacle in my way for this journey and I was very apprehensive cycling towards it. Furthermore, just past Shap Village my gears jammed for the first time which meant that I had to prop my bike upside down by the side of the road for a couple of minutes and fiddle with the chain looking like I knew what I was doing. Miraculously my cursing worked and the chain started behaving itself again...
The cycle up "the Shap" was actually fine. When compared with the hill up to the Crask Inn on my second day, it was not as bad as that, and so I found myself up at the top without too many problems. Going down the other side was a different issue! It was a massive white knuckle extravaganza - with me holding on to my handlebars for dear life!
I managed another 3 or 4 miles until Dad and Chris caught me up. An evening meal in Kendall ensued and now we have driven back up the motorway to our B&B (and Chris' bike that we stored here all last week) ready to start from Kendall tomorrow. (Logistical nightmare - I have left my bike with Penny and Antonia in Kendall... its just too confusing to explain!)
So, my journey is half way over time-wise and this time next week will hopefully find me overtired and emotional in the Blue Tomato. I have managed to cycle 530 miles and now I have Chris with me to cycle the remaining 470 (approx) - the second part of the adventure begins!
Thanks for sticking with this blog for this long - and hope you enjoy it next week too. I will try and upload more photos, but my internet connection is letting me down at present ...
Pip pip
Becca x
(PS - Sue & John - Giles will be waiting for you when you arrive and we have told him to keep a VERY close eye on you both!! See you on Friday!) x
Back in Penrith after a slight change of plan ... we only had a 52 miler planned for today, so I decided to lengthen the day and cycle to Kendall - Penny and Antonia are staying down there with a friend, and it means that we do not have to cycle 87 miles tomorrow - which is a bit much for a Sunday...
So the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance cycled: 83 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 10 minutes including stops
Weather: showers with a random hail storm!
Wind: behind me for a bit, but fairly still
Numbers of kestrels seen: 2 (1 in a tree and 1 squished on the road...)
Best bit of the day: seeing Chris again!
Worst bit of the day: being at the bottom of Shap Hill
Set off from Dumfries in light drizzle and had a storming 2 hours cycle - over 28 miles in that time, and it took me over the border into England, just south of Gretna Green. Stopped for a cup of tea and scone with Daddy in Longtown to celebrate and also to get my day sheet stamped in the Post Office.
Turning onto the A6 just south of Carlisle meant a little bit of a rollercoaster ride again, with long up and down hill stretches. Quite good going, but the weather failed me and I had to cycle through some very strong downpours and even a hailstorm! The scenery was fantastic though, rolling countryside and at the top of the hills you could see for miles.
Got to Penrith at about 2.30 ish, by which time Dad had deserted me to go and pick Chris up from Darlington train station (no West Coast trains at the weekend!) and so I was really cycling solo and felt very bereft without my wingman, navigator, tracker bar unwrapper and morale booster. Therefore, I kicked back and relaxed and had a very slow 10 miles, saving myself up for Shap Hill.
"The Shap" is 10 miles south of Penrith and rises up to 1400 feet. This had been the main obstacle in my way for this journey and I was very apprehensive cycling towards it. Furthermore, just past Shap Village my gears jammed for the first time which meant that I had to prop my bike upside down by the side of the road for a couple of minutes and fiddle with the chain looking like I knew what I was doing. Miraculously my cursing worked and the chain started behaving itself again...
The cycle up "the Shap" was actually fine. When compared with the hill up to the Crask Inn on my second day, it was not as bad as that, and so I found myself up at the top without too many problems. Going down the other side was a different issue! It was a massive white knuckle extravaganza - with me holding on to my handlebars for dear life!
I managed another 3 or 4 miles until Dad and Chris caught me up. An evening meal in Kendall ensued and now we have driven back up the motorway to our B&B (and Chris' bike that we stored here all last week) ready to start from Kendall tomorrow. (Logistical nightmare - I have left my bike with Penny and Antonia in Kendall... its just too confusing to explain!)
So, my journey is half way over time-wise and this time next week will hopefully find me overtired and emotional in the Blue Tomato. I have managed to cycle 530 miles and now I have Chris with me to cycle the remaining 470 (approx) - the second part of the adventure begins!
Thanks for sticking with this blog for this long - and hope you enjoy it next week too. I will try and upload more photos, but my internet connection is letting me down at present ...
Pip pip
Becca x
(PS - Sue & John - Giles will be waiting for you when you arrive and we have told him to keep a VERY close eye on you both!! See you on Friday!) x
Friday, 18 July 2008
Avoid Ayrshire at all costs ...
Evening all!
Oh. my. word. what a day! Even having had a bath, a good pasta meal and a glass of sauvignon blanc - I will be glad to see the back of this one ... I award this day 0 out of 10. If this day was in the six nations - it would get the wooden spoon. If it competed in the Eurovision Song Contest it would receive "nil point", despite Terry Wogan's best efforts.
But I forget myself, the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 92 miles
Time taken: 9 hours 20 minutes (including stops)
Weather: another soggy bottom episode - rain, rain and more rain
Wind: a little bit of headwind, but a little bit of tailwind as well!
Number of Land Rover Freelander 2s counted whilst cycling: 3
Best bit of the day: errr, there weren't any.
Worst bit of the day: where do I start...
I start in Largs - massively disappointing. Thought it was going to be a cross between Falmouth and Fowey but ended up with all of the elements of life I loathe: fairground, amusement arcades and the smell of chips fried in beef fat. Eurgh.
The A78 to Irvine was very very scary and therefore had a bit of a sprint start to get away from it. The B730 through Tarbolton and Patna was equally as bad but for different reasons, no traffic but an absolute rollercoaster of a ride - climbing up to over 1000 feet twice and lots of uphill/downhill twists - really tiring on the old legs!
My view of Ayrshire is pretty bleak. Tarbolton and all of the other villages between Irvine and Patna seem to be mining towns with one-size-fits-all pebbledashed houses and steel shutters on the spar shops. So when I saw the sign to Dumfries and Galloway - my spirits soared. 24 hours in Ayrshire, for me, is enough for a lifetime!
Finally arrived in Carsphairn where we did actually find a really jolly postmistress who ran a tea shop - first cup of the day, so you can imagine that Daddy and I were gasping!
I had another slow climb up to 1050 feet, across forestry commission land and I got across there pretty sharpish as I was being dive-bombed by midges. My phobia of those little blighters knows no bounds, so I think I must have set a record across that stretch of road...
FINALLY, I got a bit of downhill and ended up in Dumfries at a lovely B&B - The Rivendell on Edinburgh Road.
Meeting up with Chris tomorrow (who has only just flown back from Abu Dhabi) who will be cycling with me for the rest of the adventure - and will also see Penny and Antonia - who will be supporting us back to Cornwall and travelling in their campervan!
Hope you are all well... and still enjoying this blog. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today and I will be a bit more jolly!
Pip pip
Becca x
Oh. my. word. what a day! Even having had a bath, a good pasta meal and a glass of sauvignon blanc - I will be glad to see the back of this one ... I award this day 0 out of 10. If this day was in the six nations - it would get the wooden spoon. If it competed in the Eurovision Song Contest it would receive "nil point", despite Terry Wogan's best efforts.
But I forget myself, the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 92 miles
Time taken: 9 hours 20 minutes (including stops)
Weather: another soggy bottom episode - rain, rain and more rain
Wind: a little bit of headwind, but a little bit of tailwind as well!
Number of Land Rover Freelander 2s counted whilst cycling: 3
Best bit of the day: errr, there weren't any.
Worst bit of the day: where do I start...
I start in Largs - massively disappointing. Thought it was going to be a cross between Falmouth and Fowey but ended up with all of the elements of life I loathe: fairground, amusement arcades and the smell of chips fried in beef fat. Eurgh.
The A78 to Irvine was very very scary and therefore had a bit of a sprint start to get away from it. The B730 through Tarbolton and Patna was equally as bad but for different reasons, no traffic but an absolute rollercoaster of a ride - climbing up to over 1000 feet twice and lots of uphill/downhill twists - really tiring on the old legs!
My view of Ayrshire is pretty bleak. Tarbolton and all of the other villages between Irvine and Patna seem to be mining towns with one-size-fits-all pebbledashed houses and steel shutters on the spar shops. So when I saw the sign to Dumfries and Galloway - my spirits soared. 24 hours in Ayrshire, for me, is enough for a lifetime!
Finally arrived in Carsphairn where we did actually find a really jolly postmistress who ran a tea shop - first cup of the day, so you can imagine that Daddy and I were gasping!
I had another slow climb up to 1050 feet, across forestry commission land and I got across there pretty sharpish as I was being dive-bombed by midges. My phobia of those little blighters knows no bounds, so I think I must have set a record across that stretch of road...
FINALLY, I got a bit of downhill and ended up in Dumfries at a lovely B&B - The Rivendell on Edinburgh Road.
Meeting up with Chris tomorrow (who has only just flown back from Abu Dhabi) who will be cycling with me for the rest of the adventure - and will also see Penny and Antonia - who will be supporting us back to Cornwall and travelling in their campervan!
Hope you are all well... and still enjoying this blog. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today and I will be a bit more jolly!
Pip pip
Becca x
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Entrance to Loch Lomond National Park ...
... ask my sister-in-law, Becky, how to pronounce "Loch Lomond" properly...
(beginning of the Argyll Forest - lovely!)
Raindrops keep falling on my head....
Afternoon all!
I hesitate to type it, as I know that some of you will want your sponsorship money back unless I feel pain on a daily basis, but I have had another good day! It was a shorter one today (I'll explain why in a minute!), so am now safely ensconced in Largs. Before I go any further - the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 55 miles
Time taken: 5.5 hours (with stop and ferry ride)
Wind: not a breath... yippeee!
Weather: Rain, rain , rain and then brightening up the other side of the Clyde
Number of raindrops down my front: 32 (ish)
Worst bit of the day: soggy bottom
Best bit of the day: the ferry journey from Hunters Quay
Today was supposed to be a bit of a beast - around the 89 mile mark with lots of cycling around Glasgow to get to Largs. Daddy and I then decided that it might be nicer to cycle on "the Glasgow By-pass"(!) to Hunters Quay and get a ferry over the Clyde instead ... saving approximately 30 miles, an abundance of traffic and a lot of sweat (and probably tears) in the process.
So we set out from Hotel Loch Fyne at 0840 and I had 2 hours where I basically cycled up to the top of the Loch and all the way back down again on the other side, so that when my mile-ometer read 17.98 miles, I could see our hotel from across the Loch (about 1 mile away!) ... grrrr, a very bizarre experience. During this time, it was absolutely persisting it down with rain - which was great, as it meant no wind, but it did mean a very soggy bottom as the rain water sprayed up from my back wheel - eurgh!
I have generally been feeling a lot better and more powerful in the old legs over the past couple of days (which probably means I'll end up with quads like Fatima Whitbread), but I am now averaging about 13 miles an hour, which means that I am getting through the day a lot quicker. It also makes a difference when there is no wind gusting against you. Today was the same distance as Drumnadrochit to Fort William, but I felt that it was a lot easier...
It was glorious to cycle along Loch Fyne in absolute silence, even though it was raining and as I hit the 20 mile mark, Dad was waiting just by a tea room, so that I could fill up on a flapjack and a cup of tea... I think Dad and I are rivalling Darby and Joan in the glamour stakes at the moment - tea rooms and a good woollen mill is all we need to keep us happy!
The going was generally quite flat with a few long stretches of uphill, but they were the kind of hills that I could get my teeth into and find a rhythm to ensure that I got to the top without keeling over sideways half-way up, so that was good! (Also the drivers have been a lot more sensitive to my need for space as a cyclist... apart from Dutch winnebago drivers, who have been trying to pinch my bottom again).
Hmm, where was I? The cycle into Argyll Forest was amazing, my twin sis Pen would have hated it, (she hates driving through woods, says she finds it scary because she once broke down at Valley Truckle at 1 am in the morning and had to walk back up to St Kew on her own along the road in the middle of the overhanging trees), but it was very mystical and magical and with the mist clinging to the tops of the hills on the other side of Loch Eck, it was a real sight to behold - lovely!
I reached Hunters Quay around the 40 mile mark and we waited around for a bit to get the 1230 ferry across the Clyde. I was very sorry to leave Argyll & Bute, because I think it has been the most scenic part of Scotland that I have cycled through so far - but Ayshire beckoned ...
Getting off the ferry at the other side and cycling the remaining 15 miles or so into Largs was awful - we went through Weymyss Bay (a medium size seaside town with a ferry point and a holiday park) and past a lot of new build apartments and retirement homes and although I had a view over the Clyde - which is pretty impressive - I suppose that I just do not like being back in "civilisation" and cycling along suburban roads...
Got to Largs at 1410 and have just popped into town to type this out. What awaits us next? ... well, obviously Dad and I will hit the town tonight, might take in a couple of clubs or three, drink 10 pints of Tenants Super (we think that is what they drink up here... Mike E, what was your tipple when you lived North of the Border?!) .. or we might have a bite to eat and go back to our B&B to watch Casino Royale on DVD - its a tough choice!
Anyway - please send some of the sun that seems to be down South up here for a bit, off to Dumfries tomorrow, so will write more then (although it will be considerably tougher than today's jaunt ... so please send me lots of positive thoughts!!)
Pip pip
Becca x
(Ref: SSDGEJTB)
I hesitate to type it, as I know that some of you will want your sponsorship money back unless I feel pain on a daily basis, but I have had another good day! It was a shorter one today (I'll explain why in a minute!), so am now safely ensconced in Largs. Before I go any further - the day's vital statistics are as follows:
Distance travelled: 55 miles
Time taken: 5.5 hours (with stop and ferry ride)
Wind: not a breath... yippeee!
Weather: Rain, rain , rain and then brightening up the other side of the Clyde
Number of raindrops down my front: 32 (ish)
Worst bit of the day: soggy bottom
Best bit of the day: the ferry journey from Hunters Quay
Today was supposed to be a bit of a beast - around the 89 mile mark with lots of cycling around Glasgow to get to Largs. Daddy and I then decided that it might be nicer to cycle on "the Glasgow By-pass"(!) to Hunters Quay and get a ferry over the Clyde instead ... saving approximately 30 miles, an abundance of traffic and a lot of sweat (and probably tears) in the process.
So we set out from Hotel Loch Fyne at 0840 and I had 2 hours where I basically cycled up to the top of the Loch and all the way back down again on the other side, so that when my mile-ometer read 17.98 miles, I could see our hotel from across the Loch (about 1 mile away!) ... grrrr, a very bizarre experience. During this time, it was absolutely persisting it down with rain - which was great, as it meant no wind, but it did mean a very soggy bottom as the rain water sprayed up from my back wheel - eurgh!
I have generally been feeling a lot better and more powerful in the old legs over the past couple of days (which probably means I'll end up with quads like Fatima Whitbread), but I am now averaging about 13 miles an hour, which means that I am getting through the day a lot quicker. It also makes a difference when there is no wind gusting against you. Today was the same distance as Drumnadrochit to Fort William, but I felt that it was a lot easier...
It was glorious to cycle along Loch Fyne in absolute silence, even though it was raining and as I hit the 20 mile mark, Dad was waiting just by a tea room, so that I could fill up on a flapjack and a cup of tea... I think Dad and I are rivalling Darby and Joan in the glamour stakes at the moment - tea rooms and a good woollen mill is all we need to keep us happy!
The going was generally quite flat with a few long stretches of uphill, but they were the kind of hills that I could get my teeth into and find a rhythm to ensure that I got to the top without keeling over sideways half-way up, so that was good! (Also the drivers have been a lot more sensitive to my need for space as a cyclist... apart from Dutch winnebago drivers, who have been trying to pinch my bottom again).
Hmm, where was I? The cycle into Argyll Forest was amazing, my twin sis Pen would have hated it, (she hates driving through woods, says she finds it scary because she once broke down at Valley Truckle at 1 am in the morning and had to walk back up to St Kew on her own along the road in the middle of the overhanging trees), but it was very mystical and magical and with the mist clinging to the tops of the hills on the other side of Loch Eck, it was a real sight to behold - lovely!
I reached Hunters Quay around the 40 mile mark and we waited around for a bit to get the 1230 ferry across the Clyde. I was very sorry to leave Argyll & Bute, because I think it has been the most scenic part of Scotland that I have cycled through so far - but Ayshire beckoned ...
Getting off the ferry at the other side and cycling the remaining 15 miles or so into Largs was awful - we went through Weymyss Bay (a medium size seaside town with a ferry point and a holiday park) and past a lot of new build apartments and retirement homes and although I had a view over the Clyde - which is pretty impressive - I suppose that I just do not like being back in "civilisation" and cycling along suburban roads...
Got to Largs at 1410 and have just popped into town to type this out. What awaits us next? ... well, obviously Dad and I will hit the town tonight, might take in a couple of clubs or three, drink 10 pints of Tenants Super (we think that is what they drink up here... Mike E, what was your tipple when you lived North of the Border?!) .. or we might have a bite to eat and go back to our B&B to watch Casino Royale on DVD - its a tough choice!
Anyway - please send some of the sun that seems to be down South up here for a bit, off to Dumfries tomorrow, so will write more then (although it will be considerably tougher than today's jaunt ... so please send me lots of positive thoughts!!)
Pip pip
Becca x
(Ref: SSDGEJTB)
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
The best ratio in the world ... probably?
Bon soir mes petits Pasty-Run readers(!)
I have had a fantastic day's cycling from Fort William to Inverary and am now sitting in the reception at the Loch Fyne Hotel having been massaged and having consumed half a pint of stella (lemonade top)! Without further ado, the days vital stats are as follows:
Distance cycled: 73 miles
Time taken: 7.5 hours (including stops)
Wind: behind me for some of the way - yippeee!! Otherwise, right on the nose as usual.
Weather: rain with some sunny intervals
Favourite snack of the day: strawberry yoghurt covered raisins... mmmm.
Worst experience of the day: bone-shaking tarmac (more of that later)
Best experience of the day: down-hill cycling (more of that later too!)
So, I decided to forego some of my beauty sleep and set out from Fort William in the rain at 0815 hours. The cycle alongside Loch Linnhe was a bit up and down, with lots of traffic, but a rainbow followed me along the Loch, so that was a morale booster.
The first stop was in South Ballachulish (13 mile mark). I sat in the car and had a snack and really did not want to get out of the warmth and into the rain. Nevertheless, out I got and had a bit of uphill cycling for a while. The knees have been burning today, along with the thighs, but no more pinging - which has been reassuring.
We then stopped again for a second snack at a cafe with the best view in Argyll & Bute - over the loch to Castle Stalker - as I sank into a leather sofa, sipping a cup of tea, I yet again reminded myself that this is my summer holiday! It was up and down and wind was in my face until I reached Connel. To get to the town I had to go over a bridge which was very scary - lots of side winds and big lorries, and although I cycled along the pavement, I kept one pedal unclipped just in case I got floored by a big gust.
I had a quick stop in Connel and then a lot of uphill cycling for about an hour. It is at this point I must confess I had become a bit of an anorak about tarmac and its varying qualities... the best specimen is when it has been newly laid and the tar is all mushed-up with little chippings (not too pointy - the rounder the better!). HOWEVER - this is few and far between and what the navvys in Scotland seem to do is pour the tar down and then sprinkle pointy big chippings over the top (not so liberally). This results in a bone-shaking ride where my poor little tyres slip and slide around and my whole body vibrates from seemingly cycling over cobbles. Hurrumph. I shall now get off my high horse, and continue with the blog...
After the uphill struggle, I came to a little town called the Bridge of Awe - on my map, this was just before the Pass of Gandulph (its actually called the Pass of Brander, but I have been annoying Dad all day by calling it the wrong name, so why stop now?) - I was not looking forward to this as it seemed to me to have a bit of a scarey name, which I equated with lots of uphill cycling. Don't know how they managed it - but I had approximately 6 miles of mainly downhill - fantastic (and with the wind behind me!) I passed a couple going the other way who I think might be doing LE - JOG, just because the man was on a scooter (ie foot scooter, not a vespa) ... the mad things people do, eh?
Anyway, my joy of this new found free-wheeling was soon forgotten as I slogged uphill for about 2 miles. Nevertheless, this was then followed by a 6 mile down-hill free-wheel into Inverary and the end of my day. By my reckoning, the uphill:downhill ratio of the last hour's cycle was 1:3 and as I sit here typing, that is probably the best ratio in the world!
Before I sign off, thank you once again for all your comments and in response to a couple of them, I would just like to point out the following:
Rick: our local hotel in Wadebridge is not called the Molesters Arms... you'll be quite safe and sound sleeping there (or disappointed, depending on your expectations!) but looking forward to seeing you and Zog too.
Hannah: we had cycled 30 yards from Winkworth Arboretum before you fell into a ditch. My falling off/miles cycled ratio is therefore far lower, but I will concede point and never rib you again about that particular incident (there are far more funnier ones to choose from ...)
John & Sue: looking forward to seeing you too, and hope the sun shines when you get to Homeleigh.
Anne-Britt: thanks for all your good-luck messages, looking forward to exchanging cycle stories and comparing war wounds when I get back (the gravel in the shoulder incident does not sound good!)
Again - thank you all for sponsoring me and for supporting me with your comments and texts, it really is appreciated!
Pip pip
Becca x
(Ref: DGCPHEJTB)
I have had a fantastic day's cycling from Fort William to Inverary and am now sitting in the reception at the Loch Fyne Hotel having been massaged and having consumed half a pint of stella (lemonade top)! Without further ado, the days vital stats are as follows:
Distance cycled: 73 miles
Time taken: 7.5 hours (including stops)
Wind: behind me for some of the way - yippeee!! Otherwise, right on the nose as usual.
Weather: rain with some sunny intervals
Favourite snack of the day: strawberry yoghurt covered raisins... mmmm.
Worst experience of the day: bone-shaking tarmac (more of that later)
Best experience of the day: down-hill cycling (more of that later too!)
So, I decided to forego some of my beauty sleep and set out from Fort William in the rain at 0815 hours. The cycle alongside Loch Linnhe was a bit up and down, with lots of traffic, but a rainbow followed me along the Loch, so that was a morale booster.
The first stop was in South Ballachulish (13 mile mark). I sat in the car and had a snack and really did not want to get out of the warmth and into the rain. Nevertheless, out I got and had a bit of uphill cycling for a while. The knees have been burning today, along with the thighs, but no more pinging - which has been reassuring.
We then stopped again for a second snack at a cafe with the best view in Argyll & Bute - over the loch to Castle Stalker - as I sank into a leather sofa, sipping a cup of tea, I yet again reminded myself that this is my summer holiday! It was up and down and wind was in my face until I reached Connel. To get to the town I had to go over a bridge which was very scary - lots of side winds and big lorries, and although I cycled along the pavement, I kept one pedal unclipped just in case I got floored by a big gust.
I had a quick stop in Connel and then a lot of uphill cycling for about an hour. It is at this point I must confess I had become a bit of an anorak about tarmac and its varying qualities... the best specimen is when it has been newly laid and the tar is all mushed-up with little chippings (not too pointy - the rounder the better!). HOWEVER - this is few and far between and what the navvys in Scotland seem to do is pour the tar down and then sprinkle pointy big chippings over the top (not so liberally). This results in a bone-shaking ride where my poor little tyres slip and slide around and my whole body vibrates from seemingly cycling over cobbles. Hurrumph. I shall now get off my high horse, and continue with the blog...
After the uphill struggle, I came to a little town called the Bridge of Awe - on my map, this was just before the Pass of Gandulph (its actually called the Pass of Brander, but I have been annoying Dad all day by calling it the wrong name, so why stop now?) - I was not looking forward to this as it seemed to me to have a bit of a scarey name, which I equated with lots of uphill cycling. Don't know how they managed it - but I had approximately 6 miles of mainly downhill - fantastic (and with the wind behind me!) I passed a couple going the other way who I think might be doing LE - JOG, just because the man was on a scooter (ie foot scooter, not a vespa) ... the mad things people do, eh?
Anyway, my joy of this new found free-wheeling was soon forgotten as I slogged uphill for about 2 miles. Nevertheless, this was then followed by a 6 mile down-hill free-wheel into Inverary and the end of my day. By my reckoning, the uphill:downhill ratio of the last hour's cycle was 1:3 and as I sit here typing, that is probably the best ratio in the world!
Before I sign off, thank you once again for all your comments and in response to a couple of them, I would just like to point out the following:
Rick: our local hotel in Wadebridge is not called the Molesters Arms... you'll be quite safe and sound sleeping there (or disappointed, depending on your expectations!) but looking forward to seeing you and Zog too.
Hannah: we had cycled 30 yards from Winkworth Arboretum before you fell into a ditch. My falling off/miles cycled ratio is therefore far lower, but I will concede point and never rib you again about that particular incident (there are far more funnier ones to choose from ...)
John & Sue: looking forward to seeing you too, and hope the sun shines when you get to Homeleigh.
Anne-Britt: thanks for all your good-luck messages, looking forward to exchanging cycle stories and comparing war wounds when I get back (the gravel in the shoulder incident does not sound good!)
Again - thank you all for sponsoring me and for supporting me with your comments and texts, it really is appreciated!
Pip pip
Becca x
(Ref: DGCPHEJTB)
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
We've done it!!! £10,010!!
Dear All
Sorry for multi-blogging (is that a new concept?) but just had to write again as I have looked on my justgiving site and we have raised £10,010!!
Thank you to Jon and Tanya, Jill and John, Mike and Kate for taking me over my target whilst I have been pedalling and to the rest of you that have sponsored me as well... I am so grateful - thank you. I think we have achieved what I think is a fitting tribute to my mum, and a brilliant amount to forward to the Rock Lifeboat station.
(Although being my mother's daughter, I am hoping to absolutely smash my target and the aim is still to raise as much money as possible!)
I am sure this will give me the extra encouragement I need to get up those hills tomorrow...
B xx
Sorry for multi-blogging (is that a new concept?) but just had to write again as I have looked on my justgiving site and we have raised £10,010!!
Thank you to Jon and Tanya, Jill and John, Mike and Kate for taking me over my target whilst I have been pedalling and to the rest of you that have sponsored me as well... I am so grateful - thank you. I think we have achieved what I think is a fitting tribute to my mum, and a brilliant amount to forward to the Rock Lifeboat station.
(Although being my mother's daughter, I am hoping to absolutely smash my target and the aim is still to raise as much money as possible!)
I am sure this will give me the extra encouragement I need to get up those hills tomorrow...
B xx
Lochs to the left of me, lochs to the right ...
Evening peeps!
I am now in Fort William having had a good day's cycling... so without further ado, the vital stats for the day are as follows:
Distance: 51.1 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 50 (including stops - approx 11 miles an hour without)
Wind: about a Force 4 - 6 (depending on which loch I was cycling along)
Weather: Four seasons in one day (minus the snow)
Number of bananas consumed: 3
Times Becca fell off her bike: 0 (whoop woo!)
Best bit of the day: downhill speeding from the Commando Memorial into Spean Bridge
Worst bit of the day: The wind blowing me off the road (only once, thankfully!)
So, we left Drumnadrochit, having got my day-sheet stamped in the Post Office. A bit of a slog up out of the village along the A82, but cycled past two chaps laden down with camping gear etc on their bikes, so was thankful not to be carrying all of my kit!
I cycled along Loch Ness for approximately 19 miles, along a road that undulated through wooded valleys and exposed sections. The reality of "cycling against the prevailing winds" really hit home today as there must have been at least a Force 4 on Loch Ness (white horses etc) and most of that Force 4 was blowing right into my face - sometimes I felt that I was cycling hard just to stay still!
One of the highlights of the day was when two fighter jets flew low over the loch just above the tree line (Chris would know the make and model of the jets, but I was just satisfied by picturing Maverick and Goose in the cockpit!) - they made a very loud noise, but it was quite a sight to behold.
I then had a bit of a climb until I got to Fort Augustus (bagpiper in the car park busking ... hmmm) and the start of the Caledonian Canal - the swing bridge was open to let a couple of yachts through, but then I was on my way again, slowly climbing up to Invergarry, alongside Loch Oich.
After Invergarry (and another swing bridge... they must have sold a job lot) there was another slight climb until I found myself alongside Loch Lochy. Having held Loch Ness and Loch Oich on my lefthandside, Loch Lochy was on my right - but that did nothing for the wind, which was up to a Force 5/6. A lone day-boat was sailing on the loch under a very well reefed jib, and as I stopped to meet up with Dad for a banana, tracker bar and chelsea bun (best lunch in town at the moment), I felt that I had the better deal!
The wind by this time was ridiculous. The cycling would not have been that hard today, as it was mostly alongside the lochs, which meant that it was fairly flat with not much hill-work, but the wind made it nearly impossible to cycle and in between Loch Lochy and Spean Bridge, I got blown off the road, which was pretty scarey, but I managed to unclip in time and stop myself from falling on my bottom (again!)
Up at the top of the hill before Spean Bridge, in a very exposed place is the Commando Memorial - I do not know why it is there (and must remember to ask Chris) - presumably they train round there or something? Its pretty bleak and extreme, so it looks like a suitable training ground!
I then whizzed down into Spean Bridge for a hot chocolate and a flapjack with Dad and a little shopping therapy for Scottish souvenirs (I am on my summer holiday, after all!) and then the last 10 mile slog into Fort William (against the wind... again) went quickly and without incident!
I feel like I am back in civilisation again.. the internet works and the mobile phones have full signal. Pathetic, I know - but it is nice to chat to people and hear how the rest of the world is getting on - so please do text or send a comment into the blog so I can hear your news too!
Right - off to stretch again (as an update - legs and back fine, bottom a little square and my knee went "ping" today, so think that it could be getting sorer in days to come!)
Pip pip!
Becca x
(Ref: EMBEDGEJTB)
I am now in Fort William having had a good day's cycling... so without further ado, the vital stats for the day are as follows:
Distance: 51.1 miles
Time taken: 6 hours 50 (including stops - approx 11 miles an hour without)
Wind: about a Force 4 - 6 (depending on which loch I was cycling along)
Weather: Four seasons in one day (minus the snow)
Number of bananas consumed: 3
Times Becca fell off her bike: 0 (whoop woo!)
Best bit of the day: downhill speeding from the Commando Memorial into Spean Bridge
Worst bit of the day: The wind blowing me off the road (only once, thankfully!)
So, we left Drumnadrochit, having got my day-sheet stamped in the Post Office. A bit of a slog up out of the village along the A82, but cycled past two chaps laden down with camping gear etc on their bikes, so was thankful not to be carrying all of my kit!
I cycled along Loch Ness for approximately 19 miles, along a road that undulated through wooded valleys and exposed sections. The reality of "cycling against the prevailing winds" really hit home today as there must have been at least a Force 4 on Loch Ness (white horses etc) and most of that Force 4 was blowing right into my face - sometimes I felt that I was cycling hard just to stay still!
One of the highlights of the day was when two fighter jets flew low over the loch just above the tree line (Chris would know the make and model of the jets, but I was just satisfied by picturing Maverick and Goose in the cockpit!) - they made a very loud noise, but it was quite a sight to behold.
I then had a bit of a climb until I got to Fort Augustus (bagpiper in the car park busking ... hmmm) and the start of the Caledonian Canal - the swing bridge was open to let a couple of yachts through, but then I was on my way again, slowly climbing up to Invergarry, alongside Loch Oich.
After Invergarry (and another swing bridge... they must have sold a job lot) there was another slight climb until I found myself alongside Loch Lochy. Having held Loch Ness and Loch Oich on my lefthandside, Loch Lochy was on my right - but that did nothing for the wind, which was up to a Force 5/6. A lone day-boat was sailing on the loch under a very well reefed jib, and as I stopped to meet up with Dad for a banana, tracker bar and chelsea bun (best lunch in town at the moment), I felt that I had the better deal!
The wind by this time was ridiculous. The cycling would not have been that hard today, as it was mostly alongside the lochs, which meant that it was fairly flat with not much hill-work, but the wind made it nearly impossible to cycle and in between Loch Lochy and Spean Bridge, I got blown off the road, which was pretty scarey, but I managed to unclip in time and stop myself from falling on my bottom (again!)
Up at the top of the hill before Spean Bridge, in a very exposed place is the Commando Memorial - I do not know why it is there (and must remember to ask Chris) - presumably they train round there or something? Its pretty bleak and extreme, so it looks like a suitable training ground!
I then whizzed down into Spean Bridge for a hot chocolate and a flapjack with Dad and a little shopping therapy for Scottish souvenirs (I am on my summer holiday, after all!) and then the last 10 mile slog into Fort William (against the wind... again) went quickly and without incident!
I feel like I am back in civilisation again.. the internet works and the mobile phones have full signal. Pathetic, I know - but it is nice to chat to people and hear how the rest of the world is getting on - so please do text or send a comment into the blog so I can hear your news too!
Right - off to stretch again (as an update - legs and back fine, bottom a little square and my knee went "ping" today, so think that it could be getting sorer in days to come!)
Pip pip!
Becca x
(Ref: EMBEDGEJTB)
Monday, 14 July 2008
The day I met Tom Wigley (Monday 14th July)
Evening all! (sorry, no signal in Drumnadrochit, so only being published tonight!!)
I am sitting outside the Fiddler's Rest in Drumnadrochit with Dad - he has a scotch whiskey - a Lagavulin if you are an expert in these matters. I - on the other hand - have an orange juice and lemonade (what a glamorous lifestyle, I feel 16 again!)
Anyway, before I go any further, the vital stats of the day are as follows:
Distance: 81 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 45 minutes (including stops)
Wind: absolutely awful: in my face and slowing me down (ugh)
Weather: sunny, one shower
Cattle grids cycled over: 7
Times Becca fell off her bike: 2 (soft landings both times!)
Best moment of the day: cycling down from Crask Inn through the absolute silence
Worst moment of the day: coming face to face with a Highland Cow and falling off my bike (for the first time today!!)
Well we spent the night very comfortably at Mandy's in the Altnaharra B&B - I definitely recommend it - and she said that she has a cup of tea waiting for any other cyclist that pedals past! A 0900 start was quickly proceeded with a long haul up to Crask Inn... what struck me most was the absolute tranquility of my surroundings. Once I could hear over my rasping wheezes, all I could hear was... absolutely nothing - fantastic... especially as I thought about all of my colleagues at their desks back in London(!)
I had a good downhill stretch to Lairg where I got my day sheet stamped in the Post Office, very friendly chaps and on my departure had a quick chat to Murphy the Lhasa Apso and its owners... clearly as well versed in dog ownership as us Reeses...
I am sitting outside the Fiddler's Rest in Drumnadrochit with Dad - he has a scotch whiskey - a Lagavulin if you are an expert in these matters. I - on the other hand - have an orange juice and lemonade (what a glamorous lifestyle, I feel 16 again!)
Anyway, before I go any further, the vital stats of the day are as follows:
Distance: 81 miles
Time taken: 8 hours 45 minutes (including stops)
Wind: absolutely awful: in my face and slowing me down (ugh)
Weather: sunny, one shower
Cattle grids cycled over: 7
Times Becca fell off her bike: 2 (soft landings both times!)
Best moment of the day: cycling down from Crask Inn through the absolute silence
Worst moment of the day: coming face to face with a Highland Cow and falling off my bike (for the first time today!!)
Well we spent the night very comfortably at Mandy's in the Altnaharra B&B - I definitely recommend it - and she said that she has a cup of tea waiting for any other cyclist that pedals past! A 0900 start was quickly proceeded with a long haul up to Crask Inn... what struck me most was the absolute tranquility of my surroundings. Once I could hear over my rasping wheezes, all I could hear was... absolutely nothing - fantastic... especially as I thought about all of my colleagues at their desks back in London(!)
I had a good downhill stretch to Lairg where I got my day sheet stamped in the Post Office, very friendly chaps and on my departure had a quick chat to Murphy the Lhasa Apso and its owners... clearly as well versed in dog ownership as us Reeses...
The cycle from Lairg to Bonar Bridge was good. Bonar Bridge's bridge was designed originally by Thomas Telford which was then washed away by flood waters in the 1890s and redesigned and rebuilt in the 1960s (ish) and won a civil engineering award ... enough useless facts for today...
The cycling after Bonar Bridge through Ardgay and beyond was all up hill. I nearly coughed up my kidney, and had to stop to "admire the view" half way up before meeting up with Dad again at the top - the view from there was fantastic and you could see all the way from Donorch Firth across the glens for at least 60 miles - exceptional!
It was then a slog to the A9 - which was my first bit of real traffic since I left John O'Groats and a really nasty surprise. On the A9 there were 3 types of drivers that I now (as a fully paid up member of the cycling community) loathe, and in no particular order, these are as follows...
1. White van men
2. BMW drivers (RJB, JPH and Bob, I am afraid it is true...)
3. Old people (they have no spatial awareness whatsoever)
The first two on the list tend to drive so close that they could lean out of the window and pinch my bottom, if they were going below 80 miles an hour at the time, that is...
So, I was feeling quite despondent cycling on the A9 and not very happy when I spotted Tom Wigley cycling the other way! Tom is a colleague from the International department at Trowers Towers and has been cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats for the past 10 days or so - we did not think that our paths would cross, and - in fact- it sounds as if we would only pass on the A9 in any event - so that really cheered me up ... Tom has been cycling the hard route and cycled along the "Devils Elbow" yesterday, so much respect to him - but I did say that if a photo of me in my cycling shorts ever made it into "T&HRead" (our in-house magazine) -I would have to publish one of him in his cycling shorts to get him back - so at least we have equal leverage in terms of blackmail!
So, back in the saddle and back onto quieter roads through the towns of Dingwall and Beuly - I felt that I was near the end of the day and Dad left me to shoot into Drumnadrochit and check out the B&B we were staying in. I only had 11 miles to go, and although my legs were tired I was feeling fine... that is until I had an 8 mile slog up hill - I shudder at the thought of it and I must admit that I threw my toys out of the pram and sat at the side of the road to eat my Emergency Mars Bar (which I always carry now since Chris and I got stuck up the side of a Cretan mountain with nothing but his mum's paca-mac and a packet of cheesy wotsits for sustenance) ... I felt a lot better and the rest of the uphill journey was fine - followed by a white knuckle ride down a 15%, 1.5 mile long hill down into Drumnadrochit and home for the night!
All in all a good day - but I bet I feel it tomorrow ...
pip pip!
Becca x
Sunday, 13 July 2008
The First Day's Adventure
All is well ... Daddy and I are lounging in Altnaharra after a good day's cycle. Before I tell you more, let me give you some vital statistics for the day:
Miles cycled: 74.1
Time taken: 8 hours 5 minutes including stops
Weather: sunny with no wind for the first 6 hours, drizzle with a little head wind for the last 2.
Highlight: cycling through the glen at Nevar
Lowlight: Falling off bike at John O'Groats start line before having cycled an inch ... doh!
Flies swallowed: 1
Wrong turns: 0 (thanks to Daddy!)
... so all in all, rather good. We got up to John O'Groats last night, having driven from Penrith... a pretty soul-less place, but we narrowly avoided Helen's hen-do in the bar, so that was all to the good(!)
We had photos taken at 1000am today underneath the John O'Groats sign - with general RNLI paraphenalia... Mike Hewitt and Alan Waterworth from Rock Lifeboat were adamant that we should have a mascot for the ride, so we have a special RNLI flag from the lifeboat and Rory ... our trusty, yet strangely silent lifeboat captain (stuffed).
The ride was broken into 4 stages today... the first 20 miles to Thurso were very pleasant, along the coastline, which is totally different to the North Cornish coast (thank goodness) as it is very flat. Stopped for a drink and tracker bar at the Weigh Inn in Thurso and chatted to Bruce the Lhasa Apso and his owners...
The next 16.66 miles to Melvich were good, if a little hilly, and we stopped off for a pub lunch. BIG mistake... I then spent the next 5 miles cycling with cramp in my quads (no, that is not a euphemism) as my lunch jogged its way down.
The 50 mile marker saw us in Bettyhill, fantastic coastal scenery, but my least favourite place (the clue is in the name... ugh)
The last 24.1 miles saw me fly down the hill from Bettyhill and through Strathnevar... a gorgeous river that leads from a loch... surprisingly titled, "Loch Nevar". The drizzle set in and the last part of the ride could hear me pedalling to the refrain of "how long is this f*cking loch"? The answer is approximately 8 miles... I swear dad had told me 2 or 3 miles ...
Anyway, we are staying at a lovely B&B - and I am going to try and upload some photos, before I crash... the legs are a little sore (but presumably not as sore as they will be tomorrow morning...) For those of you are interested, I am going for long trousers tomorrow... as the midgey population are out and munching(!)
Thank you to all of you that have texted me today with messages of support and my sis who left me a lovely comment on my first blog. More from your slightly tired correspondent tomorrow...
Becca xxx
(Ref: WDDGLOSBFWFSTFSEJTB)
Miles cycled: 74.1
Time taken: 8 hours 5 minutes including stops
Weather: sunny with no wind for the first 6 hours, drizzle with a little head wind for the last 2.
Highlight: cycling through the glen at Nevar
Lowlight: Falling off bike at John O'Groats start line before having cycled an inch ... doh!
Flies swallowed: 1
Wrong turns: 0 (thanks to Daddy!)
... so all in all, rather good. We got up to John O'Groats last night, having driven from Penrith... a pretty soul-less place, but we narrowly avoided Helen's hen-do in the bar, so that was all to the good(!)
We had photos taken at 1000am today underneath the John O'Groats sign - with general RNLI paraphenalia... Mike Hewitt and Alan Waterworth from Rock Lifeboat were adamant that we should have a mascot for the ride, so we have a special RNLI flag from the lifeboat and Rory ... our trusty, yet strangely silent lifeboat captain (stuffed).
The ride was broken into 4 stages today... the first 20 miles to Thurso were very pleasant, along the coastline, which is totally different to the North Cornish coast (thank goodness) as it is very flat. Stopped for a drink and tracker bar at the Weigh Inn in Thurso and chatted to Bruce the Lhasa Apso and his owners...
The next 16.66 miles to Melvich were good, if a little hilly, and we stopped off for a pub lunch. BIG mistake... I then spent the next 5 miles cycling with cramp in my quads (no, that is not a euphemism) as my lunch jogged its way down.
The 50 mile marker saw us in Bettyhill, fantastic coastal scenery, but my least favourite place (the clue is in the name... ugh)
The last 24.1 miles saw me fly down the hill from Bettyhill and through Strathnevar... a gorgeous river that leads from a loch... surprisingly titled, "Loch Nevar". The drizzle set in and the last part of the ride could hear me pedalling to the refrain of "how long is this f*cking loch"? The answer is approximately 8 miles... I swear dad had told me 2 or 3 miles ...
Anyway, we are staying at a lovely B&B - and I am going to try and upload some photos, before I crash... the legs are a little sore (but presumably not as sore as they will be tomorrow morning...) For those of you are interested, I am going for long trousers tomorrow... as the midgey population are out and munching(!)
Thank you to all of you that have texted me today with messages of support and my sis who left me a lovely comment on my first blog. More from your slightly tired correspondent tomorrow...
Becca xxx
(Ref: WDDGLOSBFWFSTFSEJTB)
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