Epilogue

Three weeks ago we set off on our journey from Lands End, not knowing exactly what lay ahead of us.  Looking back, we now know - 20 days of cycling in a range of different weather conditions across a wide range of terrain, covering 1,019 miles in all.  This was a far tougher ride than the north to the south of France four years ago, and more difficult than I had expected.  I found the hills of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset; the mountains of Scotland; and the remnants of hurricane Katya all very challenging.  But we were blessed with a safe journey overall; some fantastic views; 7 completely dry days; and the company of many fine people along the way.

And, for me, all this made the journey worthwhile - life is not always sunny and easy; sometimes it is tough, and the sad news last week that Steve's young son Chris had lost his fight against cancer brought to mind the importance of the work that Suzette and others like her do in supporting families with life-limited children.  So I am proud to be able to wear the Cherished Memories shirt and to ask people to sponsor us.

There are many memories I shall cherish from the last three weeks - the trek up and across Exmoor (the lady in the Post Office stores said "You'll be climbing then" - and boy was she right); the birds hedge-hopping alongside us as we rode by the mouth of the River Severn, looking over to Wales; the views of the mountains of Scotland - here particularly the contrast between leaning into the wind to stay upright in the wild weather of the southern uplands, cycling through low cloud as we made our way over the Grampians and the Cairngorms, and the delight of the sunny clear day as we climbed through the Spittal of Glenshee with its fabulous views.  I shall also remember the ride along the top of Scotland from Bettyhill to John O'Groats - and the absolutely delightful views of that northern coast.

My final blog would not be complete without some "thank you"s.

A very big thank you to my two cycling companions, Pete and Ken to whom I owe a great debt - for their resilience, encouragement, good humour; for helping me along during the harder times of the ride; and for the brilliant bonhomie that made 20 days of physical exertion enjoyable.

Thanks also to Malcolm, DB, Lynds and Louise who came out to meet us along the way, to Simon and Sarah, and Dave and Jude who opened their homes to put us up, and to all those others who so generously supported Cherished Memories through the Just Giving web site and those we met en route - Frank at Great Torrington, Katie at Bishops Lydeard, the Parker family and Judy at Ross-on-Wye, and Malcolm at Chorley.

And thank you to all blog followers who have encouraged me to make this record of the ride and whose support has helped me along.

And finally I thank God for keeping us safe and giving us a fantastic experience, that I shall never forget!

PS. If you feel moved to give or even to give more to the work of Cherished Memories, the just giving web site is still open for a while at www.justgiving.com/teams/lejog 


Now, what's next on my bucket list ...

Our final day's ride

Craig and Heather were wonderful hosts at the Strathy Inn. We had a great dinner last eve, a good nights sleep, and a fabulous breakfast this morning. Heather's porridge was the best we had for breakfast - maybe just pipped at the post by the Edinburgh garden centre!
We set off with only 40 miles or so to go to the finish. We were blessed with a wonderful sunny day, and the beach at Strathy looked clean and fresh as the sea rolled in.
After a couple of steep hills the terrain flattened out and we were treated to sunshine, gently undulating roads and terrific views as we made our way along the northern shores.
We stopped for lunch at Thurso, sitting outside a bakery. Shortly after lunch we clocked up 1,000 miles from Lands End as we headed out along the coast again. As we were making good time, we decided to visit Dunnett Point, which is the northernmost point on the mainland. The views across to the Orkney Isles were astounding!
With only about 15 miles to go we headed off to John o'Groats and arrived at the Sea View Hotel at about 3:30pm. After registering that we had completed the ride, we headed down to the village for a picture or two, before finally returning to the hotel and enjoying a celebratory drink or few in the hotel bar - 1,019 miles in total.
We are now showering and putting on our Cherished Memories shirts ready for photos this evening. It looks as though through everyone's generosity we have raised around £3,000 plus gift aid for the charity taking into account internet and other donations. That has made it very worthwhile.
Tomorrow we are being picked up by taxi (with a trailer for the bikes) at 9am to take us to Inverness Airport, where we will pick up a van which we will then drive home.
There won't be a blog tomorrow, but I'll be blogging an Epilogue by Wednesday evening. C.

We do like to be beside the seaside

We left Ambleside after a very nice breakfast, saying cherio to Tom and Janet. From Lairg we headed north to Altnaharra for lunch stopping for coffee at Crask Inn. We had lovely views of Loch Shin. Then after lunch we took a B road (single track with passing places) towards Betty Hill cycling along the shores of Loch Naver, enjoying more views. When we reached Betty Hill we had a terrific view of the sea. We had reached the top of the Country!
Ten miles on we reached Strathy where we booked in at the Strathy Inn, our rest for the night. 973 miles completed and only about 40 to go to reach John O'Groats tomorrow.

Saturday 17th September (Day 17)

Terry and Sian really looked after us well and after a good breakfast we set out. We started with 4 miles off road cycle gymnastics, as we took a wrong turning, but it did give us some fabulous views (see picture). We eventually found our way back to the A9 cycle path and were able to make better progress. It started raining and by the time we arrived at Inverness for lunch, we were soaked through. It took us some time to find the Bridge over the Moray Firth as we were following National Cycle route 1, which does virtually everything it can to avoid traffic, including sending us round in a circle at one point! Eventually we came to the bridge - the cycle path was right next to a 100 foot drop into the estuary - with a not-very-high fence keeping us from going over. I had to concentrate hard on not looking down and my hands were shaking - although not as big as the Severn Bridge or the Forth Road Bridge, for me it was the most scary!
From there we continued on, crossing Cromarty Firth and then climbing over the mountains once more to Bonar Bridge and then on to Lairg - our stop for the night.
It was dark, cold, and pouring with rain when we arrived so we dumped our bags and headed out for something to eat (pasta) and drink (McEwans 80/-). Having cycled over 80 miles with all our belongings in panniers we were absolutely exhausted.
We have just 2 days to go now. Tomorrow will be 55 miles taking us up to Strathy on the Northern Coast, and then Monday will be about 40 miles along the Northern Coast to John O'Groats! Many thanks to all those who are supporting us in your thoughts and prayers and in your messages of encouragement.
C

Friday's blog

Absolutely fantasmagorical! What a day!
We left Ballater this morning after mending a puncture in Pete's rear tyre and then climbed into the Grampians and on into the Highlands. This was the part of the journey I was looking forward to most. It was very tiring - we had three ascents where we had to push our bikes for a mile or so. Our first mountain provided spectacular views once we reached the top and cycled along near the ridge; the second climb took us to a ski centre up in the clouds - it was damp and views were restricted; and the third climb gave us the most fabulous views across the Highlands. These were the views I had looked forward to- and they were breathtaking.
We arrived at our destination - Carr-Bridge after completing about 48 miles. A fantastic day - topped off by a warm welcome by Terry at our B&B and a good meal at the pub next door.

Thursday 15th September

Today we cycled through the Cairngorm National Park - and it was a fabulous day!
Last evening, Ruth was a star as she had all our wet clothes dried and this morning she cooked us a fine breakfast to set us up for the day. We stopped at the local Co-op to pick up some water, tomatoes and bananas (very much our staple diet on the road) and were surprised to see a peacock outside the shop.
We climbed out of Blairgowrie and continued to climb, with brief respites, up to and then through the Spittal of Glenshee. It was glorious weather and fantastic scenery -the ideal combination to lift our hearts. We climbed quite hard for the final part of the mountain, and were rewarded with breathtaking views from the top. Unfortunately, as we descended on the northern side my rear brakes started to make a dreadful noise - the had worn down to the metal! We continued to Braemar, where we asked at an outdoor centre, who said the nearest bike shop was 17 miles away at Ballater (our destination for the night). So off we went, arriving at Cyclehighlands, the bike shop, just after 4:30pm. Here, James was brilliant, fitting new brake blocks front and back and adjusting my gears (which had become a bit cranky). We left there at 5:30pm and booked into the Glenernan B&B having completed nearly 800 miles.

Wednesday 14th September 2011

Praise the Lord! What a contrast today has been.
We awoke at 7:30am in the luxury of Tona and Charlie's lovely home and enjoyed a Scottish breakfast (although in my case without the black pudding) and gathered our goods and chattels together.
We set off from Aberuthven after 9;30am in sunshine and followed country lanes through Strathearn. The views were stunning, across largely agricultural landscape to the majestic hills in the distance. We stopped at Methven at a pub/tea shop where I had beef broth. Then we continued on, eventually to Blairgowrie - a short day of only 40 miles, after yesterday's exertions. We arrived at Heath Park Lodge at about 4pm where Ruth welcomed us; helped with washing etc.; and recommended a good restaurant for dinner.
What a contrast! Cycling through lanes with the sun and the wind behind us was a real blessing! We have now completed 753 miles - and are 3/4 of our way to John O'Groats.
After yesterday's exertions we welcomed the comparative ease of today. I still feel quite tired, but hopefully today's shorter ride will have given my body the chance to recuperate. Tomorrow promises to be a hard day - we have about 20 miles of climbing, to the Spittal of Glenshee into the Grampians, where we will go through Braemar and pass Balmoral before ending our journey for the day at Ballater.

Tuesday 13th September 2011

After being thoroughly soaked yesterday, we put on our wet shoes and socks and left the B&B at 8:15am. It was still quite windy from the remnants of hurricane Katya. From Galashiels we headed north towards Edinburgh, stopping after 32 miles at a Farm Shop for coffee and a very nice bowl of Porridge with stewed apple. I managed to dry my shoes and socks under the hand dryer in the Gents! I had warm feet for the first time today!
We headed on to Edinburgh and wound our way through the streets (including Princes Street in the centre). As we exited the City, we picked up national cycle route 1 which took us all round the houses until eventually we arrived at the Forth Road Bridge. Then were were literally blown across the bridge - the only effort needed was to keep the bike upright with us on it.
When we got to the northern side of the Forth, we headed in to a local town where Pete and Ken put their bikes into a local bike shop for a pit stop - new tyres and tubes for Pete's and new brake blocks for Ken's. All this was fitted for a few pounds while we had a cup of tea and a toasted sandwich in a local cafe.
We then set out again, but it started to rain - it was that fine rain that soaks you right through. We had decided that, to avoid a very hilly section we would cycle two sides of a triangle, turning west at the Bridge of Earn - straight into a head wind for the last 12 or so miles.
By the time we arrived at our lodgings for the night (9pm) it was dark. We had completed 84 miles and I had felt totally exhausted for the last 12!
This was mainly because of the shorter day yesterday with the strong winds, the traversing of Ediinburgh, and the crossing of the Forth bridge.

We were greeted and shown to our fabulous rooms in the B&B, before we popped out to a local hostelry to replace some of the liquids we had lost during the day. Then after washing our gear we retire to bed around midnight.

Monday 12th September 2011

We woke to the confirmation that southern Scotland was due to be battered by 70mph gusts from the west - the remains of the hurricane that had hit America. The severe weather warning was from about 4pm. Having consumed a wonderful breakfast cooked by Gillian and taken Dennis' advice about the terrain, we decided to modify our route - instead of heading to Peebles, we headed off to Galashiels via Hawick. But for the rain driving into us and the wind, which at times blew so hard that we had to lean into it to stay on the road, we might have enjoyed the ride. As it was, it was somewhere between grim and dangerous.
We completed the 40 miles by about 3pm and sought a B&B for the night. Unfortunately the signposted Galashiels Visitors Information Centre had been closed - a victim of public expenditure cuts no doubt. After some phone calls, Pete found a local B&B that would take us and we were at last able to retreat to the warmth and safety of dry accommodation.

Sunday 11th September 2011

We woke from a very comfortable night and feasted on a great breakfast - we were thoroughly spoiled by Dave and Jude - cereal, cooked breakfast, rolls for lunch and Dave even gave us directions for the best route, which we followed. Many thanks Dave and Jude.
We left Scotby and traveled by bike-friendly roads over the Reivers country to Langholm. It was foul weather - high winds and rain blowing from our left most of the time. It was also pretty tough terrain. As we cycled along there were many rally cars passing us from the opposite direction. When we reached the Scottish Border we came across a checkpoint staffed by Dutch folks as part of their 'Tour Ecosse'.
We continued to press on and arrived at Langholm at about 3pm. Quite a gritty, if short, day. We stopped at a local hotel until 4pm when we checked in to Border House, where we were greeted by a very pleasant young lady who explained that her parents had gone to a Chocolate Fayre.
According to the CTC list we have now completed very nearly 600 miles - with 420 to go!

Today's Ride

We spent a comfortable night at the farm and when we went to the bikes this morning my front tyre had gone down again. Ah well another 20 minutes while pulled out a thorn from the tyre and mended the inner tube.
We set off for Carlisle, passing through the North Yorkshire dales,with Ken rushing on ahead as we climbed the hills as though he were going home.
Pete and I trundled on and at about noon we entered Cumbria. Shortly after it came on to rain, so we sought shelter in a pub at Tebay where the kept a very good pint and served excellent sausage sandwiches. From there we continued north climbing to Shap and then passing the Lake District on our left - looking truly majestic as the sun played on the hills. Oh Lord how great Thou art! We continued through to Penrith, where we stopped for coffee and another inner tube, before our final assault on the A6 to Scotby near Carlisle. Here David and Judy (Ken's walking friends) made us very welcome with Tea and a freshly baked cake, followed by a beer, before Duncan, another walker, joined us for a brief walk to a nearby Indian Restaurant where we enjoyed a fine meal. Then we returned to watch match of the day before retiring to bed.
It was another tough day of over 60 hilly miles. We have now completed about 570 miles according to the CTC route.

Yesterday

We left the Travelodge at about 9:30 am in rain to tackle the hills of Lancashire and North Yorkshire. It was a wet morning and on the occasions when we had to follow A roads were were soaked by the spray from lorries passing us. One lorry owned by Nidd came very close to us on the A59 - we 'blessed' him and moved on.
When we reached Clitheroe tha sun broke through and we lunched in sunshine on the terrace of Piccolos, a very nice Italian restaurant.
From there we headed uphill once more and climbed to an area that gave us a terrific view of Pendle Hill behind us. We reached the hills of North Yorkshire in the late afternoon and had fabulous views of the peaks around Ingleton.
Unfortunately, Pete and I both had punctures which delayed us and as we slowed with increasing tiredness we didnt arrive at our B&B near Ingleton until about 8pm. A gritty day overall but we were rewarded with those lovely views and comfortable beds.

Thursday 8th September 2011

We left Market Drayton (and my IPhone charger) at 8:30am. Millstone Guest House was really comfortable and we had a good night's sleep. Patsy provided us with a lovely breakfast to set us up for the day. Just as well - we had 75 miles to cover.
We cycled through gently undulating countryside, finding a delightful tea room in Nantwich, and later we stopped for lunch in Knutsford. This was a lovely ride until we crossed the M62, when it became increasingly busy Eventually we reached the A6 and spent the next 10 miles heading up to the Travelodge at Clayton-le-Woods. Here we met with Malcolm, a walking friend of Ken, who generously made a donation to CM.
We had arranged to meet with Richard (my brother) and he arrived to share a meal with us and kindly relieved us of some our excess baggage. Thanks DB.
We face a climbing day tomorrow, but only 50 or so miles.

Weds 7th September 2011

Well, we are now a week into our journey and today was the first day when we arrived at our destination and I didn't feel totally exhausted!
We have completed a little more than a third of our total journey - 376 miles.
We left the Feathers at Ludlow this morning and wound our way to Much Wenlock where we stopped for lunch at The Old Smoothie.
We had our first puncture of the ride this afternoon and here we see Pete replacing the inner tube while Ken is providing project management advice.
We arrived at Market Drayton after a total of about 50 miles of more moderate countryside. So far on the route I managed a top speed of 43.9mph but our average speed has been significantly hampered by too much carried luggage - some of which we plan to shed tomorrow evening.
Tomorrow we will be setting off early to cycle some 70 miles to Chorley in Lancs.

Yesterdays Ride - 6th September

We breakfasted well at The White House and Judy very kindly made a donation to CM, as did the Parker family from Staffordshire whom we met at breakfast. We have been impressed by people's generosity along the way and the encouragement we have received. We visited a bike shop in Ross to buy some new cycling glasses as I had lost mine along the way. It was tipping down with rain so we delayed our start and the had pretty good weather all the way to Ludlow. We followed the River Wye for a good part of our journey. Ken had been stung on the hand by a wasp in the night and I got stung on the back of the neck on our approach to Ludlow. For some reason they left Pete alone. After showering we went out to meet with Linds & Louise (great to see them) for something to eat and drink. Then back to the Feathers for a late night 'discussion' in the bar and eventually to bed.

Monday 5th September 2011

I've decided that the Cyclists Touring Club route specialists have a very strange sense of humour. We were promised that once we had crossed the River Severn the worst was behind us. Then they routed us via a hill that took us a good 45 minutes to push our bikes to the top!
After breakfasting with Simon and Vicky we set off this morning with Simon guiding us out of Bristol. This was a slightly more direct route than the one that the meandering Yorkshireman had led us in on last evening. When Simon left us we continued on to 'That Old Bridge' on the M48 into Wales where we battled with strong winds from our left. Once over we climbed up the valley to Tintern Abbey where Pete spotted that someone had stolen the lead off the roof. Then the aforesaid climb past Offa's Dyke and on into the Forest of Dean before dropping down to a delightful road along the River Wye. Finally we arrived at The White House in Ross-on-Wye where we carried the bikes to a cellar for safe keeping before enjoying a cup of tea made by Judy who welcomed us to the B&B.

Sunday 4th September

We had a great breakfast and then collected our dry belongings and said goodbye to Katie (with many thanks for the donation to CM). Pound Farm gets 5 stars from us for facilities, friendliness and breakfast We left Bishops Lydeard and set off to climb the Quantock Hills. Once on top we then headed towards Bridgewater where we stopped for a Costa coffee. After a brief visit to Halfords we then headed on towards Cheddar. Then started a 5 mile climb up through the gorge and into the surrounding countryside, followed by a descent from the Mendips via Stoke Magna to Bristol. Here we stayed with Simon and Sarah who looked after us very well indeed with a great dinner and copious amounts of drink before we retired for the night - another 5 star stay thanks to S&S.

3rd September 2011

Wow. What a day. 54 miles covered and we climbed 6000 feet - over a mile. It was absolutely exhausting and we rolled into Pound Farm B&B at dusk
The day started with a fine cooked breakfast at Windsor House B&B where one of the other guests called Frank from Essex donated £20 to CM. We set off expecting a hard day and it did not disappoint. It was a day of ups and downs. We climbed out of Gt Torrington and cycled through to Atherington, following the CTC route, inlcluding a 25% descent followed by a 20% ascent! We travelled through some fabulous scenery at Umberley (fabulous scenery = very hilly).
We stopped for coffee and bacon buns at South Molton and then climbed to North Molton where we stopped for some victuals. The lady in the shop asked where we were going and when we told her she said "you'll be climbing then". How right she was. We spent the next hour pushing our bikes up a 3 mile hill! Then on at varying speeds up onto Exmoor national park. At the highest point Ken, who had raced on ahead, was sitting outside the Sportsmans Inn with a pint, so we joined him. This pub was just into Somerset (2 counties down). Then we continued to Withypool, where we had a cup of tea and lemon drizzle cake while being amused by a conversation about cream teas between the proprietor and a customer. Then we remounted the bikes and I immediately fell off as the chain jammed in the gears. Ah well, it's an occupational hazard. Back on the bikes with a combination of low gears and pushing to climb the hills and eventually we dropped down from Exmoor. Then on to Bishops Lydeard where there was a pop festival going on that we could hear from Pound Farm about a mile away.
On arrival we were greeted by Katie and James and provided with some lovely tea and cake, which we demolished as we reflected on the day and talked about the next days route. And so to bed. C.

Friday 2nd September

Our day started with a Travelodge breakfast - delivered in a plastic bag. After demolishing our cornflakes, orange juice, croissant and muffin we were left with enough wrapping to sink a battleship! We set off just after nine and followed the A39 to Stratton (near Bude) where we lunched at a mediocre hostelry but the sun made it all the more pleasant. After lunch we set off again uphill and followed an A road through undulating countryside. This was hard work and wasn't helped by some cretin on a tractor with a trailer full of hay trying to squeeze me into the hedgerow. There's not much you can do in such situations but hope and pray. Fortunately he didn't hit me, but I was glad to leave Cornwall and its idiot farmhands behind.
We followed the A388 through to Stibb Cross where we continued on a B road eventually reaching Great Torrington (54 miles completed) where we checked in at a very agreeable B&B and did some washing and hung it on the line.
We were well directed to the Black Horse which sold good food and average beer.
This has been another tiring day with more to come tomorrow. So far we've been blessed with good weather and we hope to make good progress tomorrow and get to Somerset before the rain arrives.

Thurs 1st September

We started this morning with a gruesome hill to climb - all three of us ended up having to get off and push as we hadn't warmed up our legs by then. We continued on and joined the CTC route in the morning and headed through Camborne - coffee and bacon sandwiches at the Station buffet and then on to Truro and then followed the route to the Pheasant at East Newlyn which served very good Tribute beer. Then more ups and downs until eventually we had a 9 mile road bash along the A39 into Wadebridge. Here we found an excellent Travelodge with a pub that provided food and drink for the evening. Today was a particularly hard ride - we cycled about a mile in height throughout the numerous hills with their relentless fall and rise. We were warned that Cornwall and Devon would be the worse and this is certainly proving to be the case. We have enjoyed great weather, although we could have done without today's headwind.
Many thanks to all those who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers.