The Land's End to John O'Groats Cycling Journey...

A new home!

2010-08-18T09:18:00.000+01:00

And so the story ended...or did it?

I just can't stop writing! So a new blog has been set up to capture moments on my bike and other stories.

I hope to see you there!

The end of it or a new beginning?

2010-08-03T22:53:00.000+01:00

My End-to-End certificate arrived today! It's a nice glossy one from the CTC HQ which I requested after dutifully completing the routesheet everyday after arriving at my destination during the challenge.

I can't believe that it is 5 and a bit weeks since I've completed the Big Bike Challenge. I often go out on my bike and is now looking forward to a week's cycling in France at the end of August.

So thoughts have sort of wandered off in the direction of another blog as this one is totally dedicated to the prep and the challenge of the LEJOG. It would be a shame to ruin this and to change the name, so I will keep this one in tact and then set up a new blog which will reference to the new one.

If you've landed on this page after searching for LEJOG then you've found hopefully a true reflection of a training schedule and a fabulous ride account. I also hope that you like what you've read and that you will continue following me on my new blog, come along and join me there!

Happy cycling and thanks for being part of my journeys...

Big Bike Ride 1

2010-07-19T15:26:00.000+01:00

A series of short videos made during Day 14 enroute to Tongue.

Big Bike ride 2

2010-07-19T15:25:00.000+01:00

Short video again...desolate road to Tongue!

Big Bike ride 3

2010-07-19T15:23:00.000+01:00

Another short video on day 14

Big Bike ride 4

2010-07-19T15:22:00.000+01:00

A short video taken on day 14 whilst enroute to Tongue.

Lejog photo album

2010-06-29T12:24:00.002+01:00

We have put all our LEJOG photos now in an google album online for you to view. Enjoy ! Click on the image on the right and you will be directed to the album.

One of the many hills of today. Beautiful scenary and the Gorse in full bloom.

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Funny cotton like flowers on the Scottish hills. Does anyone know what the name of it is perhaps?

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Did you know that Scotland has 8 days in their week ?!

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Gorgeous sandy beaches with waves big enough for surfing

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Another sandy beach picture

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Stephen sheltering from the rain :-)

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Arriving at Caithness

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Taken last night at 10.40pm in Tongue.

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And something else . . .

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Jill, you were a star. Thanks so much for your support. Sorry I left you off my list.

Something else worth mentioning is that we didn't have a single puncture during the whole trip. A definite blessing :-)

Day 15 - 26 June

2010-06-26T21:51:00.001+01:00

Brilliant ! We've done it ! We finished just after 5pm today and went straight to the photo booth. There is a little hut at both Land's End and at John O'Groats which has official photographers and being a Saturday today, we did not know until what time he would be there so it was with great relief when we spotted that he was still on duty.

Our day started really early. I don't think it really gets very dark so far up north. It was still very light when I tried to go to sleep last night so I took a picture. The window was a bit steamed up (room was hot and it was cold outside) so pardon the poor photo quality.

Anyway. We set off at 8.30 and were immediately into the hills. One massive hill after the other. That continued till well after the first 25mi when it sort of flatten out a bit. On top of that we got soaked! The weather was threatening with spots of rain and then it hammered it down. Cycling down a hill whilst raining hard is very unpleasant as the rain drops really sting your face, it almost feel like deep needle pricks.
The wind was also against us today and we were cycling against a severe head wind the whole way.

Lunch was a toastie at Thurso where we also got some coke and filled up our water bottles which were both empty by now. Then the battle with the head wind started again.
Stops became more frequent and I developed a new knee ache, different to the one I already had. Jackets were off and we were getting dry from our rain shower.
As usual the last 10 miles were really crunching time. We just put our heads down in the wind and kept going. And we finished !

Stats for today are :

63.19 mi

10.42 mi average speed

133 bpm average

32.39 mph max speed

3062 cals

The total stats for the challenge are :

Distance 1010 miles

Cycling time : 91hrs 48min 7 sec

Calories burned : 51 841

My wrists hurt a lot and so does my left knee. My bum is tender and my upper legs are stiff and very reluctant to climb any stairs. But everything will recover - I hope !

A BIG thank you to everyone that cheered me on during the challenge. In no particular order: Thanks to my mum for all her prayers to keep me safe, Kascha, Moira, Sue, Jo-anne, Kris, Matt, Sonia, Gemma, Ali, Tonia, Fawn, Carene, Kate and everyone else I didn't mention. Also a big thanks to my Twitter friends.

A particular thanks and HUGE hugs and kisses to my wonderful husband who was so patient and caring during the whole trip. He even carried my pannier for me all the way ! You are the best !

Thank you also to all our wonderful sponsors.
USN for all your wonderful products which carried us through our journey. Those products were life savers !
Thank you to Bikefactory for servicing our bikes and fixing Stephen's on Day 6 super fast ! Thank you also for the energy gels which helped everyday during the last 15 miles.

This was an experience that I will never forget.

Thanks for reading my blog and following us every day. You were a wonderful audience.

We did it !!!

2010-06-26T17:15:00.000+01:00

Spelling mistakes

2010-06-25T21:41:00.000+01:00

It is impossible fixing spelling mistakes on my blog from my phone. There are 2.
1. The price of the home baking is ridiculously low. Only 75p a big piece of cake.
2. Cycling really cleanses my mind. It didn't come out so well in the update !

Day 14 - 25 June

2010-06-25T20:53:00.001+01:00

We've safely arrived at our second last destination - Tongue. So far the best YHA we've stayed in. The room has a personal touch with bedside tables and even a bedlamp and most importantly our beds were already made upon arrival! None of the usual bed dressing ritual we usually do when arriving at a YHA. The warden even does home baking and there were lovely cinnamon buns and various cakes to buy at ridiculous prices.

We left Bonar Bridge very late - about 9.30am as we had such a short day ahead of us. The miles did not come as easy as they did yesterday and I really struggled the first 15mi. The towns became fewer and we stopped at Lairg for a cup of tea after which we headed north towards Tongue. Lunch was at Altnaharra hotel who provided a bowl of soup and lovely smoked salmon sandwiches. We had to think carefully about our lunch stop as settlements are so sparse that you might find yourself in the sticks without food !

The day was really cold but it didn't rain. My feet were frozen by the time we got to our lunch stop so I was very happy about the soup option!

The road after our lunch stop became desolate. It felt very monotonous pedalling and it was probably the first boring road of the ride.

The scenery was quite spectacular. Very isolated but stunningly beautiful with a very wild feel to it. There were some cars and because it was a single track road there were lots of passing places. At one time we cycled from one passing place to the next when we tried to conquer a hill :-)

Soon we descended into Tongue, found the local SPAR and got supplies for tonight.

Tomorrow is our last day and it is quite surreal that I have nearly completed this challenge. I will definitely miss the cycling days. I know that sounds really weird but the simplicity of this type of holiday is so good and i really cleanses your mind.

Whilst cycling you often think about something and nothing. I can cycle for miles without thinking about anything. It is really good as it gives my brain a chance to rest !

So the stats for today are:

51.5mi (includes a trip to the SPAR)

2429 cals

1519 ascent

1947 descent

10.8mph average speed

124 bpm average

I will post our finishing photo tomorrow on the blog including some celebratory photos !

Another pic of Lairg

2010-06-25T19:22:00.000+01:00

A very desolate road from Lairg to Tongue. It just kept on and on and on !

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Tongue YHA. The best Youth Hostel so far!

2010-06-25T19:14:00.000+01:00

And the first sign with John O'Groats on it! Just as we arrived in Tongue.

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Absolute stunning scenery surrounds the hostel.

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Stephen with the hostel in the background.

2010-06-25T18:57:00.000+01:00

Approaching Lairg

2010-06-25T18:47:00.000+01:00

Day 13 stats

2010-06-24T21:27:00.000+01:00

68.75mi
3618 cals
11 mph average speed
2254 ft ascent
2680 ft descent

My meal tonight. A fabulous chicken leek and mushroom pie. Thanks so much to Jan @ the Bridge Hotel in Bonar Bridge for excellent service and friendliness:-)

2010-06-24T21:17:00.001+01:00

The bridge that gave its name to the town

2010-06-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

Day 13 - 24 June

2010-06-24T20:50:00.001+01:00

We were terribly slow this morning leaving Loch Ness. We stayed in bed until we really needed to move on. There were no catering at the hostel so a spared yoghurt from last night was breakfast.

The first 10mi was fast and furious. We stopped at Drumnodrochit for my breakfast which was a bacon and brie pannini with tea.

We continued our journey along the Loch towards Inverness. The weather was good for cycling - sunny with a tail wind. We were only stopped in our tracks when the swung the bridge over the Caledonian canal to let a boat through.

The traffic was quite heavy in Inverness and we alternated between road and cycle paths to make our way through towards the Black Isle using the bridge over the Moray Firth.

We accessed a cycle path after the bridge which took us to Dingwall where we had a good value lunch at Tesco.

Today was the first time when we deviated from our route. Not once but twice choosing an additional 10mi rather than a climb into low clouds.The rest of the ride sapped our energy. With only 20mi left after Dingwall we felt we had am easy day but it was a tough stretch to Bonar Bridge. The wind was sometimes a tail wind and sometimes a head wind. On top of this the Garmins played up. Mine miscalculated the distance left and when I re navigated it switched itself off. So I lost a bit of data and it seems to think that my average speed was 20mph and did the whole ride in about 3hrs ! So giving the data tonight will be partly Stephen's !

We are in a B&B tonight which is such a luxury! We aim to lie under the duvet and watch telly!

The weather does not look great for Friday and Saturday so we might have to cope with some rain (what is that again ? LOL !)

Tomorrow is a very short day with only 48mi to go so we are thinking about a lie in !

Ok. So the good bits about doing this trip.

1. Definitely raising the sponsorship money for Alzheimer's

2. The simplicity of the trip. Not worrying about anything else but getting to your destination every day

3. Hearing the birds and seeing the scenary in slowmotion instead of a whizz in a car

4. Spending quality time with my husband!

5. Meeting lots of friendly people on our journey. Quite a number of people came over and spoke to us about our ride.

6. Lots of really careful drivers that take care when passing us

7. Appreciating a hot shower after each ride!

8. Not worrying what to wear in the evening as I only have one set of clothes!

9. Talking to sheep and being the highlight of a cow's day!

10. Arriving safely and without any hiccups at your destination every night

11. And lastly: finding your destination is on a flat. Not at the bottom or top of a hill :-)

Only two more days to go . . .

We were on the North Sea Cycle route !

2010-06-24T19:46:00.000+01:00

Entering the last county of the north UK - Sutherland

2010-06-24T19:45:00.000+01:00

Eating a USN protein bar for energy

2010-06-24T19:18:00.000+01:00

Excellent cycle paths and signs from Inverness north to Dingwall

2010-06-24T19:12:00.000+01:00

Inverness from the bridge

2010-06-24T19:08:00.000+01:00

Approaching the Moray Frith - the bridge by Inverness

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Kyle of Sutherland - 5 miles from B&B

2010-06-24T18:05:00.001+01:00

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The view from my window over Loch Ness.

2010-06-23T18:51:00.000+01:00

The same Loch Linnhe - low clouds in the fore

2010-06-23T18:49:00.001+01:00

I'm not sure when this happened but all road signs in Scotland is now both in English and Gaelic.

2010-06-23T18:49:00.000+01:00

A magnificent staircase of locks in Fort Augustus to let boats through from the Caledonian canal to Loch Ness.

2010-06-23T18:48:00.001+01:00

Loch Linnhe just after we crossed the bridge in the background

2010-06-23T18:48:00.000+01:00

Day 12 - 23 June

2010-06-23T18:38:00.002+01:00

Today was the best day so far. Here are the stats :

59.95 mi

3200 cals

Average speed : 11.5 mph

Total ascent : 1615 ft

Total descent : 1853 ft

Average heartrate : 121 bpm

I can hear the swells of Loch Ness whilst writing this update. The YHA is on the shores of the Loch and provides a spectacular view. I will take a photo and upload it so you can see.

Today started with a lovely downhill whizzing through Glen Coe. The road quickly became very busy even though we started early as it is one of the main roads to Inverness. Lorries, cars and big tourist buses passed some times quite close - main culprits the tourist buses. We followed some of the lochs and lunch was at Invergarry where I took my chance and ordered Haggis which was fab. We had some persistant hills today and one particular silly experience was where there were road works right at the bottom of one which was regulated by a convoy system. Only one side of the road was tarred and the other side stripped. We went through last and then had to struggle up the hill whilst the oncoming cars were stopped to allow us through. That was quite stressful as you know you need to make it up the hill and all cars are waiting for you.

Anyway we made it to the hostel to arrive just before 5pm when it opened.
I thought I would share some of the bad bits and good bits of the trip so far.

Bad bits

1. Serious traffic some times which gets complicated when you struggle up a hill and negotiate poor road surfaces

2. Aches and pains. My left knee is hurting like hell after 25 miles and it has had me in tears whilst trying to do a hill. My bottom is also in a less than perfect condition. Need I say more?

3. Sleep in a different bed every night. We use YHA so has to dress the bed when arrive and share facilities

4. Early morning wake ups , get on your bike and get properly awake during the next 5 miles

5. Seeing lots and lots road kill - it's awful

6. Struggling to do the last 10 miles every day

7. Washing your kit in the sink every evening hoping it's dry enough to wear the next morning

And so on. So you see it is not just fun and games :-

Enough for tonight. Good bits tomorrow !

Fort Augustus

2010-06-23T15:46:00.000+01:00

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Fort Augustus

2010-06-23T15:43:00.000+01:00

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Day 11 - 22 June

2010-06-22T22:22:00.001+01:00

If I had to pick up all the clothes and bits strewn along the road whilst cycling I would've had a full wardrobe by now ! From bra's and knickers to towels and shoes ! Really. You can't believe the amount of stuff that people just dump.

We left Loch Lomond late, only at 9.20 so we were not on schedule. But the miles flew past and the road was flat ! Lunch was a stop at a station cafe at Tarbet. A toastie, chips to share and a piece of rocky road washed down with a Coke.

Soon we were doing the miles again and some stretches were quite a slog. Most of the time we went downhill but the stretch to Glen Coe were uphill climbing. best bit was a 4mi descent into the valley.

Just after we turned off for the YHA , a Tornado came streaking down the valley with such speed and noise ! It was great and Stephen even ducked his head!

Dinner was at a pub which was a mile away but the food was great.
The worst thing today was seeing a dead Deer and the best the Tornado.

Tomorrow it our only short day. Only 58mi :-)

We hope to get to Loch Ness in good time but need to think about checking in which is not before 5pm. They also don't cater so we need to sort ourselves out with food and the nearest pub is too far.

Today's stats are:

65.65mi

3140 cals

Average speed 11.9mph

Ascent 2105 ft

Descent 2413 ft

Oh yes and I'm getting fitter ! My heartrate has dropped since we started and I don't think it has to do with less hills :-)

Day 1 : 139 bpm

Day 2 : 138 bpm

Day 3 : 134 bpm

Day 4 : 128 bpm

Day 5 : 130 bpm

Day 6 : 133 bpm

Day 7 : 128 bpm

Day 8 : 128 bpm

Day 9 : 128 bpm

Day 10 : 121 bpm

Day 11 : 126 bpm

Bpm stands for beats per minute.

We've uploaded lots of photos to the blog. I hope you like it !

The view from our window at Loch Lomond last night

2010-06-22T21:06:00.000+01:00

Loch Lomond from Tarbut

2010-06-22T21:02:00.000+01:00

Glen Coe en route to pub

2010-06-22T21:00:00.000+01:00

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Stephen at the Argyll and Bute sign

2010-06-22T20:57:00.000+01:00

Bridge of Orchy

2010-06-22T20:55:00.000+01:00

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Entering the Highlands

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More photos

2010-06-21T21:31:00.000+01:00

Some photos

2010-06-21T21:28:00.000+01:00

Day 10 stats

2010-06-21T20:55:00.000+01:00

68.1mi
2996 cals
1611ft ascent
3054 ft descent (downhill all the way !)
Average speed : 11.3 mph

Day 10 - 21 June

2010-06-21T20:33:00.001+01:00

This was a much better day than yesterday.

We stayed at The Garage B & B in Wanlockhead which was excellent. We had access to a lounge too so a quick catch up on TV and world affairs were good.

Cycling out of Wanlockhead was difficult as it was more uphill to start with. But that soon changed with a very long downhill that followed.
The miles seemed to whizz by and before long we stopped at Services (that was a bit funny to arrive on bikes and no we were not on the motorway) to have some tea and cake.

Soon we were entering the outskirts of Glasgow. I could see the high rise buildings from quite a distance so it was good to cycle towards it. Going through the city seemed endless and eventually we stopped for a rest at the riverside of the Clyde. It sort of reminded me of Newcastle, but I'm sure the Scots will disagree !

We took a fantastic cycle path from Glasgow to Loch Lomond which was Sustrans route 7. It runs along a part of the river, uses an old railway line and then follows the canal.It took us straight to Loch Lomond.

The YHA is spectacular. It was a stately home before it was converted into a YHA with money donated by trade unions of the USA through the British War Relief Society.

Tomorrow we will follow Loch Lomond for a long while - a third of the ride tomorrow - and then turn away to Glen Coe.

Some interesting things we saw today was a boat plane taking off on the river in Glasgow and a lot of smart buildings along the riverside in Glasgow. Even a super yacht parked outside on the river by the Crowne Plaza.

The stats will follow in a seperate email as Garmin is charging upstairs :-)

2010-06-21T17:53:00.000+01:00

Loch Lomond YHA.

In Glasgow at the River Clyde.

2010-06-21T14:36:00.000+01:00

Taken at 2.30pm today.

Day 10

2010-06-21T10:19:00.000+01:00

Day 9 - 20 June

2010-06-21T09:51:00.001+01:00

Stats : 76.54mi

3748 cals

Average speed :11.3

Well again I think the stats tell the story, however the last bit of the day I just really ran out of steam. If bonking is what I felt I certainly think I had it. We were coming down in the pass when I just felt really dizzy. I felt like I wanted to faint. I had to get off the bike and walk for a while just to try and recover.

We are staying tonight in the highest village in Scotland, a place called Wanlockhead. A TV series called Hope Springs was filmed here a while ago.

Big highlight of the day was crossing the border into Scotland. Such a feeling to realise that I have actually cycled all through England to arrive here in Scotland !

Our route tomorrow will take us through Glasgow and then north to Loch Lomond, our stay tomorrow night.

So far we've only had headwinds and no tail winds but from our weather report tonight is might change tomorrow ! Watch this space !

2010-06-20T17:42:00.000+01:00

In Thornhill, Scotland.

2010-06-20T15:32:00.000+01:00

Dumfries

2010-06-20T12:05:00.000+01:00

Day 8

2010-06-20T08:05:00.000+01:00

What can I say about the worst day so far ? I think looking at the stats you will see the story. Only 8.9mi am hour with 4731ft of climbing. The hills just kept coming and coming. Straight out of Slaidburn we had massive hills including a pass which seemed to go on for eternity.

At our lunch stop in Sedbergh we still had 50mi to do. I was really in shock. I was devising all posts of ways to get to Carlisle without cycling like stopping cars and ask for a lift or take the train.
14mi before Carlisle we got collected by Jackie and Will as we just couldn't go on.

Weather today seems better. And it seems that from Tuesday the constant Northerly wind changes to a Southerly !

The GPS updates is struggling but will hopefully kick in again. In the meantime check my Twitter feed on the right for our position.

Day 8 stats

2010-06-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

Stats: 67.1mi
3478cals
4731 ft ascent
Average speed: a measly 8.9mph

Day 7

2010-06-19T09:08:00.000+01:00

We obviously had a lovely time at home but were ready to leave home. All our stocks were refilled and we took to the road just after 7.28am. The traffic outside of Chester were quite bad but we found a cycling land which was good. Crossing the Manchester ship canal were the highlight of the day and then we made our way across both the M6 and the M62. In the space of 2 hours we also crossed the M61 twice and the M65 once.

I felt really good for most of the way, say up to about 60mi but after that my energy levels started to drop and the last 15mi from Whalley was the hardest ever. At one stage it felt as if I was going to fall off my bike from utter exhaustion. We climbed more than 4000ft today and I will put the stats on as soon as I'm able to as the GARMIN is charging at the moment.

A hot shower was a home reward and then off to the local pub (a mere 10ft away).

Tomorrow is another long day - 80mi but at least the longest day of the ride has been done !

Needless to say that I broke my 2 records again today: 39.4mi mph and the longest cycle ever - 91mi in one go!

Day 6

2010-06-17T22:28:00.000+01:00

It is getting harder and harder to get up and move in the morning. It took me about 10 to 15 miles today to get into the ride!

Today saw me getting into familiar surroundings as we were cycling the same route which I did with the Ladies group a few weekends ago. Oh yes, and a BIG disaster! I was going so well and so fast down a hill that I missed a crucial turn at the top. During my whizzing down the hill I glanced down to check what speed I'm doing only to notice the pink line of the route vanishing off my screen. By then I was in the bottom of the valley - at least 3 miles away from that turn which meant that I had to ride / walk that steep hill back up to where I missed the turn. That added at least 6 miles onto the ride and about 30 min to the overall journey time (if not more).

We saw good things today. Beautiful poppy fields and masses of honeysuckle and wild roses in the hedges. We also came across the Bike Adventures group who criss cross our route occasionally and I met up with Alan and Jenny who I last saw on Saturday.

Big thing is that I'm home! We rode really fast to Chester and managed to walk into the house at about 3.10pm. One bike had to be sorted out and stocks had to be bought. We also managed to catch up with our daughter and a BIG BIG thanks to Richard and Margaret who put us up for a meal (lovely yummy lasagna) which made my evening effortless). Thanks also for the bread and milk! Much appreciated.

Tomorrow is a early rise and leave again. It is going to be a massive day. We tried to amend the route tonight but it is what it is - a full 91miles from here to Slaidburn. One highlight is crossing the Mersey tomorrow and heading north between Liverpool and Manchester on our way up.

Here is a picture which was taken the day before when we past Tintern Abbey.

We had a very quick stop!

Watch my Flickr stream for more photos.

I now need to get my pannier sorted out again and go to bed. Another update tomorrow evening - from a very shattered girl !!

2010-06-16T17:59:00.000+01:00

This was a great day! We had a lovely full english breakfast this morning and set off with a steady pace. Lunch was a chicken sandwich along the road with some jelly babies as dessert. (my cycling treat).
Stats for today are:
55.45mi
2859 cals
Max speed: 30.18mph

We are leaving extra early tomorrow morning as it is stopping at home tomorrow! We want to get there early to do all sorts including sorting out the bikes. The one bike still has a free wheel problem which needs fixing.
Saw lovely gardens again today but also lots of road kill. That is always the draw back of cycling as you travel slowly enough to see it.
Now off to a pub for a good meal !

Day 3 stats

2010-06-15T22:17:00.001+01:00

I forgot to mention the stats yesterday ! Ok here goes: 3641 cals; 71.15mi; max speed 37.47mph.

Day 4 and stats.

2010-06-15T22:17:00.000+01:00

Stats for day 4:
77.52mi; 4065cals; max speed: 32.96mph.

The day started bad. I thought we were leaving later and left earlier. On top of that we couldn't have breakfast as it was still closed when we left. We cycled onto Wells to have breakfast there which for me was a pasty. I just couldn't get started today. I struggled for at least the first 20mi if not more. We had lunch at the King William pub in Hallen which was great! A great guy called Alex gave £10 to my charity and Claire and Jenny from the pub donated too. Good sights today was the Clifton suspension bridge and going over the old Severn bridge. See the Twitter updates on the right hand side for photos. The last 25mi were hell. Maybe my big lunch kicked in maybe just tiredness but I just couldn't anymore. Our plotted route also didn't take us to our Inn but we had to cycle another 3 mi to get to it! Very psychologically bad!!

Well on the up side we now have 2mi less tomorrow!

Oh. Just for those that wonder about diet: we don't eat loads of cakes. We had so far just your normal breakfasts with a semi light lunch but a descent dinner. We only have 1 pint of cider each every evening and NO drink during the ride.

Day 3 !

2010-06-14T21:18:00.000+01:00

So we did day 3 ! Whoo hoo ! Some highlights: I raced wet rabbit, saw really pretty Somerset villages all with thatched roofs and flowing climbing roses, broke my speed record downhill and did 71mi in one day on my bike, a first! Food wise we went wrong. A banana for breakfast, 2 slices of toast in Exeter and a cream tea in Honiton - that's it. I was starving when we eventually got to Street. After a long walk we found a pub which has no football! Some highlights for tomorrow is 2 bridges: the famous Clifton suspension bridge and then the old Severn bridge into Wales. Some mean Mendips waits for us before we are done though.

Day 2 - 13 June

2010-06-13T20:08:00.000+01:00

I didn't sleep very well last night. I was full of body aches and everytime when I turned I woke up. Everything ached. Back, legs, neck,wrists. Just about all of it. We had a steep ascent out of the hostel this morning which nearly finished me off and then the predictable hill and downhill routine started. We had 2 ferries today. It was great reaching Plymouth but even better when we left it as there were too much traffic too cope with. Outside Plymouth we started the Dartmoor hills. We had some close encounters with sheep and saw some baby ponies on the top. Poor weather set in about 15mi from our finish and we got drenched. At last we arrived at our Sparrow Hawk hostel where we had a lovely hot shower. Tomorrow its 70mi !! Oh well we will get it done somehow.

Stats for Day 1

2010-06-13T11:18:00.000+01:00

I forgot to give the stats for day 1 : 63.92 mi from Land's end excluding the 6mi the morning from the YHA. Average 10.3mi mph. Max speed 35mph. 3593 Cal burned during the day.

Day 1

2010-06-13T08:54:00.000+01:00

Day 1 done. Great big hills and hills and hills. I fell over on a steep hill when my chain came off. Usually this happens only when I'm nearly stationary ! There were some spectacular descents too. Went to Trelissick Gardens for a good break then onto King Harry Ferry to get to the other side of the river. The YHA was ok and the views excellent !

2010-06-11T20:16:00.002+01:00

Your message:

A tiring day done. Only 15mi cycling and 872 cal burned but one hill out of Penzance was so severe that for the first time in 3yrs my Garmin screeched at me with a message 'heart rate too high ' ! Anyway, we've arrived at the YHA in Land's End and the weather is spectacular ! Gorgeous evening, the sun still high and it is past 8pm. You can see the sea from here as the hostel is quite high up on the hill. In a way it reminds me of Cape Town. Tomorrow is a late start as we booked breakfast for 8am and we need to be at the start at 9.30am. That is when the official photographer comes on duty ! The days following will be earlier starts. I will upload photos to my Flickr photo stream and the link is on the right. As this is an email I can't insert them here. Now for a little relax before bedtime.

I can hear the whizzz of bike wheels!!

2010-06-10T20:25:00.000+01:00

Last minute stuff done, money drawn and stamps bought for postcards that will be send along the way. Dog is in kennels and instructions to our house-sitter on paper.

Neighbours on neighbourhood watch and milk cancelled. Hopefully I thought of everything!

My phone has been set-up to email to the blog, upload photos to the blog via Flickr, update my status and location via Twitter and Facebook as well as send the critical GPS signal to the map on the blog. I also have two back-up phone batteries in case one dies during the ride. The only thing I can't control is the mobile phone reception :-(
So hopefully there will be T-Mobile reception along the way for me to enable posting on a regular basis.

I have another BIG thank you to say...

THANK YOU USN !!

Ultimate Sports Nutrition sponsored us some products which is absolutely fantastic!! Protein bars, supplements, T-Shirts, waterbottles and recovery drinks.We have divided the drinks between the first phase of the ride and the second phase (after Day 6) when we can replenish our stocks.

Train tickets are pinned up against the notice board and will be valid tomorrow - just as well that I looked at the tickets as we are departing a whole hour earlier than my mechanic thought!! Imagine if we missed that train...oh dear...

The next time I'm blogging will be during the journey down, will keep you posted about the ups and downs of long distance train travel :-)

Happy cycling!

Sponsors !!

2010-06-09T21:25:00.003+01:00

One more very precious day to go before we head south. My pannier has been unpacked and the contents spread on the guest bed which will help me ensure that I take everything I need.

We have a BIG thank you to one of our major sponsors:

The Bikefactory in Chester serviced our bikes for free and also suggested that we bring them around for a quick check-up when we are passing through Chester on Day 6. They have also given us innertubes (2 sizes for the two different bikes) as well as energy gels for quick refuelling along the way.

THANK you Bikefactory!! This is very much appreciated!

One day to go....

Thanks to our teeth sponsors!!

2010-06-08T16:28:00.000+01:00

Thanks SO much to Overleigh Orthodontics!

They supplied us with 6 small 19ml Colgate toothpastes (each) as well as with Fluorigard rinse for our trip ! Very generous, thanks again.

Your sponsorship is very welcome.

Two and a half days more to go then we're off!

2010-06-08T11:44:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure if time flies when you are having fun but the days are going so quickly and there is still a lot to be done.

We had a packing ritual last night. All our stuff that are going with were dutifully laid down on the bed and agreements were reached on who is taking the dual use stuff like toothpaste and shower gel. Everything fitted into two panniers and although it is tight, everything is necessary.

I'm taking the absolute minimum.

Two sets of cycling clothing - one on me and the other one spare
One set of evening wear - a lightweight pair of cotton trousers, a thin fleece for the cooler evenings and a T-shirt which is still to arrive in the post from one of our sponsors
One pair of lightweight shoes - I thought of taking flip flops but my mechanic said no. I need better shoes when I'm walking to the pub.
Toiletries - all in miniature versions. I have been collecting them for about 4 months now and need one batch for the first 6 days until we get back to home base and then another set for the second leg of the challenge. Also miniature versions of make-up! Well at least a lippy and a small mascara. I need to look a bit better in the evening.
Electronic equipment and accessories like cables to connect the Garmin and camera for downloading; a SD card reader; my solar charger with all the little nozzles and the cables (quite cute and compact)
First Aid kit including Deep Heat and Chamois Cream

Stuff that is not yet packed but also need to go is a cap for days when it is safe to cycle without a helmet and it is sunny as well as a small amount of washing powder. I've tried using squirty soap whilst in Shropshire and it wasn't really nice...

The bikes went onto the stand last night and new brake blocks were fitted to my Vita and the other bike was given a oil treatment to stop a click in the pedals.
I've managed to secure a couple more sponsors which will send me some stuff. Hopefully they will arrive on Wednesday. I've also called our local orthodontist - Overleigh Orthodontics who has agreed to sponsor us a couple of small tubes of toothpaste each. This sounds rather strange but if you feel the weight of a normal sized tube and you have limited space and weight you will understand that every gram counts!

Everything electronic has been put in place ready to blog, update and upload. I have linked my Flickr account to my blog and my phone, I have set my phone up to email blog updates through and the GPS tracking is also ready to be activated when we leave. Another little nifty app, called 'Socially' works very well to update both Twitter and Facebook at the same time. NO reason for not updating my position!

So the countdown continues!

Happy cycling!

So can I blog remotely ?

2010-06-05T18:52:00.001+01:00

Another training run done today. With only 5 full days left before we get on the train , thoughts are now drifting towards the packing detail and what can / not go. I got two well recommended items this week which will definitely make itself into my pannier. I ordered a lovely small travel hair dryer from John Lewis. I saw Maxine using hers during our Shropshire weekend and it was invaluable. After a full day in the saddle, a girl really wants to shower, and put something less lycra on. A bit of civilization ? I also got Chamois cream which is supposedly better than Sudacream. Fish and chips on Thursday evening to give us enough time for packing and organising. And we will be off ! This post was written via my phone on email. Hopefully it will reach the intended blog ! Happy cycling.

Bring it on !

2010-06-02T20:33:00.003+01:00

So who followed me all the way round Shropshire this weekend? As a special treat, I had the live tracking switched on to test it out and make sure everything goes to plan when we are on the real thing. I do know that it amused my family quite a bit as they did follow me and even called when the tracking seemed to stop. Unfortunately that was out of my control as there were no mobile reception at Bridges YHA or surroundings. So mostly I was followed but seemed to vanish into thin air whenever we approached the YHA!
I would miraculously appear the next morning, probably about 5miles or so away from the YHA, on the next bike ride ready to be followed.

I really had a marvellous time! A room full of girls - who chopped and change a bit over the few days but mostly stayed the same - was great. We even thought back of school days when on activity events and all sorts :-)

I did four rides over the four days. Setting out on Friday took me to Farndon where I met up with Sue and Susie and setting off on our 53mi journey down to Shropshire.The whole weekend was uneventful apart from one puncture which happened to someone who could actually repair it too! Very convenient !

The first ride, which happened on Saturday, took us over Long Mynd which was in less than ideal weather. It was light rain down at the YHA but as we progressed up the mountain, it became worse. At the top it was very foggy and very cold. My fingers (which were in summer gloves) ached and really needed TLC.

We climbed a total of 2635ft after leaving the YHA until we were back there again. It was a long winding climb followed by a very steep descent which literally took my breath away.I was worrying about my brakes and not for no reason. When I took my bike out of the YHA shed on Sunday morning, it was squeaking due to all the grit and grime it gathered during Saturday. The brake blocks were also looking suspicious - it looked like it was burned as something that looked like burnt ash fell of the blocks!

After well deserved hot tea at Church Stretton, we visited Acton Scott Working farm where we had lunch and a look around.

The evenings were delightful with very tired girls heading for the showers, putting some descent clothes on (after being in Lycra all day) and heading for the local pub where we all had some really lovely food.

Sunday morning was bright and sunny. No rain and no wind, a great day for cycling. We headed on towards Montgomery which is just inside the Welsh border. We went for lunch at The Ivy House (which served gorgeous quiches) and then winded up the hill towards the castle which had a stunning view towards Wales. From there we cycled towards The Bog and just made it (with about 3 minutes to spare) to the visitor's centre where Sue rushed in and convinced them that there are six thirsty girls cyclists outside ready to demolish their cakes and Brownies (which were gorgeous!)

After the cake and tea we went up Stipenstones to get to the best descent I've ever had! Super fast downhill (over lots of cattle grids) reaching speeds of well over 30mi an hour (not me...I got scared and used my brakes!). The total ascent on Sunday was 3713ft which is higher than Mt Snowdon ( at 3560ft). Just imagine my aching legs after that climb!

The evening saw us having our dinner in the YHA as the Pub didn't do Sunday evening meals but we did head that way for after dinner drinks. There were even a lovely fire that awaited us at the Pub.

Monday morning was the long ride back home. Great descents and beautiful country lanes with lots and lots of flowers along the way. Hubby joined us halfway from home and 51 miles later and I was back home after a GREAT weekend out!

THANK you everyone! It was marvellous!

Cycling weekend

2010-05-28T10:20:00.000+01:00

Well at last the weekend is here. I off to Shropshire today with the ladies cycling group and as a special treat to everyone, will switch my tracking on so real time tracking is enabled on the blog. Hopefully this test run will be fine and any bugs sorted out completely before the REAL LEJOG starts!

Happy cycling everyone, keep looking at my Tweets and photos which will come thick and fast over the weekend.

Moving along swiftly!

2010-05-26T20:07:00.000+01:00

So here we are on Day 15 of the countdown! I still feel very frantic about my training, as if I haven't done anything really significant and yet when I do cycle along familiar paths, I am doing it with ease.

We've since had an offer from a friend to overnight with them when we are passing Carlisle so with a bit of adjustment, Day 8 has stretched with 20 miles and Day 9 has thus 20 miles less. I guess that is OK. I know I will probably curse when I pass through Penrith thinking that I could've binned the day then especially as the previous day is such a stinker with 91 miles to do! I've never cycled 91 miles before in my life. It will be such a mind barrier broken. Maybe this will provide me with the impetus to start Brevet runs next season.

My sponsorship has had a good push over the last two weeks. I've had a lot of promises and some really good donations so I'm now just passed the halfway mark, I still expect a few more to come in, especially a few people that I really think ought to sponsor me!

I bought a lovely little gadget for our ride today. I got the idea from Mark Beaumont who used solar chargers to power his equipment. I don't have as much stuff as he took on his Americas trip so a charger that take charge of mp3 players and phones will suffice. Here is it on the left.

I've also caught on another idea from a fellow LEJOG cyclist who has approached a few companies to donate some products for her LEJOG trip. This is work in progress!

I thought I will also share a recent picture of me and my lovely Brompton coming back from a business meeting. She is a great bike, aptly named Thunderbird! She really makes heads turn and I think that is great fun.

Coming weekend will be lots of fun. I'm joining my Ladies cycling group for a weekend of cycling. Pack in as much miles as I can which reminds me that I really need to plot my extra rides for the weekend.

Happy cycling!

Technology galore!!!

2010-05-24T10:29:00.005+01:00

Thinking back to ten years ago, I am absolutely astounded to the progress that computer technology has made. I still remember my first mobile phone. What a big bulky brick that was! It was a Siemens (do they still make mobile phones??) and very very basic. The price plan was exorbitant and I could barely afford it.
However things has moved on so rapidly, it is (nearly) unbelievable.

Just thinking about what I did this morning to my blog. Not only can I blog about my fitness journey but I will also be able to share with everyone my routes (which has been dutifully plotted) AND you will be able to follow my progress on a map. I think I will be a (moving) red dot! I'm a bit anxious though as I don't plan to take my laptop with on the route so I need to rely on computers at the places we stay and there could be a long queue. All of the tracking will be down to my current mobile phone. I will also be able to upload pictures to the blog courtesy of Twitpic and Flickr.

The weekend was absolutely marvellous! Proper summer weather which has this morning been replaced by a coolness in the air. What a shame! I noticed on Twitter over the weekend that people are already complaining about the heat. It is really funny that the weather can never be perfect in this country. If there is lovely hot summer days there are complaints about the heat, when it is raining there are complaints about the rain and not to mention the colder days. Just accept the weather and continue with life I think!

I did do some cycling over the weekend. I joined the CTC ladies group for a ride to the Eureka Cafe in Parkgate rd where we just sat chatting for a while. Next weekend will be a total different story. I'm off on Friday to Bridges YHA Hostel for a weekend of cycling with a group of 10 girls and I intend to pack the miles in starting with cycling to Bridges, not driving. I will be carrying my panniers which will be a good start of the weekend. As a test I will be turning the tracking button on so you can follow me around as I do my miles. Hopefully it will work. Even though technology has progressed, it is sometimes such a let down too.

Hope for more miles this week.

Happy cycling and good luck to everyone that is out there doing LEJOG like Kirsty Hepburn, Antony Last and Ali and Sue

Photo time!

2010-05-19T20:10:00.003+01:00

Me and my Vita with the pannier packed ready to go to Penzance !

I thought I will be brave and pose for a picture. I took the Vita for a ride today and loaded the packed pannier onto the bike. The ride was short, just 9 miles so no distance really. The bike behaved well, although I think I should take both my panniers after all and redistribute the weight as having everything on one side was a bit wobbly.
I'm planning a longer ride tomorrow and aim to go in the morning if I can get past my concience to abandon my desk and put extra hours in this evening and tomorrow afternoon!

I also found a good cycling blog to read. Have a look at Charlotte Barnes's blog

Happy cycling!

You can say what you want...

2010-05-18T21:01:00.004+01:00

but England on a lovely sunny day is absolutely glorious! Rolling hills and green meadows with winding country lanes where you need to dive into the hedges when a car comes past!

But I think I have to be fair here. My ride yesterday was in lovely fabulous weather but it wasn't in England but in Wales. Although we live in a village in England, Wales is very much my preferred spot to get some good cycling! I did a short 20 miles yesterday afternoon which was a very funny trip. I have a patch of country lanes which you could use repeatedly to create different routes with even the added option of some hills.

Today was another active day but not always in the saddle. I had an early morning spinning class at 6.45am and then ventured out to Liverpool, taking my Brompton along. The Brompton is such a great invention, I really fell in love with my bike! He is nifty and looks really the part. Today I was again in full office gear and made some heads turn!

A mission for tomorrow is at least a couple of bike rides. Both will probably be short again. I need to take my dog to her groomer and I have this fabulous idea of cycling there - about 6 miles - with her in her Basil dog basket. See the picture...

I need to get train tickets for another journey next week so I thought while I'm waiting for her, I can just as well cycle to Wrexham and get the tickets from the station or I can do another circular ride and fetch her on the return trip.

I have also called on some friends so do a short bike ride tomorrow after 7pm. Again it will be probably not more than 15 miles but hey, it all adds up doesn't it?

I have a few more pictures that I would like to share with you.They were taken over the weekend when we did a ride after coming back from the CTC AGM.See the yellow rapeseed field in the background?

Out is the winter gear and in with the summer cycling pants and gloves. Whoohoo!

I still haven't decided which bike I will take. My support has offered to carry my pannier for me provided that it isn't too heavy. This afternoon I spreaded all my intended LEJOG items on the bed and carefully packed the pannier and I'm happy to say that all fits in (one pannier!).

So I can put the handlebar bag on my Dolce and take her for at least the first part of the route. I might just swap bikes when I get home on Day 6 as the big hard part has been done - through Cornwall and Devon.

Have you seen my route? I have put all the distances in both miles and kilometres as I know some of my friends and family works in metric. I will soon post the routes which are all drawn on Bikemap, on the blog as well.

At the end of May I have a Shropshire ladies cycling weekend. Nine ladies from the Fabulous Ladies CTC group are all going down to Bridges Youth Hostel for a weekend of gossip and cycling. Hopefully I can get some good mileage in that weekend apart from a few pints (I'm not drinking at the moment so this will be a bit of a bugger!)

Happy cycling!

First time for everything!

2010-05-11T21:23:00.000+01:00

Do you remember the photo of Thunderbird that I posted a while ago? Mmm. I can hear you say. What is that again?

So to remind you, Thunderbird is my Brompton folding bike who has a happy little resting place in my dining room. Occassionally I take him out for a ride to the local village shop but nothing too seriously. Well, an ooportunity has come along and Thunderbird has been released and been used like a proper folding bike today.
I had to get to Manchester and the time was well planned to used Thunderbird as the preferred method of transport after the train.
All went well I have to say. I manage to turn quite a few heads ( I need to get used to that!) as I was on the Brompton with full office gear including high heels. I refused to wear a helmet and cars gave me a real wide berth. It was a great experience and I'm already looking for more opportunities to use Thunderbird.

My legs were still aching from Sunday's 50 mile ride. I'm sure the 30 miles I did on Saturday did play a part too, but it didn't feel like that when I started on Sunday afternoon.
However, my Sunday ride has now left me very confused. I have a lovely road bike, a very smart Specialized Dolce which I used on Sunday. With Stephen on his Trek hybrid, which he intends to use on LEJOG, and me on the Dolce, I manage to ride well in front of him on Sunday. Usually that is a sight which is very much reserved for me, with Stephen with his much stronger legs in front of me. But this time, with my better bike, I outrode him. What a GOOD feeling that was! Dare I say a bit of his own medicine??

Thoughts were racing through my head...can't he carry my one pannier and I can take my Dolce? I promise to pack light and use only one pannier...that will mean that I will be riding on my faster better bike and be able to keep up. That mean quite a lot to me. Last night I was paid a fabulous compliment when he said that I rode very well on Sunday. Ooo, that was such a good comment, coming from him :-)

In 2007 he used a small pannier system from Topeak which fits onto a road bike. I did have a look at it but it is SO small! Really too small to use, even if I pack very light.

Well, confusion continues in my cycling world so I will battle on with the decision on what I will do. I will keep you posted.

Ladies Ride to Boat Museum

2010-05-08T16:31:00.001+01:00

It was quite disappointing when I went downstairs this morning and saw the raindrops against the window. Well, I did say last night come rain or shine I will ride today so I guess I had to be prepared for any kind of weather.

Arriving at the Kingsway Community Cafe was slow. It was spitting and I just couldn't get going. Slowly more ladies arrived including a friend from the village and when we set out, we were 6 including me.

We went out towards Ellesmere Port and then headed for the Boat Museum

A nice bowl of soup, a roll and some butter soon warmed me up. We met up with another couple of girls from the Wirral ride group and then said our goodbyes to head back home. The pictures left was taken on our ride back. The Higher Ferry picture was when I was on my own riding towards the pedestrian bridge over the Dee.

Oh yes. I met up with a dodgy character along the canal. I stopped briefly just before a bridge to allow a man and his dog through. I thought I will ask if I can access the road further along and he started to tell me which route I should follow. The only thing is that his directions were totally out and he was pointing in the wrong way. I decided to follow my own sense (just as well as I was right after all). When he realised that I'm not going to follow his directions he became a bit abusive and said 'Well, follow your own silly route. Is that a SATNAV on your bike?" I didn't want to admit to the Garmin on my bike (Hey, it is worth a few hundred pounds) so I said no. But as soon as I started moving (carrying my bike up the steps from the canal towards the road) the Garmin made a noise as the movement sensors kicked in.
"Oh" he said " is that your phone?" I decided to agree on this. I really didn't want to become a crime statistic. I was all by myself along this canal with this man and he was far too interested in my Garmin for my liking!

I was soon on my way and pedalled like hell!!

Weekend plans

2010-05-07T20:52:00.000+01:00

So roll on weekend!

Reading other people's blogs is very interesting but is also very demoralising at the same time. I have few that I follow. One particular blog is that of Jenny and Alan who is also starting LEJOG on the same day as us. Here is their blog link: http://alan-jenny-lejog2010.blogspot.com/

Jenny and Alan are training hard. No, I mean they are training REALLY very hard. They have done several long distance rides over weekends (breaking the psychological barrier stuff distances) and is now concentrating on shorter rides, but faster. In the week they also go to body pump and spinning classes. I am absolutely in awe about their dedication and training schedule!
The sad thing is that Jenny/Alan is much younger than me and Stephen (well, they look much younger on the pictures I have seen), they will have road bikes (we have hybrid bikes, so ours are a tiny bit heavier) and we will be carrying all our own luggage whilst they use a company called Bike Adventures http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/ who will be supporting them along their way - carrying their luggage and ensure a comfortable stay every night.
Unfortunately we didn't have that kind of funds available (the camping option for one person is £795 - that is the cheapest option). Basically Jenny and Alan have everything in their favour, they just have to turn up and pedal! AND they are VERY fit. I'm in an absolute panic when I read their posts as it just emphasise how little prep and training I have done so far.

Tomorrow is another CTC Ladies ride, this time to the Boat Museum near Ellesmere Port. I intend to cycle up to the meeting point and also cycle back home (obvious I guess if I cycled up) which will increase my ride distance tomorrow by 13 miles (6.5mi one-way). Stephen intend to do a 28mi route which he plotted tonight on www.bikemap.net . I bought him a Garmin Edge 705 with heart rate monitor and cadence sensor as an anniversary gift. I couldn't think of anything better (I have one of these too - bought it 3 years ago) to give him. So he is going to use his Garmin tomorrow for the first time to navigate him on his plotted route.

Hopefully both of us will have some mileage done tomorrow afternoon - even if it is just 30 miles I will be happy. I will do some Twitter updates as we go along and also upload some photos when I'm back home.

There is just 5 weeks left in which I need to get fitter and faster and lighter. This will be the most challenging 5 sporting weeks of my life!

Ness gardens...

2010-05-03T21:04:00.000+01:00

OUCH!! My upper legs and my knees hurt and it was only 32mi today. I have to add that it was against a terrible north westerly wind for the journey to Ness but it was a bliss coming back. We managed to cut a whole 15min off our journey time. At one time I was pedalling at 25mph down along the Dee whilst my companion whizzed past at 31mph!! That was on the way back though...

Tomorrow seems like a no go as the wind will increase and stay a north westerly. Maybe a run will do just fine...

And May has arrived...!

2010-05-03T07:23:00.004+01:00

Finally I'm back home.

The last two weeks were really hectic. A couple of days in Northallerton which was followed by a full five days in Southend-on-Sea disrupted my training schedule severely.

I tried to use every opportunity last week - from walking to the venue to a couple of runs in the morning and using the stairs instead of the lift in the hotel - but overall the progress was miserable.

The picture below is one I took last week of the dedicated cycle lane running past the Civic Centre in Southend-on-Sea.

Well, I'm back home now and we are planning a bike ride this morning after a stint in town. I went with the girls' group to Ness Gardens in the Wirral and thought that it was a great ride to do. So after town, we will go off and cycle the route up to Ness.

Have a lovely bankholiday Monday!

Business away...

2010-04-27T22:57:00.002+01:00

Two weeks in a row I have now been away on business. Last week I've been away two nights to Northallerton and this week I'm away for 5 days to Southend-on-Sea.

All of this has got a very detrimental effect on my training. Sitting down for most of the day and usually just following the crowd for having a meal, it is quite a struggle to maintain a good balance between being hungry and not being hungry. It is also a REALLY big struggle to get some exercise build into my day. I've resorted to running and walking 1.1mi from the hotel to the venue. I managed to do a return walk yesterday but only a single walk this morning. By the time we finished it was well past 7pm so we were shattered and wanted to go for dinner to get back to the hotel.

The weather is really nice. I went for a run yesterday morning but failed miserably this morning. I decided to do a lie in instead which wasn't good for many reasons. The sun was beautiful streaming through the curtains and if it wasn't for my laziness I was out there. I have to admit: I have some places today on my legs which feels like they have been exercised! So I did something good yesterday!

One of the things which I was impressed about was Southend-on-Sea's cycling provision. I have to admit I haven't seen a huge amount but the bit in the centre of town is great. They have a segregated cycling lane running past the Civic Centre which is very well used. There are also great crossings for cyclists across very busy streets which is excellent. I will post some pictures very soon.

Hopefully another short run tomorrow morning and looking forward to trying to avoid eating :-)

Wirral Belles Breast cancer ride to Ness gardens

2010-04-17T15:49:00.001+01:00

The day started really awful. I set off from home well in time but got a puncture just after crossing Higher Ferry bridge. This was SO annoying as I had the day all planned out and I could just see how everything is fizzling away. A quick call home and my mechanic arrived, fixed my puncture, put me and my bikie in the car and headed for Bache station where I was meeting a few others of the group. I rushed to the platform to buy a ticket from a machine which screen you could hardly see in the sunlight whilst my mechanic offloaded the bike and put the wheel back on.

Lots of fun on the train as Jo didn't know she couldn't buy a ticket on the train anymore and had to jump on without a ticket - the manager was in the other coach so a bit of trauma involved!

When we arrived at Port Sunlight, the group that was gathering there was about 17 strong, so all together 20. We set off in marvellous sunshine just after a photo ceremony and lots of pink balloons were tied to the bikes.

The ride to Ness Gardens was just 8mi so really no distance at all. Arriving there we parked the bikes and got some tea, coffee and cakes from the shop. It is really a lovely place and worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.

The masterplan was to cycle back home rather than getting back on the train so that I can get my mileage in - I did that and arrived home with 29mi on the odo and 1305cals burned! Great stuff!
The route back was excellent. I managed to find the cycle route that goes along the dual carriageway easy and cycled half of the way on a segregated bike path - bliss!

Hopefully I can do another short ride tomorrow as it seems that the weather will definitely play along. I'm off to Northallerton on Monday afternoon for two days and I'm thinking of hooking my bike up on the trailer and take it with for a quick ride - maybe I should just take the Brompton along. My lovely bike has finally arrived - see the picture so I can now be mobile where ever I want!

Meet Thunderbird in its folded position. Lovely colours, not so?

Beautiful daffodils just outside Dodleston

2010-04-12T10:22:00.001+01:00

What a lovely sight when you come around the bend at Dodleston. Spring is the loveliest season to cycle but unfortunately also the shortest.

This weekend saw me going along the East Cheshire lanes and also dipping into the North Welsh hills. I certainly felt yesterday that I've done some good cycling on Saturday as my upper legs felt a bit tired. I guess the best would be to go out today for another ride, sometime late this afternoon.

Some of the local news this morning is that a cyclist has been killed yesterday afternoon in North Wallasey, which is close to Liverpool. So sad. It was such a great day for cycling.

A great cycling weekend

2010-04-12T09:39:00.002+01:00

This was a brilliant cycling weekend and cyclists all over were out enforce. I had two great rides: one on Saturday with the local women's CTC group and again on Sunday morning - weather too good to be missed.

The picture here is of one of my three bikes, the one which I will use to do LEJOG on. She is my Specialized Vita Sport and a fabulous bike. Light and great gears.

I briefly stopped outside my village to take some pictures of the Daffodils that are out and took this lovely picture of my bike.

2010-04-10T19:52:00.001+01:00

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/-chester/649127092449268044"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;10/04/2010 Route&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-kingdom/-chester"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Chester, United Kingdom&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Tomorrow's ride! I did 27.5 miles today with the local CTC Fabulous Ladies group which was great. We had stunning weather and I hope tomorrow will be the same.

Cycling coaching

2010-04-07T11:02:00.000+01:00

I've been debating for a while whether to get a coach/Personal trainer or not. Well, reality has set in and I'm not as flush as I thought I am. I still need to save for the upcoming bike ride - meals and so on - so I'm taking it the easy way.

I ordered a few books...Oh dear, I can hear you say...and will be trying this on my own. Well, it is a journey, isn't it?

Without taking anything away from any other good books there might be out there, I thought I will share with you what I found. I ordered four:

1. Weight Training for cyclists by Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz
2. The Long distance cyclists' handbook (second edition) by Simon Doughty
3. The time-crunched cyclits - Fit, fast and Powerful in six hours a week by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg
4. Bicycling magazine's Training Techniques for cyclists edited by Ben Hewitt

I found all of them useful in some sort of way, particularly the first two and have now devised a training programme consisting of weight training and distance cycling for the next 9.5 weeks till the Big Ride.

I'm happy to share it and will be posting it here if I can work out how to paste an excel spreadsheet so that it still looks the part!! I will try and scan it as a picture, hopefully that will work.

The programme is an ideal so I will strive to get this done as it is set down but if I can't make it on a day due to work commitments I'm not going to sulk about it, but try to catch up later.

I have set up power, strength and core weight training programmes from the first book which complements the actual cycling done in a week, again happy to share those individual programmes if you want.

Ok!! Here we go above, it seems to have worked. Now to get the cycling going...

30 Miles of Devon !!!

2010-04-04T17:17:00.000+01:00

The planned ride was for 50 miles. Who were we kiddin' ???! We set out in good weather but fate was against us. My mum-in-law was taken ill yesterday and is in hospital. So our ride was very much decided by the hospital visiting hours.

The hills were absolutely awful. They were just everywhere and constant! To think that on our second day on LEJOG we have to negotiate this twice over.

Arrival at Killerton saw us too early for the teashop which was a pity. I really needed my cup of tea at that moment. We made the decicion to turn around, take the same route we came on and see if we can improve our average speed !

If you are interested, the details are on the map above. When I'm back home I will be so much more appreciative of the North Wales hills !!

To coach or NOT to coach!?

2010-03-29T20:01:00.000+01:00

I'm seriously thinking about getting a proper coach. This is a massive challenge and I want to do the best I can to make it successful including the BEST prep.

Although I've ordered some good books on cycle training, especially endurance training, I feel I need to sign up to a good coach. Reading in a Cycling mag very recently I came across an article on coaching and that everyone could benefit from a coaching session. There are a couple of coaches quite close to where I live and maybe I should knock on their doors. I know it won't come cheap but a proper cycling coach will be better than a 'normal' PT coach...what do you think? Comments SERIOUSLY invited!