Day 3 Bristol - Shrewsbury

Day 3: Epic

Friday’s riding was simply epic. It was a 116 mile ride from Bristol to Shrewsbury – from one cycle demonstration town to another - which turned into a race against time for one of my riding companions to catch his train.

The day started at 10am with a touching send off from colleagues and a gentle ride out along Bristol-Bath Railway Path with members of the Cycling City team.

I left the team after seven miles and made my way up to UWE, then Bristol Parkway and onto the A38 to head towards Gloucester, Ledbury, Tenbury Wells, Ludlow and finally Shrewsbury.

I was joined on Friday by Pete, a friend from Bristol, and my Dad who met us in Gloucester. We took a mixture of A roads and quiet country lanes which allowed us to get some fast miles in and chat in equal measure.

By 2pm we’d made it to Ledbury and stopped at Tesco for lunch. I ate a pretty poor meal of two BLT and two chicken, bacon and lettuce sandwiches and a pack of pork scratchings. Surprisingly, Tesco’s lunchtime fare wasn’t up to much.
After an early downpour in Bristol the weather brightened significantly and we were basking in Tenbury Wells’ hot sunshine at 6pm as we calculated our remaining journey length and the time it would take to reach Shrewsbury. Pete’s train was at 7.58pm and we still had 30 miles to go. We decided to take a main road on the premise that it would be faster and less hilly, which it certainly was. The route into Shrewsbury cut through a valley that revealed a number of hilly climbs and ridges on either side.

The distance markers for Shrewsbury were ticking down slowly as the time got later and later. Finally we approached the city boundary but found ourselves stuck on the city ring roads and one-way system that seemed to zig-zag its way into the city centre. After a few wrong turns we made got to the station with only a few minutes to spare.

We were on the bikes for about six and a half hours on Friday and the entire trip (inc stoppages) took over nine hours.

With Pete safely on his way back to Bristol Helen and I went in search of food with my Dad and Jan, his partner. Shrewsbury seemed like a lovely town and it was a shame not to get to explore it more. We found an Italian restaurant and, as they didn’t seem to mind me looking like I’d been on a bike for most of the day, we sat down to a bowl of pasta and a couple of drinks. I’d tell you what I ate if I could remember. All I know is it had peas and bacon in and it did the trick!

By the time we got back to our campsite and showered it was midnight and it had been another long day. Saturday was the first day with no interruptions planned. I was looking forward to getting my head down and getting the miles done.

Day 2: Okehampton to Bristol - a very wet 108 miles

If yesterday reminded us of Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, today was certainly Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Mid Devon has very little to get excited about, especially in the rain. Fields upon fields of grass and livestock, constant hills and driving rain greeted my first 52 miles. Needless to say, it wasn't particularly pleasant.

The day started with breakfast in the Little Chef opposite our Travel Lodge. For some reason I slept poorly and woke at 6.30 not feeling particularly tired. By 7.30 we were eating pancakes and maple syrup which, in hindsight, wasn't anywhere near enough food - even though they were delicious. I didn't feel hungry so decided not to have a big breakfast - I won't be making that mistake again!

I left Sourton (Okehampton) at 9.30, just as the rain started, and it followed me for 50+ miles through Crediton and Tiverton to Wiveliscombe. It was tough to get used to riding in the rain - I was too warm to begin with and my glasses steamed up. I took them off for a while but the rain stung my face and eyes on the downhills so I put them back on and made sure to wipe them often.

To forget about the rain I set myself small distance targets for the morning and rewarded myself with food. I ate a banana, a Boost, a Lucozade bar and an Alpen bar but still found it tough to motivate myself to ride hard. Still, I made it to Wiveliscombe in three hours and met Helen and her Auntie Fiona for lunch.

A combination of good company, good food and wet weather convinced me to take a very extended break. Two and a half hours later I reluctantly got going again, buoyed by the thought of a fairly flat 35 miles to North Somerset. Full of food and slightly warmer after a change of clothing I raced towards Cheddar. As the clock approached 5pm and my total milage tipped the 200 mile mark I began to fade, just as the hills south of Bristol came into view.

I crawled the last 20 miles home, making it through the door at 6.30pm. I managed to avoid some of the city centre traffic by taking a new cycle path but even so it was slow progress heading through the rush hour traffic in the rain.

At home I took a quick shower then walked to Tesco feeling like a zombie. I treated myself to a bag of doughnuts and a chocolate milkshake then cooked a large bolognaise for dinner.

Tomorrow I have another 107 miles to Shrewsbury, although I'll have the company of my friend Pete all day, plus some work colleagues for the first 5 miles and my Dad for the final 60 miles.

Time to stretch and eat some more food before going to bed. I'm having to force myself to eat more at the moment - it's not as enjoyable as you might think!

Album of the day: Walter Schreifels - An Open Letter To The Scene

Most depressing moment of the day: Wringing out my soaking wet gloves on the forecourt of a petrol station.



Happiest moment of the day: Finishing the chocolate milkshake I'd been dreaming of for the final 20 miles.

Day 1: Lands End to Okehampton

It's 11pm and I'm sat in a Travel Lodge feeling pretty happy with the progress on day 1. I made a last-minute change of plan and decided to take a different, less busy route but it added to the miles and caused some navigational issues (ie I got lost twice).

Last night we stayed at a great campsite on the Lizard (Henry's campsite if you're looking for a recommendation) but it was an hour's drive from Lands End. By the time we'd taken the customary photos by 'the sign' it was 10.30 and I was eager to get going.

I rode out to Penzance through coastal villages that reminded me of parts of south Wales, especially as all the Cornish place names sound similar to Welsh place names. It got me wondering exactly how or who these people were and how and when they migrated from Wales (or vice versa). Being on a bike for nearly 7 hours there's lots of time for musings like these!

I rode to Penzance then cut north to Hayle and Newquay. I'd planned to ride on the A30 all the way to Okehampton but when I realised the road was a dual carriageway full of fast moving traffic I decided to take a more scenic route. It was worth it too as I rode across the cliff tops overlooking the English channel, then turned to the north east for Bodmin, Liskeard and Tavistock, then along the western edge of Dartmoor National Park.

The route was consistently hilly but a stiff tailwind really helped on the uphills and downhills. The best descent came on the A3075 into Newquay where I reached a knee-trembling 49 mph!

I finished the day in 6hrs 47minutes with a distance of 117 miles and an average speed of 17.2 miles per hour. It won't be the fastest day but it probably will be the longest.

I felt good all day long though, never too hungry or tired, although thirsty all the way through and I developed a sore throat early on so stopped for Strepsils. I had a bowl of camping stove porrige to start, followed by a handfull of beef jerky (my new high protein friend). During the ride I ate three cereal bars and a banana and at the lunch stop I ate three ham and cheese rolls and half a pack of jelly babies. To be honest that's pretty much a normal day's eating anyway. The one extra thing was a litre of sickly sweet lemon and lime carbohydrate drink - someone once told me that the calorie content in those drinks is enough that you can get by for several days on them alone!

For dinner we drove out to a pub called the Fox and Hounds in Sourton. Its restaurant was nothing to write home about (I had lamb shank with chips, new potatoes and veg) but they did have a 12-bed bunk house for travellers. Worth more investigation if you're planning a LE-JOG cycle unsupported.

Anyway, I'm still feeling good now but I don't want to ride my luck (excuse the pun) so I'm off to bed.

Song of the day: Farewell to Twilight by Symposium
Picture of the day: The Welcome to Devon sign, coming after exactly 100 miles
Missed picture of the day: A sign for the North Cornwall village called 'Cocks'
Check out the pics from Day 0 and Day 1 at: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=425209&id=751600611&l=316933a515

The Final Blogdown

For some reason I have that Final Countdown song by Europe in my head. I should be thinking about 101 other things though, like how am I going to pack in time to leave at midday, or what am I going to eat for breakfast tomorrow.

I was supposed to pack last night but I got home from work late and a few things came up in the evening so, after a mountain of pasta, I decided to go to bed early and get up early.

Today is T minus one day until the ride begins. It's the day we leave and I still feel woefully under prepared. Is everyone's life like this or is it just mine? Helen is currently trying to track down a travel kettle, some string and some one-cup coffee filters - things I should have found days ago. Life, or cycling, too often gets in the way.

After four months of dedicated training I've ridden 2100 miles, which has meant lots of time during January and February on the static bike in the gym, evening rides after work in March and April and most weekends out on the bike. Looking back at my first post from January reminds me why I want to do this challenge. It was clearly never going to be easy but that's part of the attraction.

Thinking of the last few months also reminds of everyone who's sponsored me, given me good luck wishes and suggested songs to listen to on my training rides. Thank you all. It's great to know I have your support. If you think this is a worthwhile challenge (and you haven't done so already) please do make a donation to Cancer Research.

Do check out Helen's blog too - http://soigneurlel.blogspot.com/ - she'll be sampling tea rooms up and down the country as she waits to meet me at the end of each day.

Anyway, action stations. It's time to get in gear, saddle up and head south-west. Cornwall here I come.

Day 1 (Wednesday) is hilly 105 miles from Lands End to Okehampton and day 2 (Thursday) is a slightly less intense 101 miles from Okehampton to Bristol.

I'll be sure to post again by Thursday evening.

Until then...

(PS for those that came to the fundraising BBQ the puncture map is below)

Final week of training and the charity fundraiser

I've a lot to say today so I thought I'd split this blog in two - part A: riding and training, and part B: sponsorship and people who've helped.

So part A: Firstly a big thanks to Sam at Bike UK who seems to have done a great job on my bike. I've ridden 143 miles since Monday and haven't heard any more creaking.

I went out for two 30-mile rides on Friday and Saturday on rode a route which I've named 'the Bastard Hills of North Somerset'. There's a short movie about the route below, soundtracked by the fantastic 65 Days of Static.

On Sunday afternoon I rode 60 miles to Stroud to pick up a satnav from Rose and Jake. This weekend I was supposed to taper off on my training but after the mechanical problems last weekend and the need to pick up the satnav I thought I didn't really have a choice. The ride out was great (30 miles at 22.5mph) but the return journey was into a huge headwind and I finished the 60 mile round trip with an average of 18mph.

I remember a colleague once telling me there's no such thing as a tailwind. You either have a headwind or you're having "a great day". Today I definitely had both.

I listened to two albums on the way: Manic Depression by Quicksand (a post-hardcore band from the early 90s led by Walter Schreifels who went on to form Rival Schools) and the Empty Vessels EP by the Maccabees and Roots Manuva, both of which were really good to listen to today (thanks to Jimmy and Jake for those).

As tough as today's ride was, it did give me the chance to burn off last night's trough of BBQ food and eat another huge plate of rice and beef burgers this evening. Plus I met Rose and Jake next to a McDonalds. It takes a stronger man than me to refuse a cheeseburger, McFlurry and a coke after 30 miles!

These 60 miles are my last training miles before LE-JOG. It's exciting to think that the hard training is over and I'll soon be on my way to the start line at Lands End. There's still a lot of packing and organising to do before that though.

On that note, part B: Last night (Saturday) Helen and I threw a fund-raising BBQ for Cancer Research with a big LE-JOG theme.

We ran a sweepstake where we asked guests to guess a) how long I'll take overall, b) how quick my fastest day will be, and c) where I'll get my first puncture. Despite my best efforts to baffle people with the complex instructions we had lots of entries and raised over £90 for Cancer Research.

I must say a big thank you to Fred and Terry, Andrea Hicken's Dad and Jenny Bullock's Mum for their donations, plus the anonymous person who donated a £20 note. And thanks to everyone else who came and donated (and left us with a freezer full of burgers and sausages!).

A big thanks also to Ade at Howies who came through with a last minute donation of two t-shirts for the sweepstake prize. Howies are a fantastic clothing store based in Cardigan, West Wales. I've long been a fan of their clothing (especially their merino cycling tops) and in the last few months I've been back and forth to their Bristol store to organise a presentation about Cycling City at their A Beautiful Machine fortnight a few weeks ago. I think the two t-shirts (and the Bike UK bike lock) really helped donations. The other prizes on offer are a bottle of wine and a Scottish 'lucky dip' (which will probably be a haggis).

If I can find out how to publish PDFs or Word documents to this blog I'll upload the sweepstake entry forms and the map of the route, which our party guests kindly anotated with pictures of the potential dangers en route. I'll especially watch out for the Loch Ness monster and the mermaids (in the North Sea), the pirates off the coast of Cornwall and the gang violence around Manchester.

I'll post again on Tuesday to sum up my training and the purpose of this ride before we head to Cornwall, where ride starts on Wednesday.

One final thing (before I spend the rest of Sunday evening packing and preparing) - a few people told me they've had problems using the Cancer Research donation page so I've now added a Just Giving page as well. Don't feel that you have to donate to both though...

All publicity is good publicity

I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty good considering Saturday's mileage. Once I dragged myself out of bed I gave my bike a liberal soaking in GT-85 and gave it a quick test ride to find the creaking noise had gone.

I wolfed down a quick breakfast and headed out to Dundry hill and Chew Valley Lake. I must have still been hungry after Saturday because I was already eating my food rations not 15 miles from Bristol. By the time I'd climbed the huge Highfield Lane, leading from Compton Martin, I was hungry again and the dreaded bottom bracket creaking had come back.

I was only 25 miles into my ride but I knew I couldn't continue on a big ride with my bike making such a worrying grinding sound. Unfortunately I still had a 25 mile ride to get back home. I rode down through Cheddar Gorge (taking a video as I went), and then came home via Shipham Hill, Congresbury and another fearsome hill called Providence Lane in Long Ashton.

I rode a frustrating and slow 51 miles, knowing I could have ridden further and faster had my bike been in perfect working order. Still, I did manage to get a video of the first half of the ride, which I pieced together with Windows Movie Maker.

On Monday Bike UK managed to fit me in for a quick £10 bottom bracket strip down and re-grease which has hopefully solved the problem. I'll have to take it on a quick test ride tomorrow (Thursday) to find out for sure.

In other news, Bike UK donated a prize for a charity sweepstake this weekend (thanks Paul!). I'm still on the look out for other prizes. I'm hopeful that Howies might come through. We've got about 40 people coming round this weekend for a fund-raising BBQ. So for all the business-owners reading this, that's 40 people you could turn on to your products - all donations very welcome!

Also my story made the local paper. Well not exactly. The journalist I spoke to chose to focus on how I'll be turning to fast food and beer to get me through my ride. That's not strictly true folks. I'll be relying on high carb and protein foods - a beer in the evening might be a by-product of being on 'holiday' (if you can call a LE-JOG trip that). And for all those looking for those references to 'food porn' - on Saturday I ate a deliciously creamy chicken and artichoke pie and followed it with a whole Easter egg. Anway, I'm not complaining about the tone of the article - all publicity is good publicity I guess. I've already received a £10 donation on the back of it.

Finally, Helen and I went out to buy a new bike today. It's a Specialized Vienna which cost the princely sum of £300. It's not a bike suitable for Lands End to John O'Groats but it is a beauty nonetheless. We especially love the white tyres (a manufacturing mistake apparently)!

The ton!

Phew! 104 miles today (Saturday), which took 5hrs 44 minutes (that's an average speed of 18.2 mph). I rode from Bristol to Tewkesbury (via Gloucester), then turned to come back via Cheltenham and a hilly final 40 miles via Stroud and Wotton-Under-Edge.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. My throat's a bit sore but my legs feel fine.

I wish the same could be said for my bike. After 70 miles a terrible creaking sound started coming from the bottom bracket (the bit inside the frame that the pedal arms are connected to). I stopped to ask a mechanic for some WD-40 which didn't help whatsoever.

I rode the final miles very tentatively, worried that something was going to snap. I think I'll have to take it to a bike shop tomorrow morning if I'm going to do any riding at all.

Tewkesbury seemed like an attractive market town and I stopped for a doughnut and a banana. I got lost around Cheltenham (I hit the dreaded inner ring!) and I stopped for sandwiches and two cans of Rubicon in Stroud.

I ran out of water 5 miles from Bristol so had to go, cap in hand, to a pub and ask for some tap water. The weather was beautiful today, warm enough for two short sleeved t-shirts and a pair of shorts - and now I'm sporting a lovely t-shirt suntan.

So it's no surprise that today's song of the ride is T-Shirt Suntan by the Stereophonics (although I Told Her On Alderann by Neon Neon comes a close second).

Good eating = enjoyable riding

Fueled by today's mountain of food I rode an easy 20 miles this evening and feel good for it. My legs still feel a little dead (there's no zing left!) but it was good to get out in the sunshine. I rode straight from work to Clanage Road and a killer hill called Rownham Hill, which led me to the gates Ashton Court. I continued down through Abbots Leigh and towards Easton in Gordano (just before the M5). Then I turned left and headed for a quiet uphill lane back to Bristol. It was a much gentler way to go than my usual lung-buster back home. Plus it was quiet enough to record a quick video.



From there I came into the back of Long Ashton and rode up Providence Lane, which is another lung buster, before coasting home. It wasn't a particularly fast ride (16.4mph) but I guess I just wasn't in the mood for hard riding. I did enjoy myself though - it's so nice to be riding in the sunshine, even if it was getting a bit chilly. Hope this weather lasts for LE-JOG.

Tune of the day: Autumn Afternoon by The Crocketts. Some songs from your youth grow old, others remain timeless...

Food fight

How can I cycle 80+ miles on the weekend but feel so dead on the 3 miles home from work?

I thought about going for a ride this evening but after slowly crawling uphill all the way home I thought I should stay in and eat. It was a mental battle to not go and exercise but I thought it best to let myself recover (I think I'm still getting over the stag do.)

I cooked la puttanesca pasta sauce (anchovies, olives, courgette, capers and tomatoes) and ate a double portion (200g) of pasta, followed by a whole Easter egg and the remainder of my Cadbury's Creme Egg ice-cream. I am definitely no longer hungry!

Also tonight I watched the last episode of The Man Who Cycled The Americas and I'm currently reading The Man Who Cycled The World. Really inspiring stuff. I'm already thinking about adventures after LE-JOG...

A super furry state

... which isn't a reference to having hairy legs but a nod to one of the bands that got me through yesterday's riding.

I listened to the whole of the Super Furries' Dark Days/Light Years album and very much enjoyed it. I didn't rate the album when I bought it last year but listening to it on yesterday's ride to Clevedon gave it a new lease of life.

I even stopped to replay Inaugural Trams, which has a great German spoken word section by Nick McCarthy from Franz Ferdinand. It seemed quite apt after my weekend in Germany (where I barely spoke a word of German).

My flight from Berlin came in at 11.30pm on Sunday, which meant that I didn't get to sleep until 2am on Monday. On top of three days of heavy drinking and going to bed no earlier than 5am, Monday's riding was a real struggle.

In the morning I rode 10 miles to pick up a new steering wheel for my van and it was incredibly tough. I felt so sick with tiredness! After a lot of water and food I rode 38 miles in the afternoon, including two killer hills (Wraxall Hill and Naish Hill). By the 25 mile mark I knew I was on a recovery ride so I coasted home the final 13, spinning fast up the hills and pedalling gently on the flats.

Today (Tuesday) I rode 11 miles after work but still didn't feel right. My legs and body felt tired and mentally I was shattered too. My average speed was horrible (16.4mph) and I think my riding will all be at that pace this week. I'm looking at two 100 mile rides on Saturday and Sunday so there's no point trying to prove anything with fast sprints this week.

This is my final weekend of long distances before my training tapers off, which means that my start date is now only two weeks away (gulp!).

Almost all my accommodation is booked, all my maps are printed, my bike is working well and hopefully the van will be sorted at its MOT tomorrow. All that's left now is to pack my things and draw attention to the ride with a press release... which reminds me. Yesterday I asked Helen to take a few pics of me in my Cancer Research t-shirt (see right). Watch out for this appearing in a newspaper near you soon...

First feel good ride of the summer

It's a balmy 15 degrees in Bristol and it felt like summer on my quick 28 mile ride.

It's Thursday afternoon and I've got the day off work because I'm flying to Berlin for a stag weekend later this afternoon. I'm going to try hard not to embarrass my country but a small part of me wants to walk down the street waving my arms around and singing 'stag do, stag do, stag do, stag do' like a football chant.

I hope you'll allow me this one indiscretion, for some bad news befell young Benjamin this morning. I was all set to take my van for its MOT at 8.30 then get out on the bike for 2 or 3 hours. I got into the van and realised something was missing. Some swine had broken in and stolen the steering wheel. The bastard STEERING WHEEL! Who steals only a bastard steering wheel? Clearly Helen's driving glasses and a tin of travel sweets aren't the sought after property they used to be.

I spent the morning ringing a combination of insurance and breakdown companies and garages and second hand dealers instead of riding my bike. In the end I settled on an ebay steering wheel and a re-booked MOT and then got out on the bike for an hour and a half.

The ride itself took me on my time trial route, along the A38 towards the Severn Bridge, around in a 10 mile loop, then back to Bristol. I felt good for the first eight miles of the TT but a nagging pain in my thigh made me slow up for the last two miles. I clocked 26m 40s, which is two minutes off my normal pace. Nothing to really write home about but it did feel great to be out in the sunshine, forgetting about thieving scoundrels and second hand car parts.

Once again a case of life getting in the way of cycling. Best laid plans and all that.

Song of the ride: pretty much anything by Modest Mouse. Start with Paper Thin Walls, Gravity Rides Everything or Float On and continue from there.

Auf wiedersehen for now...

Performance anxiety

It's Easter weekend, which meant two days off work and two extra days to go riding. I managed three days in total, riding 170 miles between Saturday and Monday. I had a day away from the bike on Friday to sort out some things at home and prepare for my Cycling City talk at Howies.

This weekend was supposed to be my biggest with x3 80+ mile rides before LEJOG.

As ever, life got in the way. On Saturday I managed 72, in spite of the heavy rain and a hole in my front tyre. I got 65 under my belt on Sunday, riding the last 30 into a stiff headwind, before arriving at Helen's auntie and uncle's near Yeovil. And today I could only get 32 in before meeting my family in Raglan, near the foot of the Brecon Beacons.

Part of the difficulty of a ride like this is being single-minded enough to fit in the training required, and I'm weak when it comes to turning down requests from friends and family!

So over the last seven days I've ridden 219 miles.

Tuesday: 5 miles commute + 10 miles at the gym (PB! 22m 33s)
Wednesday: 2.5 miles commute + 27 miles after work
Thursday: 5 miles commute
Friday: 0
Saturday: 72 miles to Gloucester
Sunday: 65 miles to Stoke Sub Hamdon
Monday: 32 miles to Raglan

That's more than I've ridden before but somehow I still feel like I've cheated myself out of some miles. I should have done further today (Monday) and I should have gone out on Thursday or Friday had work and rain not got in the way.

This Thursday I'm going to Berlin on a stag do so I won't be doing much riding between now and next Tuesday. Then I'll have 15 days until I leave. As ever, there's too much to do and not enough time to do it.

To end on a positive note though, I rode my fastest gym 'time trial' this week (taking a whole minute off my previous personal best), my 3-day riding weekend was generally good and I've felt few aches and pains, and I found some stunning Somerset countryside around Norton St Philip and Kingston Deverill. It's not all doom and gloom...