Reflections

Well, it's a beautiful sunny start to the day here in Penzance and I don't have to get on my bike and start peddling. Quite a relief. Looking back it's been quite an amazing experience, one I'm really glad I undertook. I'm not sure if i can actually say i enjoyed it. though neither can i say i didn't. The reason I undertook the challenge was because I wanted to see if i could do it and also to know what it would feel like on a day to day basis to try. There was never going to be the same sense of fun as when i've done things with other people. I was always very focused on getting to the next target on my map and the best part of each day was invariably when i knew i didn't have to pedal anymore. Any romantic notions I had of merrily cycling through quaint little villages and rolling green countryside never really materialised, predominantly because of the weather and also because I was always tired, hungry or both.

I woke up early this morning to scatter some of Mum's ashes that we had saved under the tree in the photograph, in Penlee Park, Penzance. Cornwall and Penzance in particular were among her favourite places and it's nice that she was able to come on part of my journey with me. I've given my bike to a charity shop as I'm going to stick to riding into town on my mountain bike from now on and I won't get much use from it. I also have to get four different trains to get back to Chester so it's nice to be relieved of the burden. Effectively the bike was free anyway. I bought it from E-bay and for some reason PayPal refunded me the £200 i paid for it so hopefully it will find another good home and who knows, maybe another adventure. Anyway that's it, my final post. Time to get home and start getting ready for the arrival of our baby now I think.

Day 11 - Looe to Land's End

Miles : 84 (Total distance 985)
Punctures: 1
Weather: Cloudy but with enough bright spells to put sun cream on.
What's for tea? Moroccan meatballs with couscous.
Best Bits: Gliding down the hill towards Land's End, the Cornish ice cream on the prom in Penzance and the first sip of my hard earned ice cold beer.
Worst Bit: All the hills and a half hour of panic when i thought i'd lost my mobile phone. I hadn't. I'd just hidden it very very well.
Any Other Bit: I had to cycle around 9 miles back to Penzance after getting to Land's End. I'd been dreading this but with the wind behind me and the job done it was the most enjoyable 9 miles of the whole trip.

Day 10 - Exminster to Looe

Miles : 66 (Total so far 901)
Punctures: 1
Weather: Rain to start with, then a sunny spell before heavy rain just as i was about to finish.
What's for tea? Fish and Chips
Best Bits: The fact that i had to think about getting my sun cream out (I didn't, it clouded over) and Mrs Nott refusing to accept the balance on my room last night and insisting that i put it towards my sponsorship.
Worst Bit: I was warned that there were lots of hills down this way and that is certainly true from my journey through Devon and what little of Cornwall I have ridden so far.
Any Other Bit: I had to get a ferry today from Plymouth, just across the bay into Cornwall. It was just about to leave when i wheeled down the ramp on my bike.

Day 9 - Glastonbury to Exminster

Miles : 63 (Total so far 836)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Showers.
What's for tea? Bangers and Mash.
Best Bits: I knew i didn't have far to go and so kind of meandered along today. My route was quite interesting and took me through lots of picturesque small villages with interesting names like 'Shepton Beachamp' and 'Jack-in-the-Green', into Exeter, where i had a look around, and then out along a riverside path into Exminster.
Worst Bit: Nothing really, apart from the fact that I think i've got my camera wet and it doesn't seem to work apart from miraculously taking the shot above.
Any Other Bit: I'm staying with Mrs Nott, an sprightly elderly lady, who lives in a small house at the top of a very steep hill. It has wonderful views of the Devon countryside and she served me homemade fruitcake and tea when i arrived.

Day 8 - Ross on Wye to Glastonbury

Miles : 76 (Total so far 773)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Started in rain, finished in rain but dry in between.
What's for tea? To be decided. I'm sat in a cafe having a smoothie as i write this.
Best Bits: I Feel like i'm getting towards the home straight now and also the fact that i'm staying in a Travelodge and so had the luxury of having a bath.
Worst Bit: "Happy Birthday to me..." I've got no-one to share my birthday tea with but, i know i've also only got myself to blame for that.
Any Other Bit: It took me nearly 8 hours today, which is a lot slower than yesterday. It was quite hilly near Ross on Wye and took ages to navigate my way round Bristol.

Day 7 - Chester to Ross on Wye

Miles : 114 (Total so far 697)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Rainy all morning but cleared up later.
What's for tea? Five bean chilli and jaffa cakes.
Best Bits: My friend Mat, his boys Llewelyn and Idwal and his Dad came along to support me today. They met me half way, picked up most of my luggage and then met me at a few other points along the route.
Worst Bit: Mat's Dad's car broke down four miles outside Ross on Wye and they all had to be carried back to Wrexham so we never got to have tea together as planned.
Any Other Bit: It took me just over 9 hours to cover the distance today. Last week in Scotland it took me over 14 hours to travel a slightly shorter distance.

Day 6 - Preston to Chester

Miles : 46 and 10 (Total so far 583)
Punctures: 4
Weather: Cloudy and sunny later.
What's for tea? All you can eat buffet at my local Indian resturant. I've been looking forward to this for ages.
Best Bits: Getting home and seeing Karen & Boo and Michael popping up in a pub car park en route.
Worst Bit: The punctures. My luck ran out today. I got my first two just outside Preston. I learnt at around 9 years old, i think, that you should check the tyre for thorns before replacing the inner tube. I didn't do that, hence the second puncture almost straight away. Then in Frodsham about 10 miles from Chester things got a bit messy. I had another 2 punctures, and had problems with all the special inner tubes i have that have green slime in them that's supposed to seal the punctures straight away. They didn't do that and the slime oozing out meant the patches i had wouldn't stick. Having already made 3 inner tubes unusable earlier on in the day, by breaking the valves, i decided my best option was to call a very understanding Karen and get her to come to my rescue. Not really the kind of homecoming she or I was anticipating. She drove me to a bike shop where I needed to go anyway to get my gears sorted out and got 6 normal inner tubes that i hope will get me to Lands End. Karen then took me to the point where i had stalled earlier and i rode the final 10 miles into Chester. I'm lucky this happened close to home rather than in the wilds of Scotland.
Any Other Bit: The guy in the bike shop sorted out my gears straight away and didn't charge me a penny, meaning i had much more time to spend at home today. Extremely kind of him i thought.

Day 5 - Carlisle to Preston

Miles : 96 (Total so far 527)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Incessant rain all day long.
What's for tea? Sweet chilli chicken delli, french fries & strawberry milkshake.
Best Bits: The fact that i'm nearly home and should have passed the halfway mark in my ride overall.
Worst Bit: The weather meaning i couldn't really appreciate any of the scenery i was riding through.
Any Other Bit: Food has become something of an obsession as i try to take in as many calories as possible to keep my energy up. I'm trying get the healthy stuff in but it's all guilt free as i know i'll be burning it all off.

Day 4 - New Lanark to Carlisle

Miles : 76 (Total so far 431)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Rainy but cleared up later.
What's for tea? Spaghetti bolognese and apple, pear & raspberry crumble with custard
Best Bits: A Shorter day, helped by going down hill for quite a few long stretches.It's nice to arrive late afternoon, relax a bit and have a look around.
Worst Bit: My waterproof socks don't do what they say on the tin.
Any Other Bit: I have a new au de toilette body spray, it's called 'Deep Heat'. It's very nice. I also have a little incentive scheme going. Every 20 miles I have 3 Mentos. A little sugar rush gives me a boost and something to work towards.

Day 3 -Pitlochry to New Lanark

Miles : 110 (Total so far 355)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Cloudy with occasional sunshine.
What's for tea? Pizza and a Muller corner (Strawberry Shortcake). It's 9.30, there's no shops in New Lanark so i had to grab something on route that's easy to cook and i don't have to wash up.
Best Bits: The friendliness and good nature of all the people I've asked for help today and along the way so far. One guy topped up my water bottle, gave me an apple and banana and showed me a route that saved me miles. A bit of local knowledge goes along way.
Worst Bit: The distance. It's all very well planning how far you're going to cycle each day from the comfort of a cosy living room in Chester, it's another thing doing it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Any Other Bit: Hopefully a shorter day tomorrow if everything goes according to plan.

Day 2 - Alness to Pitlochry

Miles : 112 (total so far 245)

Punctures : 0

Weather: Wind, wind, wind and more wind! Apart from that mainly sunny with just a few spots of rain.

Whats for tea? Mince and tatties and 2 chocolate hob nobs

Best Bit: The last 20 miles when all of a sudden, when i needed it most, my route changed direction and i found myself going down hill most of the way without the wind in my face.

Worst bit: The wind was coming from the south west, i was heading predominantly south west. There was only going to be one winner.

Any other bit: I was in need of a boost after 80 miles and stumbled on the cake. It was stale.

Day 1 (proper) Thurso to Alness

Miles : 93 (Total so far 133)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Overcast with just a touch of fine rain, the kind that soaks you through.
What's for tea? Pizza and strawberry moose.
Best Bits: A delicious breakfast, getting some miles under my belt and that lovely feeling when i finally got to Alness and could stop peddling.
Worst Bit: Nothing to moan about today.
Any Other Bit: The photograph of me is at the bottom.

Day 1 - Getting to John O'Groats

Miles Today: 40 (20 to and from Thurso where the train line finishes)
Punctures: 0
Weather: Rain and wind with a bit of sun at John O'Groats
What's for tea? Squashed banana, malt loaf and Dairy Milk (It's late, i'm tired and there is nowhere open nearby. I'll have a big breakfast tomorrow)
Best Bit: Finally getting here after 11 hours on the train and the sun coming out when i got to John O'Groats.
Worst Bit: Spending 11 hours on the train.
Any Other Bit: The sign at John O'Groats is run as a private business so, much to my dissapointment, they had taken it down when i got there. Hence the photo of me next to a white post.

Aprehension

I'm just going through the process of making the final preparations for my trip, trying to make sure that i remember everything. I've got an early start tomorrow and have to catch the 6.30am train from Manchester Piccadilly up north. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and aprehension at the moment. Excitement at the prospect of embarking on something that i've been thinking about for along time and the knowledge that i'm finally going to do it. Aprehension because there are so many things i can't control that will make my journey easier or harder (trains running on time, bike reliability, weather, road surfaces, traffic etc). Still, I wanted to go out of my comfort zone so I'm looking forward to the challenge that awaits me. The alarm clock is set and i'm raring to go.