John O'Groats to Lands End

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Thank you for visiting our blog. We are going to be cycling from John O Groats to Lands End in August 2011. It's a total of 945 miles and should take us 12 days to complete. Dave did a 6 month tour in Helmand with 2 Rifles in 2009 and it has inspired us to help to raise money , and support awareness for our injured military Heroes. We would like to thank you for your support and will keep you updated with our progress! Ed Coy, Andrew Cracknell and Dave Wallace

Friday, August 19, 2011

Jogle Complete




*Slight glitch with Garmin missed out just over 10 miles early on!

This morning had a very strange feeling to it. As I sit on the train back to the big smoke with no pedalling required, staring out on the Cornish countryside  that I felt myself cursing yesterday in a rushed effort to reach the finish line of our 969 mile long adventure. I find myself lonely and almost as though I'm missing a limb without my trusty steed and fellow wolves.

It's been a long and arduous adventure which has taken us end to end in a valiant attempt to challenge ourselves whilst also raising as much as we possibly can to help out the true heroes of our nation. 12 days, 969 miles and countless calories consumed later and we finally reached our destination and end point; Lands End in what was fittingly a very sunny and warm setting to finally ditch the bike and for Ed and Dave anyway sip that cold first beverage in celebration of our achievements.

The day yesterday was always an inevitable obstacle in our quest, however we did not expect that obstacle to be so tough. We had set ourselves a pretty long day of 90 miles on day 12 through a county we knew was hilly but we were feeling confident that with an earlier 6:30 start we could eat up those miles early on. On exiting our Plymouth University accommodation I found that my back tyre was flat and without hesitation I started to remove the wheel and resolve problem number one. It took about 10 minutes with some help from the lads and eventually we were on the road, not the best start but worse was to follow. As we hit the streets of Plymouth town centre the weather was as we were used to, SOAKING WET!! This meant that I the middle of August 10/12 days we'd experienced rain. Clearly not what the brochure had displayed when we signed up for this. Nevertheless we had the goal in our sights and we were as determined as ever. We negotiated the city centre and found the bridge out of Plymouth. As we were crossing we again had that impending doom as lorries braked hard behind and cars in front flashed and horned. Oh, that would be the cycle path we missed to cross then.

Once across we saw the large no bike road signs warning us against the A30 to Liskeeard. Our heads followed this time and we took the slip road. We let Garmin lead us to Liskeeard and planned to rejoin the A30 further down the county once some of the traffic had dispersed. Unsurprisingly Garmin opted for the quieter roads, otherwise known as dirt tracks in the middle of nowhere which seemed to circle aimlessly and made us feel as though no ground was being made whatsoever. After 11 days of my chain staying firmly in place on my bike it decided to continually remove itself from my bike in the now torrential rain in the middle of some steep climbs. This really wasn't ideal, as again I was freezing cold, I had oil black hands and I was delaying both Dave and Ed which in the conditions I imagine made them feel mildly frustrated.

After about an hour of riding through what felt like rivers including a ford (which was actually. Disappointment for us after expecting a seaway) we reached Liskeeard and we could see a break in the cloud further to the south. Some chocolate bars later and another urination stop for Ed and we continued on towards our next milestone St. Austell. We now rode hard with a slightly more upbeat cadence after having neared termination of our challenge at such a late stage in horrendous circumstances. Nothing breaks the wolfpack though, not even the biggest hills that Cornwall could throw at us.

14 miles later and we rolled in to St. Austell with a break in the rain we stopped for a hot chocolate and a flapjack. As we were waiting to leave the coffee shop with Dave in the toilet the waitress decided it would be a good idea to pop next door to the local press officer and bully us into a short interview and photo shoot for the St. Austell Herald. Begrudgingly we obliged and rode3 astride down the high street as traffic was halted for the new heroes. Quite surreal actually.

Onwards through Truro and by now the clouds had cleared and the skies were blue and temperatures must have been exceeding 18 degrees, mild for most August days, but almost exotic for our now rain drenched bodies. Once through Truro we reached the A30 to Redruth and Penzance. The end was now both in sight 27 miles away and achievable. We set a blistering pace on what was a very smooth and slightly less busy road now. We flew down the hills and actually managed to increase the speed up the long drags. Through Redruth and onto Penzance with our first sighting of signs for Lands End we continued to step on the gas and were averaging speeds of 20mph+ for the last 10 miles our quickest so far. Clearly the 11 previous days had just been training for our last big push.

Upon arriving in a very picturesque and warm Penzance we checked in with base camp and WAG central, arranging a rendezvous at Lands End in 1 hour we found time for a quick ice cream and posed for a photo taken by the local bobby.

A leisurely pace with team hats on brought us into our destination which we found to be much busier than we'd imagined clearly tales of our journey have touched hundreds. The church bells rang, bunting flew and a large banner welcoming us to our endpoint that had been erected by Hannah and Jen was waiting.

Epic scenes followed as we congratulated one another and posed for the obligatory photo by the final sign and finally relaxed in jubilation of out accomplishments.

A big thanks to my comrades Dave Wallace and Ed Coy who without them none of this would have been possible or achievable. Well done lads.

Next up the world....

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

We've forgotten what the sun feels like



Nothing exciting to report today. We cycled from Taunton to Plymouth via Tiverton and Exeter. We made more great progress as we got into Exeter in just over 2 hours which was a real achievement as it was 35 miles, so a fast tempo was set by all. The terrain was relatively flat too, which after Cookey had put doubt in our minds we were pleased to see.

After a short break in Exeter for a hot chocolate the rain started once again, no shocks there though. We had decided that we'd opt for the unconventional route and go direct to Plymouth via the A38 as opposed to the more scenic and probably favoured cycle route across Dartmoor National Park.

We like to take the rough with the smooth on this trip and I'm sure we'd be quick to argue this may have shaved a couple of miles off our daily total and no doubt a chunk of time. It did however put a huge amount of fear into all 3 wolves, who are now merely cubs again. The road left Exeter with the M5 traffic in a 4 lane converging sprawl in which we had to traverse the central lane just to reach our intended slip road. Step 1 negotiated. We then had to filter off again in another 4 lane mess as half the traffic was re-routed to Torquay whilst we continued on for Plymouth on what was now dubbed the Devon Death Expressway. We pedalled hard for 22miles with our heads down just inches from lorries and 4x4's towing caravans spraying us with what felt like the contents of a very large bath full of cold water.

After a fair few miles we decided enough was enough and headed for some more picturesque roads, or some big hills! They weren't quite as steep as we'd first thought and they somehow managed to take us via a quiet country pub with a fire blazing in the middle of August just what we needed. We managed to refuel on a sandwich and get ourselves reasonably dry before setting off again.

Eventually we got to Plymouth and navigated our way to the university halls of residence where we are being housed for the evening. It just so happens that in the town tonight is the World Fireworks Finals, however they better keep the noise down as we're off to bed before 9 tonight to prepare for our early start on what should be a tough final 90 miles over the Cornish hills. If that fails we'll jump back on the A38 and fear for our lives again.

1 more sleep

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

New shoes for the bike


Another eventful day amongst the wolfpack! We had planned for this day, being our shortest in distance to be our quickest especially as we were meeting friends at our B&B for the night. How wrong we were. Mechanical issues once again slowed us.

We started out by heading in to Bath which we found to be a lot hillier than we'd anticipated it to be and our speed varied from very quick at 30mph down the hills to almost above a crawl climbing out of the city. We worked hard to get out of what seemed a man made basin and eventually were back on some quieter 'B' roads towards Glastonbury. The weather didn't seem to want to cooperate and we found ourselves back in the rain. Mind you it's to be expected wherever we are in the Uk! 

We sailed through Glasto, unfortunately there weren't any hippies or Michael Eavis to welcome us. We were then on what we thought to be the home straight with a swift 20 miles into Taunton. We were riding as a tight 3 again and Ed was our lead out, mainly to keep Dave and I entertained watching his Benny Hill style legs, although I was starting to regret mocking this as I was feeling my own legs do much the same sporadically for no apparent reason. We stopped off for some lunch about 8 miles from Taunton,  where once again we overfueled. As we hopped back on our bikes my legs seemed to be working very hard but my wheels weren't turning at all. Big problem! After some attempted diagnosis from Mike and the mechanics I found if I could get the wheel turning once and keep pedalling without stopping I may make Taunton which was by now 9 miles away. This seemed like an easy task so I set off hard. I knew that unless the city was again at the bottom of a very steep hill if I stopped my momentum I would not make it and the thought of being picked up and rescued was not in my mindset so I felt the burn and managed to locate a cycle shop where I've managed to get talked into a whole wheel upgrade which, "is the best thing to help your riding and will give you free time on the bike". Clearly I had mug on my forehead. So £120 and 40 minutes later I was able to set off again and chase down the now 2 man wolfpack where no doubt I'll get abused my Cookey and comforted by McNally. Tomorrow I'll be even quicker though.

Victoria House Kiddy

Victoria House B&B Kidderminster 

On arrival we found there was no real bike storage which put us on edge as losing our steed would not only result in a failed bid and the place getting smashed up in our B'ham riot but also a long walk home! We were, as mentioned given an intricate brief on the in's and out's of the house including how to use a key in a door, useful if it's a new skill to you I suppose. Maybe they have been reading the blog and are keen to score highly in the 'host' category. They were also quick to take our money off us, the first stop to ask for cash up front, no guessing we are in the Midlands in riot season then! 

Host: 4 odd but enthusiastic
Bed: 5 can't complain
Shower: 3 AAB
Breakfast: 3 black pudding is part of a Scottish not an English 
Drying facilities: 4 
Extras: 4 signage everywhere

23/30

Monday, August 15, 2011

4 days to go..


The journey today took us from Kiddy to Chippenham which on the map looked to be 80 miles so once again we stuck with our routine and a 7:30 breakfast. After some Fawlty Towers esque scenes at breakfast we were on our way and as one punter suggested, "ready, set, cook"!

The first day so far that we hopped on our bikes in the sun, which was a real joy, especially as the mechanic had been to work had greased all out vital organs ready for a hard day in the saddle. 

Our first city was Worcester which came and went in a flash with some red lights jumped and a one way road negotiated the wrong way, all honest mistakes I promise.

We then ended up I what we've found to be Britains most generous town so far. You can guarantee there will be rioting in Tewkesbury at any point. The sun was still shining so we sat ourselves outside a quaint little tea room on the high street. After ordering our pot of tea and various pastries we were enjoying having our feet up and reading the papers when all of a sudden we found ourselves to be the centre of attention based on charitable exploits. We were approached by 5 different groups of people who kindly offered donations to help for heroes, must have been our matching shirts. We were even given some cash by the 'little Britain' style waiter who was keen to eye up our Lycra!

After feeling buoyed by the generosity of Tewkesbury we continued on towards Gloucester and then found after some small climbs that we were much closer than we had first thought and only had 16 miles until we reached Chippenham so we stopped for some lunch and then promptly finished off our day in very good spirits, mainly based on Ed's Benny Hill style riding as his legs seem to go much faster than his bike! They are called gears Pal lets start using them.

Once we'd arrived at the White Hart we were surprised to see both my mum and dad who had kindly made the trip down the M4 to see us which was great! My mum even managed to butter up the manager so that once again we have been donated our stay here. Another 4 courses later and we are ready for an early night again!

Off to Taunton tomorrow

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Due South


Todays ride was taking us from Northwich to Kidderminster, just south of Birmingham. On an inspection of the map last night there weren't too many direct routes so we planned our assault via Nantwich, Market Drayton, Newport and Wolverhampton so that we missed out Telford. The journey was fast with two brief stops to refuel. 

There were no real events to detail except the moment in Market Drayton as we were stopping at Morrisons to grab some snacks. Dave 'look mum no hands' Wallace got a little carried away and almost ended up with no teeth as well as he slammed hard and bit the ground. Unfortunately I wasn't quite quick enough to capture the moment for you all as he got himself up and dusted himself down to save even more embarrassment. 

The roads were busy but quick meaning once again we saw our fair share of roadkill, and even caught a glimpse of a sleeping cat in the middle of the A41 to which Ed wept for! No tears in England please Coy, you had your chance. 

On arrival at our B&B in Kiddy we were greeted by the town bum who had quite a lot to shout about as we rolled in, don't ask me to translate as I speak no drunk whatsoever. We then got our tour and welcome at the Victoria House B&B even learning a new skill; using a key to open a door. I'm glad I can now use that all on my own!

We are now off out with Dave's Dad and partner who have kindly cone up to see us and listen to our gripes no doubt! 

Saturday, August 13, 2011

4 man wolfpack


The 4 man wolfpack got up to see once again more rain out of the windows, but luckily over breakfast as predicted the clouds cleared and the sun broke through. We got on the road just before 8:30 and headed towards Harrogate. The rain was holding off and the short sleeved shirts were on. Our bikes were feeling good after a brief service by yours truly, however there were mechanical problems just around the corner. 

We cruised through Harrogate and onwards towards Bradford. There were two almost vertical climbs towards the airport which started to sap some energy but spirits were high as was our average speed. 

Once we'd navigated the streets of Bradford's city centre after some fast descents our next urban destination was Halifax. Again this came and went in a flash as we were maintaining a high cadence. Then we hit a large climb. There was about 15 miles before we reached Oldham and where we'd planned our lunch so true to form the roads began to make life difficult for us. Although the hill was not the steepest in gradient it's duration made cycling tough. We were climbing for almost 45 minutes and as I made my way towards the peak I began to hear an odd clicking from my back wheel. Once at the top I had a quick look over the bike and found that from the sheer power I was generating with each stroke from my now huge quadriceps I had broken a spoke. Not only this but I was now running on just one brake as my rear pads were worn. Not great when you're about to descend 500m! 

We drove on towards Oldham where we now had a planned lunch AND cycle repair stop. We got to within 4 miles of this and Martin found he'd got a puncture which slowed progress once more. When we arrived in Oldham we made our way to the nearest bike store to get all issues ironed out and give Dave and Ed some shopping time before heading to Subway for some footlongs!

The food really made the difference as we were feeling strong after lunch and only had another 30 miles to go through the centre of Manchester. We rode like 4 New York City couriers weaving our way between traffic and squeezing past busses. Dave wad feeling particularly risky as he had a number of near death experiences on a few Amber gamblers at times or were they just plain red? 

We had a couple of busy A roads to fly down before eventually reaching Martin's house just outside of Northwich where he and Lisa are kindly hosting us for the evening. 

Tomorrow we move further south to Kidderminster, however it looks as though the wolfpack will be back down to 3!