Final Thoughts and common questions

Would I do it again?

Hmm, not at the moment thanks. It's not until you do it that you realize how far it actually is, and I still don't know if I really understand how far it actually is. Thinking back to the trip is feels like it was a lifetime ago or even just a dream. My bum does not hurt but my thighs still ache. I think that now I would look for a new challenge.

Did you ever feel like you would give up?

No, I didn't let that enter my mind. Although I did often question what the heck I was doing riding a stupid bike up and down a mountain in a full head wind meaning I had to pedal hard just to get down the other side. Also, when my rear tyre had finally given up and failed I did think then if I would finish the day. Not because of giving up, but because without a tyre I could not ride. For Holly, I know it did cross her mind, but again she was determined to see it through. We both felt that once you had done the first three days there would be no point in giving up. As you would have done perhaps the hardest three days for nothing. Nope, there was only one option for us, to keep turning the pedals.

Did you lose any weight?

I've no idea. Probably not. It would appear that most people stay the same or they sometimes put on weight. This was because of the amount of calories we were burning each day, over 3000. It's very important to provide fuel for the body to enable you to keep going. There were days where we had a light breakfast but this would quickly catch up with us and having to stop to re-fuel. My body has changed. Calf and thigh muscles are amazing! I've lost loads of fat around my legs and waist, I find it kind of funny. Just got to keep the fitness up now. I need to check my BMI to get a better idea.

How was the bike?

Ah, my bike. The poor thing. It's in a real need of a service once again. I was worried that it would not make it in the last two days. Lots of odd noises coming from the gears in the final miles. My bike was carrying all of our luggage and fluid, apart from a couple of bottles and the tool kit on Holly's bike. But a service will sort out all of those problems. It proved itself to be a great touring bike and I'm really pleased to have been able to fulfill one of my dreams on a bike I had bought all those years ago. Holly's bike did great. She had one failure of her brake lever, while it didn't stop her brakes working altogether it was inconvenient until Peter came up with a temporary fix which got us to the end. Holly had one puncture and I had one tyre failure, both in the same day!

Where did you stop to eat?

We carried snacks with us but found lots of small tea rooms to re-fuel. I've never really taken advantage of tea rooms and I must say we grew to be quite fond of these places. A refreshing pot of tea and a slice of cake would be just the boost you need. Most places would also do you jacket potato or sandwiches to keep you topped up. Most of them were quick too. In the evening we would go and look for the nearest restaurant to have a hearty meal. These ranged from Pizza Hut, Toby Restaurant, Little Chef, or even a simple fish and chips or Dominos Pizza with Strawberry and cream from the local supermarket. We kept up a good variety.

Why did you do it?

There are many reasons for doing something, this happens to have been a long time ambition of mine. I've wanted to do this since I bought the bike in 1984. That was a good long time ago and I though I would never have the chance. And I certainly never thought I would be doing the trip with my 15 year old daughter! The desire to do the trip has always been there but I perhaps did not have the reason to do it. That of course is until young Leo came our way. He has changed us and many other people in ways we thought not possible. We did not choose for Leo to have a disability, he just arrived with it. And this is what happens for many many families every day of every year. 

• There are about 770,000 children aged under 16 in the UK with a disability, out of a population of 11.8 million children. This is equivalent to 6% of the child population.
• Nearly 3 in every 100 people have a learning disability. And just 1 in 3 people with a learning disability take part in some form of education or training
• About 200 babies are born every week with a learning disability
• 98% of disabled children live at home and are supported by their families
• Only 4% of disabled children are supported by social services

Source: Papworth.org.uk. Disability in the United Kingdom.

Leo has both a physical disability and learning disability. And this is something we have come to learn and understand the best we can over the last 13 years. Leo is my inspiration and my reason to do it. Holly wanted to do something to support her brother and to say thank you to a charity, Kangaroos, who have supported her brother in his growing years.

Who are Kangaroos?

Kangaroos was established by a group of parents in 1993 to run out of school activities in Mid Sussex for children with severe learning disabilities. There were no activities in the area suitable for special needs children to attend and they believed that their children needed and deserved activities that would be designed to cater for their very special requirements.

Kangaroos ran their first Saturday Club in January 1994 and have organised them virtually every Saturday since. The Holiday Playschemes followed in February and have continued to run each half term and school holiday.

Since then Kangaroos have initiated a range of additional projects and have adapted the original activities to meet the needs of the changing and increasingly complex profile of the children and young people provided for. However, the ethos of Kangaroos remains unchanged, we have always had the young people at the centre of everything we do, meeting their needs, providing them with the care and support needed so that they can have a fun, worthwhile experience with their peers.

Final Word

Well folks, that was one epic trip for the old bike at the back of the shed. It brought back a lot of fond memories, it created many new ones, it helped to fulfill a lifelong dream, but more importantly it has helped to generate a lot of money for a worthwhile cause who provide a much needed service to families of children with disabilities.

Do you have a bike at the back of your shed? So, what are you going to do with yours? Go on, I challenge you, go and make a difference. I did.

When the dream was born (1984)

Day 14 - Helmsdale to John O'Groats

The final day....

It's all change for the final day, my usual evening routine would include the washing of the days clothing providing it time to dry over a couple of nights before it's needed again. As there would be no riding on Sunday I got the night off! Only to fall asleep in anticipation of what would be our final day.

Breakfast was not served until 8am at the earliest, so this morning would be the latest start we have done all trip. After a hearty breakfast (including haggis) we packed and set off near to 9.30am. Very late for us. And there would be no rest as no sooner had we left the hotel we started our 3 miles of climb to 700ft. I think that when mother nature was lending a hand to carve out this part of Lands End to John O'Groats she thought "I know, lets have a laugh and throw in some big hills on the last day". They may have been big but in my opinion they are some of the best.

The weather in this part of the world was also having it's fun. The heat was rising quickly and the sun blazing just before the sea mist came in. The wind today worked in our favour with it either blowing from the south or east as it changed through the day. This gave a good tail wind helping us through the day.

We got a message from Tracey to say she had landed at Inverness and collected the van. She was going to grab some supplies and head our way and hopefully meet us near Wick.

We found another great tea room for a short stop and refreshment before pushing off once more knowing that Tracey would be getting ever closer. The hills started to reduce and our speed and distance was increasing quickly and soon we were at Wick. And yes, Tracey found us on the far side of the town. It really was great to see her. For the remaining 16 miles she took my bags in the can and acted as support crew for the last leg.

We were flying. The incentive of both a van to collect us and the finish. There was one last hill towards the end and one last blast of windy weather from the east before we would meet the finish. Some texts started to arrive on my phone (which is mounted to my handlebars), it was from Peter! It said just a few miles to go, to enjoy it, and an encouragement for Holly. I read it out loud. Cheers Mate, nice touch.

The final bend and we were on the home stretch. Absolutely fantastic, we had actually done it. Many of you had been tracking us live through the internet. And so the messages of congratulations came flooding in. A little while after, the group of riders who had been following us all arrived in a big rush. I did smile to think we beat them. We had finished the day in our fasted time.

Thank you everyone. For your support, for your encouragement, and for your donations. Thank You.

http://www.justgiving.com/steve-farrage

Day 13 - Inverness to Helmsdale

The never ending road...

That was a memorable day for all the wrong reasons. I guess we should have known the day was going to be troublesome when we got to the start of the bridge leading north out of Inverness that carries the A9. On arriving we found the footpath and cycleway to be closed. I knew that further up the road was another entrance to the bridge so decided to go for that one. It too was closed but this time with diversion signs. Off we went following the signs which took us to the opposite side of the road from the original path closed sign! I was not a happy chap by this stage with a 2 mile detour for what was 4 lanes of traffic at a roundabout. They didn't want you to cross it I suppose.

Onwards and upwards over the bridge and after following some back roads we met up with the same group who have been following us for 2 weeks. We exchanged some funny comments as appears to now be the norm and plodded on picking up the A9 once again. We were approaching 15 miles into the journey when I noticed the road had a regular bump in it. Odd I thought. Then while hurtling down a long hill I noticed the regular bump in the road getting worse. Ah, it's not the road, it's my bike! My rear tyre had given up and now had a twist and bulge in it. That was almost the end of our trip right there. We tried an internet search, but no signal. So, we phoned Tracey to see if she could do a search for us for the nearest bike shop. Except she was out. We decided to continue with my new bump until we got internet again. And we did, a quick internet search directed us 4 miles in the wrong direction to Dingwall where we found Dryburgh Cycles. A small aladins cave of all things bikes and some very knowledgeable staff who quickly got us up and running again. Thanks guys!

Still, it put us nearly 2 hours out with a now running total of 10 miles on top of our day. Our hearts sank at this point. Heading back to the A9 we were greeted with a steady headwind making it feel like you are constantly riding up hill, this slowed us down too. The remainder of our day was just plain hard going with the last 10 miles dragging it's feet. Until in the last 3 miles Holly got a puncture. Just what we didn't need. We decided to just keep putting air in the tyre just to get us to our rest stop.

Our rest for the night was in the Bellgrave Arms Hotel, which is a hotel come pub. The room was comfortable even if it was ageing a little. But very clean. A quick shower then down for dinner. Except it would appear the kitchen was closed, strangely it closed at the same time as we arrived. So off out we went, to a nearby restaurant, but it too closed as we arrived. I'm sure I took a shower. We finally had fish and chips at the sort of place Mr Large off Dr Martin would have been proud of.

With the day behind us we look forward to getting the trip done in our last leg to John O'Groats.

Day 12 - Fort William to Inverness

We awoke today for the first time to rain! Almost forgot what it was like after the last  two weeks of wall to wall sun. And let me tell you, it was wet. Like I was going to tell you different :-)  The thing with the wet stuff is it gets everywhere when you cycle in it. A friend of mine advised not to bother with mudguards. If it's going to rain you will get wet as mudguards wont stop the wet stuff falling from the sky. Obvious really. So, why do they sell em?

A work colleague said I should have some Eggs Benedict for breakfast when I got the chance. So I did, but it was terrible. It didn't take long for the waitress to ask how the food was. So, I told her, in a polite customer feedback kind of way. We were eager to get away so I was going to eat it anyway. "How about some coffee to go?" she asked. "Not easy on a bike, but thanks anyway, I just wanted to give you some feedback". I was more than happy to leave it at that but they would not leave it alone. We did a negotiation dance till they insisted on a refund to treat ourselves on our journey. Very kind, but really they didn't need to. Thanks Wetherspoon!

We prepared for our ride for the day with our rain gear, it's not much but protects your top and feet. And off we went calling at a Tesco Express for a few trip essentials. On a damp morning in Fort William we could not help notice the incredible stench of fish. Like really strong. A quick exit from the town put us on the right road to Inverness which would take us past Loch Ness.

It was hard going today but mainly because we are tired and perhaps the dodgy breakfast didn't help. As the miles rolled by we began to ride out of the wet weather into more warm and humid conditions. The wet weather gear had to come off before we got wetter on the inside than we were on the outside. Can this weather ever make it easy?

We dropped in at a small cafe along the route for quite bite to eat and to discuss which route we would take past Loch Ness. There are two ways to go being the north or south side. The north side is the low road with lots of little hills and traffic. The south side is the high road with an early steep climb of over 1000ft and with far less traffic. Following a cup of tea and with a chat to the cafe owners we selected the low road to the north. Partly due to the low cloud cover.

The remainder of the journey was uneventful. The sun caught us up soon after lunch making the journey more difficult once again and we also saw many of the cyclists we originally saw in Cornwall as the  choice of roads become limited at this point. Holly has found her rhythm in cycling. She loves the small hilly routes, not too steep in the hills rather than the long flat or constantly climbing. Her speed for the afternoon was excellent in place she was leaving me behind.

In a Travelodge once again, our last one for this trip. It's very near a 24 hour Tesco so a perfect opportunity to top up with snacks for the next couple of days. On returning to the Travelodge after our shopping trip the receptionist handed us some cash from her to add to our donations for Kangaroos. It was very touching of her. Thank you, that was very kind.

Finally, my lovely wife Tracey has managed to book a flight to Inverness on Saturday morning and will now collect our van from the airport and bring it up to John O'Groats! How fantastic is that. Really looking forward to our last day for more than one reason. Can't wait now.

Day 11 - Loch Lomond to Fort William

Today we went mountain climbing. And dare I say it, but boy is it cold up there...

It's been another eventful day in our quest to reach the top. After a very pleasant evening at the Drovers Inn we stuck around for a bit longer than usual to allow us to have breakfast. Which I should point out was in amongst their collection of stuffed animals. So if it's not your thing then probably not wise to visit. After a hearty breakfast we set off at 9am. That's the latest start time yet.

A whole mile after starting we started to climb. We needed to reach 1000ft before any respite with a down hill section. Slowly we climbed to save as much energy as we could for later in the day. The views were fantastic as we watched the scenery change the higher we climbed. It's now very noticeable the strength we have built up in our legs. Our ability to ride all day with an immediate recovery is astonishing, certainly not gasping for breath. And in any case, cycling around Scotland with your mouth open results in too much protein intake!

At the top of the mountain climbs we found roadworks if all things. A big one too with a convoy controlled by an escort vehicle. As the traffic had been stopped for some time we decided to jump the queue and ask how one should negotiate such a convoy on a bike. We were greeted by the usual Scotish workman pleasantry of "You wait!". What is it about wanting to ask a question when an assumption is made before you utter a word. Fortunately, this time around my small talk worked a treat. Having explained I had no intention of riding the 300m of roadwork but wanted to know how we do it safely. i.e. do I let all the other cars go first? The answer? I should go right behind the convoy vehicle... followed by a mile of cars all wanting to get up the road. Very cool.

The ride down the other side became dark and very windy. I can only put it down to the havoc the mountains play with the weather. At one point we were pedalling just to be able to move downhill. We had to take it slowly as the wind would change direction and gust, this mixed with trucks driving past made stable control a bit of an art.

Finally making it down the mountain we stopped at the visitor centre for a cup of tea and to warm up. It was very nippy at the top. We got talking to a lady who was touring for 10 weeks with her bike, puts our 2 weeks to shame.

Getting back to a more flat route we raced the last 15 miles to Fort William. Holly can maintain a fast pace now achieving around 16-17 miles per hour when she wants to. That's pretty quick when you have already covered over 40 miles.

Tomorrow we head for Inverness.

And Finally: A big shout out for everyone at Northlands Wood Primary School! I know many of you have been following us on our big adventure. Thank you to everyone who have made donations.

Day 10 - Abington to Loch Lomond

Now when I say Loch Lomond I mean the very top of it, which took todays mileage to 85 miles. Our longest ride of the trip. Our day started with a traditional cooked breakfast at the service station to get filled on some much needed fuel.

It was a colder morning today and we needed an extra top on to keep the chill off. There was a distant mist and clouds were slowly swallowing the mountain peaks. After yesterday we were both finding it hard to get going. But soon the countryside started to unfold in front of us. A small flock of little birds flew about us and just in front of our bikes as we cycled along. A lovely start to the day.

Our first downhill section was soon with us. But would you believe it, the same rubbish road surface slowed us down to around 5 miles per hour. We were banking on the downhill to help us get miles in quickly. These roads kept appearing. It does make me wonder whar would happen if Scotland went independent, who would pay for their roads then? On the flip side we have seen lots of new schools including some huge primary schools that would put our secondary schools to shame. Looks like their money is in education.

The first big place of the day was Glasgow riding some on road and some on cycle paths. And so far Glasgow wins for good cycle paths allowing us to maintain good progress. We decided to stop at the library only to have their security 'more than my jobs worth' guard come rushing out and tell us to remove our bikes which I could only take as his traditional welcome. I tried to make small talk but he was having none of it he stormed off flailing his arms about make huge gestures and remarks with big words. Impressive. I only stopped to ask if there was a toilet we could use.

Relief was provided with a stop at a Hilton hotel. Very welcoming and only too happy to let us use their facilities. Thank you Hilton.

Onwards to Loch Lomond where once again the cycle path was excellent. We also found a track running most of the length of the lock keeping us off that very busy road. Part way along the path we stopped for a snack while watching someone lock up his boat for the day. What a perfect setting it was. After this chap had tied his boat up we watched him walk back to his car, jump in, and drive off down the driveway of the next house. That's odd we thought, that's not the way to the road. We watched as he turned his car at the end of the drive a park up. How lazy was that?!? Holly burst into fits of giggles and laughed most of the remainder of the journey.

Our bed for the night is at the Drovers Inn. It's been a pub for the last 300 years but the building has stood for 150 years before that. Very much a recommended stop.

Day 9 - Carlisle to Abington

SCOTLAND!

Yes folks, after 8 days of pedalling our day 9 sees us step over the border in an odd ritual of stepping across the invisible line followed by a photo of the sign post at Gretna Green. This ritual must happen many times a day as most end to enders cycle through this way. So how exactly do you take a picture of yourselves when no one is around and there's no little post to put your camera on? The only way for us was the use of a small rock to try and level the camera on the nearby bank. Not bad for a crude setup.

Just as we finished along came a trio of cyclists who have passed us at some point way down the country. I guess we got in front! The lead cyclist came racing up to us in an overly keen manner. A bit like your over excited dog who's pleased to see you when you return from work. And he was excitedly saying "Are you going to do it? Are ya are ya. You know. Are you getting married?". Now firstly, just to clear things up, we were all dressed in cycling gear, and we had a bike each. I.e. we looked pretty much the same as the guy asking the questions. Imagine then the look on his face when I said "Err, Hi. No mate, this happens to be my daughter". His wife/girlfriend then turned up. Equally excited, "Can you take our picture, please, before you go, can ya". Wow, how similar can these guys get? So, who then was the third bloke who was tagging along? First bloke then pipes up after trying to get his foot out of his mouth. "Erm, well, actually that's a big compliment to you". Poor guy, inside I was laughing my head off.

We chatted for a while before setting off again on a road that just keeps going. We followed the old road that runs alongside the M74. It literally follows side by side and winds over and under all the way to Glasgow like a twisted vine. This makes for a rather loud experience for the day. We stopped at one of the M74 services on the way up for a break. You can reach it from the back road. It's quite funny to over hear peoples comments "How did they get here on bikes?". "Aha", Holly said, "It's a secret".

The road does start to climb after a while to reach 1000ft. It's a long climb on it's own but we were met with a headwind which made it tough going. And while I'm at it, what is it South Lanarkshire council? Why don't you look after this road? You boast about road safety yet you appear to neglect the road for cyclists. Have you actually tried to ride a bike on it? It's practically impossible on a road bike. It's certainly not safe. This was a road not to remember.

We finally rolled into Abington services at 5.30pm, earlier than we thought it was. Our 60 miles was better than we thought. Tomorrow things all change again for Glasgow and Loch Lomond. Although the view from our room window is not half bad.

Day 8 - Lancaster to Carlisle

Yes, Carlisle. I find it very hard to believe myself. This place is a little special to me as it's a name I think of as the other side of the country from the place I was born. Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Our day today started like any other we have had during our trip. Except this time there is no Peter or Paul to accompany us. This was the start of another expected 81 mile trip. After the poor experience of bike paths and canal paths we immediately made changes to our intended route for the day. Cutting these routes out and replacing with a road has saved us around 4 miles of cycling as well as time.

We took to the A6 and followed it all he way to Penrith before veering off to join a cycle route to help avoid the busy time of day on the A6. We established a good steady rate early on and maintained that until the outskirts of Kendal. It quite hard to get to Kendal if you want to avoid busy A roads. But carefully we picked our way through to find a sleepy Kendal.

Taking the opportunity we stopped to stock up with food for lunch and the other pit-stop needs before pushing on the Shap Fell. This has been something I've been trying not to think about. With a climb of 1400ft over something like 5 miles it's a hill that simply does not want to end. Just before setting off from Kendal I felt a twinge in my left calf muscle. Yep, I was getting cramp just before one of our bigget climbs. And it was getting worse. Holly on the other hand was like some spring chicken and getting faster and faster. While going into panic mode I remembered something my wife said, that bananas were good for cramp. And fortunately when Peter helped us out the other day he also bought us bananas and there were 2 left ripening nicely in my bag. A quick stop, 2 bananas, pain killers and rub in pain cream later we were off again. It took another 30 minutes but the pain finally went. Phew.

Shap fell is popular with motor bike fanatics. There were a seemingly endless line of them driving along the old A6 at high speed. After a while we started to recognise the same bikes going back and forth. I suspect fist to check for cameras and then to open it up. These guys were fast. Our journey up was slow. The weather was doing it's best to fry us and it felt hotter today than it had been the whole journey. We were burning fast and increased our frequency of applying sun protection. Our fluid consumption also increased significantly. With no support car we had to carry everything and water is very heavy especially up Shap fell. Once reaching the top the views were magnificent. Made better knowing we rode our bikes all the way to the top declining to push.

Heading down the other side was just as tough with a very rough road surface. You feel everything on a roadbike. Nearing Shap village we stopped for a quick lunch. Holly was feeling a little downhearted at this point. We had only covered half distance for today and the hill and heat had taken all our energy. In reality, We just got faster and faster. Our last 10 miles into Carlisle were very fast for us, riding in our top few gears most of the way. What a fantastic day yet again, we arrived at the hotel around 6pm with one of our best times. We were buzzing but very tired. We are planning to have a lie in tomorrow getting up at 6am due to a shorter 60 miles ish to Abington.

Day 7 - Widnes to Lancaster

OK, so it wasn't quite as far as Lancaster but actually to Lancaster services on the M6. This was the intention with a 54 mile ride before another long 80 miles tomorrow to Carlisle. We have a rather big hill to get over half way so we intend on setting off early.

Back to today.

Today we were joined by Peter who tagged along for the first 3 days. His time he acted as a support driver by carrying our bags giving us an easier day for a change. We have missed Peter tagging along. He is a naturally great bloke with a heart of gold. Each day there is usually a comment from one of us like"Peter would have loved this...". So with a big gap in our team each day it was really good to have him support us. Top bloke.

And it was an easier day with a distinct lack of large hills after we had got out of Widnes. Our first stop was the the nearby Tesco Extra. This was the mother of all Tescos. And at  7am it was almost empty of people. So, we took our opportunity, we cycled up the ramp to the front door (their door was upstairs) and with no one looking rode straight into the store... :-) very tempting to ride about the place but thought better of it. A quick grab of breakfast and drinks we then headed off.

Peter caught up with us an hour later after filling his car with goodies. He used the tracking service most people have been following us with to pinpoint our location and track us down. This worked flawlessly all day. At one point he came to find us when we were on one side of a corner and he tracked us to the other side. Meeting in the middle confirmed the technology was very accurate in location and time updates.

On the final leg of our day we stopped in Garstang, a curious town I've never heard of until today. We sat and had tea and cake just before we tackled the last 4 miles of the day.

With job done and saying farewell to Peter our day was finished off with  a visit from my dad who lives locally. We had a meal together before finally calling it a day and heading back to our room. What a fantastic Saturday.

Day 6 - Shrewsbury to Widnes

We were joined today by our good friend Paul who travelled up just to punish himself for something so trivial that even he probably doesn't know what it was. Paul showed up at the end of Thursday all keen and ready to go. Sounds like he didn't get much sleep with the anticipation of the next day.

Our day started with a somewhat usual McD on a very fresh morning. Once filled we headed for our ride through Shrewsbury. What a great start to the day.

And yes, this really is the picture I took this morning. Bet you wish you were here.

Our trip onwards to Wem took in some fantastic scenery and country lanes. And very fast riding roads too in the still cool morning. Our lunchtime arrived just outside Chester at a place near Tattenhall called Home Farm where they had a shop and cafe. Very good a worth stopping by.

We followed the canal path into Chester to break up the route a little. All was working out well until we found the path closed due to a wall collapse. It took some working out to find a new route.

Our trip onwards to Widnes was perhaps the lowest point of the trip with our need to continue to follow cycle routes. We followed route 5 simply to avoid the high volumes of traffic in this part of the country. This made for slow going and my grumps of no pictures for the end of the day. Importantly, we did it arriving in Widnes after a long day in the sun.

Day 5 - Hereford to Shrewsbury

What an odd day it was today, I suppose it was because it didn't start as we had planned. We were a bit stuck for breakfast today as the pub next door didn't serve breakfast until 7.30am. Ordinarily that would be early, but for us it way too late! We wanted to have left by 7am as we knew what terrain we had ahead of us.

So with a cup of tea and a snack bar we set off looking for food which today came in the form of a selection of stuff from a 24h Asda.  No sooner had we got our breakfast and started tucking in did we attract the attention of a rufty tufty motor biker. This guy wanted to know where we were headed. Oh boy could this guy talk. Used to do this in days gone by so he did. Couldn't have a carbon bike you know, oh wow, that's and old bike you got there with all the bits, and you got the weather for it, had a bunch of end to enders last year but it was cold and rainy, an alloy bike that's what you want, and on and on. Nice bloke mind.

A quick finish to breakfast and we bid farewell as we headed off into rush hour Hereford style. We were just going over the river when Holly called out she had problems. And she sure did, one of her incredibly long lasting nose bleeds, just like she turned the tap on. I must apologise to the good folk of Hereford who were passing that morning. It must have appeared like we had just been in a major accident with all the blood across the pavement. Not that anyone asked if we were ok of course. The trouble is we were rapidly running out of all things capable of soaking up the blood. I actually said out loud "If I see a police car or ambulance I'm going to have to flag it down". Surely they would have soaky up stuff. So with that I looked into the rush hour traffic jam for an ambulance. Nothing. Pitty really cos they are big things that are easy to spot. We were stopped on the bridge crossing the river at this point so most rush hour traffic was crawling past us.

Just then, the car near us moved forward and right behind it lit up by the morning sun in some God like intervention was an ambulance car. I had to blink a few times and try to read that it did actually say ambulance across the bonnet. Quickly pointing at him I waved him down. Hey presto, an Ambulance! "Where the heck did you spring from? I had just said I think we need an ambulance and here you are!". Turns out this guy was a station inspector come paramedic on his way to visit his next station. Our luck was in and Holly's nose bleed eventually stopped after a half filled bag of blood soaked raggs were taken away. Thank you very much to the Gloucester Ambulance service.

The rest of the day was uneventful by comparison. Except for the 1000ft hill to climb. We were looking for a tea room to rest and re-fuel before the final part of the day. But every village was empty of everything but houses. In desperation we raided our supplies of snacks half way up a hill. Just after, as we were rounding the top of the hill in the heat haze we could see a mirage. A tea room shimmering in the sun. On closer inspection it WAS a tea room. Woohoo!

All refreshed we trudged on with the big climb. The views from the top were amazing. As what the trip down the other side. Another great day.

Day 4 - Glastonbury to Hereford

This was a day to remember and a place I had huge doubts we would get to. The weather has been so bad for cycling I was worried that the heat would prove to be too much with big hills in the last part of the day. Our plan was simple. If we can do 50 miles before lunch i.e. midday, then we should be good to finish the final part. We were on a mission, steaming along all morning stopping only to refill our bottles. And 50 miles we did. It meant no stopping for nice pictures so we are a bit short of those for the morning.

Our morning took us directly away from Glastonbury in the morning sun. Small, straight and level roads were the order of the day. We did go through a very curious village called Axbridge or Lilliput for those who have never been there. There was no-one there, or cars for that matter. Take a look through Google streetview.

After having a battle with Bristol docks on a busy morning we eventually arrived at the second Severn Crossing. It's quite a sight at close range and especially as the cycle path runs down the edge of the bridge. 

At the other side of the bridge the sun really took hold zapping Holly of her energy. And mine for that matter. No sooner were we in Wales that the hills started once more. We've become used to them but they are getting a little boring.

A stop in Monmouth confirmed we would continue on for the final 15 miles. With the heat it was a tough day but this is very much the highlight of the trip so far.

Day 3 - Exeter to Glastonbury

Another day another county. Today we travelled into Somerset (Which must be said in a country farmer type accent with a piece of straw hanging from your mouth). We made great progress in the first part of the day travelling into Taunton before joining the Taunton to Bridgwater canal path.

After this picture was taken we headed through Wellington to see what it had to offer as well as to restock supplies and to find a toilet. An Asda! Excellent. "Which direction to your customer toilets please? We don't have any. Public toilets next to the garage". And so off we went, to find some 'lovely' stainless steel toilets. No toilet seat mind you. That would be too much comfort. These things come with their own sharps bin. You don't see many of those in a town voted best mid sized town in bloom competition. For many years running it would appear.

Soon after Wellington we were heading to Taunt9on when at the roadside was a familiar face of Jonathan Price, a colleague from work. He like many had been tracking me live, and being in Wellington decided to track me down. So there he was standing with his daughter. It was great too see a familiar face and to remind us that so many people are following our progress. Thanks Jonathan!

And with that we were off once more, Taunton and food on our minds. After sailing through the town we were just as quickly heading out the other side looking for a pub along the canal path. We found one in Creech St Michael called The Bell. A helpful landlord helped with our bikes into the garden which was full of bench tables. A curious place. It took Peter 4 attempts to pick a table which didn't have the smell of dog poo. It looks like this garden is also the dog walk!

sitting waiting for our food another tables order arrived. "Who's is the chicken burger?" The landlord asks. "What's in it?" came the reply. "Chicken". Well at this point Holly just became a giggling wreck. There was another curious discovery we found in the garden. An ancient wall, made from stuff you make walls out of. Just look at the workmanship here.

Overall the food was good and the staff very friendly aiming to please. We certainly had a good laugh.

Onwards to Glastonbury. Except now the heat was intense. Ans added to that we had a headwind resulting in riding what can be described as someone with a very large hair dryer pointed at you. It slowed us down but we still made it by 4.30pm.

We have suffered a couple of breakdowns. Holly has a broken brake leaver and the satnav died. Both are a big problem. Tomorrow is a new day that will take us to Hereford! Weather forecast is set to be hot once again. :-(

Day 2 St Austell to Exeter

Hi all, this is acquick update as it's been a very long day. After our early start fuelled by a bacon sandwich and hash brown from the McD next door we headed off into the delights of what the day would bring. With our early warning that day 2 would be probably the hardest of the whole trip we did have some idea. But really, nothing could prepare you for this. Hill after hill after hill. And not your small things either. On one occasion we had climb off our bikes and push, but even that was hard due to the loose gravel on the hill.

On many of the roads we were greeted with what the Sussex coulcils call road surfacing. This is where they pebble dash the road surface with tar and chippings. Trouble is, in 30 degree heat he stuff wasn't sticking to he roads much. Crazy idea.

For the rest of the trip it was generally slow going due to the combination of hills and heat. Really not a good combination. But the views were excellent and we had the oportunity to grab a few pics.

A huge milestone. We crossed from Cornwall to Devon

Stumbled upon this fantastic aqueduct

somewhere in the distance is St Austell

Holly found some friends

those hills just kept coming