Distance covered: 46 miles
Average speed: 10.8 mph
Time cycling: hours
Total time: 7 hours
Today was as close as it gets to a rest day with only 46 miles required. Jo still has a nasty cold so im still carrying most of the kit and my knees are getting a bit sore, but it was nice and sunny and not too hilly. Treated ourselves to two cafe stops today, I think I am putting on weight!
Jo's parents live near Ludlow so her mum picked us up and drove us back to their house for the evening. Its amazing how effortless driving up hills is, they really are a killer with a laden bike.
When you are in a youth hostel you dont mind getting up and out early, I think it will be harder tommorow!
Friday 29 May 2009
Day 4 - 27.05.09 Wells to Welsh Bicknor
Distance covered: 67.5 miles
Average speed: 10mph
Time cycling: 6.42 hours
Total time: 11 hours
A pleasant start to the day, cycling up a 2.5 mile hill out of Wells over the Mendip Hills in the pouring rain and gales. It is the first proper rain we have had though so we have been pretty lucky. We carried on to Bristol and cycled over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and then went on to cross the Seven Bridge, which was hard work with the wind nearly blowing us over. Finding the youth hostel was something of an expedition, we decided on the short cut which involved lifting our bikes over fences and up steps ,wheeling them down footpaths covered with nettles and tree roots and going over an Indiana Jones type bridge over the River Wye. Eventually we found the hostel about an hour and a few nettle stings later.
Average speed: 10mph
Time cycling: 6.42 hours
Total time: 11 hours
A pleasant start to the day, cycling up a 2.5 mile hill out of Wells over the Mendip Hills in the pouring rain and gales. It is the first proper rain we have had though so we have been pretty lucky. We carried on to Bristol and cycled over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and then went on to cross the Seven Bridge, which was hard work with the wind nearly blowing us over. Finding the youth hostel was something of an expedition, we decided on the short cut which involved lifting our bikes over fences and up steps ,wheeling them down footpaths covered with nettles and tree roots and going over an Indiana Jones type bridge over the River Wye. Eventually we found the hostel about an hour and a few nettle stings later.
Day 3 - 26.05.09 Exeter to Wells
Distance covered: 69 miles
Average speed: 10.7mph
Time cycling: 6.26
Total time: 10hrs
Groaters (the term given to those who have ridden end to end) say it is a cruel start to the ride and they are not wrong, after the first two days we were looking forward to leaving the hills of devon and cornwall behind. The weather was nice again, Jo looks like a liquorice allsort with all kinds of strange tan lines, but it was windy. We had to do about 9 miles on dual carriageways and the wind was blowing us out towards the trucks which was a bit unpleasant. Jo also seems to have got a cold, which doesn't make breathing up the hills any easier, so i'm carrying her panniers as well as my own!
After riding round glastonbury tor we arrived in Wells to a bit of luxury, staying in a B&B rather than a youth hostel. The woman tried to make us leave our bikes outside and with rain threathenng and the potential for them to get nicked. I pulled the old charity guilt trip and said lots of little badgers and children would suffer so she let me take them in.
Average speed: 10.7mph
Time cycling: 6.26
Total time: 10hrs
Groaters (the term given to those who have ridden end to end) say it is a cruel start to the ride and they are not wrong, after the first two days we were looking forward to leaving the hills of devon and cornwall behind. The weather was nice again, Jo looks like a liquorice allsort with all kinds of strange tan lines, but it was windy. We had to do about 9 miles on dual carriageways and the wind was blowing us out towards the trucks which was a bit unpleasant. Jo also seems to have got a cold, which doesn't make breathing up the hills any easier, so i'm carrying her panniers as well as my own!
After riding round glastonbury tor we arrived in Wells to a bit of luxury, staying in a B&B rather than a youth hostel. The woman tried to make us leave our bikes outside and with rain threathenng and the potential for them to get nicked. I pulled the old charity guilt trip and said lots of little badgers and children would suffer so she let me take them in.
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Day Two – 25.05.09 Glant - Exeter
This was set to be the hardest day of the ride, and it did not fail to disappoint. After the lack of sleep Jolyon and Jo set off at 8.15am to spend the day cycling up and down hills. It even got to the point where they didn’t even look forward to going downhill because they knew they would only have to go straight back up again. However this was offset by the beautiful scenery and lovely weather as they passed Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor.After cycling for 7 hours and covering 80 miles they arrived in Exeter at 7.15pm. Their average spend increased to 10.6mph on the second hay and the fastest speed reached was 36 mph.
At the end of the first two days they are both feeling good and confident about the rest of the journey. They are really pleased with the brilliant weather so far and even managed to avoid most of the showers on Tuesday morning. Jolyon and Jo are making great progress and after the first two days are still on schedule to finish on the 7th June.
Day One – 24.05.09 Lands End - Glant
Jolyon and Jo set off on their 1012 charity bike ride first thing on Sunday morning. After cycling from their Bed and Breakfast to Lands End to have their first picture taken (see right) they left the starting point at 9.15am for Glant. The first few miles were full of lovely scenery and mostly flat ground, however it soon started getting rather hilly. After their first successful day they reached their Youth Hostel just after 7pm on Sunday evening, arriving only just in time to get some dinner, and enjoyed a few well deserved beers.In total they cycled for 6 hours and 45 minutes on the first day covering 68 miles with an average speed of 10mph and a maximum speed of 34mph.
Unfortunately the first nights sleep was disturbed by another person sleeping in the same dorm snoring loudly throughout the night resulting in Jo only being about to get 3 hours sleep.
Wednesday 20 May 2009
19th May 2009
Our day of departure is getting ever closer and we are making the final preparations, the bikes are all serviced and gleaming, we have equipped ourselves with more lycra, power bars and anti-chafing creams than we can fit in our panniers and all we need to do now is actually plan the route on a map! We are obsessively eating pasta and checking the weather forecast. We are looking forward to getting going, it will be nice to stop planning and start peddling.Thank you to all those who have so generously donated to our charities.
If you haven’t sponsored us but would like to it is not too late, please visit:
http://www.justgiving.com/jolyonandjo to sponsor us for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
http://www.justgiving.com/joandjolyon to sponsor us for Naomi House
The stats
For those interested in routes and mileages the below table gives an idea. We are following, more or less, the CTC Youth Hostel Route and will mostly be staying in Youth Hostels and with scattered friends and family, and the odd B&B as a special treat! Initial plans of camping were quickly shelved after a very wet and windy training ride when the thought of climbing in to little tent on a roadside verge really didn’t appeal.24.05.09 : Lands End ---> Glant (65 miles)
25.05.09 : Glant ---> Exeter (84 miles)
26.05.09 : Exeter ---> Wells (70 miles)
27.05.09 : Wells ---> Welsh Bicknor (65 miles)
28.05.09 : Welsh Bicknor ---> Ludlow (45 miles)
29.05.09 : Ludlow ---> Marford (70 miles)
30.05.09 : Marford ---> Slaidburn (80 miles)
31.05.09 : Slaidburn ---> Calthwaite (75 miles)
01.06.09 : Calthwaite ---> Warnlockhead (80 miles)
02.06.09 : Warnlockhead ---> Loch Lomond (70 miles)
03.06.09 : Loch Lomond ---> Glen Coe (65 miles)
04.06.09 : Glen Coe ---> Loch Ness (66 miles)
05.06.09 : Loch Ness ---> Carbisdale (64 miles)
06.06.09 : Carbisdale ---> Tounge (49 miles)
07.06.09 : Tounge ---> John O' Groats (64 miles)
COMPLETE - Total 1012
Sponsorship
To help keep us going, and benefit others, we are asking for sponsorship for two local charities, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, who work to conserve our local wildlife, both on land and in the sea, and Naomi House, a local childrens Hospice that provides much needed respite care for sick children and their families.
Thank you to all those who have so generously donated to our charities.
If you haven’t sponsored us but would like to it is not too late, please visit:
http://www.justgiving.com/jolyonandjo to sponsor us for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
http://www.justgiving.com/joandjolyon to sponsor us for Naomi House
Thank you to all those who have so generously donated to our charities.
If you haven’t sponsored us but would like to it is not too late, please visit:
http://www.justgiving.com/jolyonandjo to sponsor us for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
http://www.justgiving.com/joandjolyon to sponsor us for Naomi House
Background
After a long and not entirely unpleasant winter of drinking wine and watching TV we decided we needed a new challenge to encourage us to get outside and do some exercise. Not wishing to do things by halves we decided on the 1000 mile bike ride from one end of the country to the other.
The motivation, or rather dread, that the bike ride has inspired has meant we have been fairly busy getting on our bikes to get some training miles under our wheels. Although we both feel fitter, the training hasn’t quite instilled the confidence we had hoped it would; rather it has demonstrated that it will be more of a task than we first thought. Seventy miles a day for two consecutive days was tiring and we are trying not to think that we will have to average the same mileage for 15 consecutive days! Still, just like the pro cyclists training for the Tour De France, we are hoping to ‘ride in to fitness’.
The motivation, or rather dread, that the bike ride has inspired has meant we have been fairly busy getting on our bikes to get some training miles under our wheels. Although we both feel fitter, the training hasn’t quite instilled the confidence we had hoped it would; rather it has demonstrated that it will be more of a task than we first thought. Seventy miles a day for two consecutive days was tiring and we are trying not to think that we will have to average the same mileage for 15 consecutive days! Still, just like the pro cyclists training for the Tour De France, we are hoping to ‘ride in to fitness’.
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