Day 13 The Final One! Cambourne to Land's End. 26 miles.

Lucy and Paul fly off at 8 am into a veritable rain storm. Pat releashed from Dad duties drives to the end , jumps on his bike and cycles back towards them. The weather is appalling .... absolutely lashing it down. We miss each other one team going on the bypass, and me (Pat) nipping through the town of Penzance. Needless to say Paul says "Time trial it". I meet up with them and we cycle together the last few miles. Paul and Lucy high 5 as they run down the last 100 metres........ and they've finished. Chris's family ( Sue, Barry, James , Caroline and little Logan ) are there to welcome them over the line. The second welcoming party arrive moments later ( Lynda, Ruth, baby Alex, Ellis and Ewan)
A fantastic achievement for the Dynamic Duo. Well done!
In fact when you think about it their first day started at 5pm and lasted 2 hrs , the last day they rode for 3, therefore we can surmise that this fantastic duo di it in 12 days! A truly amazing feat of endurance. Anyone know of a good knee surgeon for Lucy?
Thank you to all the people who have given so generously to St. Ann's Hospice.

Day12- Camelford to Cambourne 45 miles

Lucy and Paul set off on a dark overcast day with rain looming.... as always. It's The Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge and every road is chocker. Paul and Lucy use the line of traffic as a wind stopper. They fly through Wadebridge and on to Indian Queens where they meet the dreaded A30. Unfortunately there's no alternative. Lucy hates it . Paul looks after his little sis by riding high, which as you may nknow if your'e a proper townie means riding 4 feet out from the kerb to make the cars and lorries slow down slightly. This means they slow to 50 instead of 70mph!!!! Paul considers cycling two abreast and causing a 20 mile tail back but I think the Cornwall show has done that. They arrive in Cambourne, the home of Chris and Ruth at 1.30 pm.
CHris texts from work " It's only 25 miles to Land's End " but Lucy wants to see the new baby and Paul thinks " Why kill yourself?". We all enjoy cuddles with baby Alex. Ruth and Chris have a lovely new house with a cracking view over a cricket pitch and hills over towards St. Ives..... beautiful. Lynda serves up 4 bacon barms to keep Paul going. Lucy retires to a well earned rest in the bath and Pat, Paul and the boys go off to the beach; Portreath to be exact to have a mini holiday flying kites!
Of course after the event it becomes clear. The reason Paul and Lucy didn't want to finish today was because the sun was shining and it was a balmy 16 degrees. What's the fun of that when they'd had gale force winds and heavy rain almost every day!. Now read the last day!

Day 12- Witheridge to Camelford 80 miles (Very Hilly)

This was the dynamic duo's best day yet covering 80 miles acoss Devon's extremely hilly but beautiful terrain. Paul finally bows to a bit of "Little road joy" and finds the hill climbs hard but exhilarating. Lucy just finds them HARD! Both of them enjoy all the fox gloves, pink campion that abound theses little lanes.Truly beautiful but incredibly exhausting. We stay in a really lovely vegetarian bed and breakfast run by a great couple. Not sure they understand Paul's dietary needs.
We eat at the local curry house where Ramesh a nepalese guy is truly wonderful and despite Paul trying to get 10%, feeds us with a feast. Popadoms galore and wonderful chicken sizzling dishes. He gives us a great deal on beer and Ellis gives him a tip saying " Keep the 10%"

Day 11- Mendip Hills to Witheridge in Devon- 68 miles

Hellish cycle on A roads south to Bridgewater , then Taunton. Follow the A38 against the wind as usual to Tiverton. Now heading west on b roads. Stop in 18th century Hotel ( Coach stop of old!) in Witheridge. Lovely B and B, good food very homely and well cooked wit loads of veg! Enormous breakfast..... Paul pleased again... Poor Lucy is getting sick of bacon but Paul retorts. " Keep eating bacon and eggs. You need energy for all the big hills". Perhaps Lucy should insert a piece of bacon where her cartilege used to be... Might fix it!

Day 10- Hereford to Churchill ( South of Bristol airport) 78 miles

Today was lovely weather , sunny mostly but with a really fierce south westerly.
Had a fantastic ride down to Monmouth with beautiful views and lots of rolling hills. Lucy was flying today and Paul had to time trial to catch her on the hills. Past the resplendent Tintern Abbey while Pat and the boys went off to a Maze, crazy golf and buttelfly zoo. ( Ewan loved the butterflies, Ellis the maze and golf!)They also saw a Peregrine falcon on the cliffs by Symonds Yat.
Back to the dynamic duo as they battled against the wind over the severn bridge and around the chaos and horror that is Avonmouth. Ended up cycling towards the Mendips..... more hills and rest for the night at the village of Churchill. Laura came out from Brissssssol to have a drink with us in the evening and give words of encouragement. "You'll be all right my lover"

Day 9 -Nantwich to Hereford- 75 miles

Great day; mixture of rain sun and of course the obligatory wind though not as bad as previous days . Cycled through the lovely shropshire countryside, and the historic towns of Shrewsbury, Church Stretton, and Ludlow. Got off the A49 and did a stretch on B roads which were infinitely nicer though a little hillier. Paul wanted to do time trials so we set off chasing each other. Met some guys ( end to enders) going north and they remarked that their average speed in headwind was 15 mph, Paul said," oh ours was 8!" He ( the roadie) then went on to say that a comfortable "chatting speed" was 20mph!
Anyway the last stretch to Hereford we did at chatting speed because Mike Lowe had sorted out a lovely room in his Hotel called the castle. Thanks to Mike we all had enormous bacon and egg butties before we set off into the Wye valley.

Day 8: Garstang to Nantwich

By 11:00am the dynamic duo had already done 50 Kms and they were in Wigan!
Have they been spotted eating pies?
Another lovely day. Good luck, we'll update later.

Meet up with Roger Burgess who's cycled a short way with us. A big thank you to Rodger who game a extremely generous donation and fed us a great lunch.

Day 7: Carlisle to Garstang 75 miles

Up hill and down dale all the way to Penrith and then a gruelling 11 mile up to Shap, 1030ft above sea level. Then up again to the summit. They reach speeds of 40 miles an hour on the down hill, Paul doing a no hander in celebration after the long, long up hill. Kendal to Lancaster is lovely but rolling every new ascent seems a little harder. Decide to look for somewhere to stay near Garstang.
Another good day travelling to Garstang via Shap, the high point that felt like being on top of the world. Scenery absolutely stunning. Another beautiful day, very very hot though!
Stay at the Priory in Scoton just north of Garstang, a real cyclers pub/hotel.Comfy beds, massive bath, great grub. Best breakfast yet says Paul!

Chris, Ruth, Lynda and baby Alex wish them well and think the "mighty duo" are doing a fantastic job.

Day 6: Lesmahagow to Carlisle 75miles

It made a good change that the weather was so hot and sunny. It made the journey a pleasure for the first time.
One of the things that helped was the B roads, which were quiet and easy to ride on.
Knees hurting and saddle sore, but making brilliant progress and well and truly in England now.
The dynamic duo are doing really well, the sponsor money is going up and everybody is so proud of them.
Lucy races a proper roadie they meet 10miles north of Carlisle and is sweeping down the road eating up the miles. Paul and Roadie put in a chase very impressed.

Day 5 Crianlarich to Lesmahagow

Just been on the phone to the mighty duo. So quote unquote.
" It's been a simply awful day, pesistent rain all day, rain pelting in your face, flying up from my wheels, getting a soaking every time an enormous truck flies past at 50 mph, soaking you in an instant" uttered Paul.
" Feeling really down, didn't enjoy Loch Lomond as I had to concentrate on staying on the road with all the lorries tonning past. Both knees are hurting like mad. Not enjoying it.Still they say the sun is coming out tomorrow........Hey ho!" said Lucy.
It's a new day tomorrow and the weather is set better supposedly. They will be following the M74 down southwards towards Gretna on a B road that hugs the motorway so hopefully no trucks , just the sound of them!
And the good news..... Paul loved the food at the pub they've just been to. Must have been absolute loads of it and have been cheap as chips then!

Day 4 Laggan to Crianlarich

Much cloudier and inclement today. Breakfast served up by the lovely scottish Frances. Paul and Lucy set off bang on 8 again and make good progress arriving in Fort William at 10am. Long break and wait for us to appear.... It's 12.30 now and they've reached Glencoe. Views are really stunning on the west coast though it's easier to appreciate them from the comfort of a warm car than the hard leather of a bike! Me and the boys stop off to search for seals in Inverscaddie Bay near the Corran Narrows. No luck but the sun comes out for half an hour and we mess about on the beach.
Glencoe to Tyndrum is 30 miles. A huge climb through the middle of Rannoch Moor. Outside is black, persistent rain. Hope they are going to be all right.
The support team have to head home at 4pm so here's the last post in real time til Friday when we return . All our love and hope goes to the dynamic duo, from the Infamous three! Ellis, Ewan and Pat! signing off 1.40 pm
Stunning views over the Glencoe pass.Buzzards circling overhead waiting to pick off weary cyclists. Paul says that's the hardest day yet.On the down hill Lucy gets upto 45kph. It takes them until 4.30 to get to Tyndrum then stay at Crianlarich. We wave goodbye to them and head off home to Manchester. Good luck for tomorrow!

Day 3

Thank the lord for sunshine and a balmy 10 degrees celcius! Patrick does a fry up while Lucy and Paul get ready and try to make their muscles work. They set off at 8 am in the sunshine! Follow the coast of the cromarty firth past oil rigs and an enormous cruise ship. Just before the big bridge, there are seals basking on the rocks and playing in the shallows. They go through Dingwall, Conan Bridge , Muir of old and arrive at Beauly without too much to report. At 11 o'clock they hit the hill of all hill. 7 miles of constant climbing over the moors...... average speed 2 mph. At the top exhausted they go down the other side, as always much shorter but even steeper reaching speeds of 30mph! Arrive in Drumna drochit at 1pm and lunch. Ellis, Ewan and I have sarnies on the green and play footie while they lunch inside to warm up. We go to a fantastic exhibition about the loch ness monster.
Paul and Lucy cycle down south on the west side of loch ness and reach fort augustus at 4pm. They then carry on in mixed weather to Invergarry and Laggan where they arrive at the B and B at 5pm. Fantastic day. Well done Paul and Lucy. 62 miles.

2nd day

Stayed the night at Wick, ate the worst fish and chips from the grumpiest scottish man in Scotland watched united lose.
Paul and lucy got up early ate shed loads of lovely food and set off at 8.00am. We met them 3 hours later after having done 25 miles in driving rain. They rode up an outrageously steep 7 mile hill in gale force winds from dunbeath to helmsdale where we are updating this at a museum. Paul and lucy stopped for a piss in the rain . paul peeing on someones garden....... well Scottish farmer's dump. Irate scotsman swore """£$%$£" at him and then chased them down the road in his car, screeched to a halt and looked like he would lamp Paul! Me (Pat) and the boys have been their roadies giving out sarnies and hot teas on the way. We think they are doing brilliantly so far.
Patrick
2.30- meet just south of Helmsdale. Wind is indescribably strong and Paul and Lucy struggling against elements. Sun comes out and wind seems to get stronger. Going down the east coast now and get to the big bridge north of Tain about 5pm. 15 miles from end of day 2.
Paul and Lucy turn east momentarily for 3 miles and are suddenly doing 20 miles an hour! ( Suddenly dawns on Paul why most do it from land's end to john O'Groats.)Paul commented while having to pedal down hill just to keep moving " These south to northerners are free wheeling with the wind!"
Lucy and Paul get in to Balintraid at 6pm shattered. Meanwhile me and the boys have been to Dunrobin castle, the local play park and fought off a nasty looking crow who wanted a piece of Ellis's Ice cream..... some chance ...even Dad doesn't get a look in.
Patrick.
We understand blogger crashed earlier today. Were you all trying to log in to see how the mighty duo were getting on? Believe me they need to feel the love . This head wind is killing them!

After a 10 hour journey we finally arrived in a very, very wet and windy John O' Groats. We took a quick photo and then rode 20 miles to Wick. We were faced with a strong headwind, but soon arrived at our B and B to be met by the boys - Ellis, Ewan and Patrick. Let's hope the weather improves or we won't make the miles we want to do!!! Sorry for mistakes; it's hard to do this on my phone!!! x

I wish I was doing it on my Penny Farthing

I wish I was

doing John O'grotes to Lands end on my Penny Farthing :(  My sister wont let me

Paul's bike Cotic RoadRat

Mapping with Google maps thanks to Elastichosts

Thanks to the IT experts at Elastichosts, we are now able to show our exact location on google maps.  This may come in handy if you want want to come out and meet us :)

A new addition to the family

About a year ago Lucy and Paul had the idea of doing something for their father. They wanted to support St Ann's hospice and show their gratitude for the care the hospice showed to Harold in his last days. Ruth ( Lucy and Paul's sister) said she'd be happy to help and maybe Lynda (their Mum) and she could be the road crew and support vehicle. 
Then about 9 months ago Lucy announced that she'd definitely do the ride in Whit and promptly rang up her sis to see if all was ok. Ruth was a bit reticent and didn't want to commit. 12 weeks later she told us her fantastic news .She was pregnant....... and as life tells us 9 months on ... In fact last Sunday at 10pm she gave birth to a gorgeous little baby boy. So congrats to her and Chris and little Alex for making it into this world!

Lucy's last minute prep

Got home at seven to be met by a lycra clad lucy. she jumped on her trusty steed (not me) and pedalled off in to the wind and sunshine of a lovely manchester evening. Wonder how Paul is going on ?

The big idea- The proposed route.

So paul and lucy have proposed doing this route . They need to make good progress so are having to do alot of A roads. According to our friend who did it ( Steve) scotland was mostly empty and deserted except for midges! A few billion of those then biting their arses! So here goes

John O’Groats To Wick  on A99

Wick to Invergordon on A9

Invergordon to Spean Bridge on A831 then A82

Spean Bridge to Crianlarich on  A82

Crianlarich to just outside Glasgow on A82

Follow B7078 at the side of the M74 to Lockerbie

Then A6 down to Manchester

A49 down Shrewsbury, Leominster, Hereford Chepstow

Then seeing how tired we are we will either go down the A30 or or follow the A39 coast road

Pat and the boys

We're right behind you Paul and Lucy and think your big ride is a fantastic tribute to your wonderful Dad and our lovely grandad. 5 days to go till we head up north to John o 'groats  to see you set off. Can't wait!

My Bike

This is my lovely cool bike but as always my bro's is better,faster and slicker. That's great because I will be able to slipstream him all the way! lowest gear 24,32,48  11-32

The Big Ride Idea

Sadly last year our Dad died of cancer. He was a very special man who is greatly missed by all his family and friends. He was known by many as 'a gentle man and a gentleman.' My family were touched by the care and support the staff at St Ann's hospice gave to both my Dad and us in his final days. St Ann's is the largest hospice in Greater Manchester who help improve the quality of life for those with life-threatening illnesses, whilst supporting their families.  Relying on 65% of their funding to come from donations from the public my brother and I wanted to raise money for St Ann's. 

We have decided to take up the mammoth task of cyclling from John O'Groats to Lands End. We will be doing this at the end of May and have two weeks to complete it in! We would like to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic hospice and hopefully do our Dad proud!!!
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