Monday 30 August 2010

Lands End to John O'Groats via Lizard Point and Dunnet Head


The trip of a lifetime completed with little or no planning - no change there then.


Day1 - murder, 9pm start, after long train ride, fog and rain, mega mega climbing, 229miles, 22h50m out, 17h50m pedalling - destination cheddar gorge.

Day2 - 04:05am start after a wet night under canvas, cheddar gorge start after 1mile, 193 miles, 17h45m out, pedalling 15hr? - destination whitwell.

Day3 - 04:17am start, short night at home, good winds to start, later to turn against us making a killer day, 192miles, 18h48m out, pedalling 16.5hr? - destination Belford (South of Berwick)

Day4 - 05:10 start. Bad day. Headwind and bad knees. Edinburgh terrible. Bum drugs. Knee drugs. 122miles, out 14h5m, pedalling 12.5hrs? - destination Luncarty, North of Perth.

Day5 - 04:07am start. Fantastic day in the hills, a9, all the way. 175 miles, out 18h12m, pedalling 16hr? destination Helmsdale, not far to go!

Day6 - 05:02am start, short stint to finish. Dunnet Head worth the trip, gorgeous. J'OG, uninspiring 12:20pm. Out 7h20m, pedalling 6hr?


Total Distance 985miles
Elapsed Time 135hr20min (5d15h20m)
Trip Time 98hr58min (4d2h58m)
Pedalling time 84h53min (3d12h53m) - guesswork on daily hours after day1 - the cateye records in 10hr intervals, i lost track of this after the first day.
If we have gone the 'direct' route, we were inside 5 day time - after 120hrs elapsed time we had covered 888miles (direct route 874miles)
comedy write up to follow

Saturday 28 August 2010

pig bum


tim and angus do great britain. lands end to john o'groats, via lizard point and dunnet head.
985 miles. 5 days15hours20minutes (135hrs20min) elapsed time.

boring stats to follow

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Sunday 1 August 2010

pig leg

having survived the 2010 etape - actually failing to survive - missing out on an official finish by 4minutes at the top of the final insanely long, hot, and steep climbs on the pyrennees. the day was fantastic, the views were immense and the support was ace, i just struggled with the heat - 35c mid-stage and the long long climbs. many non-finishers but at least i wasn't collected in the broom wagon.
since then i went and made a mess of one of my trotters. i rolled my ankle whilst not doing anything, bad sprain, now two weeks since i've been on the bike and only 3 weeks to go until lands end to john o'scrotes.
since etape, i had a pig lip, pig leg and now man flu. must get out and get ready for 1000miles in 5 days. jeez.

can't attach pig pics - this stupid idiot machine won't read the sd card with said pig pics on.

Friday 25 June 2010

Millau Viaduct


Millau Viaduct
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Waking up in Millau and a day ahead of schedule was a pretty good feeling. We headed straight over to the bridge and visitors centre which sits underneath. It's only when you get directly below you really appreciate how high it is. I took loads of photos and orcchestrasted a complex shot of us on the bikes riding underneath - easier said than done when in full biking gear and 30 degrees!

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Chatel

Pulled into telski to stay the night in Chatel, just on the swiss border. Great to see Terry, Carol, Adam and Rose (thanks for breakfast! And putting us up) . Went out for evening meal and ate ribs. This morning we drove up the col to get some mountain pics! We then left for Millau, 400 miles and combining two days in one to take the pressure off the return journey. Phew. We're moving from the east side of france, skirting Provence and offto to the East.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Geneva


Geneva
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Into Switzlerland and taking an anti-clockwise route around Lake Geneva (to avoid Swiss motorway fee) - things getting really twisty now. The pre-Alps a good ride just before this picture. Chatel todays destination. Eating a bit too much today, french bread heartburn this morning. My GS is holding up well, 869 miles so far. 400 miled to Millau, undecided whether to hit in one go or split via St. Etienne.

Guest house , food city


Guest house , food city
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Out of Reims made good progress towards Dijon. Weather hotting up. Stayed at a fantastic guest house run to by an English couple. The food was amazing, best lettuce I've ever had. (Details of the place to follow).

Monday 21 June 2010

Over night in reims.


Over night in reims.
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Good sleep last night. Just as well because on the bike for 12 hours yesterday. Heading towards the alps today.

Sunday 20 June 2010

Away we go... millau


Away we go... millau
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Had a good run down to folkestone. Weather a lot colder than expected. Made the 1205 train. Started raining as soon as we hit Calais, got into waterproofs and then it stopped. Onwards to Reims 190 miles.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Summer SPCC Run Baslow



Had a great evenings run last night, 13 miles - 750m, 90 mins or so.
Around Stoney Middleton, Calver, Eyam.

 

More info here: SPCC web page

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Middle of nowhere


Middle of nowhere
Originally uploaded by rone.b
I found myself somewhere on a moor in North Yorks, rain was chasing me and this was my first high climb on a singlespeed. Rain caught me, piss wet through and bitter cold. Enjoyed it.

Monday 24 May 2010

Swinton house


Swinton house
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Gps test pic.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Spcc ride with bison


Spcc ride with bison
Originally uploaded by rone.b
Good ride this morn. 40miles and too hot. Even though dry , Tim managed to get covered in mud.
discuss here if need be:
http://www.sherwoodpinescyclingclub.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=44

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Sherwood Pines Cycling Club up and running!



This is just a quick nod to Sherwood Pines Cycling Club to say it's now up and running. And we have our first event on this coming Saturday 15th - 10:30am, Sherwood Pines Cycles Shop, beginners/easy ride. All welcome.

Nothing too difficult, why not come along at meet us!

For more information see http://www.sherwoodpinescyclingclub.co.uk/

Cheers,

Tyrone.

Sunday 9 May 2010

turner service

bison turner can now change gear on the rear without using waay tooo much force.
new xt changer, cable and outer.

disappointing that i could not install front mech shifter as the shimano pack only contained 3 sections of outer, leaving just 2 x 7inch bits left - and this after putting on shorter than ideal piece on the bit leading to the rear mech. grumble.

shifting is now sublime, slick and easy, too easy after months of delaying putting new toys on.

fat bison

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Bison Birthday



Bison celebrates his 38th Year on the planet with a sausage baguette.

We did actually do 47 miles that day and a great ride it was too, messing around on old Arkright Town tip. T'was very sunny but a tad chilly. I decided that my back wheel was ready for new bearings as it was creaking like a bad ass.

Thursday 15 April 2010

Local Charity Ride - Tonyas Challenge.

http://www.tonyas-challenge.org/black.htm

heads up for ride to Southwell do 37 miles and then ride back? April 25th.

Monday 12 April 2010

heartburn

heartburn has returned to the palmer belly.
gaviscon is back on the list.
summer biking on road bike has given rise to a nasty burn on the stomach valve and in between the shoulder blades
feels like a heart atta

Friday 9 April 2010

Lunch time Red One pic


Lunch time Red One pic
Originally uploaded by rone.b

Red in the house


Red in the house
Originally uploaded by rone.b
This has nothing to do with biking but just picked up our new Red One 4k camera. I want to mark this moment with blog! In Stoke Mandeville filming till Sat. Sunday is trailquest day, Grindleford.

Saturday 27 March 2010


I just found this picuture in my drawer of stuff. Comments and retaliation please.

yey to summer. Homework is in the dog. The bike is clean. Can't win 'em all.


Went out on Wednesday morning on the road bike - early, freezing, wet and some desperate potholes to avoid.


yey to summer.


Out this afternoon with dreeny moo or solo and out tomorrow with tywone and kirkham trouble.

Sunday 14 March 2010

First day of Summer :)


First day of Summer :)
Originally uploaded by rone.b
I don't care what anyone says, today was the first day of summer; the first ride for nearly 6 months without ice, rain, snow, mud and pain. The wind was there but so was the sun. We did 43m around clumber and pines. Good speed too. Fantastic. A competitive date with the Peak next weekend, West Sheffield. Gonna really hurt myself!

Friday 12 March 2010

Clumber Duathlon - A Glimpse into The World of Multisport!

7.30am
Cold and soaked - the decision to ride to Clumber already had us fighting with 4 miles of 'small rain' by 7am - Rone and I arrived (damp and slightly miserable) at the rules tent. Had it not been for my Llyods Card and Tim's (long awaited) rant at the grumpy woman, we could have (and probably would have) just gone back to bed.

8.30am
Having made it through transition 'set up' - which is arguably more complicated than the race itself (Don't actually ride your bike)- and had a soft warm jelly baby from Tim's backside pocket (I was THAT cold ok?!), we made our way to the start line...

9.30am
Tim, who was even more stupid than us for choosing the Olympic distance was off first....then apart from a flash of his backside (zooming past me on the bike lap) and a couple of victory 'hand slaps' from Rone as we past on the runs, I came to realise I was alone...in a sea of nearly 1000 athletes...with only my mind to occupy me for the next 1:35:58.

5k (26:58) run was fine once I found my rhythm - the 20k ride (50:11) actually came as a nice 'rest' for the legs...for all of about 2 minutes that is - 'Tarmac Torture' was pretty tough going.

T2 was interesting...my legs felt pissed on Pernod and even Gold Olympic medalist James Cracknell looked like a newborn giraffe on Speed.

After all that, the final 2.5k 'run' (14:27) (although I would argue you actually shuffle backwards for the first km) was definitely, mentally the hardest part to push through, not to mention calves that were actually on fire. Eventually my head found my legs, all in time for a final 30m sprint finish: "This lady really wants it!!" shouted the gobshite sellotaped to the microphone... AND I really did - wanted to go home for a lay down that is!!

Smalley, Chrimbo and Andrea were diamond - plenty of crisps, chocolate, sweets and hot chocolate to undo all our efforts...well, we deserve to eat crap after all that I'd say!!

Anyway, here's to the next one - Rother Valley Tri anyone? Answers on a postcard... and that INCLUDES you time Chrimbo!!

Nixy

Saturday 6 March 2010


Tim Palmer - 2007 shovel driving champion, lined up along multi Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, this was as close as I made it to front of the pack. I was swiftly spat out of the back of this start group by the 1/4 mile point. I was then mown down by the next start group then promptly overtaken by a grand-dad in a bin bag! I was then run over by the women - all this happening on the 1st lap of the 3 mile run course. I was then overtaken by just about everyone on the 1/2 distance loop. I eventually ran the 6 miles in just over the hour mark. I left transition on the bike at about 1hr 4min to see the fast boys start their second 12.5 mile lap on the bikes. Bummer. Lap 1, ok, lots of bike traffic and making good progress which was nice after suffering at the hands of everyone including a bloke on a wooden leg! Lap 2, not bad, but the wind was more troublesome. The final 'run' was memorable, not too bad on the legs, but i had terrible 'stitch' whatever that is. I reckon i was last to finish in my group but at least I completed. Thanks to the support from Beeny Moo, Heather Small, Pete Flatfoot and to Byrone and Nic for hanging around until I made it back. Bad Tyrone for riding in 'transition' even though is was being dismantled - what a load of old of cack. I haven't got any photos of today's event, tok the camera but i'm too thick to remember to put the memory gizmo in. Thick.

Thursday 4 March 2010


duathlon worries. 6 mile run, panic, 25 mile fast on road, no chance, 3 mile run, come on.


can't wait. looking forward to be a one man 'jam car' causing mayhem whilst being lapped.

Tuesday 2 March 2010


jeez - the rules for the duathapicnic are a nightmare. any excuse to disqualify can be used according to the 6 pages of rules. i can't wait for a good rant. went for a run last night 5.5 miles ish, legs uber tight today. i reckon i'll be lucky to finish while they are still set up for the event.

Monday 1 March 2010


blimey charley, bison 9th in tq at pines. leader for a time when only i had finished - this has now been framed and is mounted on the bathroom wall.

angus and ruth suffered punctures and a returned looking grumpy but finished well.

byrone suffering the ability not to eat and using those drug type gels that don't work.

killian lomas got all the points but was late. 14 seconds. slacker.

Saturday 27 February 2010


pitbikers is no longer safe. i have access. byrone will probably black list me soon.

went out 3 times last week, not believed. pines trailquest tomorrow, so i reckon i'll be in the top 10 for the first tq of the 09/10 season.

Friday 8 January 2010

Another Planet 2010

Okay so it's not quite Arthur C Clarke, but it's close enough for me.

When we get weather like this - it makes us reclusive but the reality is your missing some amazing sights. Things you may only see every 10-20 years. When the snow is this crisp, it does make for a hard workout too - with the front wheel being occasionally snagged! What is there not to like!

I took a tricky way home tonight, setting out as the sun was beginning to set and saw some fantastic contrast of light . I also struggled up some of the climbs - unlike the roads the forest are still pretty freshly covered which makes some of the regular paths into new challenges.
So the long and short is get out there, walking , riding or whatever - it's for the taking and you can still enjoy that cup of tea or fat meal all the more after the exercise.
Christmas was shared equally between cycling, running and walking - with the odd feeding session - but I think overall the balance was good and it's a great time to spend in the outdoors instead of sat inside bored to your skull of the same four walls.
Winter has never been so good.