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

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

pig leg

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.

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!

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

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.

Swinton house

Swinton house
Originally uploaded by rone.b

Gps test pic.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Lunch time Red One pic

Lunch time Red One pic
Originally uploaded by rone.b