We pedallers were on the road at about 9am, but today was tough from the off. Three long days in the saddle means energy levels were low and legs were heavy. Factor in the previous night’s storms and the psychological battle of so many miles still ahead of us and today was a touch bleak in places.

There were good times, though. From Monmouth our route took us on small country lanes and with the wind at our backs and the sun peeping in and out lifted our spirits every so often – we even found a river to cycle down!

We rolled through the countryside, but the clouds closed in and rain jackets came into play (again). I thought this was meant to be June, my pre-trip thoughts of rolling through Britain’s beautiful countryside in the glorious sunshine, only stopping to slap on another layer of suncream seem a long way off……

We headed for lunch at Ludlow, where we liaised with the camper van crew and had a great pub lunch to keep the calorie intake high. Ollie and Pen had had a fun morning themselves – visiting yet another hospital. Monmouth this time and another excuse for Ollie to strip naked in front of some nurses. Best news is that none of his wounds are infected, so they patched him up and sent him on his way.

At lunch we also met a couple of other folks riding ‘end to end’ but they were on day 6 and aimed to complete in 16 days - lightweights.

After Ludlow we had a bit of a navigational issue around Ironbridge (we’ve got by surprisingly well relying on torn up road atlases kept in freezer bags to protect them from the elements), and ended up on a road that went under the one we wanted to be on. Rather than turn round and cycle back, we simply hauled bikes up the embankment and carried on our way.

Towards the end of the day we jumped on more major roads and headed for Newport (Shropshire) for the rendezvous with James’ family – we were staying with his Uncle and Aunt near Eccleshall, and his Dad was there, too which was a great incentive to finish teh day’s pedalling.

All in all a reasonable day – the excitement of the early days is gone and we’re not really looking forward to tomorrow which takes us through Manchester and loads of busy urban areas. But in the meantime we were rewarded with a big dinner and comfortable bed.

Highlights:
Ludlow was a lovely town
James and Georgie meeting up with family

Lowlights:
Realistation that Land’s End to John O’ Groats isn’t a walk in the park

Stage Stats:
Today’s mileage: 94.81
Total mileage: 376.37
Average speed: 15.1mph
Saddle time: 6hrs 16mins
Medical people who have seen Ollie naked: 6

Unlike yesterday, a sunny start greeted James, Georgie and I as we left Tor Farm B&B. Unfortunately so did a big climb – in the shape of Cheddar Gorge! A four mile uphill immediately after a big breakfast was a complete leg buster, although I’m proud to say that we managed to overtake other LeJog-ers as we headed up the Gorge!

Although the scenery was stunning and there weren’t many people around, we were glad to reach the top. But not for long… The wind had changed direction since yesterday and as soon as we popped out we were greeted by a stiff North-East wind. Even Lucozade energy bars weren’t enough to keep our power levels up – but we couldn’t rest because we had an appointment to keep… a meeting with the Meningitis Research Foundation team at their Thornbury HQ north of Bristol.

For Alex, Nicko and I this was one of the biggest highlights of the whole trip – we’d finally get to meet the people I’d spent so much time on the phone talking to when Nicko had been in hospital.

Unsurprisingly Alex (along with Ollie, Penny, Sasha and Luke, plus Hugh, Caroline and Alex’s Mum Tessa) had beaten us there and our little man was being treated like royalty. And so were we: slap up lunch in the boardroom, photocall outside, loads of people on hand to talk to and the news that they’re going to do a press release on Ollie’s accident! (latest update: it’s made our local papers! check out http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=4570) Apparently it adds a bit of colour to the story. Judging by the shade of Ollie’s bruises at the moment I can’t disagree with that…

After more than two hours off the bikes it was time to get back in the saddle. This is what you might forget when reading the blog – each and every day we have to spend around seven hours in the saddle – add in stops for food, navigation and the call of nature and days that start at nine don’t usually finish before six…

Anyway, there was reason to be excited – not just a new county to cross into, but a new country: Wales! And that meant tackling the Severn Bridge, which was a tad windy. So much so in fact that whhile I was taking this picture, my bike was being blown along the railings…

NOr did the weather improve much as we pedalled up the twisty turny roads of the Wye Valley to Monmouth. We had been planning on going further, but the conditions deteriorated rapidly, and as we arrived in Monmouth black clouds signalled the imminent onset of torrential rain. Not forgetting thunder and lightning… and flooding!

Luckily Ollie and Penny managed to track down a last minute cheep and cheerful B&B with four spare rooms - space enough for an extra visitor, Georgie’s friend Jude. She brought a cake with her. Tom ate it all. Fact. Tom’s eating habits have now gained such a reputation that the rest of us think we should just buy him a nosebag and have done with it!

Highlights:

Tom: meeting Shirley and the MRF team, Cheddar Gorge in the sun

Georgie: Tintern Abbey

James: Being chased by thunder and lightning on the approach to Monmouth and getting into a tea shop in the nick of time.

Lowlights:

The Headwind: Tom had a grumpy half hour.

Stage Stats:

Today’s mileage: 83.74 miles

Total mileage: 285.08

Average speed: 15.1mph

Sore bum rating (out of 10): Tom 8, James 6, Georgie 9, Ollie 7

Medical people who have seen Ollie naked: 4

Well, having followed and stayed with the team since Saturday it was strange and sad for Nicko and I (Alex) to have to say “goodbye and see you in Scotland”. It was lovely to spend the evenings with Tom and the team, Nicko had some daddy time too.

We had stopped en masse at the Meningitis Reasearch Founation Office, a scheduled stop to thank them for their support and meet the people (Shirley in picture) who had guided Tom and I through some difficult moments last year and also this year as well.

So as the team headed north towards Monmouth Nicko and I headed home to Newbury. Sad to see the team go without us but Nicko was glad not to be in his car seat any more….. Until Scotland.

Nicko and I will think of you lots and send big smiles and hugs to help you all on your way.

Firstly thanks for all the comments everyone’s left, we have read them all and they’re great to read after each day! We are struggling to get online so our posting might be erratic.

Having managed to put yesterdays accident behind us (read day 1) and seeing Ollie again last night everyone was in good spirits for day 2, which turned into quite a long day – 114.3miles to be precise.

Day 2 took us up and over some of the legendary rolling hills of Cornwall, Devon & Somerset. Sadly we were still missing Ollie, but we carried on with heavy hearts having stayed at an awesome B&B near Bude, it was so good that we are even going to write up a separate blog!

The good news regarding Ollie is he’s not got any broken bones, but is certainly nursing some nasty bruising and lost skin. Ouch… We are quietly confident Ollie will be joining us again on the bike later in the event (fingers crossed). We’ve got Ollie’s bike back to Banjo Bikes to be checked out and hoping to sort out new shoes, kit & helmet in time. Until then Ollie’s following in the fun bus with his wife Penny and children Luke & Sasha.

The day started with heavy rain for the first 25miles, before breaking and letting the sun through to guide us up and over many of the hills that lay ahead. Fortunately, the wind was behind us all the way and boy did we need it! Devon certainly showed it had a wide variety of hills testing us in many different ways. The gradients were pretty impressive and at one point we were sure the road had turned to glue as we found our bikes coming to an almost halt.

The cycle was certainly tough, yet we strangely enjoyed every minute of it. The countryside was impressively scenic and hopefully some of the pictures capture that briefly. We had many stops to take it all in and absorb much needed food & fluids. The highlight was naturally meeting our much loved support team enroute late in the afternoon before completing the final 30miles which levelled out.

Anyway… we’ve got to get ready for day 3, so heres some pics from day 2:

And what of the support team? Well, Ollie’s foot swelled up to an impressive size last night, so their first stop was Barnstaple for an X-Ray. Good news: no broken bones! Bad news: hours spent waiting to see a doctor…

Highlights:

The descent off Exmoor – at last!

Low points:

The HILLS

Rain for first 30 miles

Ollie: Another grotty hospital (Barnstaple this time)

Stage Stats:

Today’s mileage: 114.29

Total mileage: 201.34

Average speed: 14.8

Sore Bum Rating: Tom 8, Georgie 9, James 7, Ollie 9

Medical people who have seen Ollie naked: 4

What better sight to greet team and cyclists at the end of day one than Sudcott Park? We certainly can’t think of one. A new-build farmhouse over a mile down a country lane near Jacobstow, it’s got superb rooms and views to die for from the huge kitchen/dining room.

Seriously, we were so spoilt by Liz Hancock and her family, the very least she deserves is a massive plug here. She cooked us spag bol for dinner, also laid on pudding and wine and insisted that Penny, Sasha and Luke sleep inside rather than kipping in the camper van. Quite simply lovely people, loads of dogs and a great atmosphere - the perfect B&B? Check out www.sudcottpark.co.uk

Woke up to relatively clear skies and a big breakfast at the Old Success Inn in Sennen Cove. Then a quick drive to Land’s End, just 1.5 miles distant.

We were all so excited. If there were any walls, we would have been bouncing off them, but instead we had to settle for a bit of banter at the iconic Land’s End signpost.

Then we had to sign a visitors book and do some paperwork to make us members of the End to End club, then line up on the official Start/Finish line.

And then, a couple of minutes before 11am, we were off, James building up an early lead and all of us relieved to be on the road at last.

Our jubilation lasted precisely 3.76 miles. On the first steep downhill of the 1,000-mile ride I (Ollie) came a cropper – properly. The rear wheel slipped out from under me at over 30mph on the approach to a left hand bend, I then proceeded to skid down the road using my left foot, leg and arse cheek as a brake, with directional control provided by various other bits of my anatomy.

Unfortunately my steering wasn’t up to the task of avoiding the Mitsubishi L200 pick-up coming up the hill. And my ribcage and right shoulder came off second best in the tussle with his chrome running boards…

I think I was knocked out very briefly, coming round to find my left calf trapped under his rear wheel, and the driver still trying to move forwards… Luckily he stopped – the whole thing was over in a split second, of course.

The team worked wonders – Tom, James and Georgie who had all been ahead of me were back up the hill in seconds, stopped traffic, scrapped me and the bike up off the road, checked me over, liaised with the driver – they were all brilliant.

To cut a long story short, adrenaline kicked in, I felt OK for a few minutes, and then went into shock. Luckily the people who lived in the house had got on the blower immediately and a paramedic was soon on the scene – then the cops turned up, and finally an ambulance.

The rest of the crew: Penny, Sasha, Luke, Alex, Nicko, and my folks were on the scene by then and off we went to Penzance hospital. Amazingly I didn’t appear to have any broken bones or serious damage. But I wouldn’t recommend using tarmac to polish skin – I’ll attach some pics in due course…

However, the fact that it’s now Tuesday morning and I’m writing this from Barnstaple A&E might hint at more possible damage – I’ll keep you posted.

The rest of the team got back on the bikes when I got the blue light treatment, but because of the time delay took the decision to head straight up the A30 to save time. They got rained on a couple of times and suffered on Cornwall’s legendary hills and had got to Camelford by the time Ollie had been patched up and travelled there in the Fun Bus with Pen. Cue emotional reunion over scones, clotted cream and cups of sweet teas before riding the last 15 miles to our B&B at Jacobstow, just south of Bude.

Highlights:

Seeing Ollie leaning out of the Fun Bus window just before Camelford and cheering us on.

Low point:

Obvious one: Ollie’s accident. Quite frankly it terrified us all.

Stage Stats:

Today’s mileage: 87.05

Total mileage: 87.05

Average speed: 16.7

Medical people who have seen Ollie naked: 3

Sore bum rating (out of 10): Tom 5, Georgie 6, James 3, Ollie 10+++

It’s Saturday night and we’re in Sennen Cove, just two miles from Land’s End and the start of our epic ride. We’ve all had a good journey down today, bikes travelled down safely on a towbar bikerack mounted on Hugh’s car. Got down here about 4.30pm so spent a bit of time on the beach - as you can see below…

Sasha and Luke feasted on ice creams, we all had a paddle and Nicko ate his first sand! It’s now nearly 10pm, we’ve all eaten a HUGE meal (including chocolate fudge pudding) and are getting our clothes and kit sorted ready to head to Land’s End at 9am tomorrow morning. We’re all excited, tired and a little apprehensive. It’ll be good to get the first day’s riding under our belts - trouble is the weather forecast doesn’t bode well…

With just a week to go before we set off, Tom & Ollie decided their last full training ride should also be their first ever road race! Slightly rash decision, but the 117-mile Cyclosportive was being held at Highclere Castle just four miles from home.

The route took us further afield, though - down round Winchester and across as far as Petersfield. It was hilly, too. We did over 2100 metres of climbing, so when we arrived at the food stops we didn’t hold back - cakes, buns, fruit, energy bars were all consumed in our bid to refuel.

Best moments: Ollie, together with another guy from Banjo Cycles, Mike, chased down a take-no-prisoners tractor driver towing a huge trailer at 30mph. Result? A free tow for over a mile as we sat in his considerable slipstream! Barely had to turn a pedal - brilliant. It was also great to see the Banjo Cycles boys manning a water station at the 105-mile mark - right at the top of the last big climb at Watership Down. A few cheers and pats on the back certainly helped ease the pain of the last few miles!

Low point? Ollie getting a puncture just three miles from home, but that’s about it really. We had good weather, cracking scenery and it was great to be pedalling away and chatting to other riders.

Having a full reception committee (well, Sasha and Luke) at the finish line was lovely, too and we finished 7 hours 44 minutes after setting off - earning ourselves a silver award in the process.

STATS:
Distance: 120 miles (Extra 3 for good measure)
Average Speed: 17.8 mph (28.6 kph)
Top Speed: Ollie 45.3mph, Tom 47.2mph (more weight=more momentum!)
Sore bum rating: Ollie 4/10, Tom 4/10 (new padded shorts working wonders)
Flies swallowed: Ollie 3, Tom 3
Punctures: Ollie 1, Tom 0
Energy bars eaten: Ollie 4, Tom 2
Bananas eaten: Ollie 3, Tom 4

MAD (Motocycle Accesories Direct) is Nicholas’ Grandad’s business. He like the rest of the family wanted to support our worthy cause and help to raise some money and so in conjunction with an event planned on Sat 9th June he made it possible for Tom, my mum and myself to go along to the venue - The Academy at Basingstoke with Tom’s bike, information cards, posters and vibrant orange collection buckets. The main act ‘Never the Bride’ and the supporting act ‘Andy De Rosa’ also gave a percentage of their takings from the sale of their merchandise. MAD Steve (my dad) arrived at around 4 pm to set up and organise the area for our combined fundraising table and then we arrived at 7pm once Nicholas was in bed!! (being babysat by his great-grandmother of 85).

The concert was fabulous and there was a good turn out of people (around 250). Tom stayed with us until midnight and headed home in need of some sleep to prepare for his Sunday race with Ollie but mum, dad and I stayed until the club started to quieten down at 2am. Weary we returned home with our buckets and went to bed.

Many thanks need to go to all the work that my dad put into the night, John Hicks Owner of ‘The Academy’ Basingstoke, for allowing us to fund raise and his organisation, Nikki Lamborn of ‘Never the Bride’ for donating a percentage of her takings and also giving us additional material to auction to raise more money at a later date, Andy De Rosa for donating all his takings and so many others for donating their time to help us.

All in all the buckets raised £279.57 - Thanks for counting it Gran

With just 5 days to go before we travel back to the UK for our epic cycle adventure Georgie and I put in one more weekend of training. So much so that today Georgie actually found the end of the road and could go no further (see above picture). Well that’s a lie, we decided to keep cycling on that unfinished road until it joined a road that was… WE WILL NOT STOP!!!

Thankfully we had no punctures from our slight off road excursion and returned home in the glorious sun. All in all, we did 130km on Sat and 70km on Sunday. Both runs we pushed harder and improved our average speeds by another 2kph more. This does not sound much but feels a lot.

So this weekends ratings go like this:

Flies swallowed – 5
Sore bottom rating (Georgie) – 7/10
Sun burn (James) – 7/10
Excitement about starting next Sunday – 10/10 !!!!