Day 11 of the Big Ride (the final day)

We had mixed feelings about our final day. Part excitement that we will achieve our goal and reach John O’Groats and part sadness because the challenge will be over and it has been our life for so long.

We finally left the Bed and Breakfast at 8-30 when we managed to slip away from the owners who are lovely but can talk for England. They are a Yorkshire couple who moved to Scotland 35 years ago. We know their life story!!!

The ride was easy initially with gently rolling hills and we made good progress. We crossed the Dornock Firth by a long but not too high bridge, so Graham J was OK on this one but he was still fearing what was to come. After a stop for refreshments we pushed on and started to encounter some sizeable hills, both in terms of big climbs and steep descents. 2 of these descents were 13% hills which again Graham R and Shane loved and Graham J nearly wore out his brakes. We also had to climb one 13% hill which we were told we would have to walk but sheer determination and the muscle strength from all the riding got us up on our bikes. Then we hit a newly laid road and Graham R and Shane got their tyres coated in tar, causing a slow and difficult ride. It was to take 20 miles before the tar wore off.

We met our support crew of three (Charlotte had been joined by Graham J’s wife Denise and his other daughter Christine) at Dunbeath. After a good rest we were looking forward to the final 39 miles, not realising how hard this was going to be. Our map suggested the rest of the ride was going to be quite flat but this turned out not to be the case. There were lots of hills, none of which were long like the Highlands but they were quite steep. Once we reached Wick, the landscape changed, there were few villages and scattered houses and virtually no trees. 7 miles from John O’Groats, we hit another hill which we all found hard to climb, even Shane slowed a bit. The 11 days of riding was now making our legs heavy. Finally at around 6pm we rode together into the car park at John O’Groats.

It was now time for the photos and a celebratory drink. Photos will be loaded over the weekend to this page if you need to see the proof. We were all delighted to finish and soon loaded the bikes onto the car rack and heating back to Tain for a good rest. We took in fish and chips on the way and then back to the Bed and Breakfast for more of their life stories. Interestingly, they were the same stories we heard before!!!

So that is it, 912 miles in the end in 11 days. We all suffered highs and lows along the way and kept each other going with a combination of humour and care.

Thanks to all our Blog readers and all the messages of support, especially the Dad’s tips of the day from Shanes Dad, which we found really motivating. We all also individually received lots of support from friends and relatives which was fantastic, so thanks to all.

Day 10 of the Big Ride

The penultimate day hopefully and we faced a 97 mile ride from the Atlantic coast of Scotland to the North Sea coast and a place called Tain.

We started off in sunny weather heading towards Ben Nevis. The initial few miles were reasonably flat but we were soon climbing again and Graham J had to face more uncomfortable sections of road alongside steep drops. Soon we were alongside Loch Lochy (see below) which was beautiful in the sun and we felt compelled to have bacon sandwiches beside the loch from a snack wagon. We pushed on to Loch Ness expecting this to be something very special, but maybe we have seen too many Lochs and boats, because it did not seem that special and the road was not directly alongside the Loch either so most of the time we could only see the water through the trees. We also had to climb numerous times and then drop again which we were not expecting.

We finally reached Drumnadrochit, where we met our support crew for lunch. Both Grahams had found the morning ride hard, especially hard and Graham J realised he was dehydrated as it had been warmer in the morning than previous days, so he drank a litre and a half of fluid with his lunch. This made a huge difference in the afternoon, as he felt much better but had to keep stopping for the loo.

2 miles after lunch we saw a sign saying 15% hill for three quarters of a mile. It was not wrong and this was a major challenge which we all failed and ended up either stopping or walking at some point. Once we got up the hill, the scenery was fantastic and the decent even better, even Graham J agreed as he reached 44 mph and Shane went over 45 at which point his speedo gave him an error message.

We made a stop for tea in a very posh tea shop in Beauly and took on board more calories to keep us going as we still had over 30 miles to go. Shortly after this we think we saw our first Scottish eagle, which was an amazing sight.

The rest of the afternoon ride was reasonably flat and lacking in interest. We eventually reached the B&B in Tain at 7-40 after another 11 hours on the road.

Tomorrow is our last day and we hope to make John O’Groats if we can get Graham J over high section in the morning. The owner of the B&B has been telling Graham about how bad this section is and he is now dreading it. Let’s hope it is not as bad as he thinks or he may not make it.

Day 9 of the Big Ride

So today we thought we would mix it up a bit and go for a bike ride. Just a short 73 miles, over the Highlands, nothing too difficult. The end target was just north of Fort William, and to get there, we had to climb over the Black Mountain and Buachaille Etive Mountains.

The day started badly when Graham J discovered he had another puncture (it had to be him!) and then Graham R also suffered a flat tyre due to a faulty valve. Both were repaired, the repair on Graham J’s bike didn’t last, and the tube had to be replaced with a new one. So we finally set off properly at around 9.30, having just received a challenge that if we could arrive at our destination by for 5.30pm, we would get an extra donation of £50 to the website. This sounded too much of a challenge, and it was agreed that for every hour after that, we would lose £10.

The weather in the morning was cool and very dull (which is ideal conditions as it was not too hot or too cold) but the roads were fairly wet which is not so good as spray goes all up your back. The first 13 miles were relatively flat, but on some very narrow ‘A’ roads, and we got held up by coaches that were struggling to pass each other on the road. We were dreading the climbs, knowing that we were going to go right up into the Highlands, and seeing huge mountains in front of us, however, once we started to climb, it wasn’t as bad as we had anticipated. Whether this is due to the hills not being too steep or the fact in the last 8 days, our legs have got stronger, we are not really sure. However, a few miles further on, we found ourselves up in the clouds before facing a long steady 4 mile decent and then a further climb and decent before lunch.

After lunch, we still had 45 miles to do, and faced the biggest climb of all to reach the top of the mountains, which was achieved with good spirit. Then we had a very long decent with some very steep drops at the side of the road. Graham R and Shane loved the decent, but Graham J complained that his bike was wobbling, and at one point was on the opposite side of the road to try and stay away from the drop. On reflection, he thinks the shaking of the bike was due to his knees shaking out of fear.

We met the support crew (Charlotte) for a second time in Glencoe National Park for a well earned break, where we took on more fluids and sugar to boost our energy, whilst admiring the view of the mountains. After the break we were left with 26 miles to do in 100 minutes if we were to reach the 5.30pm target set for us. We knew we had to cross another high bridge, for which Graham J would need some coaxing. We pedalled on hard, working as a team with different people taking the lead, just like the tour de france peloton, however at one point, Graham R suffered a tightening of the calf muscle which further hampered our progress. We eventually reached the end of the days ride, 8 minutes late, so earning a further £40 for the website. We all felt this had been a great achievement, especially as today is the earliest we have finished for the whole ride so far.

Spirits lifted as the day progressed, due to a combination of the messages of support from numerous people who are clearly reading out blog every day, the spectacular scenery we experienced throughout the ride and the fact that we are nearing the end of the ride. We are beginning to think that maybe we can all make it, although that is clearly tempting fate.

Please keep all your messages of support coming though, as tomorrow is another long day of 96 miles along the side of Loch Ness, over the mountains south west of Inverness and along the Cromarty Firth to Tain.

Day 8 of the big ride

Today we set off and took the most direct road to Glasgow without going on the motorway only to find that the road we planned to use was closed, so we took off onto minor roads to discover some stunning scenery and quiet country lanes with no lorries rattling past and some seriously fun decents.

Next we had to try and navigate Glasgow and surrounding areas, which is a huge place that seemed to take forever to cycle through, and we seemed to add about 3 or4 extra miles. This route proved quite difficult, and it seemed to take a very long time to get anywhere and was quite disheartening.

We eventually caught sight of the Erskine bridge, at which point Graham J's heart sank and his face went white as he realised it was a very hight suspension bridge.
After a couple more detours, we eventually found the road to get onto the Erskine bridge, by which time it had started pouring with rain. We cycled over the bridge, with Graham J clinging onto his bike, so you could see the whites of his knuckles and refusing to look at the view, just concentrating getting across in one piece.

We then met up with our support driver, (Charlotte is on her own again now, as Christine went home this morning) in Old Kilpatrick and as it was still raining, we ate our lunch stood in a bus shelter. The bad weather was quite disheartening during a long ride and we started to get cold so had to put more layers on.

Soon after setting off, we picked up the Loch Lomand cycle route which suited Graham R's riding style, but not Graham J's. Shane found it okay, apart from it was fairly bumpy.

The scenery was stunning when we were riding alongside Loch Lomand, and seeing the mountains. At one point Graham J had to stop when going down the cycle way to let a cow go past him. The whole trip Graham R was dreading the last climb from Tarbet to Arrochar, expecting it to be completely horrendous, but it turned out to be middle ring all the way, much to his relief.

As a short ride, "rest day", this was a total failure, as it was wet and painful. We look forward to the mountains tomorrow with sore legs and heavy hearts. Tomorrow's ride is a 72 mile ride, with massive climbs, which is going to be incredibly difficult.

So we will head to our beds now. And post you tomorrow. Goodnight world!

Day 7 of the big ride

Today we had an 8 o’clock start and we crossed the border into Scotland at 9 o’clock much to our relief and happiness to have got this far without major incident. It was then into the wind all the way into Dumfries and then a long climb towards Kilmarnock.

We stopped for refreshments at Annan and Graham R had his first haggis since getting to Scotland and Graham J tried haggis for the first time and much to his surprise liked it. Shane was too much of a wuz to try it!

Then it was off to more climbing, followed by more climbing through some of the most fantastic scenery to be seen. Graham J was having a hard time deciding whether to ride in the middle of the road with lorries or by the edge next to the cliffs with sheer drops as he does have a problem with heights.

We had lunch at Thornhill in the town centre where we were met by our support team. We then went off to search for public toilets that were clearly signposted and are still a mystery to us now, and luckily we were rescued by a local lady who was out walking her dogs and kindly invited us into her home and let us use her toilets. It’s sometimes people like that who make days like this really lovely.

We carried on to the summit which was a long climb but quite a gradual gradient. Somewhere near the summit Shane forgot to unclip his shoes from the pedals and fell over in the road (luckily he was uninjured, so we were able to have a laugh).

Throughout this ride, there are lots of references to Robbie Burns, culminating in the Robbie Burns memorial of which we passed today and took an obligatory picture.

It was then 25 miles into Kilmarnock, mostly downhill but the road kept kicking up and giving us surprises of further climbs.

Generally our fitness has improved no end and we finished the ride feeling tired but without some of the pain that we’ve experienced during the earlier part of the ride.

We finished the 98 miles in around 12 hours, so we didn’t reach the hotel until 8pm. We’ve just finished dinner and now we’re off to bed ready for a slightly easier 58 miles tomorrow.

Today your kind donations took us above the £2k mark on our JustGiving page. Thank you to you all for your messages, they are invaluable to us for motivation. Ad to Jack who we met yesterday, good luck on your ride.

Day 6 of the big ride

After torrential rain just after dawn we feared today was going to be another wet day, however by the time we had oiled the bikes and made sure everything was OK after the long periods of riding in the rain yesterday, we left Lancaster in dry weather knowing that we had some big climbs ahead of us.

Fortunately the weather remained dry throughout the day, although our cycling shoes have still not dried from the soaking they got yesterday.

We left Lancaster following the A6, initially making reasonably good progress. During this section of the ride, Graham J found a penny and picked it up, hoping for all day long to have good luck… We stopped 5 miles short of Kendal for a bacon sandwich and tea.

By the time we reached Kendal it was clear Graham R had a problem with his bike as it was making lots of weird noises. This turned out to be the front wheel bearing giving up and despite calling at a cycle shop in Kendal we were unable to get replacement bearings. Fortunately we were carrying a spare front wheel in the support vehicle and we were soon able to replace the front wheel and carry on our way. This is the only spare front wheel we have, so lets hope that all the other wheels hold out, otherwise it will be quite amusing trying to put a back wheel on the front of the bike!!

From Kendal we climbed Shap Fells and this involved a 15 mile climb taking us to over 1400ft above sea level. The views from the top were spectacular. However, we had to enduring a number of disheartening descents, knowing each time we’d have to climb back up and further.

Lunch was taken part way up the ascent and when we finally got over the peak, the ride down was spectacularly fast and somewhat scary for Graham J who is afraid of heights. But Graham R and Shane love the excitement.

Somewhere on the descent one of Graham J’s drink bottles fell out of the cradle and was lost. So all in all, maybe the penny didn’t bring us that much luck after all. During the time on Shap Fell we met a guy who was talking to Graham R as we were cycling and said he was training to do Lands End to John O’Groats. When Graham R told him that we’re currently doing that very ride right now, the guy spent ages trying to gain information about how it had been so far.

The next town was Penrith which had an annoying one-way system and very little by way of signposts. The one-way system caused us to cycle to the highest point in the town only to drop back to the same level as we were before. At this stage, every foot of climb felt like a 10ft climb.

Graham R was feeling quite a lot of pain in his knee, not wanting to be outdone by Shane, who’s knee is actually a little bit better today, but still painful. Graham J’s main problem is painful thighs (although we all have that problem) and sore bum.

From Penrith to Carlisle involved lots of small climbs across the undulating countryside and we finally arrived in Carlisle at around 6:45pm. Carlisle seems to be a busy and noisy place on a Saturday night, but I guess most places are. So we grabbed a quick pizza and bought it back to the room. While in the pizza shop, a lady called Olive Mann saw our Great Ormond Street t-shirts and explained to us that her mother worked at GOSH in the 1930 and kindly gave us a donation of £10.

Tomorrow we have a 96 mile ride via Dumfries to Kilmarnock and lots more climbing. Our support driver now has the company of her sister Christine so there will be 2 people to help us at the stops, getting food and generally making sure that we’re OK.

We’ve now passed the half way mark, both in terms of days and also in miles. We have actually covered 497 miles, so we can now start the count down to the end. Please remember our JustGiving page and if you haven’t already donated, it would give us a huge boost to see your messages and for the total get nearer to the target.

Day 5 of the Big Ride

Today we have cycled from Newcastle-Under-Lyme to Lancaster, covering 86 miles including, somewhere along the way in the morning, missing a turn resulting in having to do an extra 6 miles. We started off in the rain, which is never a promising thing, however, the rain does tend to make us more determined as we just want to get into the warm and dry. And sorry no pictures today, not really the weather for sight seeing.

After leaving the Travelodge, we cycled through Holmes Chapel and Northwich but never found a snack wagon for the tea and bacon sandwich. So we ended up stopping at a McDonalds and having a small cheese burger each. Then it was off to Warrington, and we crossed both the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey, the later while singing ‘ferry cross the Mersey’ in the pouring rain. We think we might be going slightly mad with the punishment we are putting our bodies through.

We planned to meet the support vehicle on the way out of Wigan but as it was now raining again and we were cold and wet, we asked Charlotte to find a pub, so we could dry off. However, Charlotte kept telling us she could not find a pub, which we thought was strange, so we rode on the try and find her where she had pulled off the road just outside Coppull Moor.

However as we approached we saw she had a man with her and we were both delighted and surprise to see, Shane’s Dad, Andy who drove all the way up from Cambridge to see us and greeted us with a warm campervan. He had put out the awning on his van, put on the heater and put the kettle on. It turned out he was hoping to meet with us in the morning at the hotel before we left. However, he broke down in his Van on the A14, delaying him a bit. He got back on the road and managed to get to the Travelodge about half an hour after we left, and spent the morning with the support driver going to Sainsbury’s to pick up yet more supplies and filling up with diesel and petrol, before finding a place to stop for lunch.

We filled ourselves with food and cups of tea before leaving. For the final 37 miles, but then the curse hit again and after maybe about 200 metres Graham J got a puncture, so went back to the support to fix this.

We set back out from the lunch stop again, yet again in the pouring rain.
It continued raining for the whole afternoon gradually getting heavier and heavier, eventually turning into thunderstorms as we passed through Preston. It was also cold and we knew we just had to keep going in order to keep our body temperature up. Even short breaks left us feeling very cold, so we pushed on with Graham R leading, Shane following and Graham J bringing up the rear and getting covered in spray from the other two. Not that it really matters, as it was so wet, we were soaked for the whole ride and at times we were riding through flood water which sprayed over our feet keeping our shoes full of water. In addition, every time a vehicle passed us we got covered in spray. We eventually arrived back at the hotel absolutely soaked!!

During the afternoon, Shane was having some problems with his knee, possibly partly to do with the cold from the rain. At one point, his knee completely locked up and he was struggling to move it. Graham R and Graham J thought that this was the end for Shane’s ride, however after making a very loud cracking noise, it seemed to be okay again and is not hurting too much.

The support driver found the Travelodge we are staying in tonight in Lancaster and brought up all the stuff to the rooms, however, unfortunately the rooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floors, but luckily there are lifts which meant we didn’t have to carry our bikes up 3 flights of stairs!!

The prize for the worst drivers goes to Wigan today, where one driver tried 3 times to knock Graham J off his bike and another driver pulled out of a parking spot as Graham J was passing. We are beginning to wonder if Graham J is bad luck, given the number of punctures he has had and his luck with drivers.

Finally, thanks to our friend Robin, who e-mailed Taylors of Harrogate (makers of Yorkshire Tea), after mention of them in this blog before and while they can’t provide cash, because the already support specific charities, they have sent us some tea and other goodies.

Tomorrow we are back to climbing as we cross the Lake District to Carlisle, where we hope to meet Christine, Graham J’s other daughter.