LEJOG Stage 10 – Lairg to John O’Groats

Distance: 95 Miles / 155 Km

Elevation: 4,494ft / 1,370m

This was a day to savour. All we could do was hope that we could get to the end. These kinds of distances and elevations meant that it was never a given.

As we were spread out across a number of B&B’s and hotels last night, the message was to cycle to the Highland Hotel in Lairg, meet up with the rest of the team and then make our way up to Crask (which was 20 km up the road) for the final morning brief. This was a tough start to the day with a full-on headwind and rain to slow us down. We still looked good though:

After a cheeky cuppa at the Crask Inn, this was the board for he final day:

Exactly as it says, where the loch became the river we had the first brew at about 50 km in. This followed a simply stunning ride through Altnaharra and the following picture was taken to try and define just how simple life had become:

A cracking lunch followed, but everyone wanted to just push on as we’d now turned at Betty Hill and we final had a tailwind. The nuclear plant at Dounraey wasn’t far away along the coastline and made for an interesting stop:

Just as we were making excellent time, it was Foz’s turn to once again put the proverbial spanner in the works. A snapped rear gear cable into the last 60 km meant that we had to contact “Moves” who swooped in and worked his usual magic.:

Not long after, we were into the last 40 km and it was time for the final afternoon brew. We’re gonna miss these once we’re back home . . .

Consulting the travelling map showed us just how far we’d come with mere inches left:

At 18 km to go, we all had to meet up to try and get everyone to travel the final stint together. We heard “we’ll meet at a pub and then . . .”:

The wider team converged and we set off for the final stretch knowing that once we’d completed it we’d be on for over 1,700 km in 10 days with climbing that equalled that of riding up Mount Everest . . . twice.

For one last throw of the dice, Foz’s free-hub starting sticking with 4 km to go and resulted in throwing his chain into his spokes. In order to stop this from resulting in catastrophe he just had to keep pedalling, even when braking which was a challenge.

This wasn’t going to stop us though, and not long after 5:00pm it was all over:

Words can’t describe the relief felt by us all, so we celebrated and retired to the bar to sit on something that wasn’t a saddle and drink something celebratory #thanksnick:

The last chapter of this incredible journey was dinner and presentations with the entire team:

So there you have it. The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, but its fair to say that everyone breathed a sigh of relief that they’d made it from end-to-end (largely) unscathed.

As challenges go, this was up there with the best of them. On day 1, Julie (Peak Tours) described it as being in a “bubble” and she was spot on. The wealth of experience and support brought by our hosts meant that all we had to do was stay hydrated, fed and rested (where possible) in order to get out on the road and eat up the miles each and every day and for that we offer our sincerest thanks.

A huge congratulations goes out to all the riders, especially Team B2B of course who were riding for an extremely important cause . . . https://uk.viginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

Until the next time, I think its fair to say that we’re looking forward to not riding tomorrow so . . .

TOMORROW WE HIDE!!!

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

LEJOG Stage 9 – Grantown-on-Spey to Lairg

Distance: 92 Miles / 150 Km

Elevation: 4,402ft / 1,342m

Not any old “Tom, Dick an ‘arry” . . . this is Thom(as), Nick and Harry about to start Stage 9 from Grantown-on-Spey:

“H”, of course, dapper as always  #teammod

As we’re going further north, the B&B’s are getting smaller and we’re becoming spread out across some of these smaller towns, but it’s all good as the hospitality has been great.

A later “board meeting” than usual meant that we didn’t set out until closer to 9 and, as were still in the Cairngorms, first up was a hefty climb. We saw this fella on the way up though:

This single climb took us up and over to first brew and then on to the country’s most northern city, Inverness. This gave us another iconic bridge to knock off the list . . . The Kessock:

It was then heads down for a fast spell to get us to lunch at “Batty’s Baps” at Dingwall (insert gag of choice here).

The afternoon took us up to Evanton and into full-on open country before dropping into Bonar Bridge, where we just had to take a couple of pics from the descent, but probably won’t do it justice:

This is a stunning part of the world, with every view changing by the hour, such is the power of the weather here.

The final leg over to Lairg also came with a visit to the “Falls of Shin”:

You’ll see from the sign that this was highly recommended by the Peak Tours team as there was a viewing platform to watch the Salmon Leap, superb stuff (not the best still from a video clip, but you get the idea):

All in all, a great penultimate day finished off in the local bar and a team meal in our home for the night at Lairg, but first, here’s “H” showing us the way:

So this is it . . .

We hope you’ve enjoyed the updates, but tomorrow it’s the final 95 mile leg of our odyssey which will take us from Lairg to John O’Groats. It’s been incredibly tough but, as expected, massively rewarding.

We therefore still have a long way to go to complete our attempt(s), but as it stands for tonight, confidence is rising. So for one last time . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

LEJOG Stage 8 – Perth to Grantown-on-Spey

Distance: 95 Miles / 154 Km

Elevation: 7,939ft / 2,420m

The Cairngorms did not disappoint. Day 8 was always billed as “without doubt one of the toughest days of the tour” and they weren’t wrong. Last night’s weather forecast had thunder and lightning hitting up on top by early afternoon so an emergency meeting last night resulted in us setting off earlier than usual this morning.

The first stint saw a cracking climb out of Moffat over the River Tay, onto Blairgowrie and up towards the Ski resort of Glenshee, although before we got there we had a minor mechanical with ZT’s tyre becoming unbeaded:

Not long after our unscheduled stop, this sign came up on the left hand side and we knew exactly what it meant:

The summit of Glenshee itself was at the end of an extremely straight, long and painful ascent through the pass:

Up ahead, the weather reports were already looking ominously accurate and the descent to Braemar brought us back down to earth for lunch at the Bothy which was a fab little place who put out the favoured soup and sarnies:

The afternoon stint was always about achieving four significant climbs, the third of which was the infamous Lecht that boasted 15% uphill torture in parts. The following three pictures give a reasonable idea of how the weather report rang in entirely as planned as we made our way through the national park:

Once we got onto the Lecht climb, the weather hit and the skies opened. It’s difficult to explain the sheer volume of water that fell out of the sky to the backdrop of rolling thunder as the sky continued to darken, but it was hard even just see where we were going.

We arrived at the Ski Centre at the summit of Lecht for the second brew and everyone appeared one by one in various states of incredulity. We’d all ridden in the wet before, but this was another level.

After drinking up and moving on, the fifth climb of the day titled “Bridge of Brown” came as a bit of a surprise, but we tackled it knowing that we were within 20km of the day’s end at that point.

At this point, it’s worth mentioning our guides and hosts, Peak Tours.

Julie, Simon and Martin have gone to great lengths to make sure that everyone on the tour (25+ riders) got what they needed, when they needed it. They work overtime most nights, but last night they did everything possible to plan our way through the Cairngorms today with safety at its most paramount, and we all got through. Their vans were readily seen passing back and forth all day making sure that we were all best placed to make our attempts at getting across the range. Bravo, folks, you set an extremely high bar.

We’re 800 miles in with 200 to go. The next two days bring some coastal rides and yet more stiff climbs so this isn’t over yet. Get some rest everyone, because . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

LEJOG Stage 7 – Moffat to Perth

Distance: 96 Miles / 155 Km

Elevation: 4,622ft / 1,409m

When the B2B boys are training around their home towns and looking at their surroundings, dreaming of their perfect ride, it will be of a climb where you can just sit at 15 kph just counting off the gradient heading, for the summit on a perfect piece of silken tarmac with no coarse spots or holes . . . and then barreling down a descent that feels three times longer than the climb was, with a nudge of a tailwind making it an absolute pleasure to keep turning . . .

Today was that day.

We left Moffat and went up over the Scottish Borders which included a view of the source of the Tweed. Spectacular stuff that literally ended at the first Brew Van. This is ZT and Ha’way Man showing us how it’s done:

Rolling up on lunchtime, Edinburgh beckoned which the route took us through the centre of. You won’t quite make it out here, but Foz and Ha’way Man are actually stood in front of a fella with bagpipes with Edinburgh castle behind him:

After a posh lunch at a Miller and Carter it was a matter of minutes before crossing the Forth bridge at Queensferry:

Then, the first puncture of the trip with ZT taking the honours and putting in an impressive pit-stop/turnaround.

The roll up towards Perth was then underway and, whilst out in the countryside, we kept seeing the sign below. We have no idea what it means specifically, but we’ve decided we like the idea:

Next, the outskirts of Perth which Ha’way Man demonstrated perfectly:

Arrival at the hotel presented us with the view below. Everyone was checking out their bikes knowing that tomorrow is a proper climbing day:

Excellent (Royal George) hotel, excellent view from the room:

Early evening, we headed off down the High Street to find some food and came across this. Not something we tend to find in our local town centres, but impressive nonetheless. By the looks of it, they’re also catering for the American tourist market:

Then back to the room where I came across this cheeky blighter (look closely):

Tomorrow’s ride is expected to be extremely wet with some pretty horrible forecasts given for the entire day. This meant that we needed an emergency brief this evening and a vote on options for how we tackle the formidable “Day 8”:

The vote’s are in, and we set off at 7:15am instead of the usual 8:30am.

Tackling the notorious Day 8 was best described by Ha’way Man yesterday . . . “It’s like fighting a Gorilla”, he says “in that you don’t stop when you’re tired, you stop when the Gorilla’s tired”. Wise words indeed Mr “H”.

Sleep now for tonight, because . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

LEJOG Stage 6 – Crosthwaite to Moffat

Distance: 95 Miles / 154 Km

Elevation: 4,250ft / 1,300m

Today, we completed the rest of England and finished in Scotland.

Unfortunately, the team also ran out of Diesel today. The peloton engine himself has been forced to retire due to a health issue but he was immense for us and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The day’s instructions also suggested that Mark and I had been put into a hotel separate to everyone else . . . same for Ha’way Man and ZT . . . not sure what they’re trying to tell us:

Axle finished the day yesterday with a flare-up of a recurring knee injury but wanted to see how today would pan out so started with us. We headed deep into the Lake District via Windermere and up over Kirkstone Pass which warmed us up early doors:

Before descending to Ullswater, Penrith and Carlisle, there were all sorts of views that we knew were only going to get better from here on in:

We finally broke the border at Gretna which, at this point, was gave us a change in weather, so we didn’t hang about for a photo. On Day 2, Ha’way Man said that he would be disappointed if he didn’t experience some “proper Scottish weather” on this ride. His wish came true with a monster rain and headwind fuelled 15km peloton into Annan.

When the sky did finally break we came upon a junction that had the following sign that we just had to take a snap of to believe we’d come this far:

The overnight stay is in Moffat. Our hotel (The Star) is apparently the narrowest in the world(?) which is where we’ll be eating early doors.

Here’s some top Team B2B tips of the day:

• Ride within yourself. Don’t chase it, let it come to you.
• Go easy on the descents, if you put the pace on then all you are doing is arriving at the next climb sooner.
• On a multi-day ride, when it’s time for Sudocrem (and you’ll know when it’s time), don’t hold back . . . go at it like a drunken chimpanzee.
• Make sure you wear something to stop your lips from chapping in the wind day-after-day, otherwise this happens:

Unfortunately, Axle’s knee issues took him out of the game at lunch break, and now for good. We wish him well, and from tomorrow we’ll be a peloton of three . . . McHa’way Man, McZT and McFoz. Wish us look, because . . .

TOMORROW WE HAVE A WEE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

LEJOG Stage 5 – Leigh to Crosthwaite

Distance: 84 Miles / 135 Km

Elevation: 4,051ft / 1,235m

In your best Proclaimers voices folks . . .

“And we have ridden five hundred miles, and we will ride five-hundred more,

Just to see the sign at John O’Groats, so we can watch the Whisky pour . . . Ba-da-da-daaaaa” . . . etc, etc

Beyond proud today as we are HALFWAY. This means that we can started counting backwards instead of forwards which is always important on an Endurance event such as this. Sores have starting becoming agonising, muscle cramps are becoming tears, but its all a part of the experience (apparently).

The team took a different shape today as Diesel had to leave the peloton for today, but our Axle’s back in the saddle! In fact, last night ended with Axle bringing a “donor” bike over to the hotel for Foz and Diesel to raid for parts, which was done under the watchful guidance of Martin the mechanical wizard. All good.

Diesel’s cassette swap came with a caveat to not run big ring to biggest cassette cog otherwise the result would be catastrophic, but more on that later. . .

So . . . let’s wind back . . . First the daily board, here’s Julie:

During the brief, ZT spotted that he’d had a complete gearing failure. His electronic setup failed due to being discharged (we think), but before long, he got up and running with a different charger:

After waiting for some juice to flow, we finally got going . . . and then disaster . . . remember that earlier caveat of Diesel’s?:

Hmmm . . . That’s a pic of a derailleur that’s been sheared off and gone through the spokes which happened 200 metres into the ride. Diesel therefore had to walk back to wait for Julie and the van whilst the rest of the team set about the ride.

Ha’way Man’s response was priceless . . . “It’ll polish out, I reckon . . . ”

By first brew, talk turned to how Diesel was getting on . . . who was now driving to Blackburn for spares. Here’s ZT and Axle refuelling:

A few more cities got either ticked off or circumnavigated today including Bolton, Preston and Blackburn. This was a bridge in the middle of Lancaster and at least three of us are in this photo somewhere:

Talk in today’s peloton turned to weird bodily signals being thrown up during the challenge so far, from feeling sick, to fighting fit, to hungry to full, all within short time frames. “Ha’way Man” likened it to Pavlov’s Dog theorem, in that when we now actually sit down to eat, the body has learned what’s coming next . . . I think he may have a point.

It was then up into the southern part of the Lake District with a cracking view back to Grange-over-Sands:

Finally, we finished the day in Crosthwaite, easily the best digs (and evening meal) so far at the Damson Dene Hotel. By mid-evening each night, though, we’re starting to notice a distinct smell of “Deep Heat” up and down the corridors.

This was funny . . . Beyond Diesel, there’s another NZ rider in the group (Symon) who’s a great character. He has the biggest handlebar bag you’ve ever seen and whilst out on route yesterday a chap riding alongside asked him, “why the big bag, man, what are you carrying?”.

With a dead-pan look and perfect timing, Symon turned and responded “All of my money” and then focused forwards and pedalled on his way. Superb.

We’re expecting the first spell of rain tomorrow, but more importantly we’re heading into Windermere, climbing out via Kirkstone Pass and finishing the day in Scotland. Yes . . . Scotland . . . ALREADY! Strange days indeed . . .

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this far, we are riding for an extremely important cause that’s close to our hearts. Our full story can be found at:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

Thanks for reading folks, and remember . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#lejog2019

 

LEJOG Stage 4 – Leominster to Leigh

Distance: 108 Miles / 175 Km

Elevation: 3,943ft / 1,202m

The longest day (distance-wise) for the entire trip and it’s fair to say we felt it in the legs.

Although billed as a “recovery day” (what?!), the route out of Ludlow soon warmed up with some undulating parts and a couple of really testing climbs around Wenlock Edge before first brew. This was made all the more testing for the team in that Foz was running on only the big ring for the entire day due to yet more technical woes. Rob and Bev paid us a visit again though, which was great:

At this point we realised that we’d done half of the climbing for the whole day, which cheered us up no end and we absolutely stole our way along the next section to get to lunch, the Queen’s Head at Malpas. Proper cyclists lunch as well:

More country lanes dropped us in Shrewsbury where things got a bit tasty (navigation-wise) in the town centre. Then, loads more flat had us steaming along until the northern members of the team got excited about actually starting to recognise some of place names on the signs:

Our Harry almost became “Dirty Harry” early afternoon when a splash of gravel had him testing his reactions, but you’ll be pleased to know that it was he was all over the under-steer and danger was avoided. If you’re wondering how Ronnie and Reggie (ZT and Diesel) have been getting on today, then keep reading . . .

The end of the ride had us land in Warrington, then out to Helsby for final brew which became very much a sitting down affair:

The ride was completed in Leigh, hometown of our very own Axle who came out to see us with the family. Hopefully more updates from him tomorrow . . . With Foz’s technical woe’s continuing, however (he and ZT finished the day with 21 gears total between them), Axle showed up with a “donor” bike and (fingers crossed) we’re good to go  #thanksfella

Here’s Martin, our Peak Tours mechanic/magician, showing us how the front of a hotel should look:

As for today’s episode of “The Krays” . . . after arriving at the hotel, ZT booked a massage for a few of his aches and pains brought on by the trip thus far. Whilst he had been pre-warned about the vigorous nature of pain that this particular masseuse enjoyed doling out, even he was somewhat surprised when they said “it may bruise a bit” and it looked like this 15 minutes later:

Ouchy,

We hit the Lake District next, which will hopefully bring superb stories and leaves us with only one final thing to say . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#teamb2b

#getyourtoein

#getonthebigring

#lejog2019

LEJOG Stage 3 – Street (Glastonbury) to Leominster

Distance: 100 Miles / 160 Km

Elevation: 6,492ft / 1,979m

Today was a little trickier in terms of navigation, but although the elevation was similar, the climb profiles were generally easier . . . except for two absolute beasties!

First though, Diesel wanted to make special mention of ZT insisting on watching “Love Island” whilst resting up last night . . . so:

On with the show!

Day 3 started in the usual way with rider brief, things to look out for, etc, and by about 8:30am we were underway for the longest distance yet.

First up was a jaunt over to Wells which was immediately followed by an absolute killer of a climb out. There were a few other hills along the way but this was complimented by some fast flat sections. A big highlight in this first section was the Clifton Suspension Bridge:

Although later than normal  (50km), it wasn’t long before the brew van appeared. We can’t stress enough just how welcome a sight this is . . . although after three days we think that Diesel might finally be over Bertie Bassets All-sorts :

Next up was the exit from Bristol and out of the Severn Bridge which was a real checkpoint for us all as we left Cornwall, Devon and Somerset behind and reached Wales on the other side:

Then lunch came at Tintern, just this side of Monmouth:

The Wye Valley followed lunch which was a superb scenic ride, then ultimately into  Hereford and then northwards into Shropshire and the final destination for the day of  Leominster, where we rolled in just after 5:30pm.

The fella’s gave Foz huge support today when transmission failure yesterday left him on a bike where he couldn’t get up out of the saddle to push without slipping gears, and it was hugely appreciated fellas . . . Martin, the Peak Tours Maintenance Wizard, has worked his magic overnight and tomorrow’s even longer stage should be a much better proposition.

Rob “Shoulders” (too soon?) and Bev Wheeler came to see us today which was fab as he’d unfortunately had to miss this trip due to a fracture collarbone:

They were joined by H’s wife, daughter and granddaughter later in the evening so that we could all get together and it was great to see everyone. Thanks for all the support and making the trip over guys!

Today’s story of the day from the saddle when the boys were discussing days gone by . . .

• Diesel’s mate – “So how big does a Pelican grow to?”
• Diesel looks back confused wondering why his mate suddenly thinks that zoology is his field.
• Diesel – “I have no idea, and why would I?”
• Diesel’s mate – “Well does it grow to 10 riders? 20?”

Priceless.

Anyway . . . as “Ha’way Man” himself would say . . . “Let’s Frappe La Rue” (priceless in a north eastern accent) . . . because . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#getyourtoein

#teamb2b

#lejog2019

LEJOG Stage 2 – Plymouth to Street (Glastonbury)

Distance: 96 Miles / 155 Km

Elevation: 6,305ft / 1,922m

Tough climbing, tough distance, awesome riding.

The day started with bad news. Our man Axle had to stop due to illness and was extremely gutted. Peak Tours got him to the station and he got home safely later in the day and we all wish him well.

But with limited rest it was on with the show . . . first it was the busy roads of Plymouth for 8 miles before making the difficult but spectacular ascent over Dartmoor. The weather has continued to be incredible, so up there, there’s no hiding from it. Absolutely no complaints though, the comedy tan lines are coming along nicely.

Once on top, we had to take a look back at the route up:

. . . and here’s the team being pretty pleased with themselves:

Gorgeous.

Next, a descent to Moretonhampstead was followed by an undulating road to Exeter. By this point we were a third distance but with half the days climbing already bagged. Then it was time for the Brew Van. Here’s Diesel and ZT (centre) deciding whose getting which side of the bed tonight:

Then a reminder that cycling’s dangerous with an innocuous turn from one of the wider group going wrong, luckily we had Doctor Diesel and the Peak Tours gang on hand to offer sound advice:

After Broadhembury came another tough climb followed by a superb long flat section.

For the riders out there: We made this a 4-man chain-gang for 12km sitting at 33-35kmph, absolutely blistering and gave us the quote of the day . . . Ha’way Man moving over to let Diesel take up the front position muttering “punch it Chewie . . .” 🙂

Lunch was fab once again with all sorts available and the all-important bottle-refill:

Then it was a descent to Corfe and onto Taunton race course and second brew stop where, for the first time, I noticed this map in the back of the van:

The last stretch towards Street was reasonably flat on quiet roads.

Thanks to everyone who has been supporting our cause, please do head over to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog to read our story.

Off for some all-important carbs now, but remember . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!!!

Team B2B

#getyourtoein

#teamb2b

#lejog2019

LEJOG Stage 1 – Land’s End to Plymouth

Distance: 97 Miles / 157 Km

Elevation: 7,132ft / 2,174m

The day finally arrived. All of the talking, training and logistics had resulted in us converging at the Cape Cornwall Hotel in St.Just. A team meal and brief last night left everyone with a massive sense of anticipation and the general sense of the 30 or so riders in the room was, “we need to get on with this and start riding . . .”

Here, here.

With the start line at Land’s End being 11km away, we had to ride to it first. This was just about to get underway when Diesel pops up with “erm, lads? I’ve got no power to my cassette (back gear cogs)”.

Disaster.

Poking and prodding wouldn’t fix it, so one of the team guides (Martin, top fella) tried to take a look en-route. Again, no dice.

We decided to head off down to the start line anyway and Diesel detoured to the tour van for a proper look which turned out to be a wiring issue so we got on with the daily team brief which looked something like this:

Daunting stuff. Team now together and ready to get underway we did the obligatory team shot first:

. . . and with that we were off. The first target was 10 miles to Penzance and St.Michael’s Mount (fabulous views, and we had the weather for it). Next up, we headed into the Cornish Hills for St. Austel, Falmouth and Looe, with the Brew Van and lunch provided along the way (more on the Brew Van another day).

The days are effectively 100 miles each, split into 4 parts broken up with a brew in the morning, lunch and then another brew mid-afternoon which works really well. The real issue today was the sheer challenge of going into such a brutal first day, with non-stop climbing and descending throughout with the section straight after lunch being the most difficult and almost breaking us for the final 2 hour stint.

Anyway , the important thing was that we looked good:

The strangest thing about today was that we had to also catch three different ferries along the south-coast which provided a few moments rest. The first of these was called the “King Harry”. So naturally, here’s our “King Harry” looking fairly regal . . . Ha’way Man himself:

We didn’t complete the ride until 7:45pm so this is it for tonight’s blog . . . and remember . . .

TOMORROW WE RIDE!

Team B2B

#getyourtoein

#kingharry

#teamb2b