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

 

LEJOG Day 0

So here we are. Planning, training and “tapering” complete.

Day 0 has meant travelling down to Land’s End, or rather St. Just which is approximately 7 miles up the road, and then an evening meal with the entire group overlooking Cape Cornwall.

This time, Team B2B are represented by “Ha’way Man” (Harry), “Axle” (Mark), “Diesel” (Adam), “ZT” (Nick) and “Foz” (Warren). Better intros and photos of each to follow over the next few days . . .

MASSIVE shout out to Stu “DJ Banksy” Banks for giving Axle and Foz a lift to the start line, superb effort way and above the call of duty #weoweyouone

He brought us down to Land’s End for a quick sight-see and then it was off to the hotel . . .

Along with the five of us there’s about another 20 or so to complete this 10 day tour group from Land’s End To John O’Groats via some pretty spectacular routes, each of approximately 100 miles per day. Nerves are jangling and thoughts are turning to the start line as Martin the tour leader tells us that the hardest days are Day 1, 2 and 8 . . .

To read about our chosen cause, please do take a moment to have a look at:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/b2blejog

That’s it for now . . . tomorrow we ride!

Team B2B

#getyourtoein

Team MTB2B – Lakes Bash ’18

It’s taken a while but it’s finally here . . .

Via an old friend of Rob’s, we decided to go for a Welsh Lakes bash this year by paying a visit to the fantastic follies of Foel Ortho.

The setting was too good to pass up and with the surrounding terrain being lumpy (to say the least) we opted for mountain bikes, much to Wolvervine’s delight.

Friday was the usual local scouting affair and Foz was running late so Everlast, Axle, Wolverine, Cheesy and Wheelz set out for a lap of Lake Vyrnwy, eventually caught by Foz at the Lake Tavern.

Saturday was the stuff of classics.

Initially heading for Lake Vyrnwy again, we then went up over Bwlch y Groes Pass overlooking the Aran mountains which took us into the clouds followed by an endless drop onto the south end of Lake Bala. After a coffee and cake pit stop it was back over to Vyrnwy via the Hirnant Valley which was a climb reminiscent of some of the steeper peak district ascents.

Overall there were no real dramas except for the luckiest of broken chains (in the last mile of the ride, only downhill left) and something tells me we’ll be having another round of Perudo at some point.

Lakes Bash ’18 video here:

#getyourfollieson

The Belgium Spring Classic

Almost a full team travelled over this year with very few changes to the routes, except for finally finding Oude Kwaremont which we missed by a matter of metres last year.

B2B HQ was in Kortrijk again and we couldn’t have asked for better weather for the whole tour, and the local establishments were as splendid as ever . . .

Day 1 saw a roll out to Carrefour d’larbre again followed by the last 20km of the Paris-Roubaix ending at the velodrome.

The 2nd day was all about the cobbled climbs with Paterberg, Koppenberg and the elusive Oude Kwaremont up first with a fantastic shrine/cafe dedicated to previous competitive climbers:

Cracking trip, Belgium is starting to find its way on to the regular event calendar. After the summer sportive season , next up is an MTB weekend . . .

Spring Classic video here:

#getyourleffein

Cadair Idris, The Return

Almost 20 years ago to the day, my mate HD had a plan to ride up a mountain seeing as “we had mountain bikes”. It sounded reasonable enough, so we camped at Dolgellau and set out the next morning to take it on. I’d not been riding long and was on my first proper MTB (Saracen hardtail). It’s fair to say that without any kind of fitness, I did manage it but it properly knocked me about for a day or two afterwards, not to mention the fact that I probably walked about two thirds the way up, pushing instead of riding.

HD was armed with a camera:

 

Since rediscovering riding in 2011, I’ve wanted another crack at this. Having re-invested in an MTB last year and finding myself on a family holiday just 20 miles away from the start  line of Abergynolwyn, the 20th anniversary ride was on. Unfortunately, visibility was nothing like it was back then, but it was good to be back just the same.

Video here:

#getyourclimbingon

Lakes Bash 2017

It’s been a while since this excursion, but the video is finally up!

This year was the best turn out we’ve had with a team of no less than ten riders, to the extent that we had to rent two cottages and for the first time we headed away from Haverthwaite and the southern Lakes and set up B2BHQ at Low Briery just outside of Keswick.

Day 1 was the usual distance heading further north but the slightest of mishaps from the routemaster meant that we added a comedy off -road section including a brisk uphill ramble #MTB2B

What followed on the other side was some of the best surface we’ve had in the north and we rounded out the day taking in the picturesque Bassenthwaite Lake before stopping for a charger at the Farmers Arms.

Day 2 was, as always, what we were there for and this time was no different. The plan was for a couple of climbs over Honister Pass and Whinlatter Pass, broken up by a descent and climb out of Whitehaven.

Once again, a little bit of off-road never hurt anyone . . . :o)

Some great riding and once again we dropped exceptionally lucky with the weather. Bring on next year but until then, here’s a few video memories;

What’s next . . . Mad March Hare?

#getyourtoein

Enduro V – Video

It’s taken a while to get round to, but here it is. This year’s Enduro clip;

#getyourtoein