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DAY 12 Dornoch-JOHN O GROATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-26T08:51:00.001-07:00

Well thats it we have done it!!!

RIDE TIME; 5HOURS 25MINS

MILEAGE; 82.4

AVG SPEED; 15.19

Well thats the end of a fantastic trip, we did feel tired this morning after yesterdays big mileage but we soon got into the ride, it does look quite flat but its not we had a 13% and a 10% to climb, on reaching Wick we started to get white line fever as the end was in sight we had also had a call from the girls to tell us to get a move on because the signpost was going to close at 3pm - this was at 1.30pm! We did a max 42mph downhill at one section!!!

Its been a great ride and trip, the girls fed us and kept us in good shape all the way so a BIG thank you to them as well as Paul and his family for the use of their caravan - THANKS!

We had 2 lovely people stop us and give us donations on our arrival at Jog and we would like to say a special thanks to Helen and family who met us on the way and restored our faith in human kind, so THANK YOU , and to end we would just like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has donated to such a great cause, we thought of our lost loved ones along the way and hope that the money raised will help others in their time of need.

ANDY, TRACY, ROB & LISA

Been there, done that AND got the T shirt!

DAY 11 Newtonmore-Dornoch

2008-09-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

What a cold morning!

Stunning camp site

RIDE TIME; 6HOURS 18MIN

MILEAGE; 100.3 (longest ever ride)

AVG SPEED; 15.85

The start of the ride we were really really cold, we got to Kingussie and had to go into a shop to get some plastic bags for our hands and feet, we did try to get the girls to meet us with our gloves but they had left long since. Standing in the shop I was nearly sick with the cold and Rob almost passed out, never know cold like it!!! The Cairngorms nearly ate us alive! We got to Aveimore and went into a cafe, I took my shoes and jacket off to thaw out, after that we were fine, the sun came out and it was too hot then.........! We found a great cycle path that was the original road to Inverness, a great decent into Inverness reaching speeds of over 40mph.

On ascending the Black Isle we had a problem at a T junction, Rob went to go one way me the other and we collided, my pedal ripped off Robs rear mech hanger and bent the chain, we made an urgent call to the girls who by now were at the camp site some 40 miles away, they went all the way back to Inverness to a bike shop that Ben had found on the net and got us the parts we needed, we manged to get going and I converted the bike to single speed till the girls got to us, we did a quick roadside repair and off we went again, long day as we did not get to the site till 5pm and the mileage so far is 887.

We loved Dornoch the campsite was right near the beach, we did lunch and just coming out we got a call from the lads, they needed some spares, we made a mad dash back to Inverness to the bike shop who had the bits we wanted, found the boys and left them to it.86 mile round trip in all but Ben had found a shop and gave us the postcode so that Sally Satnav could find it!

We went into Dornoch to the pub as they had free WIFI so thanks to the Dornoch Castle Hotel we could update a bit of the blog!

Tracy

DAY 10 Auchterader-Newtonmore

2008-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

The good old A9 goes on and on!

RIDE TIME; 6 HOURS 6 MINS
MILEAGE; 92.5
AVG SPEED; 15.15

Started early just about to turn off and the girls passed us and beeped, seems they had a problem with the indicators on the van, just the connection so we sprayed it with GT85 and headed out towards Perth, got a bit lost around here, picked up the A9 again at Bankfoot the first few miles were quite flat with sunshine, started to climb the Grampian mountains, climb after climb after climb with the wind against us, started to get tired and missed the turning that we were going to take for lunch. Andy hit Robs rear wheel and managed to stay upright on the bike AGAIN but it seems we were jinxed on this bit of the ride as Rob hit my rear wheel and feel off in the middle of the A9, I was shouting at him to get up out of the fast lane of the duel carriageway, we were so lucky that nothing was coming as he would of been run over for sure! Robs tyre popped off the rim and he bent the rear mech as well, Rob has managed to graze his bum! We must of climbed for over 2 hours gradual then we dropped into Delwhinnie for lunch we met 2 ladies doing end to end who were in their 60's they had started the week before us but with no helmets! Followed map into Newtonmore but had trouble finding the campsite, it turned out that we had missed it 2.5 miles back!!! Today was one of the hardest days we have had so far.

What a stunning campsite we found right in the middle of the Highlands, INVERHAVON is a must if ever you are travelling this way, £23.20 per night - not cheap but worth the price for the surroundings!

Not much in Newtonmore at all, we did find a Co-op for some shopping. Be warned, the pubs dont serve alcohol till 12.30pm on a Sunday!

Boys arrived around 4ish and it just started to drizzle, we cant moan, the sun has followed us up from Lands End all the way.

Tracy

DAY 9 Peebles-Auchterarder

2008-09-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE

Still here and doing it!

RIDE TIME; 5 HOURS 28 MINS
MILEAGE; 80
AVG SPEED: 14.6mph

We found the ride quite flat till we reached Edinburgh, had to stop at Roslyn Chapel to check out the Knights Templar but it was not open as the National Trust now own it and were doing some restoration works, bit of a shame as Andy wanted to find the Holy Grail on this trip..............

We went over the Forth Bridge - fantastic views to the railway bridge, it was very windy and it was blowing into our faces so made it a bit hard going at times. We made our way across the mountain road and arrived at Gleneagles - what a stunning place with great views from the golf course, photos to follow!

Rob has got a problem with this freewheel, we don't have a spare but stripped it out as best we could as its a sealed unit, we will just have to see how it goes, Rob not finishing is NOT an option and as the girls have said we can always hire a bike for the last bit, only 3 days left now, we cant believe how far up we have come looking at the map of the UK, its been a great trip and we will all be sorry to finish at John O'Groats.

Us girls were on the campsite by 10.30am we seem to be getting earlier!! Good run up, nice little site the lady put us in the car park as we were leaving early and wanted a BIG space for me to reverse the caravan into so we parked up there and went into Auchterarder and had lunch at the cafe, nice little place not much there but we did a bit of shopping so we could feed the lads then went back and chilled most of the afternoon as we are starting to feel worn out as well, we are just so glad that we don't have to put the tent up and down every day - we would of been dead on our feet by now!!! Thanks again Paul!!!!

Tracy

DAY 8 Carlisle-Peebles

2008-09-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

The things you find..........................

Lovely Scotland!

RIDE TIME; 5 HOURS 6 MIN
MILEAGE; 75.4
AVG SPEED; 14.79

We managed to find WIFI at last and update the blog!!!

We left this morning in drizzle, first sign of any rain at all on the whole trip. Carlisle was very busy as we made our way to the A7. The scenery is very dramatic with mountains, forests and rivers, we saw a sign that said "Please drive careful, red squirrels crossing"!!! Met a couple on holiday from California they were cycling from London to Edinburgh.

In the middle of nowhere we found a Tibetan Monastery.

This has to be the best cycling we have ever done and that includes Cyprus and Mount Olympus!

Peebles is a lovely place, us girls found a nice Hotel to do lunch and update the Internet as best we could, we had Haggis which was very nice!

Boys got back to the camp site around 4pm after a great ride, legs and bums are fine so we have been informed!

Off to Auchterarder tomorrow, Andy had named it Auto Trader cause he cant say it...........

Tracy

DAY 7 Garstang- Carlisle

2008-09-19T04:41:00.005-07:00

SCOTLAND AT LAST!

We are still here!

RIDE TIME; 6 HOURS 5 MINS
MILEAGE; 92.6
AVG SPEED; 15.2 mph

Cold when we left at 8am this morning, cycled into Lancaster and Andy had a run in with a car, the car was turning left and did not indicate at all, he managed to stay upright thank goodness all ok and nothing damaged, mental through these big towns and we have tried to avoid them as much as possible. Lovely route into Kendal then up the dreaded SHAP PASS, steady climbing all the way to 1400 feet got colder the higher we went, great ascent dropped down into Penrith and got a bit lost on the way to the camp site.

Legs starting to feel it a bit now and bum, my knee was a bit funny this morning and Rob has got a sore thigh but apart from that its great.

Lily and I left the camp site, talk about a tight fit but I managed to get her out safe!

Did a bit of shopping just outside Carlisle and had lunch at a pub for a change....

Met a kid that was cycling on his own in a tiny tent, Lily told him that she has knickers that were bigger, he had broke a spoke and the lads tried to help him, Rob has only got odd shaped spokes and Andy does not have any, so could not help the poor chap, he is off to find a bike shop today, we may bump into him again in the future he was off to Fort William today. We made him a coffee and gave him a BIG slice of Helens cake to see him on his way!

Tracy

DAY 6 Whitchurch-Garstang

2008-09-19T04:41:00.004-07:00

ROB AT YET ANOTHER SIGN!

Got lost around Preston!

RIDE TIME; 5 HOURS 45 MIN
MILEAGE; 88.4
AVG SPEED; 15.37m

Went past Warrington Walls rugby ground, another chance for a photo ( will be posted when we get time).

Stopped at another garden centre for lunch, 2 old roadies spoke to us and knew we were doing end 2 end as we had the look so they said, what was that? Worn out look? They informed us that the guy who holds the record for the shortest end 2 end lives up the road and survived on sausages, unlike like us with our roast dinner the girls did us last night!

Total miles now 446.

Set off for camp site around 8.30am, good trip as mostly motorway, missed the turning to the site as it was VERY SMALL and well hidden! Nice little place, lovely lady gave us a donation as well.

Lily had a cold shower and brain freeze. Went to Garstang shopping and did lunch at a lovely pub near the canal, sat outside and had a sandwich as they had no gas!

Lads arrived about 4pm.

Lily met her friend Helen who bought us a food parcel and home made cake, yummy! She also gave us a huge donation towards our petrol which had Lily and I in tears in the pub for her kindness! ONE BIG THANK YOU TO HELEN XXXXXXXXX

Tracy

DAY 5 Tewkesbury-Whitchurch

2008-09-19T04:41:00.002-07:00

ANDY IN SHROPSHIRE

Got a few sore bits today!

AND we now have a caravan with HUGE THANKS TO; PAUL AND FAMILY!!!!!

RIDE TIME; 5 hours 12 mins
MILEAGE; 81.93
AVG SPEED; 15.5mph

Not too many hills turned cold after Telford. Met another 2 chaps who are also doing End 2 End, fully laden and have been on the road for 5 days already!

Followed the river Severn up for a while, long A38 but a very good run.

Us girls towed the lovely caravan to the next site near Whitchurch, nice little site and we are so happy not to have to put the tent up yet again as its such hard work doing it!!!!!

We are all in bed for 9pm, talk about worn out!!!!

Both the lads are fine, its just like a Sunday jaunt for them really, no sign of fatigue at all, must be all the good food we are giving them!

Tracy

DAY 4 Taunton-Tewkesbury

2008-09-19T04:41:00.001-07:00

CAMPING IN TAUNTON

whew! Glad to get here at last.

Ride Time; 6 hrs 8 min
Mileage; 96 miles
Avg speed; 15.65 mph

Had a lovely ride, nice and flat in places, apart from the Mendip hills! Rode under the Clifton suspension bridge.

Had lunch at a well known garden centre and got chucked out for taking the bikes inside!

Had to stop at Gloucester Rubgy ground and have a pic which I will post later.

Terrible time trying to get online to update you all of our progress.

DAY 3 Tavistock-Taunton

2008-09-15T09:15:00.001-07:00

FEELING SORE!

Left campsite around 9am had a fab start over Dartmoor, lots of hard climbs over Pork Hill, great views and the weather was lovely, rode past Dartmoor prison and we met another cyclist riding to Dorset. Climbs got really bad after Morten Hampstead. Andy had a problem with his knee today due to too many hills!

Cycled round Exeter and followed the M5 for about 10/15 miles turned East and went under the Blackdown Hills, we got a bit lost here, small country roads. Had lunch at Cullompton from the Spar shop. Joined B road and had a long downhill into Taunton, arrived at site around 3.30pm.

RIDE TIME; 5 HOURS 41 MINS
MILEAGE 76
AVG SPEED; 13.3mph

Us girls managed to sort the tent out and get everything done before the boys got to us, very long grass at the site so wet. Very noisy as the motorway was near it.

DAY 2 Pendeen-Tavistock

2008-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

LEAVING PENDEEN

We left Pendeen at 8am after a small breakfast of beans on toast and our own muesli.

Lovely day, easy for the first 55 miles then from St Austell to Tavistock it was very hilly, we crossed Cornwall boarder at Gunnislake and we crossed the Taymar river into Devon, quite a long day and we knew that we had cycled 95.2 miles!

RIDE TIME; 6HOURS 52 MINS
MILEAGE: 95.2
AVG SPEED; 13.8mph

Us girls were on the road by 9.30am ready for our first day of putting the tent up, good run up the A30 to a really nice camp site called LANGSTONE MANOR such a nice place and we did not have to pay, we also had free tokens given to us for the showers and hair dryer, fab place to stay if ever you need a great site with a pub as well! Thank you very much!

All fed and watered ready for the next adventure!

DAY 1 Lands End - Pendeen

2008-09-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

LANDS END IN THE RAIN!

Travelled down to Lands End, sorted out bikes and Macmillan t shirts for the photos at the sign post, signed the book at the Hotel and got our piece of paper stamped to say that we have started!

We had to start today because Lands end does not open till 10am and the boys wanted an early start so thats why they have only cycled to Pendeen as we were booked into b&b for the night.

If you buy a photo you get one free if its for charity so that was good!

Rain, rain and a bit more rain for the 10 mile ride so the lads got a bit wet!

Had dinner in the pub and we were in bed for 9.30pm ready for the long trek tomorrow.

ANDY AND ROB SIGNING THE BOOK AT LANDS END.

1 DAY & COUNTING!

2008-09-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Oh dear its nearly here!!!!

We are off to Cornwall in the morning to get to Lands End before it closes so that we can do photos.

All packed up and ready to go, good job we have a trailer!!

Ben has stayed at home, cant get up in the mornings so did not want to do the trip - typical teenager, after loading the trailer and the car there was no room left anyway!!!

We are off out for a "last supper" tonight for a few beers and celebration.....hic.

Tracy & Lily

DONT PANIC!!!!

2008-09-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

ok, its less than a week now till we start the trip and we are all getting a bit excited and scared!!!

What with the tail end of hurricane Gustav we are all looking forward to getting blown away in out very thin tent!

Andy and Rob have both finished stripping and re-building their bikes ready for the off.

so wet here in Wales that Andy has had to do a few turbo training rides, lets hope the rain stops!!

Both lads are positive and looking forward to the trip, they can do no more now, so lets hope all the long hours of cycling have paid off for them!

We will hope to update every day with pictures and video if we can get a connection along the way, so watch this space!

Tracy

ANDY DOING A BIT OF MECHANICS!

2008-08-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Taking out the front and back bearings before we start the trip.

2 WEEKS AND COUNTING!

2008-08-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well its just over 2 weeks till the BIG DAY and the lads are still training hard, Lily and Rob came down the weekend and the boys did a long ride on Sunday, both felt good after and their legs were fine the next day.

Us girls have put everything in place we can think of, doubled checked the camp sites, sorted out the food menus and have lists galore to work to.

We have decided to join the Lands End to John O'Groats club so that we can get a certificate at the end of the trip, just something to remind us of this jolly!

Spares have been ordered, handle bar bags are in place, spare shorts and tops are also packed ready, we have got the suitcases open and are filling them as I type!

We are all excited about the trip, not sure how our lad Ben is going to get up in the mornings mind you, but I am sure a wet flannel will do the trick if we have that much of a problem!

Lily & Rob are very busy working on the route cards, its a bit of a task and they have done a grand job so far, printing off every stage and laminating it small enough to be carried in the boys bags, we do hope they don't get lost!

We have a new video camera so are hoping to post a small video when we can as well as blog the trip, so do stay tuned!

Tracy

Less than 4 WEEKS to GO!!!!!

2008-08-18T09:45:00.001-07:00

Wow this is now getting really scary!
We now have less than 4 weeks to go and the pressure is starting to build, we are putting lots of things in place, we have finalised the route, sorted out meals and menus for the trip, written lots of lists and Lily is in the process of getting our Tee Shirts printed!

Got a great result today, emailed the Fabulous Bakin Boys ref their flapjacks and they are sending us a box FOC! How great is that? Good munchy food for the lads.

http://www.bakinboys.co.uk

Many thanks guys for sending us some freebies!

Andy and Rob are still in training and putting in the big miles, they will start to slow down a bit now as the deadline gets a bit near so not to over train.

Lily & Rob are down for the weekend and we are having a dummy run with the tent, watch out for the blue air over West Wales!

We have booked sunshine for the 2 weeks as we have not yet had a summer we are hoping that its going to be a late Indian one just for us so we dont get wet.

Now have the laptop to take and so will blog as often as we can on the trip to keep everyone informed of our progress daily and the car is booked in to Hafod Trailers to have the tow bar fitted and we will also collect the trailer that Gareth has lent us FOC.

Time is marching on........................................

Tracy

£1,250 Raised!!

2008-08-01T01:56:00.000-07:00

Well this has to be news really!!

Lily and Rob are doing a great job a fund raising, to date we have over £1,250, lets hope we can help someone somewhere.

Another family member passed away this week from Cancer and he will also be in our thoughts on the long trip. Rest in Peace Eddie Kirtley.

Another one gets a mention............

2008-07-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well it seems that Rob is the star as here in Wales Andy just got a little mention in the local news pages of the Cambrian News!!

HERE

Things are starting to move on a little bit now, Rob and Lily are due down at the begining of August to finalise a few details like what food the boys are going to eat! We are going to laminate all the route maps for them as well to take on their bikes, us girls will be OK because we have got Clint Eastwood the SatNav.............bet we still get lost!!

Tracy

Look Whos in the News!!!!

2008-07-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well look who's famous now then???

CLICK HERE!

That was a long one.................!!!

2008-06-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

Had a bit of a ride out on Friday, decided to cycle from Sennybridge to Stroud, in all it was 87 miles, not a bad run, felt it a bit climbing out of Ross on Wye, but crested over the hill to a stunning view, so had another push to get me to Stroud, just a taste of whats to come I am sure!!!

Met Rob on Sunday for a bit of a poodle along, did another 52, legs felt fine.

Andy

Heart foundation ride 18th May 2008

2008-05-20T04:44:00.000-07:00

Rob and myself have been doing this ride for a number of years and always enjoy it, we ride from Robs home to the start and back so we complete over 57 miles.

This year was a little different because we had tickets to the rugby (GLOS V LEICS) and had to get back for Guinness before the kick off and carbo loading!!.

We started a little bit earlier and once warmed up the pace then moved up a notch and the hurt began, ok compaired to riding in West Wales where I live, the hills are not that bad but they do come thick and fast, mid way through, and fair play to Rob he kept at it and we soon found ourselves back at the start in under 2.5 hrs which at our age an't bad for 40 miles over the Cotswolds.

Whats next? Well for me more back to back days over the hills of Wales and a planned ride from Brecon to Stroud, 85 miles approx.

Heart Foundation Ride 18th May

2008-05-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

Off to do the yearly ride in aid of the Heart Foundation, not too bad this one, £5 to enter and its ONLY 40 miles this time so should be easy...................!!!

We are going to have to go out on the bikes on the Saturday as well, just so that we get a good feeling of back to back riding as of yet we are still to ride good mileage over a couple of days to see what its going to be like in September.

Andys fitness levels are getting better, Rob has a full time job and finds it hard to train half as much as Andy but we are getting there slowy!

No news from the begging letters for sponsors that Tracy sent out, its very hard to raise money these days but we have had a few donations and of course support already from a number of people which we are very greatful for.

Will let you know how Sunday goes...............

2008-05-09T05:39:00.001-07:00

78 MILES LATER...............

2008-05-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

We started off at just after 9am, lovely sunny weather, so no jackets packed - wont do that again!

The first stage to the feed station was great, felt a bit off at around 32 miles, not sure why, just getting old! From the start of the second loop the heavens opened just a tad and so we got very very very wet, Rob then had a puncture, fixed that 6 miles later Rob had another puncture, replaced the tube in the pouring rain then found the tube had been pinched whilst re-fitting, by this time I was shaking with cold and was soaked through, so was Rob but he is hard!!! Tried to repair the hole, but could not dry the tube, we did not have a dry place anywhere- not anywhere! Luckily the cavalry arrived in the guise of Carl our Chairman and saved the day, he had a spare tube and very kindly gave me his dry top that he was not wearing as he was in the car after pulling out! At this stage I have to say we nearly gave up and if the broom wagon would of come along we would of got in it and headed for home and warmth - well tent!

We managed to limp to the finish in 71/2 hours, it would of been quicker but for the mechanics along the way, it was a good organised event and if the sun would of been shining I am sure we would of enjoyed it, but we did finish unlike a few wimps that didn't! I wont name names here.......................

Just have to say that while us guys were slogging our hearts out in the pouring rain, the wives had a lovely lunch at Cwtch in St Davids, so they informed us on our return.

Preseli Cyclesportive 4th May

2008-05-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well looks like we are going to get wet this weekend!

We are going to take part in the Preseli Cyclesportive which is a 70ish mile grueling route through and around lots of mountains AND it looks like its going to persist it down all day!!!

We were due to camp, a bit of a dummy run really for Lejog but seeing as we have a choice this time we have decided that our own bed is much nicer and warmer and not a water bed either, so we are staying put at home and driving down on Sunday, the girls are doing "Lunch"..............we are not at all jealous, not at all, no, its fine we don't mind, no REALLY!

Will post an update on how it went, if I can still stand that is...........................

Andy

And so it starts.................

2008-04-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

Well we have started to get things in motion, Lilly has contacted Macmillan and we have received our fund raising pack, we were asked if we wanted green wigs, but we declined as our hair styles are just as silly anyway!

Trying to get organised with letter writing to all sorts of local business men to see if anyone can help, I have to say that we have had a bit of luck with the trailer situation, Hafod trailers have come up trumps and we now have a lovely little trailer to put all the camping equipment in and the bikes on our overnight stays - what a star Gareth was - many thanks for the help!

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