Answers to the hilly question......

So....... are the Cotswolds quite hilly? Again, the short answer, for me at least, is YES!

Yesterday we set off at about 9.15am. The weather was pretty gloomy, dark clouds skidding across the sky and a very chill wind assisting them on their way but we didn't feel too bad considering the previous days exploits. "Don't worry lads, it's pretty flat today." shouted Steve as we headed off, greatly reassured. The day before we'd climbed out of a little village called Weston Subedge up Dover's Hill. That had been a tough climb of about 230 metres almost straight up. As we sailed by the turning we'd taken yesterday I smiled, "not going up that one today" I thought! A few miles later though we did turn left and we started to climb, same hill, just a bit further along and not quite so steep. The height was certainly the same though! We then continued to climb, descend, climb, descend, climb ad nauseum! Still we weren't feeling the cold anymore!

We climbed on and got to the top..... actually, a top, there were plenty more to come. Definitely enjoyed the downhill from this one though. Maximum speed recorded on the CatsEye, 38.6mph, we were flying!

We carried on from there to Chipping Norton, where, after about 27 miles and who knows how many feet climbed we stopped for a well earned break. A steaming hot chocolate and a banana for me before we headed off again. We didn't take a map again but we'd written down the route and looked at a large map before we set out. Things were going pretty well & even Steves' Garmin seemed to be happy with our progress. The weather had warmed up and a few more hills were encountered before a pub lunch in Burford. I have to say the Cotswolds are beautiful, we passed thatchers up in the roofs and stone masons building the dry stone walls that abound. Some of the houses are just fantastic, must be a lovely place to live. Out of Burford we were again assured it must be downhill from there. Unfortunately that was just wishful thinking. We started off following a very minor road along the delightful banks of the River  Windrush, we were lulled into thinking there were no more hills but soon we started to climb again. Steve was calling out our height above our starting position, the Garmin was good at that! 230 metres, 240 metres....... 290 metres and we only had about 10 miles to go. As he shouted out 300, we could see why, we came to the edge of an escarpment, the downhill should have been fun but ended up being a bit dodgy. We set off quickly as you might imagine, rounded a couple of corners & fortunately braked a bit because around the next corner, about 20 metres away, the road was gated. No signs, no warnings, just a 5 bar gate..... we all simultaneously braked hard and started sliding towards the battered gate. Luckily we came to a stop just short of the gate but others before obviously hadn't, there were dents all over it! After opening up the gate we continued down, as we were nearing the foot of the hill we had to quickly apply the brakes again...... a herd of cows had decided to congregate around and in front of the cattle grid that marked the end of the downhill. Not sure who were more concerned, us or the cows! Throughout the day we also had a running commentary of our pain, posteriors were beginning to feel the worse for wear! Literally....... Of course, its not your bum that hurts its the area between........ perhaps that's a blog too far! So, you have your answer to questions 2 & 3. All questions to date, most certainly in the affirmative!

Stats for the day, 5hrs 44mins in the saddle, 72.6 miles at an average speed of only 12.6mph. 5500ft climbed, fastest speed 38.6mph.

Titles for upcoming posts or just answers to the important questions in life?

1. Garmin, is it the worst £400 ever spent?

2. The Cotswolds, are they quite hilly?

3. Do you get a bit of a sore arse after cycling 70 miles?

4. Have you donated to my justgiving page yet?

5. Can I do this all again tomorrow, and the day after, for 12 days?

The answer to Question 1.

Well, today we relied on Steve's Garmin instead of a map. The short answer is that we had a bit of a nightmare. Now for the long answer. We turned left out of the B&B, 50 yards later Steve shouts, "We're off route." We turned around, and cycled back, just past the B&B he shouts, "I think we should have turned left...." we turned around and turned down the road indicated. Shortly after, Steve shouts, "We're off route again!" Both Alan & I were muttering expletives already! "Don't worry," says Steve, "we'll get back on route a bit further on..." We were basically off route for the majority of the day, occasionally turning onto the route, with Steve shouting, "We're back on, just passed a way point." Bloody way point my arse! The best bit was heading down a country road at some speed to hear Steve shout from behind, "We should have turned right there..." I looked behind and saw Steve & Alan by a closed gate to what looked suspiciously like some rich buggers driveway. Hey presto & the gate opened so off trotted Steve and Alan up the driveway. I had to follow but knew I shouldn't have...... Steve had already regaled story of him heading down a small road in Lime park, Lancashire and after following the bloody Garmin finding a small bridge barred by sturdy gates at each end covered in barbed wire. It was obvious no-one had been over the bridge for a hundred years. This didn't deter Steve though, with the help of a couple of ramblers Steve managed to climb around the gates & barbed wire, getting them to hand his bike around the posts!! Anyway, back to the rich persons driveway.... we kept on, it was a long drive, "It must be a public right of way, the gate opened." shouted Steve.... past a few cows, lots of sheep & lambs, all very pretty.... passed a very nice tennis court, passed a few barns and right into the rich persons courtyard! Oh dear, now back past all those pretty things & back onto the bloody road we were on! That wasn't the last detour either, there must have been another five or six at least. A few went like this, busy road, we're not supposed to be on busy roads, quick, turn right (across the traffic, articulated lorries etc....) down a little country lane, up another hill, turn left & back onto the same busy road 300 yards further on..... Spitting blood I was, forget the bloody Garmin, do yourself a favour, get a map - foolproof! at least it might be, tomorrow we are using the map, I'll let you know how we got on!!

Stats for the day - 70.61 miles @ an average of 13.4 mph, top speed 37.4mph, 5 hours cycling and twenty three wrong turns - happy days! Off to the pub soon, blog with you later!

Cotswolds here we come......,

I'm off to work to do a little night shift, hopefully it will go quickly and not be too hectic but in this line of work you never know! Tomorrow after a quick sleep it'll be a case of packing, putting on the bike rack, making sure I've got everything and heading off for the 3 hour drive. Bound to forget something, especially after a night shift your not exactly with it when you first wake up! We've (well Steve actually) have planned two 70 milers, the weather looks ok but we'll probably get a few showers. We've been so lucky with the weather during our training I don't know how we'll react to a bit of a wet one. Over 15 yeas ago I completed my only other foray into long distance cycling. I did a bike ride for the National Deaf Children's Society. We flew out to Jordan and rode from the capital Amman to the Red Sea port of Aqaba. It was a fantastic experience riding on and off road through the deserts of Lawrence of Arabia, seeing the Nabetean city of Petra and meeting some fantastic people. The reason I bring that up now is that I went out to the Jordanian desert expecting a hot sunny experience but we were confronted by all sorts of weather, wind, rain and even snow so, even though we've had great training weather so far, 'm sure we'll encounter all sorts on the 12 days we come down the British Isles and I'm ready for anything - Bert..... I need to borrow those waterproof cycling shoes sharpish!!!! More tomorrow.... Work calls!

John O'Groats to Lands End - Gearing up......

This is the first post on this blog. Alan, a good friend for years recently retired but, still being youngish.... decided he wanted to do something epic. He decided on a bike ride from John O'Groats to Lands End and soon roped in his best friend Steve and someone he knew has a problem saying "No" - me!

The idea formed before Christmas 2010 and June of 2011 was decided upon. We thought about doing the Deloitte version but they do the 1000 miles in 10 days so decided upon a slightly more sedate version of 12 days. This will hopefully enable us to take in a bit more of the scenery & enjoy it. Throughout the last few months we have each bought bikes and started to do some training. We got together for a weekend in early April, completed a couple of 60 mile rides back to back & roughed out a route. That weekend went well and the after effects on our bodies weren't too bad, in fact we were quite pleased with ourselves. Right now though, the trip is less than 6 weeks away & although the training is going well I still have a few concerns about doing between 60 & 100 miles a day for 12 straight days. I know its going to be fun but I also know there will be some tough days, tough weather & pain.