JOGLE on a Raleigh Chopper

2010-10-09T08:41:00.001-07:00

Chopper is now sold.

I removed all my modifications some time ago, and went to a local bike shop for a big bike-box to put it in. Chopper sat there for a few weeks, waiting for me to do something.

All the extra gearing goodies were stripped off and Chopper's front wheel replaced. The brakes and brake-levers were put back to normal, the original tyres fitted, and I put on a new chain with the original Sturmey Archer sprocket.

I noticed when I was given Chopper that the gear-shift - though working - the indicator orange tab that showed you what gear you were in, wasn't moving. I stripped it down and with a bit of ingenuity was able to fix it!

Chopper, in all it's glory - minus the chainguard that I had to remove to fit the double chainwheel - sat there waiting.

Chopper was lovingly stripped down - pedals off, seat and backrest off, and handle bars off - and the chainguard - all were put into the box with protective wrapping.

The box sat there for another few weeks before I went onto the Custom Cycles forum and advertised it for sale. I took a long time because it was difficult to get my head round that it was going to go.
http://customcycles.info/viewtopic.php?t=2979
I put it up for £200 and it was snapped up by a chap in Essex. I know I could have asked (and even got) more money for it, but Chopper was given to me for nothing, I had a great deal of pleasure from it, and raised a good deal of dosh with my JOGLE. I'm not greedy, and I know that Chopper has gone to a good home.

I will miss it.

Thank you Steve(elbucko).

Since then, the CTC Magazine have been in contact and they've asked me to write an article for publication. Hopefully in the Nov/Dec issue of "Cycle" there'll be a set of articles written by folk like me about their End to End rides and how they did it. I was limited to only 500 words or so, so it was difficult. The copy has been emailed to the editor, and I wait to see the edition in print. (Fingers are crossed!)

Thanks for reading this. I'm not sure that anyone checks in any more as my ride is slipping into the past and into folklore. But if anyone is still reading this, please make a comment.

Thank you all.

Mick.

An Epilogue

2010-06-07T01:38:00.000-07:00

As an epilogue to my story, I thought I'd give an account of my trip to Billing Aquadrome on Saturday.

I had my arm twisted for going there, and to be honest, the only excuse for not going, was the fact that I was tired. Our daughter, Beverly, lives in Bedford so I could easily drive up there with Chopper on the rack and stay with her and Pete. Billing is less than 20 miles up the road to Northampton, so a quick couple of hours up the A428 would be a doddle. I had no real excuse.

Besides, after my mammoth JOGLE, I felt a little bereft of a proper end to the story. Yes, I'd ridden the length of the country, but that was it! Finished. Done. By going to Billing 2010, I was getting a closure to my expedition. I was turning a page and ending the story gently.

So off I went on Friday morning for the 5 or 6 hour drive. I took my time and the journey went quickly and easily. A30/M5/M4/A34 to Bicester, then A421 and A422 to Bedford via Milton Keynes. Chopper survived the journey strapped on the back, and after parking the car, I hopped on and rode the mile or two to the Bedford Arms where Beverly is bar manager!

Any road up, Saturday morning came, and after a good breakfast, I hitched Trailer up and cycled off to Billing. The road was undulating with no particular hills, just rolling countryside and pretty villages - Turvey is gorgeous.

At about 11am, I turned into the Aquadrome and slowly surveyed the place. It was teeming with people. It seems there were a few gatherings there, not least of which was the Street Hotrod meeting, so there were hundreds of beefed-up cars and classics to see. I was overtaken more than a time or two by these cars on the road there, and as I arrived there was a queue of them at the barriers on their way in.

I went round and round, and saw no Raleigh Choppers anywhere and was about to make my way back to the main gate to ask where they were when I spied a couple as their riders were just getting off. I rode over and asked where all the Choppers were! They pointed out the general direction and said they were in a field beyond all the cars, so off I went in search.

Within a few minutes I found them!

There were literally hundreds of Choppers. I wouldn't have believed that there were so many left. Some were immaculate, some modified - even some with engines! - and some Choppers in a worse condition than mine.

People of all ages were riding them around the park, and I felt immediately at home! I had been more than a little worried that I would find a load of boring "anoraks" and "spotters" there with them all being serious and earnest. Not on your nellie! A more friendly and relaxed bunch of people, you couldn't find anywhere.

Within seconds of my arrival, Lampost Dave had met me and proffered a beer to me. He shook my hand and congratulated me and we chatted a while, and I surveyed the place. I was introduced to Querty500 and to Catfood Rob, and dozens of others and I'm sorry not to have remembered their names. Whilst I was there, people would read the side of Trailer and chat to me and study the modifications. I've no idea how many times I repeated myself over the hours.

There was a packed programme of events that day, and before I knew it, we were all assembling for a "Cruise" around the park. Such fun! All those Choppers and modified bikes and Low Riders, all pedalling gently round, in an out of the lanes sounding all manner of bells, whistles and horns. I especially liked the Police Chopper - a Copper! - in black and white check with a siren!

There were parents and children, and parents and little kids in trailers, older kids, big Choppers, Chippers, Grifters, RSW 11's and 14's, Raleigh 20's, Moultons, Cruisers, Low riders, motorised bikes, and a Chopper Tandem too!

It was good to see an RSW11, both our daughters rode one. (without stabilisers, I might add!)

I took a film or two, but I'd forgotten to re-format the storage disk. Sorry! So I couldn't get too much footage. What I should have done, was to re-format, then re-take the footage I'd already got. Instead, I just switched off and put it away. In hindsight, I was wrong to have done it like that. Catfood Rob wore his Starwars Trooper outfit and rode his Starwars Chopper about, there was a Impossible-to-Ride Chopper with reverse-steering, and folk sat about in the sunshine next to their collections of bikes. Everywhere I looked, people were relaxing and having fun.

Mid afternoon, the judging took place of the Show Bikes. The Mk1 that won was a absolutely beautiful. Ruby red in such depth it took your breath away. The chrome-work was perfect and it shone in the sunshine looking FAR better that it did when it was new! A well deserved win.

The other categories, if I remember correctly, were Mk2, Muscle Bikes and Low Riders. There may have been another category - I'm sure someone will fill the gaps for me! Also, a fully chromed Low Rider was being raffled off for a £1 a ticket.

Then came the awards ceremony.

I was given a Top Man Award! I was speechless, more than a little tearful, and very humbled by it. Thank you everybody!

At 4pm, there was another cruise, so off we all went again! I said my good-byes and would peel off for Bedford as we went out to the main roundabout. As I left, I shouted a cheery good-bye and was off back to Bedford. A roar went up as I left!

Thank you all, for reading this blog. It's been an absolute pleasure to have composed it, and I'm going to miss the regular musings and typing.
(Perhaps I need another project!)

Thanks and regards
Mick.

2010-05-31T00:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning everybody!

I feel more tired today than I have for many a week. It's not that I am actually more tired, it's just that I'm relaxing and winding down knowing that it's all over. This ride has been months, if not a whole year in the planning and execution, and now that I've successfully got my contraption from JOG to LE, I can relax properly.

Thank you all, for your kind comments, your thoughts and encouragement, your eagerness to read my missives, and above all, your friendship.

We were up and having a cuppa by 5.30 yesterday. There wasn't much preparation to do as Chopper was still mounted on the back of the car and Trailer was still stowed in the back. All I needed was to refresh my water bottles, check my stuff, dress and go. Meanwhile, I checked weather forecasts for West Cornwall and found that they were suggesting rain and showers. Here in East Cornwall, the day looked promising, so I took tights and waterproofs in Trailer, but wore a light top and shorts.

In the event the weather was ok. Cool and overcast, and only a few spots of rain.

I must be nearly there, I'm at the end of the alphabet!

We left home at 7am and batted down the fairly quiet A30 to St Columb. After connecting up and sorting stuff, I was off south via little lanes through Trebudannon, St Newlyn East, and Zelah and joined the A30 for Penzance. I peeled off the major road into Blackwater and looked for Smokey Joe's Diner. I planned to meet Nigel there, a chap I'd conversed with on the CTC Forum, and he told me that I couldn't miss Smokey Joe's. As I left the roundabout north of Blackwater, I scanned the place and couldn't see it, so sped on down the hill.

After a mile or more, I'm getting a little worried that I had indeed missed it! There was no way I was going to re-trace my route, so kept going feeling a little terrible that we may not meet up. As I passed a young chap walking along, I slowed down and asked if I was ok for Smokey Joe's. To my utter relief, he told me to keep going and it would be on the right. Phew!

As I climbed a long hill. I could see a cyclist in red in the distance, and guessed it would be Nigel. We greeted each other, and cycled together the few hundred yards to the cafe. We sat outside, chatting all the time and ordered a bacon bap and a mug of tea each. Yum.

It was just after 10am and the place was packed! It only opens at 10am on a Sunday, so all those people must've been waiting outside and queueing up. Chopper rested on his stand outside the door, and very soon a small crowd were gathering to admire him. Choppers always gather interest, and soon I was answering questions about this and that - as usual!

By 10:45, we were off. I led the way to set the pace, and we followed the Old A30 though Redruth and Camborne, over Connor Downs and down into Hayle. We stopped frequently as my bum can't stand too much of that saddle after the first few hours.

From Hayle, we went along the Hayle River estuary and up to the big roundabout that joins into the A30. From there, we followed the main road the half dozen miles into Penzance. At one of our stops, I saw St Michael's Mount in the bay, and asked Nigel if there was somewhere on the route that would make a good photograph with the Mount in the distance. He suggested Penzance seafront, so for the first time in my life, I rode into the town.

Me and Nigel at Penzance with St Michael's Mount in the distance.

On my End-to-Ends and driving, I've only ever gone round the Penzance by-pass, and today was going to no exception, but the idea of going through the town and taking a phot, seemed too good to miss. In actual fact, I do believe that the road is flatter through the town and back out to the A30, than staying on the A30 all the way. To this end, I recommend all cyclists go that way.

From leaving the town, it's only 8 miles to LE, but the hills are awful! Up and down constantly and one or two are quite steep too. NOT an easy ride at all.

Throughout the day, Hilary had been in Truro doing a spot of shopping, then made her way to LE. I'm actually quite proud of her navigational skills even though she's hopeless normally. I've tried getting her to read a map, but it's a waste of time. Either way, she followed her nose - and signposts - and made it in one piece. We'd texted and chatted during the ride, so she was kept abreast of our progress.

Shortly after 2pm, LE was in view and I triumphantly crossed the line!

LE is busy during the summer season, and especially at Bank Holiday weekends. Today was no exception. Rudely, a German coach had parked next to the Finish Line and the German tourists milled about and got in the way. I was excusing myself loudly and forcibly to get through them. They just seem to ignore you unless you shout! Anyway, I battled through and rode the last 50 yards to the post.

There, I did it. I knew I could do it, even though I lost sleep worrying about the long leg between Inverness and Pitlochry. From there, I was over the worst of it. It was a great relief to have been able to do the 90 miles over the Grampians, but had the weather been bad - rain, wind etc - I would have had a great deal of difficulty. Perhaps I was asking too much of myself. Anyway, I was lucky and made it. I wouldn't say the rest was plain sailing, but that 90 miles was long and tough.

Hilary drove me home. I was hungry, it was a Sunday afternoon and all I could think about was calling in at Smokey Joe's on the way. I needed one of their breakfasts! We sat down and Hilary ordered a cheeseburger and chips, and I had a Large Breakfast: egg, fried bread, potato fritters, sausage, bacon, hogs pudding, mushrooms, beans, and tomatoes. YUM! I devoured it and nearly licked my plate! Hilary couldn't manage all her chips, so I polished them off for her!

Yesterday's stats:
48.86 miles
6:07:10 duration
4:38:21 cycling
3373ft total ascent
3135 calories

Someone once made the point about hilly rides and how if you convert our Imperial measurements into Metric you can see how many metres of total ascent for each day compared to the kilometres travelled. If you take 10mtrs per Km as "hilly" and anything less as not quite, you get some interesting readings:

Golspie to Inverness - 5
Leyland to Wrexham - 6.7
Ludlow to Gloucester - 7
Gloucester to Bridgwater - 7.1
Wrexham to Ludlow - 7.6
Pitlochry to Edinburgh - 7.82
Penrith to Leyland - 7.83
Beattock to Penrith - 7.85
JOG to Wick - 8.43
Inverness to Pitlochry - 8.44
Edinburgh to Beattock - 9.43
Wick to Golspie - 11
Sourton to St Columb - 12.4
Bridgwater to Sourton - 12.7
St Columb to LE - 13.1

This makes the West Country the toughest, and Scotland and the North, by comparison, relatively easy.

Now, time for the total statistics!

Distance 892.18 miles
111hrs and 75 minutes total time divided into 15 days of cycling
87hrs 4mins and 53secs sitting and pedalling!
41,097ft of ascent
63,328 calories expended!
120bpm average heart rate
65rpm average pedalling speed
10.3mph average speed
8mph average speed for the days including stops

Hardest day was Inverness to Pitlochry because of the time and distance.
Second hardest was Bridgwater to Sourton because of the relentless hills
Easiest was Ludlow to Gloucester because it was short and flat

Best Place to stay (other than Pene's in Wrexham or at home!) Admiral Blake at Bridgwater
Second best Beattock Lochhouse Farm
Worst was Georgian Guest House, Gloucester

Best moment arriving at LE
Second best riding out of the big hangar at Wick Airport! (I wish I'd caught it on film!)
Worst moment having to repair the sprockets in the middle of nowhere high up in the Grampians

That's it. I feel as though I've been typing this blog for years, I think I've exhausted my thoughts and feelings. This blog has taken me a couple of hours or more at each visit, and it took some effort in the evenings after a hard slog on Chopper.

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you once more for all the kind comments. It has brought tears to my eyes on many an occasion thinking of you lot out there thinking of me and enjoying the ride with me.

I have to give special thanks to our great friend Paul Pridham, as without his engineering expertise I couldn't have done this. Chopper has had a lengthened BB spindle and two sprockets added by dint of his workshop technique. These things are small and insignificant, but without them I couldn't even have contemplated the ride. They enabled me to have adult sized cranks and chainwheels and to extend the gear range to get me up the hills and along the flat bits too. Paul also supplied a pallet and wrapped up my stuff so expertly and securely.

I have to thank McGill Transport too, for transporting the pallet with Chopper and Trailer - all for free. I also have to thank Andrew Bruce and Far North Aviation at Wick Airport for being so accommodating in accepting my pallet and allowing me to leave the rubbish and wood for him to dispose of.

I have to thank the CTC Forum and all the contributors who helped me design and build my contraption. They read my endless posts and commented unreservedly with suggestions - some amusing! - about ways forward and also technical advice. Also I had offers of support and parts, not least of which were the front rack, the brackets and fittings (Thanks Ferrit Worrier!), the double chainset and the front derailleur and the modern rear tyre.

I have to thank the folk that cycled with me, Dougie in Edinburgh, Malc in Lancashire and Cheshire, and Nigel down in West Cornwall. Also Mike and Will from Bristol to Bridgwater. I was so sorry to have missed Colin in Lancaster, and sorry that Si couldn't make it to Ludlow and Alan too, south of Wrexham.

I have to thank Katy, our older daughter, for making me such wonderful flapjacks! They kept me going for mile after mile after mile. Thank you Katy.

Most of all, I have to thank Hilary, as without her unending support, encouragement and patience, I could never have even started. I love her to bits. She's wonderful.

Thank you all. Honestly.

Regards,
Mick and Hilary.

2010-05-30T12:38:00.001-07:00

I've done it!

892 miles JOG to LE on a Raleigh Chopper!

Shortly after 2pm today, a tired and emotional 57 year old bloke wheeled his Chopper through the crowds right down to the Finger Post.

I have much to say, but after a good meal enroute home at Smokey Joe's, and then a few beers at the Buccaneer Inn in Gunnislake, followed by a long hot bath and a couple more beers in celebration, I'm not in the best frame of mind to give a fullsome and informative report.
(I'm sure you all understand)

Rest assured, that tomorrow morning will see me bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to publish my memoirs properly.

Suffice it to say, that today will be recorded in the annals of history as a Momentous Day.

Hang on guys for more .................

Mick.

2010-05-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Penultimate day, finished!

I was awake early - as usual - and after breakfast we were off to Sourton. My day off yesterday was quiet and relaxing, Hilary was at work, I had my feet up, but I managed to get some stuff done.

We left home this morning at soon after 8am for the drive up to Sourton where I'd left off on Thursday. Hilary went to do a spot of shopping after leaving me. I pedalled away west towards Land's End, she turned south for Tavistock.

I had already decided to take Trailer on the last couple of legs of the JOGLE, so instead of the panniers being hung on the front rack, I shoved them into the empty trailer. I wondered whether the front of Chopper would stay down on the hills, but it was worth a try. The weather had turned wet - as expected - overnight, and I thought that the panniers would be better under cover. I wasn't wrong. The rain hammered down for a time, so my idea kept camera, maps and flapjacks nice and dry. Chopper was ok without the front weight, but in bottom gear on hills, I had to be careful as the front tyre lost traction on more than one occasion.

My rainlegs came into their own for the first section of the ride. I've had them for some time and never used them in anger, but this morning I put them on. They were ok. I cannot say much more than that, as in heavy rain they are great, but if the rain eases, you are better off without them. Modern fabrics dry out very quickly, and rainlegs seem to trap the damp underneath, so trousers/tights stay damp too. Within 20 miles they were consigned to Trailer for the rest of the trip as although it drizzled for most of the day, the heavy rains had gone.

Just before Launceston as the road crosses the River Tamar
(The border between Cornwall and England)

Launceston came and went, then up the steep hill to St Stephens and out via Egloskerry and Tresmeer on roads I've cycled tons of times. Sourton to Launceston on the Old A30 is one of the best cycling roads I've ever been on. Almost devoid of traffic for most of the time with long rolling hills and straight runs with a superb surface. Absolute Cycling Heaven! After Launceston and Egloskerry, the climbs increase, and by the time you get out onto the A395 and the A39, you get right up to 1000ft. Although the road drops into Camelford, it still holds onto a height above 600ft.

Launceston Castle
The ancient capital of Cornwall

I followed the A39 - dubbed the Atlantic Highway, a term that annoys me as it cannot be next to the Atlantic as the sea between N Cornwall and S Ireland is the Celtic Sea, NOT the Atlantic! The Atlantic doesn't start until way off! I suppose the 'Celtic Sea Highway' doesn't sound so good ......

The A39 down to Wadebridge was ok as a ride. Nothing special and nothing difficult, but after Wadebridge it was hard work. The wind was at last blowing against me, and I found it hard and tiring to climb the windswept and exposed hills. I had to stop quite a few times to stretch my legs and ease the creases out of my body. Hard work - definitely.

The hill out of Wadebridge town was difficult too. I'd decided to take the town route rather than the bypass, but if I was ever to go that way again, I'd stay on the bypass! The town is lovely, but the hill out to the north is vicious. It went on and on and on, and it was steep and very long too.

Taking a rest at the top of the hill out of Wadebridge

Eventually, after struggling against the wind in the latter stages, I made my way down past St Columb Major town, keeping to the main road, and dropped down to the big roundabout where Hilary was waiting for me.

It had only been 50 miles, but it was a hard slog nonetheless.

Tomorrow takes us back to the same roundabout - less than an hour away from here (by car) - and I'll cycle the final 50 miles to Land's End.

Today's stats:
51.36 miles
6:03:00 duration
5:27:11 in the saddle
3787 calories
3352ft Total Ascent - making today the 3rd hardest leg!

Distance from JOG - 843.32 miles !!!!!

Still no punctures, and the tyres are fine. Good eh?

Thanks for reading,
Regards to all,
Mick and Hilary.

2010-05-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well. Here I am at home, and dog tired as well. Today was an easy morning, followed by a VERY hard afternoon.

I left the Admiral Blake at just before 8am. I can't recommend the place highly enough, it's an oasis of calm in a busy town. Outside the front is a dual carriageway route on the A38 to the north of Bridgwater, traffic speeds past all day, but round the back is silent and peaceful and wonderful. There's a small patio area and garden with seats and tables to sun yourself. The arrangement is self-catering with a fully equipped kitchen and attached dining room (with large telly) just off the patio. The larder is stocked with all the breakfast basics, and anything more for an evening meal needs to be brought in. I went for a Chinese takeaway!

My breakfast this morning consisted of a large cheese omelet, buttered toast and three cups of tea.

The place was packed with thirteen(!) workers employed at Hinkley Point power station. Pauline said that she'd been accommodating various trades since September. It put me in mind of the Morrisons rebuilding at Penrith. As Pauline was otherwise fully booked, I had a rather nice room upstairs - or should I say a suite. Double bedroom, lounge with settee and telly, and a separate bathroom too.

Pauline is very happy to take bikes - End-to-End'ers especially, and you can wheel your bike through the alley-way to the rear and park it on the patio! The room off to one side - laundry room - doubles up as a bike stowage.

Anyway, off I went south out of Bridgwater and headed onto the A38 for Taunton. The morning was cool and bright, and even though it had rained overnight, the day was much the same as the previous days and I powered along straight through Taunton and made my way into Wellington town centre. I stopped there - soon after 9am - and slapped on the sunscreen.

Then off back onto the A38. Not long after leaving Wellington, I spied a cyclist coming towards me and he U turned with a, "Hello Mick!" He introduced himself as Roger Bennett and has been following my blog and is also on the CTC Forum. We chatted for a few minutes and rode together up one of the many hills. After a few miles, he peeled off, and on I went alone, but with a smile on my face in the knowledge that there are many folk out there following my progress and taking a great deal of interest.

At Waterloo Cross north of Cullompton, I turned off towards Tiverton and as the A38 turned into the dual carriageway of the A361, I came off through Sampford Peverel and Halberton to take the back roads into Tiverton. There I rested, ate flapjacks and mixed nuts, drank water and sat in the sunshine. It was soon after 1pm.

Off again to Bickleigh, then south on the A396 towards Exeter to turn right for Thorverton. This route I call "Rob's Passage" as Rob S from the CTC Forum suggested it as a good way to get around the Cadbury Hills. These hills are awful. Up and down and busy with traffic and if you're travelling to LE you have to climb Bickleigh Hill. This hill is terrible. It even has a hairpin bend half way up! By taking Rob's Passage, you avoid the climbs all the way to Crediton at the expense of a slightly longer route.

Lovely Devonshire scenery

In Crediton, I rested again, then took the onslaught of the Devon hills in my stride - at first! Then they took their toll, and the further I made it towards Okehampton, the more tired I became. This ride was (only) 70 miles, but analysing the figures this evening, the full force of what I've ridden through became apparent. Of all the 12 rides before, this 13th had the highest Total Ascent of them all! Even more than the 90 miles between Inverness and Pitlochry!

Total Ascent today was a massive 4722ft as opposed to only 3969ft for Inverness to Pitlochry. No wonder I was tired! It never ceases to amaze folk how hard it is to cycle in Devon. Cornwall is a hard, if not harder. Total Ascent figures to follow!

I made it to Sourton at 16:45 with Hilary waiting out on the main road to see me approach. I was sweaty and tired, we embraced, and as I rode to the car, she followed with a grin! Chopper was mounted on the rack, Trailer was shoved unceremoniously into the back of the car, and Hilary took me to the Rising Sun for beer! Home later via the chip shop, and here I am typing this lot out. I'm tired, scrubbed clean in the shower, and ready for a good night's sleep in our own bed.

Tomorrow is another day, and Saturday will see me being driven back to Sourton to start the penultimate ride.

Today's stats:
70.23 miles
8:55:00 duration
4722ft Total Ascent
5228 calories

791.95 miles from JOG.

See you soon,
Mick.

2010-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here I am in Bridgwater. The day has flown by and with good company too.

I left Gloucester - Georgian Guest House - at about 7.50 this morning. Actually, I couldn't wait to leave. The guest house was a bit cheap and nasty, and I don't think there was one stick of furniture in there that wasn't bought from a secondhand shop. The place was clean enough, and I was made to feel welcome enough, but for £20 it wasn't the best place to stay. The bed was lumpy and I couldn't get comfortable - there were two single beds in the room and I suppose I could have tried the other, but instead I just curled up and wrapped the duvet around me. I slept like a log nonetheless!

Gloucester is a bit run down and scruffy, or should I say, the bits I saw were run down and scruffy. However, the pub along the road was very good indeed. The Linden Tree was run by a Scotsman with excellent staff, and the beer was good and plentiful, and the menu - though small - was good too and I spoke to the owner saying how good his pub was. The customers were friendly and full of banter, and I wasn't treated like a Stranger in Town. Good pub, in a poor and scruffy area.

Anyway - I left quickly after a poor but ok-ish breakfast.

Down the A38, the Wind Gods were favouring me again. Wow! Why can I have following winds all the way from Inverness? Have I been a good boy?

I sped south, and as I'd been speaking to Mike - from the CTC Forum - I was ready to find him at about 10:30 as I approached Bristol. He and his son Will, were coming into town by train and they would meet me enroute. I was ahead of schedule and flying along!

I was flying along for two reasons: one, the wind was blowing me along, and two, my bum was feeling as fine as it could be considering the punishment it's had for the past 11 days of Choppering. For some reason, my bum seems to be getting used to all this, so "flying along" sums it up ok.

At 10:30 I was in Patchway, and I phoned Mike and Will and timed my ride so they could catch me as I approached the city. They did this easily and we stopped for a chat. We stopped for a chat many times on our way south, and very enjoyable the chats were too!

Bristol city centre came and went by way of my Garmin 705, even so, I missed the way a couple of times. It's difficult following a pink line and messages when you're trying to push your way through traffic and negotiate junctions. We did it, and popped out into the south of the city ok.

Following the A38 is easy really, and eventually we spied Bristol Airport at the top of the hill. The trouble was, on the roundabout, there were blue lights flashing and a tail-back of traffic. We made our way to the head of the queue and spoke to the policeman who was turning lorries and cars around. He said that there had been a fatality, and if we wanted, we should carry on and see if the police at the scene would let us through. Diversions are not much of an option to an End-to-End cyclist! We rode on, down the long hill and hoped for the best.

The road was deserted, of course, and what seemed like miles later, we encountered the accident. It seems that it was a motorcyclist, and as everything was cleared up ready to let the traffic trough again, to our relief, the police waved us through.

After the hills south of Bristol, the road is almost totally flat - except for some small hills at Pawlett - and I powered my way towards Bridgwater. Mike and Will had an easy time of it and left me for dead even on the slightest slope. They were riding road bikes as light as a feather and geared sensibly. Me, on a hundredweight of a Chopper and trailer, were having trouble.

At the Welcome to Bridgwater sign, we stopped off for the required photographs, then carried on the mile or so into the town. I knew the way, and suggested they call in at Admiral Blake Guest House with me as I'm sure Pauline wouldn't mind them stopping in for a cuppa. Also, Pauline would know where the railway station was so they could let the train take the strain and get them back home.

Mike and Will

Mike and Me

After a cuppa, they left - just like that. Hopefully they made it home ok, then I went to my room, showered and walked out to find a pub for a couple of beers then a Chinese takeaway to scoff.

Job done, and here I am typing away.
(May pop out for another beer or two soon)

Tomorrow will see me at home in Gunnislake. I have 70 miles to ride out of Somerset and into Devon and Hilary should pick me up at Sourton (pronounced SORE-TUN, not SOWER-TUN) (Thank you Jogle2011 for your pronunciations!) just up the hill out of Okehampton. There's a service area there just off the main A30 where there's a Little Chef, and petrol station and a Travel Lodge just across the road from a big layby about 20 miles from home.

On Saturday after a day off, Hilary will drive me and Chopper back to Sourton, and I'll carry on down the Old A30 via Launceston (pronounced LAWN-STON, or if you're Cornish LANSON) and then west and south through Camelford and Wadebridge to St Colmb Major.

Stats today:
66.25 miles
8:06:20 duration
5:44:54 cycling
4119 calories

721.72 miles from JOG
only 170 miles to do!!

Thanks for reading, and only three more Choppering days to Land's End.

Regards and best wishes,
Mick.

2010-05-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm on line!
I had to walk into Gloucester city centre to the Guildhall to find a WiFi setup ........

Monday, 24th May

Today has been an easy peasy ride down the Welsh Border. I left Pene’s house in Wrexham at just about 8am and was photographed and clapped by folk as I left. Ignominiously, my chain came off just as I rode away! How embarrassing is that?

Anyway, sorted and off south, turn right at the Green Dragon and off via Marchweil, Overton and Ellesmere. I stopped at Ellesmere to admire the ducks and geese whilst I drank a load of water. The day was warming up even though it was 9am, and I slapped some sunscreen on my arms and legs, also my nose - it always goes red and peels!

Off again down the A528 towards Shrewsbury. I never know if it’s Shrows - bury, or Shrews - bury, I understand that even the locals don’t agree on the pronunciation .........

Soon, I was caught up in slow/stationary traffic. I made my way gingerly to the head of the queue only to find a massive canal barge on a long low-loader being escorted along the road. It was a “narrow” boat of the Broad Variety and about the maximum length too - 75ft. It took up the whole width of the road on the corners and the escort vehicle had to be ahead and stop any oncoming traffic. I kept catching the convoy up. Come an uphill section, the barge left me for dead, but as a downhill came, I caught it up again. I can only assume it was headed for the Grand Union Canal somewhere - Shrewsbury? Eventually, it was too far ahead and I never saw it again.

I entered Shrewsbury following the pink line on my Garmin. I am aware that the town is complicated to say the least, and as I’ve cycled through before, I thought I was ready for it. I needed a call of nature, and as I approached the town centre just up the hill from the railway station, I spied a “Toilets” sign but it was pointing down a pedestrianised section with a big sign proclaiming “No Cycling”. So like a good boy, I hopped off and pushed. I found the loos ok, but the gents was closed! So, like a good cosmopolitan chap, I went into the ladies. And why not? I’ve seen girls go into the gents when they’re taken short - I couldn’t see anything wrong, so off I went down the stairs, ready to apologise - but saw no-one anyway.

After the loos, I wondered whether I should retrace my steps back to the pink line, but thought I could find my way anyway. How wrong I was! Every single time I wanted to turn south, there was a one-way street blocking me. I went round and round, trying to turn the right way, but couldn’t, so I decided to follow the signposts. Wrong! They were leading me west towards Montgomery then onto the by-pass to go right out of my way! I was having none of this, so did a U turn and headed back into the town only to find my original route by the railway station! This time, I followed the pink line faithfully and found my way south. Phew! Thank goodness for that!

Then the A49 raised it’s ugly head. The traffic was fast, furious and noisy, but to be honest, quite ok as it seemed to be in “knots” of activity, then nothing and silence for a few minutes. It was like that all the way to Ludlow.

At All Stretton, I pulled off the main road and followed the Old A49 into Church Stretton, there, I found a bench in the shade and sat down with some relief. I tucked into flapjacks and cheese, washed down with water. It was then that I noticed that the bottle that should have been clipped into the cage on the front rack was missing! It must have fallen out some time back over some bumps maybe, but I have no idea where. I’m not about retracing my steps to find it. I have three more bottles anyway.

Whilst sitting on the bench, a chap started a chat and asked me about my ride. He was another one that emptied his change from his pocket for me! That’s another £2.67. People are nice.

I Craven Arms, I found a monument. Three sides had mileages on them. Interesting eh?

I made it to Ludlow via Little Stretton and the A49 again, and found the Cecil Guest House in Ludlow as early as 14:40 - far too early to book in, so turned round back into town and stopped at the first pub I found - The Queens. A couple of slow but wonderful pints later, I returned to the Cecil and checked in. Chopper was wheeled round the back and I lifted out my stuff, showered, and relaxed, and am now typing this.

The chap here said that there’s a pub only three minutes walk away that does food, so I’ll be off soon - I’m starving!

As it turned out, I loved the Queens pub in the town, and I hated the nearby pub - the Squirrel. The Queens had everything I love about pubs - good beer, chatty people, helpful and friendly staff, locals and visitors all getting on together. The Squirrel on the other hand was everything I hate: piped music you can’t get away from, staff that can’t add up and know the prices of nothing because they use an idiot till, fizzy beer, instant food that is obviously bought in and not made on the premises, no-one in there that even looks at you let alone talks to folk. Euch. The only saving grace, is that it was only five minutes away and I doubt I could have walked to town and back instead as my legs are now tuned to cycling, and not walking!

There is no WiFi or any internet at Cecil’s, so this is off-line and Hilary will be filling you in with the salient details. If there is internet at the Georgian Guest House in Gloucester I should catch up and you’ll get a double whammy tomorrow.

Today’s stats:
61.15 miles (including being lost in Shrewsbury)
06:35:10 total duration
05:29:43 active time (this means I stopped a total of just over an hour)
2,460ft total ascent
Average moving speed of 11.1mph (I was flying!!)

I got in touch with AlanS when I was in Shrewsbury, but sadly he had to work, so I never met up with him to ride with him. It’s so nice to meet up with folk. Perhaps Si from the CTC Forum will turn up tomorrow, he said he might.

Regards to all.
Mick.

Tuesday 26th May

Breakfast over and I was gone. Cecil’s Guest House is basic, to say the least. What else can you get in the lovely town of Ludlow for only £26? Breakfast was fine, but the pot of tea was far too strong, and I only managed a couple of cups. I think there were three tea-bags in the pot.

Up the road to the A49 and turned south and heading for Leominster. I was to turn off at Dinmore and head down the A417 towards Ledbury, but follow the A4172 and the B4215 through Newent to join the A40 for Gloucester city centre. I found the Georgian Guest House easily but it was only half past one! I’d only done 47 miles, and sped along.

Luckily, there’s a pub only 50 yards before the guest house, so I waked back and bought a beer. I also took in this laptop, camera and Garmin and stuff, complete with leads to steal a march on getting the blog sorted. Sadly, no WiFi.

The day has been easy again with a following wind. I seem to have had a following wind since leaving Inverness! I pity folk thinking that the prevailing winds will blow then to JOG, they seem to be blowing me to LE!

When I planned all this, I mixed in long days with short days in the hope that the short ones would be light relief, but what seems to have happened, is the the short days are too short. Here I am in the room, typing this, and its only 15:15. I couldn’t have made it to Bridgwater today, but I could have made Bristol.

Traffic wise, the roads have been busy-ish and quiet-ish. Quiet bits and busy bits. There seems to have been times when there was no traffic at all, then all of a sudden, there would be 20 or 30 cars, vans and lorries thundering past, then nothing again, sometimes for 5 minutes or more. I wonder that all those drivers think that the roads were busy, but in reality it was silent and empty! Perhaps they all bunch up because they like it.

The day warmed up as I travelled south. It was cool enough for me to wear a long-sleeved top for the first few hours, but as the sun came out, a short-sleeved top was the order of the day.

Highlight of the morning was meeting Richard whom I know of on the CTC Forum. He’s been following my blog and waited in a layby south of Ludlow in the hope of spotting me. He wasn’t disappointed, and after a chat I whizzed off - down wind of course - and sped away.

All the way from Ludlow I would see patches of white cobwebs in the hedgerows. At first I thought it was wool from sheep, but it couldn't be as it was too high off the ground. Then I thought it was a load of cobwebs, but there were too much. So I had to stop and look.

Any ideas of what sort of grub they are?

“Highlight” of the afternoon was getting into the Georgian Guest House. What dump! What can you expect for the bargain price of £20 for goodness sake? I doubt they’ve even heard of the internet, let alone WiFi! I’ll ask anyway, in the possible hope ........... no.

The place is grubby and run-down, but friendly enough, so I can’t complain. All I want is a shower, a comfy bed, a good night’s sleep, and a decent breakfast. The first two seem to be ok, the second two are yet to be confirmed. Oh, and to stow Chopper and Trailer away ok. That’s been fine as they’re locked in the garage round the back.

Next task is to get WiFi, as don’t have some method of connection, perhaps I should take this laptop and wander round the city looking for signals! It seems I’m less than a mile from the city centre, so I should find somewhere.

Today's maps and profile:

Here I am, on line!
Gotta rush, as I haven't much time. Hopefully there'll be more from Bridgwater tomorrow. I'm fine but tired, and feeling a little jaded. The bulk of the ride is over now, and all I have to do is finish off. Longer rides tomorrow and Thursday, then a day off at home to charge my batteries!

Distance from JOG - 655.47 miles
Distance to LE - 237 miles or thereabouts

Bum still sore due to awful saddle, but I'm managing.

Regards and thanks for holding on for an update, and thanks to Wonderful Hilary for keeping the system running.

TTFN,
Mick.

2010-05-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's Little Old Me again! Mick's not got an internet connection in Ludlow, so he's given me a few pertinent points to keep you up to date.

He left Wrexham at 8.30 this morning, after a welcome rest with his sister, and cycled 61 miles in hot sunshine to Ludlow, arriving there at 14.40.

Apart from the heat, his only other problem was an embarrassing 'chain coming off' event just as he was leaving! All was sorted quickly and he was soon on his way.

Shrewsbury proved a nuisance though, as he got a bit lost going through the centre, though he obviously fought his way through that as he's no longer there!

Needing a comfort break in Shrewsbury also proved problematical, as the gents were closed, so being a resourceful chappie, Mick called in at the ladies!

The traffic on the A49 was not good, but all in all, I gather his main complaint of the day has been the heat.

Tomorrow, Mick has an even shorter ride to Glaucester, so he'll leave 8.3o ish and should still arrive early-ish in the afternoon.

Life here in Cornwall goes on, though I must say it's a bit boring without Mick, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him on Thursday, when I'll collect him fro Okehampton and bring him home briefly. Somehow, I doubt I'll get a word in edgewise though!

So sorry Alan S that you couldn't make it today. Going to work's a pain, isn't it?

All being well, Si will meet up with Mick at some point tomorrow, and maybe, just maybe, Mick will be able to Blog again at the end of the day.

Thanks to all followers and supporters, and night night. Hilary X

2010-05-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Photos from Malc yesterday.
(Thanks Malc!)

Don't I look tired and weather-beaten!

Coming over the Manchester Ship Canal

Zoom in, and that's me!

Brown knees

Back later,
Mick.

2010-05-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a hot day!

Just short of 60 miles in unbroken sunshine. I slapped on the sunscreen a couple of times, but my arms have taken a bashing nonetheless. It’s all very well people enjoying sunshine, but folk that are forced to be in it all day have problems.

I left Leyland at 08:30 and rode out through Eccleston and Wrightington to Standish and joined the A49 for Wigan. These are roads I was brought up with, so knew them like the back of my hand. The trouble is, times have moved on - new homes have been built, thousands more people have moved in and brought their cars with them. The roads were horrendous.

I took Wigan and the traffic in my stride and powered on south. I’d been in touch with “Ferrit Worrier” - Malc, who was going to meet me near Warrington. As I came over the Manchester Ship Canal just south of Warrington, there he was taking photographs! He and I have met a couple of times - firstly when he was riding his LEJOG and I met him in Camelford and escorted him out of Cornwall to Okehampton, and secondly when I was visiting our daughter Katy in Manchester, I popped round for a chat. Malc had also made some brackets for the fitting of the front rack on Chopper. Well done that man!

We greeted each other like old friends, and we sped off together towards Chester. The traffic was even more horrendous! Why were so many cars out on a Saturday? Where were they all going! Stop/start traffic in the heat of the day was not pleasant.

I had to stop frequently. The heat was getting to me and my bum was getting sore from the punishing saddle. Malc was understanding about my slow pace and needing to stop, and during the stops we chatted endlessly about this and that, everything cycling and more. He hardly broke into a sweat with the ride, and I struggled all the way. Riding a Raleigh Chopper all this way is no mean feat. I’m strong and powerful and fit, but today was purgatory. Hopefully, the weather will change and I can keep cool.

I have no movies or photographs to show today. It didn’t seem right showing off all the roundabouts, traffic lights and junctions all clogged with Saturday traffic. I’m sure you’ll all understand.

I arrived at my sister Pene’s house in Wrexham at just before 4pm. Malc had peeled off just this side of Chester and taken a different route home, and I set off along the B5445 via Rossett - the place of my birth, just inside the Welsh border - and Gresford. Pene was waiting for me, and within a minute or two, she’d handed me a beer. She brews her own, in fact she does it professionally and is head brewer for Sandstone Brewery What a clever big sister I have!
Jolly Brewer
Sandstone Brewery
Shower was next, then another beer (or two) and food soon.

Stats for today:
59.8 miles in 1,000,000 degree heat!
7:36:04 duration
05:32:14 sitting and pedalling
2,129ft of total ascent.

Total distance from JOG: 547.12 miles

(Only) six more legs to do:
Wrexham to Ludlow - 58 miles
Ludlow to Gloucester - 48 miles
Gloucester to Bridgwater - 66 miles
Bridgwater to Sourton - 70 miles
Sourton to St Columb Major - 51 miles
St Columb Major to LE - 49 miles

Perhaps less than 350 miles to go!

Tomorrow is a day off. Relaxation and Chopper maintenance is on the cards, and Monday will see me off and going to Ludlow.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-05-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

I made it to Leyland at about 5pm. This is the home of my Sister-in-Law, Jan and her husband, Ged. They've kindly offered to put me up! Also Daughter No 1, Katy, brought Joseph, our grandson over from Manchester.

Here I am, glass of wine on the coffee table and relaxing and typing away.

Today was a mixed bag of stuff. I left the B+B in Penrith after a breakfast in the company of Morrisons workers, and left the town at just after 08:00. The road started to climb steadily.

Penrith is at about 300ft, and before long, I was at 400ft, then 500ft. The Wind Gods were favourable and I was blown along, and very soon I reached Shap village. I sped straight through and carried on up and up and up.

Top of Shap

At the top of Shap Fell, there was a cyclist just starting off from the top heading north. We stopped and chatted. He was riding a fairly new Raleigh Randoneur and told me that he'd had problems: his chain had come off and wiped out some spokes so needed a wheel rebuild, his LH crank developed a crack and so he had to buy another! Why does this sort of thing happen to folk? Anyway, he was amazed at what I was doing and took a photograph of me and Chopper.

After the required photograph at the monument, I was off downhill and speeding south. It was downhill all the way to Kendal. Wow! the trouble is, my mirror started to move inwards! The clamp had come loose over time, so at the first layby I pulled over and dug out my toolbox for a spanner to tighten it up. Other than that, and the problem with over-shifting pulling the sprockets off, they have been my only defects. I would hate to think I could write a wheel off or break a crank!

Kendal came and went, and Lancaster came too. In the city centre, I pulled over into the town square by a big monument. People sat on the steps in the sunshine, but all I wanted was shade! It was 2pm and the sunshine was coming out, and I was hot. I lay down on the cool grass and stretched out for a while.

A chap came over to me. He said he was a fitness expert and trainer and suggested that because of what I was doing I must be very fit indeed. I said that I had strong legs, but he insisted that it was more than that, and my heart and lungs must be wonderful. Perhaps he's right. Anyway, he was impressed.

The traffic increased considerably, and continued to increase all the way to Preston. By the time I was cycling through Preston, the traffic was horrendous!

I got hotter and hotter. The traffic became more and more horrendous, and I was glad to get away though Walton-le-dale and into Leyland.

79.5 miles with the wind behind me. I flew!

This elevation profile shows the ride quite well. Steady climb to the top, fast descent, then bob along to Leyland. This "bobbing along" will be the way of it all the way to the West Country. Funny, but the bulk of the western side of England is fairly featureless.

The route today, fairly straight and southerly, and increasingly busier and busier. Tomorrow takes me through Wigan and Warrington - even busier.

Bed soon, I'm tired and a bit sunburnt - I must remember to slap on some sunscreen tomorrow.

Sorry that this isn't as fullsome as usual, but socialising and blogging don't go together very well!

Ta Ta for now, and more tomorrow from Wrexham at my sister's house. I get a day off there for some sisterly love.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-05-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Not a huge amount to say today. 54 miles from Beattock to Penrith and a rather boring and uneventful ride.

I had breakfast at 7.30 - gorgeous too! - and was away by 8.30 into mist and cool humidity. I didn't want to get cold again, so layered up with tights and my yellow Goretex top. I was toasty warm and set off south on the Old A74 and even had my lights on. This road from Beattock is the A701 initially, then becomes the B7076 right down to Gretna. It's flattish and straightish and boring, and it bears little or no resemblance to the A74 of old.

I must say, back in "the olden days" when we would drive the A74 up and down to Lancashire when we lived in Scotland, that it was a dual carriageway extension of the M6, and carried just as much traffic to Glasgow, and to Edinburgh via the A702, as the M6 did. We used to peel off at Abington in those days and head for Edinburgh. Latterly, we would head for Glasgow.

I remember the Daily Record in the 1980s having a headline to the effect - "A74 Britain's Biggest Killer Road". It was dangerous and awful. Although it was a dual carriageway, it was narrow and twisty in places, and many a bad accident would occur. Eventually, come the 1990s, we have the M74. Consequently, the Old A74 has been downgraded and is hopefully better for it!

The road was quiet generally, but every so often a knot of traffic would come thundering through. The surface was good and there is provision either side for cyclists, though the gravel and muck in the lanes made me keep on the main carriageway.

Gretna came at the end of the B7076. I was bored. The road had been featureless and uninteresting and Gretna was light relief. I pulled over by the Blacksmiths shop and texted Hilary to see if she would marry me again. I'm a softie really!

From there, I headed south again and took the new road to Carlisle. This road has been built to allow non-motorway traffic to get over the causeway into England. Before, the main road was "just" the A74 connecting M6 to M74 and was a death trap for cyclists and light traffic. Now the new road has been built, lives will be saved.

........ and I crossed the border into England.

Self portrait with my camera sat on my mini tripod.

This road links up with the A7 and takes you into Carlisle. It was a relief to get there even though the city traffic was hurtling in and out of junctions and round roundabouts. I took my turn with the best of them and got a move on.

I got a move on because I was hungry! I stopped at a city centre chippy and got stuck into steak pie and chips. Chopper was on its stand outside on the wide pavement whilst I gorged myself at a table inside. I watched the passers by looking at Chopper and reading the stickers on Trailer. Quite amusing really.

Then off again south. The weather was clearing as I climbed out onto the A6, and eventually my tights and warm top were getting too much, so I found a field gateway, climbed over carrying my shorts and light top, stripped off, and re-dressed. I'm glad no-one could see, because the sight of a sweaty bloke almost naked in a field isn't a pretty sight.

Cooler now, I finished the last dozen miles into Penrith. It was too early to book in the Brandlehow Guest House - only 15:20 or so, but there was a pub just along the road, so I propped Chopper up, took off my helmet, and sank a couple of pints!

Anyway, here I am in my room. I seem to have been given an upgrade, the owner said that it would do them a favour. Dunno why, I can only guess that it's because of Morrisons - the supermarket.

Why?

I was chatting in the pub, and it seems that the Morrisons in Penrith is/was the most busiest in the country and it burnt down! The company has pulled all the stops out to get it rebuilt and so there are many contractors in the town filling up the B+Bs. This probably has something to do with why I had a deal of trouble finding accommodation in Penrith, and possibly why I have an upgrade.

Tomorrow is another day. I have 80 miles to ride to Leyland, and the first leg is over Shap Fell. Going south is easier than going north, but I still have to climb to 1500ft. From the bottom via Kendal, the route is level all the way, so I only have one hurdle to get over.

Anyway, here's a movie of today's highlights.

Some more stats:
54.18 miles - 407.83 miles from JOG
Sat in the saddle for 5:04:00
2246ft total ascent
10.7mph average moving speed

Another few stats:
Nearly half way!
I've been pedalling for 41hrs and 17mins and climbed 17,555ft and consumed over 30,000 calories. (That's a lot of chips)

Today's route

The complete route so far

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your comments.
Off now for a beer or two and a meal.

Regards and TTFN
Mick

2010-05-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 18th May
Edinburgh day off

I woke early, even considering it was a day off. I had some plans, but not many: get the blog sorted and published, get some washing done and dried, and do some Chopper maintenance. If I could do those, I’d be ok for doing not much else.

My legs were stiff, and my bum needed a rest from that bench seat of a saddle. I was tired and generally worn out, and I was glad that Hilary had bullied me into having days off. Thank you, Hilary! xxx

I still wasn’t able to get on-line, so busied myself with adding to the draft blog that I’d started, and at 07:30 went down for breakfast. Continental again, but quite ok and as much as you can eat - I settled for warm rolls, cheese and ham, and then another warm roll with marmalade, all washed down with four cups of tea.

I asked at reception whether they’d got anyone to sort the ‘net out, but no, so I wandered back upstairs to carry on a little. Soon after starting again, lo and behold, I could connect! so I started the upload procedure. It took and age, but I got there in the end, I hope you’re happy with my efforts.

Tomorrow, I travel to the Borders - a “short” distance of 50 odd miles-ish, and I believe that there shouldn’t be too much in the way of climbing over mountains. I plan to get away at 8ish, and DougieB should be there to shepherd me out of the city.

Chopper is fine and ready, and Trailer is sitting up in the room in a corner by the door. Four bunks in here and all occupied so when we’re all in, it’s a bit squashed but the area by the door is fairly empty, they don’t seem to have designed the living space too well. With Trailer in the room, I can pack my box without too much effort.

All in all it’s been a quite and relaxing day. I’ve just devoured a chicken chow mein from over the road, and earlier on I had a couple of pints. I may go back soon and get another couple, but it will be early to bed again for me. For lunch, I had two sachets of soup and loads of mixed fruits and nuts and couple of Baby Bells. Luxury eh?

Wednesday 19th May
Edinburgh to Beattock

Here I am at Lochhouse Farm at Beattock. It's very quiet here, and I will sleep like a log! Luckily, they have internet connection though not WiFi for me. I'm connected via ethernet on a wire in the dining room.

I was awake early - again - and busied myself quietly in the dorm. I had everything prepared so it was only a matter of washing and dressing, then getting Trailer down in the lift to the ground floor and Chopper out of its prison dungeon. It was shortly after 7am, and breakfast wasn't until 7.30 but I asked nicely and by 7.20 I was drinking tea and eating warm rolls with cheese and ham. Shortly after, I went back up to the dorm for a final check to make sure I'd got everything and signed out at reception.

DougieB was outside waiting, so we greeted each other like old friends and off we went into the busy Edinburgh streets. It was tough climb for me up Leith Walk as my legs had seized up after a day off! I soon got into a rhythm and was ok. Doug shepherded me well, and I thank him for that. He knew which lane to get into and when, and made sure he wasn't leaving me behind.

We crossed under the Edinburgh by-pass and took the Penicuik road - A701 - busy, but ok, and Doug did his thing with me wonderfully.

The road climbed out of the city, and continued to do so. There were downhills but they were vastly outnumbered by the uphills. Doug and I parted at Leadburn where he turned back to Edinburgh, and I carried on alone with only Garmin for company.

A nice view with a bridge over the Tweed

Somewhere near Blyth Bridge (I can't be any more accurate than that), I spied three cyclists coming towards me chatting together riding three-abreast, we hailed each other as we went by. I wasn't sure if they were LEJOGers or not. Five minutes later, at the bottom of a hill, I saw a chap taking a photo of me as I approached. As I drew near, he asked me if I was Mick F! It seems he's supporting the three riders I saw, and one of them surmised that it was me and phoned back to his mate. We chatted for a few minutes. The three riders were LEJOGing and were orthopaedic surgeons(?) from Plymouth! No doubt they've been on the CTC Forum to have know about me. I passed on the web details and he said he'd hopefully be able to upload the photograph. Good eh?

At about the halfway mark, I stopped at Broughton at a nice little cafe and scoffed a bacon and egg roll washed down with a pot of tea. Whilst sitting there, a chap that had just left, came back in and gave me his pocketful of change for the school! How nice was that! Also, an elderly couple came in and sat on the next table and we got chatting about this and that, and eventually my story came out, and they gave me a tenner! HOW nice was that!

The hills continued to come ...........................

At the top, it was only mid afternoon and I knew that Lochhouse farm was a couple of miles from Moffat, so determined to find a pub in the town for a meal and a couple of beers. I started to descend - at last! - and although the hill wasn't steep, it was continuous and as the mist had come in and it had started to drizzle, I was getting cold. I pulled over and put on my Gortex top to keep out the damp wind. I'm glad I did.

Even so, by the time I made it into Moffat, I was freezing cold - perhaps verging on hypothermia. I was grateful for a warm pub, and very grateful for the big steaming plate of liver and onions! Oh, and I managed a couple of pints too.

Just as some ladies were leaving, they spied Chopper and Trailer outside on the pavement and came back in and gave me a handful of change. They asked loads of questions which I answered of course, and they went with broad smiles on their faces. Aren't people nice?

Warmer and fuller, I made my way to the farm. It was easy to find, just on the end of the Moffat road where it joins the M74 and Old A74 - just near a roundabout.

I checked in, showered and had a hot chocolate.

There, that's my day.

Stats:
54.46 miles (353.64 miles from JOG)
8:41:05 duration
5:56:04 cycling and sitting on that awful saddle!
2709 ft total ascent
I won't bore you with the calories, but suffice it to say that I may not be losing weight, but I am losing girth. My lycra isn't lumpy and I had to tighten my heart-rate monitor strap and inch or two!

I've noticed that although my heart-rate is the same under stress and pedalling, it recovers quickly and to a lower level than it did before. This is what you call fitness.

You can see by this graph how much today's climbs have been rather tiring despite the relatively short mileage. Click on the picture to see the scales. Basically, from mile 28 to mile 46 the road got steeper and steeper. Then it dropped rather!

The route was very straightforward. Over Edinburgh North Bridge and straight out onto the A701.

Some of you have been asking about perhaps sending some money to the school. I'm not fishing for this, but if anyone wants to, please send a cheque to class teacher:

Miss Claire Martin
Gunnislake Primary School
Chapel Street
Gunnislake
Cornwall
PL18 9NA

Please make the cheque out to "Gunnislake School OLA"
(OLA stands for Outside Learning Area)

Thanks. I mean it. Thanks.

Ta Ta for now, and hopefully there'll be more tomorrow, and this time from England.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-05-18T03:00:00.001-07:00

Hi Guys! Here I am in Edinburgh on a bright and sunny Tuesday 18th May. I’m having problems with the internet connections here, as although the WiFi is working, it’s not allowing a connection to the web. The reception staff have tried to contact the people responsible, but nowt has transpired as yet - 09:00. Consequently, I’m working off-line at the moment in an effort to get ahead of the game. If SYHA don’t sort it soon, I’ll go out and fine a bar or cafe with Wifi to upload all this. My photo’s and movies are all edited and prepared, I just need a connection to get it all up on the blog.

Yesterday, on my way down from Pitlochry, I met DougieB fron the CTC Forum. He was a welcome and friendly sight! We sat in a cafe in Milnathort near Kinross - he with a cuppa and me with a full Scottish breakfast.

Anyway, here’s the story so far .......

I left Inverness at 07:30 eager to get away having stuffed myself with a Continental Breakfast of rolls croissants, cheese and ham, and loads of tea. The road climbs out of the city and into the hills and I found the Old A9 for a change. On previous rides out of Inverness, I’d taken the main A9 as it was always early in the morning and quiet with traffic. The climb is awful. It goes on and on and on, and I hoped that the Old A9 may be better, but it wasn’t. It was devoid of traffic, but it was still a climb.

Inverness from 400ft at only 3 miles up the Old A9

At Milton, the Old A9 runs out and I moved over onto the A9 to descend the steep hill to Daviot, then I turned off back onto the Old A9 - The B9154 - and climbed again up to Moy. From there, it’s ok for some miles.

After the Moy section, the road comes back to the A9 but you can follow a tarmac path alongside the main road, then cross over - dodgy, but ok - and follow the track a little way then onto the Old A9 again through Tomatin. Here we start to climb again across the Findhorn bridge and up to the Slochd Summit. The Old A9 is a bit dilapidated here, but actually quite fine. Soon enough, after a a while, you join a proper road and head into Carrbridge. I stopped here for snacks and a breather.

Carrbridge

From Carrbridge, the Old A9 is now called the B9153 and A95, then the B9152 through Aviemore. Again, I stopped here for a rest and to visit the loos. Getting back to Chopper, I was chatting to a chap and his wife who wanted to know all about what I was doing. He runs marathons for charities and we discussed the merits of “Just Giving” and publicity. I explained about the costs involved and the fact that I was doing this for a local cause. He and his wife were much taken by my ride, and handed me a £20 note! Isn’t that wonderful? I thanked them profusely, we parted with handshakes, and I felt quite humbled by the experience.

Cairngorms

After the tourism of Aviemore, I headed south through Kincraig and into Kingussie stopping into a cafe for a pot of tea and a huge baked potato with cheese and beans. Yum!

I was on my way again headed for Dalwhinnie via Newtonmore, again still on the Old A9, now the B9152, A86 and unclassified, but superb, roads. From Dalwhinnie, the Old A9 is still there and it takes you up and up towards Drumochter.

Then disaster stuck! I was a little over-exuberant with a gear change, and the chain over-shifted behind the big sprocket. The chain tangled up and pulled my sprockets off the hub! I disconnected Trailer, leant Chopper down, pulled out my little toolbox and took the rear wheel off hoping against hope that nothing was broken. I wasn’t disappointed, and within 15 mins, I was back in action, not before making a cock-up of knocking the speed/cadence unit on the LH chainstay. It fouled the LH crank, and initially I though that the Sturmey Archer hub had broken internally. If that happened, I was well and truly stuck - miles from nowhere and JOGLE over for me.

Suffice to say, I sorted it, and was on my way again - phew!

The rear mech is actually for 6 to 8 sprockets, and in throttling it back to only 2, the inner stop doesn’t work so I had to make a Heath Robinson screw system that would reach. The problem is, it adjusts itself from time to time, and this time it allowed an overshift. Two clicks is enough on the gear control, but I obviously managed a third!

At 1300ft or thereabouts, the road becomes a cycle path and twists and turns and ups and downs its way over little bridges and through gates. This is fine for lighter more agile bikes, in fact Mercian and Trailer have been though the area on more than one occasion, but Chopper with its wide ‘bars and mirror would have been problematical. The lure of the main A9 was calling me, so at the first opportunity, I pulled onto it and whizzed along with the traffic whizzing past me. At the summit, 1500ft, I stopped for a rest and prepared myself for the long downhill. I was worn out and had it not been for the long downhill, I’m not sure that I could have made it very well. I rested at about 30 mph freewheeling for miles! Sometimes, as the speed dropped below 20, I would pedal to keep my legs moving.

At Calvine, I pulled over on to the B8079 to go through Blair Athol, Bridge of Tilt and into Killiecrankie. It was there that my heart sank. The hill out of the village is steep to say the least, I was tired and hungry, only a few miles to go, and there’s a hill! Bottom gear got me up, but it was hard. Then along a little further, and Pitlochry was there. Relief washed over me, and I felt “all emotional”.

The weather had been glorious all day, and Wind Gods had been smiling on me. I hate to think what state I’d have been in if the wind had been against me and it had been lashing it down. I thank my lucky stars all was ok.

When I arrived at Pitlochry, it was 18:30. I was dog tired and thirsty for a beer and food, so I called into a bar and got stuck in. The Etape Caledonia cyclists had all just about gone after their race that day, but the remaining ones were in party mood and chatted endlessly with congratulations to me for getting a Chopper all this way - and hopefully to LE. I didn’t want to talk much, so ate and drank, then I was away up the hill to the hostel. I made sure that the hostel was happy for me to keep trailer in the porch rather than the bike shed as it would make life easier for me. I showered, phoned Hilary and asker her to put something on the blog, and went to bed. It was 20:30 and I’d done 89 miles over the Grampians on a Raleigh Chopper, pulling a trailer. I’d been on the road for 11 hours or more and I was entitled to an early night.

I was up early and packing, then surveyed the maps waiting for my 07:00 breakfast. I ate it with relish whilst chatting to the reception chappy, then I was off. Straight down the main road out of town, but just before it turns onto the A9, I turned off onto the Old A9 - my wonderful friend! - in fact, I had planned a more scenic road down the west side of the river through Dalguise on the B898, but having perused the OS maps at the hostel, it looked too hilly, so instead took a more familiar and flatter route.

The A9 has a path alongside it that is actually quite good, so the Old A9 eventually runs out and is replaced by this track, but it soon turns into a proper road again and enters Dunkeld. I crossed the A9 again and followed the B867 through Waterloo and Bankfoot, but back onto the A9 for a mile or two, then off again through Luncarty.

Although there is a track to take you into Perth, I went on the A9 for the last few miles into the city. I followed my Garmin course right through, stopping off at the park for nuts and raisins washed down with loads of water. I sat in the sunshine on a bench, watching the folk out for a lunchtime stroll.

Then off again and through Bridge of Earn on the A912 and up the long hill to Glen Farg. I hate that hill. It’s busy with quarry lorries on the lower half, and it twists and turn and climbs incessantly. I pulled over at the Bien Inn for a breather. At the Inn, the road becomes the B996 - it used to be the main A90 before the M90 was built.

The last view of the Scottish mountains

At the top of the hill, I turned onto the A91 briefly then back onto the B996 and entered Milnathort. I was ready for a meal, and knew there were cafes in the town, and if not Kinross wasn’t far away for another chance at food. It was then that I spied a cyclist coming out of a cafe who flagged me down and shouted, “Mick?” I pulled over with a relieved smile and he introduced himself as Dougie. I’d never met him before, but had exchanged messages on the CTC Forum with him about the route to Edinburgh, and he’d cycled out of the city to meet me and escort me in. Wonderful! I tucked into my meal and we chatted about this and that and poured over the maps.

We rode side by side when we could, and Doug shepherded me along down through Kinross, Kelty, Hill of Beath, Crossgates and into Inverkeithing. I was tired and my bum ached so had to pull over every few miles to stretch my legs. In fact, I was worn out and looking forward to today - typing this out - and relaxing.

Doug had told me that we had to go over the RH side of the Forth Road Bridge as they had closed the other side for maintenance. Doug wasn’t too sure that I could make it up the steep slope onto the cycle track. I can remember NOT having a steep slope when I went over the RH side in 2006 on my LEJOG and Back ride, so Doug handed the navigation over to me! I wracked my brains to remember, and had the vague idea that I went up through a carpark of a hotel. I was right! and we entered the track without much effort at all.

From the bridge, it was my plan to follow the cycle route to Crammond Brig and go the rest of the way into Edinburgh along the main road. It was rush-hour and the road was packed with traffic. It was a good job that Doug knew a better way. I handed myself over to him completely and he took me this way and that from the bridge all the way to Haymarket without hardly so much as a road! We followed through housing estates and old rail beds, then after a steep but short climb past an office block, we were right by Haymarket station! Perfect!

Then it was through the city streets to the head of Princes Street, round the back onto George Street and then to Leith Walk. Doug and I parted by the doors of the hostel with him saying he should be able to meet me at 8am when I leave on Wednesday. No doubt he knows a magic way out of the city too!

Sadly, after showering and changing, I was unable to get on-line. This must be in punishment for getting a freeby last week! What SHOULD happen, it that when you bring up a browser window - say Google - the system should hyjack your window with a login widow that you put a code into, it then times your connection. What is not happening, is the new window asking for the login. I’ve even paid a £1 to connect too! The cheek of it!

Oh well, if they can’t sort it soon, I’ll get my quid back and find a bar with WiFi.

That’s it for now.

Stats and routes/profiles so far:

Inverness to Pitlochry
89.15 miles
Pedalling for 8:41:24
Total journey time 11:19:51
3969ft total ascent
7222 calories
Average moving speed 10.3mph

Pitlochry to Edinburgh
73.07 miles
Pedalling for 7:18:31
Total journey time 9:49:08
3020ft total ascent
5725 calories
Average moving speed 10mph

Grand Totals from JOG so far
299.19 miles
Pedalling for 30:17:26
Total journey time 38:35:39
12,600ft total ascent
22,531 calories
Average moving speed 9.9mph

Thanks for reading, and now I’ll try and get this lot uploaded.

(Five minutes later)
WOW! They've got it working! I'm on-line, so here we go on an upload - but it's slow.

(Ages later)
Sorry if I've confused folk, but I've uploaded in two stages to make sure it all goes. Second stage is ok too but the movie uploads take an age to do - quite frustrating when I'm being timed.

(Still ages later - I'm still at it, and I may have to pay for another hour!)

Regards to all,
Mick

2010-05-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hello All.
Mick's got problems with his WiFi connection at Edinburgh, so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with me again!

When I spoke to Mick each time today, he's sounded in good spirits still.

Today's ride has taken him just short of 10 hours, and he's covered 73.07 miles from Pitlochry to Edinburgh. His overall average speed was 7.4 mph, though his moving speed was 10 mph. Not at all bad I reckon.

In Mick's words, " The weather was glorious, and the Wind Gods were good!"

Since he left John O'Groats, he's cycled 299.19 miles! Fantastic!!

At Milnthort, DougieB joined Mick and rode into Edinburgh with him. A much appreciated diversion for Mick- Thank you Dougie x This was also really good as Dougie knew a better way through Edinburgh than Mick had taken previously. You just cannot beat a bit of local knowledge! Again Thank you Dougie.

Tomorrow, Mick's taking a day off in Edinburgh. A much earned day of rest! He'll be able to take in as much tartan as he wants and still have room for more! Though whether he can beat last nights haggis, neeps and tatties remains to be seen! Apparently, The Chieftan did him really proud!

His arrival at Edinburgh YH at first looked a bit too much, as it coincided with the arrival with a coachload of French school children, so Mick was fearful that check in would take an age. In the event, it wasn't half so bad, as just a couple of adults signed in for all of them. Phew! Mick had actually resigned himself to an hours wait, sitting in Reception with Trailer, but within 10 minutes, he'd phoned to say he was safely ensconced in his dorm.

I know how frustrated Mick is feeling at not being able to add his four pennorth worth to his Blog, and will do his level best to rectify the situation, hopefully before he leaves Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, so please be patient, and no doubt, you'll all find out all the ins and outs of the last 2 days soon from the horse's mouth!

Meanwhile, it's Good night from him and good night from me! X

2010-05-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone in Blogland!
I'm Hilary, Mick's wife, and I've been given the monumental task of filling in a few 'today' blanks. You all know the expression, 'well follow that...' then you know how I feel.

If you're wanting geographical details, calorific statistics or indeed anything technical, well, I'm afraid I'm not your man ( or woman )

What I can tell you is that Mick has done 89 miles plus today from Inverness to Pitlochry. It's taken him about 11 hours. The wind was ok, the weather glorious and he's now a very tired little bunny! No doubt that's not a very technical term, but it works for me!

His ride has been, from what I can gather, as expected, except for
an incident with the chain and what I understand to be 'bottom sprockets'. I'm sure that when Mick has WiFi again he'll explain all.

When I spoke to my wonderful husband, apart from sounding tired and urgent, I knew he was in need of food, sleep and beer, though not necessarily in that order!

Tomorrow he'll be on his way to Edinburgh, where he'll be staying in a Youth (that's a laugh) Hostel. It's from there, he expects to be able to blog again.

Whilst taking a break in Aviemore, a couple came up to Mick and gave him a donation for the cause! People really are lovely! And when I spoke to Mick an hourish ago, people were busy taking photos and asking pertinent questions. Fantastic!

Meanwhile, back at base camp, I have a cold and I'll be back at work tomorrow!
( Sniff!)

Thanks for having the patience to read my drivel, but mostly thanks for following Mick's progress. X

2010-05-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today has been a mixture of Brilliant, Not Quite so Brilliant, and Awful. I’ll start with the Brilliant.

The scenery today was brilliant and varied. I came down out from Golspie and crossed over Loch Fleet and followed the southern shore on a single track road with almost zero traffic. It was flat and smooth and wonderful all the way through Dornoch and onto the Dornoch bridge. The bridge was busy with fast traffic - it is the A9 of course - and I peeled off into Tain. Soon after that, the Awful started ........

Much later, I followed the southern shore of the Beauly Firth, again perfect and single track and deserted. Actually, the whole route from Muir of Ord to the Kessock bridge was brilliant.

Snow-capped mountains, hills heather and gorse, sunlit water and lochs, all filled my eyes wherever I looked.

Chopper and Trailer performed brilliantly - even me too! I couldn’t get over the amount of cars, vans, busses and lorries that sounded their horns and waved as they went past. Perhaps they do that to all the End-to-End’ers, but it made me feel rather special and I wondered if they read this blog!

Not Quite so Brilliant consisted of some fish and chips I had in Alness. The fish was ok, but the chips left a lot to be desired - underdone and firm.

Also, because I followed the signposts from North Kessock to Inverness - the cycle path ones - I ended up on the right hand side of the bridge. That left me having to turn off to the right and follow roads though endless industrial estates. Garmin showed me the way back to my intended track, and looking at my path, I wasn’t too far out of my way but it wasn’t enjoyable at all.

Awful was entirely the fault of the wind. I left Golspie in soft balmy breezes, and even all the way to Tain it was sweetness and light. The wind, though slight, was cool but gentle. As I turned west after leaving Tain and dropped down to the northern shores of the Cromarty Firth, the wind got up to a frenzy and full in my face. All the way from the roundabout south of Tain until I turned east at Muir of Ord I had a battle on my hands. This battle lasted from the 24 mile mark until the 52 mile mark - that’s 28 miles of it!! I was slow and frustrated. I saw other E2E cyclists going the other way with broad grins on their faces. I wasn’t sure if it was the sight of me on a Chopper, or just that they were enjoying the free ride!

The last and most awful bit was the Kessock bridge. This was awful for two reasons: the roar of the traffic, and the horrendous cross winds.

Don’t get me wrong, today has been a success. I’m happy and I’m tired, I’ve just scoffed Haggis, Neeps and Tatties down at a local pub and had a beer or two. Here I am, typing this sitting up on my bunk. I’ve covered 65 miles today - a record for a Raleigh Chopper I reckon!

By the way, I took some photographs and a couple of movies.

Quite a show of gorse flowers, eh?

Kessock Bridge

I'm here logged on courtesy of SYHA Inverness, but I had to pay £3 for an hour. They know how to charge here! I can't complain really, because at Edinburgh the counter kept resetting itself back to the hour. (This one doesn't seem to be.)

Off to Pitlochry tomorrow and it's a long one right over the Grampians. 80 odd miles, and I hope the Wind Gods will be favourable this time! The bit I'm looking forward to is the 20 miles of downhill into Blair Athol. This is possibly the longest continual downhill in the UK.

See you again soon, but I don't reckon I will get WiFi at Pitlochry hostel, I may have to go to a pub! (Oh no! Not another one!) If there's no WiFi, it'll have to be a double update in Edinburgh.

Today's route

Stats for today:
65.42 miles
8:35:36 total duration giving an overall 7.6 mph.
Moving average speed was 9.9 mph - surprising because of all that wind!

Total mileage from JOG - 136.97 miles.

Thanks for reading, and I'm enjoying reading all the comments.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-05-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Before I get onto today's ride to Golspie, I'd better fill you in about yesterday evening.

Phyllis, the landlady at Carey's asked if she could take a photo of me and Chopper, I suggested that we could do it in the morning when I was set up and ready to go. Later she asked me if I minded if she got in touch with the local paper - Caithness Courier (?) - I may be wrong - I said ok, and soon after she knocked on my door and handed me her mobile phone and I went through a telephone interview! We concluded by swapping email addresses and I sent him my picture at JOG with a link to this blog. Hopefully, I'll be publicised.

Later, I wandered down to Wetherspoons as it was Curry Thursday, and I had a couple of beers and a Beef Madras. Yum.

This morning started early.

I was awake at 05:30 and began preps for my ride to Gospie. John had said that it would be ok for me to get to Chopper and sort my stuff, so after washing and dressing, I was outside to the garage and back yard to begin. It would be the first time that all my stuff would be in one place, so I had a bit of a job moving things from box to pannier and back again. Eventually, all was sorted, and Phyllis suggested she get on with my breakfast. It was 6.45am and I didn't say no!

During the evening, a chap turned up on a bike, riding all around the Scottish coast. He's come up from Helmsdale and was on his way via JOG and west. We chatted down in the back yard, and also over breakfast too. We swapped cycling stories endlessly, but the road to Golspie was calling. I checked out of the B+B, said my goodbyes, and was gone.

I managed all of 10 yards.

The chain fell off as I pedalled away! I must've moved the gear controls during my packing and arranging, and when I back-pedalled to get my feet in position, the chain de-railed. Two minutes later, with some embarrassment, I was off and gone properly south into the southerly breeze, but sunny and fine. I was told that the weather forecast wasn't good, but not to take too much notice of it. It seems they get it wrong more than the get it right so far north.

The miles piled up.

Slowly, I must admit, but they piled up nonetheless.

I carried on almost non-stop to Latheron. This is a junction where the A99 ends and joins the A9 from Thurso. This road is the one I will follow in one way or another, all the way to Perth.

The road followed the coast in the bright sunshine. The wind from yesterday had abated and turned a bit to the east, so I had an easier time of it. Dunbeath was a problem as it's one of those hills that gets steeper the further up you go. Awful, but I managed it.

At 12:00, in bright sunshine, I pulled over and took a break. I also changed out of my warm tights and double layer of top, and put on a thinner, but long-sleeved top. I was wearing my shorts under my tights, so there was no display of bare bum etc!!!!

At about the half way point to Golspie, the Berriedale Breas raised their ugly heads. This valley sends shivvers down the spines of E2E cyclists. Steep both sides!

I was informed by the cyclist at Carey's that there had been an accident at Berriedale and to expect traffic lights. I went down the northern side holding my brakes. Not just because of the expected traffic lights, but because the hill is steep and has hairpin bends. I couldn't honestly say that I could stop if I was shifting along down that hill and pulled repeatedly on the levers to lose speed all the time. I took a bit of movie footage and pulled over into a layby at the top of the steep bit and took some more movie. I carried on to the bottom and took another bit, then threequarters up the other side, took the last bit.

I was horrified to hear the story. I learned later from where I'm staying here at Golspie, that it only happened a week ago and they were kids from Orkney - 36 of them - and ambulances were roaring up from the south one after the other. It leaves me pale and dithery just thinking about it. Anyone reading this who knows that bend will understand the horror of a vehicle going over. It's a good job that the barrier held.

Any road up, on a lighter note, I carried on south. The road climbed up over the Ord of Caithness and dropped down through Navidale and along the new bit of road that cuts a huge corner off, and dropped down into Helmsdale. I touched nearly 40mph down there!

Through Helmsdale and on to Portgower and another hill. Very steep but thankfully not too long. Then ups and downs to Brora for a call of nature and only 5 miles to go.

I'd snacked enroute with cereal bars and cashew nuts, and I got through a whole 750ml of water and then another half of the same size. The weather wasn't hot, but I was sweating quite well.

At 14:30, I turned Chopper into the carpark of the Ben Bhragghie Hotel and rode round to the rear. I entered the bar and ordered a beer. I needed it, I deserved it, and I was going to have it! As it was being poured, I introduced myself, was welcomed, and my beer went on the tab.

I'm staying in a pub, the bar is open all day, they do food, they have WiFi - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

Soon after, I was shown to my room, Chopper was wheeled into the function room - (no less!) - and I was showered and changed and downstairs for another beer and Meatballs and Noodles - wonderful and very welcome. Soon after that I was typing this out in the bar.

Heaven?
Yes.

Tomorrow is another day, and 64 miles of it too, but there shouldn't be any horrors in store for me. My fingers are crossed for continued good weather and and favourable winds.

Profile of today's ride. The deep V in the middle are the Berriedale Breas

Today's route. 53.37 miles.

It took me from 07:45 to 14:15 - 6.5 hours, and I consumed 4895 calories - no wonder I was hungry! I averaged 9.8 mph whilst riding; including stops, this drops to 8.1 mph.

Thanks for reading,
More tomorrow at Inverness, providing I can get connected.

Regards to all,
Mick

2010-05-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

I had problems earlier trying to convert my video mpg files into something that iMovie would like. Done it, and now here it is!

Today can only be described as damp and windy.

No, I'm wrong.

Today can be described as damp, windy and Far North!

2010-05-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of days in one go. I thought that Carey's Guest House didn't have WiFi but chatting to them, they gave me the password. So here we are, on-line.

Wednesday 12th May 2010

Awake at 05:30 - I’m and early riser! - and looked out of the window to see rain. Edinburgh in the rain - not a pretty sight. The dorm filled up during the evening, and all four double bunks were occupied. I dozed a while, then turned my light on for a read. At 7, I got up, washed and went down for breakfast. The place was filled with school kids, all well behaved, and I scoffed my Continental Breakfast washing it down with three cups of tea.

Then after packing up my stuff, I wandered up Leith Walk to Waverly for the 09:35 for Perth. The rain had stopped, but the pavements were wet and chilly. The rain cleared however as the train left and headed out of the city. In fact the weather was glorious all the way to Wick. Long may it continue.

The journey to Perth was a little boring, but a couple of highlights were the Forth Rail Bridge and the views back across the Forth. I was a little shocked to see the snow on the hills south of Edinburgh!

View over to Edinburgh from the Fife Coast

Perth to Inverness was better. I managed to get a signal on my Garmin where I’d not had a sniff between Plymouth and Edinburgh yesterday, the Cross Country trains must be shielded from satellites! My screen showed me our position and I set the Garmin to show me my proposed track that I will be taking south. The train line follows the A9 corridor and it was great to see the geography and imagine what it would be like on a Chopper.

At Inverness on time, I boarded the Wick train. I was last on this train in 1994 and so asked the guard about Georgemas Junction and how the train had split there - one half to Thurso, the other half to Wick. He laughed, and said that it hadn’t been like that for years and that the train goes to Thurso first, comes back to Georgemas, and then off to Wick. Oh well, that must be why it takes an age to get Wick, and for all you railway buffs out there, Georgemas Junction is the most northerly junction in Britain.

The Wick train stops at just about every single station enroute from Inverness:
Muir of Ord
Dingwall
Alness
Invergordon
Fearn
Tain
Ardgay
Lairg
Rogart
Golspie
Brora
Helmsdale
Forsinard
Georgemas Junction
Thurso
Georgemas Junction (again)
Wick at last, and on time too!!!!

A short walk to Carey’s Guest House, and I checked in. I told the proprietor of my plans, and he offered to drive me to Wick Airport in the morning. I declined saying I wanted the exercise, but thinking about it, I may take him up on the offer. The sooner I get to Chopper the better.

A quick shower then out to Wetherspoons - recommended by my host - and Deuchar’s IPA at only £1.10 a pint. How can you pay £2.90 or even £3.10 in Edinburgh, and then £1.10 for the exact same beer in Wick? It beggars belief. Anyway, I shoved a steak and kidney pud with chips and peas down my neck with another pint, then wandered back to Carey’s, and then was sitting on my bed shortly after 8pm.

Tomorrow the blog really starts. Wick to JOG and back to Wick.

Thursday 13th May 2010

Awake early, and then down for a huge breakfast at 07:30. Yum! I spoke to the owner (John) and he agreed to take me to Wick Airport at 08:30 hopefully to get a nice early start. The weather was clear and bright, with no sign of rain. Ha Ha.

I found Andrew Bruce of Far North Aviation upstairs in an old airport building and introduced myself. We chatted about this and that, and he told me to go along the taxi-way to the big hanger and see John.

The Big Hanger

My pallet was behind a blue plane. I wandered over, saw John - a chap from Grimsby no less! - and we walked through the massive hanger to see my pallet. All looked fine, and I undid the sticky tape and released my blade with a flourish. John was impressed, but said that they had Stanley Knives, but understood that I wouldn’t have known that as I had no idea of what facilities would be available to me.

Chopper and Trailer revealed themselves easily, and I began assembling it all. Ten minutes later, my rig was complete, and then in the chilly hanger, I dressed into my cycling gear. As the wind rattled the doors and the roof, I shivered into my gear, warming all the time.

Assembled!

Then it was time to go. Chopper burst into life and we glided out of the hanger and onto the apron and across to the main building. I paused briefly to say Ta Ta and thanks to Andrew and to fill a couple of water bottles, and I rode around the outside of the runway to enter the door of the main building. I asked a chap where the exit for vehicles was, and he just waved me in through into the reception area! Me and Chopper and Trailer wheeled ourselves through the tiled and air-conditioned opulence and out into the carpark. I started Garmin, and headed out onto the A99 for JOG.

The wind was strong and bowling me along nicely, and before I knew it, I was climbing the final hill and dropping down to JOG. 17 miles easily done and non-stop too with a good following wind. The trouble is, with a good wind one way, you know full well that it will be awful going back the other way .......

At JOG, I chatted to a carpark attendant and sorted my video and camera. Then I met the photographer at the kiosk and paid for a couple of colour prints. I wheeled my rig over to the finger-post and asked Mr Photo to fit “Gunnislake School” onto the finger. Great stuff, and he took a shot using my camera too! The cost was £12odd for two prints posted to home. I’ll do similar at LE.

Guess Who with What and Where

JOG looked a bit more swept up from the way I remember it, though the John O’Groats Hotel is still dilapidated. No doubt there are plans to refurbish the whole place as it certainly needs it. I didn’t hand around long, it’s not the most salubrious of places to be, especially as the weather was deteriorating rapidly.

Off up the long hill and south and into the rain. It had started to drizzle and spit and then really rain, and as the wind had got up to a frenzy, the rain just came in horizontally into my face. It was a long way back to Wick I can tell you! The hills, though not steep, are long and endless in a deserted landscape - or should I say Moonscape. I was in near-bottom gear just going along in places! I managed an average of 13mph going, but coming back was a pityful 8mph.

Moonscape

Instead of getting straight back to the B+B, I called in at Wetherspoons for a couple. I thought a Celebratory Drink was called for before finishing the day’s ride. At £1.10 a pint, it’s madness not to take advantage.

Today's route

That’s 35 miles I’ve ridden today, but only 18.18 miles done for the JOGLE. Those 18.18 miles took me 2:17:52 duration at an average speed of 8.2 mph. I wonder how those figures will pan out over the next 800 miles or so ........

Back at Cary’s, I wheeled Chopper in through the gate and into the back garden. I’ll need to sort my stuff out and re-arrange things between panniers and box. That’s a job for later or even tomorrow before leaving.

I have 50 miles to ride to Golspie. As I remember it, all I have to worry about are the major hills: climbing Navidale and down to Helmsdale, then climbing out of Berridale. But that’s tomorrow and another day .........

See you later!
Mick.

2010-05-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Up at 04:15 leaving Hilary asleep and made myself a cuppa. Checked on-line for the weather forecast in Edinburgh and for tomorrow in Wick. Both quite good, thankfully. Also checked emails and forums.

Woke Hilary at 04:45 and made us both a cuppa.

Breakfast of bacon and egg, and then final packing, wash and shave, then Hilary drove me up to Gunnislake station for the 06:57 for Plymouth. We parted with me eager for the off. We waved as she drove away. On the train there seemed to be no ticket collector! The train filled up with commuters, and I sat there waiting to pay - but no-one wanted any money! That saved £5.00 or so ....

At Plymouth, I entered the concourse area and queued up for the Fast Ticket machine. Fast? When there’s a queue? Ha Ha.

Ticket in my hand, I phoned Hilary to let her know all was well, and made my way over to Platform 7 for the 07:25 to Edinburgh and went to the waiting room with a cuppa from the kiosk. It was only 06:50, so I had a half-hour wait for the train. I turned on my little radio and caught the weather forecast and then the news.

I boarded the Cross Country train, found my seat at D24 and made myself comfortable. As we left, the carriage was quite empty, but filled up by the time we made it to Exeter. By Cheltenham, it was packed but emptied out again at Brum and rather quiet thereon.

Not quiet with people on their phones! Especially a chap right behind me on his phone constantly and in a loud voice too all the way from Newcastle. The un-ashamed and un-embarrassed way these folk do this on their phones completely mystifies me.

I dipped in and out of my Danny Wallace book, and stared out at the passing scenery, working up an appetite for my lunch. Hilary had assembled a pile of stuff to see me through all the way to Wick and picked away at it through the afternoon. I bought a cuppa from the buffet trolley a couple of times.

For the record, the train seemed to call at all the stations on the rail network:-
Totnes
Newton Abbot
Exeter St Davids
Tiverton Parkway
Taunton
Bristol Temple Meads
Cheltenham Spa
Birmingham New Street
Burton-upon-Trent
Derby
Chesterfield
Sheffield
Wakefield Westgate
Leeds
York
Darlington
Durham
Newcastle
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Dunbar

We arrived at Edinburgh a good ten minutes early, and I wended my way out onto Princess Street, and turned right down to Leith Walk. 20 minutes after leaving the station, I was checked in, I’d paid a quid for an hours WiFi, and dumped my stuff on a bottom bunk in room 217.
........... then it was straight over the road to the Windsor Buffet for three pints of Deuchars IPA and back to the hostel to phone Hilary, shower, and on-line with you lot!

More to come tomorrow evening when I make it to Wick.

TTFN from Bonnie Scotland,
Mick.

2010-05-10T06:09:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update of progress.

I'm almost packed and ready to go, just got to make sandwiches for the long journey to Edinburgh tomorrow. I leave home at about 05:45 in the morning for the train to Plymouth, then catch the 07:25 for Edinburgh.

Garmin 705, mobile phone, camera, handycam and razor are all charged. Gosh! What a lot of batteries and electronics! I'll be taking this MacBook too of course.

I've telephoned Carey's Guest House at Wick and they're happy for me to stay on Wednesday night as well as the Thursday. I've also been in touch with Andrew Bruce at Far North Aviation http://www.farnorthaviation.co.uk/ where my pallet has been sent. Good news! It's arrived! That's one hurdle over!

Bad news is that the flight company - Flybe - I booked my tickets through operate a No Refunds policy, so I've had it for my money back. I didn't say who I was or my booking reference, so if the flights are actually cancelled by the volcano ash, I may be ok because I haven't blown my cover. It looks like I may have been ok anyway as the ash cloud is reported to have dissipated. The volcano is still erupting, so there's time yet for things to change.

The main thing is, no matter what, I'm going!

I may be able to check in and update the blog at Edinburgh Youth Hostel or nearby, but I don't know, and I don't know either about Wick, but hopefully at Golspie on Friday I'll be ok because The Ben Hotel advertise WiFi.

TTFN,
Mick.

2010-05-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

I was crest-fallen when I heard the news this morning about the return of the Dreaded Ash Cloud. The met office reckon that it will return to UK airspace next week and Northern Scotland is closed even now.

Consequently, I've been on line and booked train tickets.
I'm booked on Plymouth to Edinburgh on Tuesday 11th, arriving at Edinburgh at 16:16 £155
Overnight B+B is now booked at Edinburgh SYHA on Leith Walk £28.25
Then Edinburgh to Wick via Perth and Inverness the next morning, arriving at Wick at 18:15 only £25!!!

This means I arrive in Wick the previous evening to my original plans, so I need to contact my B+B to arrange another night. I doubt this is a problem, but I have yet to phone them. Also, I have to get out to the airport to collect Chopper and Trailer, but it's not far - perhaps I can walk, it's only a mile or so.

The issue of my flight costs remains. I booked and paid budget prices, so I doubt I can get a refund unless the flight gets cancelled by them or the volcanic ash. I'll phone them tomorrow to plead my case. Either way, the price wasn't astronomical, only £120. High enough for me to want it back, but it's not the end of the world. On the plus side, I did have a taxi booked to drive me to Exeter Airport very early on Thursday morning, that was going to cost £75, so that's £75 saved out of the possibly non-refundable air fare.

Upshot of all this, is that I can relax knowing I can get there on time. If I'd waited to see whether I could fly or not, it would be too late for alternatives.

I now need to get my head round the fact that I'm off the day after tomorrow .............

Regards to everybody,
Mick.

2010-05-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

Chopper has now gone. It and Trailer have been lain on a pallet, wrapped in black plastic, labelled up, and is ready for despatch later today.

Yesterday evening, and this morning, I packed and stuffed my things into the trailer-box and loaded it all into the car. The cycle rack locks on the tow-bar and Trailer fitted easily in the back of the car with the seats down, and I drove it round to my mate Paul at RK Pridham Engineering in Tavistock. http://rkpridhamengineering.co.uk/ Paul had selected a reasonable pallet and we nailed down a sheet of plywood onto it.

Paul has arranged with a local firm to collect my pallet and transport it all the way to Wick. And do you know what? They've agreed to do this for free! How fantastic and generous is that!!!

I J McGill Transport Ltd are wonderful people, and I thank them wholeheartedly! http://www.ijmcgilltransport.com/

We arranged the stuff on the pallet to get the most efficient and stable positioning for everything. I took the front wheel off Chopper and turned the handle bars and front rack for a better fit and we stuck an advertising sticker on the side of Trailer proudly displaying McGill Transport.

With a forklift truck, the pallet was lifted a couple of feet off the floor and we wrapped and wrapped and wrapped black plastic all over it. This plastic stretches and grips like cling-film and within a few minutes, all was stable and secure.

If you look carefully, you'll see from the above shot, that we left a pedal showing. We wrapped some more, and eventually it was all done. I forgot to take a final photograph, but you get the idea!

Lastly, Paul stuck an address label on the top, but when it's collected, it will be labelled and bar-coded properly. This should happen today, and it should arrive in at Wick Airport on Monay or Tuesday next week.

I feel a little strange.

Chopper has gone and my life feels empty! Weird!

I seem to be very confident now. I was worried about the monumental task of riding this contraption, but recent rides have been much easier than I could have hoped for. The concrete block was superb training and I feel ready and able to ride the 900 miles.

That's it. Done and gone. All I can do now is wait and hope that my flight goes ok. I must get to Wick by lunchtime on Thursday for all this to happen.

Thanks for reading, and keep your fingers crossed for the Icelandic Volcano to spew it's ash away from my flightpath.

Regards to all,
Mick.

PS:
Sorry, forgot to mention that Paul made me a sharp tool out of some flat steel. He fashioned it with a sharp hook thing on the end, and then gaffa taped it neatly to the outside of the wrapping.

This should enable me to unwrap without hurting my hands.

Regards,
Mick.

2010-05-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

I rode out today - my shoulder feeling much better - and took my handycam again. This time, I mounted it low down on the front of Trailer to see my sprockets and chainwheels in action. Not to mention my feet and ankles!

If you notice, to the end of the movie, my camera angle started to lift. If I ever do this again, I'll tighten the mount a bit more, but you can admire my manly muscles meanwhile!

Anyway, it was my last ride before Chopper and Trailer get posted up to Scotland. This afternoon I'll be doing the final packing. Last minute things will be carried on the plane with me.

Enjoy the movie, it's a strange angle on the world. Please forgive the wind noise, and I found it surprising how much noise comes from sprockets and chain when you get up close.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-05-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

I'm in a bit of pain this morning.

Yesterday, I cut the grass in the garden, and pulled a muscle in my left shoulder. Our garden has a terrible slope, so cutting the grass takes some effort. I overdid it.

I had hoped to go for a ride today, and even collect a bit of shopping on my way back, but I think I'll be better occupied in packing and sorting and perhaps having a long soak in the bath. I can't afford to be hurt, riding that Chopper is hard enough without doing damage to myself on a non-cycling activity!

Hopefully, I'll be ok tomorrow for my last ride before Chopper and Trailer are carted off to N Scotland.

Wish me luck,
Mick.

2010-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Been out for a 30 miler today into the Cornish Alps.

Concrete block was with me again of course, and it was hard work, but to be honest, it is getting easier and I didn't stop until the 16 mile mark. I reckon I could have done the whole ride non-stop.

I should get another ride in during the week before Thursday when me and Paul wrap my stuff on the pallet. I really need to start packing and organising. The more I can get packed away into Trailer the better, as I don't want to take much on the plane with me.

Also, our local taxi service (run by the chap from the post office!) may be asked to get me to Exeter Airport. It's a 50 odd mile journey to get there for a 06.50 flight. No doubt I'll have to be there an hour before = 05.50 = leaving home at 04.50 or earlier.

As you can tell, my thoughts are turning from riding and practising, to thoughts of planning and logistics.

Thanks for reading, more to come during the week.
Mick.

2010-04-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

I've been busy sorting and arranging this morning.

I've telephoned Wick Airport to confirm that they're still happy to receive my pallet, and also checked with some of the B+Bs that I'm still booked in. All are happy, so that makes me happy too.

I assembled a long list of the bare minimum of stuff I need to carry: changes of cycling gear, clothes for the evenings and my days off, a few bike tools and spares, my laptop, various stuff and their chargers - mobile phone, camera, movie camera, Garmin 705 - wash gear, razor, maps and route info. I even filled up a couple of 750ml water bottles .................... The list was extensive but not too long. I don't want to take anything that won't be needed.

I shoved it all in a large cardboard box, picked it up and climbed on the scales. I climbed on without the box and subtracted. My stuff plus cardboard box weighs 27lbs.

This is fantastic news! Remember, the concrete block I've been pulling behind for the past few weeks weighs 40lb, so my stuff will be a breeze to tow! This means that I can take more than I assembled this morning without impinging on my towing abilities.

It looks as though Chopper and Trailer (complete with most of my gear) will be put on a pallet on Thursday next week. That gives me only six days of Chopper riding before I wave goodbye to it. We will be apart for a whole week before I pick it up at Wick on Thursday 13th May. I'll be seeing Paul in the next day or two to finalise the details. I'll put Chopper on our car bike-rack with Trailer in the back of the car for transport for wrapping. I'll make sure that I take photographs of the procedure and update this blog.

One problem I've been thinking about is that as it's all going to be wrapped in plastic, I'll need a knife to unwrap it at Wick. I won't be allowed to take my penknife on the flight, so I may have to rip it off with my bare hands! No doubt something will occur to me to get round the problem. Perhaps fit a knife in the wrapping that I can get out easily. I can't guarantee that the nice people at Wick Airport will help.

Since my 60 mile ride to Camelford and back last week, I've been out a couple of times. Only yesterday I did 26 miles, so I've not been idle.

It's all coming very quickly now! I'm getting even more nervous!

Thanks for checking in,
Mick.

2010-04-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic ride yesterday out to Camelford and back - just short of 60miles of varied terrain in beautiful weather.

Chopper and me with Trailer and Concrete left home at just after 9 yesterday morning into chilly mist and headed into Devon over Gunnislake Newbridge and plodded up the hill. Before leaving, I'd uploaded my route into my Garmin Edge 705 - I know the way easily to Camelford, but I wanted to check out my Garmin with a "course" to follow. This system shows you how long you've been cycling, how far you have yet to go, and gives you all the info including a highlighted map and directions to follow. It worked well.

At Gulworthy, I turned off onto the Lamerton road and turned left onto the B3362 for Launceston via Milton Abbot and dropped down over Greystones Bridge to enter Cornwall again.

At Launceston, I skirted the town centre and climbed the long hill up to St Stephens and headed west on the Egloskerry road. It was then that I spied a lone cyclist dressed in red heading towards me. As we passed, I greeted him with a cheery, "Good Morning!" only to receive the reply of, "Mick F?"

I shouted YES! and did a U turn to meet up. It was a chap called Rob on his way from Land's End to his home in Leicester, where he will head out to John O'Groats later in the summer. He reads the CTC Forum where I am a major contributor, and Rob had received advice about his trip and train services from the Midlands to Penzance. His train journey was a success and he was well into his second day heading to JOG. He looked fit and well, and eager to ride.

We chatted for a good ten minutes, and we parted with a smile and a wave. It's good to know that I'm part of a great community of End to End cyclists.

Through the little village of Egloskerry, up through Tresmeer and out onto the busy A395 and heading for Davidstow into the warm sunshine. I say warm, but in the shade and whizzing downhill it was chilly enough. I had stripped off my long warm top off and rode in a thin short-sleeved top. I was hot and sweaty at times, and cold and shivery at others. I couldn't win, so I stuck with the short top!

At Davidstow, I turned left onto the A39 - Atlantic Highway - for the two or three miles into Camelford. By now it was after 1pm and I was hungry. I know a small cafe in Camelford and a debated whether to have the 'Ham Egg and Chips' or the 'Tuna Mayo Baked Potato and Salad'. One thing that needed no debate was a pot of tea! and in the end, I went for the baked potato.

I leant Chopper on its stand by the front and walked in and ate! I was stuffed by the time I left at 2pm - perhaps I shouldn't have eaten so much - but I was hungry.

Camelford is in a valley and although I'd come down the long hill into the town, I had to climb out again, but this time not as far as the top as I turned off to return home by a different and slightly short route. I had programed Garmin for this route as well.

I passed over Davidstow Moor, a short way off Bodmin Moor where Rough Tor and Brown Willy (Cornwall's highest point) can be seen over on the right. On Davidstow Moor is an old WW2 aerodrome - RAF Davidstow Moor - where all the old runways are still in existence. One or two runways are in use for light aircraft and microlights in the good weather. In the 1950s they even hosted the British Grand Prix there around the perimeter roads!

The "main" road goes straight across the site now and scales an elevation of just short of 1000ft making Davidstow airfield the highest airfield in Britain.

It was windy up there, but thankfully it was behind me, and me and Chopper flew along and down down down off the moor to Altarnun. There I rested on a bench by the stream before the long slog back up hill through Fivelanes and towards the busy A30 dual carriageway.

Years ago, I found a good route to by-pass the A30 to get south to Callington. The trouble is, Altarnun and Fivelanes are all but cut off by the A30, but if you study the maps, there is a way to miss it out. It's not that I don't like major roads, but the trouble with this leg, it that you have to get over to the other side by crossing two lanes of traffic, pausing in the centre reservation, and get over another two lanes before making the B3257. This is not good on a bicycle - it's bad enough in a car.

I went under the A30 and took a tiny lane off a roundabout and weaved in and out of narrow bends and bumpy surfaces and eventually came out on the B3257 about half a mile south of the A30. Great stuff!

From there, it's plain sailing all the way home. I timed it perfectly, as just on the stoke of 5pm, I propped up Chopper and walked into the Rising Sun for a few well-earned beers. Hilary met me there soon after and at about 7, we walked the short way home.

A great day out, I feel fine and strong, and the 60 miles is enough to give me confidence that my JOGLE ride can be done.

Here's a map of my route:

Stats for the ride:
Active Cycling 6hrs 20m
Average Moving Speed 9.1mph
Total climbing 4,552ft
Average Heart Rate 136bpm
Calories Expended 5,484cals (No wonder I was hungry!)

Thanks for checking in,
Mick.

2010-04-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a ride into Tavistock and back.

My lovely wife, Hilary, took a movie of me riding past.

See - I can ride it!

2010-04-15T01:44:00.000-07:00

I rode out yesterday down to Plymouth and back. I fancied a trip to the Big City. Chopper performed faultlessly - great! Just over 40 miles on a circular route down through Tavistock and Roborough then back over the Saltash Bridge and home via Callington. Nearly five hours including a stop for a burger and a cuppa.

Although the ride through Plymouth was fairly flat, it was still a hilly ride, and as the weather was unusually chilly, I found I was getting quite cold. A hot bath sorted me out!

Thanks for checking in,
Mick.

2010-04-12T00:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a tough 38 mile ride. I took Trailer of course, and the concrete block. Both of these things will be my constant companions. The training value is superb.

I left at 9.15 into a cloudy and cool morning, knowing that the day would warm up. I took the precaution of taking a light short sleeved top this time and climbed the hill out of the valley further into Cornwall.

I took the Liskeard road out of Callington, and dropped down over the river, then climbed up and up to St Ive (pronounced s'n-eve) turning right at the Butchers Arms to Pensilva. This road climbs to nearly 900ft. Turning right again onto the B3254, I headed out through Upton Cross, Darly Ford and Congdons Shop. Here, the road crosses the B3257 and goes through Slipper Hill, South Petherwin and Daws House before reaching Launceston.

This all sounds like pretty basic stuff, but it was a VERY hilly ride and it was tiring. Some of the hills were quite steep and some of them were quite steep and quite long too! Memorable sections include the long grind to St Ive from New Bridge over the River Lynher, the shorter but steeper hill away from Berrio Bridge (also over the Lynher) up to Congdons Shop, and the steep leg away from Trekelland Bridge up to South Petherwin.

At Launceston I sat on a bench by the main A388 opposite Tesco and ate a couple of cereal bars. I took my time and rested in the sunshine. The day had turned out to be glorious as I had expected and I was glad I was wearing a short light top. I wished I'd brought sunglasses as the sunlight was shining off the roads and making me frown. As it turned out, I also should have taken suncream, as this morning, my arms are sore!

Anyway, off I went down the A388 and crossed over the A30 dual carriageway, turning off onto the unclassified road at Stourscombe. I dropped down the hill past the turning for Lawhitton and turned left onto the B3362 and headed down into the Tamar Valley and crossed into Devon.

The road then climbs and climbs and climbs. The heat of the day was getting to me, and I struggled slowly in bottom gear the 3 miles to the top. I stopped at the top in some shade for a drink, then plodded on through Milton Abbot passing the Edgecumbe Arms with the smell of beer and the sound of laughter and chat coming out of the open door. I would have loved to have propped Chopper up and gone in and sank a few pints, but I knew that it was not the best thing to do - I'd be better employed pedalling home and calling in the Rising Sun only half a mile from home!

Next came Lamerton Cross, and although I was tired, I seemed to be getting my second wind, and I powered my way towards Gulworthy to join the A390 and head home. From Gulworthy it's downhill all the way to the Tamar and cross the bridge back into Cornwall. Then it's uphill again and into Gunnislake village. (The first village in Cornwall!) Turning left, I freewheeled to the Rising Sun and sank "a few" beers. They do a lovely Otter Bitter - I recommend it!

I pushed Chopper home .......

A great ride, reliable machine, superb weather, loads of hills, good excersise, good training, great and welcome beer!

2010-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I took a concrete block onto Dartmoor. One concrete block weighs 40lb, so I removed the puny Yellow Pages and replaced them with a real load! This would give me some training and also show any problems with Chopper. I'd like to think that 40lb would be about the same weight of all the stuff I'll be carrying with me to Land's End.

Off I went, into the cool morning, whizzing down to cross the river into Devon, and up and up out of the valley and through to Tavistock. I took the Princetown road, and I knew that very soon I was going to get to a Real Hill! The road onto Dartmoor is not for the inexperienced cyclist. Pork Hill is a monster.

It starts innocently enough, then Bang! a 1 in 5 just past Mount Tavy School. It levels out a bit, then starts to climb, and climb and climb. I pulled over into a layby at 760ft elevation. My calves were burning, and I was breathing heavily. I leant Chopper onto its propstand and took this photograph:

It was turning into a glorious day, and I was a little over-dressed. As it was chilly when I left home, I'd worn a long sleeved base layer and a long sleeved top. As I rested, I took off the base layer and rolled my sleeves and unzipped the front a bit. It was better, but with hindsight, I'd have been even better with a short sleeved top. I had the stowage space after all! In one pannier I had tools and spare inner tubes, and in the other I had a waterproof top. It would have been simple to have brought a change of top. Oh well, maybe next time.

Off again, and I climbed to the top of Pork Hill. Then it's down into Merrivale and up a wall of a hill back out again! Still up, but thankfully not too steeply, right to the summit of 1460ft at Rundlestone Cross.

All the way up, I'd been listening to the skylarks twittering and singing high in the blue sky. Every so often a knot of traffic would go by spoiling the tranquillity, but the skylarks could be heard above it all, even above my rasping breath!

At Rundlestone, I turned right and headed into the rather un-lovely town of Princetown. The place has had money pumped into it over the last few years, as it was becoming run down. In days gone by, the prison guards all lived in the town, but nowadays, the old married quarters have been sold off and the guards don't have to live on-site any more. Also, Dartmoor prison is no longer maximum security, so it needs less staff. The cash injection has allowed for more building - shops and homes, and perhaps Princetown can thrive again. Tourists are the main thing now, and as I arrived, two coach-loads did too! The people swarmed out and into the cafes and shops. I chatted to a couple who had spotted Chopper, and I regaled them of my intentions. They were suitably impressed.

Off again, and I headed for Peek Hill down to Yelverton. I say 'down' but I still had some miles to do though the bleakness that is Dartmoor. I was starting to tire, and longing for lunch! My ride would only be 30 miles, but it was a hard 30 miles. I knew I'd be home by 1.30. Lunch and a cuppa beckoned!

At the top of Peek Hill I rested again.

This is one of my favourite views. You can see right over to Bodmin Moor, you can see Tavistock, Walkhampton, Horrabridge, Yelverton and even as far as home in Gunnislake. Over the other side, you can see down to Plymouth and Plymouth Sound, right into the English Channel and along the coast both east and west. Photographs cannot do it justice. You have to be there on a day like today, and just gaze!

Down and down and down, through Dousland past the Burrator Inn and into Yelverton. Then onto the A386 down through Horrabridge and up to Grenofen, then down to Tavistock. Phew! I was definitely tiring now!

I rested again at Tavistock and then wound my way along the A390 and home. I paused a few minutes to chat to some people that were gazing at me from the carpark of the Harvest Home. They'd just had a meal and had seen me struggling up the hill. I was only too pleased to pull over and rest! They were fairly local, so I promised I'd hand in some info and leaflets about my ride. They took photographs and one with me posing too!

Then home.

Lunch and a cuppa, then writing this whilst it all digests.

All in all, the ride has been a great success. The weight, though heavy work, was about right. The ride was just about the toughest I could have done. There is no leg of my JOGLE that would be as tough - longer, yes - but tougher, no. I have a smile on my face, even though I'm tired.

Thanks again,
Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-04-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Today, I thought I'd have another go at filming something interesting. I'd failed yesterday big-time, so off I went, back up the hill to film my descent. This time it worked!

Max speed was 41.8mph. Watching the movie seems like watching the Cresta Run!
Enjoy!

If you want to see my route, click on this link:
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=115762

A quick view is this:

Thanks again,
TTFN
Mick.

2010-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

I fitted a camera mount onto Chopper's handlebars so that I could mount my new Sony Handycam. It's a rather cheap and nasty affair - the clamp that is! - but it does the job quite well.

Off I went this morning into the spring sunshine, but with the threat of showers, to do a short ride and film some of it. I would have filmed much more, but the camera came with only a puny battery, so most of what I wanted to do was a complete waste of time! Anyway, here's a ten minute film of what it looks like from the front of a Chopper riding along the busy A390 on an Easter Sunday morning.

The sun shone, but at times the road was soaking, although it never rained on me. The camera lens became splashed with spray, so I apologise for the lack of clarity. Also, the black lines you can see on either side of the screen are the brake/gear cables. I'll try and secure them out of the way for next time.

I started the recording at the top of the hill west of Gunnislake, and carried on into Callington and stopped by Ginsters, the pasty people. From there, I turned north and then east again at Kelly Bray and headed back down into Gunnislake down its infamous hill. I carried on through the village and right down to the river.

The trouble is, all the filming I did from Callington onwards never completed itself, therefore the video file never closed properly so I lost it. Flat batteries don't work. I'll try and do the downhill bit again tomorrow, and make doubly sure the battery is fully charged.

2010-04-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

At 10.15 this morning, me and Chopper with Trailer in tow entered the hall at Gunnislake school. I was nervous.

The kids filed in and sat cross legged on the floor. They sat in rows and were silent. Perfectly behaved kids? Do they exist? They did at Gunnislake School this morning!

Earlier, I'd parked my contraption in the school entrance waiting for the hall to be ready and was offered a cuppa in the staff room. Some of the older boys were looking at Chopper, and I listened to their comments. "Cool!" "Awesome!!" were the main ones. Kids have always liked Raleigh Choppers. Awful bikes, but great fun to own. A design classic.

The time came for me to wheel in, and I arranged myself and rig at the far end, standing Chopper on his prop-stand. I'd designed a map of the British Isles and blown it up to A2, having stuck it onto a board and it stood there to one side for all to see.

I introduced myself and then off I went with my stuff about where John O'Groats is, and all the places I'll be stopping on my way to Land's End. The kids listened intently. I described all the bits on Chopper, showed them my trailer-box and panniers, and even demonstrated the SPD system showing them the underside of my shoes.

Then I took questions from the floor. I have no idea how many questions there were, but I answered plainly and simply. Some of the questions:
"How many days will it take you?"
"How long will you be cycling each day?"
"What will you eat?"
"What will you do if the food is yukky?"
"How are you going to get to Scotland?"
"What is that stick thing for?"
"How much money are you going to raise?"

To this last question, I answered, "As much as possible." then added, "A million pounds!" They all giggled. The kids break up today for Easter, and they'll all be taking home a note about my ride - and a sponsor sheet too. Maybe some sponsorship pledges will start to roll in.

Afterwards, the head of the infants class took me and Chopper + Trailer plus two of the little kids for a photograph. I stood to one side in the sunshine, and we held hands for a publicity shot for the press.

I came away with a smile and glassy eyes.

TTFN
Mick.

2010-03-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

I used JustGiving a great deal during my LEJOG and Back ride in 2006 and it was fantastic to raise so much dosh. JustGiving were great, claiming the Gift Aid and paying all the donations to my chosen charity. I raised the money for the Alzheimer's Society, and not only were they getting funds via JustGiving, we collected cash and cheques personally too.

The system works well, and I recommend it to any fundraiser .........

However, my thoughts have changed. It was time to start publicising my Chopper JOGLE and as I'd chosen to raise money for Gunnislake Primary School to improve the playground and play equipment for the little-uns in the infants classes, I tried to see if JustGiving would work.

Gunnislake School is a tiny school, not more than 70 children in Infant plus Junior. They have only two teachers and a few support staff. They are as impoverished as any school I suppose, but as they are local, and the Chopper is really a kids' bike, I thought of local children. If you look on the JustGiving site, they are geared toward Charities. That's all very well, but a school isn't a charity, so you have to set up an account and I looked into this. JustGiving make its money by holding back on a percent or two from the Gift Aid they claim. Also, they charge the charity £15 per month. If I were to set up an account with them now, and keep it going during my ride and afterwards too, the school would have to pay in excess of £60. They can't afford that, and I wouldn't ask them.

Consequently, the chairman of the governors is giving us the paperwork, and today we are going to open a dedicated bank account instead.

JustGiving is great for bigger concerns, but not for little ones. I know that JustGiving will provide an extra percentage via Gift Aid, but the money is offset by the £15 per month. Not really a good deal on a small scale.

See ya later,
Mick.

2010-03-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

A Self Portrait ..............

I have a tripod and a camera with a self timer that goes up to 30sec, so off I went into the sunshine!

TTFN,
Mick.

2010-03-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

A short video tour.

I felt like a complete prat doing this! Hopefully, you'll all get the idea of what I look like, what I sound like and what Chopper and Trailer look like.

I'm open to questions about all the fixtures and fittings, and the operation of all the 12 gears!

Thank you for watching me.
Mick.

2010-03-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

I've not been idle these past two weeks. Although the weather has been wet and cold, I have managed to get out on Chopper a couple of times.

Today, I rode out through Tavistock and up towards Brentor, then turned for home and into a brisk and cold westerly. Hard work or what! I completed 18 miles with Trailer in tow. A good ride, but I need to get out more, and clock up a 60 or 70 miler. Maybe later this week, weather permitting.

On Friday, four of us went out for a meal at The Bird's Nest Chinese restaurant. We took a taxi each way, and whilst chatting about me and Chopper, the taxi driver said, "Oh, it's you! I've seen you out and about on it, and always smiled to myself. I had a Chopper when I was a kid!" We explained what I was going to do on the thing, and as the driver dropped us off he was still smiling!

Choppers bring out the best in people.

44 days to go.
That's all.
I'm getting nervous.

We've started getting sponsor forms together. I've raised money for national charities before, but this time I wanted to keep it "local", so I've decided to raise some money for Gunnislake Primary School. Like all schools, they are very short of funds, and the Infants Department, or should I say Key Stage One, are as short of funds as can be. They have an outside play area that the education department are hoping to improve, so if I can swell the coffers somewhat, all the better for the little 'uns.

On Thursday, the day they break up for Easter, I'm attending the school assembly. I have to be there by 10.15 fully kitted out with Chopper and Trailer and explain to the assembled masses my intention, showing them this 40 year old bicycle and strange contraption of a trailer. I'm sure some of the older kids will understand the monumental task and appreciate Chopper, but I feel that I may leave the smaller kids somewhat baffled. I intend taking a map and showing the route - hopefully they understand maps, but I'm sure they will understand "a thousand miles!"

I only need to chat for a few minutes, but it's doing my head in. I could talk to adults all day about bicycles and cycling and all things Chopper, but kids? Good grief! Anyway, they won't bite. (I am reliably informed!)

More later, thanks for checking in.
Mick.

My Route - in pictures!

2010-03-17T06:24:00.001-07:00

Cycling Day 1
JOG to Wick 17 miles
Thursday 13th May

Cycling Day 2
Wick to Golspie 51 miles
Friday 14th May

Cycling Day 3
Golspie to Inverness 53 miles
Saturday 15th May

Cycling Day 4
Inverness to Pitlochry 88 miles
Sunday 16th May

Cycling Day 5
Pitlochry to Edinburgh 72 miles
Monday 17th May
Then take a day off.

Cycling Day 6
Edinburgh to Beattock 63 miles
Wednesday 19th May

Cycling Day 7
Beattock to Penrith 58 miles
Thursday 20th May

Cycling Day 8
Penrith to Leyland 79 miles
Friday 21st May

Cycling Day 9
Leyland to Wrexham 60 miles
Saturday 22nd May
Then take another day off

Cycling Day 10
Wrexham to Ludlow 58 miles
Monday 24th May

Cycling Day 11
Ludlow to Gloucester 48 miles
Tuesday 25th May

Cycling Day 12
Gloucester to Bridgwater 66 miles
Wednesday 26th May

Cycling Day 13
Bridgwater to Sourton 71 miles
Thursday 27th May
Then take a day off at home!

Cycling Day 14
Sourton to St Columb Major 51 miles
Friday 29th May

Cycling Day 15
St Columb Major to LE 49 miles
Saturday 30th May

Total Distance 901 miles

2010-03-17T02:29:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd see if I could upload a movie, so I sat down and looked stupid and said something stupid too!

I'll try and do another one sometime and say something worthwhile. I have this idea of doing a video diary each evening as well as keeping the blog going during the ride. I will also keep a detailed diary.
(This supposes that I'll have time to do it all!)

It seems to work!

For the techies amongst you:
This was done on the built-in iSight camera on my trusty MacBook via iMovie.

See ya later!
Mick.

2010-03-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I've been shopping! I hitched Trailer up and rode off down to Lidl Saltash.

Thirteen miles each way. I flew along with Trailer empty - and much of the ride is down hill, but I crawled back up the hills. Chopper is heavy enough, and with a load of shopping it takes a great effort to keep the pedals turning. I took it slowly, and took my time.

Chopper weighs 44lbs and Trailer 21lbs. (I know these facts).

As soon as I got back, I detached Trailer, picked the whole thing up and climbed on the scales. By subtracting my weight and that of Trailer, my shopping weighed in at 26lbs.

That made the whole rig a massive 91lbs!
(Or for anyone that is metric - 41.3Kg)

It was a good trial. It was the first time that I'd pulled a heavy trailer with Chopper, and I'll have to repeat the shopping idea with a bit more weight. Maybe next time I should buy more bottles of wine and a sack of potatoes!

Chopper performed faultlessly.

Great stuff!
Speak soon,
Mick.

2010-03-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Fourteen faultless miles today!

My tweakings of the transmission seem to have paid off. I rode out this morning making sure I had plenty tools with me, and half expecting to only get as far as the village, but as all was ok, off I went!

I took the A390 into Tavistock and made my way up to Lamerton, then back home. A great short ride, and come Monday I'll be out again, this time with Trailer in tow.

As promised, here are some photographs of the transmission.

The Chopper gear shift is disconnected. I can't reach it now the saddle is so high! I've installed a trigger shift on the handlebars.

The front changer.

Another view of the front changer. The yellow bit is cut off from and old car number plate. I had to butcher the changer to make it fit, and as the outer plate was very worn, it had no strength, so I Araldited the plastic over the top. I works well.

The front chainrings are 42 tooth and 52 tooth.

The back end. You can see the Chopper spoke protector and the double sprockets bolted together. They are a 28 tooth and an 18 tooth. The Sturmey Archer is a 3sp AW - wide ratio version.

All in all, it was a great test-ride and I'm very pleased with myself.

Tune in next week for another ride report.

Regards to all,
Mick.

2010-03-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple or three test rides, and it's been difficult.

The new chain is a 9 speed one and the gear changers aren't too happy with 9sp - they would be happier with 6, 7 or 8sp chains. I'm having a great deal of difficulty getting the cogs to select properly. One problem, is that the chain over-shifts into the spokes and jams behind the big sprocket, and the other problem is that the chain over-shifts and jams in the dropout. I've tweaked and tweaked and had a terrible time trying to get it right.

My newest plan, is to re-fit the spoke protector that Choppers have originally.

This will stop the chain jamming inside. The trouble is, it adds a little to the thickness of the equipment that fits on the Sturmey Archer driver, and the circlip that holds it all on comes off! I've had to file a little chamfer on the inside of the sprocket boss so the circlip beds in better. It may be that I may have to file a little more. Trial and Error is the way of things!

I've had a test ride, and all seems fine. This new chain may be problematical, but if and when it changes gear, it works beautifully. I only hope that I can get it right permanently. When everything is fine and dandy, I'll take some photographs of the gear train so you can all see how it works.

Busy again over the next few days, but hopefully I'll be out at the weekend for further tests, and fingers crossed, all will be well!

TTFN
Mick.

2010-03-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

I managed to buy a new 18t sprocket contained within a six speed freewheel unit this morning. It only cost £6.99 for the whole lot, so I can't complain.

The fitting wasn't much of a problem, the sprocket had to be filed on the inside to fit onto a boss. Ten minutes later it was on and drilled through to bolt it in position. Next I needed a road test!

I hopped on and went for a spin, and everything felt fine, except the chain came off! No real problem, and I rode home again.

This afternoon I've been for a longer ride, and although the chain came off again, I'm very happy. This new Campagnolo chain changes gear so sweetly, I'm going to have to be very accurate with the gear adjustments. Tomorrow will be Adjustment Day!

The new mirror is a bit of a pain. The glass is flat, and ideally it should be convex, so I was finding the view a little limited - better than nothing, but a little limited. It only cost a couple of quid, so I should expect something less than perfect. The idea is good, so I'll shop around for a better one.

Thanks for reading,
Another update soon.
Mick.

2010-03-07T03:50:00.000-08:00

First the good news.
My new brake blocks work well, and so does my new rear-view mirror as does the trailer hitch modification. Even the shiny new chain was perfect and so were the wheel nuts.

The sun was shining, and I fancied a ride on Chopper - not a long one, just a short one hour ride.

Here comes the bad news.
Off I went, whizzing along in the chilly March sunshine and changed into top gear. (3rd on the Sturmey Archer, big ring on the front and small cog at the back) The chain started to jump! This is caused by a worn sprocket. It didn't jump on the big 28 tooth sprocket but it did on the 18 tooth.

This 18t sprocket is a very old one that I used to use nearly 20 years ago, and I wasn't aware of it being worn. When I went over to cassettes, I kept all my old freewheel sprockets for ages and have since given some away. The 18t was perfect as a ratio on Chopper, and now I need a new one.

You may ask why this wasn't a problem before. The thing is, as sprockets wear, the "pitch" between the teeth becomes wider, and as the chain wears, everything is ok - until you fit a new chain! That's just what I've done! The good chain I've fitted with perfect pitch doesn't match the old sprocket.

You may ask why I just don't put the other chain back on, and that's what I may have to do, but continued use will ruin the 28t sprocket. I can't win. The best solution is to get hold of a new 18t sprocket.

So it's off to the bike shop tomorrow morning to see if I can get hold of one. It would be best and cheaper to buy a whole freewheel assembly with an 18t sprocket included and strip it down.

Oh well. I'm off the road until I can sort this. Poor Chopper has his legs in the air in the workshop awaiting some tender loving care.

2010-02-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Today, I carried out some maintenance.

First thing I did was to adjust the 3sp cable, as the 3sp hub jumped a bit now and again during my ride the other day. It was a little loose, so tightened the screw on the toggle. From experience, I know that these cables have to be very tight in 1st gear, so hopefully all will be well next time out.

Next, I fitted some new leather-faced brake blocks to the rear brakes. Basic rubber brakes aren't too good on chrome wheels, so hopefully these will be better. I bought two pairs, so have a pair spare. The front rollerbrake will take the strain, but better brakes on the rear will help of course.

I fitted a rear view mirror! It clamps on the handle bars and seems ok for a bit of checking behind. I've found that by looking over my shoulder, especially at low speed, I wobble a bit, so a mirror could be a good thing.

Then I looked at the chain.

Oh dear.

It was a bit mucky - fair enough - and I'm a stickler for transmission cleanliness, so took the chain off and gave it a good cleaning by immersing it in a tub of Gunk (engine degreaser) and shaking it vigorously, then washing in clean soapy water. I've only ridden Chopper about 200 miles in it's present guise, and found that the chain I'd fitted was starting to wear. If you lay a chain out straight and measure it over a couple of feet, it shouldn't be elongated by more than 1/16th inch per foot. This measurement is the extreme. If it gets that far, the whole transmission could be damaged. I found that my chain was 1/16th inch over 36 inches, so it was on it's way! This chain is a cheap one that I installed at the beginning as a test to see if my derailleur system on a Sturmey Archer would work. It obviously does, and the chain is obviously rubbish! I've just ordered a Campagnolo chain - one that I know is a good chain. Chains should last a few thousand miles - not just a few hundred!

Meanwhile, I made a bracket to mount the Carry Freedom trailer hitch a little further back. The hitch is designed to bolt onto the rear wheel nut, but I found that sometimes, the heel of my shoe would catch on the hitch. I made a clamp thingy that fitted under the wheel nut and that was long enough to mount the trailer hitch a couple of inches further back. Hopefully it will be ok, but in the meanwhile, I noticed tht the wheel nut was stripping it's threads. These Sturmey Archer wheel nuts are a special thread and need the specific nut, so today I bought a couple - one to fit, and one as a spare. As one has stripped, the other may not be far off stripping too.

As I said in my previous post, I'm busy next week, so I'll have to wait before I can test out my mirror, new brake blocks, chain, wheel nut, and hitch.

Stay tuned to this channel.

2010-02-25T06:10:00.000-08:00

52 miles!

I left home at 9.15 yesterday morning and headed out to Yelverton via Tavistock. It's a long slog up through Horrabridge up to Yelverton and on a busy road too. From Yelverton, I dropped down through Meavy then up a massive hill onto Lee Moor on the outer fringes of Dartmoor. This hill is awful! It goes on and on and on, and when you think you must be at the top, it goes on a bit more!

From there, the road bobs along through moorland with sheep and ponies all about, and then I dropped down to Lee Mill via Cornwood and took the Old A38 through Plympton and then the busy city roads into the centre of Plymouth. I rode through the city to The Barbican area to grab a spot of lunch. It was about 1pm by then and I'd completed 32 miles. I was hungry!

I called in at Cap'n Jaspers, a fast food kiosk on the water front at Whitehouse Pier. It's a long-standing business originally started back in 1978. The new kiosk 'only' dates back to 1997. It's a fantastic place, and they sell all manner of burgers with all manner of fillings. I went for a Whitehouse Wonder - quarterpounder with mushrooms, bacon and tomato. Yum! I washed it down with two mugs of tea.

Then I was off again, through the city streets and over into Devonport past the Naval Base and up through St Budeaux and onto the Tamar Suspension Bridge and crossed into Cornwall. By then, I'd covered 38 miles.

Out through Saltash town centre climbing the steep Fore Street and onto the busy A388 for Callington. Turning off the main road just north of St Mellion, I joined the Old A388 for a while and climbed and climbed and climbed.

I turned right as I reached the outskirts of Callington and continued to climb as I headed for home along the A390.

That's it 52 miles! I made it home at 3.20, making it a shade over 6 hours for the total journey.

I need to repeat this ride, well not actually the same one, I'll find another long ride perhaps 60 miles and see how I get on.

The Chopper? It was perfect. The new rollerbrake worked well and progressively. I had no qualms about descending hills - my maximum speed was 38mph!

Busy over the next week, so stand by for another thrilling instalment in early March.

2010-02-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

26 miles and perfect braking!

I was out for a ride today, up through Lamerton, turn right at Long Cross and up towards Brentor. I turned left for Lydford, past Lydford Gorge and Lydford Castle and out to the main A386.

From there, I turned south to come over Blackdown and through Mary Tavy and into Tavistock, then over the hills along the A390 to home - well, actually into the Rising Sun for a couple of beers!

26 miles of good riding. Chopper worked well.

A couple of days ago, I managed to raise the saddle a little further and at the same time, make the back-rest go further into the rear frame by using a steel bracket I bent in the vice:

The raising of the saddle made for easier pedalling. My legs could extend properly and I could push the pedals far better. This was a good modification!

The front brake was fantastic. Having read up about these Rollerbrakes, I knew they needed grease. This sounds daft - greasing brakes? There is a hole on the outside cover to inject the grease, but not having the necessary grease gun, I took off the brake and used a finger to apply it through the hub fitting in the back. The brake wasn't dry, but there wasn't much grease in there.

This seems to have done the trick. The brake was a little noisy before, and also a little snatchy, but today after the greasing, it's fine.

I'm very happy with the ride today, and during the week I want to go further. 50 miles would be ideal.

Wish me luck!

2010-02-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

It works!

Just been out for a short - but VERY hilly ride, and even came down a 1 in 4 hill trying "emergency stops".

Perfect!

2010-02-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

I've been busy thinking about brakes.

Ever since a ride in the rain and the brakes seemed to completely stop working, I've been wracking my brains about what to do. I ordered some leather-faced brake blocks that are supposed to be ok on chrome wheels in the wet, but I'm not convinced that they will be safe.

After thinking about buying a drum brake or even a disc brake, it suddenly hit me that I could rob the Shimano front hub and Rollerbrake off another bike! The trouble is, the hub has 36 spokes and Chopper has 28 spokes, so a new rim would be needed.

Today, the rim and a set of spokes arrived from St John's Street Cycles in Bridgwater, and I've just been building up the wheel. Although I'm quite good at wheelbuilding, I don't consider myself an expert, but I was successful!

Here's the finished article.

The black arm you can see has to be clamped to the front left fork, I'll design one easily and bolt it on. The front brake cable should reach ok to the rollerbrake, but the existing Chopper brake lever may not be man enough, but I do have a spare brake lever from a scrap mountain bike.

The next step is to rebuild Chopper and go for a test-ride!

Wish me luck!

2010-02-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photographs of Chopper.

This is exactly the state of Chopper when it was given to me. Both tyres were perished and completely flat, also no chain, with the whole thing looking very sorry for itself.

The famous Chopper gear shift control!

Front view

Nearly finished.
12 gears, a water bottle and raised saddle.

I fitted new pedals, the sort that your shoes clip into.

In order to raise the saddle, I needed a longer seatpost as the one fitted wouldn't adjust to my leg-length. I used a length of hard boom handle and carved it accurately to fit neatly into the post, also fitting a ferrule on the top to strengthen it.

Here's the finished outfit.
I fitted a rear pannier rack on the front as a front rack wouldn't fit due to the little front wheel and short forks. Choppers have a natural propensity to do Wheelies - tipping backwards when you pedal hard in low gears. The panniers will provide ballast to hold the front down.

2010-02-03T00:53:00.001-08:00

I have a problem.
It seems that I'm arriving at Pitlochry on the same day as the Etape Caledonia! AGAIN!!!!!!
http://www.etapecaledonia.co.uk/
I've nothing against this ride, but again, I will arrive in the town and be overwhelmed by cyclists when all I will want is a quiet meal and a quiet couple of pints. The place will be throbbing.

The last time I was there was during my Grand Tour http://www.my-grand-tour.blogspot.com and was clapped in to the finish line! What the spectators are going to think of a Raleigh Chopper I don't know! At least this time I will be coming in from the north.

If I'd have picked different dates, I'd be much happier. Pitlochry will be far to busy.

Oh well, at least forewarned is forearmed.

2010-02-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

I've been busy on the telephone.

One of the hardest things about cycling from one end of the country to the other, is the planning. Scraps of paper, bookmarked websites, emails and form-filling. My head hurts!

Yesterday, I got Googling, and found addresses and websites of likely places to stay. Today, I've been on line and on the telephone chatting to folk up and down the country asking about their tariffs and whether they can take bicycles. At Wick, I found I could get discount as I was a cyclist. The cheapest B+B is only £18.50 and the most expensive may be £40 - they may be able to bring the price down, I'm waiting for a return call. Some of my specific itinerary has had to change, but basically it's all taking shape.

So far I have the following booked:
Wick, Carey's Guest House
Golspie, Ben Bhraggie Hotel
Inverness, Pitlochry and Edinburgh, Youth Hostels
Beattock, Loch House Farm
Ludlow, Cecil Guest House

Still to confirm:
Penrith, Tynedale Guest House
Bridgwater, Admiral Blake

I still have to talk to my sister in Wrexham, and my sister-in-law in Leyland and ask if it's ok if I stay.

Dates are now set in stone.

2010-01-31T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it.
17 miles into Devon, down to Tavistock and back home.

I carried a pair of Yellow pages in the front panniers, and had three more YPs in Trailer's box as well as one gallon of water (10lbs) in a big bottle. This weight gave me some idea of towing and carrying.

Me and Chopper did very well indeed! I'd ridden this same route a couple of weeks ago, and had the information in my Garmin Edge 705. I could do the route again and compare the figures and my performance.

Here's a map of where I went:

And here's a profile of the route:

(Red is heart rate and the green is speed)

There was 1800ft of climbing and I consumed a couple of thousand calories. I was tired when I got back! The trouble with Devon and Cornwall for cycling, the hills are constant and regular and we don't have any flat bits at all.

Comparing the same route with before, I was six minutes behind schedule at the top of the hills near Brentor. The last time, I had no luggage and no extra weight, this time I was pulling and carrying, and by the time I made it down to Tavistock, I was six minutes ahead! I can only suggest that going downhill is far more efficient with a heavy weight than being light. Yes, I was slow up the hills, but this was more than compensated by the extra weight pushing me down.

By the time I made it home, I was four minutes ahead of my previous time.

I was tired and my thighs ached, but I was elated and confident. I'll be out again in a couple of days, and I'll try to up the distance.

Practice makes perfect.

2010-01-31T01:35:00.000-08:00

I have a plan, and it is taking shape.

I am going to ride my Raleigh Chopper from John O'Groats to Land's End. I will be leaving JOG in the afternoon of Thursday the 13th of May and I should be arriving at LE in the afternoon of Sunday the 30th of May.

That is my mission statement, and from now until then, I have many things to arrange, although I have my start and end dates, nothing else is in place. I am flying to Wick from Exeter, and will collect Chopper and Trailer when I arrive. I am packing them onto a pallet a week before and sending them up to arrive well before me, the plan for this is in hand and I have contacted Wick Airport to see if this is possible and they were very helpful and friendly and could see no problem about disposing of the pallet and wrappings.

From Wick, I can cycle to JOG, turn round and cycle back to Wick and stay at a B+B. From there, I can make my way south.

Over the past few months, my Chopper has undergone quite some modification. The basic three-speed Sturmey Archer gears aren't enough to take me up and down the hills and the length of the country pulling and carrying my stuff and luggage, so extra gears had to be fitted. I spent a while thinking about this, and with the help of a friend was able to squeeze a double sprocket system onto the hub. This produced an increase in ratios up to six speeds, but this still wasn't enough. I fitted a double chainset too, and then the six speeds were doubled to twelve! It's not just the amount of ratios that counts, it's the range that I needed, so I ended up with a super-low gear for the hills, and a reasonable high ratio for whizzing along the flat bits - superb!

The old knobbly rear tyre was a bit sluggish, so a modern puncture-proof one was fitted in its place. I also replaced the front tyre. The whole bike, though scruffy, has been completely stripped and serviced and all the bearings re-greased.

This Chopper is an original Mk1 1971 example, and was given to me. It was on its way to the dump, and I stepped in to rescue this wonderful piece of British Engineering. It's an acquired art to ride the thing as at low speeds it's rather unstable, but strangely it seems very stable at high speeds. It also has the propensity to do "wheelies" especially now that I've got such a low gear. I needed to find some way to hold the front down, and so I fitted a set of front panniers. At this moment, they have some old Yellow Pages in the bags as ballast!

I'll return to this blog over the next few weeks to keep everyone informed of my plans and developments, but here's a basic outline of my proposed route. It is subject to change as I get accommodation arranged and booked.

I leave JOG 13th May and aim for Dornoch.
From there it'll be Inverness, then Pitlochry and Edinburgh.
Moffat and Penrith and Leyland and then Wrexham.
Ludlow, Slimbridge and Bridgwater, then Okehampton.
St Columb Major as a last stop before the push onto LE.
I have been told by my lovely wife Hilary, that I have to have some days off, so I'll have to do as I'm told taking a day off in Edinburgh, Wrexham (at my sister's) and at home - Hilary can collect me from Okehampton and bring me home - then she can take me back to Okehampton for the last couple of legs.

Later today, I'll be off on a practice run - perhaps 17 miles - and I'll be towing my Carry Freedom trailer with me.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post again to let you know I get on.

2010-01-30T09:33:00.000-08:00