Day 15  (St Austell to Lands End) - We decided to start off early today - although it was only 55 odd miles, we were well aware by now that the hills make it feel like a hundred!  We didn't want our welcome party (Joanne, George and the girls) to be hanging around down there - Jo may even start to spend some money in the gift shop  ;0) ....

We started out by 7:30am and cycled through the morning - still can't quite believe how up and down Cornwall is!  We even passed somewhere called Misery Mount!!  Stopped off for some fuel in the way of drinks and pork pies in the Tesco and would you believe it - our welcome party was getting some diesel!  It was great to see everyone - my young daughters were particularly impressed with the beard I had been cultivating!  We said a quick hello and then set off for the last 10 miles.   There's another hill just as you arrive in Lands End and we could see people milling around. Some old geezer wouldn't move out of the way near the end and almost got mown down!  George and Emily were holding a red ribbon for our 'finishing line' and we had banners and cards.  My in-laws were there as well and there was lots of hugging, photos and the general feeling of relief!  There was another group of 6 cyclists who had just finished who were really nice - they gave me some champagne.  They had a support crew cooking for them though, so they hadn't experienced the wonders of the Little Thief!  We ventured down to the famous signpost to get our official pictures done and then signed the 'End to Enders' register - certificate in the post!   

All in all it was a pretty amazing thing to do - a once in a lifetime thing.  It was a bit hard going at times and pretty early on when my knees decided to give up I had to say I was worried!  The guys at work giving me a lifetime of grief and having to face all the people who had the faith and sponsored me kept me going!  I would recommend it - but I probably won't be doing it again in a hurry!  :0)

The end.                               Please sponsor me some more..  !

 

Day 14  (Okehampton to St Austell) - Worse day ever!  Loads of rain, loads of hills, took soooo long to get to St Austell that we were still cycling at 7:30pm.  Coming to the end now, this is our last night but we're both feeling a little broken now.  I think Darren may have decided not to go ahead with going back the other way!  Looking forward to seeing everyone at the finishing line tomorrow.  Will update later! 

Day 13 (Weston-Super-Mare to Okehampton) - A bit unlucky so far today - woman van driver knocked Darren off and he cut his hand on her wing mirror, I then came off too.  Both okay but Taunton is a busy place - looking forward to getting the hell out of here!!  To be continued...    Worse day so far!!  Took ages to get into Okehampton, hill after hill.  Really tired now, not going out anywhere, need to find some dinner and the only thing we can see from our room is a Little Thief.  Not known for their culinary expertise are they!!  An early night is in order I think as we have more of the same tomorrow - and we thought Scotland was hilly!! Night night all (crawling under duvet).

Day 12 (Cheltenham to Weston-Super-Mare) - A long hard slog today - falling off your bike whilst having rain in your face is not recommended!  A few more sponsorships came in today though which really helps us along.  Darren's got an iffy achilles tendon now so we're a bit walking wounded.  Will be good to get home now I think!  Will see everyone on Saturday when we finally get to Lands End. I wonder what my two daughters are going to think of the beard! Going to have a little wander around W-S-M this evening and maybe even partake in some fish and chips!

Day 11 (Kidderminster to Cheltenham) -  A nice easy one - a bit of a lie in and breakfast (not sure I want to rush back to work really) unfortunately this was all ruined by having to get back on the bike!  :0)  My knees are still a bit iffy although I think the physio did help.  We got into Cheltenham in good time and then went out for dinner and a beer (or two) with Ferris who doesn't live too far way.  It's always good to see a familiar face!  Not too much beer tonight though as we've got quite a long one tomorrow..

Day 10 (Crewe to Kidderminster) - A good steady day, we went flat out for 40 miles only stopping for conveniences (a cow in a field at the side of the road was particularly interested in me during one of these stops and I had to make a run for it!)  Doing loads of new stretches the physio taught us but the knees are still killing me.  Apparently I have to rest them, so that will have to be next week then! A nice easy day tomorrow with a bit of a lie in - happy days!

Day 9 (Preston to Crewe) - A nice early start today (as we'd been such good boys last night!)  We made good time, found the Chatsworth!  (Didn't see Frank though and luckily no sign of Lilian...)  Made it to Crewe and hurrah! the physio arrived and gave us the once-over.  Big thanks to him - working on a Sunday and all..   Now we're about get some dinner with George's little brother Thomas.  Good times..  :0)

Day 8 (Penrith to Preston) - A good day - ended with a nice decent pub meal with a couple of beers.  The DJ set up and started playing some 80's tunes and it looked like Darren was about to start throwing some shapes (he was wearing his cycle shorts and flip flops at the time).  We decided to be very good sensible boys though and head off to our room.  There - don't we feel righteous!

Day 7 (Dumfries to Penrith) - tough, tough day today.  Loads of massive headwinds - we felt like we were cycling miles and getting nowhere! Luckily when we eventually got to Penrith Travelodge the Garmin man (and the CityLink man) had done as promised and a shiny new trip computer was waiting for us!  Dinner at the Little Thief and a bit of telly (luxury!)  The knees are trying to hold up without much success - thinking I'm needing some physio when this is all over.  Whose idea was this again?!!  Tomorrow we get down to Preston, we're both missing the bonnie land of Scot actually, it was pretty, friendly people and a little quieter!

Day 6 (Kilmarnock to Dumfries) - okay, not the best start. Knee is not happy and really wants to sit on a comfy train and get down to Lands End a week early.  Garmin decided it didn't want to play anymore and has shut down (I think I sympathise...)  Keeping fingers crossed that the man from Garmin will deliver the replacement to Penrith for us tomorrow.  Managed to find our way to Dumfries without it though so we're not completely stupid! We had loads of huge lorries bullying us today, A roads and hills - gotta love them.  By the end of the day both knees are sore and unfortunately the knee support we bought is far too baggy for my Fido Dido legs - Darren said he could use it somewhere else...? ***!!!   We are now in search of a pub for our beer intake, should be a slightly flatter journey tomorrow - here's hoping the knee holds up!!

Day 5 (Crianlarich to Kilmarnock) - had soup for breakfast and then set off - we paid £5 for a packed lunch lovingly prepared by the hostel - it turned out to be a floppy cheese sandwich and a tracker bar!  Darren was disgusted.  Back to the cycling...  right knee is not very happy, lots of ibuprofen and ice packs, speaking very nicely to knee and asking for some help and support for the next 10 days, then I promise to never again ride a bike.  We knew today was going to be a long one, it turned into about 90 miles as we decided to use the safer cycle tracks rather than get into more arguments with large vehicles which we don't seem to win.  Definately more beer required for this evening, tomorrow we go down to Dumfries - not long now before we get to good ole blighty!

Day 4 (Fort William to Crianlarich) - this was another round of huge and very painful hills - isn't there any flat land around here at all?  I'm sure this wasn't made clear.  Anyway, it didn't start off great, we decided to breakfast enroute, only there wasn't anything enroute and so we were running (or cycling) on completely empty tanks.  Luckily we had a small stash of magic bananas and oat bars and half a sausage sandwich (I don't recall buying that...)  Right knee has decided to protest, I'm going to ignore it.  Tomorrow is our toughest and longest day.  We feel it's necessary to prepare for the early start and awfulness with some beer (in the name of research).

Day 3 (Inverness to Fort William) - we are suffering a bit - achy legs (I'll have He-Man quads at the end of this)  speaking of He-Man, Darren is a little sick but I think that's down to the iffy steak and ale pie we had a lunchtime...  We're off to Fort William today, 65 miles - a nice trip around the lakes, if we find Nessie we'll bring her home!   .....  Nessie wasn't playing ball, not even for a photo, I did explain she'd be on facebook!    Fort William backpackers was a truly excellent hostel - big downside was that it was on top of a MASSIVE hill!  Yes another hill...   Anyway, onwards and upwards (quite literally) beard is coming along nicely..

Day 2 (Helmsdale to Inverness) - some interesting people at the hostel last night (some weird ones too!)  Today's a biggie - 70 miles to Inverness.  Some cheddars on the side of the road helped early morning - I'm sure your sponsorship is rolling in and the thought of that is helping us along...  :0)   Update later.....   Urghhh!!  rain and a massive ******* hill!  2.5 miles out of Inverness and we had nothing left in the tank - luckily Darren was packing some magic bananas and we finally got there - a very tough day!   Tomorrow we look for Nessy!!   :0)

Day 1 (John O'Groats to Helmsdale) - Yes it's arrived.  It's quite early, very windy, some rather astute photographer has removed the John O'Groats sign and if nature calls here they charge you 20p to use the facilities (isn't it supposed to be 'spend a penny'?!!).   May 1st arrived a little sooner that I thought it would.   We tackled a few hills and got back to Helmsdale hostel with Darren taking a tumble (legs gave out after pledging to do no training!)  A bit of pasta and a nap and we've recovered.  I've been reliably informed that beer helps with this kind of event - we intend to investigate this theory throughout and will report back with findings (all in the name of research)......

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

A few months ago I was out having a few beers with some friends when the conversation found it's way into what we'd hoped to do in our lives that was out of the ordinary. My Brother-in Law Darren said he planned to cycle around the UK at some point, I asked him if he'd considered going from one end to the other and before I knew it I found myself trying to convince him that it was a good idea for the two of us to do it.

 

So here we are, another challenge brought about by the drunken ramblings of two fools in a pub!

 

The charity I've chosen for my foolhardy adventure is certainly a worthy one. Stepping Stones in Nigeria work to stop the abuse of children that have been accused of being witches by deluded preachers. I saw a documentary about the work they do and was totally disgusted by what happens in these Nigerian villages. Have a look at the Stepping Stones website and I'm sure you'll be as horrified as I was http://www.steppingstonesnigeria.org/ 

 

Well wish me luck and please give as much as you can to these poor kids!

 

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