Day 8 We ticked off the tourist sites today with Ben Nevis and Loch Ness. Half way through the ride we were cheered by an enormous crowd in Beauly who thought we were the first contestants to finish the Highland Cross (http://www.highlandcross.co.uk/frame.htm), a 50 mile duathlon from West to East coast. Suitably embarrassed we headed to the pub to watch the Lions (lose!) before knocking out the last 40 miles.
Day 7 The morning saw us ride alongside Loch Lomond then up into the Highlands over Rannock Moor. Again the bad weather couldn’t dampen our spirits as some beautiful scenery drove us on. The toil of the riding however has brought on a series of giggling fits in us all. A quite ridiculous state of affairs.
Day 6 Today it was the turn of the wind to join the rain in testing our resolve. A long slog up Scotland and through some of the less salubrious parts of Glasgow saw us pitch up on the southern tip of Loch Lomond. However, after a couple of pints everything was fine with the world. Apart from the ropey curry…
Day 5 And then rains came (and came, and came...). It was cold, it was wet, it was hilly and we loved it! The Yorkshire Dales inspired us, with everyone coming out the other side with their injuries. Highlight of the day was Rob 'The Power' Chamberlain beating Steve '1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc Dart' Beckett at arrows.
Day 4 Even tougher! What should have been an easy day turned out to be the toughest 81 miles we've had. Not only was it longer than expected the route was less than glamorous. Knee injuries are taking their toll, with Rob and Duncan suffering especially. Not looking good for 100 miles tomorrow...
Day 3 Another 100 miles but the toughest day so far. Chambo's turn to keel over - that's 1-1 with Duncan. Apart from Jon, everyone's knees are hurting and everyone is saddle sore/red raw. Good news: the Garmin is now working so we won't get lost any more. Bad news: Rob and Steve are still up at 1.30AM.
Day 2 An even longer day (to Wales!) in the saddle but more good weather to enjoy. Quote of the day from Chambo after Leo crashed out on a descent "I wouldn't want to be THAT bush!". We also said goodbye to our Aussie friends and thank them for all their help (and chat...).
Day 1 Well, we've taken the first step and ridden 112 miles from Land's End to Moretonhampstead. What we've learnt today is: Cornwall is a very, very long county; Saturday is muckspreading day; Dartmoor is both extremely beautiful and extremely hilly; and keeling over whilst on your bike can happen to anyway (eh, Duncan!).
As you may or may not be aware we (Duncan, Jon, Rob and Steve) cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in aid of charity this June (nearly 900 miles in 9 days). As with many ‘good’ ideas this started with a conversation over a pint or two last year but was brought into stark reality in September when our close friend Martyn Greek or ‘Parky’ took his own life. He had battled for some time with depression and although he seemed to be coping it became too much for him. We therefore decided to cycle in aid of Depression Alliance and through the aid of 4 different support drivers, 3 Aussie friends (John, Leo and Rob) for the first 2 days and some of the best B&B’s in the land, we made it.
