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On July 10 I shall be setting out to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats in 14 days** to raise money for the RNLI. As a member of Aberdyfi Rowing Club - the leading coastal rowing club in Wales - I was fortunate enough to know that if ever our crew got into trouble the local lifeboat team was there to get us out of it. And it's the same for countless sailors, rowers, fishermen and surfers all round the UK who benefit from the quiet dedication, courage and skill of the RNLI crews and the efforts of the backup teams that support them. As I only started cycling seriously about a year ago the End to End ride looks like being quite a tough but enjoyable challenge, but the satisfaction I will get out of it will be made even greater by the thought that I shall be raising money for such a worthwhile cause. Any contribution you would like to make, however small, will be extremely welcome and I and the RNLI will be very grateful. Day 1: The first day of the End to End for the Lifeboats challenge has passed and I'm pleased to report on behalf of my Dad that it went very well. The weather has been kind and the route has been easier than expected - although since he started at Land's End you would hope he'd choose the direction that didn't involve giant cliffs and 3000 miles of ocean but knowing my Dad that isn't a given. The team has been encouraged by their support van which is doling out 'restaurant quality' food from the back at regular intervals. I sort of envision this being a bit like a donkey/carrot scenario, only with lasagne. Presumably later on in the challenge when times get tougher and legs get sorer they'll be offering EPO and other Tour de France-style delights from the back. Last night's R&R was provided by Fowey, on Cornwall's south coast. A pretty little fishing village, it was thrown into feverish excitement by the arrival of our team of finely honed athletes in search of some way to soothe sore buttocks. Next stop Moretonhampstead, tune in tomorrow for further updates in the only cycle event worth talking about. Day 2 (straight from the saddle of the man himself)   <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Another good day; sun and sweat as we went up and over Dartmoor. Humans surviving well, bikes less so, much adjustment and replacement of parts. Would Ian and Sally on their flying tandem beat their yesterday's downhill speed record  of 47.7 mph? Sadly not - despite 16% hill down into overnight stop at Moretonhampstead could only manage around 46. Still, at least they recognised the prison en route through Princetown, unlike some who did not see large granite building one would have thought was unmissable. Solo bikes only up to 42 mph with my best 39.4. Scarier than skiing. </pre> Day 3  The strong Yorkshire contingent have recovered from a severe setback last night when a request in the restaurant for "lashings of coostard" to go with the sticky toffee pudding was met after about half an hour with a small jug of thin cream liquid. Yorkshire was not impressed. Key member of the Yorkshire warriors is Red Rod the pocket rocket from Knaresborough who is a hill junkie. At the slightest hint of an incline he gets an adrenalin rush and powers his ancient but much loved Halfords Carrera Crossfire at amazing speeds up hill leaving us lesser mortals for dead. <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">(editor's note: coostard is on the UCI 'suspect' substances list for its performance enhancing properties, perhaps the reason Red Rod was denied a serving)</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 4</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Another good day with more sun and an interesting city route through Bristol and Avonmouth docks. Rather more picturesque was the final stretch from Chepstow to Monmouth up the Usk Valley. Another testing day but we are promised an easy day tomorrow. We'll see. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 5</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">As suspected, easy day not so easy after all - a 20% hill at the end of a day of "undulations" put paid to that. Jim from Georgia USA thought £6 was too much to pay to see Mappa Mundi in Hereford but wants to see cricket and Morris dancing to make up. He had a cream tea for elevenses as well as at tea so is getting well stuck in to English culture. Solo bike speed record now at 46.5 mph so Ian and Sally will have to look sharp. Sunny Runcorn tomorrow so extra bike locks all round. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">(editor's note: the blog will take a 2 day break now to attend the 2000Trees festival in Cheltenham. Check back on Sunday to see if Nigel 'Cav' Scott can bring home the coveted tartan jersey or whether he'll simply be chased back south of the border like the sassenach he is.)</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 6</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">80 miles today at amazing speed across the Cheshire plain which is beautifully flat and has no hills. Have never ridden so far so fast in my cycling career, which is not saying much. Still, we were all very pleased with ourselves and have convinced ourselves we are proper cyclists. (it's a bit like skiing on a motorway piste persuades you that you're a good skier). Even better news is that the soreness of the nether regions is being kept in check by an impressive array of potions viz Sportsbalm Chamois Balm, Aloe Fresh moisturising gel, Aloe Vera gel with tea tree oil, Acriflex burns cream, Siopel cream with peanut oil and today's new arrival Udderly Smooth Chamois Cream with Shea Butter. The last one was, I kid you not, developed for dairy cows with sore udders and has only recently been used by people. It seems pretty good. Moo. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 7 </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">A day of two halves. Morning the less attractive bits of the North West - Runcorn, HMP Risley, Leigh, Blackburn etc in the rain and afternoon back in sunshine up to the Trough of Bowland and the beautiful village of Slaidburn. The rain brought out a fine array of wet weather gear by those who had it and of the two who didn't one stopped and kitted himself out en route. Still, I dried in the afternoon sun. </pre> </pre> </pre> </pre> Day 8 To Keswick wet , bedraggled and tired and aggro with the land lady. She "cannot dry any more stuff as she has enough trouble doing her own". Lug my very heavy bag up three flights of stairs (at least 20%), put down my saddle bag with eagle-eyed landlady watching me leaving patch of wet mud on floor, pick it up in horror and smear mud all over pristine white bedspread. Oops. Day 9 Into Scotland to pretty town of Moffat after long drag alongside the Mway from the Borders. The Smithy at Gretna now an outlet and shopping centre and Japan has obviously recovered from any wave of post-earthquake self denial. Stopped for tea at the not pretty town of Lockerbie and drove a Lockerbienne from enjoying her cuppa and read of a book with our schoolboy humour. Things don't change.  <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> The outstandingly friendly helpful and well fitted out Buchan guest house in Moffat wins the best B&B prize by a mile. They have had over 250 cyclists this year and numbers rising. Lejogging obviously good for the rural economy. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> Day 10 </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"><pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">83 miles today seemed a long long way, with an interesting but in places very depressing cycle through Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Some highly attractive and imaginative developments bear witness to the City Council's efforts to counter its citizens tendency to ruin their environment. A really attractive area of glass and steel buildings and greenery either side of the Clyde and Forth canal could have done without the old but repainted steamer moored at one end, proudly proclaiming itself to be The World's First Floatthru Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop.</pre> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> Day 11   <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Not a good start as Sally (using this trip as training for a cycle tour round Nepal) told me at breakfast I had a flat. That wasn't so bad but it was followed 50 yards down the road by another and then a mile later by a third. A second more detailed inspection of the tyre revealed a small crack in the sidewall which meant phoning the support van to get the spare tyre from my bag. Back on the road an hour behind schedule and going great guns along the beautiful cycle path alongside Loch Lomond a lapse of concentration saw me in a pothole and bang - flat number four. What made things worse was that I had stopped in a midges convention and they fell on me as if the food there had not been too good. I eventually escaped and realised that the trees where the midges had been congregating had sheltered me from a downpour. Perhaps the peloton would have suffered? It had. Good.  On in the emerging sunshine to the awesome beauty of the Highlands and the really lovely village of Glencoe. A huge welcome from friendly and charming Mrs McDonald, wife of Donald McDonald and yes they still remember the massacre every year, ended a day which had after all been another great one. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 12</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Writing this a day late I have almost forgotten where we were but it was another beautiful day through the Highlands. The climb after lunch along General Wade's road (his army became The Black Watch) turned out to be nowhere as fierce as the notes had said. As I had built it up in my mind to be a major challenge I had cracked on fast on my own in the morning to get to the foot of the climb early. That and the climb itself - still a pretty tough one -meant I was wearier than weary when I got to Inverness, my furthest point north in the UK - an attractive town and one to come back to. Robin (youngish, very fit, racing bike) beats Max (young, very fit, racing bike) by millisecs for the King of the Mountains prize up Gen Wade's rotten hill; others fit and not so fit on assorted bikes claim either that they are not interested in times or a time that noone believes. Max at some stage has now got the speed prize having cracked the big 50 somewhere along the way. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 13</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Highlands, beautiful, narrow roads, murder-intent logging lorries. The Crask Inn, our overnight stop, is a complete one off, utterly remote, utterly utterly basic, run by an eccentric Englishman serving in old moleskin trousers tucked into his socks and hiking boots. The  Danish barmaid was as small and fat as he was tall and thin and his marathon-running wife produced porridge for breakfast that was so thin it had to be drunk not eaten. All dreading the final leg tomorrow, 83 hard miles into what is forecast to be a 20+ mph head wind. All also curious to know how they will feel when we've made it. We will soon see. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Day 14</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Well we made it. At 5.55 pm Max (15) and Dave the Cockney (69.75) as the youngest and oldest members of the group led us down into the official J O'G reception/made it/ photograph area. Those of us who had passed the notice to Dunnet Head 5 miles letting us know that it was the northernmost point of mainland Britain wondered if we shouldn't be there rather than here but kept mum. The last day had been as hard as predicted, with another beautiful route through the Highlands with fishing city boys in tweeds and Range Rovers to keep us amused in the morning and a slog along the coast from Bettyhill in the afternoon against the predicted head wind to exhaust us. All very tired but pleased to have achieved what they had set out to do and most to have enjoyed it as well. So, what next???</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;"> </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Editor's note:</pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">Well huge congratulations to my Dad for a very impressive achievement and it seems having fun along the way. </pre> <pre style="line-height: 17px; white-space: normal;">The rumour mill has it that next is going to be an attempt at the length of the Pan-American Highway, so please donate now before it's too late.</pre>