Girls on Cogs

Destination: Dumfries – Loch Lomond
Daily miles: 102
Total Miles: 685.7
Average speed: 11.4
Weather: Dryish, but still very windy, (prevailing winds..my arse!)

We left the lovely, warm B&B and headed to the local bike shop, as my back tyre was a little soft. More air identified a puncture, so after fitting a new inner, we left Dumfries around 9.30…Five miles in, we stopped to fit another inner, and patch a big gash in my rear tyre..Bugger! We set off again along the A76 towards Kilmarnock, and stopped for some afternoon tea at the Little Thief. It was 5pm and still 40 miles to go. It was going to be a late one…We took the A735 past Stewarton to Paisley, skirting around Glasgow and over the Erskine Bridge (with separate cycle lane), to pick up the A82 to Loch Lomond. The hostel was a lovely stately-home type building on the banks of the Loch, and we had 10 minutes to spare before the reception closed!! No inclination to cycle back out for some food, so it was a tin of Scotch Broth tonight (and again no beer – on a Saturday night too!!). Kept telling ourselves..one more day and then a day off! In all the tiredness of the day…we used the men’s shower room ….don’t know who was more surprised!

Destination: Kendal – Dumfries
Daily miles: 86.6
Total Miles: 583.8
Average speed: 10.4
Weather: Very wet and windy – all day!
Sense of humour failure: very testing – wavered a little, but still a smile at the end of the day….

Left our hostel, after a hearty breakfast and headed to Brucies bike shop in town to top up the tyres for free, but spent £70 each on some new gel gloves and some tinted cycle glasses, in the hope of some sunshine. We had a bit of a climb up to Shap, and then once out of the valley, the weather would be clearer – apparently not!! Not even the new rose-tinted glasses made much impression on the gloomy outlook…After an hour and a half, and only 16 miles of being weather beaten, we stopped for a hot chocolate and some warm soup, and then back out into the wind and rain…lovely! We persevered…and persevered…and persevered, eventually crossing the Scottish border where we had a celebratory tot of rum, and took some smiley photos for evidence in Gretna. We made it to Scotland! Then, back on it for some more battering of the weather, and arrived at Dumfries at a lovely B&B around 8.30. After a hot shower, we ordered pizza and watched a bit of Jonathan Ross – a wild friday night!

Destination: Parkgate to Kendal

Miles: 85.9

Total miles: 496.8

Average speed: 13.5

Punctures: 1

Weather: Dry

Ready to set off at 8.30am prompt to discover Helen has a puncture. No problem, we can change the inner tube pretty quick…. difficulty pumping up the new tube, so start again. Despite checking the tire, we have missed a piece of metal and punctured the new inner. Eventually on the road by 9.15am but missed our initial ‘Ferry across the Mersey’. We take a later one at 10.40am and enjoy a leisurely coffee.

Enjoy the quick ferry trip over to Liverpool and pick up the A59 towards Preston and Lancaster . Decide we need to make a return visit to Liverpool for some site seeing. Making really good time so decide to stop for cream tea whilst we are still in England……. not a chance! Manage a cup of coffee and that was about it.

Back on the A6 for last 15 miles to Kendal, arriving at 6.30pm.

Destination: Parkgate, Wirral

Estimated Miles for the Day: 93
Actual Miles: 101
Total Miles: 411
Av Speed: 13.4

Weather: Overcast in the morning and bright sunshine for the rest of the day. Both have comedy knee tan with further enhancement

8.30am kick off after porridge and waved off. Good start to the day along A442 through Kidderminster, Bridgnorth and Ironbridge. Lots of big hills in Shropshire, but we were on the attack!! Day 5 and feeling good. Any signs or symptoms of ’swine flu’ I was having yesterday have all gone!

Next stretch took us towards Whitchurch and Chester. Slightly mislead Helen about the distance from Chester to Parkgate. 8 miles was more like 12. I think this was the first time in 5 days we have flagged a little. Cycled very slowly the last couple of miles and felt quite indignant when 2 lycra clad guys wizzed past us and said hello. I felt like tracking them down and telling them…..’we cycled 90 miles from Droitwich, don’t you know!!!?

Anyway finally arrived and in good spirits to my Dad and Pats. Enjoyed sitting out in the garden looking over North Wales with a glass of wine.

Destination: Cheddar – Droitwich
Daily Miles: 92.4
Total Miles: 309
Av Speed: 13.4

Weather: Mixed again…thought it was supposed to be good this week???

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at 7.30, whilst watching the rain …again…Happily, it cleared quite quickly and we were on the road by 8.45. It was straight up the A38 today, through Bristol, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Worcester and into Droitwich. We made quite good time to Bristol, and stopped for a coffee and a rather large chocolate éclair between us (well, we are burning quite a few calories). The A38 disappeared through the centre of Bristol, and we lost a little time trying to find the A38 northwards, but after a very helpful lady pointed us in the right direction we were back on track towards Gloucester. We had a quick stop at a garden centre for lunch, having completed almost 50 miles, then back on it towards Tewkesbury, where we had to restock Emma with some beachams and tissues (bit of a cold going on..very unfortunately), onwards to Worcester and eventually arriving in Droitwich at Mum and Dad’s just after 6.30, nearly 93 miles later, and with an improved average speed of 13.4 mph. Very pleased with ourselves!! We then had a lovely roast dinner and puddings (the chocolately one made by my niece Harriet). All very good!

Destination: Okehampton – Cheddar

Daily miles: 89.9
Total miles: 216.6
Av Speed: 12.7

Units of alcohol: 1 beer for me and a glass of wine for Em.. and it took about an hour to finish- what’s happened?!

Fellow LEJOG-ers: 3 guys at the Okehampton hostel, 2 guys in the coffee shop, 2 guys in the Cheddar hostel, and I reckon we spotted 3 other cycling parties at the restaurant (SPD give-aways).

Female LEJOG-ers: That’ll just be us then!!

Bike shops: THE BIKE SHED, Crediton (Very helpful!)

We get up at 8, it is a beautiful sunny day and we have a cooked breakfast waiting..marvellous! Over breakfast we get chatting to 3 unlikely looking LEJOG-ers at the hostel, puffing away on their tabs, who look like they might be more comfortable on motorbikes than pedal bikes, but fair-play they’re doing it for charity and also carrying their own tents.

We were on the road by 9, and stopped around 11 for coffee and a cake in Crediton – where we met 2 more LEJOG-ers who had found a bike shop just down the road. We called in and the staff were very helpful, asking were we on day 3 or 4 (as we obviously looked like we were end-enders) and sorted out my gears there and then, and only charged me for the new water-holder I bought to replace my broken one! Brilliant – The BIKE SHED in Crediton – definitely recommended! And just at the right time, as there were many testing hills on the next part of the journey, as we made our way to Tiverton, Taunton and then to the YHA in Cheddar. The guy at the YHA desk was very impressed we were end-enders – female end-enders are quite rare apparently. So feeling very pleased with ourselves, we went out and had a big meal involving lots of meat (and not very much salad!), a glass of iced water (struggled to finish the wine and beer) and speculated that all the other people in the restaurant with SPD shoes or waterproof jackets were also end-enders…

Destination: Perranporth – Okehampton

Daily miles: 78.6
Total Miles: 126.7
Average Speed: 11.9

Alcohol: less than 2 units each

Weather: Mixture of sunshine and showers

Sunburn ratings: mostly comedy cycle-short sunburn on the knees – but mostly on the sunnyside (the right knees!)

Got up at 8am and had porridge. Had no milk so had to borrow tea and coffee from our friendly room-mate who was very impressed with our venture. Packed our panniers after last nights ‘pack explosion’. Sadly nothing had dried and putting on wet shoes was not particularly comfortable.

Happily the weather looks beautiful and the scenery from the hostel is lovely. It is right on the cliffs and looks out towards the sea and Perranporth Bay. Completely different from yesterday.

Hel’s is having problems with her gears, but fortunately we befriended the pizza man last night, who lives 5 doors away from the hostel and apparently had a mountain bike business previously. Seemed to sort it out, but won’t know until we are back on the road. Head off and have a very slight navigational error, which added about 4 miles to the journey.

Head to Newquay and sit near to fistral beach to watch the surfers and enjoy Cornish Pasties and coffee. We have decided to take a costal route and avoid Bodmin and the large hills. Very wise, we thought!

Starting to really enjoy the bike and feel a little more confident. We head along the A39 to Wadebridge and Launceston and enjoy Cornish icecream by Launceston castle. Hels is still having problems with the gears, so we try and sort that out and finally ‘phone a friend’! Mat helped talk through the gear adjustments and we set off to test them out on the last stretch of the A30 to Okehampton, again in the rain…bit of a pattern emerging…..We find the YHA in Okehampton up a very steep hill, but it is a nice building by the railway and we have the room to ourselves. After a quick shower, we walk back to town and find a local pub still serving food – sadly the lasagne was a bit stodgy and the bottled cider a bit synthetic so struggled to finish it and walked back feeling very full. Decided we should have small meals on the evening – maybe even a salad would do!

Destination: Penzance, Lands End and Perranporth

Total Miles: 48

Average Speed: 11.4

Alcohol: Small swig of rum out of hip flask at Lands End

Weather: Absolutely lashing it down!!

Sense of humour failure: Zero

Meet Helen at 7.15am, which is pretty early after 3 hours sleep!
Feeling slightly anxious about the bike I have borrowed from Jude. I haven’t actually ridden it yet and it is completely different from mine. I daren’t actually clip into the cleats for fear of falling off before we have even left Leicester! The handlebars and gears are completely foreign to me. Mat and Anna convinced me last night, 5 miles in and I would have it mastered….. I hope they are right!

Anyway make it to the station in one piece and travel to Birmingham. Coffee and cake and change lines to Plymouth. Enjoy a bit of a snooze, the paper and lots of chatting. Probably need to get it out of our system before we start cycling. No time for chatting!
From Plymouth we change and take another train to Penzance. Adjust the handlebars on the bike and the cleats, so that I can practically step out of them. Still worried about the bike!

Arrive in Penzance to rain but head off anyway towards Lands End. Once we get out of Penzance and the roads are less busy, I finally start to get the feel of the bike. Although can’t believe how light it is compared to mine. Need to be careful in the wind.

Reach Lands End and realise I am actually enjoying myself. Get beeped by a few cars who obviously think we have just finished, but wave enthusiastically anyway. We meet some other ‘End to Enders’ who have just finished who are obviously very pleased with their achievement.
Hels and I take some photos but don’t hang around to long as it starts to rain a little heavier… And heavier and heavier!

38 miles of torrential, relentless rain and Hels and I at no point had a ‘sense of humour failure’. Although seriously thought I might be hypothermic and was struggling to hold onto the brakes towards the end.

Finally arrived in Perranporth and found the YHA. Everything absolutely soaked. After a quick shower we headed into the town and had take away pizza before heading to bed….. No alcohol on a Saturday night!! The 16 year olds we were sharing the hostel with were enjoying that instead whilst playing 80’s music….. very loud!!

Well today’s the day and I honestly can’t wait to get on with it!!! or enjoy 7 hours of sleep on the train down to Cornwall. Its been a busy week and don’t even start me on the bike saga…..
All packed and ready to go:)

We will keep you posted x

Preparation: Roadside repair course and did some route planning
Training:…ermmmmm, bit lacking
Miles: 17
Punctures: 1!

It’s the weekend before LEJOG, and again the sun is shining. Em is away for the weekend, but I thought I should try and get a few miles in anyway.

Friday:
I’d booked a roadside repair course at Bikes4All, conscious that we were doing the ride unsupported and didn’t want to be completely helpless should anything happen apart from a puncture. So, I learnt how to replace my chain, the brake cable and the gear cable. Very good!

Elaine was over for the weekend, so obviously we went out on Friday….we met up with Stav, Caroline and her friend Ruth, visited a couple of bars, went on to the fan club for a little dance, and were home by 4am!

Saturday:
After a hearty brunch in the garden sunshine, we made a plan. Elaine was up for a little bike ride, so we drove over to Rutland, and set off around the water. A nice leisurely ride in the sunshine, clocking up 17 miles (we didn’t do the peninsula as time was a bit short…. we’d got a folk festival to get to!) and managed to get caught by a man training for a charity ride in august where he was going to do 2 laps of Rutland! This was obviously a big deal for him and he was very excited about being sponsored £1 a mile from the lady in the ice-cream shop, so we made some encouraging responses and didn’t flatten his achievement by mentioning LEJOG, although it was quite tempting after the third time he’d told us!!

Sunday:
I’d planned to cycle over to Calke Abbey to meet Pen at the food fayre..however, after fixing the first puncture since my puncture resistant tyres had been fitted, it was looking a little overcast and raining heavily over in the Abbey. So instead I watched the men’s tennis finals, planning a little ride later…it was very gripping even for a non tennis fan and didn’t finish until after 6, by which time I’d lost my enthusiasm..so no training today. Meanwhile, Mat, Stav and Anna had completed 120 miles in the Dunwich dynamo over Saturday night so did feel slightly shameful with my lack of training…oh well.. will be doing plenty of miles starting next weekend…. Tried to redeem the situation by doing some route planning, and got as far as Land’s end to the Lakes, so feeling a bit better!