Day 7 - Capel Curig to Wirral

Sunday 8th August

Distance - 75 miles (overall 487.65 miles)
Max Speed - 14.2 mph
Time on bike - 4h 56m 55s
Average - 30.5 mph

People Are Strange



Logan early morning

Woke up after a good nights sleep in our 'bunkhouse' apart from it being freezing. Every time I moved the sleeping let in a freezing draft, I could of laid their all day but that wasn't going to get us any closer to the top of Scotland. We both had a laugh about the night before, looking at all the photos of us trying trying to look gangsta, best of all how did we manage to end up in an old school caravan in an overgrown garden in Wales? It was ace having lots of room to get our kit sorted in the morning instead of getting sorted in a cramped up one man coffin sized tent, but yet it definitely lacked the gnarly side of roughing it, and slightly felt like we were cheating. When we were ready we made our way through the garden and back to the main B&B to pay for our comforts and leave. The land lady then asked "would you like tea or coffee with your full English?" with a smirk. We weren't expecting any breakfast, so it was an amazing surprise and a good start to our day.



Our View out side our 'Bunkhouse' in the morning

We were on the road at 09:20 am for a 6 mile downhill roll to Bettsw-Y-Coed. You would think this would be fantastic, apart from the bitterly cold wind, and as we were rolling downhill we couldn't warm our bodies up by cycling. Once we arrived we stopped at a Londis store to pick up some water, fresh orange juice and some breakfast wraps and to our surprise the weather was amazing, bright blue sky and no clouds. Total opposite end of the scale compared to the massive angry rain this town saw yesterday. There was also a vintage car show taking place. We had a walk around and checked out some of the old school vehicles but the biggest thing I took from the show was the massive sense of community spirit, everyone was out, generations having a blast, kind of what we saw down at Porthgwarra beach near Lands End our first day. 

As time was ticking on we hut the road at 10:30 for another steady descent (with a few uphills) for 20 miles to Conwy on the A470. The scenery and roads were ideal, wide cycle paths a nice looking coast we were steadily rolling towards 20 miles away, the only thing was we still weren't warmed up so found it difficult on stretches of road that should have been mellow. That was until the 'Beast'. The beast is a kind of hill where it has a peak on top of peak on top of peak where you only notice the following peak at the crest of the previous. We found ourselves recovering from the steep parts of the hill on the more mellow parts of the hill, needless to say instead of being cold we were sweating buckets. For how hard this climb was we both felt as if out bodies had 'woken up' immediately afterwards and were in full flow.





Above are some of the nice looking cars we witnessed in Bettws-Y-Coed. Notice how good the weather was

We made it to Conwy feeling much better where we took the A55 (North Wales Expressway) East towards Chester. This road on the map looked a nice fast road which should be nice and mellow, however the reality was a little different. We found our selves cycling along a hard shoulder of what could easily be described as a busy motorway with vehicles passing us at 70-80 mph super close, scary stuff. The big problem with cycling on the 'hard shoulder' we had to cross these slipways, it was kind of like you just had go for it an shut your eyes and hope for the best. On entering a tunnel where the hard shoulder got skinnier I suddenly heard a few thuds from behind, too scared to look I just carried on hoping it wasn't a biggy. The worse thing was while racing along at a 30mph average we could see, over the crash barrier to our left, the most perfectly formed cycle lane we would come across the entire trip running along the coast, but we had no way of stopping or getting off this road.

Eventually we saw signs for Abergele and managed to leave the A55. We decided then we will take the longer more coastal route via Prestatyn towards Chester, this turned out to be the best decision of the day. We decided to stop and have a five minute break and eat our snacks bought from the Londis store earlier, however we quickly realised that the thud I heard behind me was our water, OJ and breakfast wraps falling out my panniers and getting run over by a camper van. So it was back on the road, hungry, and I felt my back really hurting, I put it down to cycling the last 20 miles super tensed up, anyway we were stoked to be on a much more mellow road where we could relax and enjoy ourselves.

A few miles up the A548 we started hitting more urban areas where the scenery was getting much more rad by the mile. This was due to mile after mile seaside resorts and caravan sites. Its was like a stereotypical 80s seaside resort scene - for miles, and I loved it. It reminded me a lot on the introductory scene in 'The Lost Boys' where the family first arrive in Santa Carla, 'murder capitol of the world', and drive around town while 'People are Strange' by the Doors is playing in the background. I couldn't believe how awesome this place, and cheered me up for the rest of the day.

Still singing 'People are Strange' we left the A548 at Connahs Quay and quickly got lost. Standing their and looking clueless, there was a 68 year old gentleman asked if we were lost. He also was out on his bike, was fully kitted out cyclists and had the body language of an experienced cyclist so automatically got our respect instantly. He advised to stay way from the roads and was trying to describe various cycle paths but we must have gave the 'you might as well be talking japanese' look as he sharply stopped, laughed and simply said 'follow me'. We proceeded to follow our new found friend through lots of cycle lanes, one after the other until we arrived back on the A550 at a more quieter part. He then advised us just to stay on this road and it will take us directly to the Mersey Tunnels. Somewhere on this small stretch of road we entered England, with Wales behind us I personally had a end of the summer feeling where you know you areleaving something amazing behind, mainly due to Wales was such a blast and nearly everyone we met was super friendly, recommend Wales to everyone

We originally decided to to mirror the M56 through Chester then cut up north through Runcorn and St Helens but decided against it as cutting through the Mersey Tunnels and north from Liverpool would shave 20 miles of our route. Also, we were advised that it being Sunday evening, this would be the only time that bikes are allowed through due to the reduced traffic.

We were cycling along fine until the I heard another bang from the rear of my bike, followed by a rattling resembling the noise a wheel makes covered in the spoke toys you used to get free in Frosties years ago. I knew it was a snapped spoke, so I slowed to a stop without even turning my head to survey the damage, feeling utterly deflated I looked over at Logan who was looking back at me with the same look. Even though no words were spoken we both knew this was a show stopper. I wouldn't say that we are both very competitive between each other but both us have acquired a competitive streak within ourselves and this snapped spoke has sharply put a stop to our own personal goals for today. Trying not to admit defeat I called a friend up for advice but the answer was 'without the proper equipment its a bike shop' and as it was after 6 o'clock at night there was no chance.



Drying our freshly washed socks


Next thing was to find accommodation as camping in the middle of Birkenhead didn't seem to sit well with us. After trying out a few local B&Bs and Hotels we eventually forked up the cash to stay at The Village Hotel. After describing our situation the girls at the check in desk were more than sympathetic and gave a us a huge double room so we could take our bikes up, breakfast included, access to the pool, spa, sauna and jacuzzi all for a single room only rate. On top of this she researched local bike shop opening times who had the facilities for fitting spokes and truing up wheels, and, tonight was two people eat for £10 so we promptly ordered two tuna steaks which should have came to a total of £22.50, stoked.

Somewhere in the back of my head was a guilty feeling trying to convince me that this was wrong, this was not part of the plan, this should be a hard grafting cycle but its hard to say no when its offered on a plate, so just for a night I tucked that guilty feeling away. We were both knackered, clothes washed, phones charging and looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed, waking up fresh with a new start in a new country, certainly makes a difference than sleeping in a tent in the rain anyway.

 

Day 6 - Maerdy to Capel Curig (via Snowdon)

Saturday 7th August

Distance - 35.7 miles (overall 412.65 miles)
Max Speed - 27.6mph
Time on bike - 2h 47m 03s
Average - 12.8 mph

You skating back down son?

Woke up from a good nights sleep, apart from waking up at 01:00am by the sound of a few drunks angrily trying to get their pointless slurry points across to each other right outside the door. Had a big cooked breakfast in the pub which was packed the night before. It looked and felt the exact opposite of last night, empty and flooded with day light. On the road we cycled 18 miles up the A5 to the South side of Betws-y-Coed just in time for the rain to start. Again this was no normal rain, it was massive angry rain who had it in for Betws-y-Coed that day. On the way Logan was really struggling without the use of his lower gears as it was really hilly. He was cycling in front and I secretly was trying to mi-mick the gear he was in on the hills as I felt like I had an unfair advantage, silly I know but at the time I felt it was really important to keep things equal. 
 

First on our agenda in Betws-y-Coed was to get Logans bike fixed and finalize our route up Snowdon.  The rain was still on heavy so we were desperately trying to find shelter when we saw Ultimate Outdoors which had an awning and a good cycle dept. Firstly I would have to say, the service and banter we got in this shop was second to none. Logans gear cable was fixed super fast by a knowledgeable young lad who was also a downhill mountain biker. He also let us store the bikes in the workshop until we visited a few shops for food and the rain died off 
.

The ultra efficient lad in Ultimate Outdoors in Betws-y-Coed

Ugly House

Once the rain had settled we set of on the A5 to Snowdon on a 10 mile uphill road via Capel Curig, although it was all uphill it was good going, a good warm for our legs. On the way up we cycled past Swallow Falls which got a glance of from the road. Also signs for 'Ugly House' started appearing, we thought this is worth a look. When we came across the house I wouldn't of said it was ugly, to be honest I thought it was cool but I could see why it didn't appeal to everyone. The house was taken over by the Snowdonia Society who rescued this cottage from dereliction in the 1980s, and now uses it both as its office and as a show-house. I thought that was ace.

Just around the corner from Pen-y-Pass

We arrived up at the car park at the bottom of Snowdon and managed to convince the handy man from the Pen-y-Pass Youth Hostel to store our bikes and kit in a store room, he obliged and gave us the code which was awesome. We quickly started sorting our kit our out, removing the cleats from our shoes (hardly mountaineering footwear but a lot more adequate than some of the shoes we saw people wearing that day) fitting the trucks to our skateboard (which were only finger tight as we forgot the proper tool), sorting our feet out and getting some extra warm kit. We knew this transition could potentially hold us up so we had it well planned before we got there, but that never stopped us having a look through all the store to see what was there.

A tree trunk full of coins halfway up Snowdon

We left at 15:20pm and climbed up via the Pyg Track for a summit we couldnt see. It was a lot more challenging at the start than expected, and there were a lot more people coming down than we saw going up. Nearly everyone cracked a joke about climbing Snowdon with a skateboard strapped to my back. "You skating back down son? now that's something Id like to see", was the question we got asked by everyone. The first few groups we stopped and explained the situation, charity cycle, lands end to john o groats, kick flip on top the 3 peaks etc etc. Eventually our reply was reduced to "yes, we are, thank you have a nice day".

The middle section was a lot more mellow and felt much more like a walk, the wind had picked up and the visibility was dropping slightly at this point, was still stoked on the fact we were on Snowdon more than anything though. We also met a few people on the 3 peaks in 24 hours challenge in which Snowdon was their last. After the mellow section we approached the last zig-zag section where we entered the clouds. Visibility dropped at the same time as the steepness and wind increased. A few times we both slipped causing us to freeze trying not move a muscle, the kind of pose you pull when someones gave you a massive fright. After walking through the 100th stream I started to regret not wearing goretex shoes as by now each step forward looked the same as when you squeeze a fully loaded sponge.

A wee moment of awesomeness on the way up

At the top of Snowdon

Logan taking it all in

Hardy seagull at the top of Snowdon

We arrived at the top at 17:15 (1h 55m up) and that's when we really felt the wind. It was 50-60mph winds at the top, and we were to try some kick flips on the cairn which was 2 square meters at the most. The best thing was the first thing we saw at the top was a seagull, standing as if to say 'call this a wind, pfffffft'. We had absolutely no view at the top and had none for the last half an hour of climbing. I was first to try a kick flip, by this time the trucks were flapping all over the place. I placed the skateboard down and put a foot on it, looked at it and thought 'this is nuts, I can hardly stand up in this wind, ace though!' For as much as I tried I couldn't get one to satisfy myself, I gave up after a sketchy nollie flip, nearly losing the skateboard when the wind caught the skateboard in mid air. We were left looking at the skateboard disappearing into the mist, thankfully it landed on a rock just below. It was then Logans turn, I knew he would nail it like he was in a skate park in the middle of the summer, hes the type of dude who does everything effortlessly first time, while the rest of us have to try and try to land something half as nice. He landed a kick flip clean in front of an audience of two three peaker's, who were crammed up on the cairn with us.

My ham and pineapple pizza cooking at Bry Glo

A few high fives and we were on the way down. The time was 05:45pm. The descent was a lot tougher than the ascent. We were forced to stop a few times due to our legs giving up on us and seem to bend the opposite way every now and again sending instant pains up our legs. We arrived at the car park at 07:00pm (1h 45m down) with gnarly feeling knees, especially my left knee. We visited the cafe at the bottom for a coffee and a cake, as we were the last customers we got all the end slices which were huge. Once we got our bikes we headed back on the same road to Betws-y-Coad where we would then be heading north towards Conwy. The huge down hill was super nice, a few close calls with cars overtaking and sheep running out in front of us but otherwise bliss. Our plan was get back to Betws-y-Coed to call it a night, that was until we cycled past 'Bryn Glo Guesthouse' where there was a dude outside cooking pizza's in a home made stone baked oven. The smell drew us in, and big pizza each later we were done. There were no rooms left, we asked if we could camp there and she said bluntly "you have sleeping bags? - Bunkhouse". We were then directed through an overgrown garden to an old static caravan. I couldn't see anyway they managed to get it here. It was amazing and had everything we needed, sink for washing some clothes, electricity for charging phones, a heater to dry our wet kit from today and a fridge. Once settled we had a few beers and checked out all our photos so far and was nearly crying with laughter, we also managed to get some music playing. This small piece of normality was a nice change from the frantic day to day. A cat also arrived outside which didn't have a tail, as we had a few beers we thought it important to befriend this cat, but all our efforts failed as he just sat there as if on guard staring out into the bushes beside our door, I couldn't help thinking I would love to know what he was staring at so intensely for so long, it must be amazing but all I seen was green foliage.

Our wee pal outside our 'Bunkhouse' in Capel Curig

So it was another day finished in a way that we couldn't have planned if we tried, it was the first of four legs finished. Although our knees were sore our feet were fine, I was expecting blisters after the mountain but none. We both felt a small sense of achievement today, maybe due to the fact we had time to reflect on what we have done so far, we also knew that there was still a long way to go and was looking forward to it.

Day 5 - Withington to Maerdy

Friday 6th August

Distance - 100.03 miles (overall 376.95 miles)
Max Speed - 39mph
Time on bike - 6h 59m 05s
Average - 14.3 mph

Stoked On The Goat

Awoke early to the sound of birds singing, wasn't as nice as it seems though. In our attempt to camp in the most secluded place available we managed to camp the width of a small hedge away from a bird Avery the size of a house. We weren't complaining as we woke up fresh and the weather was on our side. Decided not to have a cooked breakfast but munch a few cereal bars instead and stop later. We were on the road at 08:00 am feeling good about the day. Feet felt so much better, we felt like our bodies both physically and mentally were adapting to the continuous pressures of cycling all day, eating whatever we can whenever and not sleeping in the most desirable or appropriate places. It was all good though. It was a quick 14 miles up just past Leominser where we stopped at a Truckers Cafe in the middle of what seemed to be an abandoned industrial estate. Both ordered a massive full English with toast and some sweet coffees, also we realised we had been wearing the same T-shirts for 5 days! This now became a challenge to see if we could keep this going the whole trip.

5 days on, still good

Our breakfasts at the Truckers Cafe outside Leominster

This sign was awesome

Back on the road we felt refreshed after our breakfast we headed directly north up the A49 to Shrewsbury, this felt great as we were covering the most latitude per mile so far. The roads and cycling was going really good. Stopped a few times for stretches and photos. A few stops stuck out in my memory, one where there was a sign at the side of the layby warning of a fine with a max penalty of £1000, this is normal I know but the funny thing was there was no reason given for the fine, just a warning of a pending £1000 fine. Another stand out from that road was an road side cafe, no normal road side cafe. It was an old fair ground ride named the 'Star Rider'. It had been placed at the side of the road and turned into a diner, I personally thought this was amazing, unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't visit.  The only time I thought this section of cycling was laborious was when we were plodding along up a massive steep hill where a felt myself drifting more and more into the aggressive side of cycling and enjoying it less. This however quickly disappeared at the top of the hill, not so much as the ascent was over more the fact that at least 10 Volkswagen Camper vans drove past, kitted out to the max. They seemed to go from the oldest model at the front the newest at the back, this cheered me right up for some reason. I had the same feeling you get from shouting really loud, kicking a football super high or throwing rubbish from a distance and it landing in the bin first time. From this new feeling and also the big downhill we were now on which increased it so I started singing out loud mostly a song by The Chemical Brothers called 'The Salmon Dance'.

The Star Rider pit stop cafe, which was unfortunately closed

When we arrived up at Shrewsbury we stopped at a Dobbies for a bowl of soup and a sandwich in which we were charged an arm and a leg for but we were in need of food.  Our legs felt really tight off the bike again but a few stretches later they were good. Feeling really good today, we had done 56 miles and it was only 01:00pm. We headed up the A5 up to Oswestry and stopped at a supermarket in West Felton. This was no ordinary supermarket though, it was like walking into and normal local supermarket except 30 years ago. Everything was old school, from the Decor to the smells to the clothes fashion of their current clientele. I loved it, I could of spent the whole just walking round fully stoked on just being there. It reminded me of going to my local Co-op with my parents when I was young, when supermarkets were the biggest places you had seen and doubled as a playground. We had a cycle to complete though so we focused and stocked up on some essentials and we were back on the road.  I have written in my notes 'I can remember falling of bike but cant remember where', this is frustrating because for the life of me this memory no longer exists in my head, and I have a feeling it would of been a good one. 

The most non appealing meal ever, but scoffed the lot

We were definately finding the zone today, the kind of place where rain, road surface, hills, wind and exhaustion don't phase you and you in a kind of day dream state where all you know is to keep going. This carried on until just before Llangollen where we stopped at a chip shop. Normally I stay clear of chippers, not because any healthy eating reasons but the fact that I cant stomach that kind of food, however cycling 90 miles does funny things to your appetite. Logan ordered fish and chips like a pro and I stood looking at the board clueless to what was on display trying to act as if I know what I'm doing. Then I heard the cashier ask"what would like to order?", giving up on the board I asked for a chicken pie supper and got a look like I asked her to marry me in a mental asylum, she took our money and ran it through the till. There was obviously a communication breakdown as what I got was not a pie, it was a chicken right enough that had been cut in half and cooked, that's it. I was too hungry to complain so scoffed the lot, although it was disgusting.

We were feeling surprisingly good after our meal so we decided to go for our first gnarly camp, meaning cycle till we cant maybe getting as far as Betws-y-Coed. The weather had turned and it was now raining heavily, this now had all the ingredients of a crap cycle but strangely there was something addictive and enjoyable about cycling into a headwind, when its dark and raining with no idea where or how far your going. This was stopped short at 98 miles when Logan got a flat so we fitted a new tyre and new tube at the side of the road and got going again.

Logan less than impressed with another flat

Somewhere we passed this, I cant remember where and don't know what it says, but its ace

Just a few miles later we passed a nice homely looking B&B 'The Goat Inn' in Maerdy, Corwen where we decided to stop due to the rain. They gave us a small outhouse with basics, like a shower room and a few beds, however this was luxury for us. There was pub there also so we had a quick shower then headed over to the pub which had a charming feel to it, more of a old school lounge feel than a pub. Sat down on the big comfy chairs to start our notes and sample a few local ales. It didn't take long to fill up and before we knew it the place was packed and there was a middle aged dude setting up a karaoke and playing keyboards in the corner. A young Lancashire couple with their kids sat beside and were amazed by what we were doing, this was the first time we really talked about we were doing since we began. There was also a young lad who nervously took to the mike and started singing Delilah in the best Tom Jones voice Iv ever heard coming out anyone but Tom Jones. With all the excitement though, exhaustion caught up on us so decided to call it a night, I tried to us the whole bed and remain stretched out as far as I could all night, just because I could.

Stoked on The Goat

Today was our first 100 miles, it felt really good although it was a cold day our legs felt good while cycling. Another good day done. One thing we noticed by this point is that no matter how much planning and trying to stick to a routine we do, no day is the same which we both found a massive bonus point. This meant that each day was fresh as there's only so much looking at a road you can do before your mind wanders and leads to boredom. Also, we eventually found out the problem with Logan's gears, his handlebar pannier had sheared of the mount for his gear cable so it was no longer taught and making gear changes on his front cogs impossible. If this wasn't fixed soon this would cause a major problem. Looking forward to tomorrow as we will be finishing the first of four legs by climbing Snowdon.

Day 4 - Winscombe to Withington

Thursday 5th August


Distance - 75.13 miles (overall 276.93 miles)
Max Speed - 40mph
Time on bike - 5h 53m 05s
Average - 12.7 mph

The Carrot

Woke up refreshed this morning, had a good feeling we would be left at a better time this morning but still we found things to occupy us so got left at 09:45am instead of our planned 09:00am. We had a small and quick breakfast of dry fruit, lots of nuts and tea. This was the first morning we felt everything was going right.

Feeling good in the morning waking up in no rain, notice in the background the size of our tents which we are airing from the night before

On the road we both were feeling great apart from in the first 5 minutes we stopped at traffic lights and I couldn't quite get my feet out the pedals which resulted in me falling over in slow motion about 2 feet from an audience of onlookers in their cars. We carried on up the A38 towards Bristol, where we would then head onto the A4 & A403 then over the bridge to Wales. Still unsure whether it was the fact that we were heading to wales, the roads were better or the sun was out but we were sitting at a really good pace. We stopped of under the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol for a photo. The small section of the A4 we were on was amazing and there was an amazing cycle lane too. We stopped for 5 minutes at Avonmouth for a quick munch of dried fruit and more nuts. Our pace still continued at the other side of Bristol towards the Severn Bridge to Wales. I couldn't help thinking while crossing the bridge, 'at what point am I in Wales and is it England or Wales who owns that small island below the bridge?'. Small daft thoughts like these kept us going though out each day.

Just north of Clifton Suspension Bridge, still trying to look gangsta

Crossing into Wales on the Severn Bridge

Once we entered Wales we headed into Chepstow for a bite to eat. Cycling 35 miles straight without having a proper breakfast had caught up with us. On entering Chepstow we couldn't stop thinking about food, also the road we were on was turning into a massive steep downward sloping hill. This is normally good news but we knew we would have to go up the other sideon our way North. We stopped at cafe for some paninis and a few coffees where we were nearly falling asleep at the table. Chepstow was a really busy but nice place. This 10 minute stop quickly turned into a one and a half hour stop. Our legs were feeling really tired now and constantly had to stretch them off, this was expected after the first few days of cycling.

Back on the road at around 12:30pm we headed up the A466 towards Monmouth. We were dreading this hill to get back out of the town, it did take a lot out of us but probably the best thing to break us back into it. We were trying to stay positive but both couldn't stop thinking about the nice fast flat roads yesterday. We eventually got to the top of the hill and to our surprise we could see for miles, and it was nice looking miles, nice weather, as far we could see was green and the best bit there wasn't anywhere in the near distance higher up than us. The next 16 miles was bliss, I must have pedaled the equivalent of one mile the whole way. I kept on thinking how good is this compared to 'The prolonged punch in the face'. Took some on the road road photos where I was holding the camera super tight as I was just waiting for it to slip out my hands. We both agreed that this was the best run so far.

Sketchy on the road photo enjoying our 16 mile roll downhill

Stopped at LIDL's on Monmouth, this shop was a life saver for us when we could find one, it was amazing the amount of good food that was easy to carry. Stocked up on dried fruits, cereal bars, water and bought smoothies to drink before we went. There were some skateboarders skating a small ledge outside we watched for a bit and what we saw was quite surprising, for anyone who knows and understands skateboarding will see why. There was one lad who was trying kickflip from the ledge to flat which was respectable, he couldn't get it though. We were thinking no worries until he rocks up pushing switch stance which got us interested, then busts out a huge popped switch late front shovit and landed it clean. In comparison its like someone barely managing to swim in a pool, then swims across the channel first time.

On the road towards Hereford it seemed to be hard going but we were still getting the miles in. The road was going up and down and up and down till A49 where we rolled 5 miles in 15 minutes. Quick stop at a pub for a munch in Hereford, while eating we both felt really tired, it was maybe the fact that we burnt ourselves out this morning but we decided to call it a night. Found a campsite a few miles up the road but immediately found it sketchy, the owners were trying to rip us off, were getting evils from everyone it was like we suddenly found ourselves at the wrong side of town and we had to sleep there. We set up camp at the most furthest corner of the site under some trees, where we hid all our belongings and locked up our bikes. We saw 4 teenage girls approaching form the other side of the park egging each other to get closer, we knew this could only lead to a intense interrogation and lots of annoying questions. They informed us that they will be playing loud music later and apologize in advance. We tried to ignore them as much as possible but not to much to offend or be rude until they found us boring and left. Maybe the extent we went to by hiding our kit was a bit excessive but the kit we had was essentially our house for the next few weeks and everything we brought had a purpose. In a hunt to unwind we asked if there was a restaurant or anything nearby. We were informed of a pub 400 yards up the road, but as far as we could see there was nothing, just country side with no street lights. In an attempt not to offend our hosts we headed of into the dark, clueless to where we were going. We were both saying and thinking, "I bet there will nothing there when we get back", slightly stereotypical I know, but we both were after a hour to chill out and relax.

Just then a light appeared in the distance and some houses also appeared at the side of the road. Nearing the light we figured out it was in fact a pub, but never held high hopes. We entered The Cross Keys Inn and immediately was greeted by the bar tender, a well traveled looking mellow dude but struggled to reply as we were speechless by the sheer awesomeness presented in front of us. The place was packed all with super friendly people genuinely interested in our stories, the decor was old school looking where all original features we kept and in good state, including the most vintage cash register I have ever seen. This place was my kind of pub. Through talking with the locals we found out that the Radio 1 DJs had stopped of here when they carried out their sponsored Lands End to John o Groats cycle. Left the pub stoked getting a heroes send off from all, and headed off to our cocoons where we slept instantly, and the caravan where the teenage girls were going to be blaring music never made a sound.

One of the nice roads we encountered earlier in the day

Another enjoyable day although our legs are starting to feel really tights and tired, plenty of stretching throughout the day seems to help. Learning more about food management also, we were both aware that although we knew to eat more we just weren't. Logan's chain was slipping a lot more today, mainly on his middle cog and I developed some weird looking red spots in the middle of my chest, not itchy or painful, just weird.

Day 3 - Dolton to Winscombe

Wednesday 4th August


Distance - 79.38 miles (overall 201.79 miles)
Max Speed - 37.1mph
Time on bike - 5h 46m 37s
Average - 13.7 mph

Riders Of The Storm

Had a really bad nights sleep, woke up at 02:15 am and never got back to sleep till 04:00 am. Just when I managed to drift off for what felt like 5 minutes I was woken by the sound of rain, super massive heavy rain. It stopped at first light where we took our chance to get up and stuck into our morning routine, it stayed off for probably 10 minutes before it started again. This is where our tiny one man tents let us down, they weigh only 1.4kg, a massive bonus point, they were super waterproof, another massive bonus point but they were tiny, this only gets a medioka point. The small size was good when erecting and disassembling but the sting in the tail was there was no room for storing or sorting out kit as they were so small. You were either inside lying down or completely outside, no room for anything in between. This meant to get inside in the rain you had to kind of half get in your sleeping bag lying down to get your wet shoes and kit off, still with the door open exposed to the elements. The only time the door was closed was when you were ready to sleep.

Needless to say it was struggle this morning, trying to cook breakfast and pack away our kit under a tree for shelter. Although we managed to roll our tents up in the toilet block, surrounded by just woken up old dudes doing there business still, its better than being outside. One of the biggest mistakes that day was when a sweet old lady came over through the rain from her caravan to meet us under the tree, anorak on, and asked "would you like a cup of tea?", I thanked her and respectfully declined, purely an automated response with no thought in it at all. With that she went back to her caravan, then I suddenly thought to myself"why the f#*k did I say no?sh#t sh#t sh#t!". Logan, still trying to brew up tea from the water used to boil our eggs and desperately trying to protect the flame on the gas stove from the elements, was in to much shock at my response to say yes himself. She left us standing in the pouring rain, freezing, and wet. If I was to choose one thing that morning to try and keep spirits up i would of said "a nice cup of tea from a nice old lady". I still don't know why i said no.

Myself trying to get the willpower to get going

Logan doing the same

We were on the road at 10:30 am, the rain now reduced to a drizzle which was promising until a mile down the road it came on again worse than before. Cycling through this type of rain presented a few problems we never thought about before, we waterproofed all our kit thinking the rain would fall from above or even the sides but as we discovered cycling through the constantly soaked roads most of the water in fact came from below, also you cant wear glasses as they don't have wiper blades, imagine driving your car through torrential rain without any wipers. Taking them off wasn't any better as you could barely keep your eyes open. 

Today felt it really was a tester but our morale was still high as we no longer had the worry of keeping kit dry, because it was soaking now anyway. Felt like we were ticking the miles off steady till I heard Logan shouting he had a puncture. He jumped off his bike while I cycled on to find a dry/safe place to change the inner tube. Luckily about 400 meters up the road, in the middle of nowhere was a big log cabin style building where I found shelter just of to the side of the entrance. From what I could see from the outside it was a super upper class cooker shop, selling Aga's and huge Range cookers, my first thought was my wife would love this. We quickly fitted a new tyre and new tube to Logans front wheel.

New tyre & new tube fitted outside the cooker shop near Hollocombe

Back on the road again the rain stopped this time enough to remove our waterproof jackets, and the roads were nice and the hills on our side. It was good going along B roads until Tiverton, although the pace is slower on theses roads it was good to relax and not cycle religiously on the left hand side. We stopped off at The Coffee Bean, Tiverton,  for lunch where we saw an awesome bike, I would of described as the push bike Mad Max would have owned. 

The awesometastic bike outside the coffee shop in Tiverton

Somewhere near Tiverton we crossed this county sign, smiles all round since the rain stopped.

From Tiverton we cycled non stop to Taunton, where Logan nearly got ran down twice. The hills started to become a lot more mellow on the way, the rain came on again for a brief period but although heavy, it was short. After Taunton, the roads seemed flat, this felt amazing as we were putting the same effort on these flat roads that we were on the hilly roads in Devon but were achieving a steady 20mph without effort. After stopping for some hard boiled eggs we both couldn't get over the change in weather, pace and road conditions, all for the better. 

We just passed the county line for North Somerset just before stopping at a campsite beside Brewers Fayre - Sidcot Arms, Winscombe, near Weston-super-Mare. After last nights and today's rain, we camped up under some trees for shelter, convinced the managers to store our panniers in their house, had a quick shower in the bleakest, darkest and dingiest shower which strongly smelt of a number two! Still this was better than no shower. Managed to get some relaxation time in the pub nearly, I rarely 'fancy' a pint but I did that night, and it was good, and I rarely eat crisps either but managed 4 or 5 bags. I think my body is telling me I need more food, as we were burning nearly 8000 calories per day, that's 4 times as much food, imagine sitting down to have 12 square meals a day! Its a hard one to get your head round.

This was taken just before we stopped for camp, 3 county's in 1 day.

Another good day, from being wet all morning my feet looked like prunes and were sore to touch and to walk on. Both our legs were starting to feel sore and were struggling to get around off the bike, we were fine on the bike though. Apart from all the strains the weather and roads threw at us we both felt positive and were still stoked at the simplest things like a funny road sign, Mad Max's bike, hard boiled eggs or cycling enough miles to get to the next page on our map. Looking forward to tomorrow as we will be in Wales.

Day 2 - Goonhavern to Dolton

Tuesday 3rd August


Distance - 82.19 miles (overall 122.41 miles)
Max Speed - 37.8mph
Time on bike - 6h 17m 49s

Average - 13 mph

The Prolonged Punch In The Face

Woke up at 08:00 am and started our morning routine, we noticed a lot of dew on the inners of our tents so tried to dry them out as much as possible. Ripped the panniers trying to pack our sleeping bags away, wasn't a biggy though as our dry covers which cover the whole panniers kept everything nice and tight. Cooked a breakfast of bacon rolls and scrambled eggs, boiled eggs and eventually eggy tea on our small gas stove. Not the most desirable but we were starving so it tasted awesome. We managed to fill our water bottles up to keep us going. We both felt good as this was our first proper day, but both agreed our morning routine needs improving.

A typical example of our bacon rolls,  notice the vast amount of brown sauce we had

We were on the road at 11:15am, felt good being back on the bike. Started off on a nice slow mellow pace to try and find a good pace instead of burning ourselves out. We saw Newquay in the distance but also rain and lots of it. Seeing this rain in the distance, for example, bother us much more when we are not on the bike thinking ahead, however on the bike it never seemed to phase us. We had a mentality of, no matter whats happenin rain, wind, as longs as were cycling were making progress, slowly getting closer to our goal.. As we were nearing Newquay the traffic and rain was increasing, while the pace and visibility were decreasing. We never actually entered Newquay, just bypassed it but the traffic was crazy almost a stand still. The sense of pleasure cycling past all the cars stuck in traffic with their depressed, road rage fueled drivers overtook the fact it was wet, windy and visibility was becoming increasingly poor.

Although the weather was bad, our hopes were still high and cycling along at a good pace. We kept on going through the rain until Wadebridge where we stopped for some water and a quick 5 minute munch. During our stop the rain stopped and the sun came out which was a joy. A few kitted out cyclists road past where we stopped including two people on a tandem bike. Back on the road we came across this short but steep downhill almost straight away, I tried to use the hill to my advantage by not pedaling, but Logan was in front trying to get as fast as possible and shot off. I hadn’t yet built up the courage to go that fast yet – fearty! I reached 36mph, and Logan over 40mph.

Just at the bottom of the hill the road turned into a bridge and while checking out the views I heard another dreaded 'bang'. It was a different kind of bang this time, I immediately thought I snapped a spoke, thankfully it was just another puncture. There was no way of telling Logan as he was way in front. I came of the bike and pushed my bike around half a mile to the end of the bridge, I saw Logan cycling back where he met me. He said "a few people were waving and shouting at me as they drove past, but I just waved back stoked thinking they were egging us on, then I thought where’s Chris?" New tyre and tube fitted and back on the road. Half an hour wasted but stoked on the new tyre as it was blue.

Old tyre on right, new blue tyre on left

Almost straight away I felt as though I was struggling. I put it down to all the distractions we had so cycled on to try and find a rhythm. A few miles more I wasn't feeling any better, by this time I was freaking out in my head and Logan seemed to be holding a good pace while I couldn't seem to find a recovery, just a constant battle. I don't know if I was ashamed to admit defeat or what but as Logan was racing I couldn't admit to him I was struggling. A few more miles on I was starting to burn myself out, my legs like they were on fire, left knee was killing and I thought that was it, Ive reached my mental and physical peak, this challenge is to big for me what was I thinking? What will I tell every one? I will have to go home ashamed and huff for years. After 10 miles I had to stop, thinking my jacket was acting as wind break, I knew this was stupid but I was clutching at straws. Once we were stopped Logan was giving my back wheel funny looks and said "Chris, lift up the back of your bike". On doing so he tried to move my back wheel, it wouldn't move, the back break was locked on, and had been for 10 miles! The sense of relief was immense, it all made sense. I couldn't believe it, the only comparison I could think of was a prolonged punch in the face, awaiting the release of the fist from the face that never came.

Back on the bike, the difference in cycling was instant, I could stop pedaling and roll which was now a luxury to me instead of a given. The going was really good after although I was still recovering. We cycled another 10 miles into Bude, I was looking forward to this and told Logan how amazing this place was, after bigging this place up so much we arrived and it was raining. Cycling around trying to find a beach cafe the rain cleared but was still a bit dull, really happy to see the beaches still full, as they should be. At 04:45pm we stopped at cafe called Morwenna Cafe Bar, where we quickly scoffed a Hawaiian burger, 2 Pepsi's and a coffee each. Quick visit to Holland & Barrat and back on the road again at 06:15pm we quickly found a rhythm and pace and was averaging 25-30 mph all the way to Hatherleigh which was amazing. The weather also stayed on our side making this 20 mile stretch one of the most enjoyable so far. On the way we passed our first county sign, we entered Devon. We arrived at 08:00pm and a quick google maps check discovered a camp site 7.4 miles to the North in Dolton. These 7.4 miles would turn out to be the most challenging terrain of the day, except the prolonged punch in the face of course. We tried to maintain a good pace as we knew we were losing daylight hours so we nipped on, despite the crazy hills. We arrived an hour later at the Royal Oak Caravan Park in Dolton. Tents up, and a visit to the Royal Oak bar before closing where we had an hour to relax, this hour of relaxing at the end of each day was more important than we realised as it was the only time of the day where there was nothing to do, time to unwind and clear our heads.

Trying to look as gangsta as possible, the cycle shorts never helped

Hatherleigh, just before the hardest 7 miles of the day

Had no signal to phone home but all in all a good day, a few minor issues, Logan had difficulty changing gears and he developed heel blisters. A few blister plaster (thanks Kerrie) and he was fine. My left knee was playing up a bit, a few ibuprofen and a compression bandage over night (thanks Kerrie) did the trick. Both of us were showing signs on sunburn also.

Went to sleep instantly having complete our first proper day, felt like this becoming more routine. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 1 - Lands End to Goonhavern

Monday 2nd August


Distance - 40.22 miles
Max Speed - 36mph
Time on bike - 3h 14m 25s
Average - 12.4 mph

Whats with the Pirates?

Woke up in the back of the van in Porthgwarra with Logans elbow in my face. It was the first time trying out our new sleeping bags we got from Mike at ESP, as expected they were spot on. We heard noises outside, cars, voices etc and I did think "why are there cars and people out here in the middle of no-where". Opened the back of the van and was nearly blinded by the sun, it was a sunny blue sky day. Once I got my focus I was surprised to see the car park full of cars, vw vans and the place crawling with people dressed in swimming wear. As I had just woken up it took me a while to realise I was standing in just my boxers. Once we all had woken up we were intrigued to find out where everyone was going so we followed them. We went past a small house turned Cafe and found out our caves we found were tunnels dug through rocks.

Logan bigging it up in Porthgwarra, just around the corner was the carpark we slept in

We noticed there were people on a path just along the coast so we thought that’s the way. The path led its way through the same shrubbery that looked like it shouldn’t grow in the UK for a mile or 2 then appeared a hidden little beach called Portchapel. We headed on down which felt more like climbing down a rock face than a path and was extremely surprised to see the beach packed at 9:30am, with what seemed to be generations of family’s spreading from grand children to grandparents. Since we were here we had to get in the water, as I was the only one who had swimming shorts Logan and Alastair went in boxer shorts. A few quick belly flops and back flips of some rocks it was time to leave. As we walked back along the path to Porthgwarra I thought to myself, people down here have got it sussed, if this was back home this beach would be empty. I had a massive respect and admiration for this kind of outside lifestyle.

Portchapel Beach at 09:30 am

We grabbed a quick proper Cornish Pasty from the house turned cafe and left Porthgwarra for Lands End. An hour later we arrived and after a lengthy last minute pack we were set to leave, the amount of cars in the car park was phenomenal, with busloads of tourists arriving every 20 minutes. Had a 2 minute test cycle with the weight and it was scary, was getting more excited by the minute. We had a quick walk around Lands End but knew time was ticking on so a few photos and one last pint it was time to go. There were a few tourists gathered to see us off, a nice gesture. We were anxious to get going, more quick photos and high fives with Alastair we were on the road at 15:10 leaving Alastair behind.

I never actually knew there was a start line but here it is

The famous Lands End sign behind us (we refused to pay the £20 to get photo beside so took a sly one by the side)

The bottom of the UK

The first thing we noticed on the bike was the weight at the back; I knew we would get used to it so just cycled on. We encountered a few hills but nothing major, glad the weather was on our side. Rode through Penzance, it was a nice town but it seems there was a re-occurring theme of Pirates. Pirate restaurants, pirate rides at the seaside, pirate convenience stores, I quite like the idea of having themed towns. From Penzance on we were on the A30, our first 'A' road. The going was good although I found myself concentrating really hard to stay in a straight line, I found myself getting more confident the more miles we achieved. We stopped at a road side garage to get some water and a bite to eat, we were both feeling ok and the weather was still good. As we had a late start we decided to try and make it to Newquay to camp up. A good friend of ours, Ross Sommerville, who stays there generously offered us a place to stay but we also knew the Boardmasters festival was on in Newquay and we made the decision against it. This was due to the fact we knew heading to Newquay would have been good to meet up with Ross and the see the Boardmasters festival but the aim of this was to carry out a cycle for charity.

Just after 22 miles I heard a 'bang', resembling the sound of a pellet gun, I had our first puncture. We stopped and came of to the side of the road, flipped the bike over and we couldnt find anything in the tyre so replaced the tube and hoped for the best.  Just up the road we stopped off at a Tesco at Redruth for some food where Logan did the slowest fall off a bike I’ve seen, that’s what happens at slow speeds while your feet attached to your pedals.

 

1st Puncture of the trip

Back on the A30 we headed up to Newquay by cutting onto the A3075. As it was getting dark and starting to rain slightly we decided to call it a night, luckily we came across a campsite called Silverbow in Goonhavern. We accidentally set up our tents in a caravan spot, no harm done though the people were mellow; there were lots and lots of rabbits though. Took advantage of the shower block but on the way down I walked past caravan after caravan, all with awnings attached. The thing was though the awnings were kitted out like a living room where all the family were huddled round a TV watching Eastenders, I couldn’t understand why people go to the bother going on holiday to do what you do at home, but that’s just my personal opinion.

We were both tired out but extremely happy, a few phone calls and entries to journals we got to sleep 10:45pm looking forward to our first 'proper' days cycling tomorrow.