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Stuart
Dexter's ride from May/June 2011
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8th May 2011 Hi Everybody. Well just one week to go. The bikes are ready. The old bus, my legs and my diet - well one out of four isn't too bad. I'm booked into Land's End YHA for Friday night then it's off early next Saturday morning come rain or shine for Galant YHA Fowey (60 miles -gulp). Thank you to those who are in some way helping out on route. For those of you who might wish to help sponsor me, remember I am a voluntary driver for Lincoln Area DialaRide. We take people who are too old or too infirmed to use public transport in specially converted minibuses to wherever they need to go. Sorry for the delay but they are still setting up a site on Justgiving.com for the event. Give it a week or so (I wont finish till June 5th anyway) then you should be able to go onto www.justgiving.com search for Lincoln Area DialaRide and make you contribution on the form shown. Alternately you can send me a cheque made out to Lincoln Area DialaRide (if I finish) at my address. I will try and email every few days to let you know how I am getting on.
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17th May 2011 Hi Everybody |
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| Arrived at Penzance eventually having been ordered off one train – too
many bikes. Rode over to Lands End. Got a German couple to take the photos
(nobody else around). Onto Lands End YHA for the night.
Day 1 - 63 miles to Golant YHA. I don’t know why Cornish bicycles have pedals. You freewheel uncontrollably at break neck speed down a ravine, being hurtled from one pothole to the next, before falling off at the bottom, and then dragging your bike up the other side only to repeat the experience moments later. The hobgoblins round here are a particular nasty lot, making all hills upward, keeping the wind in your face, spinning signposts and causing strange things to happen to any shop which dares to stay open after 2.30pm on a Saturday afternoon. I got lost x times, pushed up y hills and collapsed z times where x y and z are numbers too big for my Iphone to compute. I hate walking but no other choice. 12 hours 7.30am to 7.30pm Day 2 – 61 miles Golant to Ashburton, Devon staying at the Old Coffee House. Hills not quite so bad except out of Looe, Plymouth, Ivybridge, Buckfastleigh, and ……. The locals here are very good shouting encouragement from their car windows. Wish I understood the local lingo. Good to have a decent bed for the night. The decision to avoid Dartmoor and follow the A38 (without actually getting on it) was a good one. Two nice ladies in the pub (photo) spotted my shirt and gave me £5 Enjoyed the various ferries Walking getting easier Day 3 – 52 miles Ashburton to Tiverton A much easier day, except at the beginning when I finished up on a muddy track in the middle of nowhere. Thought I was lost again until I spotted the National Cycle Route sign. The ride up the Teign valley was delightful, beautiful scenery, no traffic. Exeter not so bad and the ride from there relatively straightforward with the so called prevailing wind finally coming from the South West. Arrived early so straight to Wetherspoons before staying with Colin and Carolyn for the evening. Getting to like my walks. Day 4 - 50 miles Tiverton to Street YHA Another reasonable day, not so many hills except into Street itself. Again I arrived early so pottered around the shops before back up the hill to the YHA. I decided to ride back down to the town again for dinner. Well it was Tuesday – Wetherspoon’s steak night I have to say the people of Somerset are very friendly. Obviously they are expecting a huge car rally. Village after village welcoming Careful Drivers. I didn’t see any though. Maybe the rally starts at the weekend. Day 5 – 53 miles Street to Slimbridge Traffic was very heavy wherever you went. Everything was very pleasant until I arrived in Wells.. The hill out of town was very very long, right to the top of the Mendips, 300 metres on top and foggy. It started to rain so I stopped for a long breakfast. I got to Bristol suspension Bridge about 1.30pm. Phoned Colin and Carolyn – would meet them at Cam and Dursley station at 4.30pm - loads of time. Big mistake. Sheer cliffs, one way streets and beautiful crescents. The word crescent by the way means you finish up in the same place you started. 3.00pm and I can still see that damn bridge. Not out into the country till 3.30pm. Pedalling like mad – phone to say I will be 20 minutes late. Decide to take short cut. Didn’t notice the contours. Got there nearly one hour late – full of apologies – never mind take them down the pub. Anybody know any other pub in the country that doesn’t open till 7pm on a Wednesday night? But everything salvaged at Slimbridge YHA. I’m the only person staying. So upgraded to private room with double bed, en-suite, free towels, £20 per night, stopping for two nights (day off as taking the bus up to Crewe). Getting there (struggling with photos) Stuart
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| Hi Everybody Day 7 Friday 20th Slimbridge to Kinnersley (Hereford) 63 miles beautiful early morning trip up to Gloucester along the Severn estuary, canal tow paths and through beautiful villages - best section so far. Met son-in-law in Gloucester then good ride through Herefordshire - stayed with John and Janet - lovely couple who plied us with their home made cider - dont remember much else. Day 8 Saturday 21st 50 miles across almost deserted lanes to Ludlow and then northwards to Much Wenlock and Ironbridge. Great afternoon until we decided to try different routes. Alistair got hopelessly lost and finished up in Bridgnorth. Got to Coalbrookdale YHA waited for ever for them to open. Eventually phoned them to find we were at the wrong one - should have been at Coalport. Arrived eventually - beautiful YHA based in the old China works - (thick walls no phone signal at all). Great curry. Day 9 Sunday 22nd - Left at 8.00am - huge hill out of Ironbridge but then flew down the A5233 without any traffic and a following wind. Stopped in a village for breakfast and arrived at Crewe station 3 hours early. At least it allowed Alistair to catch an early train back to London and for me to travel on to Northwich 70 miles all told and stayed in a motel on the A49, good bed, good food and a TV. Day 10 Monday 23rd - Continental breakfast (toast and marmalade) nightmare winds but mainly following - found it easier to head straight through my old trainspotting haunts Warrington, Newton Le Willows and Golborne (yes I was a teenage anorak). Eventually passed Charnock Richards motorway services so called in to use the loo. Loads of people staring at me in my cycling gear - "whats he doing on the motorway?" Heavens opened so in to the nearest pub for a long lunch hee hee. On to Preston then turned west towards Blackpool - stopped dead by the wind - another two hours to do the ten miles to Wrea Green to stay with Di and Simon in their lovely cottage with five cats two donkeys and two sheep - fortunately not all in my bed. Hope that wind eases off Kendal tomorrow. Stuart
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| Day 11 A lovely ride up to Pilling and across Cockerham sands. It was great to meet up with Geoff, June, Peter, Lyn and Lesley again. A wonderful evening except I disgraced myself by getting hpelessly drunk. Day 12 To mighty Shap we bend our back, Up and Up the endless hack, Till lungs and legs on point defeat, We spy the top; the bastard’s beat.. Rolling along the Church bells ring, Trying to drown my attempts to sing, Through Penrith, Carlisle and more to tell, Sugar, I’ve forgotten the name of my hotel.
Day 13
Into the wind and driving rain Gretna greets you “hame” again Annan, Dumfries and a water mill Then grind up the road to auld Thornhill. The old biddy charges me “fifty poond” “Same price as hotel and a lot less soond” “Tak in that view, arent you a lucky sonny” (In the pouring rain) “Aint Scotland bonny”
Sorry about the crap poetry but we’re in Burns country OK
Day 14
A bad day - strong winds in my face all the way, and DialaRide phone to say that Derek the life and soul of the organisation died suddenly at work. This day is for him.
Stuart |
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| Day 15
day off Day 16 Set off from Prestwick in the pouring rain but it soon stopped and had a nice ride through the lanes to Stewarton and. onto Paisley. Then it was areal struggle as I turned westwards towards Ervine with winds of over twenty miles per hour in my face. Got to Ervine bridge and help! It was closed to cyclists and pedestrians becauseof the strong winds. It seemed the only option was to go all the way back into Glasgow which would have added thirty miles to my journey when I rewmebewred Vic and Lesley were delivering my old bus up to Balloch from Kendal. Phew! I contacted them just in time, we through the bike in theback and over we went. More struggle then against the wind up to Dunbarton, then a nice ride along the river bank up to Balloch to meet up with my son and family. Day 17 Tried to avoid the A82 but got lost on the golf course as we headed north along the bonny banks of yoy know what. Bit of a climb up to Crianlarich and Tyndrum but ok. Stayed in a hikers hut - all mod cons, well there was a mattress. Day 18 The dreaded Glencoe. Two very serious hills, heavy showers and nowhere to hide. Very wild and absolutely stunning but we were glad to get over the hills and down to Glencsoe village before there was any worsening of the weather. Once over the Ballacuish bridge we turned north along the estuary to Fort William and the roast meat sandwiches shop mmm. Bought a new pair of waterproof trousers. Then onto Spean Bridge and Roys Bridge 62 miles a tough day. Slept in a tent. Day 19 Rained all night. Set off in the new waterproofs to Fort Augustus and along Loch Ness to Inverness. Got soaked, dried out got soaked again. Another long day but at least the wind was behind us. No sign of Nessie. Maybe she dont like the rain either. Stayed in a B&B hee hee, warm dry luxury. Day 20 The sun came out. Over the Kessock Bridge and across the Black Isle to Cromarty. Definitely the best morning of the whole trip. Empty roads, lovely villages, beautiful scenery. Put it on yourto do list. Over the cromarty ferry to Nigg and quiet roads to Tain where it was back on the A9 to Dornoch where we stayed with friends of my sons and were spoilt with superb hospitality. Day 21 Glorious sunshine. A lovely ride through Brora to Helmsdale, beautiful views out across the Moray Firth and then the shock.. The hill out of Helmsdale and the one at Berriedale were horrendous. Long and very steep with the sun the hottest of the whole trip. Got to Dunbeath and collapsed. Day 22 Well this is it. Only 40 miles to go. Looks cooler with not a lot of wind so far. Breakfast first. Stuart |
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| Day 22 Saturday 4th June
All went ok - wind against but otherwise quite reasonable. Lunch at Wetherspoons in Wick, arrived at John o Groats at 3.30pm in warm sunshine and was met by Jody, my daughter-in-law, with a bottle of champagne. 1095 miles in 22 days. If you discount my two days off thats 54.75 miles a day. Long drive back home and haven't stopped since (yes I have done a couple of short runs on the bike hee hee). I've delayed this while the Justgiving.com site was finally sorted out for those of you who wanted to donate that way. It's now up and running. Going on to justgiving.com and putting in DialaRide finds Lincoln Area DialaRide straightway - then just follow the links to donating (beware you dont pick the pay every month option). I want to say a great big thankyou to: 1. All of you who have donated or will donate or who have encouraged
me along the way, and the veteran group of the Witham Wheelers who
not only helped me to get fit every Tuesday but provided me with so
much help and information about the trip. The good, the bad and the ugly: 1. The weather was generally kind. Not that much rain really and with
either following or cross winds for two thirds of the journey. Definitely
the right decision to go from south to north. Was it worth it - Yes of course Would I do it again - Naw ur turn next I will send some photos separately and set up a blog on facebook as soon as I get a minute Take care Stuart |
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