Day 2 - Fowey to Morehampsted by Bike27 at Garmin Connect - Details

Monday 12th - Day 2 Fowey to Moretonhampstead

Well after a good night's sleep (boy were we tired!) we woke and met at the ferry at 8.45 am - again a wonderful day and the sun coming up over the beautiful estuary.

So we took the ferry and struggled up the hill the other side and embarked upon one of, and some say the hardest day's cycling.  Yesterday I had battled with my stat nav. which had been called all sorts of names, because for some strange reason it seemed to think we were doing John O'Groats to Land's End, so kept on trying to turn us around.  So having figured that swearing at it would make no difference, I gave it a 'factory reset' and today I fell back in love with it, today it saved us miles, time and wrong turns - you beauty!

The ride was along the coast to Plymouth and then a huge drag up through Dartmoor, a total of 7300 feet worth of climbs.  And boy did it hurt.

Stefan's main complain was his ass, he is suffering from a pain in the butt!  This explains why he speeds past us, standing up (or so he says).  We have yet been able to catch him to attach the tow rope that will pull Michaela and I up the worst of the hills.

The old girl is doing quite well, a few moans and groans and a few creaks every now and then, but is moving nicely along the roads without too much drama.  I refer of course to my bike which feels more like a part of me (especially the saddle), and Michaela is also doing remarkably well.  We both have very sore 'behinds' so it's sleeping face down tonight!

Anyway below are a few photos from the day - Dartmoor was crossed in sunshine and only a minor wind, which is remarkable in itself.

So stay tuned, we are now really heading north, Glastonbury tomorrow night!

And finally this is why we're doing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX8w__WR9Xc&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLHpm1ZOoHs84l9PKWWqix-kLyBCi6P12k

have a look at the route - lots of up and very slow speed but we made it!

Day 2 - Fowey to Morehampsted by Bike27 at Garmin Connect - Details

Sunday 11th - day 1 - Land's End to Fowey

Sunday 11^th August – The First Day – Land’s End to Fowey

Well none of us slept very well, lots of nervous energy going on!  However we were up bright and early, and after checking everything for the nineteenth time, we met at 8.15 am in the market square in St Just ready for a 6 mile cycle to Land’s End.  The cycle was quite to the start, the sea beautifully calm, the sun rising and being Sunday, no cars. 

We queued up for the obligatory photo next to the 874 miles to John O’Groats and 3147 miles to New York and then we were off.  And then we stopped, “where had Stefan gone?”  It turned out he’d left his sunglasses at the sign and had to pedal back a mile…good start!

I set up Ben’s GoPro camera to record what was in front of me, which happened to be Michaela. “Don’t you point that thing at me, it’ll just show a close up of my bum!”  “Don’t worry it’s wide angle” came my response without even thinking, followed by (you can imagine).

So apart from that the day was uneventful, one ferry, lots of stops, hills and chats and 70 miles under our belt.  A good day.

Now in B&B and looking forward to tomorrow – yes really!

This is Team JMJ Hunger at the very start

and this is the bigger group we are cycling with 

First tea break of the day

and waiting for a ferry...

to see our stats, (very slow day but we got there) click on this link...
Sunday 11th - day 1 - Land's End to Fowey by Bike27 at Garmin Connect - Details

The Day before the off....

The Day before the off…

Stefan arrived at the Marshall’s base at around 10.30 am.  We took the obligatory photos and set off, Andrew driving us down to the bottom left of England.  Six hours and 45 minutes of driving later we arrived in St Just, which is about 6 miles from Land’s End.  What a journey, it does really feel like we’re at the end of the earth not just England!  We have to cycle back all this way! – Bugger

We met up with our fellow sufferers, had dinner, a few email exchanges will Sally who can’t sleep in Mongolia (7 hours ahead) and off to bed.  Wonder what tomorrow will bring, early start, 6 miles cycle to the start-line, photos and we’ll be off on the BIG journey.

Looks like there is a real cross section of people on this tour, all great fun and I look forward to meeting them and learning about them during the next two weeks.

Day minus 2 - final preparations..

Mic doing final bike preparations assisted by Basil.  Tomorrow the BIG drive to the start ready to go at 9 am on Sunday!

Well this is the last training ride Michaela and I did

So, it was off to Ledbury for a late breakfast - Dan (12) joined us and set the early pace, it was raining when we started, in the middle and at the end. We managed to convince ourselves of the need for full water proofs, so the next day we were off to Evans cycles to buy over trousers and over shoes - more stuff to carry!

Getting nervous, only now 3 days to go!

Click on this link to see the route
Last training ride! by Bike27 at Garmin Connect - Details

Our Cycle Route

People have expressed an interest in doing a day's cycling with us or meeting us at a certain point on our cycle route. If you’re interested please see below details of our route. We welcome you to come and cheer us on or join us for part of our cycle journey. The more the merrier.

 

• Saturday 10th August 2013: Arrive St. Just
• Sunday 11th August 2013: Lands End to Fowey 64 miles
• Monday 12th August 2013: Fowey to Moretonhampstead 60 miles
• Tuesday 13th August 2013: M’hampstead to Glastonbury 74 miles
• Wednesday 14th August 2013: Glastonbury to Monmouth 65 miles
• Thursday 15th August 2013: Monmouth to Clun 57 miles
• Friday 16th August 2013: Clun to Runcorn 80 miles
• Saturday 17th August 2013: Runcorn to Conder Green 64 miles
• Sunday 18th August 2013: Conder Green to Keswick 75 miles
• Monday 19th August 2013: Keswick to Moffat 72 miles
• Tuesday 20th August 2013: Moffat to Loch Lomond 83 miles
• Wednesday 21st August 2013: Loch Lomond to Glencoe 66 miles
• Thursday 22nd August 2013: Glencoe to Inverness 83 miles
• Friday 23rd August 2013: Inverness to The Crask 66 miles
• Saturday 24th August 2013: The Crask to John O’Groats 82 miles

 

....BIG DRINKING SESSION :)

Three Days to Go Until Our BIG Cycle Challenge from Lands End to John O'Groats

We are cycling the Length of Great Britain in three days time to raise money for The Hunger Project UK. What seemed like an impossibility at the beginning of the year, now seems like it's actually going to happen.  We are all feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness, and general trepidation!

Stefan (EMEA Business Partner, JMJ Associates), Michaela (my wife) and I have cycled between us something like 4000-5000 miles in training, been down the gym more times than we can all remember and we have all lost weight, gained muscle and are feeling much better for it.  However whilst we can now all do 50 to 60 mile cycles in a day,  we have all yet to experience what it is like getting up the next day and doing it again, and again and again for 14 days continuously!

We have also learnt a lot, what works what doesn't, which are the most comfortable brand of cycling shorts, which energy bars are foul and which ones work, which electrolytes to use, how to stretch and recover, how essential cream is, how to be as safe as possible in traffic, how to pedal in the most efficient way, and most of all how to keep going when your body is shouting 'stop'.  I have personally learnt that my theory of a 'burgundy rehydration technique' - i.e. nice bottle of red wine after a big ride doesn't actually work and gives you a BIG headache, but I guess no surprises there….

We have been amazed at the support.  The whole JMJ community has backed us and has been a major part of our fundraising, putting on events and coughing up their own money.  We have had two BBQ weekends at our house in Gloucestershire, a Valentine's Day fund raiser, and a Big Auction Event staring our own JMJ band 'The Possibilities'.  So a big thank you goes to everyone who has helped, so far to raise a massive £9,752, which with JMJ's matching commitment takes us to £19,504, way over our £10,000 target we set ourselves at our Launch in January.  The money raised, will support The Hunger Project in the UK and we expect to raise more and we know another £1000 is on its way.

I will be updating the blog during our BIG cycle challenge and posting photos to let you know how much pain we are suffering (assuming in the evenings I can still operate a computer).  Please feel free to comment and wish us well on our cycle travels.

If you would like to sponsor us please visit our Team JMJ JustGiving page