Claire and Adrian's End-to-End
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Topic: Claire and Adrian's End-to-End
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Subject: Claire and Adrian's End-to-End
Date Posted: 24 July 2013 at 1:57pm
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Regular BHPC racers will have noticed that Claire and I have raced very little this season. One of the reasons is that this year we set ourselves a target (rather than, yet again, to win the Ladies' Championship and come third Part-Faired) of completing an end-to-end ride. To avoid both geographical ambiguity and dire tourist-traps (but most of all, just to be different from the crowd - we're BHPCers, after all) our ride is from the northernmost point of Great Britain to the southernmost. We will set off from Dunnet Head on 1st September 2013 due to arrive 1035 miles later, at Lizard Point on 15th September. Whilst ours is not an out-and-out charity ride, it is inspired by Anna Jenkins and her enthusiasm for life, and we are dedicating it to her memory. Anna fell ill with cancer during her second Land's End to John O’Groats challenge. She had to abandon that ride, and never completed it. If you would like to join us in tribute to Anna, you can, by making a donation http://www.justgiving.com/BHPC-AnnaJ" rel="nofollow - here , to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. I will be posting updates on our progress here, as and when WiFi access allows. Our intinerary, in terms of overnight stops, is as follows: Sunday 1st Altnaharra
Monday 2nd Inverness
Tuesday 3rd Ardgour
Wednesday 4th Lochgilphead
Thursday 5th Mauchline
Friday 6th Annan
Saturday 7th Ravenstonedale*
Sunday 8th Clitheroe
Monday 9th Chester
Tuesday 10th Bishop's Castle
Wednesday 11th Monmouth
Thursday 12th Glastonbury
Friday 13th Crediton
Saturday 14th Fowey
Sunday 15th Finish, Lizard Point
* I hope I'm not breaking any rules about advertising - I have no personal interest and the plug is unsolicited - but Ann and Bill at the http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g1854267-d615027-Reviews-The_Old_Vicarage-Ravenstonedale_Kirkby_Stephen_Cumbria_England.html" rel="nofollow - Old Vicarage in Ravenstonedale do deserve a mention. Not so much because it's about the best little B&B you would ever want to stay in, but because they're putting us up for free so we can use the price of the B&B as a donation via Anna's page. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Replies:
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 24 July 2013 at 2:57pm
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I can also recommend 'The Old Vicarage', having stayed there on Claire and Adrian's recommendation, and Bill has plenty of stories about his time as a submariner. I'd like to state that I have no commercial connection with The Old Vicarage nor have I ever been a submariner.
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 24 July 2013 at 7:30pm
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Good luck and I hope the northerlies will be a blowing! I'm on holiday in Cornwall 2nd week of Sep, i'll keep an eye out for you both! I've never been to "The Old Vicarage" but I have spent time on submarines! I didn't like it that much!
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Posted By: Wyndrake
Date Posted: 24 July 2013 at 9:17pm
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Ahoy Ian, ...a bit of advice from an ancient windpowered sub-mariner = try spending more time "in" the sub next time. Its so much less stressful than having to hold your breath for such prolonged periods of time...... Very best of lung and leg for your ride Claire and Adrian... Alan |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 24 July 2013 at 11:46pm
Best of luck!!  I don't see any problem with recommending cycle-friendly B&Bs on here... ------------- |
Posted By: KevinJ
Date Posted: 25 July 2013 at 12:15am
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All the best Adrian an Claire. Most of all enjoy it - it is a marvelous experience so make the most of it. Thanks for supporting Anna - The Marsden is a great cause- and unfortunately is something that will affect most of us in our lifetime. ------------- Kevin Jenkins Windcheetah |
Posted By: graydog
Date Posted: 25 July 2013 at 10:02am
| best wishes on this one!!! |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 25 July 2013 at 7:37pm
Ahem, the term for serving on any of Her Majestics ships and boats is "on" whether you sit in em, or on em, and also submarines are commonly referred to as boats, even though they are classed as ships. i.e. Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) or Ship Submersible Nuclear (SSN), the former are also known as "Bombers" and the latter "Hunter Killers".. Anyone still awake? All a bit off topic I know but it might ease conversation at the B&B, speaking of which will you be having "babies heads" to eat while you are there?
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Wyndrake wrote:Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 25 July 2013 at 9:07pm
I didn't notice them on the menu. Bill served on ( ) diesel electrics. He said they used to run most of the time with the snorkel just out of the water for stealth. If a large wave tried to fill the engine intake, a flap-valve would close the snorkel and the engines drew air from the living quarters instead, which took your breath away!------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 26 July 2013 at 9:54am
What happened to the diesel exhaust gases? Did the submarine leave a trail of bubbles?? 
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Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 26 July 2013 at 10:16am
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I guess so - I think most boats have submerged exhausts. For total steath the sub would run on electric.
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 26 July 2013 at 7:50pm
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IIRC exhaust gases passed out in a similar manner to snorkel intake. They would normally only run on surface to charge batteries or for a quick passage, and like you see on WW2 movies right on surface, snorkels only used if trying to charge batteries and evade detection. They were notorious for sea sickness as they rolled badly. Nuc' power is much better, they go down, disappear for up to 3 months then they come up! no sea sickness, no sense of motion unless changing depth or quick manouvering, or at periscope depth.
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Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 26 July 2013 at 11:26pm
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He said they ran with snorkel just above surface a lot, 'cos it was good practice. In those days, I guess you'd have to be quite sharp to spot this if you were the enemy?
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: blogwat
Date Posted: 27 July 2013 at 8:54am
you seem to know a lot about subs Ian what have I told you about hanging about at the docks 
Jeff.------------- when your up to your waist in aligators they forget to tell you you've got to clear the swamp |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 10:34am
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Nearly time to set off. Tr+n+ng rides completed, trains and accommodation booked, bikes packed* and we set off by train from York to Thurso on Friday morning, with an overnight stopover in Inverness.
A friend who has spent much time working at Dounreay (Doom-reay, he calls it) assures me that the cold, wet and windy forecast for our first day's http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2635881" rel="nofollow - riding on Sunday is better than average. That doesn't make me look forward any the more to grinding 40 miles westwards along the north coast into the teeth of a 29 mph headwind.
Remember that we're inspired to take this on by Anna Jenkins, and are http://www.justgiving.com/BHPC-AnnaJ" rel="nofollow - dedicating the ride to her memory .
* Sorry to disappoint all you laid-back types but, because of the restrictions on bike carriage on trains (in particular with ScotRail and South West Trains), we're not on recumbents but on packable upright bikes - a Moulton APB for me and an Airnimal Chameleon for Claire. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: KevinJ
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 12:55pm
Good luck Adrian/Claire - Have a great time and keep us all posted on your progress  ------------- Kevin Jenkins Windcheetah |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 3:59pm
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Best of luck!! ------------- |
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 29 August 2013 at 8:38pm
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Have a great trip Adrian! Hope the weather is kind to you.
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: fards
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 11:16am
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have a good un! The road down from Altanharra is one of my favourites, the stretch from Oban down to Lochgilphead is gorgeous as well. Forecast as you head down sarf next week is good. you might need an extra days break in bishops castle, especially if you visit both breweries either end of the highstreet 
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Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 10:37pm
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Departure -2: York to Inverness An uneventful train journey, with trains more or less on time and some great coastal and mountain scenery. However, as all good Hitchhikers know, peak performance requires a degree of adversity*. Not having a Crisis Inducer to hand, I therefore contrived to get a wasp sting on my right middle finger whilst picking plums on Thursday morning. That might sound trivial but I'm reacting badly to this one. My finger and hand swelled and swelled throughout yesterday and, despite several applications of cold compresses and dosing myself with antihistamines, I woke with my hand in a right old state - unable to close my fingers to grip and with blood-blisters on the stung finger itself. It's perhaps a little better now but I'll need more improvement by Sunday, or, with a nearly-useless right hand, I'll be braking just on the back wheel, and be able only to change the hub gear of my 3x7. Claire kept Blakeney** entertained through the journey, tractor-spotting. Ten altogether, three of them blue - his favourite. :-\ We had a couple of pre-prandial pints of Houston Peter's Well (very good) at the Castle Tavern (deservedly popular, if a little too much so for its size), then dinner at the River House Restaurant;if I've had better sea food, I don't remember when, though once we get out on the road I can see me fancying more calorific food. * Contrast 'How I Survived an Hour with a Sprained Finger' and 'How I Scaled the North Face of the Megapurna with a Perfectly Healthy Finger But Everything Else Sprained, Broken or Bitten Off By a Pack of Mad Yaks' ** If I can work out how to do it via my tablet, I'll upload a photo, which will explain what this creature is. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 10:42pm
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BAH!!! Hope the hand improves before Sunday!! ------------- |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 10:48pm
 Blakeney says hello from Inverness ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 30 August 2013 at 10:50pm
 ------------- |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 31 August 2013 at 10:57pm
| Nick's Ted says he hopes Blakeney will be doing his share of the pedalling! |
Posted By: Yowie
Date Posted: 01 September 2013 at 4:35am
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Without a photo of Blakeney, I knew what he looked like. Claire . Good luck both of you. Sure you'll pull through the tough times and the good bits will shine through  Have a great journey. |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 01 September 2013 at 6:29pm
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Departure -1 Saturday 30th August: Inverness to Thurso then to Brough, near Dunnet Distance: 20 miles (including round trip out to Dunnet Head, plus to the pub and back) Today was mostly another uneventful but scenic rail journey. Nearly four hours on a train have never seemed to pass so quickly. I reassembled the bikes and then it was a quick run with a brisk tailwind from Thurso to our accommodation. Recent events at work have had me pondering my ideal retirement home, and this place (ok, it could be somewhere a bit warmer) is about it: very "Grand Designs", but on a modest scale. The pictures (http://www.woodturning.uk.com/Bed___Breakfast/bed___breakfast.html) say it better than I could describe. My swollen hand feels a lot better - much less itching today, for example - though it doesn't look an awful lot different. I was able to change gears OK with just my thumb and forefinger. Still, the inflamed middle finger was glad of the Moulton's front suspension on the rougher bits of tarmac. Very breezy here this evening, but the forecast is for it to have eased by the morning - merely in the high teens mph. It looks like we'll be needing waterproofs, though. Well, we can't have everything this far north, I suppose. During today's travels Blakeney saw six tractors, but only one blue one. On the way to eat tonight we detoured out to Dunnet Head to make the "official" start to our end to end adventure - and get six miles of the first leg (Dunnet Head to Altnaharra) out of the way. I'm sure the views would have been spectacular, had it not been raining. And if the rain hadn't been horizontal. There was only one local option for an eating place this evening, the Northern Sands Hotel, in Dunnet. Fortunately, it proved very acceptable, with a menu featuring produce from named, local sources, from which Claire ch_ose a hot smoked trout starter, and we both had haggis-stuffed chicken breast for main. Having eschewed a starter, I was allowed to finish with sticky toffee pudding. Choice of proper beer was limited to Deuchars, but it was a well-kept pint of a beer that is as good as it was when it was CBOB. It happens to be a beer I don't normally seek out, but that's likely to be because I've been spoilt in York, where it is widely-available. Readers may be starting to note that these posts all contain mentions of food. Indeed they do: Claire insists on it. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Andhar
Date Posted: 01 September 2013 at 7:07pm
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Deuchars IPA on draft and well kept is one of the best in my opinion. (I am biased of course) Let us know which others you find. ------------- Andrew Harrington |
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 01 September 2013 at 7:14pm
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Yes, I agree - a classic beer that pretty much started the 'gold-rush' but rarely bettered since. Did that sound like a sentence from a CAMRA tasting note? ------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 01 September 2013 at 9:42pm
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Day 1 Sunday 1st September: Dunnet to Altnaharra Distance: 65 miles Ascent: 1013 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 5m Time (riding): 6h 43m Not a day to dally over picnics. Our short time stopped includes the sandwich raid on Thurso Tesco's and our two brief eating stops were taken in the only two bus shelters we saw along the way. The second was cosiest, having a half-door, I presume to keep the sheep out. We did linger in the b&b, partly because it was so nice, partly in the hope the rain would ease off. By the time we set out there was little hope of making enough speed against the headwind to make Bettyhill for a pub lunch. It rained steadily for the first couple of hours, then easing off but threatening for the rest of the day, and succeeding in generating a shower from time to time. The real trial, though was the wind. It wasn't much more than an irritant for the first 20 miles but, as we got on to higher, more exposed roads it got stronger and stronger. The next 20 miles, to Bettyhill, took nearly 3 hours. Just as well we got sandwiches. At its worst I would say the wind was hitting 40 mph. Grinding uphill at 3 mph into that is one thing, but as a gusting crosswind when you're climbing a steep hill at not much greater speed than that it can be pretty much impossible. I only ended up off the tarmac and bailing out once but Claire says it was three times for her. I'm sure the scenery was beautiful but, with the rain and the wind, I didn't really appreciate it. The last few miles to Altnaharra were indeed stunning. If only we hadn't been quite so tired... We did better than the pair who came to the same b&b yesterday: they got here at 21.30 and one of them had to abandon this morning with what sounds like tendonitis. Blakeney spent most of the day shut in Claire's pannier, keeping his ears dry, so only saw four tractors, all of them them red. My finger didn't bother me at all today, which was nice. However, it's still looking, if not actually angry, then pretty peeved. Big portions of home cooking in the b&b tonight. We popped out to the Altnaharra Hotel for a pint. No real ale, with Tennent's Ember being the least bad choice from an uninspiring, narrow range. Blakeney, who is a cuddly with good taste in drinks, was disgusted; you can see it written all over his face.  ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 02 September 2013 at 11:47pm
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Day 2: Altnaharra to Inverness Distance: 79 miles Ascent: 842 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 33m Time (riding): 6h 35m Only a brief update tonight, because we've been socialising all evening, with a mini BHPC gathering. Sherri detoured on a journey home to Aberdeen, Nick and Judith happened to be in Inverness, visiting Judith's daughter and Jon and Anne decided on a holiday in Skye so that they could join us on the way - or with a bit of a detour anyway. The weather was a little kinder today. It was wet and windy at the outset, again, and the first 7 miles, uphill and against the wind, took an hour. Then we turned more southwards, then eastwards, making the SW wind less of a bind. The last few miles into Inverness saw us not only with a tailwind, but sunshine too. Blakeney had a bad day: only one tractor - and that was red - more keg beer at lunchtime and he missed out on the proper beer tonight, because he doesn't dare venture out when Jon (he's a Bad Man, you know) is around. My hand has improved to the point that it will get no further mentions. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 04 September 2013 at 6:05pm
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Day 3: Tuesday 3rd September - Inverness to Ardgour Distance: 77 miles Ascent: 1166 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 51m Time (riding): 6h 49m Today, for once, the weather was fairly kind. Despite forecasts of rain all day the morning dawned sunny, and stayed that way until lunchtime. The wind was south-westerly - which is exactly what you don't want when you're heading down the Great Glen - but it wasn't that strong (low teens mph) and for the most part we were sheltered from it. I understand large parts of England are in the grip of a heatwave; I'm glad (honestly) we're not getting that. Despite two long days, the legs were feeling good - better than they usually seem to do a couple of days into a regular touring holiday which, for us, would be 50 - 60 miles a day. The good legs could be down to preparation, or Mrs Lucian's magic aromatherapy oils. Either way, those legs decided us to follow the quieter but hillier, eastern route along Loch Ness rather than the flatter A82 on the western shore. Not wanting to risk Claire's skinny Airnimal tyres on unsurfaced tracks meant that we would later have to do quite a few miles on the trunk road anyway. Not that, by the standards we're used to in England, it was that busy. Aiming to get the only convenient (16.15) sailing of the Fort William to Camusnagaul ferry, in order to avoid yet more - and, I think, busier - A82 meant an early-ish start (the first so far before 9.00), a brisk pace all day and only a sandwich and a pint for lunch. That stop was worthwhile, though, since it coincided with the only really heavy rain of the day. We made the ferry with 15 minutes to spare and rewarded ourselves with a gentle pootle for the final ten miles, along the single-track A861 on the shore of Loch Linnhe. That reminds me of an incident in Galloway three or four years ago when I tried to explain to a pair of lads on road bikes that they would be absolutely fine to ride a B-road marked on the OS map as "single-track". Seemingly, to them "singletrack" was exclusively a bit of mountain-biking terminology. I said in my last post that I wouldn't be needing to mention my hand again. Well, strictly that's true, because my hand is fine, but now I have a new affliction that may or may not be related to the sting. For a couple of days, there have been points in my right armpit, on my right shoulder blade and on the right hand side of my chest that have been tingly, and slightly painful to touch. Now those points have erupted in a rash, which has started to itch, too. That's not helping me sleep (I'm writing this at 3.45 on Wednesday morning, for example). Blakeney was tired and, I suspect, hung-over this morning, having spent the whole night partying with Benny "the lobster" Donaldson.  He was so tired he was asleep in Claire's pannier when we passed the only blue tractor of the day. It was a thin day for tractors all round - just three. He was feeling well enough by lunchtime to appreciate his pint of Loch Ness LightNESS - from the strength and the character, something of a Deuchars clone. So, a pretty good drink.  We are staying and eating in the Inn at Ardgour tonight. Menu is mostly home-made dishes using local produce. I had haggis, then a venison casserole. Claire wasn't so Scottish, going for fish cakes (from Whitby, but at least the menu told us that), and home-made lasagne. In a welcome Scottish innovation, the lasagne came with chips, which saved me from the embarrassment of Claire ordering chips to go with it. There's no real ale here, but we enjoyed a couple of bottles from the Isle of Mull brewery. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Andhar
Date Posted: 04 September 2013 at 8:22pm
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Blakeney is right to like that Loch Ness Lightness, very nice indeed. ------------- Andrew Harrington |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 04 September 2013 at 10:49pm
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Day 4: Wednesday 4th September - Ardgour to Kilmichael Glassary Distance: 68.5 miles Ascent: 1001 metres Time (elapsed): 7h 17m Time (riding): 5h 47m "Lunch served 12.00-14.30". Those were Claire's favourite words of the day. I was pretty pleased too. When it had got to ten past two and we hadn't found somewhere to eat, and had started to doubt we'd find somewhere still serving, I was expecting, not a strop (because Claire doesn't really do those) but a fair bit of whinging. What made it worse was that weed been turned away from the previous establishment we'd passed, fully two hours before - closed for a funeral. The Cuilfail Hotel in Kimelford provided us with a chicken curry and a pint of MadNESS (Loch Ness brewery; I think you'll be getting the naming theme by now...). That was an interesting red beer with a very good hop flavour. The problem of finding Claire lunch was unexpected. Today had been the most relaxed yet. No ferry-stress this morning (no shortage of it coming for Thursday, though) because the one boat we needed to get went from just outside our accommodation and sailed several times an hour. Apart from a shortage of catering - and even that worked out - today was a very pleasant ride. It was dry and mostly sunny, the roads, though trunk roads, were not excessively busy and the scenery was wonderful. Tea tonight was at the Horseshoe in Bridgend. The most fish-filled fishcakes I've ever had, accompanied by Caledonian Summer Pale Ale. Blakeney is a bit miffed. There don't seem to be many farmers in these parts, and the ones we see appear to have little need for tractors: only two all day today, though one was blue. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 06 September 2013 at 1:37pm
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Day 5: September 5th - Kilmichael Glassary to Mauchline Distance: 69.8 miles Ascent: 922 metres Time (elapsed): 9h 5m Time (riding): 5h 31m I mentioned yesterday that it was a day free from the stress of being on time for ferries. Not so today. Today needed a start at sparrow-f+rt (relatively, anyway) in order to get the ferry to Arran that would enable us to get a ferry off Arran that would get us to our accommodation before dark. By the time we got away from our b&b, though, it was 2h 50m before the ferry's sailing time and my estimate of our riding time for the 28.5 miles was 2h 45m - so barely any allowance for boarding, let alone any contingency. So we set off at a fast pace, Claire tucked in my slipstream. Actually, that's where she's ridden for almost the whole trip - though there was a brief period during Sunday's windy ride when I had to ask her to swap roles to let me take a rest - and on all our preparation rides, too. Still, it's not everyone who gets the chance play super-domestique to a multiple world-champion. That first leg of today's ride did feel like something of a time-trial, in particular over the first hour, which was fairly flat, as we tried to build a little bit of a buffer. It's not often that, touring with a load, on a small-wheeled, flat-barred upright, I cover as much as 16 miles in an hour, but we did today. Having got ahead of ourselves just a little, we could relax a bit and save our knees, not pushing too hard on the hills on the rest of the route to the ferry. We could also start to enjoy the weather and the scenery, both of which were perfect: a sunny, cool morning, and even a light tail-breeze as we span along the shores of the sea-lochs. We made the Claonaig-Lochranza ferry in good time. After the half-hour crossing it was time to get cracking again. This was to be a flying visit to Arran, just an hour and 55 minutes between disembarking at Lochranza and sailing from Brodick, with tickets to be bought, and a published 20-minute check-in deadline. The ride between the ferries is 15 miles over a 200 metre climb*, leaving little time for hanging-about if we were to make it in an hour and a half. We did, though, and even had time to buy sandwiches and ice cream. That's Claire's first ice cream of the trip. To go 5 days cycling without one is something of a record. No time for pub stops today so lunchtime beer was bottles from the Arran Brewery, stocked on the ferry. Navigating through the towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Irvine was not nearly as difficult as I'd feared. There's a lot to be said for GPS and a pre-prepared route - a huge time-saver - and even the cycle routes through those towns were rideable. Well, mostly. After that, the countryside to Mauchline - an area I've never visited before - was a pleasant surprise of rolling green hills. The last few miles were on a superb (though I'm not talking about its surface) ridge road with huge views both north and south, and the air was crystal-clear to show them off. I'm not sure whether I'd class Mauchline as a large village or a very small town. It seems to have one claim to fame, that Robert Burns lived here for a bit. It certainly can't claim to be a hotbed of the local real ale scene. There are three pubs, and not a drop off proper beer, not even in the one that whatpub.com (only available to CAMRA members at the moment) listed as stocking it. The rash on my back, chest and, especially, armpit has not spread but has intensified and blistered. It's very sore, but bothering me more at night (5 a.m. and awake as I write) than on the bike. In fact, I suppose having my arm held still and away from my body is as good as it could be. It's a good thing this is a cycling trip, not walking. I don't know for sure what the rash is. Given that my skin was tingly, even painful, for days before the rash was visible, if I were feeling ill or tired I would suspect shingles. As it is, I'm feeling fresher than I ever have after 70+ mile rides. I've never done this many long rides in a row before (our tours are usually 50 to 60 miles a day) at all so I might well expect to be fatigued, but I'm not, even with the poor sleep. Most likely, then, it's the wasp sting. The rash is making me a bit tetchy; I'm fed up with Blakeney and his Bl++dy tractors. * A note on units. Yes, I use a mixture of metric and imperial. Our signposts still use miles. OS maps mark heights in metres. So those are the units I work in. Were this tour in, say, France, I would report in kilometres, not that it would stop me thinking in miles... ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 06 September 2013 at 10:52pm
Just at the moment, I'm glad I'm not doing this trip on a recumbent. This is my back.  I'm sure you wouldn't want to see my armpit at the best of times but, at the moment, you *really* don't want to see my armpit. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 06 September 2013 at 11:36pm
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Day 6: Friday 6th September - Mauchline to Annan Distance: 76miles Ascent: 800 metres (a bit of a guess - I forgot to start to record altitude until after the first hour) Time (elapsed): 7h 30m Time (riding): 6h 7m It seems strange to start thinking of a 76 mile ride, much of it in pouring rain and all of it cold as not a hard, tiring day. But, compared with some of the last week, today was pretty easy - wet and cold without a doubt, but not that hilly and with little wind. Perhaps it all seems better because tonight was one of a couple of indulgent stopovers Claire had planned for our journey. Those who might know Annan would likely to chuckle if I described our accommodation (the Waterside Rooms) as the best place to stay near the town, or the restaurant she chose as the best place to eat. No, they are not the only available options, nor even the last bad choices from a poor selection, but an exceptional b&b and a restaurant that would hold its own anywhere. The restaurant, Del Amitri (OK, a rubbish name, especially since it's not an Italian) was very good value indeed. Well done Claire. I told Claire I wouldn't bring the subject of tractors into this story any more. Eventually, we compromised that they could be mentioned if more than ten were spotted. Blakeney had seen 9, and five of those blue before the rain started and he was shut away. So I get away without writing about them. Ah, it seems I have. Quote of the day: "it must get awfu' crowded up there". This was from the lady at the cafe where we stopped for lunch, noting that she gets a lot of end-to-enders in, almost all of whom, unlike us, are going south to north. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 07 September 2013 at 10:02pm
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That back looks terrible, Adrian. I've never been able to see the point of wasps. Thoroughly nasty creatures. We find that tea tree oil soothes lesions like those. We have now reached a very nice B&B near Callanish on the West coast of Lewis, and will pass the famous stone circle tomorrow. I got a couple of insect bites while crossing the extended bog that is Lewis Moor, and my right leg was rather wooden and painful yesterday, but is much better today. Several tractors yesterday, but none of them blue. I don't think Blakeney would like it up here. Of course, the beer will be getting better the further south you go, won't it? There's no beer of any description within miles of where we are tonight - but we brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Nick and Judith |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 7:08am
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Day 7: Sunday 7th September - Annan to Ravenstonedale Distance: 66.5 miles Ascent: 1248 metres Time (elapsed): 7h 45m Time (riding): 6h 5m The update will be brief today.. I flaked out in the evening so this is being written before breakfast on Sunday. Blakeney insists, however that I report he saw twelve tractors, with five blue ones. Geoff asks by text if the blue tractors are mostly Fords. Yes they are. A special treat yesterday was seeing an old David Brown, which I think would have been white originally but which was now perfectly Blakeney-coloured. I was tired after a hard day, plus continuing poor sleep with this rash, which is very tender and looking uglier than ever. Whilst not a very long day in terms of miles, the terrain, especially in the second half, was hard, with successive short, steep climbs, a big, steep climb to get to Ravenstonedale from Appleby, and a headwind strong enough to knock a mile or so an hour off our average speed. We did keep pretty dry - we never broke out the waterproofs - and there is a particular pleasure in being out on a showery day, being able to see the showers all around you, but not actually getting caught in them. It was a better day for beer, with Cold Fell from the Geltsdale brewery in Brampton at lunchtime and Derwent Blonde and Black Sheep Ale in the evening. On Sunday we will have properly-clean (not just swilled in the sink with shower gel) cycling clothes. Ann has taken them from us and run them through the washing machine. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 7:32am
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Loving the write ups, rather disappointed that there appears to be no John Deere, my favourites! I saw your back just as I was about to tuck into a Lasagne, sort of looked the same, but it takes more than a few pustules to put me off my dinner!
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Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 5:49pm
|
Thanks for the comments. It's nice to know someone is reading this stuff, and even better to know they're enjoying it. Apologies for the lack of information about the number of John Deeres seen. You know how people are supposed to be able to handle six pieces of information at one time? Blakeney, having a head full of polyester can only manage two: the total count and the number of blue ones. He needs Claire's help even for that. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 7:15pm
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I've only been keeping up on the Blackberry at Fowlmead so I hadn't seen the picture until now... OUCH!!  Hope that improves soon!!! ------------- |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 9:44pm
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Do please keep posting, Adrian - we check your progress each evening (isn't technology wonderful? I've only just got to grips with this mobile Internet lark). Since retiring, my brain has turned to polyester, so I can tell you: Sunday, Callanish: 3 tractors, 1 red, 2 rusty. |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 08 September 2013 at 10:42pm
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Day 8: Sunday 8th September - Ravenstonedale to Clitheroe Distance: 49.5 miles Ascent: 1253 metres Time (elapsed): 6h 58m Time (riding): 4h 47m The shortest day of the trip, in terms of miles, but also the one with the greatest number of steep (I.e. with arrows on the OS map) climbs, and the highest elevation (about 430m, crossing the Forest of Bowland) of the whole journey. A later, and leisurely breakfast, plus the obligatory extended swapping of anecdotes with Bill (see earlier references in this thread to submarines, etc.) meant it was 10.25 before we were on the road. Then we got the first mechanical of the tour - a rear puncture on my Moulton. That cost 40 minutes, my tyres being such pigs to remove, at least from the Sun Rhino rims I now have on the bike. Therefore we only got as far as Barbon - barely 20 miles - for lunch. Sandwiches accompanied by Kirby Lonsdale Ruskin's. That left an afternoon of climbing, though at least the wind - which is still in the wrong direction - had faded away to a breeze by the time we got to the exposed sections of high moorland, and we had just one light shower all day. Curry for dinner tonight. If you're ever in Clitheroe on a Sunday evening and fancy one, the Double Tree's special (popadum, starter, main + rice/naan) sounds like it must be cheap and nasty. It's, not, it's very good, but it still leaves you wondering how they could do it. That was preceded by samples from a good range of Coach House and Moorhouse beers (from £2.40) Not enough tractors today for a proper mention, but Blakeney is even more irritating than ever. He seems to have become a fan of The Automatic, and spends all day in Claire pannier singing... "What's that coming over the hill? Is it a tractor? Is it a tractor?" ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 09 September 2013 at 7:25am
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When you're on a fixed schedule that requires you to be on the bike for pretty much all the working day and you have a health problem, like my nasty little rash, what to do about it is a bit of a dilemma. Taking the time to get formal medical advice would make it difficult to make the day's destination in time to do fairly crucial things such as eat. Fortunately (doctors might not necessarily agree), in these days of t'Internet and universal WiFi (except in certain corners of Scotland) a degree of research is feasible. For nasty little rashes rather than life-threatening illnesses, most of the information even looks reliable. Seems that, whether my condition is Urticaria (the prime suspect) or (less likely) shingles, antihistamines are an appropriate treatment to alleviate the symptoms. So I'm talking those again. The blistering and soreness are still pretty bad but there is quite a reduction in the redness. Whether from the pills effects on the rash, their snooziness-inducing properties or sheer exhaustion, I had a decent sleep last night. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: blogwat
Date Posted: 09 September 2013 at 8:42am
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Hi Adrian and Claire
keep up the good work great to hear of your travels always read your blog every night hope the back gets better soon keep your spirits up
 take care.Jeff. ------------- when your up to your waist in aligators they forget to tell you you've got to clear the swamp |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 10 September 2013 at 5:08pm
|
Day 9: Monday 9th September - Clitheroe to Chester Distance: 76miles Ascent: 1125 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 25m Time (riding): 6h 28m I wasn't looking forward to this day, requiring as it did threading through the towns and cities of Lancashire and Cheshire. It wasn't nearly that bad, and we enjoyed the ride. That's one of the good things about a ride like this: it takes you places you wouldn't otherwise have contemplated. If I say it myself, I'd done a pretty good job of setting our route, and the GPS did a pretty good job of keeping us on it. The day would have been harder and a lot slower if navigating on paper. In between the towns, the countryside varied from green and pleasant in Cheshire to spectacular for the early sections. The views came at the cost of a lot of climbing. I've never visited Blackburn before but, after our traverse of its outskirts today I'll forever hear the lyrics of "A day in the life" as "4000 HILLS in Blackburn, Lancashire" Blakeney had a great day - 17 tractors, 5 of them blue. I noted for Geoff that at least one of those wasn't a Ford but - if I've got my logos right - a New Holland. The last time I took an interest in farm machinery, that firm only seemed to do combine harvesters, and those were yellow. And, for Ian, there were three John Deeres. We had Thwaites Wainwright to accompany our lunch. In the evening we were provided with a home-cooked meal by friends of mine from university, Julia and Paul. They'd not met Claire before but it was as if Julia knew all her favourites, serving a prawn starter, roast chicken and not one, but two, desserts. We worked out it was 29 years since we last saw each other, though once we got chatting it seemed no time at all had elapsed. It was a lovely evening. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 10 September 2013 at 7:36pm
Sounds like you both had a decent day, and Blakeney, well, what a selection, I bet the JD's were the fastest! No mention of rain, wind or Bubonic Plague 
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Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 11 September 2013 at 7:26am
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Day 9: Tuesday 10th September - Chester to Bishops Castle Distance: 63 miles Ascent: 831 metres Time (elapsed): 5h 55m Time (riding): 5h 4m This was always going to be one of the easier days: a relatively low mileage, and not a lot of climbing - though the pull to thread our way between the Long Mynd and the Stiperstones was a decent one. On top of that, we had our first genuinely useful tail-wind. The Shropshire countryside is beautiful and the lanes are quiet; I can see what NickM and Judith see in it. Lunch was a sandwich on the green at Pontesbury, a village that seemed to pull off the bizarre trick of having every conceivable facility and shop, but no pub. Of course, we found the pub as soon as we set off back on our way. The easy ride and quick lunch meant we got to Bishops Castle in plenty of time to sample the beers of the two brew-pubs - the Three Tuns and the Six Bells. Both were worth visiting, but we liked the Tuns best. Blakeney had another great day, seeing 21 tractors, 6 of them all in one go, 11 blue and another Blakeney-coloured David Brown. Now I've got my eye in with the blue ones, I see that quite a few of them- possibly the majority - are New Hollands. My rash is not spreading and is beginning to heal, but is very painful and keeping me awake quite a lot. I've just looked at the weather forecast for west Cornwall for Sunday. I might lose sleep over that too ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Yanto
Date Posted: 11 September 2013 at 9:02am
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I might see you if you are passing near Zennor during the gales on Sunday as we are on our |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 11 September 2013 at 10:08pm
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We won't be particularly near Zennor, as we're finishing at Lizard Point, rather than Land's End. Of we can make it through the wind, that is... ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 11 September 2013 at 11:09pm
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Day 11: Wednesday 11th September - Bishops Castle to Monmouth Distance: 76 miles Ascent: 1125 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 40m Time (riding): 6h 27m It turns out we missed a trick in Bishops Castle. Three is a very good Indian restaurant, neighbouring the Three Tuns, and it is established practice to take beef from the later to the former. Next time. It feels like a confession to some weird perversion to be writing about this on a forum predominantly frequented by recumbent riders, but one of the several things I'm glad we brought with us is the substance known by polite people, though anachronistically in my opinion, as "chamois cream". Younger readers who, unlike me, have never endured woollen cycling shorts with a real chamois leather insert might need some explanation (oh yes, I did). After two washes that chamois started to acquire the texture of a poppadom. Most uncomfortable. So one was supposed to apply a cream to soften it. When real chamois went out, people doing long rides found they were more prone to saddle sores with the synthetic stuff, unless they carried on using the increasingly-misnamed chamois cream, and that it worked best if applied to the skin rather than the shorts' insert. Hence the indelicate colloquial term, which seems very BHPC to me: "arse lard". It does three jobs: lubricant to reduce chafing; barrier to prevent excess sweat or rain being absorbed by the skin; and antiseptic, with most lards containing such as peppermint oil (yes, it's tingly) or tea tree oil. Neither of us have had any issue with little rubs or boils. Generally we're holding up well physically, apart from the rash I've already reported on. Mentally we're not finding it a relaxing holiday. The extra 2 or 3 hours a day on the bike, compared to our usual cycling holidays, is the time we would spend relaxing. Every day is up, breakfast, ride, quick lunch, ride, wash, eat, quickly write this stuff, and sleep, if I can. Claire finds she needs coffee to get going in the morning rather than her usual tea. The problem with that is the diuretic effect it has on her. Every morning, precisely 20 minutes after we set out, whatever time that was, she starts asking to stop for a wee. This morning was no exception, and she scurried down a farm lane to drop her shorts, whereupon she stung herself on the backside with a nettle. Arse lard is no barrier to them. Had today been sunnier and a little warmer it might have been the perfect day on a bike. The roads meandered through hills without making us actually climb many of them, the roads were quiet and (mostly) well-surfaced, and the wind blew gently on our backs. That's what it was like until the last 10 or 12 miles, anyway. Then my choice of road turned into a switchback, either 1 in 6 up or 1 in 6 down, a soaking rain started and we got a second visit from the puncture fairy. The Moulton rear, again. After all that we were glad to accept our host's offer of a lift the mile or so into Monmouth to eat. Lunch today was at the Tram in Eardisley - very nice, posh sarnies accompanied by Wye Valley's renowned Butty Bach. I have a theory, infallible so far, that all pubs with outside toilets are good pubs. The Tram doesn't just have its gents'outside, but has an award for them. I don't always agree with the Good Pub Guide, but I won't argue with them awarding the Tram the title "Outside Loo of the Year 2013". No beer tonight, though, just time for a meal in the Italian Claire had booked us into. Blakeney had another good day. He'd got the required quota of 10 tractors to get a mention in this update within the first 3 miles (8 in one go!) And beat yesterday's record with 23 tractors spotted. He got so excited he lost count of the blue ones, and I think the inside of the pannier he rides in might have got a little moist. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 13 September 2013 at 7:35am
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Day 12: Thursday 12th September - Monmouth to Glastonbury Distance: 70 miles Ascent: 1127 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 15m Time (riding): 6h 4m The day got off to a good start, with me having had a good night's sleep, partly because my rash is actually getting a little better (still sore though) and partly because I managed to find a position to sleep in that didn't press on or rub any of it. It continued well with a run down the Wye valley - picturesque and the road wasn't as busy as its A grade would suggest - plus we got the warmth and even some of the sunshine I missed yesterday. Blakeney thought it was rubbish. There were hardly any tractors, and he didn't reach his quota today for a mention in his update. It didn't mean much to him that we saw two and a half tractors in one place, especially as, to his eyes they were pathetic little ones. However, they dated back to (and beyond) what was still commonly in use in Devon at the stage of my childhood when I took an interest in farm machinery (see the New Holland reference a couple of days back). The complete ones were a Massey-Ferguson 35 and a "grey" Ferguson, and I'm fairly sure the half was an even older Fordson; it was blue, anyway. After the Wye valley came a couple of interesting bridge crossings - the Severn, and the Avon by means of Brunel's Clifton bridge (Bristol is almost as hilly as Blackburn), then lunch of curry and very good Butcombe bitter. This was at the Prince's Motto in Barrow Gurney. I was thirsty enough and the beer good enough that I was tempted into a second pint. The effect that had on my legs during the crossing of the Mendips that came right after gave me pause to wonder if I should have been more cautious in a village simultaneously named after two forms of transport you might find yourself involuntarily using after over-indulgence. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Neil F
Date Posted: 13 September 2013 at 9:35am
| Adrian, check the forecast for Sunday! You may want a "rest day". |
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 14 September 2013 at 12:00am
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My dad had a Fergie 35X with frog eyes (it was red). Did the one Blakeney saw have frog-eyes like Clingy?
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 14 September 2013 at 6:31pm
I've seen it. It might make me want a rest day, but that's not an option. Rain we can cope with - we've already had to! As for the wind, I'm hoping Cornwall's high hedges afford more shelter than we got two weeks ago in Scotland. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 14 September 2013 at 6:35pm
I don't think it did. Blakeney is now sulking because you mentioned a cuddly that's not him, on top of him missing his quota of tractors for the third day in a row today, and me disagreeing with his judgement on a beer yesterday (next post). ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 14 September 2013 at 6:40pm
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Day 13: Friday 13th September - Glastonbury to Crediton Distance: 71 miles Ascent: 1007 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 29m Time (riding): 6h 15m Today we had a good morning's cycling across the Somerset levels and then up into, over and down from the Blackdown Hills before lunch, in the Catherine Wheel in Hemyock, of fish and chips and Otter Amber. This was a very nice beer - all my experiences of Otter have been good - except that it was served far too cold. Now, you could argue that the serving temperature of beer is a matter of preference, but this beer was so cold as to make it cloudy. Blakeney was suspicious of the beer and, having examined it closely, wanted to send it back.  However, I couldn't taste any yeastiness and, with it being so cold, diagnosed a "chill haze"* that would disappear as the beer warmed. I was right, it did, and the beer tasted better at a more appropriate temperature too. The afternoon should have been a pretty ride through the Devon hills, but all I saw was rain. We were soaked by the time we reached Crediton. I walked into a small supermarket in the High Street to get a couple of bottles of wine to go with dinner, stood there dripping for two seconds, and a customer chirped up, "Doing the end to end, mate?". It seems that, with almost all sensible LEJOG routes going through Crediton, it's a pretty safe bet that a stranger on a bike who has clearly done a few miles is an end to ender. I didn't feel like I should be a stranger, though. I've spent a lot of time here though, now I think about it, I haven't been here at all in about 25 years. Crediton is, if you like, my ancestral town. My brother was born here, as was my father, my father's father, my father's father's father, my father's father's father's father, etc. I expect you'll get the Life of Brian reference, but it happens to be true. My brother has traced the male line back well into the 1600s, and every one of them lived their lives in the town, or within a mile or two. So it might not be surprising that we're being put up tonight by a cousin, except that the one cousin I have in Crediton is on my mother's side, and that family comes from about 20 miles away. Rachael and her husband, Leon, have done a grand job of welcoming us, taking our soaked clothes to wash and dry and feeding and watering us. We're very grateful. *Beer, as well as being the BHPC isotonic sports drink of choice also contains protein. Not as much as the lean steak or chicken I know you all use as the basis of your training diets. Nor even as much as sausages and pies, but it's there. The truth is, though, that brewers select their ingredients and use processes to try to minimise the amount of protein in your beer (malting barley, for example has to be low in protein), precisely because protein makes beer cloudy. The protein is less soluble at low temperatures, so serving beer excessively cold causes it to go hazy. Beers designed to be served very cold - such as lager, so Blakeney isn't interested in this bit and you shouldn't be, either - have a special brewing process that helps to get rid of even more of the protein. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 14 September 2013 at 11:59pm
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Otter Amber is excellent and the best one the brewery do IMHO. ------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: GeoffBird
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 12:15am
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Massey-Ferguson-35-Workshop-Parts-Manual-/111165142026" rel="nofollow - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Massey-Ferguson-35-Workshop-Parts-Manual-/111165142026
------------- Right Time - Right Place - Wrong Speed |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 4:06am
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Day 14: Saturday 14th September - Crediton to Fowey Distance: 68 miles Ascent: 1899 metres Time (elapsed): 7h 35m Time (riding): 6h 29m A good day, though not an easy one - see the amount of climbing. In contrast with yesterday afternoon, today's weather was great: dry, sunny, reasonably warm and, for a fourth consecutive day, a wind that was at least to some extent on our backs. A ride through Devon and Cornwall is always going to be hilly, but I credit myself with having worked out a route that made fairly good use of altitude gained by having long, gentle descents along ridges, albeit with a couple of very much up-and-down linking sections. The first hour or so, until we rendezvoused with the former A30 at Sticklepath was particularly slow going. With our average speed of barely 9 mph for the first two hours I was beginning to wonder what time of night we would make Fowey. The old A30 saw us make swifter progress towards the Cornish border. Swifter in my case than Claire's, because she seems to have taken Sir Bradley's comments about his Giro descending not as a sexist slur but as licence to go slow. Apparently she worries about her rims overheating (so sometimes even stops on a descent), but can't be persuaded that the best way to avoid that is not to brake so much, and let wind resistance do most of the work of retardation. Fearing more hills to show us down and sap our strength in the afternoon, we didn't spend the time on a pub and leg-deadening beer stop at lunchtime, but celebrated our approach to Cornwall with an excellent pasty (one each, large) from the farm shop at Lifton. I do tend to forget, during my absences from the south west, what a wonderfully tasty staple the pasty is. The next stretch was a trifle undulating, followed by the biggest climb of the day up into the fringes of Bodmin Moor. "Welcome to Minions", said the sign. I don't know where, if anywhere, bosses and/or evil squirrels are welcome. After that climb, in comparison, the road was all downhill and down-wind to the Bodinnick ferry across to Fowey. Fowey is not a good place to come if you don't like beers from the Snozzle - as St Austell is generally pronounced in these parts - brewery as all four of the pubs serving real ale seem to sell nothing else. It was OK for us though, since we like at least some of the beers and we hadn't had any on this trip yet. We ate at The Ship (good food and outside gents') and drank Tribute and Proper Job. I think it's the first time I've had the latter on draught; very good it was, too, but only if you like a properly bitter beer. I've always liked the name, being a west country phrase that my grandfather (my father's father - see yesterday) was particularly fond of. I was slightly disappointed not to find any HSD - one of the St Austell beers that doesn't get the same wide distribution as Tribute - partly because I have fond memories of it and partly because it's one of the beers I confuse (inadvertently) younger members of bar staff with by ordering it under a previous name. In this case, I instinctively ask for Hicks', HSD being a contraction of Hicks' Special Draught and now the official name of the beer. Another slip, which I find more frequent use of in Yorkshire, is to order Black Sheep Special, long rebranded Black Sheep Ale. Whilst I'm being a conservative old git on the subject of beer names, I'll mention my delight, during our final preparation weekend, of finding the Falcon at Arncliffe selling a Timothy Taylor beer under the informative branding of "Best Bitter" rather than the new-fangled "Boltmaker". Then again, in pretty much every respect, the Falcon is in a 1930's time warp; next time you're in the Dales, go, it's a gem. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 4:25am
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I'm just back from having stepped out (we're in a ground floor room with French windows onto a terrace) into the cool, still night, with mist hanging over the river and the most spectacular starry night sky I've seen in a long time. It's hard to believe that in a few hours it's going to be as nasty as the forecast says. That's the thing about weather forecasts these days: they trend to be right. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: SherriD
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 5:21am
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It's been great reading about your end to end adventure (especially the sections on heavy farm machinery and a certain cuddly's fascination with the blue ones)! Seeing you in Inverness was great too - almost in my neighbourhood! Here's hoping the weather forecast is wrong or at least hope you get some tail wind assistance... For info it's 27 degrees and sunny out here on the Caspian Steppe so I'll make sure and get your quota of vitamin D today. One final thing - out here they serve beer in pint glasses with a straw (!) for the ladies! It's Effes, a Turkish larger brewed locally. Considering they desalinate all their fresh water it doesn't taste too bad. Bon journey and keep up the fabulous fundraising! Sxx ------------- SherriD |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 8:17am
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We're on Eigg now, and it was looking astonishingly, gobsmackingly beatiful when we arrived in yesterday afternoon's sunshine. Since we went to bed, the most tremendous storm has been raging outside, and it shows no sign of abating. We were supposed to move on to Rum tomorrow. That might not happen... There's one pub. But it's three miles away. |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 6:15pm
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We made it!!!! Fuller update later. Time now to get dry and dismantle the bikes. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Andrew S
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 7:16pm
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Many congratulations to you both! You deserve a couple of pints after all that - wait, haven't you been doing that every day?? It's a fantastic achievement and one you can always remember, without ever having to do it again. |
Posted By: Fiona G
Date Posted: 15 September 2013 at 7:40pm
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Drink fizz and relax, we'll done to you both ------------- Secretary Riding on a new Velodynamics bike this year |
Posted By: Yowie
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 3:55am
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Nice one. It felt like I was with you all the way. Tasted every drop, crumb and morsel. Rest well! |
Posted By: SherriD
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 3:59am
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Congrats peeps! An unconventional adventure with time taken out for smelling the roses - sorry - drinking the pints and counting tractors thru some wonderful countryside, but without the manic pressure of most end-to-ends. Feet up, dry off and raise your glasses:-) ------------- SherriD |
Posted By: blogwat
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 12:15pm
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HI Folks
fantastic achievement big up to the both of you fantastic daily blog too great reading
.Jeff. ------------- when your up to your waist in aligators they forget to tell you you've got to clear the swamp |
Posted By: KevinJ
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 12:16pm
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Congratulations ------------- Kevin Jenkins Windcheetah |
Posted By: Twed
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 12:55pm
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Well done both of you Glad you made it intact....if somewhat itchy. Bubbly?!...bah...why bother when you have snozzle ------------- Never believe an atom they make up everything. |
Posted By: NickM
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 5:33pm
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Congratulations Blakeney! (oh, and your support crew). We saw a tractor just the right size for you on the Isle of Harris, with pedals and everything. It was green, but you could always get a respray. We're off to Rum tomorrow in a cockleshell, weather permitting. I'm anticipating nausea... 
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Posted By: AlanGoodman
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 10:30pm
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------------- |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 11:21pm
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Day 15: Sunday 15th September - Fowey to Porthleven via Lizard Point Distance: 73 miles (59 to Lizard) Ascent: 1568 metres Time (elapsed): 8h 50m Time (riding): 7h 5m Having checked the weather forecast, we set off from Fowey as early as we could, in order to make the greatest distance before the weather really closed in, somewhat later for us than most of the rest of you. As we prepared for departure, it was clear that the previous day's climbing had had an effect, Claire reporting a sore knee, which she soon worked off, and the skin of my right buttock finally beginning to show signs of wear, despite having acquired a leatheriness unlike ever before. An extra-generous dressing of arse lard saw me through the day without it getting any worse. With our minor injuries, and the expected weather, our mood as we started the day was more one of determination than anticipation. Getting going early turned out to be a good move. It was soon clear that, with climbs and headwinds, this was going to be a slow day (indeed we did deliver our slowest average speed, other than that first day of Scottish winds) but we got to the King Harry Ferry before the rain started just after midday. This ferry, across the Fal, is a great one for cyclists, not only cutting off a huge loop around the estuary, but being free, and even featuring a self-service repair bay, with workstand, track pump, tools, etc. Once started, the rain continued, varying between thick drizzle and torrents, whilst the wind rose. For the most part, those high Cornish hedges did the job I'd hoped, sheltering us, though the final approaches to Lizard across the Goonhilly Downs were exposed to the full force. It was chucking it down when we got to Lizard, where my parents were sheltering in their car. We decided to keep the celebratory bottle of fizz for later - there isn't really room for four, two of them very wet, to party in a Kia Piccanto - and made a quick dash down to the lighthouse for the obligatory photos. Blakeney, who had spent all afternoon keeping dry in Claire's pannier, not seeing the tractors that weren't out playing in the rain anyway, insisted on getting into some photos, even though it made his ears very wet and he had to spend the evening doing headstands on a radiator. The last few miles to our accommodation in Porthleven were among the hardest, physically and psychologically, of the day, but we got there in time to get showered and dry and for me to dismantle the bikes ready for our train journey home tomorrow, before eating. Snozzle beers again, in the Harbour Inn, this being the one in easiest walking distance. I tried their Trelawney, a new one to me and pleasant, but not quite as good as the Tribute I switched to. HSD was available, which led to a minor disappointment - I'm not sure whether with my memory or reality - because the pump clip bore, as well as "HSD" in large, not especially friendly letters, very much smaller text reading "Hicks' Special Draught". ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 16 September 2013 at 11:25pm
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Finish+1: Monday 16th September - Penzance to York It was a nice change, but we both felt a little sad, to put ordinary clothes on this morning, our cycling adventure done. It was also a little sad to have to say goodbye to Mum at Porthleven rather than Penzance, four people plus two bikes, even folded, and bags being somewhat too much for a Piccanto, even with my much-practiced ingenuity in cramming machines and luggage into small cars. Three people, two bikes and our touring luggage did just fit, so Dad ran us and our kit down to the station, Mum having to wait in the B&B for him to collect her later. Blakeney is looking very grubby after all his adventures. He'll have to go in the washing machine. He hates that. He's so depressed about it he didn't even look out of the train window for tractors. ------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: fards
Date Posted: 17 September 2013 at 1:44pm
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congrats, sounds like a fantastic adventure! Main issue with end to ending is the anti-climax at the end, always seems so oooof when you've done it. Are you going to get that write up in the club mag? Doesn't need editing, reads brilliantly as is! |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 23 September 2013 at 2:15pm
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I mentioned in one of my posts that I was using, as a CAMRA member, http://whatpub.com" rel="nofollow - whatpub.com to find watering holes en route. CAMRA has now made that available to the public. I'm guessing that you, as a reader of this forum, are more likely than the average person to travel around the country a bit and to drink BEER, so this may be of interest.
The usefulness of the entries varies according to the amount and quality of the information input by local volunteers. On our travels, it varied from excellent (Inverness, Clitheroe and other spots) to pretty much useless (Mauchline, though seemingly there are too few real ale drinkers there to sustain even a single handpump in the town).
------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |
Posted By: Adrian Setter
Date Posted: 02 October 2013 at 1:52pm
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Finish + 2 weeks: Analysis Distance: Dunnet Head to Porthleven - 1053 miles (1039 miles to Lizard Point) Riding Time: 92 1/2 hours Average speed: 11.4 mph What went right: Most things, really.
What went wrong: Very little.
Thank yous, in roughly chronological order, and apologies to anyone I've missed who deserves one:
------------- Challenge Hurricane - MicWic Delta (Front half) - Burrows Ratracer |