The Epilogue

Why did we do it? 3 nearly or 60 year old or so males? Insanity? Probably!
However the idea moved on to support a worthwhile charity and because of Colin's friend Suzette's involvement with Cherished Memories we planned our ride to raise funds for the cause.
Did it spur us on? Yes having committed to complete the ride for the benefit of the charity we were all determined to finish to raise the maximum possible.
Did we enjoy it? Yes we did, we met many interesting and varied characters on our journey. The scenery was stunning, even in the rain!
Would we do it again? No.
Do we regret doing it? Certainly not, we loved it.
Thanks to all that have followed our exploits and for the many people who have supported us on our way. Especially Simon & Sarah, David & Jude who welcomed us into their homes and looked after us all, fed us and gave us accommodation for the night, breakfast in the morning and saw us on our way.
Thank you all for your interest & support.
Pete, Colin &Ken

Day 19 the End

Craig & Heather looked after us well at the Strathy Inn. The breakfast was one of our better ones. We set of on our final two climbs. It was a lovely morning with plenty of warm sun shine. We made Thurso in time for lunch and sat outside. Then on to Dunnet Head the most Northerly point in the UK mainland. From here it was only 12 miles to John o'Groats. We arrived at 3.30 pm to complete our 1019 mile trip. We are going to celebrate now and should be back in the world tomorrow morning!!

Day 18

We set off from Lairg after a hearty breakfast and all was well we set of for Altnaharra where we stopped for lunch. After suitable refreshment we set off alongside a Loch with fantastic views. We stopped for coffe at the Crask Inn which turned out to have a history associated with Bothies. We got our usual dowsing with rain, but it later cleared up. Colin and I seem to feel the hills today after the long day yesterday. We were glad to reach the Strathy Inn in daylight. And so to repair for our last day tomorrow. Only 40miles. We might celebrate!

Day 18

Day 17

We set off after a hearty breakfast from Terry and Shan's guest house, thinking we had a good days cycling in front of us. We set of down an off road alternative to the A9. After a couple if miles we realised that we would not make our destination by nightfall at the rate of progress we were making. Luckily we found a cycle path adjacent to the main road and got to Inverness for coffee and lunch. We now had 45 miles still to do. We set off uphill of course and it seemed we would not arrive I'm Lairg until well after dark so we pressed on undeterred. As usual it started to rain and eventually chucked it down and we all got drowned, or so it seemed. Fortunately we all arrived just in time for dinner at the local hotel. Quick shower and of to bed but 82 miles nearer JOG! Only 95 miles left to do, I can't wait, I think we have all had enough now as we have only had one dry day in Scotland so far!

Day 16

Having got up early for a day in ths hills the weather looked very unsettled so we all opted for wet weather gear. We didn't need it for the ran so much as to keep the cold out. We stopped for soup and hot chocolate after about 15 miles. We had some superb views as we crossed the Grampions, but it was very hilly cycling and opted to wall up some of the steeper inclines of 1 in 5. Still only 75 miles tomorrow and all downhill! Yeh right.

Day 15

Another sunny day and great cycling weather. Ruth set us up with large bowls of porridge and a cooked breakfast, so we set off at 9.30 and called into the local shop for provisions. The first 20 or so miles were relatively easy until we came to the 400+ m high climb, which took Colin & I much longer than Ken but we got there and had great scenery to boost our spirits. The ride down into Braemar was exilerating reaching speeds well in excess of 35mph. Colin's bike started to have problems with the brakes so we called into Braemar, but it is such a small place we ended up in Ballater before we could get it fixed. However all is well and we arrived safely at our B&B. Looks like a steeper set of climbs tomorrow. Something to look forward to.

We made it to Glenshee

Despite the clouds, it was a livery day.

Day 14

Woke up this morning to bright sunshine after a good night's sleep courtesy of Charlie & Tona Fitches in Aberuthven. Started the day in the dry and finished the day dry. First day for a while without cold feet. We had a pleasant days cycling to Blairgowrie where we had soup at the local Tea Shop. Checked in with Ruth who volunteered to run our washing through & dry it. Luxury! Hard day tomorrow with the Spittal of Glenshee, but we are 3/4 of the way there!!

Crossing into Scotland

Just to show we all made it

Made it to Edinburgh!

Day 13

Woke up in Galashiels, it was not raining but cool. Set off at 8:15 am and arrived on the outskirts of Edinburg at 11:30. We stopped for coffee at a garden centre and had porridge with stewed apple, it was wonderful! We took several hours to get across Edinburg and were blown across the Forth Road Bridge. Stopped at Inverkeithing to replace both tyres as they had worn out! Ken had a set of break blocks replaced at Sandy Wallace Cycles. Excellent service and CTC discount. It rained during the part of the journey and we all got soaked yet again. We arrived at Aberuthven at 8.45 pm in the dark after travelling 84 miles. Went to bed.

Day 12

Having arrived at Langholm wet through we all had showers and a change of clothes did our washing. The radiators were on so we piled all our wet clothes on the radiators to dry. We went out for dinner and when we came back the radiators had turned themselves off! Clothes still wet. Anyway this morning Gillian did us a great breakfast including porridge. Dennis gave us some good advice on the route which meant we would not get to Peebles because of the high forecast winds. Dennis also makes wonderful chocolates!! We set if in the rain with full wet gear on. We needed it, we all found that waterproof trousers does not mean you will not have wet legs. We were all soaked so we stopped for soup & a roll at Hawick. We then set off for Selkirk were we again stopped for coffee & a scone before heading off to Galashiels. The ride was 40 miles today and the worst conditions so far. Hopefully it will improve tomorrow.

David & Judith did us proud with a full cooked breakfast & rolls for the journey. We left at 10 am and headed out past Carlisle airport and on the back roads towards Langholm. After about 15 miles it started to chuck it down and we were all soaked to the skin by the time we reached Langholm. We entered Scotland near a check point for the Dutch Tour Ecoss of old cars. We stopped at the bridge inn for lunch inn but in typical English fashion it was closed. We arrived in Langholm at about 3 pm. Checked into our B&B at about 4pm and enjoyed a warm shower.

Day 10

We woke up in Ingleton in the Dales where Ken announced that it would be all downhill today!! Well not quite. As we had 60 or so miles to do we got up a bit earlier only to find. That Colin had a puncture. By the time we set of it was no earlier than we normally set off and we still had the hilly terain to negotiate. We arrived at Tebay just as it started raining so stopped for lunch. Setting of refreshed and with the rain stopped or spirits were revived. Unfortunately it wasn't long before the heavens openned again and we were drenched, which was pretty miserable. Fortunately it didn't last too long and we dried out before we arrived at Scotby near Carlisle where we stayed with David & Judith, who had very kindly offered to put us up. Replenished with tea & cake after a shower, life was not so bad again! Over halfway now so of to Scotland.

Day 9

Leaving Clayton le Woods it was heavy drizzle which dampened our spirits a bit. Fairly wet we stopped for coffee at the Millstone at Mellor, a rather interesting establishment and hopefully I will be able to visit again. The weather improved by lunch time a
and we sat outside for lunch & our spirits had been revived. The hills seem to get steeper again as we entered the Dales. We suffered two punctures during the day which we believe is due to the wet roads. We arrived at our B&B just as the light was fading. We shall have to lookout for the forecast high winds!

Drinking too much?

Day 8

We started the day totally sober from Market Drayton. We had a great ride to Nantwich where we stopped at a tea shop and enjoyed a toasted tea cake & coffee. We had a bit of a flog around the West side of Manchester but stopped for lunch in Knutsford at an Italian restaurant which was excellent. We had longer day in the saddle covering 73 miles. We have had a great meal at the pub next door to the Travel lodge. Colin & I brought too much stuff on this trip and managed to talk Richard into taking the excess back with him after he joined us for dinner.

Day 7

We met Louise & Lindsay at the Church Pub for a pie & a pint. I got a slight bump on my head from the low ceilings in the Feathers. We had all been feeling the distances we have travelled, even Ken. We had an easier day with the terrain now being a lot flatter. We also exceeded the third distance. The only thing to dampen our spirits was the weather. I got my first puncture for about 3000 miles! We are now at Market Drayton and starting to think we are well on our way.

The Feathers Ludlow

Day 6

We had breakfast at the White House in Ross on Wye where Judith very kindly made a donation to Cherished Memories and the Parker family also gave a very generous donation. We set of in the rain which did not dampen our spirits but made some of the roads slippery. The ride seemed quite demanding as the CTC route invents and takes you over steep hills!! We were pleased to arrive at Ludlow by 5ish.

Damp but not Defeated by the River Wye

Day 5 Bristol to Ross-on-Wye

It rained quite heavily in Bristol overnight, so the roads were nice & wet. Simon joined us for the first 7 or 8 miles taking us to the Severn Bridge. We stopped at Piercebridge Inn where they had very friendly staff who provided excellent steak in baguettes and Rev James beer. We headed over some pretty severe hills before having a pleasant ride into Ross, for a stop at the White House. We have covered about 275 miles now.

Here we are at the Severn Bridge, a quarter of the way

We set off from katie ad James around 10ish and headed over the Quantocks and were treated to spctacular views from the top. We arrived at the Crown in East Huntspill where they specialise in no service! When we enquired about Sunday lunch we were told that only the Carvery was on today but they had sold out. Having glanced around both diners were indeed enjoying their lunch. They did confirm that three cheese sandwiches were beyond their capacity, though!
After more cycling we arrived at Simon & Sarah's. We were made very welcome, fed & watered. Entertained for the evening before retiring well after midnight! Needless to say we all slept very well.

We enjoyed out stay with Ian & Elaine and had a good breakfast to set us up for the day. We got talking to a fellow guest whose name was Frank from Essex and he kindly donated £20 towards Cherished Memories. Knowing we had a long hard day ahead we set of just before 10.00 am and soon got to South Molton, where we stopped and had coffee and a bacon sandwich which set us up for what was in store. We went through North Molton where we stopped for further provisions. The lady in the shop as which way we were heading and after we told her said "You'll be climbing then" how right she was. Over 6000 feet today, but we made it and were rewarded with magnificent views over Exmoor. We were greeted by a young lad at Winsford riding his mountain bike on one wheel. He then proceeded to produce a mono cycle and perform amazing tricks! A great day but a hard one. Tonight we are at Bishop's Lydeard with Katie & James looking forward to what tomorrow may bring.

On the road to Withypool, well just a brief stop!!

Fwd:

Pete

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Colin Lewis <oldthumper@hotmail.com>
Date: 1 September 2011 08:54:36 GMT+01:00
To: Ken Dobson <kenneth_dobson@hotmail.co.uk>, petelewis@btinternet.com

Day 3?

The alarm went off at 7.30 after a good nights sleep. Breakfast was duly delivered to our room and after this we left on the A39 towards Bude. It was a bit of a slog but we eventually arrived at Stratton where we had lunch at the pub. There was a notice up about a funeral taking place with a picture that wad the spitting image of the Landlord! Having repleted ourselves we set off again on the A388 where a moronic agricultural tractor driver attempted to kill Colin, fortunately the idiot was unsuccessful! Struggling on we turned onto the B3227 to GT Torrington after some very severe hills we made it to our digs! Having showered and eaten at the Black Horse we ventured to the Cavalier also recommended by
Our host. It turned out to be a rock and roll bingo night! Needless to say we didn't stay long!

Cornwall behind us now all plain sailing, I wish

Day 3

As no coverage for Three yesterday, no Blog! However we did manage to get to Wadebridge by 6.30 ish checked in and retired to the Falcon for a small libation. About 50 miles of absolute purgatory. Then to bed