Day 5 Sat 8th May Shrewsbury to Preston 86 miles

We set off from our 2 hotels in 2 groups in cool showery weather. Mike and I cycled with 'The Three Degrees' at the start and had fun singing and joking. Ed had ordered a new waterproof from the cycle shop in Shreswbury so was at the back. Jim - the guy from Hull tended to set off early and travel at a steady pace, consulted his directions and often made it through the towns quicker than others who took the wrong route. At the first coffee stop Mike decided to travel on with a faster group whilst I stayed with what became 'The Four Tops'! I decided that I might as well stick with this group and enjoy the scenery and laughs.
We met a guy (pictured left) who was running LEJOG with support from his wife in a camper van. Just after that disaster struck. we were enjoying the scenery of Cheshire when there was a big pothole over the brow of a hill. I was leading and avoided it shouting 'pothole' so that Ellen could avoid it, which she did. Unfortunately Siobhan who was right behind her went right in it and came off her bike. Steve was taking up the rear as usual and he crashed into Siobhan ending up in a heap in the road. Fortunately the car behind managed to stop in time and neither Siobhan or Steve were hurt - just shocked and briused in Siobhan's case. However her bike's handlebars were twisted and the bike unrideable (See pic). I rang our leader's mobile and one of the vans came and swapped her bike for the spare hybrid bike they had.
Looking back we may have been cycling a bit close together and looking at the scenery rather than the road, although we certainly weren't 'slipstreaming' like some do (Nigel and co for example). I personally like to keep a good distance between bikes and whilst I do warn the cyclist behind of potholes I don't see that it should be my responsibility to warn someone right on my tail of every little bump in the road.
We travelled through the towns and urban sprawl of Wigan and Warrington, with some rough areas and quite nice housing with neatly tended gardens and cherry trees in blossom, probably owned by rich retired Lancashire folk. I went on ahead of the 3 degrees for a bit after the crash, but then met up with them for the final leg to Preston where my parents (aged 85 and 86) were waiting, Dad with his video camera. They immediately went into parent mode and said something like 'Here's your key, you go up to room 101 and have a bath then meet us in the bar at 7pm' ...'Yes Mum'. So now I was getting orders from two higher authorities, the parent's trumping DA! Two of Mike's wife Jan's cousins were there also, and we had a good meal and enjoyed the briefing aftewards and jokes. I had a couple of drinks and felt pretty good. Mum had bought me on request some decent lycra long cycling trousers to replace my jogging bottoms which weren't up to the job. I also gained a new watch to replace my broken one and a red cycling jersey to match Mike's - Team Bradbury. Mum got some dirty washing in return! Thanks Mum - the Bradbury support team in action.

Day 4 Fri 7th May Tintern to Shrewsbury 90 miles

I didn't sleep that well but at least I'd finished my antibiotics and had a bit more energy than before. News of the election was that it was a hung parliament. The wind was still from the north but not too strong and the weather cool and showery. Mike decided to take some photos of Tintern Abbey after our stretching, so I stayed with him and set off at the back. We caught up Chris and Steve Huckle somehow and decided to call into Monmouth as Mike needed a new mobile and Steve some ibuprofen. Mike hadn't his wallet so I had to give him a loan. That took about half an hour and I phoned Jo to let her know of the delay. We cycled along fairly straight but hilly Roman roads in quite nice countryside and villages (pictured) up the Wye valley then across Herefordshire. We travelled through Hereford then had lunch the small village of Leintwardine.
Many of the group were still treating the challenge like a race or a test of personal endurance, which annoyed me a bit. There was however a small group at the back nicknamed 'The Three Degrees' as they were always singing, and they seemed to be having all the fun. (Ellen, Siobhan and Steve Hampshire). So I joined them for some of the day and did some backing vocals! I also cycled with Angela for a while - who was a but sore but in good spirits as ever!
Somehow after lunch I set off with Chris and we just about caught up with Nigel and co, then I lost them. Some stopped at Edward's sisters house, as Ed lived in Shrewsbury where he runs Wood's Brewery. I pressed on on my own not sure if I was on the right road, but following signs to Shrewsbury and came across the afternoon tea stop. Ed was supposed to be guiding the group into Shrewsbury and we all set off at a hairy pace through the outskirts of the town. I pedalled hard and shouted to Ed to slow down but I don't think he heard me. Anyway we all made it through the traffic to our two hotels. Mike and I were in one old hotel in the centre of town. Mike checked in gave me the key and sent me up some stairs with my heavy rucksack, whilst he sorted out his bike. I went up the stairs only to find that it was an empty hall so went back down the stairs to meet Ed who directed me up the correct stairs! Shall I go back to the cycle room first and tell Mike that his stairs are the wrong ones? Nah ... let him learn from his own mistakes I thought! He took the same detour ..oops. We were scheduled to eat at the other hotel and despite the fact we'd cycled around 90 miles Discover Adventure had booked taxis. I felt that walking would be better to loosen up, but got a lift with Ed's wife and son, who joined us for dinner.


After a good dinner and a drink or two people were talking about getting taxis back. I decided to walk - but everyone else seemed to be too tired, half crippled or scared of Friday night revellers.
Anyway I ended up in the Dun Cow pub which had an excellent band on called The Paul Parker Band, the main man being a white rasta who played a banjo like a lead guitar and a mixture of covers and their own stuff. I just had a pint and listened to their first set, talked to a local bloke about my ride and watch two stunning and rather drunk blondes dancing just in front of me! It took my mind off the cycling for a bit.

Day 3 Thu 6th May Tiverton to Tintern 98 miles

Had a good buffet breakfast then did our stretching exercises in the car park, as businessmen arrived for meetings. Today was also election day - so the towns were busy with voters. Soon after we set off on the busy A48 the heavens opened and our waterproofs were put to the test. Mine passed, but Mike found that his inside pocket where he kept his mobile got wet, and as a result his phone stopped working.

We had a coffee stop in Taunton at a polling station then carried on flat roads until a big climb over the western flanks of the Mendips to our lunch stop. Cheddar and strawberries were on the menu.

I got separated from a fairly fast group when I stopped to take off a layer as the weather warmed up, so cycled on my own for a bit, eventually meeting up with Nigel, whose son Ollie was having problems with an ankle. We had a tea stop at Gordano then had trouble finding the way over the Avon Bridge, and at one point met another group of us going in the opposite direction. We eventually asked for help from a kid in a hoodie on his BMX (or "chopper" as my brother called it). We offered him a fiver to show us the way which he accepted, but then when he found out we were doing LEJOG for charity he said add it to the collection - which was nice of him. Over the bridge we weren't sure of which way to go through Avonmouth and asked another BMX kid who took us through the town instead of the byepass.

It was getting quite late by the time we cycled over the old Severn Bridge, and we'd covered quite a few miles. We travelled along the scenic wooded Wye valley to the nice Royal George Hotel just north of Tintern Abbey pictured.

We had a good meal in the hotel and a drink or two, although I was still on antibiotics (last day) so didn't want to drink much (the medicine didn't say avoid alcohol though so I had a pint).

Day 2 Weds 5th May Liskeard to Tiverton 84 miles

Today was supposed to be the hardest day of the trip over Dartmoor. Fortunately the weather was fine and sunny and not too hot, although the forecast was for possible showers on the moor and there was a north east headwind. We wen't through our usual routine of an alarm call at 6.30am, cooked breakfast at 7am, followed by a few words from the team leaders (like don't forget to have waterproofs handy on the moor), then meet by 8am by the vans with luggage and stretching exercises. One van carried our 'day bag' which we could access at lunchtime and the other van carried our overnight bag, which did the morning and afternoon 'water stops' or 'coffee and afternoon tea' as I prefer to think of them.
We stopped for coffee by the side of a church in Tavistock (Mike in red pictured right) before our ascent up hills over Dartmoor. The incline wasn't too bad and we made it up relatively easily - although I was glad of my 'granny gears'. Mike's right knee was suffering a bit by then, having overdone it a bit on the first day - him being the more competitive one of us brothers. My knees were ok - and my sore throat had pretty well gone, although I was still on antibiotics and had quite a chesty cough, which I think was making me a bit more tired than usual. We got to know the team members a bit better either when cycling two abreast or at stops. However Mike's habit of chatting whilst riding up hills wasn't that popular with some, and he took the hint!

Picture to the left is of Eddy being followed by Alice. We had some nice rides over Dartmoor by the Prison (where DA Kenny used to be Governor ..or was he an inmate?), then onto our lunch stop of hot food, possibly pasta, that Kenny would make in the morning after shopping at a supermarket. Devonshire cream buns were on the menu I think, and it was mini Cornish pasties the previous day. After lunch there were a few more hills in rolling Devonshire countryside before we tackled Exeter and made it to Tiverton where we stayed in quite a good Great Western Hotel, with nice rooms and good food. That night Mike and I both had a back massage from one of Angela's friends who was providing her services (all above board I may add) for a charity donation. Kenny on the other hand was massaging legs for a free pint. The team were in good spirits after completing the so called hardest day, into a headwind without too much trouble.

Day 1 Tues 4th May Lands End to Liskeard 74 miles

We had a hearty breakfast and left Mike and Jan's house near Penzance with our two bikes on a bike rack. Arrived at Lands End to meet the others in the team who had stayed the night in St Just. We chatted and took photos near to the sign


including the photo left of the CLIC Sargent team, including Chris Martin in black on the right, who did the ride for the same charity, and Charlie's family to the left of me - in my high vis gear.

18 of us, composed of 12 men and 6 women started off (and finished) at quite a pace with the fit road bike team at the front. We were given a detailed map book and directions on sheets of A4 paper, however most seemed happy to just follow the crowd in the hope that the person at the front had read the directions and knew where they were going. Mike's work mates were going to follow us for the first 20 or so miles - but apparently they couldn't keep up with the pace! Mike and I were in the middle of the group with Eddy the brewer, Alice the army doctor and Jo ..I think. As Mike knows Cornwall like the back of his hand we got to the first coffee stop quite easily, to find that the group at the front had taken the wrong turn and gone down a big hill the wrong way adding about 10 miles to their trip!
Mike met up with some of his office and cycling mates - pictured left, then we pressed on through Redruth (although not necessarily the way DA had planned) to a lunch stop near Truro. There were some quite steep hills and Mike and I had totally different approaches to them. I get out of my saddle at when coming into the hill, cycle as far as I can like that then sit down and use a low gear to slowly get to the top, whereas Mike stays in quite a high gear all the way and is out of the saddle most of the time. I think my way is best!
Later in the day I decided that I didn't fancy trying to keep up with the fast pace of cyclists who seemed to be treating it like a race or endurance test from the start, so I dropped back a bit, and had my own Mars bar and pee stop before continuing on the A38 dual carriageway to Liskeard on my own, passing the turn off to the town as told and going on to the Premier Inn.

Mike it seems was leading a party of the 'fast team' and ended up going into Liskeard and getting a bit lost! Although one reason for this was that Lewis, our youngest and fittest member of the team had taken the wrong turn, and he thought they ought to follow him. Lesson for the day "more haste less speed".
The hotel was ok, although a bit noisy next to the road when you had the windows open. I was sharing a room with my brother probably for the first time in 30 years. We had hearty meals and a drink or two, although most of the team at that stage seem to be opting for soft drinks.

Day 0 Monday 3rd May Travel to Penzance

After quite a busy weekend involving a gig with my rock band in Cambridgeshire on Sat night, and suffering from a throat infection for which I was prescribed antibiotics for 7 days, I started by journey south. My bike and I were booked on the Paddington to Penzance 12.06 train along with quite a few others on the trip. I had planned to cycle between Euston and Paddington with my big rucksack on my back, but as I packed all my clothes I decided this was not practical, and so I persuaded my wife Nicky to travel with me the first leg of the journey to Paddington. I met Nigel, Ollie, Stuart and Alice at the station, then found myself sitting in front of Steve Huckle, whom I'd promised to sell my spare rail ticket to, I'd bought when the volcanic ash was bad ...little did I know it would return with vengance. We were amused and slightly shocked by an anouncement when leaving the station 'The buggy that has been left blocking the corridor has been removed from the train and can be collected from Paddington station' - how mean! We passed quite nice scenery in the sunshine and eventually reached the Devon coastline pictured. I knew that Alice was in first class so I wondered down the train after Exeter and got chatting. The girl sitting opposite then asked if we were cycling to John O'Groats, and it turned out she was Siobhan - and they'd been sitting without talking for about 3 hours.

I was picked up by Mike at the station. Apparently he'd met some of theDiscover Adventure team and asked 'What time are the other competitors arriving?' He got told off about this - 'it's not a race' - it took a few days for some of the team to realise this. We had a BBQ that night at Mike's house, despite it being a bit cold.

Updates to blog whilst travelling

You may have noticed the Twitter panel to the right. I've decided that my phone can't really cope with updating my blog using emails, so I'll just send text messages to Twitter when I get the chance and upload photos and more details reports at the end of the trip. If someone on the team is taking a laptop I might do a few updates. I'll probably post some pictures on Facebook, as my phone has quite a good Facebook app.

Training Week -1 The Final Countdown....

The week started quite well with a couple of trips to work in the sun, but then things went downhill a bit. Firstly the weather got showery and windy and secondly I developed a sore throat and cold from about Weds onwards and by Friday I could hardly talk. I phoned my doctor and he gave me a prescription for antibiotics. This seemed to help a bit and my throat is almost back to normal although I still have a cough and feel a bit run down. My band had a gig last night near Cambridge and I managed to do some backing vocals (and bass) even though I was having trouble talking! I've just done a 14 mile circuit up Ashridge in quite blustery weather. Tom's Hill seemed harder than usual because of my cold I think, but once I had got the old heart pumping the adreneline took over (or is it endorphine?) and I felt ok. Mind you it was mainly down hill from then on! The picture above is of bluebells in Ash Ridge near to Deer Leap.

I also stripped down my bike a bit, removing the luggage rack and bike stand and fixing fittings for a large wedge shaped saddle bag that is big enough to carry waterproof jacket and trousers, or an extra bottle of drink.

We're supposed to just do a few miles on bikes this week, so despite my bout of cold I still did enough.

• Mon - cycled to work 16 miles
• Tues - cycled to work 16 miles
• Weds - swam (band practice)
• Thurs - rest day - ill
• Fri - rest day - ill
• Sat - busy with band
• Sat - cycled round Ashridge and Marsworth 14 miles

Total cycled 46 miles. Weight 11 st 7 lb

Training Week -2

The weather was warm and sunny this week, so I cycled to work quite a bit. I did a 44 mile ride on the Saturday and didn't want to overdo it, as I had a gig with my band that evening and needed to conserve energy. I also started sorting out my kit - 5 pairs cycling shorts, 14 t-shirts etc, knee bandages, pain gels etc! My legs are feeling pretty fit with no knee twinges, stiffness or taught muscles, so I hope to keep it that way. I'll do pretty much the same next week except will only go for a short ride at the weekend. Off to Penzance on Monday 3rd May!

This week's diary:

• Mon - worked from home - 14 mile ride after work
• Tues - cycled to work 16 miles
• Wed - rest day - swam and band practice
• Thurs - cycled to work 16 miles
• Fri - - cycled to work 18 miles (back via sailing club)
• Sat - 44 mile ride to Great Horwood
• Sun - rest day - walk and allotment

Weeks mileage: 108 miles Weight 11st 8 lb.

Weather Outlook for early May

I've checked some long term weather sites again and forecasts for the UK in early May predict totally different things...
NetWeather says:
May "With low pressure currently expected to have more of an influence during May, current expectations are for a wetter than average month, with the potential for some very wet weather. Temperatures are expected to be close to average across much of the UK"
Weather Outlook says:
May: Temperature: Close to or slightly above average. Precipitation: Slightly below average
"The first half of the month is expected to bring a good deal of dry and fine weather, with temperatures climbing to above average values. Less settled conditions are likely at times, especially in the west, where showers or longer spells of rain are more likely."
There's a good chart here which looks hopeful http://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twoforecasts/17%20to%2030%2 0day%20outlook.aspx
Metcheck says:
23 Apr - 16 May "Again, a cool period usually, however the Atlantic starts to quieten down and winds from the North or East are very common whilst Westerlies are rare."
BBC Weather says:
Monday 3 May 2010 to Sunday 16 May 2010
"For the first 2 weeks of May, values of temperature, rainfall and sunshine are expected to be close to the seasonal normal. The best of the warmer and sunnier days are likely in the southeast, with northwestern areas more likely to see occasional wetter, cooler and cloudier spells."

So I'm packing waterproofs, t-shirts, sun cream and jumpers.