60 cold bitter miles ! finally got out together for first long ride. quite hill course in places but all went well, no great speed or dramas : details here:

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/162349189?country=gb&lang=en&measure=imperial&o=course&fb_source=hovercard

KOM !....

Well, it's not a mountain but not likely to last long so just wanted to post a picture of me top of a leader board!

Blind panic......

Oh My Gosh ( no God so I don't offend and the shortened version OMG just wasn't enough)

Had email this morning from Flybe, please contact us your flight details have changed.

After 3 attempts to get through and on the last call 45mins of waiting I got through to be told

 " Ah Mr Christie, instead of flying at 07:00 the flight is now at 12:45..."  phew I asked "and what time does it get into Wick?" reply " oh, it's doesn't go there it stops at Edinburgh!"  What!!!!!!!!

They then add they might be able to put us up overnight and we can wait for the flight the following day to connect us from Edinburgh to Wick or change and fly us up the day after. 

I explained, in the calmest voice I can muster ( not very calm) "the day after will be no good as we start cycling that day ( explain the whole thing to her in a ranting gable of words, luckily she wasn't offended) "What about flying us up on Sunday 5th May?", " Yes sir we can do that, it's a more expensive flight but we can swap for the flight you already have booked for it for free " too blinking right  you can! ( luckily I was able to say that only in my head!) 

So now need to see if we can get an extra night at the first hotel. Not ideal but disaster avoided..... well for now anyway


New details

Ban the cycle path..!

A bit extreme you might say? Well let me tell just how dangerous they can be. The first problem is where they are put, generally right next to footpaths. So what tends to happen is people amble along the footpath and then just decide they fancy crossing the line and onto the cycle path. This usually happens when I'm approaching at 20mph, causing me to take sharp evasive action. It's a bit like wandering into lane one of the motorway, you just wouldn't do it would you? Well certainly not without looking, yet they all do it. Then they look at you as if you've tried to run them over! You would think a middle aged man dressed in bright yellow lycra would be easy to see, wouldn't you? Yet it appears to act as camouflage on a cycle path! Next is the dog walker, again I have nothing against them , I have a dog  myself. Yet trying to avoid one darting to and from the hedges in front of you is bloody tricky. That's off the lead, if they've got one of those extending leads, it's like serious garrotting time! I was so nearly taken out by both today! I think I'll take my chances with the traffic, its far safer than taking my chances with the public. LOL

The way the wind blows.

Why oh why does the wind always blow towards me! All last week when cycling to work along Southsea seafront it was into the wind. ( go home a different way) Yet today when I cycled home along the Seafront I was cycling into the wind again? It's just not on Mr Wind back it in!!

Go Colin Go

Colin's impressive effort into work today 34 miles. Whats more he did 17 miles home ... bet those legs are aching  

Vest Tops are here!

Vest tops arrive! Very exciting.... Not as exciting as a few more sponsors would be ;-) Now need a new Team Photo!

New poster design

For Colin's mum.

For Colin's mum... who assures me is much more excited about the ride than we are !
I think the penny is beginning to drop and Colin has started to extend his route to work as well. Although I rarely see his bike at work?..."Colin you sure you cycled this and haven't just driven it very slowly in the car!" LOL

Time	01:21:56
Elapsed Time	01:22:12
Max Speed	35.8mi/h
Avg Speed	14.3mi/h

My new short cut to work!

Managed to turn a 4.3 miles commute to work into a 18.5 mile ride with a large hill! The lengths we go to try and get fit for Jogle!

The Final B& B booked

At last the final confirmed booking for Cheddar.

So a recap:

6/5/13   Staying at Northern Sands ( Arrival day) Dunnet
7/5/13   Staying at Inverbrora ( First day of ride)
8/5/13   Staying at The Bank House  Fort Augustus
9/5/13   Staying at Strathfillan House Tyndrum
10/5/13 Staying at Free night at my sisters in Irvine
11/5/13 Staying at Premmier Inn Carlisle
12/5/13 Staying at Free night at Colins mum's in Blackburn
13/5/13 Staying at Free night at Eileen's (Auntie-in-Law if there is such a thing) in Nantwich
14/5/13 Staying at Abbey Hotel Tewkesbury
15/5/13 Staying at The Oak House Cheddar
16/5/13 Staying at The Knot Garden Great Torrington
17/5/13 Staying at Free night at Tina's (Mummy-in-Law) Mawnan Smith
18/5/13 Arrival at Lands End , via the Lizard, if all goes to plan!

Tweet tweet

Set up a Twitter account, to try and get a few more sponsors going. Have no idea what I'm doing really but will see how I get on. You can 'tweet' me here @jogle4me

OMG

Just 3 months to go ! Did 40 miles today and avg speed around 15mph but a long way to go yet

T-Shirts.. well Vest Tops

This is the final for the T-Shirt design, what do you think? ( They will be Vest tops actually so imagine with no sleeves ;-) )

You can comment here

http://www.facebook.com/Jogle4bc

Route Change part 2

Ok, I  changed the Hatherleigh end for Great Torrington due to B&B issues, this change is purely personal choice. The plan was the day before Great Torrington to end up in Weston-Supermare. The main reason was most other ways into North Devon were very hilly having to go over the Mendips, my plan was to stick to the coast and , well go round them. However the more I think about it the more I thought I really would like to cycle through Cheddar Gorge, so ( sorry Colin ) that what we'll do and end up staying in Cheddar instead. The other advantage of this route change is we not going as close to the centre of Bristol as before. Now to find the final B&B in Chedddar
Here's the new route

http://connect.garmin.com/course/2052840#

Am I in trouble? ...i've got a doctors note for that

I woke up this morning ( sounds like the start of a song doesn't it) Anyway, today was not such a good day for the old back. Started getting a few spikes of sciatic pain over the last few days and my shoulder has been giving me trouble for a long while. So time to break out the drugs again Naproxen, as i've been taken off the Diclofenac, as there's concerns of heart attacks with long term use.... now they tell me! Probably a good thing though as i'm sure i'll already be at higher risk having seen some of the hills on the map. Well, this led me to think should I contact UADA? (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) I don't want any of you saying i'm a doping cheat and calling me Lance! So I did some digging and can across this list:


http://www.theathlete.org/banned_drugs/index.html

where it states 

"This Product can be used for the following complaints/illnesses: inflammation, pain, anti-inflammatory, back-pain, tendinitis, arthritis" This is with the proviso "Disclaimer This list is a reference source for licensed medical products according to the latest IOC (International Olympic Committee) guidelines. Some food supplements are included, but verified information on ingredients of most supplements is very hard to obtain. Medicines and supplements may change in appearance, content and banned status from time to time, and some organisations may have more stringent rules for their own sport. If you are in any doubt, consult with your group medical officer." Well i've got a note from my doctor.....surely thats good enough isn't it?   ;-)

Route Change

Ok, there's been a slight change in course/route. I've been having really difficulties getting a B&B in Hatherleigh   which was the end stop of day 10( tried 3 either don't exist anymore or didn't get back to me ) So i've switch the route to end a little further north in Great Torrington and contacted a B&B there and bingo we're in. Only one place left to sort a B&B and thats Weston-SuperMare and that a case of spoilt for choice!

Made the news!

Well got a small article in todays Daily Echo. There is a small issue with article, as they have me doing it the wrong way round, as I'm going John O'Groats to Lands End but still hope it will generate a few more sponsors. Not sure the prolapse disc is entirely accurate as it's more of a disc bulge ( less serious ) but it still gets the old sciatic nerve going more often than i'd like!