What's it all about?

At the end of September 2012 I completed a cycle from Portsmouth 2 Penzance a total of 273 miles! raising money for Children In Need is the Plan. This was also be a personal challenge for me as I haven't been cycling in over 25 years and that was only for fun nothing serious. On top of that have a prolapsed disc, was 46 years old and at the start of 2012 a bit over weight, well lot over weight really, since then I've lost nearly 3 stone! So I opted to do the big one, John O'Groats 2 Lands End on May 6th 2013. The End 2 End or P2P (point to point, as it's sometimes called ) around 1000 miles! This time I had company, Colin, a friend from work, who has said he is as mad as I am and would like to come! This blog contains that story....This event is in memory of the sad passing of my mum on 17th of April this year having lost her fight with terminal Bowel Cancer.

I guess you'd call it the sequel, I have decided it would be just rude not to go back the other way!!! so May 2015, with a new friend, Pete and with Dave driving a support vehicle ( luxury) we plan the classic Lands End to John O'Groats, also known as LEJOG
. Mad ? yes I think we must be.


Me, Colin, Pete and Dave ( Team Jogle4bc )

Me, Colin, Pete and Dave ( Team Jogle4bc )

Day 11 Great Torrington 2 Redruth

We were very gloomy at breakfast unsure of what the day will bring. It was to be a planned dash diagonal across from Great Torrington to meet the A 39 and then A 30, the route to the A39 I had in the bike computer but from then on it would be main roads and sign post readings as we had planned to go to Mawnan Smith today. The day started ok with manageable pain from both of us but slow as was quite hilly. We started in warm short sleeves and quite hot, the river looked beautiful at Great Torrington. Cautiously working our way up and down the hills, quietly passing into Cornwall at some point on a back road, no signs or fanfare just a flag flying to confirm our location. As we approached the A39 black clouds started to close in and the temperature dropped so much you could see your breath! Again , this is May right? Then the heavens opened, thunder lightening, we pulled in at Wadebridge for a hot drink, already drenched. We headed back out again into torrential rain more thunder and lightening and cycling up stream as, not for the first time, there were rivers running down the roads. I thought at one point I was hallucinating, as I saw a motor boat drive by! It really was one. Some sort of boat/car conversion, Colin saw it to, you just couldn't make it up! As we fought our way ever closer to Redruth, the weather began to give up trying to stop us and with only a few miles left to go the sun came out, as if the weather gods were saying, "ok you guy's, I give up, you're going to make it regardless of what I through at you, aren't you?".
I look skyward and shout out loud "HELL YES".
Just 35 ish miles tomorrow. I think Colin said we've done 985 miles so far. Again we can't thank you all enough for your messages of support, it's meant so much to us . X

Day 10 Cheddar to Great Torrington Belated

A hill too far!
Ok sorry for the delay. This day didn't start well, we we're both really tired even on the Somerset levels, which is how all roads should be built by the way, flat! We did see a great windmill and it was sunny. We did meet, on and off, a group of 4 MAMIL'S on a quest from Bristol to Lands End over 4 days and were able to take mutual "welcome to Devon" photos.  After that the problems started Colin's thigh was complaining, a lot! He was really struggling. Most days we have reached 30 miles to go and they have always been tough. Today the last 7 miles felt like 30. We came to a sign 15% downhill, use low gear, same going up the otherside. Tough. Shortly followed by the same again but 20%. Very Tough. Unbelievably less than a mile later 25%! First he downhill, which was terrifying! It was like the moment you go over the top on a rollercoaster, brakes on full hardly slowed you down, which we needed to do as the road was wet and in poor condition too dangerous to just free wheel. The uphill was a hill to far. We managed 3/4's but were beaten. We pushed the last 50ft or so, which was really hard and the only time we'd had to do this the whole trip, gutted. We arrived at Great Torrington totally dejected not sure if Colin could continue. It was a very somber evening.