Keith's Big Bike Ride for Connor Diary CYCLE DIARY... Check this page each day from 09.06.2007 to follow my progress!! Click on the calendar link to see where I plan to be each day! Leave me a note on the Messages page, I'll have them read to me each evening when I ring my diary entry through!! Thanks for your support. Keef __________________________   24.06.2007 – Day 15 – Final day Bettyhill - John O’Groats 70 miles, average speed 12.7mph, total riding time 5.5hrs It’s now the final day, the end is near. It’s cold and very windy. Little bits of rain in the air. Funny how everybody is up really early today. I think we are all keen to get to the finish now, especially as this campsite is very basic! Breakfast was over and done with just after 8am, I had great plans of getting up early and going for a walk on the beach. To be honest at this stage I’m finding it hard to get enough sleep. I am feeling quite weary now. We had our ‘brief’ brief as todays ride was fairly straightforward, 60 miles following the coastline. The downside of this being that we had a headwind the whole way which can make it feel like a lot more than 60 miles! It’s really quite bleak in parts along this part of the route. I was trying to imagine what it would be like here before we got here. It was how I expected it to be. No rain though! That would be a total last day nightmare, headwind and rain. We pedalled past Dounreay power station after 22 miles, apparently there was a visitor centre there with food available but we decided to keep going to 30 miles. I am rapidly burning out today, I feel quite weak. I had shooting pains across the top of my shoulders from being in the cycling position for days on end and from the vibration through the bars. The great thing about Scotland is its scenery, the downside is the road surfaces! I could have done with a mountain bike for some of the road surfaces. Pot holes and coarse tarmac. Hey, I’m almost there though! We stopped at Thurso, a little bakery for some lunch where we had a sarnie and hot choc. It was Sunday and there was only one guy working there, I think we bombarded him a bit! He kept his cool though. It was a good rest stop. After this break I was still feeling quite lethargic and needed chocolate or something sweet. Abbey gave me a bag of Jellybabies! They went down quick and didn’t even hit the sides! Then I went to the co-op for a big bar of chocolate. This is the day where I gave in the my body! The next 10 miles after this stop I felt wasted. I was riding with Dave, Andy, Matt, Big Andy, Jeff, Abbey and Phil. I sat at the back using the others as a wind barrier. I know it goes against every rule of cycling but the chocolate had not kicked in! There was an option at Dunnit where you could take another 7 miles off to see Dunnit Head which Jeff and I decided to take. Or you could carry on to John O’Groats along the mainroad. We cycled up to Dunnit Head, it was well worth it. There was lots of bird life up there. Puffins paragliding right about our heads. It was incredible. We got about 3 metres away from the Puffins on the cliff face. We had a cheesy picture taken at the stone which marks the most northern point of the UK. Jeff’s nickname was Steady.  We could see John O’Groats right along the coast line and we were also looking over at the Orkney Islands. There was even some blue sky in the distance. We got back on track onto the mainroad and headed the last 15 miles with a strong headwind. We were both feeling it and we rode side by side so we had equal wind resistance! 2 man attack. As we got closer to John O’Groats the sky got bluer. The wind didn’t ease up though, it was very fresh! We got to John O’Groats village and did the usual cheesy picture thing and took a left at the Seaview Hotel and then straight down to John O’Groats to the ‘finish’ line. We were greeted by a glass of champagne! After 10 mins of congratulating each other there was one more place I wanted to go. Duncansby Head is the most easterly point of the peninsula, it was well worth the additional 4 miles. There was a massive blue sky looking over to the islands and amazing powerful seas. I sat for half an hour getting my head around what I had just achieved! Thanks Enos for the tip. I really enjoyed it there. I’d done it! Total distance according to my bike computer 1050miles. Total distance of the ride plus all the training I did before hand is 2576.4 miles. 23.06.2007 – Day 14 – Wet start, great finish - mileage 76.8 miles, average 13.7mph, total riding time 5hrs 35mins. From the campsite rain all the way through the day, started off with a climb into the clouds, but very gentle. We were all completely soaked after about 30 mins riding. Some prepared more than others! Me somewhere in between. It was like standing under a waterfall in all your clothes. I hooked up today with Dave, Andy, the other Andy, Matt and our Uncle Phil. A great bunch to ride with. A good steady pace. We all had plenty of laughs along the way. Dave has a thermometer on his bar bag (how cool is that?!!) at one point it was reading 6 degrees centigrade.  Not really the weather for shorts! We stopped for elevenses and had some hot chocolate at Shin Falls and a nice slice of cake. (at this point during Keef’s diary entry other riders are spraying his tent with water and he is now yelling at them cos its leaking. Sian) From there and Lairg we then pedalled across an open moor complete with usual headwind and sheet rain. Our lunchtime stop was at a fantastic pub called the Crask Inn which was in the middle of the moor.  Its just as well we stopped here cos there was nothing else for miles after. Even though the weather conditions were poor we still managed to average between 15-20mph, all taking turns at the front. Great bit of team work today. I really enjoyed it as it was a really nice group to be with. Just before getting to Bettyhill which was a fantastic ride Big Andy went to hammer it up a hill and as overtook me his chain snapped and he went ploughing into the tarmac! He was fine though but I was worried cos he didn’t have his helmet on (Bad Big Andy) but he didn’t hurt himself, though he did bend his top quality carbon fibre brake and gear levers (v expensive!!). We managed to take a couple of links out of the chain and shorten it so he had to ride the rest of the way back in a lower gear. Thankfully his only injury was a scratches knee and some bruises. He still can’t be persuaded to wear his helmet. We coasted back to Bettyhill, all smiling and very happy to reach the campsite. As we rolled up the rain had stopped and the clouds were not looking to cross. Even though no blue sky anything is a bonus after the weather we have had today! We got to Bettyhill at about 4:30, we all went to the pub to have a drink. Whilst being in the pub the local news and weather came on and tomorrow the weather is looking pretty good. The roar of cheering was like football match! It was great. A good day riding, very good spirits, a great beach and a fantastic meal. I am now digesting poached salmon and fruit salad for pudding and I’m ready for bed. Everyone is turning into their tents by 10pm. Last day tomorrow, saw a sign for John O’Groats today! I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a steady day. 22.06.2007 – Day 13 – 77.7 miles, average speed 12.9mph, total riding time 5hrs, 59mins. In midgey city we have rain, not too heavy but always sounds worse from inside the tent! When it rains I want to just curl up and sleep for a bit longer, this morning when I poked my head out the door everyone else seemed to be pretty much packed up already. Got my waterproofs on and went and had brekkie before I took the tent down. I thought the midges wouldn’t like the rain but they seem to love it. Problem is they are so small you cant see them and so they eat you alive. After breakfast no-one hung around for the brief as everyone wanted to get moving to avoid being eaten alive. Almost everyone was gone by 8:30. I rode with the Cambridge Crew today. I decided to wait at a juncton about a mile in to do some stretching and they caught me up. The first half of the ride was quite low cloud. After 7 or so miles we were on some cinder trails though a forest, at this point I wished I was on my mountain bike! Ruby and I managed ok though. Most of the Cambridge guys took the off road route too. It was either that or a busy main road. The only downside to the offroading was a small cut in the back tyre, it has not totally pierced the tyre and fingers crossed it will make it to the end. I’ve got a spare though if needs be. So no hard left hand cornering! Back on the main road we followed the route along the Caledonian canal towpath for a couple of miles before getting onto the A82 to a place called Augustus. This was home to Loch Ness. We had superb weather for our lunch stop (see piccies) it felt like summer for a moment! From there we followed the coast of Loch Ness with a headwind. It was a very busy road indeed too. Lots of very considerate drivers though for a change (no V signs or horn beeping!). I didn’t manage to get any pics of the loch as it was so windy I wanted to get my head down. I didn’t feel it was the right day for that perfect picture. From the road it didn’t really do it much justice. Next stop off was Brumnadrochit and I had a sarnie and a cuppa. We then had a 15% climb for 2 miles across, which led to some soft gentle undulating hills. The rest of the ride had a fairly hefty headwind. The second half was pretty hard work all the way to Evanton. I got into the campsite at Evanton and a fair few of the group were already in, I was about three quarters of the way through the group. After leaving the Cambridge guys at lunch time I rode the rest of the way with Adrian one of the tour leaders. Nice pace mate. I need to learn to climbs hills like that, my legs were burning I couldn’t keep up! We were on even ground too cos he’s got a double chainset like me, no grannie gear! Man of steel. Hey, he is driving the van tomorrow though while I continue to cycle! Not a bad job hey?! When I rolled into the campsite with Abbey and Richard and proceeded to put my tent up. Got halfway and decided to have a chat with Uncle Phil. He is now calling me son! Had a laugh with him, he told me a story about when he got stuck head first down a man hole when he was clearing about his drains!! He had to be pulled out by his legs! I nearly wet myself laughing at him. Met 4 guys on the campsite who are doing the ride the other way round, they have just finished uni and are going John O’Groats to Land’s End. All really nice guys doing the ride independently with their pannier bags! They all live in Cornwall. They assured me I have a couple of easier days ahead. Thanks for the phone charger guys. Just been down the pub for dinner and now am trashed and am going to bed at 10pm. The clouds have rolled in and its freezing here now. Good night. 2 days to go! 21.06.2007 – Day 12 – Broken Sleep!! - 80 miles, average 13.1mph, total riding time 6hrs. 1:55am – Fire alarm is going off. Should have stayed in a tent after all. Turns out there was no fire either. Didn’t take me long to get back to sleep though. Then woke up properly at 7am. Feeling really odd to be in a bed again! Also I was on the top bunk which was even weirder! Had breakfast in a kitchen rather than in a Gazebo. Had our ride briefing and finally got going around 9am. Yesterdays 10 mile sprint finish was not such a great idea as my legs and backside are really tight and I tried stretching to loosen it all out. Didn’t really help that the first 8 miles of todays ride was a climb. Well worth it when we got to the top though. I sat in a layby and spent 15 mins stretching.  Probably looked like I was doing a spot of yoga to all the coach tours passing by.  I took in the view and the clear blue skies and then decided to carry on. Didn’t see many others until about a quarter of the way through the ride. I couldn’t really get into it today, the route was great and the scenery amazing but I couldn’t get moving. I felt like I was on a conveyor belt getting pulled through the valleys. About 30 miles into the ride I started bumping into the others. They had just had their elevenses when I caught them up. I stopped for mine a bit later than them, I pulled off the route and they carried on. I went to a village shop in a village called Connel off the A85. There was an article in the paper today about the guy Stuart who died last week on the ride. From that point on I dedicated the rest of today’s ride to Stu and tried to be positive. I got my head down and turned the pedals but obviously made sure I took in the view. I was searching for somewhere to eat at around 50 miles, there was not much about until I saw a signpost for Glencoe at 55miles. Glencoe is off the route but I decided to take a small detour. This is where I made up the few miles I missed out on at Day 4 when I had the wheel problems. I found a nice little café, I walked in wringing wet, yes the sunshine had turned to downpours again! We even had a bit of thunder. It’s fine though, I am waterproof. I could have filled my waterbottles up with the water I wrang out of my gloves alone! I had a crusty brown roll, tea and a flapjack. This was going to make up for the weather. By the time I finished and got back on the bike the rain had stopped. I got a great picture of Glencoe. Now heading towards Fort William another 25 miles to go. Now this was a great ride but very busy roads as I was now riding in rush hour traffic. Minibus, lorry, minibus, lorry, lorry, van, big lorry, bigger lorry, minibus! My heart was fluttering a bit as I was kind of getting swept along. I had all my hiviz and flashing lights on though! I cruised all the way to Fort William and got to the bike shop within 10 mins of closing time. My mission was to get some waterproof socks but they didn’t have any. Saw a couple of the other riders in there, they were showered and ready to go out, that’s how far behind I was today! But hey, I was in no rush. Went to the campsite and set the tent up. By now the sun was shining and it was hot again. Midges all over the place. I’m now at the campsite, right at the foot of Ben Nevis, somehow, it doesn’t really seem real! I don’t have to pinch myself though cos the damn midges are doing a good job of it already. I made a trip to the laundry room to get my clothes cleaned and dried. I even got the cycling shoes dried too (see pics!). I also had a shower and went into town on my bike with a BIG padlock for the bike! First port of call was a highly recommended chip shop (Thanks for that Andy). They were great but I skipped the haggis this time. After that I cycled through town and found an internet café. The café was called One World Internet Café, ran and owned by Dan Taylor. Thanks for letting me put my precious bike in the shop mate! From there headed back to tent, now it was midge city. I got straight in the tent, no hanging about, everyone is having conversations from inside their tents, zipped in, no one dares to venture out! Got a few posties done and I’m about to hit the sack. It’s 11:20 and its still daylight! 20.06.2007 – Day 11 – A long day! Mileage 80.9miles, average speed 11.8mph (sleepy head), total riding time 6hrs 49mins. Pitter patter pitter patter. I think someone moved my tent and placed it under a waterfall. After yesterday getting into Glasgow with the sun still shining, the good weather ended there. Woke up this morning and we had heavy heavy rain. Everybody was hanging around in their tents, no one wanted to get up! I decided to put my full wet weather gear on before I even left then tent cos I knew as soon as I get out I’d be drenched. Even my over shoes were on and I was not even cycling yet. We all had breakfast and it was about 9:30 by the time we got on the road. The rain was beginning to ease a little by this point. The first 25 miles of the ride was urban riding through Glasgow. This was a courier day for me. It was good, I really enjoyed it, the only downside was the broken lager and cider bottles scattered all over the cycle paths. This is where the off road riding skills come in. After getting out of the city, which by this point was past lunchtime, we headed out toward Loch Lomond, where we stopped for lunch at about 2pm. We found a nice little shop on the corner which made some fresh sandwiches. Almost 30 miles in and the riding is just starting, the countryside was opening up to wide valleys. As I climbed into the valley, I kept bumping into others on the ride but I decided to do this bit solo. I bumped into the Cambridge Crew a couple of times. Between 36-55 miles I was in a bit of a daydream pottering along beside the lochs and taking in the scenery and feeling a bit shattered. Good news though was no rain! I had a wolf whistle as I was riding along a road, I didn’t think anything of it until Tim came screaming up along side me! He told me there was a long climb coming up.  Tim and I decided to make the climb at speed, not that I’m competitive or anything. We climbed the long road through the woods up the side of the valley (see pics) to be welcomed by lots of rain on the way and some big big lorries! I had the brightest jacket so I stayed at the back, until the end where I tried to burn ahead but I ran out of energy! It was amazing at the top at Rest-and-be-thankful. Down the other side we had 40mph for about 2 miles. Until my fun came to an end when I lost one of my undershoes which was shoved under my saddle. It went flying away in the wind. I managed to retrieve it! On the way back to get my over shoe some of the other guys saw me heading back up the downhill stretch and thought I was going up for another go! I’m not that keen! The guys waited for me at the bottom once I’d saved my overshoe! Now we were 12 miles from the end, I should have been feeling really wasted but I actually felt really charged up. At this stage we had been cycling for 6+ hours. About 11 miles to go and there was a group of us consisting or me, Tim, Ollie and Adrian. The last 10 miles we put the toe in and did 20-25 mph the whole way back. I think everyone had a good go on this bit on the way back, it was right along side the Loch of Inverary. Got back at 7:15ish, and tonight found we are staying in a youth hostel cos the campsite is closed. Prison style beds. I was just about getting used to the tent as well. Tweaked the bike a bit as brakes and gears were a bit worn out. Had a shower and went out and had bangers and mash for tea. On the way to the pub, we saw the most perfect rainbow over the Loch, I tried to take a pic, see photos page. I’m now feeling quite saddle sore. Just got back from the pub and found out there is internet access at the hostel so I’ll be able to check out my website myself!  Day 10 - 19.06.2007 - A Tough Day – Mileage 85 miles (yawn!), average 14.5mph, total riding time 5hrs 51mins. Now were in Scotland, we were staying on a football field last night just off the A74. Had some rain this morning about 6am, luckily it was only about an hour. Unfortunately, the grass had not been cut on the campsite and it was rather long. Looking out the tent door everyone was wading through it and complaining about their wet shoes! It was nice to lay on, like a mattress! Oh well another morning packing the tent away wet! As I got out of my tent this morning my legs were rather stiff, think it must be the hammering they have taken in the last 2 days. By the time I walked to the showers and back (about a mile!) they had loosened up though. Started packing my stuff up and lost interest when I saw breakfast was ready. Not that I needed much to eat after the feast I had the night before. I had muesli, with added raisins and sultanas, fresh strawberries, and yogurt on top. I then had 2 big wedges of bread, peanut butter and a cup of tea. I felt quite full. By the time I finished packing all my stuff away everyone else had gone, it was not even 9am. Rich has damaged his knee from our ride yesterday, think I must have put the knee curse on him! Sorry mate! Tim and I started riding together this morning, the first 15 miles was on an A road along side the motorway. Very long, with a headwind, the ride didn’t really get going til we turned off and headed toward a small town called Moffat. On the way there Time left me standing and ripped the tarmac up infront of me. It was at this point I felt I was not going to be going as fast as yesterday. The man was on a mission so I left him to it! When I got to Moffat I managed to catch everyone up as they were having their elevenses. I picked up a couple of postcards. I managed to get an ‘owe do’ out of some locals (see todays pics!), we were talk of the town! Everyone was very friendly. Moving on from Moffat at 22 miles, the next stop was Biggar at 52 miles. Between these 2 places was almost like an alpine climb, 5 miles long and really steady. Really enjoyed this part of the ride, I flew up the hill. Going down the other side there was such a head wind that I had to pedal down for another 7 miles. Pedalled all the way to Biggar for lunch in a tea shop. This point I was pretty wasted. I thought it was just hunger but I think it was actually a bit of exhaustion. I had a jacket spud with tuna mayo, chocolate cake and as always a cup of tea! I headed off, my lunch took a long time to kick in. Fuel just was not having an effect today. I felt like an old petrol engine someone had filled up with diesel! I started to get a bit of muscle fatigue in my legs at around the 65 mile mark. Lets say the rest of the ride was a bit of a battle! Riding solo just focusing on the road. Now today it really did feel like I was working hard. All the way to the Borders of Glasgow and luckily managed to meet up with some guys 7 miles from the end so I coasted to the campsite with them. Just a quite bit of courier pedalling through the traffic and we all arrived at the campsite. Feels really strange to be in concrete city again. Quite like being surrounded be fields! Everyone is feeling the same I think, they all look a bit spaced out, though I think the 85 miles we just cycled have something to do with it! Any hey – no rain! I’ve got a great cyclists tan on my arms too. Dunno how though cos its been freezing today! Maybe its just a bit I missed in the shower (campsite showers etc!). I knocked up a bit of pasta on the camp stove, everyone else went to the carvery. I’m just having a cuppa (another one?!?) and I’m writing the postcards I bought in Shropshire (!). Gonna have an early night as another 80+ miler tomorrow,  Day 9 - 18.06.2007 – A Fast Day! - mileage 73miles, average speed 15.5mph, riding time 4hr and 40mins. Today was a flying day. Over breakfast Rich from Brackley, asked me if I wanted to ride with him so he became my riding buddy for the day. After yesterday getting back so early, everyone seemed to set off early this morning to get a head start! We were among the last to leave the campsite but we were soon catching everyone up. I don’t know if the wind was behind us or if I just had a really good nights kip! We were flying! The first 25 miles we were bombing along between 20-25mph. The ride today was mainly along a valley beside the Pennines, north of Carlisle, right through to the Scottish border line. We only managed to find one sign announcing we were in Scotland, as we actually crossed the border on a tiny country lane and there was no official sign there. Harry took a picture of us next to the sign! Good lad Harry! As we crossed the border the sun came out. Off with the thermals, just in my jersey now! Lets work on that cyclists tan! After that it was plain sailing to the campsite! Can’t really say much more about the ride except that it was fast and along lovely sweeping roads! Compared with yesterday today was a walk in the park! Hardly any hills at all and the added bonus of a tail wind. A cyclists dream come true! Now the aim of today was to get back to the campsite at a sensible time as I was meeting up with some relatives of Sian’s, Jean and Geoff. On their route from their home in the North Lakes they kindly stopped in Carlisle to get me some essential supplies. A new chain, as mine was slipping, and some new brake pads as I have worn mine out! Also, they brought me some more toothpaste! I met them at the campsite at 5:30, I could have hung back a bit more as I arrived at the campsite at 2:45!!! Time to nip to the pub for half a Guinness! I’m becoming quite a hardened drinker now. While I was having a shower at 5:00, Dave came running up to the shower block shouting ‘Keef, your supplies are here’, Jean and Geoff had arrived! I made my way back to the base camp and they were having a cuppa with the gang and having a good old chat. After that we went to the local hotel and had a lovely meal. Thank you very much Jean and Geoff for the meal and for visiting and bringing my supplies.  I have a full on support crew! After the meal Jean and Geoff headed home and I returned to the tent to fit my new chain and brakes ready for tomorrow. Tonight I have the lovely sounds of the M6 in my ear to help me drift off to sleep. Day 8 - 17.06.2007 - Another Ace Day – Milage 56.6miles, average 12.5mph, total riding time 4hrs 20mins. Start of the day, no rain once again! Well, that was to begin with! Made more of an effort to get the tent put away quickly so I could have a proper breakfast today. As we were eating brekkie the heavens opened once again. I ended up setting off around 9am. The days ride was around 55 miles and I had been told it was quite hard, very hill, lots of valleys and long steep climbs. Sounds like a perfect day to me! I decided today was going to be a solo ride. I set off at what I thought was the back of the group and I had to go into town first to get some cash out. As I worked my way up the first hill, I realised it was an absolute killer. This was meant to be my warm up hill! As I climbed there were others resting along the way, I wanted to keep going and make it to the lunch stop with out too many stops. Today was all about the scenery, on the brief first thing we were told there was lots of wide open spaces and amazing views. I was on a mission! At the brief the ride was described as undulating, it was more like a roller coaster! The knees are going to have to just put up with it cos I was enjoying myself too much! The funny thing is, as hard as the climbs are I always love the whiz down the other side so its always well worth it! At the top of the first climb I took my first photo of the day looking back down the hill. There were a few hi viz jackets in the distance, not sure if you can spot them in the photo! From there I carried on climbing, in total it ended up being a 30 minute hill! Well worth it though a I blasted down entering in to North Yorkshire on the way! I skirted Skipton and up to the northern Dales. Some of the other riders in the group took an alternative route to avoid some of the big hills. I made it my mission to make sure I caught them up as they planned to join the official route around halfway at Dent. I didn’t see another cyclist for about an hour and eventually I saw 3 spots in the distance. I pedalled hard to try and catch them. Finally getting closer I realised it was 3 mountain bikers on a Sunday ride. I did the classic thing that really annoys me when I’m on my mountain bike… Imagine pedalling like mad up a hill on your mountain bike, and suddenly you hear heavy breathing behind you, you look over your shoulder and think, this cant be happening! To make it worse, it’s a skinny little roadie in full lycra! Yes… that was me today! Having full respect for the mountain bike though, it did feel good to go whizzing past! Sorry guys! After that I descended down into Dent on some really fast country lanes. I think max speed was 39.1mph. The great thing about wiggly lanes is that the cars cant catch you cos bikes actually go faster than cars in that circumstance! Down into Dent I rode along the cobbles, and found the lunch stop, a little café. My bike was at home on the cobbles, apparently it was designed for the streets of Paris. Parked right outside the café was a sparkling road bike. I was about to meet my local rider of the day! Got taking to the bikers owner who was out on his 70 mile Sunday ride. We then proceeded to cycle along the valley to Dent station where I was on my own once again. I then embarked on the hardest climb of the whole ride so far. I was pedalling that slowly that I could actually hear the chain creaking! I prayed it would hold out! Same went for my knees… I climbed up to 1750ft. Past Dent Station which is the highest station in the UK. After making the climb all the way I felt very chuffed cos I’d been told in the briefing I’d probably end up getting off and walking. I was buzzing big time. Helped along by my energy drink! Along the top ridge and the decent was AMAZING, so much so that I fried my back brakes. Getting to the bottom of the ridge, smiling my head off, looking around me and taking in the views and clean air. Life’s pretty good. Hey, only 20 miles to go now today. Mostly downhill too. At this point I looked at my watch and realised how well I was doing for time. After keeping such a great pace all day I didn’t want to give up now so I carried on ploughing along and rode over the Cumbria border and down through the valley which I stumbled across today’s animals! Some lovely cobs (see pictures!). 5 miles to go to Kirkby Stephen, my camp for the night. I was now being rained on but it was only 2:35, even the support crew don’t get to the campsite til 4pm! I decided to hang around and make a start on sending today’s photos as this is quite a slow process! After my malt loaf and some photo messaging a local lad who’s doing the ride with me, and one of the guys who took the alternative route, Dave and his gang turned up. Their faces dropped, they couldn’t believe I was there already! We all went to the tea shop for a hot crossed bun to wait for the support crew. Really must do some postcards soon. Really pleased with today, had a fab day. Must have been last nights refried beans for tea. The wind was behind me all the way! Day 7 - 16.06.2007 - Awesome Day Mileage 65.3miles, average speed 11.8mph, riding time 5.5hrs. After a night watching over base camp in what I would like to call the penthouse suite (minus doors!), I slept really well surprisingly! Solid rain all night, and only ended up with the bottom of my sleeping bag a bit damp. Everyone was really envious that I was being the boy scout for the night! The day started off with a little bit of rain, but the day was looking promising and MUCH better than yesterday. We made a start on the road a little after 9am, fantastic first part of the ride, awesome country lanes, just the stuff to get me warmed up. It felt like the equivalent of a Sunday’s ride. After about 20 miles it soon became suburbia, we had 15 miles of built up industrial area, lots traffic and lots of people and really really really crap drivers (you know the sort, those that race past you in 2nd gear to ge by, only for you to overtake them at the next traffic lights!). First stop of the day elevenses for a bacon buttie and tea, with Andy, Matt, Abbey and Len. We were at the back of the crowd today.  Apart from the shocking driving and near misses with cars and lorries all was going really steady, purposefully reserving energy for the middle section of the ride where we knew we had a big climb. Before this climb which was at about 40 miles we stopped off for lunch at an old converted chapel/tea room. I had the best ever jacket spud, scones and tea. From there I let the other guys go ahead, I was going to catch them up. But just as I was about to go I spotted a fellow cyclist having a pot of tea and some cake behind me. I said hello and we had a 10 min chat, the guys name is Joe. Lovely fella too. Even threw £10 my way for Connor’s fund. After leaving Joe I started my climb up onto the moor. After all this easy riding this climb was a killer! This is the point of the ride where my knees were hurting. I’m trying to learn to work with it. When I got to the highest point I had a well deserved sit on the grass. From that point I could see the whole of Morecambe bay and Blackpool tower and the edge of the Lakes. I really feel like I’m getting somewhere now. The sky is so big up here! At this point I just took a big breath and felt so chilled out. I feel like I have wound down and this is beginning to be a holiday! Believe me though, I’m glad I’m not in Blackpool! After about 5 mins, another 2 cyclists (local riders) came tanking up the hill. I managed to shout to the guy to get him to confirm it was Blackpool Tower I was looking at. He stopped and we had a chat.  The couple were called Nick and Kate, just out on a Saturday afternoon ride. I cycled along with them for about 7 miles, even stopping at the pub! A really good chat and a laugh. They did part of my ride with me before they turned off to head home and I carried on through the last 25 miles of my day. I didn’t see anyone else from the group for the last part of the day as I was at the back, but hey, I don’t care! I’m on holiday! I eventually rolled in to the campsite at 6:20. When I got back to the campsite all the other guys had thought I’d had another bike failure! Apparently they left me a voicemail but my phone is off. Decided after such a great chilled out ride that I wouldn’t go to the pub and I’m having another camping meal on my trusty stove. Tent up, tarp out, tea on! Excellent! 15.06.2007 - Day 6 - Steady Pedalling, but a sad day… 68.9 miles, average speed 10.3mph, total riding time 6hrs, 39mins. First mission of the day was to clean bike chain and gears cos yesterdays it got so clogged from all the crap on the road. Saw Siân, Nicky and Tony last night, which was great, they brought my some different pedals and shoes to help with my knee problem. Fitted those this morning, by which time there was not a great deal of breakfast left! Greedy lot had eaten it all! It rained all night long, it just finished by the time I set off. Started out steady with the Cambridge roadie crew. Ride was going good but slightly chilly today, even with my leg warmers on! But hey good news – no knee support! Still feeling pain in the knee though, just have to do first few miles nice and steady and not put too much pressure on going up hills. We had lots of rain the night before which meant the roads were full of muck and mud, cruising down a long lane and after about 10-15 miles or so we came round a blind corner to a helicopter and paramedic car with flashing lights. It was one of our guys unfortunately. Firstly I thought he’s slipped on the poor surface and lost it on the corner, I really wish that had been the case. He was one of 2 brothers on the ride form Scotland and he actually died of a heart attack. All we know is that he died instantly. After the tragic news everyone rode in silence for at least 20 miles. There was nothing to say. The Cambridge guys wanted to up the pace a bit today, I totally wasn’t feeling up for it with my knee situation and after the bad news so I rode with Abbey who was really upset about what happened and needed some company. We cruised the rest of the ride, taking it nice and easy stopping every 15 miles. Apart from the odd lane being flooded most of the riding was fantastic if sombre. The last hour of the ride we had torrential rain, but lucky I had my waterproofs in my glorified basket (bar bag!). We rolled up to the campsite at about 7:20. At this point it was hammering it down with rain, all I wanted was a shower and my tent. Everyone was heading down the pub but I wanted to cook on the stove with the amazing food that Siân brought for me last night! I couldn’t be bothered to put the tent up in the lashing rain, luckily next to where I was going to set up was a kiddies play house with a slide coming off it, I’ve got my thermorest and sleeping bag set up in there after checking for leaks!! Even room to stand up in the morning to get dressed! All the other campers are jealous! All you need is a sleeping bag and a woolly hat! (See photos!). 14.06.2007 - Day 5 – A Good Day! Covered 70.4 miles today, averaging 11.9mph, total cycling time 5hrs 53 mins. PERFECTION! Today everything went great, the ride started off flat, my knee was a bit sore for the first 20 miles but it seemed to ease up as the day went on. Back wheel is a beauty! I hung out with a group of roadies todays, Lawrence’s mates infact and a guy called Tim. A great bunch to ride with, loads of laughs all the way.  Weather started off with rain from the moment I woke up in the tent, but hey, it is Wales! It wouldn’t be the same without a spot of rain! After all that stress yesterday today feels like the best day. We worked our way up through Herefordshire, over rolling hills and through narrow lanes, as we rode in a pack we all shared the directions so lots less pressure to find our way individually! We had a fair bit of rain but it really didn’t seem to matter! We had a tea stop at 20 miles and a lunch stop at 40, where I took my knee strapping off cos it was really tight, I thought I’d try without it. It felt pretty good. The group broke up towards the last 10-15 miles. It all went really well, only downside being that we got soaked! Bikes look like we’ve been off roading! The gears were slipping a bit due to grime off the road. I tried to be careful with my time today, I wanted to get back in reasonable time. Got into the campsite at about 5pm. Welcomed by yet more rain and a nice cuppa and some biscuits! Sian, Tony and Nicky came to visit me today, which was great. They had a nightmare journey over, massive tailbacks, seriously heavy rain pretty much the whole way too! They brought me some essential supplies, peanut butter, ibuprofen cream for my knee and some new pedals (think current pedals too fixed and that’s whats causing knee prob). Still raining when I waved bye to Sian etc, and its still raining as I drift off to sleep in my tent!!! 13.06.2007 - Wheel Trouble! Day 4 – A bit stiff in the knee area so decided to sit back behind the group and take it easy. Started lovely across Somerset plains, the first 15 miles perfectly flat. Then we came across some cows on the road which I thought was great but not everyone was so amused! Then onwards to cheddar gorge. Stopped for a hotchoc and made the climb up the gorge, knee not too bad, amazing views and once the gorge out the way very gentle on the hill front. Got to a really amazing viewpoint over Bristol and stopped at a junction to have a look but had a slight pile up and someone cycled into me. Resulting in a buckled wheel, it wouldn’t even go round! Ian from the support crew managed to straighten it out enough for me to cycle. Made a few phone calls to organise a new wheel for tomorrow, worst case being Siân picking one up in Banbury and driving it to me. Started pedalling again and wheel folded again. I was going nowhere! Luckily not far from Gordano so could make some phone calls about the wheel. Contacted the group to let them know I was fine, by this point I was at the very back, its now 4pm and I have 35 miles to go today, and I should be back at campsite by about 6 – not likely! After help from 118118 I managed to find a wheel in a Bristol bike shop. They shipped it out to me by taxi only problem being it was 7:30pm by the time it arrived. In this time I got completely drenched, lucky having a good waterproof jacket! Finally got going around 7:45 and headed through Bristol towards the Avon bridge on the M5. Ploughed my way through Bristol doing a bit of urban riding paying close attention to my directions. At this point I have my buckled wheel strapped to my back flapping about! I was by now working my way towards the Severn bridge, I was starting to fade by this point so had some energy gel as a last resort. Its starting to get slightly dark as I approached Wales and its around 9pm by now. I couldn’t feel my knee at all cos I was concentrating so hard on riding. Now heading towards Chepstow I made contact with the support crew and they arranged to meet me at a pub which is 16 miles short of the campsite. I am now running out of daylight and only have a small emergency backlight. Straight up a long last climb past Chepstow racecourse and the pub is in sight, I arrived there at 9:45pm. Straight into the pub usual story, stopped serving at 9 for food. So explained my circumstances and they did me a special order. 10pm saw me sat with a pint of Guinness and a BLT and chips! I rediscovered my stomach. 10:40 my pick up arrives. Back to the campsite in the van at 11:20. Everyone asleep but Thanks to Dave from Teeside for putting my tent up! Straight into bed. 12.06.2007 - Day 3 - Knee Trouble... Early start this morning! I was out the tent by 6:20am, and the sun was out. After breakfast at the campsite we were on the road by 8:30am. This time decided to get in the front of the pack with mate Tim. We seemed to make good time and after 20 miles realised there were hardly any people around us. Maybe trying to make up for a little bit of yesterdays lost time. The morale today was great. So much so that I managed to overdo it and bust my knee (have not got easy enough gears, like Tim, must get another bike when I get home!). After sweeping and bending and hitting top speed of 40mph I had a rear blow out but managed to stop without crashing! After that swiftly got going again to Tiverton for a cream tea at Mallards! They even let us use their fine china! After leaving Mallards we headed through the Somerset countryside towards the Quantox hills which was a 30 minute climb, got to the top and found a nice spot to chill out for a bit and refuel with a banana and energy bar whilst soaking up some sunshine. Moving on from there down to Bridgewater to Boots for a knee support! Served by a lovely lady called Val who measured my knee! From there went to fab bike shop in Bridgewater and then onto the campsite to find out there are 3 of us with bust knees, they only had 2 rings on their chainsets too. Then headed down the pub! I was riding for 5hrs 21mins, total of 61.9miles, average speed 11.5mph. Also, found my heart rate monitor, someone handed it in, phew! 11.06.2007 - Day 2. today we crossed Dartmoor. I can safely say today was the hardest days cycling I have ever done. The riding was really difficult and due to manky weather and low cloud morale was quite low at some points. Only averaged 10.5mph, lots of time out of the saddle too as very hilly again. Had a slightly late start, I set off later than everyone else cos got up late (oops!), the ride was superb until the last 10 miles and then me and my mate got totally lost!   We were given directions by a local villager, which worked out much hillier than the main route! Will pay more attention to map tomorrow! So rolled into the campsite having ridden 72 miles. To top it off after having a shower I have lost my heart rate monitor. hope someone has handed it in and I can be reunited with it in the morning. I've just got back from the pub and done £1 worth of tumble drying! Gonna have a brew on the stove and then its time to kip! 10.06.2007 - Go to Photos/Keef's Big Bike Ride to view my first day's pictures! Thanks to everyone who has left messages! Today we cycled from the starting point at Land's End to Columb St Major. 57 miles, averaging 11.4mph according to my bike computer, total riding time 4 hrs 56mins. Met a really great group of guys today, all really good for the spirit! All the hard solo training was worth it cos riding in a group is so much easier. The ride itself today was an absolute killer! I didn't expect it to be as hilly as it was. The first part of the ride the hill were on my side, lots of downwards and lovely coastal views. The second half was high gears knee grinding pedalling (loads of looong uphills!). Back to the campsite to crash out and this is only day one! I'm just outside the tent making a brew on my stove and here comes the beginning of the rain, think its time for bed! 09.06.2007 - First night under canvas! After a long relaxing train journey I arrived in Penzance at approx 18:00. I cycled to the first campsite, taking the scenic route, the cornish hills giving me a taster of whats to come tomorrow! What have I let myself in for!! On arrival at the campsite I was met by the very friendly Bike Adventures Crew. I've had some fish and chips and met some of the other cyclists. I'm ready for my first night under canvas! 08.06.2007 - Today was my last day at work before the ride. I've had a really busy week fitting clients in before I go away. I'm now at the end of the week, it all suddenly feels real, the bike ride starts tomorrow! Just a bit of last minute packing to do, a quick trip to Tescos, a good nights sleep and me and the bike will be on the train at 11am tomorrow!