Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm Merv Howard, (bugsinthebeard), on YouTube and Instagram and on Tuesday 27th April 2021, I will set off from my home in Kings Lynn on a circumnavigation of the entire coast of the UK, clockwise, England, the Isle of Wight, Wales, Scotland and back into England.
The difference between this ride and 'normal' rides is I doing it on a VERY heavy electric cargo bike whilst endeavouring not to use the motor. The type of bike I have bought for this trip enables me to select 'OFF' on the power side, whilst still giving me power to the lights and gears.

I intend to stay as close as I can to the coast line. How long will it take? I honestly haven't a clue. Because of the weight of the bike, the wind and the weather, I will just have to keep going until it's done, (Or I am done!)
The bike weighs about 40kg without any equipment, (tent, water, food, sleeping bag etc. My first stop will be a quarry weigh bridge, to find out just how much I am dragging with me.

I have seen first hand, how servicemen and women, are left to their own devices after leaving the Armed Forces. Some of whom have long lasting, debilitating problems for the rest of their lives. In short, it leaves a lot to be desired.

After completing a full career of 38 years service, I felt the need to try and do some good, before it's too late.

If myself, as a Warrant Officer had problems, then I can only imagine what it must be like for younger and less senior people. It must be like screaming in to dark room, with no reply.

I will 'celebrate' my 60th birthday whilst on the journey, again, doing it before it's too late......

I hope you will follow my progress along the way.

Update 1

It’s now 28 May 2021. I have been travelling for one month an one day. I’ve covered just over a thousand miles. 

For majority of the time, I’ve spent each day battling against strong head winds and driving rain and on one particular leg between Capel-le-Ferne and Peacehaven I covered 80 miles in atrocious weather. This resulted in a number of changes of kit, due to being cold and wet. 

The worse county by far had been Devon. The constant gaining height over steep hills and then losing that height so quickly becomes tiresome really fast. I hated flying down hills, purely because I knew I would immediately have to gain that height again in short order. I constantly have to have a word with myself saying ’YOU SIGNED THE DOTTED LINE, SO STOP WHINING AND GET ON WITH IT’. Something I still have to do, one month in. 

The worse county for drivers (so far), is Essex. I’m really not sure if there is such an organisation as the Driving Standards Agency anywhere in the county. I really couldn’t believe how bad and quite frankly’ dangerous’ it was. Builders wagons and quarry trucks being the worse, with white van man coming in closely behind. 

As I’m now heading north east along the Cornwall, Devon and Somerset coast, each night is spent studying Ordinance Survey maps in A feeble endeavour to find a route that doesn’t include any hills marked with either one or two chevrons. ‘DEATH BY CHEVRONS’. One, I can just manage on this bike using ‘Sport mode’ in first gear, but two, NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. The 30th of May will have two single chevron hills included as I cross Exmoor Forest. Following the coast would mean a number of double chevron monsters, rendering me dead or at least rolling backwards down to bottom again. I defy ANYONE to get up these on this bike, carrying this weight  

I would like to thank my wife Hannah and daughter Charlotte, for tirelessly looking for campsites for me to stay. Something that is increasingly more and more difficult with supposed end of lockdown, as everyone wants to go camping.

I would like to thank all the campsite owners that have waved any fees. This trip would be too expensive without their kindness to the cause,

Additionally, I would like like to thank Richard, my brother in law and Hannah, my wife for getting radio station and TV interest in the journey  

And finally, I would like to thank my mum for FaceTiming me each time I attempt a particularly viscous hill. I’m glad she still cares about her son. Even at my age 😁

Update 2

16 June 2021  I’m now having a rest period with my family, to do some essential maintenance on my bike and to plan the second half of the voyage. There are a number of items that have to be exchanged/bought as they are not as waterproof as I initially thought. I’d like to thank Martin at Lyon Equipment Ltd for his amazing service to the trip and supplying my Ortlieb items. I will definitely be using the company again in the future.

During the maintenance period, which will come to an end on 28 June, I’ll have to complete a number of training rides to keep the strength in the legs as well as not eating my self to death.

Northern England and Scotland next.

Update 3

After not completing ANY training rides, whilst substituting them for time spent with my family and after finally receiving signs for my bike, advertising what I was doing and who I was doing it for,, I set off north towards Scotland. My legs felt as though I hadn’t ridden a bike in months. It’s amazing how quick your fitness disappears! The knowledge of thirty eight years in the military, had obviously been forgotten. In very short order, I managed to get myself knocked off my bike, by a traveller builder vehicle, that promptly fled the scene, whilst I narrowly escaped being crushed by a Volvo 4X4 . That night, I stayed at RAF Woodvale, thanks to Si Webb and Taff Townsend. Patched up, I rode North, eventually reaching Morcambe, staying in Dave and Paula’s B&B. The stay was regrettably short and I cracked on. I stayed at many campsites along the way and was well received by most of them. Eventually, I reached where the Romans gave up on, heading west along the coast. I made a calculated decision not to ride through Glasgow because of lack of campsites, I instead elected to ride across the Isles of Arran and Skye.  Whilst riding across Arran, I felt the need to ring my wife Hannah (the first time I felt the need to inform her immediately), and tell her how amazing the place was. Quiet and nearly totally clear of rubbish at the side of the roads, (I only saw two Iron Brew plastic bottles), it truly was a beautiful place  

Skye was also an amazing place, however the place was full of cyclists that were decidedly regretting taking on the challenge of the mister climbs, that the Island offers. If you want to train for the Tour de France, have a go on Skye.

I met many interesting characters that offered me breakfasts in their caravans and vans be saw mostly cloud covered mountains. That’s not a complaint, may I add. I’ve been very lucky with the weather in Scotland. Most of the day, I spent my time looking not to ride into any of the thousands of potholes. Scotland comes in a close second to Wales, on that front.

It was during the ride up the west coast, that my rear wheel started to crack in seven places. This was also compounded, by the fact that my rear tyre started to delaminates severely. 

I managed to hang on with wheel until it eventually started to fall apart just short of John O Groats  after six miles after a nights stay, one spoke went, six miles later, another, then just before Portsoy, it totally collapsed, leaving me stranded. 

Incredibly, just before this failure happened, two veteran servicemen passing in the opposite direction, saw me standing under the cover of a bus stop, whilst emptying my boots and wringing my socks out decided on the way back to try and seek me out to see what I was up to.

By the time they returned, the failure had happened and I was in a lay-by deciding which wooded area would be best to hide the bike in and to pitch my tent, whilst I tried to find transport to get me and my wheel to Dundee,  (a long way away).

Mikey and Gouldy an ex RSM/Captain and an ex Royal Marine, pulled up next to me and asked, what I was up to  after a quick explanation and gnashing of teeth, I was instructed to get the bike a very short distance to Mickey’s house so we could work out a plan.

To cut a long story short, he then arranged for an Amazon vehicle, (the company that he is a manager for), to drive to his house from Peterhead to Portsoy, to pick my wheel up and drive it to Electric Bikes Scotland in Dundee to get it rebuilt. Dundee was one of two places in Scotland that could do warranty work on my bike, a Reise and Muller Load 75 Rohloff., which they did in very short order, dropping everything else to get me back on the road. I can’t thank them enough, (Daniel, Barbara, John and Jack.

A day later and after another rescue mission from Kev Grimshaw, (a fellow RAF Regt Warrant Officer), who drove from Edinburgh to Dundee and then to Portsoy, to deliver my newly built wheel to me. A round trip of six hours!

The first time he rescued the mission, was when he drove a round trip of TEN HOURS, to deliver a new tyre, after the de-lamination of my Shwalbe back tyre.  Incredible…

It’s amazing how luck, allowed all this to happen. Right place, right time, wheel falling apart when it did. Me stopping to empty my boots after the torrential rain, Mikey taking his car to be repaired on that day. Him working for Amazon. Kev Grimshaw being a good egg and a snappy dresser……..

Fate!

Although if the wheel hadn’t of failed in the first place…..

I’m now on my way back down the east coast towards England.  I’ve now completed over three thousand miles and really do need to get it done.

Please keep following the journey.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

I wish to thank everyone so far for their donations and encouraging words.

If you can, please give generously to Walking with the Wounded