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The above (aka "The Fat Boys in Lycra") are cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats, as part of various forms of mid-life crisis and recent, or imminent, 50th birthday's.  Steve's and my Dad (John Snr) is driving support van.  We are looking to take on the challenge, have a great tour and at the same time raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. See our daily blog below for details of our progress. Many thanks for your support and comments whcih are much appreciated.

TRIP COMPLETED – 13-1/2 Days (1055 miles).  In this journey which basically was contrived as a mid-life crisis rebellion to the onset of old age, we have seen the beauty of England, Wales and Scotland in both the best and worst of weather.  It has been a true adventure and strangely enough the bad weather and mechanical bike problems have made the journey more memorable.  Along the way we have experienced the help and generosity of strangers, which has been very uplifting.  The team worked well together and shared many a laugh and joke along the way, to balance the aches and pains.  All now looking forward to returning home and not having to cycle for a while.  We would like to thank all of friends, family and work colleagues for your support and very generous donations to the British Heart Foundation.

Day 13-1/2(10 May 2012) -  Thurso to John o’Groats (27 miles).  We headed East towards John o’Groats with the sun out, but a strong North-Easterly wind in our face (as it had been for most of our trip).  Before heading to John o’Groats we decided to detour North to Dunnet Head, which is actually the most Northerly point in mainland Britain (some 2.3 miles North of John o’Groats).  This was a stunning headland and well worth the detour.  We then got back on track to John o’Groats, with Paul and Steve working hard up front into the wind (as they had done for virtually the whole tour).  We arrived contentedly into John o’Groats, and gratefully posed for the usual signpost photo shots.  Our journey was done.

Day 13 – Lairg to Thurso (76 miles).  The day started with us heading North from Lairg on a supposed A-Road, which quickly turned into a 1 car width track with periodic passing points.  The road surface was poor, which with the progressive climb and tired legs resulted in slow progress.  We met coming in the other direction a 75 year old lady cyclist with loaded panniers. She advised us that she had done the Land’s End to John o’Groats trip on four occasions and chastised us for not carrying our own panniers on the trip.  She recommended us to the Crask Inn where she had stayed, which was a few miles up the road. We stopped with pleasure and walked into the bar / lounge area which was a simplistic rustic delight, but deserted.  We settled into the comfy chairs and waited 10 mins for the landlord, who turned up in his jeep with provisions and his three sheepdogs in tow.  After playing with the dogs and a good cup of tea and cake, we had to commence again, but would like to one day return.  We headed north alongside Loch Naver and then the River Naver, which was simply stunning.  Sheep were roaming loose and often on the road.  A lamb awoke and separated from its mother started sprinting down the road alongside us bleating.  I am ashamed to say that it overtook me.  I’m glad to say that mother and baby were reunited and we started again on our way.  We were cycling steadily trying to absorb the Scottish beauty.  We then climbed into Bettyhill and had reached the Scottish North Coast for the first time.  We headed West along the Scottish coast with a number of challenging climbs before passing Dounreay.  We finally made it into Thurso, some 25 miles short of our ultimate destination. 

Day 12 – Fort Augustus to Lairg (80 miles).  Today was a great day with all feeling much stronger than the day before.  We had a 20 mile ride along the edge of Loch Ness, where we met two young End to Enders, who were doing the trip on BMX bikes, amazing!  Today for the first time the mythical south westerly wind came into play (so for the first time on the journey we had the wind at our back), hooray!!. We decided to take a slightly unconventional route, missing the main very busy/dangerous A9 road from Inverness, but paid the price with a massive 1 in 6 hill climb for a few miles on the road from Milton (leaving Loch Ness) to Beauly.  it took a lot of determination to keep the legs turning.  Eventually arrived contented at Lairg .  We are now nearing the end of our journey.

Day 11 - Oban to Fort Augustus (80 miles).  After our tough and very late cycling the day before, all departed tired.  Although the route was relatively flat, we struggled to shake off the apathy and tiredness, so what should on paper have been an easy day became a very hard one.  We passed the foothills of a snow capped Ben Nevis and were delighted that we did not have to climb it.  After this we cruised from Loch to Loch, finally arriving at Fort Augustus on the banks of Loch Ness. We had a great reception from Chris at the Caledonian Hotel, who had a cosy bar with a nice fire and good real ale.  Spirits restored we had an early night to regain some strength.

Day 10 (Seamill, near Ardrossan, to Oban) - 80 miles.  Waiting to board the ferry to Arran, we were surrounded by masses of fellow cyclists (the Lycra was flowing!).  We had an hours crossing to use the comfortable seats before we entered our own Arran time trial.  This was a mad 16 mile sprint in 1hr 15 mins with a massive hill climb in the middle.  We needed to do this distance in this time to make our link with the northern Arran ferry back to the mainland and the Mull of Kintyre.  Arran was beautiful, but unfortunately we did not have time to dwell on the wonderful scenery as it flashed past. We were delighted after much effort to make the ferry link, but on arrival at the ferry port found that Steve's bike had a major problem, with a complete free wheel failure (which basically means that as you pedal the drive is not transferred into the wheels).  This is basically a game over scenario. Fortunately International Rescue was available, in the form of Dad, who with his friends Alex and Anita Murray, dashed to a Halfords shop to buy a new wheel, gear cassette and then had the job of delivering it to us.  No mean task as we had just cycled and hopped on two ferries, so were some distance away.  Without them we would have made no further progress today, so we were enormously grateful. When we got the ferry from Arran (Lochranza) to Claonaig, there was literally nothing there and we had one bike that was useless.  Gordon and Catherine, some fellow cyclists that we met who were loading there bikes into their cars, kindly lent Steve one of their bikes so we could all cycle to the nearest village Tarbert.  There we stopped and had a very long lunch and waited for the rescue team to arrive with the new wheel and also give Gordon his bike back. The rescue team turned up at 5.00 pm and after we fitted the wheel we were ready to go again at 5.15pm, having cycled only 30 miles all day.  The crew were determined to make Oban and with much effort covered an extra 52 miles arriving in Oban at 9.20pm exhausted, but elated.  On our journey on the Mull of Kintyre, the words of the song seemed profound and to reflect much of what we had seen:  "Far have I travelled and much have I seen.  Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.  Past painted deserts with sunsets of fire.  As he carries me home to the Mull of Kintyre."  Tomorrow Loch Ness beckons.  We met the McCallum's while writing this blog in the bar of the Regent Hotel.  They kindly gave us £40 to the cause.

Day 9 - Dumfries to Seamill (near Ardrossan) - 91 miles.  We had another slow climb out of Dumfries.  However, any aches and pains were taken away by the beautiful views and landscape and stunning weather.  We picked up the A-Roads and made great progress clocking up 56 miles before lunch.  We stopped at the Holy Bush Inn and had the best Mushroom soup in Scotland, but we discovered Paul's spoke was broken and headed to AMG Cycles in Ayr, where the owner rapidly fixed the problem (as well as a number of others that we were unaware of).  We were hoping to arrive at the Hotel early that night to make use of the Spa facilities, but managed to go round in circles and make slow progress on the cycle paths around Troon and Irving.  We arrived later than hoped, but the sauna and steam room removed the aches and pains.  We then met Alex and Anita Murray (friends and former work colleagues of Dad) and had a great night in their company. 

Day 8 - Ambleside to Dumfries (80 miles).  The day started with a hard climb out of Ambleside towards Keswick in the rain, with the wind in our faces.  Progress was slow for the first 25 miles as we moved out of the Lake District.  We found a great cycling friendly cafe in the village of Greystoke (of Tarzan fame) at this point and a good cup of tea and piece of homemade flapjack restored spirits and energy.  We then made good progress to Carlisle and then headed to the Scottish border and eloped across into Gretna Green.  We then turned West and for the first time in the trip had the wind on our back, at least in part.  Paul put in some fantastic effort leading the peleton for most of the day and making life easier for us all. This allowed good progress onto Annan and then Dumfries.  We are off to visit a bar frequented by Robert Burns later tonight.   

Day 7 Southport to Ambleside (83 miles).  This was our best day yet (dry, mostly sunny, with the wind falling in the afternoon).  We cycled eastwards against a strong easterly wind initially.  However, when we turned north we started moving well, with Steve doing most of the work up front.  We travelled via Preston, onto Lancaster, skirting past Morecambe, before lunching at Carnforth right on the canal, with 50 miles in the bank, enjoying sitting in the sun watching the barges.  Shortly after lunch we had a drama when the seat post connection to my saddle sheared.  Fortunately this happened at very low speed and I am glad to say my manhood is still intact.  After we moved into the lake district cycling to Kendall, before hitting a lot of hills moving on to Windermere and finally Ambleside.  To some extent we are cycling ourselves fit, but this is offset by the aches, pains and niggles in differing places every day, so it is unclear if physically we are better or worse of than when we started. Tomorrow we hope to enter Scotland.

Day 6 - Shrewsbury to Southport (85 miles). The first totally dry day, with some sun in the afternoon to boot.  We made good progress in the morning, skirting Wrexham and ending up at Chester for lunch, sitting the sun by the river.  We did a lot of A-Road blasting today, with Steve and Paul working very hard at the front of the peleton, while Piers and I enjoyed the comfort of cycling in the pocket behind.  We ferried across the Mersey and arrived in Liverpool just in time for rush hour.  However, safely negotiated the traffic and arrived satisfied at Southport.  The Lake District beckons tomorrow!

Day 5 - Monmouth to Shrewsbury (78 miles).  Following a late night curry the day before, for once we were confident of a following wind.  The day started with the usual heavy rain and intense hills and little progress was made in the first few hours.  We decided that we needed to use A-roads to get us moving towards our target.  We then made good progress to Hereford and then onwards towards Ludlow, albeit with a couple of stops to wring out our socks, shoes and gloves.  The rain subsided a bit in the afternoon, but the hills returned.  On this occasion no need to call out Dad to assist in Thunderbird 2 as we made it to our intended stop point.  Stopped at bike shop on the way in to Shrewbury to get spare brakes and chains as the ride is taking its toll on our bikes.  Tomorrow hope to ferry across the Mersey, if we can Calm Down! Calm Down!

Day 4 – North Petherton to Monmouth (78 miles). A better day although still a wet and windy start. Motored along A -Roads for the first 20 miles to try to catch up with schedule, but had two river bridge crossings to link in with which was tricky routing (over the Avon and the Severn). Two chain breaks and two punctures further delayed procedings. The Severn bridge crossing was stunning and the best of the day (sun out and for the first time yet, wind briefly behind).

Day 3 – Barnstaple to North Petherton (60 miles). This was the day of driving rain and gale force north-easterly winds (unfortunately as we happened to be heading north east). The wind made an unnerving roaring sound through any trees, making it necessary to shout to be heard. The intensity of the occasional gust, stopping any conversation mid sentence in anticipation of a destructive event. Major climbs on the edge of Exmoor with the wind full in your face was challenging enough, but worst still was when we run across the slope fully exposed to the elements (high wind, driving rain and hail). It was all we could do to stay upright on the bikes. When we had a puncture all were shivering and struggled to fix in the cold wind and rain, as hands too cold. Many trees were blown down some blocking the roads to cars, with lots of branch debris and running water everywhere. We struggled onto Dulverton (having cycled hard for over 3-1/2 hours to cover a mere 27 miles), where we found a great pub and hospitality and stayed for a while to warm up. The landlord and locals were great and donated to our cause. In the afternoon the wind calmed a bit and we caught up a little, but only managed 60 miles in a very tough day. Dad had to drive and rescue us from North Petherton, but a warm fire and good pint restored spirits. Need to make up some mileage tomorrow if possible.

Day 2 – Padstow to Barnstaple (75 miles) We took the 9am ferry from Padstow to Rock and it was good that Dad could join us on our mini voyage. The ferry crossing gave us a real sense of journey and John a chance to repair this first punctuate of the day. The day started bright and almost tricked John into only taking this very light weight summer jacket. Any excitement for the new day’s journey was quickly blown away as we headed directly into the strong north easterly wind and battled with the relentless Cornish hills, our progress was painfully slow and confidence was starting to drain away. Luckily we found an Inn 5 minutes before it closed at 2pm, food is a great healer and the plates of steaming hot pasta help restore positive thoughts. In the afternoon the long steep downhill run were starting to concern us , as we were aware that we always would have an equally steep uphill ride to face shortly after, Great Torrington was the best example of our new theory. We had a sense of relief when we could see Barnstaple in the distance and arrived at Barnstaple at 7pm. Dad was waiting outside the nice waterfront Hotel and gave us all a welcome greeting.

Day 1 Lands End to Padstow(75 miles).  A beautiful, but challenging very hilly day, of all ups and downs.  Stunning morning riding along the coast road from Lands End, throuhg Mousehole, Penzance and on to St Michael's Mount.  Had a a good run to Redruth for lunch. Then had a broken chain (thankfully repaired) and our cycling sat nav had a strop and added a tough 10 miles on.  Total distance 75 miles, but carb loaded with local ales and Rick Stein's Fish & Chips. 

Day 0 - We had a great run down to Lands End and arrived in a record 5 hours, Priers used his local knownledge to guide us to a fantastic pub at Longans Rock, where we were welcomed by natural Cornish hospitality and first class seafood & beer. We were begining to think that we had another team member, when the pub cat confidently sat between Priers and Paul, as we left the inn Piers said to the Landlord he was already looking forward to coming back and this echoed all our thoughts. we arrived at the Lands End Hotel and even though it was dark we were still inspired and in ore of the amazing landscape. We had a great welcome from the Hotel Manager, who explained the variety of transportation methods that his previous guests used to get to/from John O'Groats and we began to realise that we had just become new member of this crazy club. As oour nervous excitement was begining to give way to tiredness, the Hotel Manager said he had a new guest we might like to meet and so we had the pleasure of meeting Fantastic Simon, who had solo cycled from John O'Groats in a straggering mere six days and his story was incredible, over & out for now.

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