My mother in law, Mavis Wilson, is 74 and has suffered from the disease for over 10 years now; for the last 7 years she has lived with us. Watching the regression back to an almost childlike state has not been easy, especially for Amanda. 

To raise funds to help research into the disease I intend to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats and ask everybody to support me.

The ride will start on Monday 14 June 2010 with my nephew, Duncan, joining me for the first 50 miles. Duncan is 14 and will also be raising money for this section of the ride.

I am aiming to ride about 85 miles per day for 10 days. If anybody wants to join me on the ride into Warrington (Friday 18 June), or out of Warrington (Sunday 20 June) just let me know. The roads are free for us all to use and I could do with the support.

The training has already started with Sunday rides supplementing the regular spin classes. As the training progresses, I will update this site. Last week (7/3/10) the ride was 46 miles in rather chilly conditions.

After a couple of days away on business and 3 hour charity spin session last weekend (13/3) I'm now on holiday in Cornwall for a few days. No bike but also no sunshine. Hoping to get a couple of publicity photos with Duncan later in the week. Back to the bike next week.

Training has now got underway with 47 miles on Friday 26/3 and 58 miles on Saturday 27/3. An hour on the rollers on Sunday finished the legs off. Just hope I'll be OK for spin on Tuesday. As it is Easter next weekend I'm hoping for good weather to get more mileage in the legs.

I should never have expected good weather for a bank holiday. Friday 2/4 saw a round trip of 78 miles before the rain started. The route was down the A49, A51 to Crewe out to Alsager and back on the A50. Sunday's ride of 73 miles was down the A49 to Whitchurch and back. Most of the return journey into a head wind. Next weekend I need a little hill practice.

Sunday 11/4, time for some hills. Out at first light via Stockport, A6, A5004 (Long Hill) to Buxton, back over the Cat & Fiddle to Macclesfield then Kutsford and home. 82 miles in just over 5 hours in great weather. This what cycling is about.

Not much training this weekend as we are out this evening, maybe a ride will be possible tomorrow (18/4) but it will not be an early start!

A big thank you to Phil at D&M Cycles for servicing the bike. That's one more excuse eliminated.

Sunday 18/4, Village Cycle Club ride. Out with the mountain bike for a change and a loop of about 30 miles. Next week needs a longer ride.

Here we are, another Bank Holiday and the prospect poor weather.

Sunday 2/5, out through Stockport again, this time up the A6 and A625 via MamTor, Castleton, Hope and Bamford. 48 miles into a head wind before the drizzle began. Back over the Snake Pass in low cloud and rain then through Manchester to home. 101 wet and tiring miles but I did it and if I don't get lost I will not have to cycle this far on the real ride.

Sunday 9/5,a short route after a rather "busy" Friday and Saturday. A49 north to Preston as a practice for Sunday 20/6, then back home via Southport and Ormskirk. 68 miles in total and good weather. Thank you to John from Leigh who cycled with me from Ormskirk to the East Lancs; good look with Manchester to Blackpool.

Sunday 16/5, having been out Friday and Saturday the Sunday training ride didn't happen.

Sunday 23/5, out with the Village cycle club round Frodsham and Delamere. Thank you to Katie for suggesting the climb up to The Mersey View. 47 miles in warm sunshine, very nice.

Monday 24/5, Warrington to Shap, 95 miles up the A49 and A6 over Shap Fell and down into the village. A great ride and as I have now done the longest single stage as a training ride I now feel ready. Just a couple more weeks to the start so the next few rides will all be shorter.

Sunday 6/6, a week to go to the start so just a short ride to get the legs moving again after a week out. Out Delamere and back, just 40 miles but a good average pace.

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That was the training, the action starts below!!

14/6 - Lands's End to Newquay

15/6 - Newquay to Crediton

16/6 - Crediton to Portishead

17/6 - Portishead to Ludlow

18/6 - Ludlow to Warrington

19/6 - Rest

20/6 - Warrington to Shap

21/6 - Shap to Selkirk

22/6 - Selkirk to Perth

23/6 - Perth to Pitlochry

24/6 - Pitlochry to Aviemore

25/6 - Aviemore to Dornoch

26/6 - Dornoch to John O'Groats 

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14/6 - The weather is not very good today, gusting head winds are expected for today and most of this week!! I've got a couple of hours before starting out. The weather continued to be a problem, clear blue skies but a raging head wind kept the average speed at 14.2 mph. This was largely down to Duncan's hill climbing speed. The sight of a 14 year old waiting for you (again) at the top of every hill eventually reminds you about the passing years.

Anyway 46 miles done so and that much closer to the end. Tomorrow I'm on my own against the wind with nearly 80 miles of the A30 between breakfast and that first pint.

15/6 - 4pm, sitting in the beer garden at The Lamb in Sandford (near Crediton) with a pint of Otter Ale. And very well deserved it is too. 74 miles and still into a head wind kept the average down at 13.2mph. Cornwall and Devon are beautiful but "rolling countryside" equates to extremely hilly when you are on a bike. Hoping for less wind tomorrow. I suffered the first puncture this morning on the side of the A30 this set me back about 20 minutes and left me without another inner tube. I think a repair is in order this evening.

16/6 - 9pm. The puncture was repaired yesterday and the evening meal consumed, with a couple of drinks, just in case it was difficult to get to sleep. The start this morning was 9am with the wind still blowing and more hills to overcome. I think the first flat bit of road was somewhere near Taunton. When the M5 was built it left all the old A roads underused and with the hills you can see why. Who decided that every road should crest each hill and also explore the lowest point in each valley? Great geography but not too good for transport.

Once through Taunton the level roads made progress a little easier and cycling for a couple of hours with two other people also cycling the route passed the time. It was only some time late this afternon that I realised today's "easier" day took me from the edge of Dartmoor, over Exmoor, The Quantock Hills an The Mendips. No wonder it was hilly.

17/6 - The legs were heavy this morning and every hill (however small) caused the pace to drop to almost a walk. I was very sunny and hot so I think I was a little dehydrated and hungry. The route went over the Avonmouth Bridge and the Severn Bridge before heading north through the Forest of Dean

After a stop for tea and a sandwich in Hereford the pace improved and the day finished on a high. 83 miles covered

18/6 - Feeling much better after a god night's sleep and a good breakfast. Left Ludlow at 8:30 to get to Shrewsbury for 10:30. The legs were strong and I arrived (almost) on time to meet Dave and Phil. They took the train from Warrington to ride back with me. This was a massive lift and made the day pass really quickly. It rained briefly around lunchtime but we managed to dry out before getting back to The Village about 3:30pm with a further 80 miles covered.

19/6 - Rest day today so after a massage yesterday, yes the legs hurt, just 1/2 a spin class then home for another sleep. The washing machine is on, bike cleaned and the car tidied ready for tomorrow. 364 miles done, 510 to go.

20/6 - What a fantastic day, great weather and for once no head wind. After a rousing (including a piper!) send off from Warrington Andy Cummings and I made our way up the A49 and A6 covering the 91 miles to Shap. This time I was undaunted by "that hill in Preston" it seems that it was much worse in my head than in reality. According to my riding companion, the 10 mile climb from Kendal up Shap Fell was worse than the 1/2 mile in Preston; I'm still not convinced.

A huge thank you to Andy for dragging me up the hills and providing some interesting suggestions for music for the next spin class. Today goes to prove just how far it is possible to cycle on a mixture of fried food, toasties and cake. It also shows what a great day out cycling is when you have someone to share it with. Thanks also to Amanda and Kate for providing faultless back up.

Over half way now and the forcast for tomorrow is looking good again.

21/6 - Starting in Shap seemed a little bit like cheating after last week. The wind was behind me and I started out downhill. The day began cool and overcast but cleared into another brilliant sunny day. The A6 through Penrith and Carlisle was lumpy but nothing compared to Cornwall and the average speed remained high. It got higher still once I reached the A7 and one of the best roads I have cycled on. Good surface, light traffic and great scenary.

The 49 miles to Langholm took just under 3 hours. After a stop for lunch this idea that the remaining 35 miles should be possible in 2 hours, rather than 21/2 hours planned, came from nowhere and would not go away. There was only one thing to do. Go for it; and yes it was possible with only a minute to spare. It would have been quicker but for the hills between Hawick and Selkirk. Anyway here we are in Selkirk, 84 miles today and 540 miles in total.

22/6 - After the speed of yesterday's ride I exected a slower start. I still felt strong so teh first part of the day from Selkirk to Edinburough was quick. The city centre was another story, I'm sure I went round at least twice before finding my way out onto the Queensferry road. Once over the Forth Road Bridge the navigation became fun, as the route was on a mix of A and B roads. Having got lost a couple of times I stopped to buy more water in Kingsleat where I was sponsored a further £5 by a gentleman who asked to be entered onto the sponsor form as "Old Bob"

The wind picked up a little and was gusty during the afternoon. This was alomost like last week, but without the hills. Perth provided more one way system fun and i finally arrived at the hotel around 4:30. 91 miles today, just a short one tomorrow to Pitlochry.

23/6 - Good job it is only a short day today as the legs feel very heavy. I woke a couple of times in the night with a dull ache in the legs. The route was a straight 25 miles up the A9 so even with a 10am start there was time for an afternoon out; away from the bike.

24/6 - The legs feel a little better for 11 hours sleep and the right ankle has settled down again (it was a little swollen yesterday) Setting out at 9:30 the drizzle started, it continued on and off for most of the morning.The route was a steady climb out of Pitlochry through Glen Garry and over the Pass of Drumochter before dropping down Glen Truim for a tea stop at Ralia. The road continued to drop past Aviemore to Carrbridge and the sun kept shining. Another great day of cycling. The end seems close now and I don't really want this to end. Maybe I'll ride back....... (Just kidding Amanda)

64 miles, today finishing at The Fairwinds in Carrbridge. Thank you to Alison and Lindsay for their welcome and the support given. Thank you also for the loan of the shorts and T shirt.

25/6 - A cool but still day to start with but I soon warmed up with the climb out of Carrbridge over Slochd Summit and on towards Inverness (great fun in the roadworks on the A9). The run over the Moray, Cromarty and Dornoch  Firths were all stunning. All seemed to be going well until a puncture just past the Glenmorangie distillery at Tain. The spare inner tube was also damaged (wish I'd known sooner) so a call was made to the back up car. Puncture sorted the last 10 miles passed quickly and I arrived in Dornoch in time for a soak in the bath before dinner. 67 miles covered at an average of 16mph was quite satisfying. It must have been all downhill.

While waiting for Amanda and the (other) spare inner tube a cyclist from Nottingham stopped and was chatting about the last day's route. I caught mention of an "Alpine" climb near Helmsdale and decided not to ask any more about it.

26/6 - And so to the last day. An overcast sky and a light drizzle seemed to set the tone for the day as my legs felt heavy. A little like the day out of Portishead. The first slope out of Dornoch had a low gear and a high heart rate, it was going to be a slow start to the day. Once up onto the A9 it became clear that the words for the day would be gusty and hilly. After about 10-15 miles the legs started to warm up and they became used to the one hill straight into teh next that I hadn't experienced since Devon.

Again the coastal scenary was dramatic but the exposure made the winds more difficult to cope with, sometimes helping but more often hindering. The section of coastline between Helmsdale and Berriedale can only really be described as challenging. Two of the best climbs of the entire route. Once over Berriedale (46mph into the dale - 6mph back out!) and with the end in sight the legs decided to wake up. Then Wick, an unexpected bust of activity after empty roads and onto the A99.

The landscape on the run into John O'Groats is very similar to the landscape around Lands End, but with 10% of the visitors and an air of desolation. It was 4:30 as I rode onto the harbour at John O Groats, 869 miles and  just over 60 hours of riding since I left Land's End.

What a brilliant adventure. What next?