In the depths of winter 2011 our crack(pot) team set to work with the aim of putting a twist on the usual Land End to John O'Groats bike ride.

 

After a little too much cheese and wine we agreed our route would take us back to front, top to bottom, north to south and against the prevailing wind! So our ride is from John O'Groats back to our hometown in Crowborough, a mere 878 miles away.

 

The ride will see us spend eight long days in the saddle pedalling the length of Scotland and England. On our final day we would like to invite our friends and family to ride with us, or to be there to welcome us at the finish.

 

If you would like to join us, contact Rob or Stephen or paste your intent on our wall. Come on now - don't be shy!

 

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Our team is as follows: -

 

Robert Veitch - Rob spent much of his teenage years pedalling around Crowborough delivering newspapers, although his road to Damascus moment came when the Tour de France passed through Crowborough in 1994. After that he went on to complete nine London to Brighton bike rides (1995- 2003) as well as the The National Three Peaks in 2000. Having been bitten by the trekking bug, he completed a three day ascent of Uganda's Mount Elgon in 2003. In 2011 he won the 226 mile Tour de Sussex, although he failed to mention to most people that he was the only competitor. Aside from sport, he likes little more than his Jenny McCarthy poster, a bottle of organic cider, a dozen doughnuts and to be left alone.

 

Stephen Palmer - Stephen has spent most of his childhood and adult life playing rugby and football, occasionally excelling at both. He was the Sevenoaks School discus record holder, chucking his pizza an impressive 40m, a record that stood for over a decade. In 2002 Stephen won the Insurance Athletics Association Pentathlon against a reasonably competitive field! He completed the Great South Run in 2006, with no practice whatsoever. In addition to this he has also won numerous competitive eating and drink yourself to oblivion competitions. For most of his life he has been "two weeks from full fitness" but we hope that this time, he will arrive on the start line in peak condition. A recent convert to cycling he has shown great potential during his training.

 

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Our itinerary is as follows : -

 

SATURDAY 16TH JUNE

John O’Groats – Wick - Helmsdale – Fortrose – Inverness - 115 miles

 

SUNDAY 17TH JUNE

Inverness – Fort Augustus - Fort William – Glencoe - 103 miles

 

MONDAY 18TH JUNE

Glencoe – Crianlarich – Callander – Stirling – Edinburgh - 111 miles

 

TUESDAY 19TH JUNE

Edinburgh – Jedburgh – Newcastle - 115 miles

 

WEDNESDAY 20TH JUNE

Newcastle – Thirsk – York – Hull - 114 miles

 

THURSDAY 21ST JUNE

Hull – Lincoln – Grantham – Melton Mowbray – Mawsley, Kettering - 115 miles

 

FRIDAY 22ND JUNE

Kettering – Northampton – Banbury – Oxford – Didcot – Twyford, Reading - 105 miles

 

SATURDAY 23RD JUNE

Reading – Fleet - Haslemere – Petworth – Brighton – Blue Anchor public house, Crowborough - 100 miles

 

...and that makes 878 miles

 

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As we mentioned previously, one attraction of our ride is that you can join in too. On our last day from Reading to Crowborough you can ride with us from any of these three points - Reading (100 miles) - Brighton (30 miles) - Wivelsfield (15 miles). Unfortunately we cannot accept riders under 16 as we will be on public roads.

 

Already signed up under this ground breaking initiative is our close friend from Reading, Ken Wellman. Ken is a veteran of the West Highland Way, The National Three Peaks, The Three Peaks of Yorkshire and the Welsh 3000 (which involves mountains, not sheep). We are delighted to have him on board.

 

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This brings us to the most important part of our page and why we are doing what we are doing.

 

We are jointly fundraising for Cancer Research UK and St. Peter and St. James Hospice in Wivelsfield. Both charities do fantastic work throughout the year which requires constant funding and support...

 

...And that's where we hope you'll come in, to support us and our charities. It's simple really, we suffer on our bikes for eight days, so that these charities can continue to do their fantastic work and help those less fortunate than ourselves.

 

Thank you, Rob and Stephen