Day 2 Par to Moretonhampstead - Dart-More? No Thanks!

I've been reliably informed that today would be the hardest day...I sure as hell hope that's true! I was prepared for this afternoon being tough as we were climbing over Dartmoor, however, what I didn't count on was the morning containing comparetively steep and lengthy hills. Yesterday's sunshine had obviously taken its toll on the outside of my right leg. I was aware last night that it was burned, but as I felt an increasing burning sensation throughout the first few hours of today's ride I decided that I needed to protect it from further sun damage. As such, a trip to Boots was necessary in Tavistock to pick up a bandage and tonight will no doubt play host to mass application of after-sun! Unlike yesterday, i actually feel like I've done a hard day's ride today. The average speed has dropped from a respectable 13mph yesterday to only 10mph today due to the long, draining hills which I hope to leave behind now! Right now, I could just do with going home and sleeping. Unfortunately, we have another week to go, so tomorrow will be an interesting test to see how I cope after a very tough day! Today's picture is of the bikes on top of Dartmoor (just to prove we really were up there!)

Day 1 Lands End to Par - Screwloose

If anyone's ever told you that Cornwall was hilly and you wondered if it was true, I can confirm that it is! Mind you, the ride today was not as painful as I was expecting which was a welcome surprise. Today's excitement came in the form of a missing screw whose absence I discovered about 30 miles in. Crucially, this particular screw was one that aids fixture of the saddle to the rest of the bike, thus leaving me slightly wobbly at times! Unfortunately, we were still 10 miles out of Truro which was our best bet for a suitable establishment from where to purchase some spare parts, so regular inspection of the saddle was required to ensure the other screw remained in place (if it hadn't, I would've ended up in the road so I guess I would have noticed!). Luckily, en route through Truro, we came across a Halfords so we stopped to pick up a screw and re-attach the the saddle. It transpired during the maintenance process, that the reason the screw had probably come loose in the first place was because the idiot who had fitted the saddle post in the first place (naming no names, Dad) had installed it backwards, meaning that there was not much thread for the screw to cling to! Anyway, having fixed that problem, it was a mere 20 more miles and a few more hills before arriving at tonight's stop over in Par. All in all, a fantastic day's ride, and the weather has been just about perfect! Today's picture is of St Michael's Mount viewed from Marazion just outside Penzance.

Day 0 - The journey to Lands End

We spent a good hour first thing this morning trying to work out the finer points of mobile blogging (and by that i mean, making the bloody thing work!) In the end it was actually extremely simple, so, with a bit of luck, these words will actually appear on the blog like magic! Other than the expected intermittant delays on the A303 and a brief encounter with a speeding ambulance, it was a fairly uneventful car journey down. After checking in to the b&b we took the 2 mile trip down to Lands End itself for photo taking and a spot of (rather late) lunch. Today's picture is of the bikes outside the b&b, fully loaded and ready for action!

testing

This is a test to show that I can blog from my mobile phone using normal e-mail.

Final Preparation

Today was my final proper training run, a non-stop 28 mile circuit around Poole Harbour. The route starts from Poole Quay, over Poole Bridge, up through Upton and around Hole's Bay before heading down to Corfe Castle via Wareham. From Corfe, the going gets a little tougher, basically a long climb on the road across to Studland (which killed my average speed which was, at that stage 15.6mph). From Studland, the Chain Ferry takes me over to Sandbanks and the circuit comes full circle via Baiter Park. Total ride time 1 Hour 56 Minutes.

I say "non-stop", this has two obvious exceptions, firstly the trip on the ferry and secondly a brief stop to take today's photo which is of a sign found on Nutcrack Lane running between Wareham and Corfe!!

South Coast Ride

Above is the planned route for the trip which commences on September 2nd.

So, the time has finally come to put my endurance to the test and see if I can really cope with nine consecutive days cycling along the south coast of the UK. The 480 mile trip has been a long time in the planning but is now just a week away!

The hope is that by torturing myself like this I can raise some money for Cancer Research UK and as such, I have set up a donations page at JustGiving.Com for all you generous people out there!

With a bit of luck, I will keep this blog updated daily during the trip alongside Dad's blog (which will no doubt contain some far more interesting information!)