As I lay in bed last night trying to analyse and go over what had gone and prepare for the next big day I learned a lot quite quickly about what this trip would be like. Getting a day over with in a decent time is crucial as you have quite a lot to do both physically and mentally to prepare yourself for the next day. First of all last night I had to try and get as many calories in my body as possible. Luckily I sent myself food parcels to each destination along with a little sachet of chamois cream and the directions to stick on to my bike top bar to help me the next day. So I had a bit of a face filling and swallowing to do far a while. This sounds disgusting but it was basically what I did for the next 30 minutes. Next was to ring home to tell my Deb I was OK and check in. At this point all was happy and " Day 1 done sweetheart!, onto tomorrow " I also used facebook and whats app to check in along the way which was a great thing. Every time I stopped for a natural break or a picture or a bit of food I would click check in on my phone. I also could see the support I was getting from family and friends which proved to essential later on. I want to thank you, every single one of you who said anything, pressed like or sent messages. You have no idea how much this helped me.
Anyway, get on with it Owen you soppy git.
After talking to Deb I then had to get out of the dirty cycling gear and get it washed. The B&B owners kindly lent me some clothes. After washing the kit in the bowl of soapy water I had to worry about drying it. This was going to be my daily worry. It doesn't sound too much but it was a constant headache. You cannot tumble dry most lycra/cycling gear as it tends to fall to bits after so it was finding any heat source possible to hang it on, including my shoes which were soaking (with sweat) !!
Stuffing shoes with newspaper helps. (Top tip)
Next up was checking bike... it was in a right mess. That morning it looked pristine and gleaming. Now it looked like it had been over the moors off road rather than on them. Rain makes the bike 10 times dirtier, so it was a wipe down and thanks to Geoff I had a fresh can of the wonderful WD40 to spray on to lube it up a bit.
Waking up on Day 2 I felt in a word...knackered. I did not have a very good nights sleep as my heart was racing for an hour after getting my head down. Again note to anyone doing it, try to not have climbing towards the end of any day. Day 1 was a real toughie, Day 2 was going to also be a real toughie. I had planned the route in minute detail and knew it would be 125+ miles with 2 Top 100 Climbs in it. It was also very technical. My top bar directions sticker was about a foot long. Loads of turns and B roads to hunt down. Plus I knew I had the dreaded A38 & A30 to tackle again early on.
Top tip for anyone heading north from Chudleigh towards Harcombe on the A38.... DON'T DO IT, YOU WILL DIE.
Sorry for being dramatic but the hard shoulder disappears. Go up the Old Exeter Street but be warned it is 1 mile long and averages 8 % !!! The view from the top down to Exeter is stunning.
Another tip I have is really plan your route going through large towns and cities if you have to navigate through them as these really confuse the hell out of me. I spent ages in Exeter trying to find the right road out. Stopping and starting to check phone maps apps and Garmin maps takes up a lot of time. I would say 1-2 hours a day is spent doing this. The easier and straighter the route the better but that is when you tend to be on a large A road. Todays plan was to go off piste so to speak as I really wanted to tackle the Cheddar Gorge. It was in the magazine I picked off the shelf in the train station to take with me to read down to Penzance as the Top No 1 iconic climb in the UK. It is not a bad climb, not steep, quite long but stunningly beautiful.
1 hour in, 11 miles done and already climbed over 1,000 feet !!!!! Oh my god. Please don't let this be a sign of what is to come.
The great Route 303 American Diner.
Hello Somerset, some say the climbing is over at this point but not for what I have planned....
More thatch than an 80's Tory Conference...
I brought along and fitted my tri-bars for the lejog and so far I had hardly used them as it didn't feel safe using them on busy roads but on this 10 mile stretch they were simply brilliant. Travelling long distances on a bike means trying to limit pain to your body. By this I mean, legs, arms, back, neck, hands but mainly your arse !! So having another option proves very very welcome. I think it is poignant at this time to mention my bum. Yes saddle soreness started on day 1 and continued to rear it's ugly head daily. Chamois cream helps a lot but not nearly enough to stop the sting of skin tearing and basically being rubbed off. Man up and take your tablets. Luckily I had packed some paracetemol.
2 Days from now the famous Glastonbury Festival begins at Pilton Farm just 4-5 miles away !! Rock on !!
The famous Glastonbury Tor.
The Cheddar Gorge, it lived up to it's honours and was stunning...
Note to self. When taking an important photo of yourself climbing a long awaited hill like The Cheddar Gorge check your teeth for pieces of sticky energy bar or wait to eat until after. You idiot !! HEHE
It did say Flood Alert Ahead further up the road.... oops
It was at this point I remember meeting another fellow lycra clad guy out for a jolly and we rode together for a few miles. He knew the roads really well and was interested in what I was doing. He asked if I had done the Gorge and he smiled when I said Oh Hell Yes !! I mentioned I was now on the way to Bath and was going to try Weston Hill. At this point he went very quiet. He knew it very well and said You must be completely mental, it's 18% at the top and goes on for ever !! I had actually decided to maybe find a way round it as at this point I was pretty much done in. I had done 100 miles and was feeling totally knackered. But unfortunately for me, he had put that down on record, he had said don't look behind the curtain, don't push that button whatever you do. My life is cursed and I knew that I had to give in and have a go at it. It basically climbs north out from the Hospital in bath up to Landsdowne Race course. It is an absolute killer hill. I started it at rush hour too so I was faced with a lot of traffic. The top is very steep and a couple of other cyclists were bashfully walking up with their bikes being wheeled alongside. I call this the walk of defeat. It is a sad scene and not to be embarrassed about in any way. I had anticipated this day and sneakily fitted an extra gear on my bike, it's known in the business as the granny gear. The technical term is a 32 cog on the back. Shoot me but I don't care. I was under extreme conditions and it helped me finish each climb with a tad of self respect. If I had put my foot down and stopped even for a second on any of the hill climbs I attempted ever I felt as though I could not claim that hill as being ridden. The Burway took 3 attempts, Church Hill near Glyn Ceiriog in North Wales was beaten on the second attempt but so far I had beaten every hill I had tried first time. This one at Bath makes it number 45 for me out of the Top 100 book. Proud and smug I may have been for a few minutes but after that hill I was totally done. Battery level on me was at 1% and I had no charger...
Hill Climbs...
No.1 The Cheddar Gorge - 3.5 km long, climbs 150 metres, averages 5% with a small section third of way up at 16%
No. 2 Weston Hill, Bath. 1.8 miles long, rises by 165 metres, averages 9 % but almost all of the last third at 18%. Toughest climb I have ever done. Not the worst but for me on that day it felt like the hardest 600 metres I had ever managed to stay upright on a bicycle.
I had another 22 miles to go and it was at this point I had my second but major wobble. The first was in the taxi going to Lands End. This was different. This was I did not know how I was actually going to be able to ride this bike that distance the way I was feeling. The next 20 miles was undulating, like a corrugated roof short rises and short descents and it felt like it took me hours to do it. I learned alot about myself on that 20 miles. It is not worth focussing on the negatives. Don't look at the distance you have got left, count up the distance you have travelled. Head down and just peel off the miles. 20,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11, 10 !!!! 10 miles seems easy right !! Anyone can do 10 miles on a bloody bike. Keep on pedalling. Stop crying you big baby. You chose to do this. No-one forced you. You are doing this for your dad and raising money for charity. Think of the people you could be helping with money raised. Children and their families affected by the most horrible disease known to man. Our heroes of the armed forces who have suffered and are being repaired. Some have no limbs, some would give everything to feel the sort of pain I had. Kenyan children who just want nothing more than a school made of bricks and a desk of wood not sheltered under a tree on the hard floor. Man up you big stupid middle aged bag of useless tripe and get on with it.
Sorry about this outpouring but it is all coming back to me now exactly what I was feeling and what my brain was telling my legs.
About 2 miles from Nailsworth I was in a pretty bad place and then I spotted this sign.
Basically it means it is downhill all the way to that days destination. I cried like a baby all the way down that hill.
In Nailsworth, I found fish and chip shop and bought 2 fish and large chips and coke.
The next B&B was a stunning large home of the lovely Daphne (and her hubby who I am so sorry but I cannot remember his name) The room had this gorgeous view across open fields. I am so sorry Daphne and hubby as you chatted away all I could do was commence the shovelling of food into my mouth and start the repair process of Day 2. To that point in my life it was the hardest days cycling I had ever done. Little did I know then that it would not keep that title later on that week.
Shower, phone home, Daphne (bless her she was a lovely lady) washed my clothes and put them out to dry on the heated towel rail. Food parcel opened and checked for morning. Bike was left in the dining room, I did not have the energy to look at it.
Today was a very long day, I left at 8 am and I should have left much earlier. I got to Nailsworth at
7 41 PM. Way too much for a lejog. What the hell was I thinking.
Thank the lord tomorrow was an easy day, 108 fairly easy miles back home to the love of my life Debby and Callum.
Stats: 125 miles ridden. 7687 feet climbed. 7654 calories burned. One spirit almost broken.
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