Day 2 Launceston to Bridgwater

First the stats - 91 mileage in 7 hours. If I'd done that distance in that time in Norfolk I'd have shot myself. Truth is Devon and Somerset are not Norfolk. Really tough morning 2000 foot ascent just south of Oakhampton was my first low point of the tour. Early afternoon between Crediton and Tiverton was pure evil - knees and bum very sore. Limped into Bridgewater and after a quick shower I'm eating and rehydrating in a pub! Tomorrow is another 90 miles through Bristol into Wales then Hereford. Hope knees, legs and bum recover. Again a million thanks for all your messages and support - I can't stress enough how much it means and spurs me on. Cheers, John.

Day 1 Lands End to Launceston

What a day! 80 miles in 5 and a half hours at an average of 15mph. Cornwall would be size of Australia if they ironed it flat! What a blast! My thanks to all who left best wishes - emails, texts and comments on this blog. You will not believe what a difference they make - keep them coming! Bike and rider (inc knees and bum) doing well. Presently devouring fish and chips and dehydration in a pub in Launceston. Gotta go now, sleep, then another big day to Bridgewater tomorrow. Cheers John.

It starts

It's 7am laying in b and b bed in Penzance, taxi to Lands End booked for 9am. Raining outside but forecast is quite good. Can't help but be a strange combination of nervous and excited. Fabulous train journey down but scary 4 mile cycle ride through London. More later. Cheers John

Final preparations

OK - it's Sunday evening, I've started to pack and the nerves are kicking in. I've completed my last training ride, cleaned and serviced the bike and started writing lists!!

As of tonight the sponsorship received is £1005.50 - £1185.98 inc Gift Aid, so my initial target of £1,000 has been reached, my thanks to all who have donated so far. I've decided to raise the target to £1500.00 so for those of you who've not given please contribute - your money will make a huge impact on research that will change thousands of people's lives.

Oh, one last thing for now - I've added a live GPS tracking function so once things start next Saturday click on "Track John's progress" on the left hand side of the main page and you can see where I've got to!

OK, back to my packing.

My aim, a pound per mile - can you help me?

I've thought long and hard about setting myself a sponsorship target - the problem is that people who may be tempted to give something may not bother if the target is already beaten!

However, on balance, I'd now like to say I'd like to raise at least £1 per mile - or £1,000 for the tour! As of today (7/7/10) I've managed to secure £595 - or £726.13 inc Gift Aid.

SO JUST £273.87 TO GO - SO WHAT YOU WAITING FOR - CLICK THE "SPONSOR ME" BUTTON AND MAKE A CONTRIBUTION. IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE, I PROMISE.

My huge thanks for all those who have already contributed - I will not let you down!

Training with a Dragon

Today I'm getting ready for a major preparation event in my training. On Sunday I'm competing in the 2010 Dragon Ride in South Wales - 118 miles (and over 10,000 feet of climbing) in the Black Mountains and Breacon Beacons, and the forecast is temps in the mid 20s!

Next month my 1,000 mile Lands End to John O'Groats trip has 40,000 feet of climbing but that's spread over 10 days!

I must admit I'm a little nervous of taking on this challenge - hardly slept last nite fretting about it.

Ah well - bring on the Dragon!!

PS Mon 7/6/10 the Dragon has been Slain. 117 miles in 9 hours 1 min. Easily the best (and worst) physical thing I've done in my life:




Day 1 (Sat 24/7/10) a 12 mile warm up in going from Penzance to Lands End then on to Launceston, a further 80 miles.

Day 2 (Sun 25/7/10) Launceston to Bridgwater - 80 miles.

Day 3 (Mon 26/7/10) Bridgwater to Hereford - 90 miles.

Day 4 (Tues 27/7/10) Hereford to Northwich - 100 miles!

Day 5 (Weds 28/7/10) Northwich to Kendal - 90 miles.

Day 6 (Thurs 29/7/10) Kendal to Lockerbie - only 73 miles!

Day 7 (Fri 30/7/10) Lockerbie to Stirling - 85 miles.

Day 8 (Sat 31/7/10) Stirling to Dalwhinnie - 90 miles.

Day 9 (Sun 1/8/10) Dalwhinnie to Tain - 90 miles.

Day 10 (Mon 2/8/10) Tain to John O'Groats - 85 miles.