tabrez.co.uk

Well, first of all, there seems to be an interesting pattern here. The last post of my previous cycle tour was deleted without warning and now the same for Pisa/Rome. So, whilst everything is vaguely fresh in my head, I’ll carry on with a summary of the last moments of this epic journey…

After enjoying the sunset from the previous evening after my epic hill climbs, I noticed the this tranquil village was settled on a peak from all sides, so it became apparent that a sunrise the next morning was an opportunity not to be missed. Feeling a cycling challenge wasn’t enough, I enrolled Amir, Naheela, and Reema to wake up at 6 the next morning to share this beautiful sunrise with me. It certainly makes a change from waking up with the instant hit of shower, and it did set us up for the day waking up at the gradual speed of the sun. Bliss!

After a hearty breakfast and awkward laughs about the previous evening’s fundraising antics, we followed Helmut’s “always straight” advice up a monster of a hill, then another, then another, and then another hill. It was at this point, I was ever so grateful to have been punished by Devon and Cornwall earlier this year, which meant I could handle these hills and enjoy the beautiful Lazion countryside filled with olive groves as far as my eyes could reach!

After a few stops and 30km later we were approaching our lunch stop, and just to make me feel at home someone switched on the rain! Some of my dear Arab friends were surprisingly not too keen on this, and understandably so, as these Italian roads have no grip on them during the rain. Things got a bit hairy when we lost 4 cyclists (the “always straight” command actually included a hidden right hand turn), and on our final downhill towards lunch 4 other cyclist – Elyas, Sara, Nohma and Reem one by one suddenly seemed as if the tarmac was pulled out from under them! They hit the deck so fast, and being the next person in line, I quickly braked and got off my bike, threw it on the side of the road, checked my friends were ok and then safely removed their bikes from the road. Luckily, everyone was ok, although Sara had a wee bit of mild concussion but she’s hunky dory now! Once we got over this crash we had lunch in a small cafe which looked like it was styled by some miserable old git out of death metal band. The lighting in this place was miserable! Dark blue neon tube lights, were not exactly the best mood lighting to pick us up out of dealing with the rain and a crash. It also turns out that 2 of the cyclists in our group decided to head to Rome on their own and didn’t bother waiting for us, last time I checked, this was a group cycle. Hmm…

Anyway, substantially carbed and massaged up, the rest of us perked up, as well as the weather and made our final 45km ride to Roma! A slight problem there was that being a Saturday at 5pm, the roads were heavily congested, so with Helmut being trapped in traffic we had no choice but to go as cyclists into the city. I won’t ever forget this, but this was the moment when you really felt the group working together as one, and reminding ourselves of why we are doing this. With me leading the group at a slow steady pace, we snaked our way through the traffic, stopping every so often to make sure there was no one left behind and this worked perfectly! Just as we got within a few kilometres of the Colosseum, I switched places with my French Palestinian friend David, who did the brave task of leading the rest of the journey, while Amir and I were at the back making sure no one was left behind. We also got kitted out in the Welfare Association/Cycling4Gaza t-shirts, and it was a pretty cool spectacle of green dots. Something I was really looking forward to whilst designing the t-shirts!

Anyway, this is where Amir really shone.

It was becoming increasiangly tricky dealing with the group line fragmenting at points so Amir suddenly pulled his bike in front of crossing cars, making sure that we all passed through safely as one group. It was a shock to a few people at first but being experienced London cyclists we knew this was the only way to do it. I still cannot get over what an amazing job he did, so if you’re reading this Amir, I salute you sir!

Eventually, we safely made it to our destination after sunset to be greeted by friends, family and reps from the Welfare Association. After champagne popping and plenty of photographs we somehow mustered up the energy and cycled to our hotel (which took 45 mins!). I treated myself to a shockingly good ice bath then we all had a great dinner that evening toasting each other on the amazing efforts!

As it was my first time in Rome, I couldn’t go to sleep no matter how tired I was. I convinced myself I would sleep when I get back home so myself and about 10 others went out that evening hanging around some nice parts of Rome. At 1am, we were all fading away slightly, and were about to go home, then a bit of a crazy idea popped in my head. As I had seen the sunrise on this morning, I thought it would be great to stay awake for the next sunrise! With Naheela as suitably fine company, we strolled the deserted streets of Rome, 2,3,4,5,6,7am to a rather lovely sunrise. Some advice for anyone visiting Rome, this is THE best way to see the city, not a single other person in sight!

So after a marathon 24 hour session, I got 3 hours sleep then back out exploring again. The rest of my trip is completely confidential and not cycling related so I’ll stop there! :D

On a final note, I am so happy to have taken part in this challenge, having been reunited with 6 friends from last year, and having made so many amazing new friends this time round. Well done to all of you, and thank you to everyone for your amazing support! Stay tuned, because the challenge next year will be even more epic than Land’s End to John O’Groats and Pisa to Rome combined!

Got wifi on the iPhone now, but a bit too knackered to remember all the details but I’ll give it a go.

So…this was by far the most interesting day we’ve had so far. To sum it up, I’ve never cycled and laughed so hard in one day!

Being a keen photographer, I decided to power ahead of everyone at full speed this afternoon, then off the bike and set up the camera to film all the cyclists whizzing by and then catch up at the front nice again, just cause I like being at the front I guess!

Our guide came across a wee problem with our route as well. We took an accidental 20km detour! So somehow we were looking to cycle across a 10k highway to get back en route! Even I wouldn’t dare do that! So it was then decided to load up the bikes and do a couple of shuttle runs to our safe point to then commence our final 25km. The last 1k was a 300m climb which I was enjoying a bit too much. After feeling like I missed out on some cycling due to the shuttle run, I decided to do this hill climb again. Not twice or thrice, but 4ice (sp?)!!! 3rd time my fellows Amr and Sief were up for it so I was obliged, then 4th time, my Iranian-Iraqi friend Amir wanted to do it again, so naturally I obliged!

Forgot to mention, my jellyfish stings are hunky dory now. Thanks for all the messages! :)

Tomorrow, we arrive in Rome!

Oh. And by the way. I did a strip show for my fellow cyclists with a Lebanese-Austrian and an Italian chap for €1000!

So, where do I start^

That fact that I can’t find half the punctuation symbols on this italian keyboard in a slightly rustic internet cafe, run by a chap who cannot find his wifi password might be something to do with it. We have ended up in what a local Italian called “the worst small town in the region”. However, that does not change the most delightful of sunsets over the olive groves! Absolutely stunning pal!

Anyway, I should tell you a bit about the days event of cycling antics.

After a splendid cycle away from last night’s beach, we headed south towards “somewhere” (i’m half asleep with a timer in this cafe hence why you ain’t getting names here) then a break, then cycled, then a break, then cycled…up our first epic hill! What a beast this was! Helmut, our tour guide kind of forgot to mention this hill. After my summer trip, i’m more used to these hillls but in the warm temperatures, it’s not as easy!

Erm, some folk also decided to take it upon themselves to go as fast as they could and overtake our support vehicle. Nae bother if you know where you’re going, but just a weeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit annoying when they get lost and delay the group, and all that jazz. However, none was as fast as my jolly self as I made for a famous energy gel and shot right up ahead of everyone on the biiiiiiiiiiiig hill climbs after lunch, and why^ Well, to record everyone climbing up the hills of course! Videos of slow climbs and fast talking will be up next week hopefully!

So, I’ve had a massive meal, involving spinach, chicken, veal, potatoes and fruit! Gutted I couldn’t find an ice bath/beach to chill the legs so I’m not looking forward to the pain tomorrow morning! What am I looking forward to is using my space age fold up toilet! Photos later no doubt!

Well, time is just about up, so ciao for now!

Well, after adjusting saddle heights, pumping tyres, stocking up water bottles, and tweaking helmet straps, we finally made it along to the Leaning Tower…our starting point for the journey!

After our great team photos, police escorting and Italian journalist interviews we were on our way, zooming along the small painterly streets of the adorable Pisa! 25km in, one of the chaps whose bike went walkies, finally met us with a new set of wheels. Amir obviously was sponsored to cycle from Pisa to Rome, so as he had only joined us at this point, he very bravely cycled back to Pisa, then back along the route to meet us about 60km later! That’s what I call hardcore and true to the cause!

Cycled through some beautiful olive groves, vineyards mixed in with some nice hill climbs (the group thought I was nuts for enjoying them!). Pulled into our hotel in San Vincenzo which was ever so conveniently situated next to a beach! Trying to convince 27 people that this ice cold water is great for the muscles was no easy feat! Bit of a surprise shock was my jelly fish sting remedied with a very effective cream from the local pharmacy after no offers came in for a urine “donation”. Beautiful sunset eased the pain of the legs followed by some perfect food and a good eyeful of the cosmos above in this low light pollution haven. Buona notte!

Well, one year on for Cycling4Gaza and we’re all geared up for another challenge. Sadly only 7 people from last year have returned for the sequel but this does mean there are around 20 new friends for our Italian adventure, and I’ve already met some interesting characters! More on them later no doubt!

The interesting part about this blog is that I’m almost unsure as to what to write about. Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) being a solo, and unsupported affair meant I had a routine of cycling for the whole day, lunch, dinner, shower, blog writing then bed. With a group there is so much going on, there is not much scope for this type routine and naturally, you are in a completely different mental state (still not sure what I prefer, solo or group cycling).

A lovely part of our story so far, is the number of international cyclists we have so far. People from London, Dubai, Edinburgh, Austria, Saudi and other cities which I clearly can’t remember! Unfortunately some of our international friends got their bikes shipped over but somehow the bikes have conveniently “gone walkies”. Oh, and someone forgot to pack their front wheel. Oops! So a few early mishaps to add to our story. I doubt there will be anything as funny as our Egyptian friend last year who had such a sore “erse” from cycling after 1 day he bought a cushion to ride on! Speaking of sore erses, I’m off to fit my Brooks saddle to my bike! Ciaoooooooo.

After having made a full recovery from my solo Land’s End to John O’Groats fundraising challenge, where I managed to raise a staggering £3,895.46 (inc. Gift Aid) I am now literally gearing up for the next challenge.

I will be reunited with my London – Paris cyclists from all over the globe to cycle from one famous landmark to another, the Leaning Tower of PIsa to the Colosseum in Rome. All 23 of us are looking to raise much needed awareness and £100,000 for the Welfare Association and the time of writing, we are at an incredible £29,446.77!

Due to extortionate data costs, I will not have a live map view this time round but there will be blog updates every evening of the day’s events leading up to our arrival in Rome. You can also follow me on twitter @cyclingtabrez and if you would like to make a donation, please go to our Just Giving page.

London to Paris 2009

*Just spent an hour writing the summary of the last day and somehow my iPhone crashed and never saved a copy. So I’ll start again with even more enthusiasm as my first draft! I’m writing this in the middle of my 7 hour train journey back to Glasgow so plenty of time to reflect on the day and write it all up. I hope you are cosy and have time to read this post!

So, staying in the castle was certainly an experience. Everything was perfect apart from “señor snore” from Spain who’s snoring was so loud it took me till about 2am to get some sleep. As well as the drunken lads that rolled in at 1am, my 8am start was a slightly shaky one after only 5 hours sleep. This was however going to be my day where I cycle the last 100 odd miles and complete the challenge!

After warming the legs up on the first mile cycle, realising my left tendon was in agony at this point and my left knee was pretty sore as well, I quickly topped up the food rations in Lairg then on to the strangely quiet flat plains of the A836 to Altnaharra. This was a tough one, as it was 23 miles mostly uphill against a strong headwind, so this took a 2 hour chunk of time out of my day. It was worth it though, as I was then greeted by the beautiful fresh new tarmac roads of Betty Hill. Oh yeah, they have a huge beach, icy blue waters and and the clouds just withered away giving me a lovely blue sky to cycle under for the remainder of the day. I stopped here for a wee lunch break where the village was having their own wee gala and I got some good chat going with some old drunken Glaswegian men! Great for the spirit!

A few very tough and surprise climbs later, I was on my way to Dounreay where a cyclist appeared out of nowhere in “wan ae they fancy carbon fibre bikes”. This was Glyn, who had the most strange Welsh/Geordie/Devon type accent, and when I asked the obligatory question, he replied with “aayerre aaaaa ahm go-win to John O’Groats as wheel!” The lucky chap had no luggage as he was in the fortunate position of having his wife providing a support vehicle full of spare wheels, pies and taking care of accommodation. We met on the last 40 miles of the trip and it was great to have a buddy to work with so that we could speed our way to the finish line.

After a quick wee break in Thurso, where I munched the remains of the fine Scottish tablet provided by Joy of Tanuilt, we sped on, 30, 25, 20, 15 miles left. The excitement and adrenalin was pumping through me, but there is always space for a caffeine/carb energy gel. I felt like a rocket, with the two of us keeping the speed around 25 mph on a flat to the final line and I kept thinking of Mark Cavendish and his sprint finishes in the Tour de France I raced ahead of Glyn and the last 3 miles felt like they only lasted a few minutes and reached the split road that takes you to John O’Groats then suddenly a few more split roads?!?!?! Lands End has a simple single road with a start/finish line. I couldn’t find one here! At the very end of the pier I saw a group of 8 cyclists clearly celebrating their completion (they came via Wick hence why I never saw them earlier) so I went up there and just before the edge is a nice spray painted “stop”! 104 miles in the day, top speed of 38mph and overall distance of 999.2 miles! What a great feeling! Glyn and his wife had kindly offered to give me a lift to Wick, saving me a 17 cycle back to my hotel. So, after literally 5 minutes, glyn packed up his bike, mine as well and then we were on our way to Wick where after a speedy 20 minute drive I was dropped off at the hotel on my own. Had a cheap Indian take away then passed out with a smile knowing that I’ll never look at the map of the uk in the same way again! :)

I’ve really enjoyed keeping this blog diary over the last few months, and I’ll be writing on this again over the next few days, and I’ll add some pages with photos as well. Feel free to subscribe to my RSS feeds.

Finally, thank you once again to everyone who has made this an incredible journey, the advice I received, incredible hospitality from old and new friends and for all the donations so that MAP can continue their great work in the occupied territories.

What’s next? Well, I’m cycling from Pisa to Rome with these guys. to raise money for The Welfare Association. Next year? Who knows what I’ll do? Glasgow to Edinburgh? London to Doha? Watch this space.

Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, I’ll be arriving at John O’Groats. The only way to train for this great journey is just to do it. I really underestimated it, and overestimated my ability, which is why I never completed it in 7 days. Tomorrow, if completed, I will have taken 11 days. Still pretty happy with that for about a 1000 mile journey!

It’s not just about the time to complete it though, at the time of writing I have managed to raise £2,820 (£3,484.44 Inc gift aid) for Medical Aid for Palestinians so that they can continue they’re great work, and this is thanks to everyone who has donated! What a sterling effort everyone!

I thoroughly recommend you all visit this part of Scotland as well, it is truly magnificent!

Somehow, I managed to wake up around 5:30 this morning and saw the most amazing sunrise! Quickly went back to sleep, and I’m sorry to report, there is no photographic evidence of this sunrise. It did however set the mood for the day with a certain bounce in my pedal! For some reason, I thought today was going to be a nice laid back 74 miles to Calbisdale Castle. The reason I’m here is that the town of Lairg had no bed and breakfasts, so the lady at the tourist office in Fort Augustus suddenly remembered there is a youth hostel near Bonar Bridge which used to be a castle! This place is incredible! Thanks to Captain Harold Keith Salvesen M.A., F.R.S.E for gigging this to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association!

So anyway, I though it was going to be a laid back one, and as much as I like having a moan about them, I do really love hills! So after Drumnadrochit, I bumped into a group of cyclists doing John O’Groats to Lands End, and they made sure to warn me of the hill I was about to climb, a 13 degree incline for 3/4 mile! I thought this was going to be a great challenge and took it on with positive vibes! Out of nowhere, about 1/2 mile in, I just couldn’t go anymore. It was a monster hill, so I had to walk a few yards. Disheartened, the voice of Michael Caine/Alfred in Batman Begins sparked into my mind, “Why do we fall Master Bruce? So we can get back up again!” I did just that and made it up! Later, whilst cycling through these strange far northern landscapes, the most impressive downhill presented itself upon me and said “do it Tabrez!”. Straight into gear 27, I went flying down this smoooooooooth tarmac road and achieved a top speed (for the whole trip so far) of 40.6mph. Nice!

Oh yeah, there was also another spell of supreme rain today.

So, I’m just chilling out in the lounge of a castle as you do. Didn’t see this one coming. More on the castle later, as I have a bit of time, I’m going to write a few separate entries tonight to break it up a bit.

So, since riding with Neil to Dunoon, I realised I didn’t need any music anymore. Just cycling through the silent glens and Scottish forests has been so idyllic, and even listening that heavy pounding rain is quite therapeutic as well! Yesterday was the same and so was today, until I stopped for a wee snack break in a car park. A car stopped in front of me, and a couple got out to swap seats. All perfectly normal behaviour apart from the loud blasting music: Robbie Williams “rock dj”! I really thought nothing of it, until I realised I was singing it in my head for the next 30 minutes! It was driving me nuts, and now, if you know the song, YOU won’t get it out of your head either! I had to plug Mr iPod in, and get some of that sweet sweet german minimalism on the go. The song disappeared from my thoughts until I started writing this entry! Doh!

No.

Anyway, today, I decided to take it easy on the leg, so I aimed for Fort Augustus, which turned out to be a lovely 78.85 mile ride, with a top speed of 34.4mph.

I was REALLY going slow today, the pace you would be going at listening to some Brian Eno music if you will. I was so chilled out after an amazing evening of good food and chat with Joy and her sister, and a nice wee cup of tea in the morning. (Thanks for the cereal bars and tablet!)

So, as I was cruising along a bridge at a nice snails pace, a cyclist out of nowhere came into my peripheral vision and sped off into the distance. I just couldn’t help it, but I had to catch this guy up for some reason, so I kicked into a higher gear, got the adrenalin going and chased him for about a mile while he was about 60/70m ahead of me. When I eventually caught up with him, I was a bit cheeky and was drifting in his slipstream. After about 500 yards he noticed me then we had a wee chat. He’s a member of his local cycling club, and was impressed with my speed after mentioning I was doing a solo LEJOG bike ride. He was en route to Fort William so we rode along together for the next 40ish miles which was great. What was funny was that we were talking more and more about cycling and how amazing it is in Scotland then I realised something rather amusing. That before training for this bike ride, I had actually never done any bike touring whatsoever. All I have done is cycle around parts of London and Glasgow to get from A to B and last years London-Paris (which was as I have mentioned in a big group). So 800 miles into this, I’d only just realised that I had taken on a whopping big challenge with my limited experience, and I was so pleased to hear that I’ve a great pace on day 9. This does explain why I have not managed to do 150 yet in a day. In all honesty, I was being a weeeeeee bit too ambitious it’s safe to say. However, it still has been a great challenge, and there is still about 200 miles left! Cheer for the company Mike!

So, as I’m staying at the foot of loch ness tonight, I decided to go for a wee walk and enjoy the view. I eventually got chatting to a couple of guys from “Leeeeeeeds”. Peter and Tim, who are on their own hired mini yacht thing, going along a few lochs. We had a really engaging chat about the Israeli Palestine conflict and Pete was even generous enough to give me a book of his on this very subject! Was a late night of good chat, tea and tasty Scottish fudge! Thanks!

On that note. I’m off to sleep now. Big breakfast is being served at 8!

One last thing I’ll mention, is how incredibly beautiful today’s cycle was. This photo just cannot capture how amazing today was, but you get the idea!

Goodnight! :)

The days are just getting better and better now, and I’m learning so much more about myself and what I’m capable of. My top speed was 34.7 and I covered 107 miles.

So, after a wonderful evening with my wonderful parents, my sweet wee ma fuelled me up with a carb loaded breakfast then I was on my way to central station to meet a fellow cyclist, Neil Mckie who responded to my offer for anyone wishing to join me on a cycle to gourock. So, cycled 100 yards away from home and I had the most excruciating pain in my left Achilles tendon. I have never experienced pain like this before so this was a bit of a worry for me.

So, getting the train from central station back to Kilmarnock, my uncle came along to see me off which really lifted my spirits! After a shaky start with directions, Neil and I covered 40 miles along the beautiful west coast of Scotland with my tendon still screaming for attention. Although he was zipping way ahead of me, it was encouraging having someone to try and catch/keep up with, and was a nice reminder of how tough a solo ride along the uk really is! Anyway, after 40 miles, I was on my own in dunoon, setting a course for a place called Taynault, 60ish miles away to meet a lady who contacted me via my blog on behalf of an organisation called “Oban concern for Palestine”.

So, after around 10 miles, my left knee started screaming for a bit of attention as well, on top of this was the weather. Now, here’s an idea of the rain I cycled through. First, you get a wee drizzle, then you get light rain, heavy rain, then Scottish rain! I was soaked to the skin, and my left leg was close to falling off! I pushed through until Inverary which was 7:13pm, and was told I had about 25 miles to Taynault. This was very hard to deal with in the rain. There were nice bits where the rain was off, and I even managed to nip into Loch Fyne restaurant to sample a lovely milky oyster.

Anyway, back to the cycle.

It was starting to get dark at 8, and I was SO close to calling into a b&b I saw with a vacancy, around 20 miles before taynault, but I felt this urge to get there, and not let the two people down who were waiting for me. The rain wasn’t showing signs of calming down, and the hills were steep, but what got me through this was knowing that I have the luxury of a hot shower waiting for me at the end of this, and a good meal. No matter what I’m going through, it will always end on a high, and again, I am aware of how lucky I am that I have such comforts, when others don’t.

Also, the views cycling through Argyll Forest Park, Loch Fyne, Loch Awe and other roads were STUNNING! Sun set whilst a wee bit of adrenalin rushing through me (after an energy gel) was incredible! Light was low, energy was up and I kept charging on to the very end. Felt great when I arrived!

I think I’ve written too much, but I want to end by saying I was greeted upon my arrival in Taynault at 9:30 by Joy and her sister Doreen who were worth the hard cycle for! Thank you for the great meal, great chat and your hospitality! I will now pass out, and look forward to more pain tomorrow, oh yes!

Wow! What an amazing day! Finally crossed the border and met some lovely chaps at the “Scotland welcomes you“ sign, Simon and Chris, who had reached this point on day 9 (I’m on day 7) from Land’s End, and they’re raising money for a charity dedicated to Motor Neurone Disease, a good cause at that too!

So, this was in my mind a straightforward road to Dumfries, then the epic A76 which stretches for miles on end, however, as I am beginning to learn with this trip, VERY LITTLE goes according to plan, and today’s surprise, was the strong strong westerly winds, almost trying their hardest to even prevent from reaching the west. This for about 60 miles, on twisty roads was VERY tough! However, as I’ve been learning to deal with the difficulties more and more this challenge has offered, and knowing there was some great food back home my mum was cooking up, I was so determined to get through this. Regular stops for plenty of food, and drinks kept me physically sound, so I was able to focus on reaching Kilmarnock, counting down the slow slow miles, one by one. It almost felt like running up an escalator that going the wrong way. So, on this route, I had to make one extra stop at a really cool bike shop/farm. All I’ll say, is this guy makes some nice bikes, and refurbishes 2nd hand ones as well. Here’s a link to his site but I’ve not really had time to look at it yet. It felt amazing when I reached Kilmarnock, I’m just too knackered to write more I’m afraid. Got a train home to spend a lovely short evening with my amazing parents, and tomorrow, I’ll get the train back out to Kilmarnock to continue this fantastic journey. If anyone in Glasgow would like to say hello, I’ll be in Central Station around 10:15am, I had the lovely opportunity to meet my friend Julie on the train briefly. Thanks for the Snickers bar! x

Oh, and top speed was 30.5mph and total distance was 99.88 miles.

So! Here I am in Carlisle and what a great day of cycling it was indeed, mainly thanks to the Castros in Blackpool! Top speed of 37.7mph, and a distance of 95.1 miles was today’s result. My overall mileage so far is 542.1 miles.

Mr and Mrs Castro cooked an amazing pasta meal for me, and breakfast was a highly carbo charged bowl of porridge, a plate of rice with a fried egg and good wee cup of coffee! Mrs Castro even went to the trouble of making me a packed lunch and a packet of seeds/cranberries. This was such a great accompaniment to the new music playlist created especially for me by young Simon Castro, great music which included the formidable track, “Star Guitar” by the Chemical Brothers (thank you Julie for the iTunes gift as well!). I was eating very regularly an drinking as much as water as possible and just feeling amazing mentally and physically (despite a tingling pain in my Achilles tendon).

So, some of the highlights from today was cycling through Shap Fell. A beautiful part of the country and also a famous route for having one of the highest roads in the country, at 1,410 feet! This was such a great climb in perfect weather, and just after this I met a lovely old couple while I was en route to Kendal. They noticed my accent and we had a great wee natter about Glasgow, as it’s one of their favourite cities. The gentleman even taught someone art at school who ended up doing an MA in fine art at the GSA! Later, whilst munching on a baked tattie in the square in Kendal, I got chatting to this old fella from Spain. He was about 60 years old, and was in company with his great wee Brompton bike. It turns out, that around 1971, he used to live in Milngavie! This is the small suburb of Glasgow that I was brought up in, and he taught Spanish at Bearsden Academy. Small world eh?

Tomorrow, I’ll be crossing the border, and planning on arriving in Irvine or Largs. I’ll get a train back to Milngavie for a night, then back to Irvine/Largs the next morning. If anyone would like to join me for a wee cycle up the coast, or say hello to me in central station on Wednesday morning at around 8am, that would be delightful!

Can’t wait to get this journey into Scotland!

Awrabest!

Yesterday, I wrote about repetition, but that doesn’t even come close to what I saw today! Of course, before I carry on, my top speed was 34mph and I covered a small distance of 57 miles (which I’ll explain in a bit).

So, left my base on the A49 this morning and headed 7 miles north into Warrington. EVERY single roundabout is under the ownership of either McDonalds or some Traditional English Carvery place and this is all I saw for miles! Still recovering from the dismal performance yesterday, and I was mentally drained and all I could think about was this repetition on the road which was my driving factor to get on with it and see something different for a change. Roadkill is very depressing as well. I don’t think I’ll escape the Eric Cantona Sky Sports billboard adverts for a while though! After my usual sluggish 1st hour which I have been dealing with every day, I couldn’t shake it off after 2 hours of slow and pathetic cycling. I just couldn’t concentrate, I went through a couple of red lights by accident as I wasn’t paying attention, missed a turn, ended up south of Warrington after cycling through it and had to repeat 5 miles again. I was just not up to scratch. My lock also fell out of my bag at some point, so that going missing just made this a crap start to the day.

My body was clearly telling me to call it a day, so I pushed on a wee bit more and aimed for Preston at a leisurely pace, to then get a train to Blackpool to stay with my friends parents (getting a train back to Preston tomorrow morning). To get to Preston, I cycled through Chorley which was rather pretty (no offence to any Wigan or Warrington residents) and ended up joining a bike race which was underway! This was great as it gave me a chance to increase my pace a bit, but it turned out these guys were doing the iron man! It’s insane but chirped me up!

Just after Chorley, I spotted a couple of cyclists with loads of kit and I could tell they were fellow end-to-enders. Tried to chat with them as we cycled along, and they were on day 7 at this stage (where I’m on day 5). They looked really knackered at this stage and were surprised how jolly I was, so maybe I was just feeling sorry myself or something.

So, I’m in a lovely home in Blackpool, I’ve been treated really well by the Castros, clothes are washed and iPod shuffle has new library of “choons” which will work in my favour tomorrow hopefully. Let’s shake this middle England thing off and finally get to Carlisle tomorrow! Come on!!! Scream if you wanna go fasterrrrrrrrrr!