Thursday, 5 August 2010
Written by Si... Published by AndyB
August 2nd
50 miles - John O’Groats – Betty Hill
Man of the match – Gary (boy) who cycled 50 miles with 25 kilos of luggage on his brand new mountain bike!
Highlight of the day – Puncture in the car-park at John O’Groats and the lady in the car park who made a generous donation after we answered her very simple question. Reaching 62 Kph top speed
August 3rd
83 miles – Betty Hill – Dingwall
Man of the match – Andy Barkley – for spending his 35th birthday in the highlands with us and generously helping Gary (boy) and Richard sort their falling apart bikes!
Highlight of the day – An well earned lunch after a hefty 60 mile morning. Also watching Andy down a large birthday tipple
August 4th
90 miles – Dingwall – Glencoe
MotM –The 60-odd year old Italian Stallion who managed to cycle much slower but just as far as us whilst carrying everything but a grasp of the English language. His lack of faffing (highlighted by his 10 minute fish and chip stop) was highly commendable.
Highlight(s) of the day – So much beautiful scenery along the loughs; Drumnadrochit hill – Andy banishing his demons by cycling up and zooming down the infamous hill no less than 49.8mph!! Lunch in Fort Augustus by the ‘7 Sisters’ lough gates accompanied by lots of barge activity, good food, bagpipes, drummer, a big soft Loch Ness monster, a young dancing lassie, harp playing and wait for it… beautiful sunshine which we dozed in. Oh and finishing …to a royal feast prepared by Andy B!
50 miles - John O’Groats – Betty Hill
Man of the match – Gary (boy) who cycled 50 miles with 25 kilos of luggage on his brand new mountain bike!
Highlight of the day – Puncture in the car-park at John O’Groats and the lady in the car park who made a generous donation after we answered her very simple question. Reaching 62 Kph top speed
August 3rd
83 miles – Betty Hill – Dingwall
Man of the match – Andy Barkley – for spending his 35th birthday in the highlands with us and generously helping Gary (boy) and Richard sort their falling apart bikes!
Highlight of the day – An well earned lunch after a hefty 60 mile morning. Also watching Andy down a large birthday tipple
August 4th
90 miles – Dingwall – Glencoe
MotM –The 60-odd year old Italian Stallion who managed to cycle much slower but just as far as us whilst carrying everything but a grasp of the English language. His lack of faffing (highlighted by his 10 minute fish and chip stop) was highly commendable.
Highlight(s) of the day – So much beautiful scenery along the loughs; Drumnadrochit hill – Andy banishing his demons by cycling up and zooming down the infamous hill no less than 49.8mph!! Lunch in Fort Augustus by the ‘7 Sisters’ lough gates accompanied by lots of barge activity, good food, bagpipes, drummer, a big soft Loch Ness monster, a young dancing lassie, harp playing and wait for it… beautiful sunshine which we dozed in. Oh and finishing …to a royal feast prepared by Andy B!
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Wed 4th August
This is the first blog entry since we left Andy’s house at 10:30a.m. on Sunday. We’d planned to be more frequent bloggers but poor signal at our chosen stopping places put paid to that idea.
We’re all well. No problems, and making good progress.
We spent Sunday night camping near Aviemore. The drive there was easy. We all took turns and only had one brief jam just South of the Forth Bridge. Weather was fairly bleak – with many heavy downpours the further North we went.
We made good progress to John O’Groats on Monday stopping briefly in Wick for last minute provisions and access to a FREE cashpoint!
We got there at 11:00a.m. and after some bike fettling and photo opportunities, tthe ride proper got underway at noon.
Monday night was spent camping at Bettyhill, and dinner was a novel Curry con Carne sans ongion (our only onion was not up to Simon’s exacting standards, and the shop had copious amounts of curry powder – but no chilli!)
We met with a couple of very enthusiastic but hopelessly ill prepared young lads – Gary and Richard – who had various technical issues, and also no idea of the route. But that’s a story for another day.
Good progress was made on Tuesday – we camped at Dingwall, right beside Ross county’s football ground. The locals are still very proud of their team making it to last season’s Scottish Cup Final.
Yesterday was my 35th birthday, and to celebrate we whooped it up at ‘The Mallard’ with fish and chips or lasagne.
And so to today. Heavy overnight rain ddampened spirits, but by the time we had breakfasted it was all but gone.
The infamous hill at Drumnadrochit was conquered and the plan is to camp somewhere south of Fort William.
Thanks to everyone who has ddonated to our chosen charity. If you’re reading this and feeling guilty ‘cos you haven’t flexed your plastic yet…. Well there’s no time like the present!
We’re all well. No problems, and making good progress.
We spent Sunday night camping near Aviemore. The drive there was easy. We all took turns and only had one brief jam just South of the Forth Bridge. Weather was fairly bleak – with many heavy downpours the further North we went.
We made good progress to John O’Groats on Monday stopping briefly in Wick for last minute provisions and access to a FREE cashpoint!
We got there at 11:00a.m. and after some bike fettling and photo opportunities, tthe ride proper got underway at noon.
Monday night was spent camping at Bettyhill, and dinner was a novel Curry con Carne sans ongion (our only onion was not up to Simon’s exacting standards, and the shop had copious amounts of curry powder – but no chilli!)
We met with a couple of very enthusiastic but hopelessly ill prepared young lads – Gary and Richard – who had various technical issues, and also no idea of the route. But that’s a story for another day.
Good progress was made on Tuesday – we camped at Dingwall, right beside Ross county’s football ground. The locals are still very proud of their team making it to last season’s Scottish Cup Final.
Yesterday was my 35th birthday, and to celebrate we whooped it up at ‘The Mallard’ with fish and chips or lasagne.
And so to today. Heavy overnight rain ddampened spirits, but by the time we had breakfasted it was all but gone.
The infamous hill at Drumnadrochit was conquered and the plan is to camp somewhere south of Fort William.
Thanks to everyone who has ddonated to our chosen charity. If you’re reading this and feeling guilty ‘cos you haven’t flexed your plastic yet…. Well there’s no time like the present!
Saturday, 10 July 2010
The start of the end... to end Malaria
With just 3 weeks to go until we make the long drive up to John O'Groats, preparations are finally coming together. A big thank you to Andy Barkley who has kindly agreed to support us on our challenge, giving us a massive boost and adding some experience to the team. Apart from having done LEJOG (Lands End to John O'Groats) a few times before himself, he knows how to change a tyre (which is a massive boost to us) and is pretty hand with a camera so look out for some interesting videos of the beauties of the Scottish Highlands as well as keeping track of our progress.
Speaking of hills, training is starting to pick up pace, although I am still struggling to find any decent hills in Suffolk which isn't filling me with confidence about tackling the Highlands, never mind the Devon and Cornwall hills!
As for fundraising, thanks to the very generous donations of staff and students from Thurston Community College who have contributed £145 in just 5 days, the ball is well and truly rolling. Please keep giving and encourage your friends, family and work colleagues to get involved. Remember, just £5 will pay for and deliver a mosquito net which can protect a mother and baby or two young children at night. To find out more about what impact your money will have go to http://www.malarianomore.org.uk/
To make a donation go to http://justgiving.com/endtoendmalaria
Strength and honour!
Simon
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