Well, now we've had a (short) night to recover, here's the account of the final day. We should first mention the very fine hospitality of Paul and Mary Drummond in our B&B in Tenbury Wells - in addition to the kindness shown to us yesterday and the hosepipe for washing down the bikes, they are extremely cyclist-friendly and we cannot recommend their B&B highly enough. Many thanks to you both again!
Middle Bruv Martin had set a tough target of 8.30 for our departure time, in order to pick up Bruvette Naomi from Yate at 13.00, yet still have time for a coffee stop. Needless to say we missed this and left a bit before 9 so we were threatened with no coffee unless we made up the time on the road. Surprisingly the wind seemed to have veered West overnight and we enjoyed a following wind on the rolling roads to Bromyard and Ledbury (Kiwi Bruv decided his water bottle was more photogenic than the Bruvs - see photo - but then decided to leave one behind for a second time!). In fact things were going so well we arrived in Newent 15 minutes ahead of schedule so were allowed a quick stop at one of Martin's favourite cafes - the Good News Cafe. Respect to Alan Millard from the Westbury Wheelers who had left at 7am to ride out to meet us (covering 150 miles for the day), and joined us at Newent.
Laden with cake we again flew from Newent with the following wind to Gloucester where things got suddenly harder as we turned into the strengthening headwind again. The next few miles down the A38 were really quite hard work but we managed to avoid the very heavy rain as we rode from dry roads to rivers of water and bac to dry roads again! Due to the wind and a calculation error on Martin's behalf, we didn't arrive into Yate station until 2pm (sorry Naomi - hope the trains were interesting...).
Lunch followed soon afterwards at The Bell in Chipping Sodbury where Georgie and Keeley behind the bar were just awesome! In fact this just mirrored people's kindness and generosity over the whole trip with many people we met donating to the two charities we are supporting (people in B&Bs, cafes, pubs, ferries, ...) - we even came back to a B&B one evening and found a guest had rolled up a fiver and left it in the keyhole of our door!
In the warm afternoon sun a new plan was hatched - the group would ride together across the edge of the Cotswolds taking in some small villages (with pubs...). A tortoise group would ride tempo with a few 'hares' leap-frogging them to drum up support at a couple of hostelries (yeah right, Bruvs, that almost sounds convincing!). So the pace for the afternoon was very relaxed, including an ice cream stop, and we did receive a few donations during the afternoon, so definitely worthwhile. The Westbury Wheelers club captain Simon Hurd joined us for the afternoon - many thanks for all your support over the week Simon - it was brilliant.
All too soon the end of the ride was in sight (as the Bruvs struggled to catch Bruvette Naomi up the final hill to Upton Scudamore), and the welcoming party cheering from the bridge over the road with banners welcoming us home. We weren't quite finished as a quick dash to Warminster was needed for a final photo, before it was 3km back to upton Scudamore for some well-earned refreshment.
So, the statistics for the week are 652 miles (1049km), 39 hours 35 minutes riding time, 16.5 mph average, about 1 Everest of vertical climbing, 2 mechanical problems (both kiwi bruv!), some strange noises from little Bruvs freewheel, NO VISITS FROM THE PUNCTURE FAIRY (we can say that now we've finished), 10 kg of sausages consumed, 101 pints of beer drunk, 15 bottles of wine! 20 hours of sun, 6 hours of rain, 2 dams, 3 bridges, 4 ferries and 4 very tired Tillin bruvs!!!!!
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Day 7: Job done!
Very quick update - we arrived in Warminster around an hour ago and are now back in Upton Scudamore recovering. After catching up with families, Tour de France highlights and a couple of showers, I'll provide an update of today's last Stage of the Tillin 1000...
Friday, 8 July 2011
Day 6 pt II
K so two final points for the day before we leave for some welcome kip:
The Guinness poll final result - I fear we may have exaggerated the extent of our Guinness capacity and must admit that we only managed 45 pints during our stay on the Emerald Isle.
Last but not least, we are all looking forward to being joined by Little Bruvette Naomi tomorrow for the last 50 mile stretch. We've heard rumours that Naomi has been getting some sneaky training in to prepare ;-)
The Guinness poll final result - I fear we may have exaggerated the extent of our Guinness capacity and must admit that we only managed 45 pints during our stay on the Emerald Isle.
Last but not least, we are all looking forward to being joined by Little Bruvette Naomi tomorrow for the last 50 mile stretch. We've heard rumours that Naomi has been getting some sneaky training in to prepare ;-)
Day 6: the Penultimate...
Day 6: Liverpool to Tenbury Wells, 95.4 miles (154ish km), 1000m of vert, several cubic tonnes of rain and several thousand miles of wind...
After an interesting evening of Shiraz and Nomination Whist in the bar on the Belfast to Liverpool overnight ferry (one of the lads got a little competitive, although I will not mention any names) ... (well unless you ply me with a couple of drinks tomorrow when we finish the ride), we retired to our 4 berth cabin for a few hours of kip before a rude awakening on the Tannoy at 5:15am (5:20am, 5:30am, 5:40am, 5:55am - ok we got it the first time!)
After eventually leaving the boat (they wouldn't let us ride out and sent us a special bus!) we grabbed a train under the Mersey to Liverpool city and headed for the Malmaison hotel and a liaison and (very reassuring) breakfast with cousie Helen. Lucky for us she's the GM at this quite wonderful hotel and managed to get us in the door, bikes stashed and sat down to Breakfast in a jiffy. Breakfast was lovely and catching up with Helen even better - the lads all realised they should be doing that a lot more often...
A meeting with a good friend John Swinney in Chester loomed and time was running short - unfortunately Kel (plonker) managed to get tickets for the pleasure cruise rather than the commuter ferry, but by the time they realised they were heading in the wrong direction down the Mersey.. All very amusing.
Faux pas... Oops etc.
40 mins later and on the road finally into a horrible Southerly wind and rain, the boys cracked on to meet John and after eventually doing so continued South...(swin was very good about the wait)
Ok, its getting late, so lets go with highlights of the day:
1) waking up on a ferry with 3 smelly blokes (highlight?)
2) descending the 1km long escalator on the ferry only to learn they wouldn't let us off!
3) metro ride with our bikes to the Malmaison hotel with Liverpool commuters..
4) Malmaison breakfast with the lads awesome cousin Helen (lovely lady!) which even included special potato bread cooked up by Chefs who had never heard of it! Emotional.
5) lovely scenic love boat cruise organised by Kel
6) traffic lights through the Wirral as boys raced down to meet Swinney - Kel went on ahead to reduce the waiting time...
7) John Swinney - what a legend taking a day off work to join the lads in the rain
8) amazing lunch at the Dickin Arms pub in some tiny Village - landlord and general reception amazing
9) great pub in Ludlow - middle Bruv apparently won a load of sign sprints (dubious to say the least)
10) going down a closed road which was covered in slurry. Not nice.
11) lots of silly sprints - all good fun
12) arrival at superb B&B run by Paul and Mary Drummond - they are looking after us big time - they handed us a beer when we arrived!
13) superb meal (possibly best of week) at the Pembroke Arms in Tenbury Wells - lamb was melt in your mouth...
Done for now - need sleep.
Wonderful week spent with a worthy bunch of lads - my hat is off to these very fine Tillin Gentlemen.
And a huge Thanks to everyone who donated and supported us for being such decent human beings ;-)
Final updates and pics to follow tomorrow - 100 miles to go!
After an interesting evening of Shiraz and Nomination Whist in the bar on the Belfast to Liverpool overnight ferry (one of the lads got a little competitive, although I will not mention any names) ... (well unless you ply me with a couple of drinks tomorrow when we finish the ride), we retired to our 4 berth cabin for a few hours of kip before a rude awakening on the Tannoy at 5:15am (5:20am, 5:30am, 5:40am, 5:55am - ok we got it the first time!)
After eventually leaving the boat (they wouldn't let us ride out and sent us a special bus!) we grabbed a train under the Mersey to Liverpool city and headed for the Malmaison hotel and a liaison and (very reassuring) breakfast with cousie Helen. Lucky for us she's the GM at this quite wonderful hotel and managed to get us in the door, bikes stashed and sat down to Breakfast in a jiffy. Breakfast was lovely and catching up with Helen even better - the lads all realised they should be doing that a lot more often...
A meeting with a good friend John Swinney in Chester loomed and time was running short - unfortunately Kel (plonker) managed to get tickets for the pleasure cruise rather than the commuter ferry, but by the time they realised they were heading in the wrong direction down the Mersey.. All very amusing.
Faux pas... Oops etc.
40 mins later and on the road finally into a horrible Southerly wind and rain, the boys cracked on to meet John and after eventually doing so continued South...(swin was very good about the wait)
Ok, its getting late, so lets go with highlights of the day:
1) waking up on a ferry with 3 smelly blokes (highlight?)
2) descending the 1km long escalator on the ferry only to learn they wouldn't let us off!
3) metro ride with our bikes to the Malmaison hotel with Liverpool commuters..
4) Malmaison breakfast with the lads awesome cousin Helen (lovely lady!) which even included special potato bread cooked up by Chefs who had never heard of it! Emotional.
5) lovely scenic love boat cruise organised by Kel
6) traffic lights through the Wirral as boys raced down to meet Swinney - Kel went on ahead to reduce the waiting time...
7) John Swinney - what a legend taking a day off work to join the lads in the rain
8) amazing lunch at the Dickin Arms pub in some tiny Village - landlord and general reception amazing
9) great pub in Ludlow - middle Bruv apparently won a load of sign sprints (dubious to say the least)
10) going down a closed road which was covered in slurry. Not nice.
11) lots of silly sprints - all good fun
12) arrival at superb B&B run by Paul and Mary Drummond - they are looking after us big time - they handed us a beer when we arrived!
13) superb meal (possibly best of week) at the Pembroke Arms in Tenbury Wells - lamb was melt in your mouth...
Done for now - need sleep.
Wonderful week spent with a worthy bunch of lads - my hat is off to these very fine Tillin Gentlemen.
And a huge Thanks to everyone who donated and supported us for being such decent human beings ;-)
Final updates and pics to follow tomorrow - 100 miles to go!
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Day 4 part 3 - the final chapter (well, of day 4 anyway!)
Full update from day 4 follows;
We awoke to the sound of heavy rain, but by the time we dragged our sore legs down to breakfast the sun was out! Yey!
After a gorgeous breakfast, we were sent on our way with happy smiles, kisses and waves of encouragement. After a fast run out of Dundalk and Adrian getting dropped for the first time! We hit the undulations up to Newry. The original plan was to get the ferry from Omeith to Warren Point but the low tide put pay to that so a 13km detour ensued. On the plus side we did find a metal stag on a roundabout to have some fun with! Much to the amusement of passing motorists!
From Warren Point we had a long climb up into the Mourne mountains, followed by a long ish descent and straight up a steep ish climb to the Spelga dam. At this point, Martin decided we were best avoiding the 9m sign to Newcastle (all planned) and we promptly went completely the other way into the wind! After more descending, we hit a pretty unexpected but fairly horrible set of hills - and now 11m to Newcastle! However Bruv was forgiven for a stunning fast coast road into Newcastle, where a stop at the famous Mauds coffee shop for soup and fantastic crepes with their home made icecream was very welcome after a long stint in the saddle.
By the way, Newcastle was even more windy than a certain Tillin Bruv who shall remain nameless!
The next very long, but redeemingly pretty detour, undulated all the way to Strangford Loch, only punctuated by yet more silly photos on roundabouts and more horn tooting by amused drivers! After another nice descent into Strangford we waited for the ferry to Portaferry, in unbroken and warm sunshine (Irish weather forecast was for heavy rain all day!).
At this point it's worth mentioning that Kel managed a whole day without a mechanical, although he did manage to leave his drinks bottle on the ferry! Doh!
Another lovely coast road, although slightly puzzled why the water was on the left when we were convinced it should've been on the right?! Hey ho, we were still following the green lines on our Garmins, the sun was shining, it was warm and the wind was blowing us towards our destination.
A final stop 15 miles from Carrickfergus for some black liquid refreshment followed where we had to sit outside on a wall! (don't ask!) then a quick run through Belfast city centre and some slightly less salubrious parts of town were done at pace, particularly by Kel, who was keen to keep moving!
Out of Belfast, we knocked out the final few kms to Carrickfergus where we were more than happy to see the official ride destination! But wait? No one about to take any the obligatory picture! A quick door knock later, a very kind lady obliged and we were done (N. Irish people really are the friendliest, and talkative, people in the world). Applause please...........
We awoke to the sound of heavy rain, but by the time we dragged our sore legs down to breakfast the sun was out! Yey!
After a gorgeous breakfast, we were sent on our way with happy smiles, kisses and waves of encouragement. After a fast run out of Dundalk and Adrian getting dropped for the first time! We hit the undulations up to Newry. The original plan was to get the ferry from Omeith to Warren Point but the low tide put pay to that so a 13km detour ensued. On the plus side we did find a metal stag on a roundabout to have some fun with! Much to the amusement of passing motorists!
From Warren Point we had a long climb up into the Mourne mountains, followed by a long ish descent and straight up a steep ish climb to the Spelga dam. At this point, Martin decided we were best avoiding the 9m sign to Newcastle (all planned) and we promptly went completely the other way into the wind! After more descending, we hit a pretty unexpected but fairly horrible set of hills - and now 11m to Newcastle! However Bruv was forgiven for a stunning fast coast road into Newcastle, where a stop at the famous Mauds coffee shop for soup and fantastic crepes with their home made icecream was very welcome after a long stint in the saddle.
By the way, Newcastle was even more windy than a certain Tillin Bruv who shall remain nameless!
The next very long, but redeemingly pretty detour, undulated all the way to Strangford Loch, only punctuated by yet more silly photos on roundabouts and more horn tooting by amused drivers! After another nice descent into Strangford we waited for the ferry to Portaferry, in unbroken and warm sunshine (Irish weather forecast was for heavy rain all day!).
At this point it's worth mentioning that Kel managed a whole day without a mechanical, although he did manage to leave his drinks bottle on the ferry! Doh!
Another lovely coast road, although slightly puzzled why the water was on the left when we were convinced it should've been on the right?! Hey ho, we were still following the green lines on our Garmins, the sun was shining, it was warm and the wind was blowing us towards our destination.
A final stop 15 miles from Carrickfergus for some black liquid refreshment followed where we had to sit outside on a wall! (don't ask!) then a quick run through Belfast city centre and some slightly less salubrious parts of town were done at pace, particularly by Kel, who was keen to keep moving!
Out of Belfast, we knocked out the final few kms to Carrickfergus where we were more than happy to see the official ride destination! But wait? No one about to take any the obligatory picture! A quick door knock later, a very kind lady obliged and we were done (N. Irish people really are the friendliest, and talkative, people in the world). Applause please...........
Flip flop vote result
For all those wondering, it comes as no surprise that you voted the coolest flip flops were Pete's amazing blue and white ones! How Martin got 3 votes is still a mystery but we suspect some regional family support? (attempted vote rigging!)
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Day 4 part 2(ish)
Ok kids, we've arrived in Carrickfergus after a long day of 175km and 1500m of climbing - I'm going to keep this short and sweet as we will have more time and energy (and most of a day off) tomorrow and will provide a more comprehensive and amusing update then.
We are 436 miles, or 701 kilometres into the ride and have managed 6000+ metres of climbing as well, so not flat by any means...
For those of you who haven't yet, please hit the charity sites if you're feeling generous - or check out our photos on the right for a laugh.
Full ride update tomorrow!
We are 436 miles, or 701 kilometres into the ride and have managed 6000+ metres of climbing as well, so not flat by any means...
For those of you who haven't yet, please hit the charity sites if you're feeling generous - or check out our photos on the right for a laugh.
Full ride update tomorrow!
Ok, so we've had comments that the blog updates are being publishes quite later in the evening (a bit difficult if we can't find wi-fi and we do need to rest and refuel!), so here is an early one to kick of day 4.
We're staying in an amazing little bed and breakfast called Una's Little Haven in Dundalk - run by a lovely lady called Una. She's looked after us extremely well - even to the point of dropping us done to the pub she recommended for dinner. She asked the staff to look after us we were treated like royalty and enjoyed the finest
meal (and a nice pint of Guinness) of the week to date. A huge Irish steak, some good Irish taters and topped off with some stunning homemade deserts (Baileys cheesecake was a winner!).
Una was such a considerate host that she even came back to collect us back to the B&B! Irish hospitality remains amongst the finest in the world.
We wanted to stay up to 11:30pm to catch the Tour De France highlights after missing them the day before, so we settled in for a quick game of Nomination Whist - clinically and decisively won by Martin.
TDF highlights done and heads hit pillows. Hard.
Start of day 4, over 330 miles and 4500 metres of climbing in the legs, but the Guinness is sustaining us well...
We're expecting rain as we head into the Morn mountains today, but we've had the luck of the Irish so far, so let's see....
Amazing Irish breakfast consumed as ready to set off - might try and get a couple of pics uploaded before we leave.
We're staying in an amazing little bed and breakfast called Una's Little Haven in Dundalk - run by a lovely lady called Una. She's looked after us extremely well - even to the point of dropping us done to the pub she recommended for dinner. She asked the staff to look after us we were treated like royalty and enjoyed the finest
meal (and a nice pint of Guinness) of the week to date. A huge Irish steak, some good Irish taters and topped off with some stunning homemade deserts (Baileys cheesecake was a winner!).
Una was such a considerate host that she even came back to collect us back to the B&B! Irish hospitality remains amongst the finest in the world.
We wanted to stay up to 11:30pm to catch the Tour De France highlights after missing them the day before, so we settled in for a quick game of Nomination Whist - clinically and decisively won by Martin.
TDF highlights done and heads hit pillows. Hard.
Start of day 4, over 330 miles and 4500 metres of climbing in the legs, but the Guinness is sustaining us well...
We're expecting rain as we head into the Morn mountains today, but we've had the luck of the Irish so far, so let's see....
Amazing Irish breakfast consumed as ready to set off - might try and get a couple of pics uploaded before we leave.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Day 3!
Well, it had to happen eventually? Day 3 dawned without any sun, and by the time we had consumed our fantastic breakfasts and got ready, we emerged only to find it had started raining! However, the rain stayed light over Snowdonia and we had a great tail wind blowing us to Holyhead.
We've also decided that in the main, car drivers are very good, but a few are just such impatient idiots! We were on a pretty tight time schedule today, so really had to get our heads down and nail it over to Holyhead, so apologies for the lack of pictures! However, before we got to Holyhead Kel had his inevitable daily mechanical! Today's tale of woe involved his rear brake wobbling so loose that we couldn't actually tighten it up again! After some racing for signs that none of us could pronounce (Adrian won them all from the back including RAF Valley) Kel won the all important Holyhead sign and we arrived at the ferry. Kel then proceeded to have a clothing mechanical! His beloved Assos rain proof packed up, we are all now seriously starting to wonder if he'll make it to the end at all?!
Anyway, no sooner had we got on the ferry that the lovely lady starting handing around sick bags in preparation for the rough crossing ahead. It really wasn't as bad as all that and after a couple of expensive but very mediocre coffees the playing cards came out and the usual competitive natures were exposed! Do we really have to take everything so seriously?!
Ferry done, and Kel's clothing mechanical mended, we headed into Dublin to get Kel's bike sorted. Again! Bike shop found (and having only been overtaken by a girl on a fixed 3 times!) brake mended, we headed back the way we came and out of town, north towards Dundalk. Painful though, as Dublin must have the most sets of traffic lights of anywhere we've ever been. Mile after mile of poor roads ensued, but the wind was helping so progress was swift. So swift in fact, that we found enough time to stop at the only pub we came close to, and have a couple of Guinness! (see the pictures on the blog)
With some more sponsor money donated very kindly by Anthony at McCormacks, we were on our way again, complete with beer legs!
A fast run in to Dundalk ensued, a couple of sneaky sprints (not won by senior bruv) and journeys end......
We are now all sat in this evening's pub (The Jockeys) where food and more Guinness have been fantastic. Landlady from the excellent B&B (Una's Little Haven - completely awesome) has given us a lift down and will be picking us up later. Pub also has a genuine Sean Kelly Tour De France green jersey from 1983.
More tomorrow ...
We've also decided that in the main, car drivers are very good, but a few are just such impatient idiots! We were on a pretty tight time schedule today, so really had to get our heads down and nail it over to Holyhead, so apologies for the lack of pictures! However, before we got to Holyhead Kel had his inevitable daily mechanical! Today's tale of woe involved his rear brake wobbling so loose that we couldn't actually tighten it up again! After some racing for signs that none of us could pronounce (Adrian won them all from the back including RAF Valley) Kel won the all important Holyhead sign and we arrived at the ferry. Kel then proceeded to have a clothing mechanical! His beloved Assos rain proof packed up, we are all now seriously starting to wonder if he'll make it to the end at all?!
Anyway, no sooner had we got on the ferry that the lovely lady starting handing around sick bags in preparation for the rough crossing ahead. It really wasn't as bad as all that and after a couple of expensive but very mediocre coffees the playing cards came out and the usual competitive natures were exposed! Do we really have to take everything so seriously?!
Ferry done, and Kel's clothing mechanical mended, we headed into Dublin to get Kel's bike sorted. Again! Bike shop found (and having only been overtaken by a girl on a fixed 3 times!) brake mended, we headed back the way we came and out of town, north towards Dundalk. Painful though, as Dublin must have the most sets of traffic lights of anywhere we've ever been. Mile after mile of poor roads ensued, but the wind was helping so progress was swift. So swift in fact, that we found enough time to stop at the only pub we came close to, and have a couple of Guinness! (see the pictures on the blog)
With some more sponsor money donated very kindly by Anthony at McCormacks, we were on our way again, complete with beer legs!
A fast run in to Dundalk ensued, a couple of sneaky sprints (not won by senior bruv) and journeys end......
We are now all sat in this evening's pub (The Jockeys) where food and more Guinness have been fantastic. Landlady from the excellent B&B (Una's Little Haven - completely awesome) has given us a lift down and will be picking us up later. Pub also has a genuine Sean Kelly Tour De France green jersey from 1983.
More tomorrow ...
Monday, 4 July 2011
Day 2!
Right, first things first - we want some comments on the daily posts and the photos - best way for all of you to keep us motivated on this tough week!
Ao onto day 2 - Well what can we say other than Exceptional... We're starting to feel a bit guilty that we're enjoying this too much. Raising money for good cause is supposed to hurt and include a reasonable amount of suffering... Now don't get me wrong, there are definitely aches and pains, skin missing from places that really shouldn't ever miss skin, energy levels dropping below zero and some general moaning and whining. But when it all comes down to it, we're all agreed that today was one of the best days the four of us have ever had on a bicycle.
Not only did Wales gift us with weather sent from the Heavens, but our route (superbly chosen by Martin) took us through some of most stunning scenery and quietest roads we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
And so the scene is set...
Breakfast at the Horseshoe Inn in Rhayader was more than satisfying and we set off up the Élan Valley feeling full but confident.
We soon stopped though as my (Kel) gears started playing up again... Oops sorry chaps. Problem sorted 2 mins later and we were literally flying up the huge climb up the valley. Very enjoyable, but no particularly silly moments for me to mention... Élan valley was awesome - have a look at the photos in the gallery as there are plenty!
We shot down a fast descent around an hour later and ended up in Devils Bridge where there was a reassuringly large Cappuccino beckoning. We did our best to resist but we're only human after all... We drank up, cracked on and headed up to 'the Arch' at the top of the next climb and bumped into an ex-army bloke from Warminster who took a group photo and regaled us with a story of the town we were due to stay in later than night. I'll mention the story if I don't run out of steam.
Riding through a stunning detour section recommended by the Cappucino man, we couldn't help but stop for photos evey 10 minutes. After eventually getting a bit fed up with the slower pace, Martin flew past at 60km/hr giving Pete and Kel a 'come on lads!' and then barely avoided a mad welsh sheep who had homed in and almost sent Martin flying down a hillside... Amusing at the time, but I guess you had o be there...
Honorable mentions for other moments of the day:
1) a bumpy bone jolting ride down to Tal-y-bont. Painful.
2) Kel was fascinated by a Ride Safely sign (lovely shade of yellow) and managed to collide and wrap himself around it quite effectively
3) It was the next feed and hydration stop and Pete and Kel needed a quick fix. Red Bull was not available (after being banned in Wales), so the boys got to try out the weird and wonderful Welsh energy drink 'Pussy'. The boys were smiling all afternoon.
4) Lunch. Bruv Senior was dying, so we got him in a couple of Shandies with his welsh stew which seemed to sort him out for another 20 miles. He stopped moaning until then which was a welcome relief ;-) I suspect he might break out the tow rope tomorrow.
5) the last big notable moment was the tow path to the coast - it was a bit like the Paris Roubaix, dust flying everywhere but loads of fun! I'll load some pics up later..
6) Almost Last but not least was the 40% climb in Harlech - the lads struggled but made it - steepest road in the UK!
7) Proper last but not least - we finally made Beddgelert where we are staying for the night. One giant lamb shank, several pints, 2 bottles of Shiraz (refueling is both scientific and expensive!) and a flip flop competition later I am signing out!
Until tomorrow! And a lot of rain :-(
Sent from my iPhone
Ao onto day 2 - Well what can we say other than Exceptional... We're starting to feel a bit guilty that we're enjoying this too much. Raising money for good cause is supposed to hurt and include a reasonable amount of suffering... Now don't get me wrong, there are definitely aches and pains, skin missing from places that really shouldn't ever miss skin, energy levels dropping below zero and some general moaning and whining. But when it all comes down to it, we're all agreed that today was one of the best days the four of us have ever had on a bicycle.
Not only did Wales gift us with weather sent from the Heavens, but our route (superbly chosen by Martin) took us through some of most stunning scenery and quietest roads we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
And so the scene is set...
Breakfast at the Horseshoe Inn in Rhayader was more than satisfying and we set off up the Élan Valley feeling full but confident.
We soon stopped though as my (Kel) gears started playing up again... Oops sorry chaps. Problem sorted 2 mins later and we were literally flying up the huge climb up the valley. Very enjoyable, but no particularly silly moments for me to mention... Élan valley was awesome - have a look at the photos in the gallery as there are plenty!
We shot down a fast descent around an hour later and ended up in Devils Bridge where there was a reassuringly large Cappuccino beckoning. We did our best to resist but we're only human after all... We drank up, cracked on and headed up to 'the Arch' at the top of the next climb and bumped into an ex-army bloke from Warminster who took a group photo and regaled us with a story of the town we were due to stay in later than night. I'll mention the story if I don't run out of steam.
Riding through a stunning detour section recommended by the Cappucino man, we couldn't help but stop for photos evey 10 minutes. After eventually getting a bit fed up with the slower pace, Martin flew past at 60km/hr giving Pete and Kel a 'come on lads!' and then barely avoided a mad welsh sheep who had homed in and almost sent Martin flying down a hillside... Amusing at the time, but I guess you had o be there...
Honorable mentions for other moments of the day:
1) a bumpy bone jolting ride down to Tal-y-bont. Painful.
2) Kel was fascinated by a Ride Safely sign (lovely shade of yellow) and managed to collide and wrap himself around it quite effectively
3) It was the next feed and hydration stop and Pete and Kel needed a quick fix. Red Bull was not available (after being banned in Wales), so the boys got to try out the weird and wonderful Welsh energy drink 'Pussy'. The boys were smiling all afternoon.
4) Lunch. Bruv Senior was dying, so we got him in a couple of Shandies with his welsh stew which seemed to sort him out for another 20 miles. He stopped moaning until then which was a welcome relief ;-) I suspect he might break out the tow rope tomorrow.
5) the last big notable moment was the tow path to the coast - it was a bit like the Paris Roubaix, dust flying everywhere but loads of fun! I'll load some pics up later..
6) Almost Last but not least was the 40% climb in Harlech - the lads struggled but made it - steepest road in the UK!
7) Proper last but not least - we finally made Beddgelert where we are staying for the night. One giant lamb shank, several pints, 2 bottles of Shiraz (refueling is both scientific and expensive!) and a flip flop competition later I am signing out!
Until tomorrow! And a lot of rain :-(
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Day 1: 202km (210km for Pete and Martin - weirdos)
So here we sit in the Eagles Inn in the lovely little village of Rhayader several 16oz steaks a Lasagne later (and more than a couple of pints) and we're all agreed that it has been an truly excellent start to the week. The weather has been extraordinary all day, with sun in abundance, a light breeze and plenty stunning scenery. After a compulsory kit weigh-in when Martin and Adrian arrived at the Tillin residence, Pete won with a 2.8kg backpack. Kel just missed out at 2.9kg, Martin 3.9kg and Adrian at 4.1kg (after thowing out the kitchen sink).
A quick visit to the Dorothy House charity shop in Warminster for thr official start to the ride and we headed off to Westbury. We are duty bound to throw a huge shout out to the 30 wonderful Westbury Wheelers who escorted us the first 55 miles from Warminster across to the West and across the Severn bridge into Wales where we eventually stopped in Chepstow at the Aslan Cafe - Martin commented that his Lentil soup was a bit 'Lentilally' and Kel mentioned that his bacon baguette was a bit 'unbacony', but despite these shortcomings it was a very enjoyable cafe stop and the service was superb! We parted ways with the Wheelers who headed back toward good old Blighty and headed north.
Another quickish 40km and we decided it was time to stop for an ice-cream and pulled in to the Bikers cafe in Abagavenny... I am not sure we were the type of bikers they usually welcomed, but managed to find a table and park the bikes without getting beaten up, which came as quite a relief. Off again at 3pm with 75km to go And the weather was still stunning.
Adrian was starting to suffer from sore butt syndrome so we pulled in to a cheeky little roadside pub for a pint (which got a huge thumbs up from Kel). After an interesting chat with the locals we hit the road again to finish off the last 20 miles. Adrian had serious beer legs and forgot about his sore backside and took off like a bullet. 15 minutes later after a rather unsuccessful tractor drafting attempt involving inhaling about 3 bales of hay, Kel decided it was time for a mechanical and manage to snap his gear cable (actually I just needed a rest, any excuse honest). Fortunately Pete had a spare cable and a quick 5 minute mixup the lads were off again... 10 miles later the boys finally hit Rhayader - a quick sprint to the sign (Adrian won as apparently still had beer legs).
So here we sit digesting our steaks wondering when Kel will ever finish this update... On that note, I'm done! (nightmare trying to update this thing on an iPhone).
Please check out all the new photos we've posted on the album over on the right and keep an eye as we add pics during the week.
A quick visit to the Dorothy House charity shop in Warminster for thr official start to the ride and we headed off to Westbury. We are duty bound to throw a huge shout out to the 30 wonderful Westbury Wheelers who escorted us the first 55 miles from Warminster across to the West and across the Severn bridge into Wales where we eventually stopped in Chepstow at the Aslan Cafe - Martin commented that his Lentil soup was a bit 'Lentilally' and Kel mentioned that his bacon baguette was a bit 'unbacony', but despite these shortcomings it was a very enjoyable cafe stop and the service was superb! We parted ways with the Wheelers who headed back toward good old Blighty and headed north.
Another quickish 40km and we decided it was time to stop for an ice-cream and pulled in to the Bikers cafe in Abagavenny... I am not sure we were the type of bikers they usually welcomed, but managed to find a table and park the bikes without getting beaten up, which came as quite a relief. Off again at 3pm with 75km to go And the weather was still stunning.
Adrian was starting to suffer from sore butt syndrome so we pulled in to a cheeky little roadside pub for a pint (which got a huge thumbs up from Kel). After an interesting chat with the locals we hit the road again to finish off the last 20 miles. Adrian had serious beer legs and forgot about his sore backside and took off like a bullet. 15 minutes later after a rather unsuccessful tractor drafting attempt involving inhaling about 3 bales of hay, Kel decided it was time for a mechanical and manage to snap his gear cable (actually I just needed a rest, any excuse honest). Fortunately Pete had a spare cable and a quick 5 minute mixup the lads were off again... 10 miles later the boys finally hit Rhayader - a quick sprint to the sign (Adrian won as apparently still had beer legs).
So here we sit digesting our steaks wondering when Kel will ever finish this update... On that note, I'm done! (nightmare trying to update this thing on an iPhone).
Please check out all the new photos we've posted on the album over on the right and keep an eye as we add pics during the week.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Day 0 ( is that even a day?)
Ok so it's Day 0 (packing day) and we've already had some drama (soap opera drama to be fair..) first of all after getting off the plane at 6am, promptly picked up by Pete and taxied back down to Upton Scudamore, my bike didn't want to go together for the first time in 5 years and 13 plane journeys - rear mech did a complete wobbler after taking a knock on the flight and my chain was in a weird and wonderful figure 8 which resisted all attempts at disentanglement (is that a word?). It took Pete and I roughly 2 hours to work out that we needed some more serious repair work which was finally sorted when Pete's Wife Marce gifted us with a couple of pearls of her mechanical wisdom (Marce despite your complete lack of bicycle mechanical knowledge that was a touch of the savant...). At the same time we got a call from Adrian (Bruv Senior) letting the team know that his left quad had spontaneously exploded in his sleep and he could barely lift his leg!!! Needless to say we were extremely concerned at the thought of being a man down and waited with bated breath for news. We finally received an eagerly awaited call and were greatly relieved to hear that despite the messy explosion there was no muscle damage, albeit possibly some slight bruising - it was all starting to sound to be more likely attributed to some last minute nerves at the task ahead, rather than spontaneous human meltdown ( I know I will pay for these comments at some stage this week).
Anyway after a 30 mile ride today with the Westbury Wheelers to get the legs moving and check the bike out, we stopped for a couple of Amber beverages and are now (several hours later and after watching a very eventful start to the Tour De France!) finishing off with a nice bottle of Barolo - hydration looks to be all sorted for tomorrow. Should pack my tiny backpack really but my excuse is jet lag - I'll probably be awake at 4am tomorrow so I'll pack then!
Over to you Pete!
Anyway after a 30 mile ride today with the Westbury Wheelers to get the legs moving and check the bike out, we stopped for a couple of Amber beverages and are now (several hours later and after watching a very eventful start to the Tour De France!) finishing off with a nice bottle of Barolo - hydration looks to be all sorted for tomorrow. Should pack my tiny backpack really but my excuse is jet lag - I'll probably be awake at 4am tomorrow so I'll pack then!
Over to you Pete!
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