Day Eight - (31st May)

Day 8 of 9. The penultimate day. Last but one. Whichever way you look at it we're nearly there.

However, getting more nearly there required us to cover another 106 miles today from Bristol to Okehampton. This was to be a challenging day, with previous end-to-end participants telling tales of woe of the rolling hills of Devon. Some clever map planning, some internet research, and some local knowledge meant that our first 60 miles turned out to be pretty flat. Despite the comfortable terrain we remained disciplined, maintaining a steady pace with head down into the relentless headwind. And thus, at around 2pm, we found ourselves in the centre of Tiverton eating lunch in the sunshine. This was the precursor to an afternoon of climbing, descending, and climbing. However, our research proved invaluable as we managed to avoid the Cadbury Hills by taking an alternative route - still climbing and descending but a bit less vicious.

An afternoon tea stop consisted of large scones, jam and cream - when in Rome and all that - before further climbing and saw us arrive in Okehampton. Wet from the last two hours of persistent drizzle.

Stat's for the last but one day look a bit like this...

Miles today: 106
Miles so far: 786
Climb today: 1655 metres (5430 feet)
Confidence score 10/10, of course!

This is is then now - we're pretty much there! Tomorrow is the last day of riding before home beckons and a comfy bed, peace and quiet and relaxing Radox bath. But let's not get carried away - there's still 11% of this adventure to go......

More photos uploaded today (and all resized to make loading quicker)
www.utrak.me.uk/jogle

Day Seven - (30th May)

Our quest to reach the goal that Land's End continues.

Todays leg of the journey saw team Upside Down travel the 110 miles from Shrewsbury to Bristol via places such as Hereford and Monmouth - and that also meant a brief foray into our third country of the journey - Wales. Since traversing Shap earlier in the ride we have been enjoying relatively flat terrain and thus have (a) made good progress, and (b) been worried about what Devon and Cornwall may have in store for us. In doing so we had overlooked what sort of terrain (and by that I mean the size/severity of the hills) on today's route. From Shrewsbury to Hereford all was pleasant - a little too breezy in the wrong direction if I'm being picky.

Lunch was obtained from Greg's and then taken in the grounds of Hereford Cathedral. We were still hungry - more of which later. Things took a turn for the worse immediately after lunch when the A49 headed skyward. This was to be a pre-cursor for a very undulating ride through Herefordshire, with one particularly nasty climb that required digging deep into the reserves of energy and motivation.

And it is that - energy and motivation - that I feel is the reason why today's ride felt so difficult. Why motivation? Well for the last 6 days we've been heading 'home' ie south from John O'Groats. Now we're heading away from home again - ie south of Shrewsbury.

But moreover today was a story of poor nutrition - and the poor utilisation of said nutrition. Essentially took few carbs taken too late in the ride. A schoolboy error if ever I saw I one - and a mistake we won't be making again any time soon!

Stats the way to do it.....!

Miles done today: 110
Miles done so far: 680
Climb today: 1807 meters (5928 feet)
Confidence score: 9.9!!

 PS - we now have a new 'least favorite road to cycle in the whole world' road - which runs from the Severn Bridge to Avonmouth....

Day Six - (29th May)

Having yesterday spent the day (or at least part of it) 'doing Shap' we'd decided that today would be a gentle recovery ride through Cheshire and Shropshire. This being ahead of our last three days and the hills of Devon and Cornwall that seasoned riders have told us many-a-tale about. And so, soon after 0800, we began the continuation of our journey south.

Today was to prove different to the last five, with Preston, Wigan and Warrington to negotiate and many many traffic signals to hold us up. Indeed a rough calculation would suggest that of the several thousand traffic signals we came across today in the order of 74.6% (give or take) were found to be on red.

Despite the continued interruptions in progress we made good time and arrived at an Upside Down supporters home in Ashton-in-Makerfield at 09:34 - just four minutes behind schedule. A fine and substantial breakfast banquet was provided and amongst much banter and hilarity we dined like Lycra-clad kings for an hour or so. Thank you Sue and family!

Our day progressed well - a combination of strong legs, reasonable terrain and light winds made for good progress. So much so that we even had time to 'join the Cheshire set' of ladies that lunch and take our refreshment stop at a fine cafe near Tarporley. A swift few miles and we rolled into our Travelodge accommodation at around 5pm after a comfortable day of riding. All boding well for the remaining miles ahead it would seem.

Our day was topped off when we were joined by family as friends for a 'table for 25' dinner at the pub. A splendid evening was, I think, enjoyed by all.

Our bikes remain in good shape and reasonably clean. Simon's bike computer battery went flat around Lancaster on day five and he spent the miles since then being thoroughly miserable and guessing his speed, or shouting at Craig and Pete 'how fast are we going?' every so often. They rarely answered! But fear not, Simon was rescued by an RAC man (in said RAC man's garden) with a new battery and a handful of cable ties.

Outrmission to reach Land's End from John O'Groats using pedal power alone continues......

Today's stats look a little like this:

Miles today: 89
Miles so far: 568
 Metres climbed today: 997 (3271 feet)
Today's total time: 6hrs 1min
Confidence score:

Day five - (28th May)

Here we are, Monday 28 May and we find ourselves not only back in England but VERY back in England- in Preston in fact.

So today saw us depart out chill pod after a somewhat unsettled nights sleep. The morning bought sunshine in the sky, a fine dew on the grass and bickering around the car.

No matter, we prepare ourselves for the day ahead with now routine set of morning chores. Despite being now well practiced we once again found ourselves heading off later than had been planned. Clockwork it is not.

With just a few miles done we found ourselves in Gretna and with much excitement and renewed enthusiasm for the miles ahead we crossed into England. A stop for photos and  witty banter and we were once again on our way. Today's route saw us cover Carlisle and then down to Kendal whereupon we were buzzed by two RAF Tornado fast jets. Awesome. At Kendal we met up with Daz who decided, for reasons best known to him, to join us to ride to the top of Shap.

And so it was that we found ourselves on the climb out of Kendal and to the roof of the world that is Shap. The ride up to the village was, in truth, steady - the bit from Shap village to the top was a tough old climb. Nonetheless we made it to the top and then, at speed, we made it to the bottom.

Lunch in Kendal was followed by a very fast 40 or so miles from Kendal to just north of Preston. 40 miles that were, by and large, without incident except for Pete's attempt to join the M6 motorway. Yes, really.

Pasta eaten, blog written, photos uploaded and bedrooms in chaos. Tomorrow is day six and very exciting as we meet friends and family for dinner in Shrewsbury! Yay!!


 Stats anyone? Don't mind if I do...

Miles today: 105
Miles so far: 480
Metres climbed today: 1286 metres (4219 feet)
Time in the saddle today: 7hrs 4mins
Confidence score: 10!!!!
More photos uploaded today
www.utrak.me.uk/jogle

Day four (27 May 2012)

Well, what a day day four turned out to be..... Staying in a guest house last night meant that we had the unusual benefit of being provided with a full Scottish breakfast (essentially a full English but in Scotland it would seem - devolution has its limits). However, being accomplished athletes and now fully fledged mountain goats (see 'Day Three') we opted for the healthier muesli followed by whole meal toast and scrambled egg option. Not the easiest of decisions... Having breakfasted and having applied a selection of creams and potions we were ready to get day four underway - and at 08:03 we rolled out of Dumbarton and over the Erskine Bridge. The next few miles proved something of a culture shock. Having not seen a set of traffic lights or a kebab shop for several hundred miles we were now surrounded by the things - kebab shops shut, traffic lights on red. Whilst this was to prove to be a frustrating start to the day it was in fact representative of a generally tough day overall. Riding into the wind isn't fun, doing so on a road surface that hasn't been maintained since the days of the highwaymen is particularly rubbish! The last nine miles into Abington were a particular low point. Should Martians land and choose that road to do so on then their only assumption will be that the planet has been abandoned by its former inhabitants and the road is now being returned to nature.... Having said all of that we stuck to our task and shortly before 6pm we rolled into Hoddom Castle to find our chill pod waiting. The sun is shining and we've taken advantage of said conditions to give Paul the opportunity to cook for us on the BBQ, and a top job he did too! So, the stats: Miles done today: 96 Miles so far: 380 Metres climbed today: 1135 metres(3,800 feet) Time in the saddle: 7hrs 9 mins Confidence score 9.8 (out of ten) And tomorrow we shall return to England....

Day three (26 May 2012)

Day three of our challenge saw us tackle the route from Fort William to Dumbarton. Essentially this meant getting on to the A82 this morning and getting off the A82 (90 miles later) this afternoon. But such a description simply doesn't do today's ride justice. Oh no! The first 20 miles from Fort William to Glencoe was ridden alongside the staggeringly beautifully Loch Linnhe. The road was flat, the sun was shining, the bikes were humming and the world was good. And then the climbing started - a continuous uphill (up mountain?) taking us ever closer to the snowy peaks that we'd seen and pointed to early in the day. All three of team Upside Down made it to the top - no walking, no car, but by pedal power and determination alone. I'm proud of us all! A quick stop at Bridge of Orchy (with Craig doing some odd stretching manouveres)and soon we find ourselves once again in the climb and rapidly(!??) getting back to the altitude we'd descended from only minutes earlier. A stop for photos at the Rannoch Moor summit (1142 feet) and the big decent commenced. What a ride (oh, and what a headwind - not forecast and relentless). Lunch in Crianlarich (served by possibly Scotland's least cheerful shopkeeper) and a brisk 20 miles later we find ourselves sweeping alongside Loch Lomond. An ice cream stop (and more odd stretching) by the loch (where we were served by Scotland's least cheerful ice cream purveyor) and we were off again, continuing our route south. And so it is that tonight we found ourselves in the Positano Guest House in Dumbarton, pondering what to eat and where to eat it. Day three done.  Today's stats then: Miles today: 90 Miles so far: 274 Metres climbed today: 1,520 (4,987 feet) Time in the saddle today: 6hrs 28mins Confidence score: 9.7 (Pete 7) out of 10 Tomorrow we shall continue our march towards 920 miles and to the goal that is Land's End!

Day two (25 May 2012)

Another day in the saddle (more of which later) another few miles towards our destination.... Today we have travelled from North to South and from East to West. And this is a good thing. As anyone that knows their geography will be aware John O'Groats is in the north east whilst Land's End is in the sou th west - thus our generally north east to south west route today can only be considered a good thing.

There is a general view that cycling over some distance will result in your, let's say, 'delicate contact point' toughening up - eventually. However, the contact point to which I refer is not as hardy as feet and hands and so day two has been a bit tender for us. It is possible to minimise the discomfort for short periods of time - either by shuffling to a slightly different position or else standing up for a while. A further option exists which is to get off the bike completely, however this is not considered either (a) wise whilst moving at speed or (b) conducive to continued good progress towards ones destination. And so today has been one of shuffling, standing, shuffling, standing, shuffling etc. etc.

And so it seems that having reached Fort William we will now be attempting to purchase pampers (or Huggies - either work for me) with a 34" waist. A quest that is unlikely to reap reward I would suggest and thus tomorrow we will be back to amply padded cycling shorts, copious amounts of chamois cream and a layering of Sudocrem for good measures.
 Todays stats then:
 Miles today: 80
 Miles so far: 184
 Metres climbed (today): 1,248
 Time in the saddle (today): 5h 35m
 Confidence score: 9.6

More photos at

http://www.utrak.me.uk/jogle

Day one (24 May 2012)

Here we are then, first day done and we're 104 miles south of where we started - that's 11% of our journey done (and 89% left to do then).  Day one has gone remarkably well. Save for a couple minor issues. One being Simon's sunburnt arms which can be resolved with copious amounts of Boots aftersun product, the other was Pete's front brake caliper coming loose, which cannot! A combination of fine weather, fine cycling, plentiful fluids and plentiful carbs has resulted in what I would say has been one of our best days in the saddle. Ever! Having left John O'Groats (so named after some Dutch chappie who went by the name of John) late - due to a mix up with the man that puts the arms/names on the famous signpost - we were concerned at what time we might arrive at our accommodation for the night. We had nothing to be concerned about, arriving at Blackrock at 6:30pm to discover a rather splendid and reasonably priced bunkhouse!  So, we're on our way. Here are the stat(istic)s then: Miles today: 104 Miles in total: 104 Calories burned: 6,700 Metres climbed: 1,277 Time in the saddle: 6h 36m Confidence in finishing score: 9.4! Tomorrow is a much shorter day, just the 90 miles down to Fort William.... You can see our photos at www.utrak.me.uk/jogle

Day 1 06:22 (24 May 2012)

The intention was for a good nights sleep pre-ride. And as the lights in the hostel went out at around 10:30pm it seemed that our intention was good and noble and going to plan. And so it remained until around twenty past midnight, when the mayhem commenced. A noise not heard in these parts since diplodocus and his/her chums roamed the planet. A deep rumbling sound, shaking the old windows and striking terror, and later frustration, into most of Team Upside Down. I say most, but not all, as one of Team UD was responsible for this commotion.... A snoring Paul Sheldon! Now we find ourselves 'ready' for the day ahead not quite as rested as we might have hoped. But the humour is good (currently at Paul's expense), the weather is shining and soon we'll be heading the last 50 miles north to commence our journey south. The final countdown has begun. At 0900 (ish) we shall ride!

Day 0 19:15 (23 May 2012)

19:15 and we find ourselves at the Helmsdale Hostel. At this point it looks as though we might be the only guests in our dorm. The place is clean, beds look OK but there are few dividers and thus the anticipated snoring will be allowed to echo from wall to wall and thus from bed to bed. Alas, the anticipation of what tomorrow brings will doubtless mean little, if any, quality sleep anyway. Dinner is to be found in the 'Tartan Lounge' where we await chilli con carne and rice.... Journey here was trouble free. The expectation is that the journey back will be equally so! We are now just hours away. The excitement is building. Gulp.

Day 0 14:00 (23 May 2012)

Our journey north continues, with lunch taken at Stirling Services sitting/standing in the sunshine. So far we've been driving over four hours and, blimey, we've another four hours to go! This up north is a long way up, it seems that John O'Groats isn't a suburb of Glasgow after all.  Onwards and even further upwards we go....

Day 0 09:30 (23 May 2012)

Today is 'travel to John O'Groats' day. Our anticipated 08:15 departure time was delayed somewhat by the realisation that we had 500 cubic metres of kit and about 3 cubic metres of space. Cue frantic packing, repacking, more repacking and the installation of an inflatable roof rack and we're on our way - 45 minutes behind schedule. John O'Groats here we come (well, Helmsdale actually as we have our overnight accommodation there)...

Rules, rules rules (22 May 2012)

Four men (rarely has a term been used so loosely), three bikes, 900 and something miles and nine nights away. A recipe for arguments, for relentless taking of the Mickey and possibly, even, for the odd finger wagging 'good talking to'....

And so it seems right, proper and sensible (and good health and safety risk management) that Team Upside Down have some rules by which we'll play. Now these are not, by any means, exhaustive but are our top eight and give a sense I think as to how we should approach these coming few days together. 

Rule #1

Enjoy the ride, the banter and the fresh air.

Rule #2

It's not a race, so take time to appreciate the journey.

Rule #3

Take it in turns to take the headwind (or hope and pray there isn't one)

Rule #4

Take lots of photos, and smile when being photographed. Thumbs up are good too, but only one thumb at a time and hold on tight with the other hand whilst doing so.

Rule #5

Warn fellow riders of hazards/obstructions or slow moving vehicles (tractors, milk floats, Pete) up ahead.

Rule #6.

Don't be too much of a hero to say "Guys, I need to stop for a rest".

Sub-rule #6.1 - Make sure such a request is not within 3 miles of the previous stop.

Rule #7

Help one another in the event of a breakdown, puncture, saddle adjustment etc*. and give one another lots of encouragement on those long hills (particularly those going up).

Rule #8

Appreciate our roady, Paul, and his support to making this happen and don't get too cross when struggling up a mountain pass and he sweeps casually by in the car, waving...

*This help does not extend to the application of chamois cream, sudocrem or other protective subtances against saddle sore. 

It's so close now, I can smell it (19 May 2012)

At least that's what I think it is....

Would you Adam and indeed would you Eve it? Barely have we said "Riding from John O'Groats to Lands End might be fun" we now find ourselves just a handful of days from finding out one way or the other whether it will be 'fun' or not. 

And finding ourselves midway through the pre-challenge weekend I now have a to-do list longer than the A9 and a shopping list of nutrition that is equally extensive. The COOP, being 'good with food' had better be well stocked on products containing a decent amount of carbs (especially those in easy to carry packaging) because I'll be clearing the shelves.

My list contains some 18 Snickers bars, 9 tins of rice pudding, a container load of bananas, and nine bottles of milkshake - amongst (many) other things.

Whilst on the subject of nutrition this whole carb things is really quite complicated. In short we need carbs because carbs provide energy to power our legs which in turn will make the wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bike go round and round all day long. The wipers on the....., oh no, hang on, I'm getting carried away.

Some very rough mathematics (and for those of you that read our 'whistle while you work' post you'll know our mathematics can be very rough) suggests that pre-ride some 200 grams of carbs need to be consumed. That's based on a 6' 2" 84kg athlete. Now then, if you have studied carbs (and it will be very surprising if you have) you'll know there are slow release types, with a high GI and fast release with a low GI. So not only do we have to consume bucket loads of the things pre-ride, we also have to carefully select the right types. And to give you a clue on scale - 200g of carbs is about 6 bowls of porridge or ten rounds of wholemeal toast. We'll need to be up 4am carb loading.

And while we're on the subject of said loading of carbs I've read that porridge before bed is a good idea, sounds odd but anything is worth a go! 

During the ride we'll no doubt become patrons of a variety of tea rooms, cafe's, service stations and anywhere else that provides tea, cake and a few minutes out of the saddle and in the warm/dry/shade/cool* delete as appropriate. Such establishments will be a welcome break on the highways and byways of Scotland and England.

Right then, lets get eating......

Sleeping arrangements (13 May 2012)

As the big day (departure day, as opposed to some other unconnected event) approaches I thought I might take the opportunity to share our unbelievably varied accommodation plans for the end to end adventure that is Upside Down 2012.

Rest and recuperation is vital for athletes involved in challenging endurance sports. And so it is important for us too. That's why much of April has been spent not, as you might imagine, out on the bike but instead perusing the internet for places to stay over the nine nights to come.

So, how've we done? Well, as it turns out, rather well I think you'll find.

Our rest and recuperation will be delivered through the following combination.....

One night in a bunkhouse, three nights in a tent, three nights in Travel Inns, one at Pete's mums and one in a chill pod. So that's it then - sorted. We have our beds for the night, sometimes with a warm bath to soothe aching legs and sometimes having to build our accommodation before standing in a shower block rubbing in the Radox.

What's that? Oh, a chill pod? Yes,I thought you might ask..... Well its hard to describe really, its kind of a cylindrical shed with beds and a kitchen and somewhere to sit (which appears to be outside). Comfy? No idea. Dry and warm? Probably. Better than putting a tent up having just ridden 100 miles? What do you think?

Remember, we're raising money for children with life limiting ilnesses. You can help us through our Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/upsidedown. 

Anyway, rather than you try and envisage a 'chill pod' from my rather poor 'shed' description here's a picture...

Whistle while you work (10 May 2012)

I read somewhere that David Walliams recited the words from songs to pass the time whilst swimming the Thames for Comic Relief. That, I thought, is a most splendid idea. Singing songs in my head and possibly, if there is no one around, out loud might just help those miles pass.

All of which got me thinking. What songs should we sing and how many do we need to learn if we're not to end up just singing the same song over and over and over and over (you get the point) again. To answer the second of my questions I did some quick sums - broadly along the lines of 920 miles, 15 miles per hour is 61 hours of pedalling. At 3.5 minutes per song then that means we just need to learn, erm, just over one thousand songs. Blimey.

Hang on a second though. 61 hours of pedalling? Sixty one?? That means our legs will go round 292,800 times between now and 1 June - and that's assuming no training between now and departure day. I think I'll have a quick gander on e-bay for a set of spare knees, seems you can get everything on there these days.

On the subject of departure day that's just a matter of two weeks away. So our preparations now need to step up a gear and will do so on Saturday when we attempt to put the tent up and take it down again within 4 or 5 hours (without punching one another) and then pack our three bedroom monster accommodation into a nylon bag roughly the size of a Peruvian miners knapsack. I predict a riot.

Now then, back to those songs and with just one thousand or so to learn we'd better start thinking of some appropriate tunes to sing along to. My list so far consists of:

1. Things can only get better - D:Ream
2. The only way is up - Yazz
3. Bicycle race - Queen
4. Why? - Annie Lennox
5. Keep on moving - Soul II Soul
6. Proud - Heather Small

If that's all I've got and I'm going to sing the whole way I'll have to sing each song 174 times. I need more songs. Help. What else can you think of.....?

We MAY just do this (1 May 2012)

It's May.

May 2012.

May 1st 2012.

An inescapable fact. The ride is this month.

So lets do a quick checklist of some of the facts.....

Training going well? Erm, no, not really. Rain and work and life in general haven't helped with getting a whole load of training in during April. Add to that Pete's op and it's not been great. Craig has managed a few rides whilst away at his conferences and I've done a bit of running. Gulp.

Diet then, how about that? Business as usual there, which I think is a good thing. You don't want to start eating differently and messing your body about. So I've read.

Route plan? Now you're talking. We have one of them and we know where we're starting from and where we're finishing and, roughly speaking, the way we're going (beyond 'South'). So that's not too bad. Things are looking up so go on, hit me with something else.

Right. Accommodation? OK, you've got me a bit there. We're away for nine nights and a fair few of them we've booked somewhere to stay. A bunkhouse up north, a couple of hotels and Pete's mums. We've still to work out if/how the tent, the bikes, the kit and three gentlemen will fit in the car though.

Sponsorship? Yes yes yes! we targeted ourselves on £1,000 and we're now over that (£1,022 at the last count) so that's good (so good we've upped the target). Dig deep fans/supporters/colleagues/you! Its so easy to donate go to www.justgiving.com/upsidedown or  grab your mobile and write 'UPDO55' followed by the sponsorship amount (for example UPDO55 £10 would put £10 into our Just Giving account) to 70070.