Land's End to John O'Groats

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Day 7 - Etwall, Derby


This is Martin as he left Peter and Liz Teisen this morning – thanks to them for sending me this pic. The whiskers have started to sprout! Peter has highlighted the fact that I used to fall asleep in geography, by pointing out that the Malvern Hills had already been cycled, not as I wrote yesterday, that Martin was looking forward to them. It is sometimes difficult making sense of the hurried notes from Martin’s phone calls, when I eventually shove the kids off the computer in the wee small hours!!!
78.85 miles is today’s total, with Martin finishing the day on target at Etwall near Derby. He has navigated his way through Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall. It has been a tough day; mainly due to inadequate signposting on the West Midlands Cycleway and through Birmingham. He said that he felt very conspicuous cycling in the city with all his bright yellow gear and panniers, sticking out like a sore thumb. When he stopped in the rougher areas to read the map, he was subject to intimidation by groups of youths who gathered round the bike. In Walsall there were a lot of yobbish youths out on the streets and shouting obscenities out of speeding cars (which he had also experienced in Bristol). So he is very pleased to have got today over with!!!
He is camped tonight at Tara Buddhist Centre, in the grounds of the Temple (mansion), by kind permission of the people there, where there is hot water, toilets and a shower. So once again he has landed on his feet! He called quite late – about 10.30pm and had only just put up his tent. This was because he was determined to power on through the miles ‘dementedly’, as he put it, to get as far beyond the cities as possible.
His stomach is better, although the drink compound continues to affect his, um…, ‘system!’ The knee is hurting a bit today and he has lowered the saddle again. The seating department has not responded to the Sudocreme yet!
He eats his meal tonight, looking forward to tomorrow. The promise of Derbyshire, the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales on the Pennine Cycleway is one that he relishes and is familiar with. Although today has been arduous, it is another view of the country to put in the jigsaw – the coast, hills, dales rivers & canals, town and city centres, housing estates and leafy lanes; all part of the varied landscape of England.
P.S. Again, if you have anything to comment on, ask about or just want to pass on your wishes to Martin, you can email me at martinthecyclist@aol.com

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Day 6 - Feckenham

Good news: Martin is feeling much better today; much more positive. He is still saddle sore, owing to the raising of his saddle to alleviate strain on his knee. Having worked out the cause, he can now decide how to sort out the problem. He purchased some Sudocreme to ease the discomfort – used to work wonders on nappy rash! The knee is still O.K. He still has a slightly upset stomach and is putting it down to the drink compound, as he hasn’t eaten bananas for two days.
He has progressed a further 67.18 miles, finishing the day at Feckenham (east of Worcester, just below Redditch). The weather today has been bright and sunny but still with that northerly breeze.
He was nearing the end of today’s mileage without a place to camp, when he met a cyclist coming in the opposite direction. Martin stopped him to ask if he knew of anywhere, and after a brief explanation of what he was doing, was offered the use of the cyclist’s garden (and swimming pool) nearby. Peter and Liz Teisen furnished Martin with a delicious meal, and offered the use of their shower in the morning. He has asked me to explain how indebted he is to people like Peter and Liz, Chris House, England & Bluitt and Charlotte & Warwick Jones for their generous hospitality and friendliness, and how grateful he is.
He is not looking forward to tomorrow’s journey – through Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall. It will be a bit of a slog, but the promise of the Malvern Hills should spur him on. Hopefully he will be able to buy some new brake blocks, which took a severe hammering in the first couple of days, with all those hills in Cornwall.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Day 5 - Coleford

Martin has really struggled today, both physically and psychologically. He still has an upset stomach, which doesn’t help, and is now a little saddle sore. The main cause for despondency this evening is borne out of frustration at the inadequacy of the maps. I know you may be thinking ‘it could be him not the maps,’ but those of you who really know Martin will know that he can find his way anywhere, given a compass and an accurate map. His fell-walking was mostly done by his own routes, devised and followed so as not to be ‘one of the herd’ on the allotted footpaths. He says that what is drawn on the maps is not what is actually on the ground, especially through towns. Before he threw the Avon Cycleway map into the nearest bin, he actually did a complete circle at one point!
The Clifton Suspension Bridge was the highlight of the day, followed by the new Severn Suspension Bridge. This took him briefly into Wales, along the west side of the River Wye, so Peter Hargreaves now owes him £10 - £5 each for two countries!
Tonight he has camped at a camping and caravan park at Sling near Coleford in the Forest of Dean – roughly midway between Chepstow and Ross–on-Wye. He has been able to hang wet clothes to dry in a boiler room, the weather being a mixture of heavy showers, hot sun and a very cold north wind in his face.
He has managed a respectable 69.53 miles today – though not all in the right direction! Pedalling begins at 7am and this evening is typical in ending at 8.30pm, but of course there are breaks during the day. The end of the day was a killer – the 7 mile continuous climb to St Briavels made his little legs ache just a bit.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Day 4 - Glastonbury


79.07 miles cycled today, in “ideal cycling weather” – dry and bright. Martin is camping tonight in another farm field, courtesy of Chris House – the friendly farmer of Bryndham Farm just past Glastonbury Tor. Martin says he is in his element, doing what he does best; just him against the elements with steely determination! He seems to have a dip in energy levels in the afternoons, but regains tempo towards the evening when he piles on the miles. This is helped by the ‘high 5’ drink compound, after which he says he could cycle up Everest. Don't even think about it, hubby!
He has enjoyed cycling along the canals today, eating the contents of Naomi’s goodie bag beside the Great Western Canal; and inspecting the various long boats and locks. He ‘meandered from the map route’ shall we say, in Bridgewater and Taunton, but reiterated that the maps are not very helpful through towns.
He is appreciative of the wishes and emails I have passed on, and is boosted by everyone’s support. By way of reply, he says yes he is looking after his knee.
He is looking forward to seeing the Clifton suspension bridge tomorrow, then on to Bristol.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Day 3 - Tiverton

Guess how the weather has been today? The worst so far. Martin was absolutely drenched when I spoke to him this evening. He had set up his tent on a farm, and was en route to the farmhouse kitchen where a friendly family and a steaming lasagne awaited him! So the conversation was brief; but he has cycled 76.59 miles today, landing approximately 8 miles north of Tiverton.

Apres dinner update: I received another call just as I was drifting off to sleep at 11pm. At the kind invitation of Charlotte and Warwick Jones, Martin had pitched his tent in a horse field belonging to Hayne Farm Cottage, near the village of Morebath. These most welcoming of folk not only supplied him with said Lasagne; rhubarb crumble followed, and the use of their shower. They dried his soaked clothing and charged his mobile phone. Their lodger Naomi gave him a bag of goodies for consumption tomorrow.
This morning he had pedalled 21 miles along the Tarka Trail, which he said was a "brilliant ride." The only downside, apart from the weather, was that he had experienced an upset stomach all day - possibly the result of eating too many not-quite-ripe bananas?

Friday, May 26, 2006

Day 2 - Holsworthy, east of Bude

The weather has been constantly misty today, so Martin has not seen anything of Cornwall's beauty, which has been a disappointment to him. The terrain has been tiring, with many steep hills and ravines one after another. Even so, he has cycled 68.42 miles today, ending the day in Devon at Derriton - a stone's throw from the town of Holsworthy which is east of Bude. He called from the garden of a very friendly lady he met this afternoon, which is where he had pitched his tent. I'm sure he said her name was England and her husband was Bluitt, though her son will hopefully email me if that's wrong. She was delivering pasties when she stopped to ask if he needed any help mapreading. After chatting for a while, she offered her garden as a campsite, and the use of her hosepipe to wash off all the accumulated mud and grit from the bike and its gears. The roads have been awash apparently. Because of the constant drizzle, Martin cannot wear his glasses and therefore mapreading is very laboured. He says the maps are not of much help at all anyway.
The Camel Trail was a good route to follow; at the end of the trail he met Mick Stretton who had moved down from Wembley (and that is positively the only reference to anything football-related in our house while he is away!) who posed for a photo with Martin beside a big metal fish.
He is finding the nutrition side of things to be working well, including 4 bananas today, and is feeling fit and strong, and in good spirits. He said he can feel his knee niggling, but it is not causing him any real pain or discomfort.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Day 1 - Land's End to Newquay

Packing away the tent and setting off at 7am, Martin has cycled 65.5 miles today, camping just outside Newquay at 6.30pm this evening. After a disturbed night - the Land's End fogwarning siren going off every 30 seconds close by, he got up to find that the weather was just as awful as the night before. He began by cycling to Land's End (the mileage yesterday was from the station at Penzance to where he camped) to begin the ride proper. Unfortunately there was no view of the sea because of the mist, and at 7am there was no-one about, so no fanfare to get him going. Route finding was very difficult through Cambourne, Redruth and Truro, even with the Sustrans map, and extra mileage has been clocked up already. Something rude was shouted at him by a youth in Redruth, and he could only reply silently as he was pedalling slowly uphill at the time! The terrain has been hard today - many hills coming very close together. The mist cleared during the day, though it was still overcast, but drizzle returned in the evening. A very nice shopkeeper in Newlyn wouldn't charge him for the three bananas he had selected, after Martin told him what he was doing and what it was raising money for. Cheeky monkey. Oh, and he also talked the campsite owner down from £14 to £6.80 this evening. That's my boy!
NB If you would like to ask any questions or send messages that I can pass on, please email them to martinthecyclist@aol.com

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

He's off !


After arriving at Carlisle station early, Martin's eager anticipation began to give way to something a little more nervous as the departure time drew near. An inspection of the concourse facilities filled in some time, then we said our goodbyes before the train pulled in a few minutes late. The last time I saw Martin was as he loaded the bike into the appropriate wagon, but it took more time than he had expected to secure, and I was instructed by the platform guard to deposit the panniers in the seating coach, leaving Martin to meet up with them (hopefully) after he had walked through three carriages. The whistle blew for the train to leave and I jumped off as the doors were closing, narrowly missing a trip to Land's End myself!


Martin Phoned at 10.30pm, to say that he was sitting in his tent, in a farm field half a mile from Land's End, cooking his dinner. The weather was blowing a gale, thick mist and driving rain. Looking out of the train window at the weather approximately an hour before arriving at Penzance, he had become very despondent. Then he remembered that he still had a banana left from his lunch, and it seemed to cheer him up. He was in good spirits, having stopped at a camp site near the start point only to decide that he didn't want to pay £10 for the night's pitch; but then got them to fill up his water bottles and pedalled off to find a field for free! Yep, that's my husband! He has so far cycled 11.18 miles, and said he can't wait to get going tomorrow. Look out Cornwall.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Final Preparations

After months of planning, the journey is about to begin. Tomorrow morning I will be making my way to Carlisle and boarding the train to Penzance.


I’m feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension, eager to put all the training into practice. I’m worried because I injured my knee two weeks ago and I know that it could scupper all my plans and bring about a premature end to the whole journey.

I’ve ignored all advice to postpone the trip, as I’m determined to succeed against all the odds. I’m trying to convince myself that I can overcome the pain and I remain positive that I can do that, but in the back of my mind there is a nagging doubt that is perpetuated by the very fact that the knee is not right.

I feel responsible for all the people who have sponsored me and I don’t want to let anyone down. I’ve received about £2000 in pledges and I can’t just give up. The Great North Air Ambulance Service relies on people donating money and they need as much support as they can get.



Apart from the knee injury, which seems to have been the result of an over zealous training ride, I’m feeling strong in all other respects. I have finally settled on a comprehensive list of equipment that I will be taking. The choice has been a compromise over what I need to take, what I want to take, what is absolutely necessary and what is merely useful to make the journey more comfortable.

I was hoping to update the web site with a detailed list of every item, but I have been so busy preparing that I just didn’t have the time. I will, however, compile a full list of all the gear and how it performed once I have finished.

In the meantime, everything is packed and the panniers are full with all my worldly goods. I’m prepared for just about anything. The weather has been awful, but I’ve not been overly concerned as it can only get better. Even if it doesn’t fair up, I’m confident of some warmer weather to come as I’m always the eternal optimist.



I’m not looking forward to spending 9 hours on a train, but I’ve got a good book to read which I’m planning to throw away when I get to Penzance, so as not to have to carry it on the bike! I won’t have time to do any reading once the journey starts. It will be just a case of turning those pedals and focussing on the job at hand.

I’m excited about the places that I will be seeing. Lands End to begin with, which I haven’t visited since I was a small boy on holiday with my parents. I’m looking forward to riding along the Camel Trail starting at Padstow, also crossing the Severn Road Bridge and cycling through the Forest of Dean. Then there is the Malvern Hills, the Peak District and following the Tissington Trail.

It will be great to follow the Pennine Cycleway and re-acquaint myself with some of the villages that I first visited when I walked the Pennine Way. I’m particularly looking forward to cycling through the Yorkshire Dales and then travelling through the Border Region to Edinburgh, crossing the Forth Road Bridge as a springboard to Perth and Pitlochry. Then it’s up through the Highlands to Inverness before the last leg to John O’Groats.

I can’t wait!