Massive update - Days 9-14

Well, it's all nearly over and with just one day to go the team is being patched up and readied for the last leg to the true other end of the country. Alan has a bad knee, Pete is team injury with torn hamstring and a dodgy ankle (sustained while falling off during the excitement of finding a place to fill up water bottles leaving the campsite this morning), Polly with dodgy knees that are getting better, Robin with more insect bites than he has other skin and Giles with afternoon lethargy. We've had a great time and need to shout out thanks to more people than we can remember, but for now a MASSIVE shout to Claire and James for all the support, tent erecting, cooking, cleaning and driving - we truly couldn't have done it without you. Also a shout to Melfort resort for the field and shower facilities - all the freebies make a big difference to us poor teachers! Enough of the intro, here come the day summaries:

Day 9 - The day of FAFF!
Giles and Pete made an early start to take the Ledge to Edinburgh airport so that he could attend a family wedding (even Le Jog can't get in the way of some things). The 6am start was an issue! We left the stunning place organised by Alan's Dad (big shout to Duncan) late with an 11am start and the day of faff started. Pete took Alan's bike as the hamstring was still very painful and the team started off. We faltered after only about a mile because Pete couldn't lock his cleat into Alan's pedal. We tried numerous things, but just couldn't make it work. Eventually we called Claire in the support vehicle and she came and met us after we had done only 8 miles. We had lunch. At about 1pm we finally got on the road with a vengeance, with Pete's dodgy hamstring still proving annoying. Then Robin got a puncture (we'd done about 1/2 a mile). We decided to pump it and see if that would work. Thankfully it seemed to and we started to make slow progress.

The scenery was truly stunning and despite the slowness of progress, the team was loving the weather and the views. We made our way along a combination of the A72 and minor road cycle route to Peebles where we had a break and watched a cricket match and football match being played out. Interesting to see the two sports in such close proximity - the brash footballers with colourful language and the bored cricketers struggling to stay awake.

We needed to get on so we got back on the road after Giles destroyed the toilet in the petrol station, there are still horror stories eminating from Peebles about it. The 50 mile tops day kept on chugging along slowly and it was still 25 miles to Lanark at least and already nearly 3pm - we needed to get our elbows in gear.

Weather started to turn a little as we tried to crank up the pace and we started to pound our way into a huge head wind. We kept on the same roads, but it was slow and tough going. Eventually we topped out of a big climb and found a tail wind taking us back down the hill towards Carnwath. We finished the small climb into the village and descended through the town. As we came through the town a small child started up alongside us on his bike, spinning the pedals at an impossible rate, with Pete immediately behind him. Eventually he pulled over and Pete overtook and sprinted off into the distance. The child continued and Giles straight behind him warily started to think about overtaking. Just as he thought it was safe to overtake, disaster struck and the child decided to change tack and zoom straight into Giles, knocking him off. The traffic was thankfully aware of the lunatic satan child and its clear intention to take out innocent cyclists and stopped in plenty of time, but it was a hairy moment. Eventually the team caught up with Pete who had failed to look back for 3 miles until he stopped and waited on his own worried about the rest of the team.

We limped on and eventually turned off towards Lanark, passing a massive horsey show thing - possibly our first glimpse of the seedy underworld of the gymkhana (however you spell it). We finally got to the campsite to find that not only was it expensive, but they charged 20p for a shower! Giles, Polly and Robin got the luck and had a hot shower, but Pete had to dodge in and out of a freezing cold one.

Stats: 61 miles, don't know avg. speed (no ledge)

Day 10 - Cold and rain, Glasgow stinks and is crap day
It rained and was very cold.

This was a truly awful day. We left Lanark and climbed the big hills out in some reasonable sunshine with usual technical shirts and light jackets ready for another warm English style day in the saddle - boy were we underprepared for the Scottish summertime! After about an hour it started to drizzle, then rain and then it poured. All this time it was getting colder and we were heading further in towards Glasgow.

We went through Carluke (horrible), Wishaw (horrible), Motherwell (horrible), Uddingston (horrible), Glasgow (horrible) and so on. It was industrial mingness and was very cold and very wet. We stopped in central Glasgow and went to subway where we took advantage of the hand drier to dry our stuff a little and warm up slightly. We decided that our meagre garments just wouldn't cut it for the afternoon and the whole body would go blue again within no time at all, so we went to Morrisons and got some black plastic sacks. We donned the sacks and set off again. It was still cold and wet, so we decided that it had to be a double bagger and Polly, Giles and Pete went for the double bag option - Pete decided to try the cape on the second bag, with mixed success. Robin was boiling hot all this time with the steam coming off the red fox the whole time. I'm sure it boils before it touches the red hot skin of the human torch.

We got to Dumbarton and headed on the NCN cycle route up to Loch Lomond, all the time getting colder and wetter. We managed to get separated at one point due to a minor routing disagreement (where Polly was right and Pete was dead wrong!) and the teams were split into the Masons and Pete and Robin. Polly and Giles quickly found a McDonalds and chilled there for a while. Robin got a puncture and while he and Pete mended it they got wetter. Polly gave some directions, which didn't make any sense (until afterwards), so Robin and Pete just kept on going all the way to the Loch. We emerged from the cycle path to find the end of Lomond fest or some such festival just ending and took a road away from it to find a McDonalds. We went in and there were Polly and Giles chilling! The cheek. Eventually we braved the Scottish summer weather once more and nailed the last 8 miles in no time at all to Luss and the campsite. A very good one as it turned out - excellent showers.

Claire later arrived with James, Alan and some stunning Fish and chips with double portions (Somehow!)

Oh, and the Clyde smells all the way along no matter where you are. Even in the rain. With a heavy cold.

Mileage: 65m
avg speed: high due to crap place, cold and rain (est 200mph)

Day 11 - Luss to Oban

A good, but cold day with Alan back on the team after his wedding sojourn down to Crediton. It was good to have the team back together, but the weather had not abated and it was still cold and very wet. We made our way up to the top of Loch Lomond and on towards Tarbet before turning up towards Crainlarich. Good progress was made and while Pete still had to stop a lot due to wimpy hamstring.

We made it to Crainlarich, but were cold and wet after a monster climb up and needed to stop and warm up, except that is for the Red Fox, who was loving the low temperatures. We stopped in the cafe at the railway station and ordered up 5 teas. Giles, Polly, Pete and Alan sat to drink the tea shivering, lips slightly blue. Red Fox stands up, muses for a moment and goes and buys an ice cream! about 0 degrees outside and he buys an ice cream to cool down!!

We made good progress for the rest of the day and made it to Connel bridge in record time to be picked up and taken to Pete's parents timeshare at Loch Melfort way to the South (thanks mum and Graham for the driving). We were well cared for with food, washing and so on at Melfort by Pete's family and we all had a good evening.

Stats
63m
13.1mph
4h 35m

Day 12 - The weather improves and Ben Nevis is seen

We got dropped at Connel Bridge at about 9.30 and made our way North up the A828 with Pete really suffering with the dodgy hamstring. We made progress with Giles grumpy due to the weather cycling along the coast road frustrated by the lack of nice views! The sun came out a little before lunch and there was much nice views to see.

We stopped at Castle Stalker because we thought we saw someone following us. It was also, wet, wet, wet. We found the tea and a startling invention of Mars Bar cake (om) - it was awesome.

Pete had to drop out like a wuss at Fort William and went in the car the rest of the way. The rest of the team hardtailed it big style with some major pace for the rest of the way. There was some major team lunging at Loch Lochy (inspired name) and some posing at the no posing sign.

Pete cooked dinner and it was lush and the weather continued to improve. It was a great spot.

Stats:
71.24m
13.7mph
4h56m

Day 13
I'm tired, so this is getting shorter! We nailed it down Loch Ness (a long way) with truly beautiful scenery taking us ages to get to Inverness with stunning views.

The main highlight was in Inverness where polly had her sandwich stolen by a seagull (it was hugely entertaining). The afternoon was a major effort and the team had to knuckle down into an afternoon slog to Dornoch and dinner in the pub (or chip shop for the pikey few of Alan, Pete and the red fox).

May add more later...

Stats
81.14m
13.8mph
5h34m

Day 14 - The Devastator
Another stunning day that started late and ended up being nails despite the shortness of the mileage. Everyone kept on telling us that the last stretch up to John O'Groats was easy, flat cycling and they were all big fat liars. It was massively hilly in places and we climbed like people who like going up stairs and live in large blocks of flats, then work in tower blocks without lifts.

Lines of the day (both Red Fox)
Who am I game - "are you a meatball?"
also who am i game - "have you been in my omhole?"

For those thinking about the trip - lots of climbs in this short day.

Stats:
43.21m
12.0mph (slow)
3h 30m (seemed like more)

ciao bye for now