...'Le Jog' cycle challenge 2010
The Story...
Over the Easter period, a team of 6 individuals successfully completed the gruelling challenge of cycling the length of the UK, raising over £7,000 for wannabeamazin's projects. The journey which included a total of 995 miles was an epic journey across some of the best touring country in Europe, starting in Lands End, and completing the challenge 15 days later in John O'Groats.
The team including volunteers Paul Ryan, Frank Hardy, Chris Dredge, along with our very own Anna Melvin, Laurie Heard and Karl Hankinson; all of whom were relatively novice cyclists. After receiving training advice and kitting themselves out in 'high vis' cycling gear (at least trying to look the part!) they were dispatched to Cornwall to start the epic adventure.
The first day started out as a comical series of events, which left many of the group wondering why they had agreed to join the trip in the first place. The hilly terrain cycling out of Penzance was made worse by a torrential down pour, which continued for most of the first day. If that wasn't enough, add to that the group getting lost, and nearly losing one of its members by lunch time through a knee injury...the first day was turning out to be a challenge in itself! Unperturbed, the group pushed on and finally made it to the first stop at Bodmin...late, wet and tired.
The next day proved just as tough, as the route took the team over Dartmoor and its mountainous terrain. But through the steep climbs and gritted teeth, the group started to see the sort of views that were to make the gruelling trip worthwhile. And, thankfully, the landscape over the next few days became flatter, taking the team through the famous cities of Bath and Bristol, over the Severn Bridge and into Wales. Once out of the South West corner of the country, the journey took in some of the most beautiful cycles of the whole journey, down through the Wye Valley and culminating in the beautiful village of Clun.
Once out of Wales and through Chester, the team boarded the ferry to cross the river Mersey and into the city of Liverpool, to mark a landmark point in the journey (not before enjoying a traditional 'greasy spoon' breakfast in the Birkenhead docks). Out of Liverpool and through Preston, the route took a slight detour into the Forest of Bowland to finish with a night's stay at the quaint hostel in picturesque Slaidburn.
As the group rested their weary legs in front of the open fire, they knew that two big days of cycling lay ahead, first to reach Carlisle and then to make inroads into Scotland. What wasn't expected however, was the glorious sunshine that was to accompany these two days, making the steep climbs through the Lake District that much tougher!
Fighting sunstroke and heat exhaustion, the group battled on reaching the Scottish border unscathed after 8 days of the trip. It was here that Anna (comfortably) completed her challenge of cycling the length of England, and bid farewell to the rest of the cyclists who ventured into Scotland, in slight trepidation of what was to come next.
But for all the frightening stories of the Scottish hills, the team rejoiced in the ability of Scottish road makers to build their roads around mountains as opposed to over them (as was so often the case in England). The first stop in Scotland was the beautiful and hidden village of New Lanark, an old mill at the bottom of a valley, before heading through Stirling and then into the famous Scottish highlands.
The steep climbs, however, were well worth the struggle as the views through the Highlands and down to Glencoe, were the stuff of legend. They were also, for a while, mostly downhill which allowed plenty of time to enjoy the scenery as the group completed their biggest cycle of the trip.
Once out of Glencoe, the route headed west to Fort William and around the UK's highest mountain Ben Nevis (the scene of wannabeamazin's 3 Peaks Challenge two years earlier). After posing for some well-thought out photos, the group started the final leg of the journey towards John O'Groats; venturing along the Scottish Loch's, up to Carbisdale Castle and eventually to Tongue, which sits on the northern shores of Scotland.
After experiencing near perfect weather for the majority of the trip (with the exception of the first day), the wind and rain returned to make the last two days a real struggle - especially with the addition of erupting volcanoes splattering hot molten ash from Iceland on the roads around!
On the final morning the alarms rang at 5.45am, and the morning brought the realisation that the predicted weather forecast of 60mph gusts of wind and blizzards were coming true as the wind battered against the hostels windows outside. But once away from the coast line at Tongue, the wind kindly turned onto the backs of the riders, who went on to complete the near 70-mile final day ride before 2 o'clock!
A major achievement completed on time and, more impressively, without one single puncture along the way! With everyone fit and strong by the end, and the trip running so smoothly, it was time to celebrate the achievement back in Inverness... that is until the team started falling asleep into their first pints by 9pm! Time for bed instead...but what an amazing adventure!
If you are impressed, you can still donate here...if you are inspired why not take on the challenge yourself in 2011 - check the 'Get Involved' page for details...and if you want to see more photos of this epic trip click here...