Stu's big ride

It was great to spend a night at home and to see Kathy and 2/3 of the kids. Despite a couple of people warning that it might be difficult to get going again after a stay at home, this wasn't the case at all, I was itching to get going, as this 5.30 am video suggests. .   I was constantly having to remind myself that I wasn't nearly there, even though it was beginning to feel like that. Whilst there was only 306 km to go, it involved more than 3,100 m of climbing. Devon and Cornwall are hilly places, and as far as the end-to-end route is concerned, Cornwall is considerably hillier than Scotland.  The goal for the day was Camelford. After getting through the Mendips it would be flat through the Somerset Levels (the clue's in the name) and then the hills would begin in earnest, somewhere between Taunton and Tiverton.  Kathy had taped up my Achilles, but they were both pretty sore and I was concerned that it would be a slow couple of days. As I rode through Taunton...

After a successful bivvy next to Halfords, it was my shortest ride yet, just 192 km to home in Churchill. I even made a video from the bivvy spot. .  The first half of the day was following yet more of the A49, which I was beginning to enjoy. To be followed by the glorious Wye Valley. Breakfast no.2 was in Craven Arms, and I was very pleased to find some blueberries.  Which was quite closely followed by lunch no.1 in Hereford.  I better say something about the riding before I tell you about lunch no.2. Not much to say really, other than the Wye Valley is beautiful riding, and if you haven't cycled (or canoed) there, you really should make the time. This photo doesn't do it justice, but here you go. I was hoping for lunch no.2 at the fantastic Filling Station Café , but I hadn't realised that it's only open Friday to Sunday, so I had to make do with one of the pubs. And I made yet another video from there, with only 60 km f...

I probably shouldn't have stayed up chatting to Tim until midnight, but having not seen each other for more than 20 years we had a lot to catch up on. Kendal to Shrewsbury, at 210 km, was to be the shortest day so far, so I was feeling relatively confident. Tim joined me for 45 minutes or so to get to the main road, and then I was in my own. Lancaster and Preston were lively as I was navigating them in rush hour, and by far the most traffic I'd seen so far (having seen Edinburgh late on a Sunday evening and early on a Monday morning). A friend, Carl, who I hadn't seen for more than 25 years had offered a stop off en route in Layland, and it coincided well with an early lunch, so worked out a treat. When he greeted me as I was rolling into his drive he remarked that I was looking strong, but as an ex-paramedic he quickly became concerned about my Achilles. He had all sorts of useful kit, including foam rollers and ice, and after copious lunch he sent me off with both ankles...

After a good night's sleep in a proper bed and a relaxed breakfast with Gavin, I set off at 7.15 am. The target for the day was Kendal, 227 km and 1,940 m of climbing away. I had a bit of a twinge in what I thought was my calf, but other than that I felt surprisingly fine. I bought breakfast in Peebles and was very glad of Gavin's peanut butter and jam rolls, having got very tired of cereal bars. In fact peanut butter and jam was to become my go-to fuel for the next few days. I loved it! It was good riding through the Borders. I was familiar with the Eastern Borders, but not the West, it was stunning. I stopped off at Eskdalemuir Community Hub for lunch, what a find! I don't think I've stopped at a better place for cyclists, and the work it does in the community is amazing. From there the next obvious stop was Gretna Green, about 40 km further along the route. After more food (obviously), I recorded a video marking my arrival in England, having ridde...

I was woken by the midges at about 2.00 am. They were so bad (I'd not brought any repellent) that I thought about packing up and leaving early, but I somehow managed to get back to sleep until my alarm at 5.30 am. I packed up as quickly I could (because the midges were back), scoffing down the breakfast that I'd bought from ALDI in Inverness the previous night, and set off as soon as I could, after first quickly recording what turned out to be a series of daily vlogs on Instagram to update anyone who was interested enough to watch. The target for day 2 was my friend Gavin's house in Edinburgh. At 238 km this represented the furthest I'd ever ridden in a day, second only to the 219 km of the previous day! And with 1,780 m and 1,590 m of climbing respectively, I knew my legs were going to be tired.  Breakfast no.2 (this turned into a thing) was a vegetarian fry-up in Aviemore, and was just what I needed. I also layered up in overshoes and rain jacket as the rain bl...

I slept quite well in the pod and woke up to my alarm at 5.30 am, which surprised me because I had been wide awake at 4.00 am and hadn't expected to get back to sleep.  Having got there at gone 11.00 pm I'd not had chance to shower, so wanted to shower before I left as I would be bivvying on night 1. As a result, there was more faff time than usual and I cycled down to the famous signpost at just before 7.00 am. With no one there I took a selfie and was off.  I'd been so eager to get going though that I forgot to press 'start' on my Wahoo and so missed the first 3 km or so. The target for the day was Loch Moy, about 20 km south of Inverness, a total of 218 km and 2,050 m of climbing. This was ambitious because my longest ride up to this point has been 200 km.  Despite the headwind I had a massive grin on my face at the joy of finally getting going, after months of obsessing about it. The A9 was quiet, the weather was fine (apart from the hea...