Brad bikes from John O Groats to Lands End (JOGLE)

Day 7 – Keswick to Blackpool

July 17th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in All, Route

Friday 16th July 2010

The youth hostel in Keswick was excellent and for £20 it even came with a breakfast. So after getting my clothes dry I set off about 8:45 (latest start so far). The weather was not great again, I had torrential rain for the third day in a row.

After only 5 miles I had to stop as the chain needed to be fixed. I’d been riding with a dodgy link for about 200 miles and the repetitive click had to get sorted, I had been trying my luck until now. So I found some shelter and got the chain link removed, checked my rear buckled wheel and realised I had 2 broken spokes, anyway I carried on and the chain felt a lot stronger and quieter.

I made my way through the Lake District following my own route off the busy A road, which was a nice route and had some good scenery. The weather got brighter by lunch time, eventually some sun appeared.

I stopped at a trucker cafe just inside Lancashire at about 2:30pm where I met a couple of Scots doing the opposite route to me. We exchanged our stories and they also told me of a bike shop in the next village.

The bike shop came at the right time, the owner fixed my wheel within 30 minutes and charged me £10. This was a good price and I couldn’t ask for better timing, this will allow me to have a good days cycling tomorrow.

I arrived at Blackpool, found my hostel (more like a squat, but they seem nice enough) and headed out on the town to see what all the fuss is about. Well I did my walk along the prom. Have seen a few hen and stag dos, what a sight.

Leave a Reply 919 views, 2 so far today |

Day 13 – Fowey to Lands End

Thursday 22nd July 2010 A little bit dehydrated due to the Guiness last night, but got up tried to hydrate as much as possible, but feeling good as this was my final day of cycling in 2 weeks. Had a good breakfast and left he B&B at 9:00 and headed to Par where my dad [...]

Day 12 – Exeter to Fowey

Wednesday 21st July 2010 I woke up quite early this morning with my thigh injury on my mind. I’m staying in a Backpackers hostel in the middle of Exeter, but it does seem like there’s more people living here for months on end, so sharing one room with 10 men as you can imagine is [...]

Day 10 – Saul to Bath

Monday 19th July 2010 I woke up in the best self contained B&B anywhere for miles around feeling quite good. I had used ice-packs on my ankles last night and had managed the pain in my Achilles quite well. So I had a great breakfast and didn’t plan on rushing this morning as I only [...]

Day 9 – Shrewsbury to Saul Farm

Sunday 18th July 2010 I left Shrewsbury just after 8:30am after dosing up with paracetamol this morning, I stopped for breakfast a short distance after, as the chef at the pub where I stayed wasn’t working (I had an evening meal instead). Today was about managing the pain on my Achilles, initially it had all [...]

Day 8 – Blackpool to Shrewsbury (100 miles)

Saturday 17th July 2010 I woke up quite early around 6am, a good sleep, but the cleanliness of the place made me want to leave ASAP. I set off at 8 after getting what breakfast I could stomach in this place. I’m not a snob, but the breakfast was the cheapest value basic range and [...]

Day 7 – Keswick to Blackpool

Friday 16th July 2010 The youth hostel in Keswick was excellent and for £20 it even came with a breakfast. So after getting my clothes dry I set off about 8:45 (latest start so far). The weather was not great again, I had torrential rain for the third day in a row. After only 5 [...]

Day 6 – Corsock to Keswick

Last nights B&B was on a farm in Corsock, run by a lovely couple, Richard and Linda. They couldn’t of been nicer hosts, drying all my clothes on the Aga, tea and cakes and the living room to stretch out in front of the telly. Anyway onto the morning of day 6, Thursday 15th July. [...]

Day 5 – Wemyss Bay, nr Gourock to Corsock

Wednesday 14th July What a difference a day makes. After a really relaxing evening with friends Campbell and Anne I was ready to set off refreshed, feeling good with drinks and a packed-lunch made for me. The weather was not so kind, I started off about 8:40 in wind and rain, cycling along the coast [...]

Day 4 – Oban to Wemyss Bay, nr Gourock

I woke up feeling rough, sore throat, eye bloodshot and legs burning. After a light breakfast I set off about 8:30 out of Oban. My head was not all there and for the first couple of hours I felt quite light headed. I stopped at a cafe for some refreshments and set off again trying [...]

Day 3 – Loch Ness to Oban

Vital Stats Location: Loch Ness to to Oban Mile to go 830 Miles completed: 250 Punctures: 0 Legs: 6/10 Weather: Cloudy with showers, No wind I left Loch Ness in pretty decent condition, a slightly buckled wheel and a few adjustments to the breaks I set off. The first few hours were really good and [...]

Day 2 – Altnaharra to Loch Ness

Vital Stats Location: Altnaharra to to Loch Ness Miles completed: 95 Punctures: 0 Legs: 6/10 Weather: Cloudy with showers, No wind I couldn’t ask for a better start on Sunday. A full Scottish breakfast with all the trimmings(haggis included) to get me going. A big thank you to Mandy and Lindsay for your great B&B. [...]

Day 1 – John O Groats to Altnaharra

Vital Stats Location: Altnaharra Miles completed: 75 Punctures: 0 Legs: 8/10 Weather: Sunny with some cloud, no wind The YHA in John O Groats was fine and I had a really good sleep. Managed to leave John O Groats by 8:20, which was pretty good, as I had to cook breakfast (and wash-up), strip my [...]

Day 0 – Travelling to John O Groats

Made it to Wick and cycled up to John O Groats on day 0. I was planning to get my photo taken at the famous signpost, but it had been taken down. Met a few riders who had finished today and were in high spirits. 75 mile cycle to Altnaharra in the morning. Vital Stats [...]

Jethou crew in support

A big Thank-you goes to the crew of Jethou, who have donated £440.00 towards my challenge of cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End in support of The Rowans Hospice. Honorable mentions go to: Rich Middleton (Dad) – £150; Simon Walsh – £100; Ian Budgen – £50; Alex Philips – £50; Phil Salt – £50; [...]

Final training ride (67 miles)

On Sunday 27th June I completed my last all day training ride, well almost all day, apart from wanting to get home for the England game (why did I bother). I had the pleasure Jem Choppen, a veteran JOGLE rider accompanying me for this 67 mile ride. The route would take us to Wickham through [...]

Mudeford, near Christchurch training ride (85 miles)

This is my last weekend of intensive training before the big one. Saturday is an 85 mile training ride to Mudeford near Christchurch. I’m trying slow down my riding this weekend, this has to be about trying to enjoy the riding each day. 14 days of continuous cycling will take it toll I’m sure. The [...]

About Brad

Brad is cycling from John O Groats to Lands End, at the same time will be raising money for The Rowans Hospice, so dig deep and support this fantastic charity.