Child-Safe Sponsored Cycle Ride - Lands End to John O'Groats - 2007

Click here to sponsor the team

AT THE FINISH

Day Thirteen - THE FINAL PUSH - Golspie to John O'Groats

 

Donna our hostess at the Invershin Hotel

Exceeding the Customers expectations

Obviously the crowd have been waiting for Pete for some time

Will post some more soon but the bar is calling  - Dick

Distance travelled to date about 930 miles 

Day Twelve - On the Whiskey Trail - Carrbridge to Golspie

Note the turf roof on our bunkhouse!!!!

Sadly Gloria and Moira left us today and Chris took over - obviously he is still using the written instructions

Not under this pile of rocks

                         Perhaps it's over there

Here it is

                                                           Onwards and upwards  

Finally our hidden camera gets a picture of Pete, obviously in his natural state snoring so loudly as to keep everybody awake.

This picture comes with a heath warning and may cause damage to your hearing.

Once again the team takes a few minutes off the wheel to take onboard vital nutritionally balanced energy to continue this physically challenging event.  Note Mossar's pie!!   

With the great weather today we get to see some of the most beautiful countryside we have cycled through to date.

Looking across the Cromarty Firth

Distance travelled to date about 860 miles

Day Eleven - DELUGE - Aberfeldy - Carrbridge (via HELL!!)

Rupert still looking for his Bike
 

Sheep don't like bananas

The most scenic place he has ever peed!

Another fine mess!!

or now remove your finger!!

Nigel had another puncture

The Road to Hell

Rain Rain and more bloody RAIN

Probably the most miserable moment of our lives

Distance travelled to date about 775 miles

Day Ten - HIGHLAND FLING - Motherwell to Aberfeldy

Rupert (far left) is obviously looking forward to his 74 mile walk!!

Today was really Great Scenery

The Bristol Tights Wearing Society AGM

Julian remembers where he left his socks, in his lunchbox!!

                 
Julian on the never ending hill                                             Julian now with his socks in his mouth

STOP PRESS

JAM MAN runs low on JAM!!!
 

Distance travelled to date about 700 miles

Day Nine - THE MISERY - Annan to Motherwell

With our hosts Steve, Sarah and Mable for the night.  The Rowanbank Guest House, Annan was a great overnight stop

Duncan meditating in a bush

 

The wind was strong and from the North which meant that today was probably the hardest day thus far.  Also the road surface was very poor which made the riding even harder.  However we made it and are all getting an early night at the Travel Inn in Motherwell. 

Dick with some extra arms,

Steve gets into a jam as he breaks his saddle about 10 miles out from Motherwell.  Probably due to terrible road surface it worked loose and the nut snapped as tried to tighten it up.

The support van was sent back and Mark's tool box came up trumps with a spare nut.

Lucky for him otherwise it would have meant the shame of the spare bike.

We are all secretly praying for a dry day tomorrow.

Looks like a puncture

Come on Murray you can't let Pete win the sweepstake

Distance travelled to date about 625 miles

Day Eight - THROUGH THE LAKE DISTRICT - Kendal to Annan (Scotland)

King of the Mountains

Bullet Bentley wins the race to the top of Kirkstone Pass

His honour is to wear the Yellow Tabard

Bad Weather and Busy Roads

Pete suffers a double puncture on the A74

We are invited in for elevenses with true Lakeland hospitality.

Many thanks to Rupert's friends for taking in 11 very grateful cyclists weary after the Kirkstone Pass

The team crosses the border

And it has stopped raining and the Sun has come out.

Distance travelled to date about 550 miles

Day Seven - INTO THE HILLS - Preston to Kendal

Duncan, are you sure that's not Robert De Niro?

Our Great Support Team

Bob, Gloria, Moira and Hugh



wearing their tabards

Richard at the hillside finish, so steep he has to carry his bike!!

Also sporting his new gilllet.

The bloke in the shop said they would easily fit!!

Relaxing after a hard day

Once again our hidden cameras expose the truth.  Some of the team have been breaking the rules and not adhering to the strict nutritionally balanced diet as prescribed for such a physically demanding event!!!

Day Six - THE LONGEST DAY - Stafford to Preston

Andrew and Rupert caught tinkering with their equipment!!
Lucky those nettles aren't much higher!

Sadly we had our first puncture, Nigel found a big hole and blew his rear tube - not bad really, 11 riders, 425 miles and just 1 so far.

After 5 long hours in the saddle Murray is the last man standing!

Richard's music on his IPOD forces him into an impromptu breakdance

Richard and Rupert struggle to remember where they left their bikes!!

Distance travelled to date about 425 miles, if you haven't got lost and gone on a detour!

Day Five - Tewkesbury to Stafford

Just who is Bob supporting?  And where is his Tabard!!

Duncan making it look too easy

      the ones they didn't want you to see

Finally we get a picture of Pete, well his backside!!  Today Pete had a near death experience when he fell off in the middle of Wolverhampton (some say its because he is so near to his birthplace) and badly injured his body but luckily not his very expensive cycling shorts (the ones hand woven on the thighs of Naked Benedictine Nuns)
Pete's left Buttock
look away if you're easily shocked

Distance travelled about 340 miles
 

Day Four - Starting from the Avon And Somerset Police Headquarters - The Official Start

ps. Has Andy got to wear longs sleeves because he has bad sunburn??

Is the strain beginning
 to tell in the elite team?

today was hot, but not too
 hot for Andy's sleeves??

still no good photographs of Pete for the site, we'll keep trying, honest

that's not the finish line Dick

All the teams are now safely in Exeter nursing a few tired legs and looking forward to a flatter day tomorrow into Portishead.

Distance travelled thus far is about 130 miles

(psst - they were seen in some garden centre drinking coffee within the first hour on Day 2)

Nigel hit the wall outside Okehamptaon and the record stands at twice in one day for dropping your back light.

The jam sandwiches were made today and their were a few envious eyes at the lunch stop.

Day Two - Will they still be smiling on day 8??

Sumi, take note!!!

We have photographic proof Pete jumps the gun on the start

We are off to a good start, everybody turned up.  Even better everybody brought a bike.  So early o'clock on Sunday morning we stood around the car park of Avon and Somerset Police HQ wondering how all the bikes and bags were going to fit into the van and mini bus.

Luckily somebody took charge and even the huge box of bananas made it into the bus.

Chris managed a bit for 106.5 Radio and we only left half an hour late.

Lots of tentative questioning on the bus as the team got down to finding who they were really going to spend the next two weeks with, interspersed with grim silence as we got onto the A30 and we realised the hills were really steep.  So we comforted ourselves by starting on the food mountain.