Blazing Saddles 2009

The Blazing Saddles set off from John O'Groats in glorious weather with views of the Orkneys. Both riders touched the water at 0652 - a superb and early start, but soon the head wind picked up and stayed with us for the remainder of the day. The riders tucked in behind the support vehicle for a few miles up to the first stop as no other traffic was on the road. The route and food stops worked well and support crew (North) established an early routine - once he had repacked the car 12 times! All in all it was a tough day with some serious hills but some sweeping downhills resuting in a stiff neck, aching back and tender groin! Great food in the pub at the Culbokie Inn including a very generous random gent who gave a 5 pound donation. Knackered, but can't wait to saddle up first thing in the morning!

We set off under dark skies from the Black Isle and had a wonderful rainy high speed run down into Inverness, unfortunately quickly followed by a long and painful climb back out and past Culloden. We met with the 'Caped Crusader' (Mick from South Yorkshire) who joined us for breakfast and we swopped cycling stories. We battled up through the Cairngorms to the Drumochter Summit (1561 ft above sea level) tucking ourselves into the side of the A9 to avoid the fast moving juggernauts but couldn't keep out of the driving rain. However it was 8 miles downhill to scotch eggs and hot soup outside Blair Atholl castle. Its great to hear so many people are following the GPS tracker, particularly press office and support crew south who at one point today noticed we had not moved for 30mins and started getting concerned!

Under bright clear skies we set off at 06:45 from Grantully along to Loch Tay. Our favourite and most picturesque miles of the trip so far. The views across Loch Tay were spectacular and the minor road following the loch to the south made it a memorable morning. Chasing Dolphin (Support Crew North) surprised us with a slightly early breakfast overlooking the West end of the Loch. We joined the A84 to Stirling and climbed the up to the Ogle Pass followed by a fabulous descent into Glen Ogle – the best downhill so far! One point of note goes to Stirling County Council, who desperately need to resurface the first section of the A84! It is amazing the difference a poor road surface can make to your speed. We lunched in Callander where hot Scotch Pies were welcomed (pls. note Support Crew South!). The Giant Orca led a fast leg (of 20 miles @ av. Speed of 23mph) into Stirling where we caught Chasing Dolphin unawares. The last few miles into Glasgow were long and laborious not helped by getting drenched in the last mile of rush hour traffic into our evening stay (many thanks sponsors Hilton). All in good spirits although, knees are sore, but bottoms still ok!

We set off with both of us in a corridor of pain, suffering with aching knees. Poor weather conditions and road surface made the going particularly tough for the first 20 miles. Further to this, South East Glasgow and neighbouring villages are pretty bleak and everyone looks miserable! Hot bacon rolls cheered us up at the first breakfast stop. Soon afterwards our spirits and average speed were significantly lifted by our guest riders for the day, Ian Harkness and Les Kerr. We were privileged to be in the company of accomplished cyclists with local knowledge and soon rattled through the miles chatting along the way. At mile 70 they peeled right and set off for Dumfries while we continued onto Carlisle. The Orca and the Shark avoided matrimony in Gretna and finally left the hills of Scotland behind us and headed over the border into England. This evening we then had public duties to perform and we travelled back to Dumfries to visit Dr Lindsay Martin and Linda Murray from the Alexandra Unit. Many thanks to them for their support and welcome. On arrival at the hospital (with thanks to press office - Maeve Bradbury) we were met by ITV (Border Region) and under the direction of Olivia Richwald we were all interviewed and filmed arriving and departing the hospital for their early evening magazine TV programme. You can watch below. Looking forward to getting day 5 out the way and arriving in Manchester tomorrow.

As we stayed in Dumfries last night, we set of in the car from Dumfries at 05:30 to rejoin our route in Carlisle. We were on the bikes by 06:45 and although felt tired, managed to cover the first few miles with ease which is surprising considering that the first leg of each day always seems to be the hardest. Singing as we past through the forest, seemed like a good way of countering the early morning pain; further helped, by hot bacon rolls at the breakfast stop. The biggest challenge of the day was the climb up to the summit of Shap (1,400ft) and there are always warning signs that a challenge is looming - as Joe lets loose with a string of profanities in local accents! The descent down from Shap gave fantastic views and saw Joe attempt the Tour speed record, narrowly missing it, but setting the day's top speed (43.35mph). Some long, straight and flat stretches allowed us to press on, but Lancaster had some sharp surprises. We stopped in Garstang for one of our scheduled refuels and were pleasantly surprised by an old lady who had noticed our car and us eating and came out her house to offer further funds for our cause (£4.20) - we have been stunned by the generosity and support of 'random' people on our tour. We finished today at Haydock Park (not in the Paddock) but delighted to be visited by Kiki Thompson (ex-work colleague of Joe's) and Tony Greico (Lourdes friend of Robert Snr) who witnessed end of day pasta and bike cleaning - in that order! We will be sorry to see Support Crew North leave us tomorrow, but welcome Support Crew South - the bar has been set very high! Great day today - highest mileage taken in our stride and two very burnt noses!

We left the northwest shrouded in fog, but by 9am it had burnt off and we were faced with a day of intense heat and the usual damned headwind - some contrast to the weather in Glasgow of two days previous. We were joined by our first visitor of the day in the village of cuddington (Cheshire!), Simon Woolf of Tonsley fame, who hit the ground running with his usual wit and banter and enthusiastically tucked into the bacon rolls. He volunteered his duties as Official Photographer for the morning and dashed off in his purple car, to capture the first shot which he missed as he was not ready when we blazed past. We never saw him for another 4 hours as his car broke down and he needed to call the AA!

As it was handover day today, we were also joined by SCS (Support Crew South) Richard Bruce. His influence soon showed as the car became particuarly organised, the stops more picturesque (grounds of Stokesy Caste), the proximity to railway lines and the sandwiches better quality!

Mid-morning as we passed through North Shropshire on the A49 a heli flew overhead. Distracted by this, Joe looked upwards and as he returned to focus on the road, found himself heading for the kerb - shortly afterwards he landed in a hawthorn hedge! Rather embarrassed by the situation, he regained his trusty steed and continued the conversation and no damage was done- except to pride obviously! We did meet up with Woolfy again at our lunch stop which had a private portaloo which endured heavy use! On our approach to ludlow we were hailed by loud cries by our second set of visitors of the day, Mike and Belinda Palfrey, who drew up alongside. Shortly afterwards, on arrival in Ludlow, our overnight stop, we had a great reception from members of the family. AND LASTLY, we would like to clarify that the roadkill mentioned in this blog are observations not executions!

We set off this morning in the blazing Shropshire sunshine and descended down the A49 at a reasonable pace. We were met at our breakfast stop, Moreton-on-Lugg, by Christian and Patrick Bruce who proved very enthusiastic supporters throughout the day! We were served up a superb breakfast by SCS (Support Crew South) and Christian with scrambled eggs, fresh fruit in the cereal and peanut butter and banana sandwiches! We passed through Hereford and up some very steep hills into our third country Wales - where the roads are by far better quality and quick progress was made to Monmouth. We then hit one of our favourite roads of the tour - the stunning woodland traverse to Tintern Abbey. The finale of the day was our ride over the old Severn Bridge and into the West Country. Today was a very social day and our visitors included Christian and Patrick Bruce, Floody and Claire Bear, Mike Wortley, and Angus and Paola Bruce and family. We only have three days of riding remaining and we are excited at nearing the end through the undulating hills of Devon and Cornwall. Bring it on.

We set off from the Hilton hotel in Bristol and off down a pretty un-navigable cycle path for about 15 miles - it was very stop-start so our speed was compromised. We were presented with a full cooked breakfast in Yatton, which although the riders knew should not be eaten, it looked too good to waste! Although the decision to eat this was questioned when both riders recorded two 'half-sicks'. For the second day we were very enthusiastically encouraged by Christian and Patrick Bruce which was a massive lift to the riders and a great help to SCS (Support Crew South). We weaved our way through the Somerset villages and in Wedmore were pleasantly surprised by bumping into Al Kennedy (one of Rob's work contacts).

Today, being the flattest day, the riders enjoyed fast speeds across the Somerset Levels to reach their lunch stop at Othery. Here we were met by Mike and Josie Holmes (parents of Peloton Rider Malcolm). After fantastic and much needed hospitality, the riders set off again and passed through Taunton and on around Wellington. The third scheduled stop of the day at around mile 62 was a complete mess up, as the riders and Support Crew missed each other. The riders then unknowingy took a wrong turn and proceded up several steep hills. SCS and riders were reunited in Cullompton with ice creams! We reached the B&B at 1630 and had visits from Charlotte Howard (Joe's ex-work colleague) and Paul Bruce (Peloton Rider). Today was a day full of highs... high mileage, high temperature, high spirits, high fat content breakfast and high-jinx! Tomorrow the hills of Devon!

And the good weather continues! We left Langford on a crisp and clear morning and made our way through stereo-typical Devon lanes - defined by the steep banks on either side and the grass growing in the middle! We followed SCS (Support Crew South) through these back lanes so not to worry about navigation. Although not always the safe option, SCS nearly got runover by a doubledecker bus!

Having 'bigged-up' SCS's aptitude vs. SCN we have found similar traits, including snoozing on the job and sly flapjack consumption. However, in addition to this we have also found that he visited three railway stations - spotter!

Today was a MASSIVE day for hills, it was up and down all day with very little flat. One hill was 4 miles long! Joe managed to equal the tour's top speed of 44.6mph so its all to play for tomorrow. We were lucky enough to experience some magnificent views as we skirted around the top of Dartmoor, including one stop where SCS had set up lunch for two including table and chairs!

We met Chris and Skippy Blumer (Cuddington Bucks residents!) and had our photo taken for the village newspaper "The Village Voice" - how apt!

One minor mechanical incident today where Joe's pedal needed replacing so we stopped in Liskeard for a pit stop. In order to rise to the challenge set by Barney on our Just Giving site (an extra £50 if photographic evidence is presented of swimming across 2 rivers enroute) at the end of the long hot day the riders launched headlong into the River Fowey.

Many thanks to those following the blog, the tracker and for the messages on the board.

Its our final day tomorrow, we are looking forward to joining the Peloton into Lands End. Look out for our final posting and photos of reaching the end tomorrow.

The final day. We climbed out of Lostwithiel, a nasty steep hill first thing in the morning. However, we had the Flying Flood with us and he did not let the side down. This day seemed to drag on and on. You could smell the sea at Land's End but Cornwall still had a couple of surprises up its sleeve for us. Continual hills and not a great deal of flat gave us more pain. Joe's knees and Rob's achilles were burning but determination was burning greater.

With our IT department riding alongside us we had the laptops out at the breakfast stop to update the blog. Quite bizzare. We were then joined by Malcolm Holmes in Camborne - straight off the train and with his bike ready to go. The Peloton was growing...

We found our final river to swim across, the River Hayle, only 12 miles from the finish. Photos to follow, Barney and Co!

After several steep climbs we descended into Penzance where we were met by the rest of the family emblazoned in Blazing Saddles blue shirts. A brief lunch stop, and the Peloton assembled and set off to complete the final 12 miles. Now we numbered seven and we climbed up and out of Penzance. At the top of a series of steep hills we were met by the final compliment of the Peloton, a further four cyclists (the Hill Avoiders!) and being all in blue shirts we felt a little like extras in a training video for bicycle mounted police recruits.

Having formed up we set off for the last time and approached Land's End. We could see a large crowd having assembled at the entrance and thought they must be queuing for something. However, as we approached it became apparant that they were waiting for us as they were cheering and clapping as we arrived. We were also welcomed by a piper who played us in. All a bit embarrasing really - but done in style as the tannoy announced our arrival. We rode around to the back of the hotel where we posed in front of the famous signpost for photographs and burst open several bottles of Champagne.

It was relief, tiredness, elation, emotion and a wee bit of sadness - afterall it was a year to the exact day of Dick Bruce's passing.

Thanks to all and hope you have enjoyed sharing our journey... what an adventure it was. We are now officially End to Enders!