Day 14 - Church Stretton to Gloucester

Amazingly enough, in spite of last nights cider I woke up clear headed and ready to go. As can be seen from one of the photos, Boik & Bev were there to wave me off and for the first half mile it was a nice fast downhill run. Unfortunately the next 15 miles were repeatedly up and down (including a climb over Wenlock Edge) as I went across the grain of the landscape. The countryside was archetypically English - green fields, lush woodlands, verdant hedges and birdsong everywhere. Lunch was a welcome break and was spent sitting in the sun in the garden of a restaurant in Tenbury Wells. On the way out of the village it seemed like two pubs were competing for 'Half-timbered pub leaning at the craziest angle' of the year - they were quaintly all over the place, unfortunately neither Jan nor myself managed to take a picture to prove it, so you'll just have to take my word or it. The route continued its up and down attitude all the way to Bromyard where I took the photo of the wall plaque and the carved wooden tower. Mind you, I wouldn't have seen either of them if I hadn't taken a wrong turning (which meant I had another steep hill to climb). The nest stretch was a little easier and took me to Ledbury which is situated at the southern end of the Malvern Hills. I popped into a greengocers there and had him cut a lovely big orange into two for me - delicious! After that I just had to plough on to Newent and then find the B&B Jan had booked for us, just short of Gloucester. At that point my phone rang and so it was that I was having a chat with my mother-in-law whilst waving to Jan when she took a picture of me - she admonished me for riding no-hands, I must admit I hadn't realised I was doing it!

As usual Jan has come up trumps - tonights B&B is new and has a health club in the grounds so I've been for a swim and relaxed my muscles in a hot tub. We'll shortly go back to Newent to find somewhere for tea and then we'll spend the rest of the evening doing some detailed planning for the Devon and Cornwall sections of the journey.

TTFN, Bob & Jan.

Whoops forgot to include anoraks corner:
Accumulated mileage : 731 miles
Todays mileage : 61.5 miles
Todays average : 12.5 mph
Todays maximum : 37.1 mph

Day 13 - Chester to Church Stretton

Well, that's the 15th fried breakfast in a row - perhaps I should be having porridge instead. The sunny weather enticed my legs to venture forth in shorts today. Lashings of sun tan lotion were applied (thanks Jan) and away I cycled. I was soon out into the Cheshire countryside and plagued by thousands of small black flies. Still, I only swallowed one, so I didn't do too bad. After a day off it was actually nice to be back in the saddle. With the gloriously sunny weather the riding was very enjoyable. I soon found myself looking forward to lunch and but was feeling grumpy because I thought I was lost. I phoned Jan and she guided me in to the lake at Ellesmere (well not literally) where, unbeknownst to me, Boik and Bev had travelled all the way over to see us. What a pleasant surprise - it made my day! After lunch they kept Jan company on the journey down to Church Stretton whilst I explored the same route via the more minor roads. Just after Shrewsbury I met up with Fred Lambert who is walking from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise funds for St.Lukes Hospice in Plymouth. We had a good chat and I was impressed with how cheerful and committed Fred is. Good luck Fred.

Bev and Boik have sorted out tonights B&B and very nice it is too, situated in the Cardington valley which cuts into the Long Mynd. Boik drove us up to the top where we had some fun flying his aerofoil kite. He then drove us over the edge (down a 1 in 4 hill) before we found a pub where we had some good food washed down with vats of wine (in Bevs case) and just a few ciders (in mine). Anyway, I suspect all that cider's had an effect on tonights report, so I will sign off now and hope I don't suffer (too much) tomorrow. Byeeeeee.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 670 miles
Todays mileage : 57.5 miles
Todays average : 13.3 mph
Todays max speed: 38.2 mph

Day 12 - Rest day in Chester

After 11 days on the road (and our fourteenth away from home), it was good to have a day off here in Chester. Ali had booked us into a lovely hotel near the station (hence last nights photos of me in front of the station) and it was good to meet up with her and Darren for a meal last night before they went over to Manchester to watch the England friendly. Jan and I then spent the day strolling around the City. After an alfresco lunch I treated myself to a haircut and beard trim as I was looking a bit ragged after two weeks avoiding the shaver! Then we visited my Auntie and my cousin and his family and spent a very pleasant afternoon sitting in the sun reminiscing and chatting about this and that. We finished the day off with a visit to two of my other cousins where more reminiscing and tea-drinking took place. All in all today has been very therapeutic and we both feel fully refreshed and ready to carry on with our journey tomorrow. Todays photos are just a few snaps of Chester - it's a lovely place to visit.

Day 11 - Little Ecclestone to Chester

I added a few miles to yesterdays route in order to ride to the only B&B we could get booked into. So todays route was slightly different than intended. There were just a couple of small hills and the wind was generally from one side (rather than from the front) and that coupled with the use of a few A roads meant that I made fairly good progress. It didn't stop me getting lost in Preston and then later on in the lanes around Billinge. The most memorable features of today were the number of cars flying those cross of St. George flags, the sneakiness of a couple of traffic cops who were hiding in the shadows nicking motorists who were slowing down to the speed limit and the sight of the Runcorn-Widnes bridge. I met up with fellow end-to-ender Paul just as I was taking a photo of the bridge. We kept each other company as we worked out a way through Runcorn and had an ice-cream to celebrate making it to the Chester Road. We parted company after that as we each got into our different rid

ing paces (I was starting to feel the bumps and wanted to get to Chester fast). It seems like only yesterday that we were in Scotland but now we're well and truly in England. I've awarded myself a day off tomorrow (saturday) and hope to visit some relatives, stroll around the city centre and also get a haircut!

Last night we stayed at a country inn that is in the CAMRA good beer guide. Of all the ales on tap I just had to try the London Pride! My reasoning being that I know what a good Pride tastes like and I was curious to see how well it travelled so far from Chiswick. It tasted good but was served with a monster 'creamy' head - apparently that's how they like it in Lancashire! The landlady suggested that us Southerners preferred it 'flat' - cheeky monkey - it doesn't need an inch of creamy froth getting in the way of the beer if you ask me.Right by the pub was a Toll Bridge - free for pedestrians but 10p for a bike - I toyed with trying to sprint past the toll collector as a bit of entertainment but decided I didn't want to risk getting stranded the wrong side of the river facing a ten mile trek back. As I write this the sounds of a wedding reception being held in the hotel courtyard are coming through my window. Two observations: why do drunken men sporadically sing the same old footy song (di der da da, di der da da, di der di da da, di der da da)? And how much is the DJ getting for just putting the Best of Rod Stewart CD on repeat?

Anyway, time for tea, byeee.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 611 miles
Todays mileage: 67 miles
Todays average speed: 13.5 mph
Todays max speed: 35.9 mph

Day 10 - Glenridding to Little Ecclestone

More thoughts from the bag lady.

I'm writing this at the top of Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District, waiting for Bob to come over the top - photo opportunity! We left the B&B together at about 10:00hrs and it took me half an hour to reach the top, stuck in a queue of traffic with a coach in front. It was a challenge in the car, down to first gear and the smell of burnt clutch hanging in the air - sorry Bob. I don't know how long it will take Bob to ride to the top but it's a beautiful day and the views are wonderful. He is still doing a grand job with the cycling (ten days in the saddle). He's done over 500 miles so far but why is it that he still has trouble finding his socks/cotton wool buds/pants or anything else that doesn't come immediately to hand. But I suppose that's what I'm here for - to look after the old boy!

Navman and I are getting along fine although one day I thought he/she wasn't talking to me - then I realised I had the volume switched off. We have got lost together a few times, once in Stewarton when I was looking for a postbox and also in Carlisle when we went round and round a roundabout looking for the right exit! Navman takes no notice of no-right turn signs or no-entry signs so I have to be on the lookout all the time.

More best moments:

1. The warm welcome at Maureen and Jims in St. John's Town of Dalry.

2. The lovely evening meal at Bessiestown Farmhouse in Catlowdy.

3. Finding a Tesco's in Carlisle - I'm missing my larder!

My biggest challenge so far has been driving down from Kirkstone Pass to Windermere because the road was fast and winding with a sheer drop on the left hand side of the car. A quick note for Pat - our car is a Subaru and they're commonly known as Scooby's ( it doesn't mean anything else!!).

Biggest disappointment so far: Having to rush through the beautiful Lake District so quickly - Bob's riding like the wind at the moment!

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 544 miles
Todays Mileage : 63.8 miles
Todays average : 12.2 mph
Todays maximum : 44 mph

Day 9 - Gretna Green to Glenridding

We're back in England! Today was supposed to be a rest day but we'd planned to do the short run down to the Lake District anyway. Because I finished a little early yesterday, I had to ride those miles first so ended up doing some 41 miles ( not so short). The weather was good and the going was fairly easy. We'd arranged to meet for a tea break in Carlisle and it was quite a buzz for us to see so many people! Whilst there we met a fellow end-to-ender called Paul Clements. He's doing it in the same direction as us and left JOG the same day (but in the afternoon). He'd heard there was someone just ahead of him using a similar route and it was me! We had a good old chinwag and shared our experiences (the highs and the lows). He's completely solo and is using Youth Hostels and B&B's. He'd had a few mechanical problems, mainly related to broken/loose spokes and was having a day off to recharge his batteries a bit. His web address is wwwclemjogle06piczocom I've disguised it
just to avoid any spam engines spotting it, but I'm sure you can work out where to put the dots!! We've also swapped numbers so we can keep in touch (& perhaps offer encouragement from time to time). I expect he'll pass me again in a couple of days. I'll have to buy the coffees next time - thanks Paul.

We had a bit of grief with Jans phone today - I added some credit to it via an ATM but Orange reckon the phone's not registered for that - that's news to us and I expect Orange will have some sorting out to do if they don't want me to start slagging them off - their poor signal coverage is already bugging me, so it won't take much to send me over the top!

Because of that malarkey Jan had trouble sorting out tonights B&B but as ever she came through and we've got a lovely room with a four poster bed and a magnificent view of Lake Ullswater. There's no phone signal on any network here so we'll have to move along the lake a bit to send tonights essay.

Tomorrow starts with a climb up Kirkstone Pass and may turn out to be quite a tough day but with the promise of improving weather, we're looking forward to it, We anticipate reaching Chester on Friday evening and will probably have a proper day off on saturday.

Oh, by the way, we didn't get to see the Led Zep tribute band in Fort William - the gig was cancelled due to them having an accident (although our landlady suspected lack of ticket sales).

My speedo is playing up a bit (in spite of me changing the batteries in both the transmitter and head unit) but the figures are pretty much correct - I'll try and get a replacement if I get a chance though.

Todays stats:
Accumulated mileage : 481 miles
Todays Mileage : 41.5 miles
Todays average : 12.9 mph
Todays maximum : 39 mph