Bex & Bern's Big Bike Ride

May I firstly say, by popular request, how much it hurts? Actually things aren't so bad at the mo - it's mainly achey thighs now! Today was as close as we get to a rest day ... just 49 miles and we arrived in Kendal at half three! As we both like the Lake District a lot, we planned in a little detour through a corner of it - along Ullswater and over Kirkstone Pass to Lake Windermere. The pass, which Bex is halfway up in today's picture, is 457m (1,500 feet) up and you climb through 305 of them in just a couple of miles. You get the picture, it's steep! I'm going to try out some pukka biker slang on you now ... Becky was honking up the hill, while I unfortunately had a bonk and nearly lost my lid. Answers on a postcard! Off for some dinner now and then to see some OAP in the new Indiana Jones film! Warm with hazy sunshine and a moderate easterly wind (again!), 49.0m, 6h30, bum factor 6.

One side effect of this trip is how quickly my thighs have grown! Only a few days into the journey and they were like tree trunks. Becky's are the same, only she seems less excited about looking like a rugby player than I am! We had a nice morning's ride down from the hills into Dumfries and then turned into a strong headwind along the Solway Firth. It was really tough going, but we made it through Gretna (unscathed!) and into England, where after our first slight navigation mishap, we eventually arrived at our B&B. Hazy sunshine and warm with a strong easterly wind, 69.4m, 8h30, bum factor 7.

Firstly, thanks so much for your comments - sadly there are limits to doing this with a mobile phone, so forgive me for not replying to them, but the pies were steak and ale, and venison; the scale goes up to 10; and the seafood restaurant is called ee-uisk and is on the North Pier - and thanks too for the continued donations; you are very kind (the links to our Just Giving pages are further down this page). Arran is a lovely island and high on our list of places to return to one day. We had a nice stay with Jean and Andy at Kincardine Lodge and thank them for pledging their support. Last night, as well as the pies and whisky, we also saw some red deer strolling around. Today has been mostly hilly, and more up than down! There was a hard climb out of Lochranza and after the ferry back to the mainland, the inclines picked up again as we rode into the mountains of Dumfries and Galloway. So, as today has been spent mostly looking at the road and the back of Becky as she powers up another ascent, I thought I'd share the 'view from the saddle' with you! As for the roads, often they have been atrocious and add to the pain. Honestly, we might as well have been on cobbles at one stage! Tonight we're in Kendoon, one of those remote and friendly little hostels in the middle of nowhere. There are swallows flying all around us as the sun sets. Cloudy with sunny spells in the afternoon and a light south easterly wind, 68.5m (excluding ferry), 9h20, bum factor 8 and holding...

I know we're in danger of becoming repetitive now - weather good, fantastic scenery, everything hurts etc. - but today has been no different! Where's the drama? I hear you cry. Bex says we had pie and chips and we nearly couldn't finish it - that's BAFTA winning stuff! Last night we were in Oban youth hostel, a good example of the perils of staying in a YHA ... I shared a dormitory with a drunken Latvian (unfortunately a man!) who woke me up at 2am, sounding like he was soiling himself in his bed. He drank some more vodka and failed to go back to sleep. Classy. So today we have come to the Isle of Arran. We had a nice afternoon ride down the side of Loch Fyne, then realised time was tight to make our ferry and the last few miles included some evil hills ... nothing like a deadline to focus the mind and legs! Our reward - we bought some whisky from the local distillery here. That should help us get to sleep! Sunny spells and south easterly breeze, 61.8m (excluding ferry!), 7h30, bum factor 8.

I woke up this morning feeling like an old man. Becky tells me I should get used to it as I am an old man! I expect the obvious bits to hurt, but the pain is spreading - my shoulders and wrists ache; I may need a hip replacement by the end of the journey! Today was our longest at 86 miles and even 'well hard' Bex was suffering by the end! We went down the lochs to Fort William in the shadow of the Ben Nevis range, and then to the West coast and Oban. It's been a remarkable journey - from lakes to mountains to the sea, with dramatic scenery everywhere. Plus we've seen deer, red squirrels, tiny ducklings and two tornados flew over us (I had to duck!). Tonight we found a fab seafood restaurant and now feel human again! Sunny spells then cloudy with a light easterly wind, 86.2m, 9h30, bum factor 9!

Everything ached this morning! We coaxed some life back into our legs and carried on, down to Loch Ness. The weather has been great again, but still chilly when we go fast (which isn't often!). Yesterday the hills were gentle and slow up, long and fast down; today we had a couple of killer climbs! The morning was really enjoyable - still loving the scenery - and seeing Loch Ness and Urqhart Castle was fab. It also meant we were near our stop for the night: a youth hostel on the shore of the lake ... we've got great views as we sit here in front of the fire, but we haven't spotted Nessie yet! Sunny spells and a cool easterly breeze, 62.8m, 7h15, bum factor 6.

We were a bit nervous about today ... our first full day was also one of our longest. We're pleased to have made it, but everything aches! The weather has been kind, but still chilly. We cycled along the north coast to Bettyhill, then turned south through the mountains. The roads have been so quiet - we barely saw anyone as we cycled down to Loch Naver - and the scenery has been lovely. We've seen a million lambs and calves and heard some cuckoos.. Tonight we're staying in this magnificent castle - it's amazing! Sunny spells and cool NE wind, 83.8m, 8h30, bum factor 7!

Way hay, we're here! We left Truro at 4am and arrived in John O'Groats at 3pm, which was teaming with cyclists who had just completed the journey! In fact we got honked by a couple of drivers who thought we were finishing, which was funny - we must look exhausted already! J O'G is a dump, so we quickly moved on to our first overnight stop in Thurso. It's been a long day! Sunny spells and a cool northerly wind, 19.8m, 2h, numb bum factor 2/10!

End2End ride: Friday, 16th May - Saturday, 31st May 2008

Becky's had another big idea! To follow up our Coast to Coast walk across the country in 2006, she has decided we should cycle from one end to another ... yes, you guessed it, from John O'Groats to Land's End, a distance of well over 1,000 miles.

Becky with her Specialized Allez and Bern with his Trek 1.2

So, over the last few months we've been practising our pedalling: Becky's been getting even fitter and I've been dressing up in tight lycra. Friday 16th May we fly up to Wick and cycle to John O'Groats to start our journey, arriving in Land's End (we hope!) on Saturday 31st May.

We'll be posting updates (mobile phone signal permitting) to this blog during our trip, so check back from time to time to see how we're getting on. We'll also post a few photos of our 'holiday', in case you don't believe we've actually done it!

We've also decided this is too good an opportunity to miss raising some cash for charity. Please visit either of our Just Giving pages and make a donation - it'll make us feel guilty if we ever think of giving up!

Becky - Guide Dogs for the Blind
Bern - Cancer Research UK

What's it going to be like? Well, it's not going to be easy - there are some long days and high hills. Still, one of us is young and the other has great legs, so I'm sure we'll be OK!

If you're a follower of such things, you may be wondering why we're cycling 'the wrong way'. Conventional wisdom says it's better to cycle from Land's End so that the prevailing winds are behind you. Well, as you may know, Becky is currently living and working in Cornwall and she obviously thought it would be easier (for her!) to get home after we reach our journey's end.

You can see our route in Google Earth or online in Google Maps:

Google Earth: right-click the link below, save the file to your computer and then open it.
Google Maps: copy the link below and paste it into the search box of Google Maps.

http://www.bernardallen.com/E2E.kml

Day 1 - John O'Groats to Thurso
20 (20), 99m
Distance (cumulative distance), max. height reached
After driving from Truro, flying from Exeter to Edinburgh, then Wick, collecting our bikes and cycling to John O'Groats, we won't actually start the journey until mid afternoon! A short, flat start.

Day 2 - Carbisdale Castle
83 (103), 264m
Our first full day is one of our longest as we travel along the north coast to Bettyhill and then travel due south to our first Youth Hostel. It is a proper Scottish castle though!

Day 3 - Loch Ness
63 (166), 249m
We travel on towards Inverness and reach Loch Ness at Drumnadrochit, cycling down to Invermoriston for the night.

Day 4 - Oban
84 (250), 69m
Another long day, but pretty flat as cycle alongside Loch Ness and Loch Lochy to Fort William. A couple of ferries mean we can avoid some of the busy A82. Oban is on the west coast.

Day 5 - Lochranza
66 (316), 166m
An easier day travelling south along the coast to Tarbert and then we take a short ferry ride to the Isle of Arran. We're doing this to avoid Glasgow (remember, this is a holiday!), but this will also mean extra miles.

Day 6 - Glenhoul
81 (397), 302m
Back over to the mainland and then slowly uphill through Dumfries and Galloway to another glamorous Youth Hostel - a hut in the middle of nowhere!

Day 7 - Carlisle
68 (465), 309m
We pass through Dumfries and then along the Solway Firth, through Gretna Green (very quickly, without stopping!) and over the English border to Carlisle.

Day 8 - Kendal
51 (516), 454m
A day of milestones as we pass through the mileage halfway mark and reach our highest point - the Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District. Depending on the weather and our sanity, we have a low level option too, but hope to travel through the Lakes. Kirkstone Pass links Ullswater with Lake Windermere.

Day 9 - Blackburn
58 (574), 427m
If anything, this is an even tougher day with hills from start to finish and we nearly reach yesterday's heights as we travel through the Forest of Bowland on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. This also marks our halfway point in days.

Day 10 - Chester
62 (636), 324m
A big hill out of Blackburn and then we work our way around Bolton and Manchester to reach Chester.

Day 11 - Clun
67 (703), 318m
From Chester we make our way down into Shropshire and over the Long Mynd to Clun Mill, another Youth Hostel.

Day 12 - St Briavel
68 (771), 208m
Today we travel through Leominster and Ross-on-Wye, leaving the River Wye at Welsh Bicknor to go to St Briavel's Castle - the second castle stay of our trip!

Day 13 - Wells
51 (822), 264m
One of our shortest days, crossing the River Severn and passing through Bristol, over the Clifton suspension bridge, to reach Wells.

Day 14 - Exeter
66 (888), 255m
Today's journey starts off going by Glastonbury and on to Honiton, using some stretches of the A303 and A30.

Day 15 - Fowey
74 (962), 435m
From Exeter we go over Dartmoor to Plymouth. Then the hills start up again as we head towards Fowey. Today we use ferries to cross rivers at Plymouth and Fowey.

Day 16 - Land's End
66 (1028), 180m
For our last day we start by going through St Austell, across the River Fal on the King Harry Ferry, then on to St Michael's Mount, Penzance and finally, Land's End!