Train ride home

Last night we boarded the Caledonian sleeper at 19:50 which does a tour of Scotland before landing in Edinburgh for a change of train (which meant moving all the bikes and luggage). Of course this was into the carriage that was the furthest away.  The view going through Scotland was amazing but when it went dark it was time to sleep. We landed in Preston at 04:30 this morning and had a short ride back home. It has been a great trip and we have met some great people along the way. Our target of £1000 for Galloways has been achieved although we don't have a final figure yet. Thanks to everyone for their support. Time for bed and rest!!!

The Ben - last hill

11th June - Today we tackle "The Ben".  When we landed at the hostel we had a walk across the road to the start of the climb. Then it hits you this thing just goes up and up and up. It is relentless! We wondered if this was going to do us in.  In the morning we got fed and watered and set off on our last hill. Onwards and upwards. We made good time to mid point. Then the hill goes in to mist (no surprise). The path up is steep but is in good condition. As you climb the path goes into a series of switch backs.  As we reached the last third we hit snow. Yes snow in june! Once we got up that, you walk further and again nearing the summit you hit snow again. The top is covered with about 2 to 3 feet of snow. The mist and snow makes it difficult to see the summit and also the edge of the summit, but for us hearing voices on the top we could have easily gone past the ruins of the observatory at the top. It took us 3 hours to get to the top and 2 hours to get back down. Not bad considering we had 2 mountains and 500 miles in our legs. Once we got to the bottom we had a quick brew before gathering our gear and heading off to the train station for the long journey home.

Last day on the bike - Fort William

10th June. Last day on the bike we have had nearly 500 miles of very mixed weather. A rolling day lay ahead but only 45 miles. We managed to get off from Oban in good time from a very nice B&B.  As with most days a big climb to start the day. We made good time to lunch stopping to take photos along the way.  We had our first puncture today. Not bad the first in 500 miles (Daves bike). This was due to us riding on Sustrans Route 78 cycle path which is great in places but in others is more like off road biking. This route 78 does give some stunning views as you ride along the coast and is worth picking up if you are going from Oban to Fort William. It should be finished soon. We landed in Fort William with time to spare before the hostel opened. Time for gift shopping.

Warm day to Oban

It has been a warm sunny day for our 60 mile ride from the Isle of Arran to Oban. We started the day boarding a ferry which took us to main land Scotland. On the boat we met two groups of cyclists one group touring the islands and the other doing E2E. The E2E'ders are taking the same route as us up to Fort William our destination for tomorrow. The ride up to Oban was rolling but good and made more enjoyable by the weather. Tomorrow just 40 miles to Fort William and one hill left the following day. Woop woop!!!!

Great start to the day

We had a self catering breakfast at the Hostel this morning, so we have stopped at Tarbet the first town we pass, to refuel. Now that is what you call a breakfast. Not sure if I am going to be able to move after this. Only 60 miles to go today after an early ferry and a bit of a ride to get warmed up. Before a night on the town;)

Isle of arran - Best day yet.

Rode yesterday from Thornhill to the Isle of Arran. We had a bit of a sprint on to get to the ferry on time, but we arrived at Adrossan with about 20 mins to spare. Once on the Isle of Arran we had a 15 Mile ride to the Youth Hostel for the nights rest. The photos attached are the views that awaited use. AMAZING! Makes all the long wet and windy days worth every pedal stroke. The day ended up being 75 miles. Just a 60 mile ride today to Oban. Then 40 miles tomorrow a little hill to climb, then home. Hope the weather stays the same as today dry and sunny, having that.

The longest day yet!

Today (caught up now after our lack of signal). After a poor nights sleep due to the fire alarm going off at 11pm we set off from Borrowdale destination Thornhill. We set off in good biking weather, The night before  we had a re think on our route to cut the day down a bit (good job we did). By lunch time we had made good progress and landed in Carlisle. We stopped at Morrisons for lunch then off to Dumfries. On our way to Dumfries we got caught by 4 lads from Annan returning home after a 50mile training  ride. We had a good chat with them whilst on the move at a steady 17 mph. They donated £10.00 for Galloways, thanks lads. We then had another mechanical issue yes another spoke (3rd) Keith and Matt are a dab hand on changing spokes now. See photo of the pit crew working on temp. repairs. What this photo dosn't show is the great big bull in the field that came to chase us off mid repair. It was then a wet ride all the way to Thornhill. The day ended up being 90 Miles. We were glad that we had shaved a few miles off with the re-calcs. Now to fix the spoke and get an early night ready for our ride tomorrow which takes us to the Isle of Arran approx. 60miles to catch the ferry, then 15 miles to the Youth Hostel. Can't be late for the ferry!.

Scafell pike -in the bag!

Wednesday 6th June. Still zero signal on the phones, we feel like we are in the stone age! Off we go to bag Scafell Pike. We did a recon. of Scafell in May as Scafell is hard to navigate in clear weather.  We are glad we went on the recon. as the weather changed the moment we got to Stockley Bridge (start of the climb). Waterproofs on and stayed on for the trek up to the summit. Wet, windy and very misty day. See the photos uploaded. The walk took us from the YHA at Borrowdale up to the summit and back to the YHA. A round trip of 16 miles. A very hard day.

Borrowdale

Tuesday 5th June after our mechanical problems we managed to get to Borrowdale distance 75 miles tail wind and dry bonus!!!. First order of the day fix the spoke. Next try and ring home. No signal instead we had to use a payphone which was very hungry for £1.00 Coins....! hence the lack of updates. The YHA at Borrowdale is very nice. Tomorrow 6th June we attempt Scafell the one we have all been dreading.

Mechanical problems

Tuesday 5th June we headed off to Borrowdale. But we only got to Lancaster University when Matt's spoke snapped. We managed to get to a bike shop in Lancaster called "The Edge". They were very helpful and supplied Matt with some spare spokes. Keith and I also got stocked up with new brake pads just in case.

Last nights cold bath

Last night saw us back in Preston after another tough 70 mile ride. At least the weather was kind. The bikes were weighed and they range from 45 to 50lb! Today we have around 85 miles to ride from Preston to the base of Scafell. Best get myself up!

Help out of chester

We had some help from a lady cyclist out of Chester, we had got a bit lost and your help put us back on track. The donation for Galloways was a great help to get us to our target. Sorry we did not get your name or photo to go on our blog, you rode a "Specialized" and had a "Rapha" top on, you know who you are, thank you.

Our little helper.

Thank you to the little girl and her mum who helped us navigate out of Runcorn and gave a donation to Galloway's. Your help was greatly appreciated sorry we did not get your names. From Keith,Matt and Dave.

A wet one

Its been a wet day today. Tonights mission is get everything dry for tomorrow. We are hoping for a dry day, but we are in England.

Day 2 done!

What a hard wet cold and NOT FLAT coastal route today. Just in the "Hungry Horse" in Chester for re-fuelling.

Pit stop

Stopped to fuel up in Abergele £1.80 for a buttie and a drink. Every little helps :-)

A damp start - day 2

Had a good nights kip thanks to the Alpine Lodge in Llanberis. Awoke to a wet and windy start for day 2. Glad we had nice weather yesterday. Dave.

Day 1 - Snowdon

Well thats the first mountain done. Just 2 more to go and 500 miles on the velo. We have been lucky with the weather today it's been warm and dry. Tomorrow is 80 miles from Snowdon to Chester. Had some great food at "Petes Eats" in Llanberis defo one to look out for seems to be a hub for walkers and cyclists.

Only a few hours to go

Snowdon

Well we are all packed and ready to travel to LLanberis early tomorrow (Saturday) morning. I hope it's not quite as busy on the summit as it was on the 29th.