Milnthorpe to LochMaben

A nice welcome after nearly 100 miles 

Fell End caravan park near Milnthorpe had some wonderful facilities. There was a huge pool and a big visitor lounge with a very tempting bar. I was just too tired though and after taking Monty for a quick walk (it was raining quite heavily by this time) I was done and wanted to hit the sack. I'd cycled a hundred miles that day and my legs knew it. Rosemary commented on me looking tired whilst making dinner. I dragged myself for my shower and on the way back noticed that the front bumper on the camper was damaged. "What's happened to the bumper" I mentioned in a kind of 'are you ok' curious tone. "Oh! you've noticed then" said Rosemary in a "damn he's finally seen it kind of way". "I'll tell you after dinner". That sounded ominous. I was so weary I soon forgot about the bump as I tucked into steak and rice with fresh bread and lots of salad. Rosemary is truly awesome at cooking. I am a very lucky man. She knew just what to make to recharge me for the next day. When you are so hungry and you are presented with a huge plate of really good food its almost a religious experience.

Steak and rice with lots more in the pan. Just what you need

Rosemary and Moo in the late evening sun

"So what happened then" I said in that 'careful' manner that all bloke learn once married. So she told me. The incident had actually happened three days earlier but I hadn't noticed. I was too wrapped up in my riding and too tired at the end of each day to notice. When I had set off from Weston Super Mare, Rosemary had stayed on to launder all the wet and used cycling gear. However just after putting the clothes in the drier, the site had had a power cut and all the machine doors were electronically locked so she couldn't get the clothes out for over an hour. This meant she was running very late to meet me at the other side of the Severn Bridge in Chepstow. Eventually the power came back on and she dashed off for the motorway hoping to make time up on me. Just as she entered a roundabout at Weston, some impatience idiot attempted to overtake onto the roundabout, then cut in front of her at the next exit on the roundabout. He got it all wrong and bashed the side of his car into the front bumper of the camper. Rosemary slammed the anchors on and stopped. The guy just put his foot down and sped off. He knew it was his fault. He was either in a stolen car or he had no insurance. Either way Rosemary was just in shock at him hitting the van and disappearing and had not got his reg. She drove to a safe spot and inspected the damage. There was a hole and the impact had unseated the left hand side of the bumper off its mounts. However it had not touched any of the main bodywork, the bumper had absorbed the impact really well and crucially she was ok to drive on. Rosemary reckoned it must have made a mess of the blue hatchbacks front wing (which made me feel much better) The main thing was that Rosemary was ok. She was expecting me to be cross, but how could I be cross with her. 1) She was ok. 2) The van was ok and perfectly drivable. 3) She was working so hard for this whole damn challenge and what did a bumper matter. Then it dawned on me. Oh my god! I'd been really grumpy with her the evening of the bump three days ago and she had taken it and not reacted. What a complete jerk I had been. I felt terrible. I was too wrapped up in my own little world. From the start of the challenge I knew what a tough job Rosemary had but this had made me see just how demanding things were for her. I saw things differently from that point on.

Moo n me walking on the trail at Fell End near Milnthorpe

In the lovely morning sunshine

The next morning I crawled out of bed, which by the way is surprisingly comfortable for an old camper van (and a 6'5" lanky herbert like me). I looked outside and the sun was shining. The rain had passed over in the night and things were looking up. I got dressed and went for a really nice walk with Moo, down a forest track that I'd spied when cycling in the evening before. I must have been waking for some time as Rosemary was well up and had breakfast ready. Breakfast generally consisted of a steaming mug of hot chocolate, toast and a big bowl ready for my daily pig fest of Cheerios and blueberries. Then a big mug of tea and some toasted fruit loaf. I can't imagine how many calories I must have eaten my way through on the ride. Then again I can't imagine how many calories I burnt either. I suppose I could work it out. It's got to be around 6 to 7000 calories a day?


After breakfast came the daily ritual of map checking. I must have mentioned a few times over the months that Neil Coverley had very kindly printed out two sets of high detail Ordnance survey maps on A4 sheets once I had determined my route. Each map represented around 12-14miles of riding and we had 75 pages each. They were invaluable and it allowed me to highlight the route I was to take each day (usually 7 to 8 sheets) It also allowed Rosemary to have a set so she knew where I was going to be and also so that we could rendezvous by numbering each sheet. "I'll meet you at ---/--- co-ordinate on sheet 42" for example. It was really simple and straight forward and a brilliant idea by Neil. I also had a Garmin GPS unit that Mark Brogden had very kindly lent me. I used it for distance covered, speed and average speed information as well as compass direction. It also got me through some towns where the maps weren't quite detailed enough. It was fantastic. Once the maps were sorted, I got my drinks ready. I had a water bottle that I put a electrolyte tablet in to keep my salt levels up and a camelback bladder in my rucksack with just water in. I found that drinking electrolyte gives me a bit of an upset stomach so the water in the bladder helped to keep that more diluted. It was also much easier to sip from the tube as I rode along. Into the rucksack every day went a big piece or two of honey cake that Sheryl Howe from work had very kindly made me. Its a real favourite of mine and is great for energy. That and a flapjack, either made by Jane Smith from work or Fiona Brogden who lives opposite me. How lucky am I to have these lovely ladies making me cakes.

Top for Bottoms

I got into my cycling gear, after applying a liberal coating of barrier cream to my nether regions to stop chaffing and sores. It really is essential on long rides and saved me a lot of discomfort (or so I thought) I gave Rosemary a big hug and set off. It was going to be another huge day. I had the famous climb of Shap to deal with before Penrith and Carlisle, then the border with Scotland at Gretna before heading for Lockerbie around 98 miles away.  From Milnthorpe I headed off through the back lanes to Sedgewick, where I spotted a lovely campsite in the woods. I made a mental note for the future then picked the A6 up just before Kendal where I followed the signs for Shap. The A6 had been reasonably gentle all the way from Preston but now I had the unsettling knowledge that things were going to get more difficult. Shap is a small town just the other side (from the south) of a sixteen mile climb that it gives its name to. The summit of which marks edge of the Eastern Fells and the Western Pennines. It used to be the only way into Scotland from the west and is famous for its bleak and punishing weather as well as its altitude. I had noted Shap summit as one of the places I was not looking forward to. I drew a deep breath as I exited Kendal and saw the '16 miles to Shap' sign. Pedalling soon became more and more difficult as I hit the climb proper. My legs were still tight from the previous days riding so I dropped into the smaller front chainring to give them a break. Fred Salmon the ex pro tour rider who owns the Bike Factory in Whaley, recommended I do that often as it helps massage the muscles and give them chance to recover.

Get down 

It was then I remembered that I had my iPod headphones in my rucksack. I find that sometimes when I'm hurting I need to take my mind off it by listening to music. The road wasn't busy so I thought 'stuff it' I'm gonna stick my Lejog playlist on. It might take my mind off the grind to the top. I selected random shuffle and hit play. What followed, I can only describe as a revelation. I had no control of what played next (other than having selected the 250 song playlist a month before) The sky had been threatening rain and the clouds were getting blacker as the hills approached, but as I set off again the sun broke through the clouds and bathed the road in a bright light. Coldplay's 'Speed of Sound' was playing and I was transported into another world. I forgot the pain and just pedalled away. I started smiling and even started to enjoy the climb. I felt like I could conquer anything. It was as if I had taken a drug to boost my performance.  I had to calm myself down at one point as it was still a long way to the top. I had never really been that into Coldplay previously. I'd selected some of their tracks as they were catchy but that was about it. The next track changed everything for me. iTunes was on random shuffle but another Coldplay track came on. 'Thats weird I thought' as 'Fix you' started with its melancholically simple Hammond organ and Chris Martin's rough but haunting vocals. The lyrics just pulled at my heartstrings as memories of my sisters flooded into my head. Then the searing rhythm guitar fired up and that was it. I was in the top ring and driving the pedals hard. I was out of the saddle and attacking the monster that was Lands End to John o'Groats. Nothing was going to stop me. The drum beat and guitars were pushing me on but the lyrics had me held completely and utterly. "Tears stream down your face when you lose someone you can't replace. Lights will guide home and I will fix you". The tears really were streaming down my face and I was in another place.

I started to tire a little as I hit the steepest section. It was a real tester of a hill but the climb up Shap will forever be a fond memory for me. It was Shap where I realised that Lejog is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one and where Coldplay became my favourite band. As I started to descend towards the village of Shap I saw a white speck in the distance. It was Rosemary in the camper coming down the road from the motorway to meet me there. I cannot describe how good that made me feel.

Find my friends app. Amazing stuff.

Before I set off for Lands End I had agreed to switch on the 'Find my Fiends' app on my iPhone. This allowed my friends to know exactly where I was. It is incredibly accurate and can pinpoint where I am using GPS and phone mast triangulation. You could literally track me real time down to a few feet of my exact location throughout the day. Whilst I was having a rest at a lay-by just outside Shap I got a text from  Neil Coverley. It said, you wouldn't happen to be parked here would you? and it was accompanied by a picture he had taken when he rode Lejog a year before. It was the same lay-by. It was spooky but funny too. In fact Mum and Dad were watching my progress throughout the day, as were quite a few others too. Looking back I think although it was a brilliant feature that helped make people feel involved, it subconsciously was putting pressure on me to go as far and as fast as I could. I was doing that myself too as I can be stupid and competitive. None of this was apparent as I set off for Penrith, Carlisle and the border. I felt refreshed and the Shap experience had given me a real boost. I was over a major obstacle and heading for Scotland. Surely I had this ride in my grasp now.

As I set off from Shap I met a group of riders stopping for a break. They were doing Lejog for 'Help the Hero's' There were eight riders with a really good back up team. It all looked very professional. They thought I was bonkers for riding it on my own. I had a good chat with them and wished them all well and hoped to meet them again on the road. It really did feel as though you are part of some special club doing Lejog.

 Carlisle at Carlisle

Its a long drag up to Carlisle. The A6 becomes a straight Roman road that rolls up and down the northern foothills of the Lake district. Its mainly dairy cattle in this part of the world and the fields are separated with dry stone walls similar to Derbyshire. Just outside Carlisle it started to drizzle. It was there that I met two chaps that were riding to Lands end from John o'Groats. They were in there sixties and were wild camping there way to LE. I had stopped as one of them seemed to be having trouble with his panniers. A bolt had come out of the bracket holding it to the frame. Luckily I had the bolts from my spare drinks cage sockets. Job done. The guys were taking a month to ride the thousand miles and were jumping over a hedge when they were tired and putting up a tent. I just shook my head and said they were harder men than me. I wished them well and headed off. That meeting put things in perspective for me.

 Those clouds didn't seem too welcoming

Or those

Carlisle was a bigger city than I expected and I went out of my way a little trying avoid the busy centre. I managed to pick up a national cycle route that would take me to Gretna where I was meeting Rosemary. However it did add a few miles on to my journey and I was already behind having met the two guys earlier. I pressed on and picked up the B road that heads parallel with the A6 into Gretna. As I arrived at the border the clouds were an inky black ahead. There was a forboding feeling of things to come as I took pictures of the 'welcome to Scotland' sign and the first and last house in Scotland. I spotted Rosemary in a large car park at Gretna Green just up the road. I climbed into the camper just as the heavens opened. It really looked as though the rain was in for the duration as I got changed into a fresh base layer. Its such a nice feeling changing a soggy wet shirt and socks. I gives you warm comfy feeling all over. However the weather was not looking good. I had another twenty plus miles to get to Lockerbie and then a few more on to the campsite at Lochmaben.

It was hard climbing out of the van into the rain. It really seemed to affect me. My earlier resolve seemed to have left me and I was struggling with the undulating highway in front. The B road hugged the M74 that cuts northwest through the borders heading for Glasgow. The wind was now in my face and the rain was getting into my shoes and down my neck. I started to really struggle. I think the emotions of earlier were starting take their toll. I felt down. It was a sobering thought that I had ridden the entire length of England in six and a half days but I was only just over half way. That last few miles up to Lockerbie was really tough. Not only that but I had started to get a nasty pain in my groin. I was regularly having to stand with the pain you get from long stints in the saddle but this was different. It was noticeably more painful and I felt very uncomfortable when I sat down. I managed to grovel my way into Lochmaben to the west of Lockerbie at around 8pm. It was late and I was exhausted. Things didn't feel right downstairs but I just put it down to saddle fatigue and hoped a good nights sleep would sort things out. It had been a long hard day full of ups and downs physically and mentally. I was in Scotland now. As I fell asleep that evening I had an uneasy feeling and that feeling proved to be right the next day.

Next up Lochmaben to Stirling - Please stay tuned for the next installment coming soon.

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