Day 8

Thats the team complete at John O Groats.....OUTSTANDING effort!

Day 7

Today was only supposed to be a shortish ride of 78 miles leaving then 117 for the final push, however, when we got to 78 miles it was only 1300hrs and the team was still fresh so with plenty of cycle time left we pushed on and completed 119 miles in total leaving only 80 miles to John O'Groats tomorrow. The team had a good day today with the weather and also the scenery cycling past the Scottish Loch's including Loch Ness (didn't see the monster). The team managed to cycle 100 miles in 5hrs 38 mins breaking our 100 mile in 6hr record, with a max speed of 49.6 mph. Again some laughs on route such as Gav Froley taking a sip of water and dropping his bottle (on a dual carriageway) coming to an abrupt halt in which i ran into the back of him, we both stopped went back to try and retrieve his water bottle which by now was sitting in the middle of a busy carriageway, most of the car drivers bypast the bottle but some miserable white van man saw the opportunity and deliberately ran over the bottle reducing it to a squashed mess on the road, this had me on my knees in tears of laughter but Gav did see the funny side of it. Yet again the support staff have been on the money with providing all the team with the necessary friut and energy drinks to survive so far.

Tomorrow we are looking to start cycling at 0500hrs on the road where we will visit a couple of sereve climbs before a good down hill to finish the 900 mile E2E Cycle Challenge, then a quick photo shoot at John O'Groats then into the vehicles to head south to Catterick. Sunday will be a lunch at my sister-in-law's house which will give Alan and myself time to go cycling while Andrea cooks the dinner, after some serious bike maintenance.

Day 6

he team arrived in Kinlochleven from Hamilton in just over 6 hours, the team are feeling strong and are working hard. Denis came off his bike; much to the amusement of passing motorists and the team, by all accounts he executed a perfect side left, PTSU (Parachute Training Support Unit) would have been proud! All going well I'll be able to upload some pictures today. The team set off today to Inverness via Spean Bridge, to check out the Commando Monument and to pay our respects to fallen commandos.

Day 5

Well Day 5 complete, it has poured down all day without giving up, even now its still raining. The team started with a strong head wing, and with the driving rain made them work harder. They negotiated The Shap (The highest Road Point In The Lakes). It was down hill from there will occasional up hills. The weather didn't beat them and they cracked on in good Parachute Regiment fashion. The team arrived in Hamilton Scotland exhausted, however they had just completed 130 miles!!
The team are now tucked up in bed after a decent scoff the route is planned for the morning, leaving here at 0630Hrs towards Oban, the team will be staying in Kinlochleven . 

Day 4, Whitchurch - Windermere

Overall the team are in good spirits today but feeling a little sore all the same so plenty of water and food stops to keep the energy levels high. The day has been completed and has been a strong day with a lot of hard work -104 miles in the bag, and the team are just over half way through the journey. A couple of dramas today, the OC's chain snapped on his bike 5 miles from the finish, Denis Buff had dramas with his shoes, nothing that masking tape can't sort out.


The whole team, went for scoff tonight and discussed tactics for the next leg. 
In the morning the admin team of Steve, Craig and Phil are cooking breakfast, so it'll be interested how that goes. The hostel we are staying at has a sauna, which Denis is in at the moment.


Tomorrow: Kendal to Hamilton! Please donate if you can, any amounts are great fully accepted and all go to the Airborne and their dependants. http://www.afghanistantrust.org/

Day 3,Cheptsow to Whitechurch

The starting point for day 3 after a night hosted by 1 Rifles. Some decent sized hills have been conquered today, the team are in good spirits and the weather has been good also which took us up to our lunch break provided by our support team.....thanks guys, much appreciated, however not long after lunch Gav decided to throw himself off his bike and destroy a pretty important item, namely one of the breaks! Despite this, moral remained high and the guys cracked on in true Airborne fashion......obviously! All in all it has been a really awesome day, the team smashed 104 miles today and broke the 100 mile barrier in 6 hours, doing the next 4 in 18 minutes. The max speed was 53.3MPH AVG Speed 16.4 MPH. A few dramas on route with Gav coming off his bike much to the amusement for the rest of the team, which cost him £48 to get it repaired; the only thing that hurt was his pride. The team are now in Dale Barracks in Chester, Fed, watered, washed and on there second baths. Looking forward to the next leg in the morning Day 4 Whitchurch Windermere.

Day 2 from a member of the team!

Just to keep everybody up dated on the progress from a member of the cycle team. Another good day today with the team making good progress, we were on the road cycling at 0630hrs to beat the Sunday traffic and get some miles under the belt before lunch time. Then the inevitable happened Stu Morgan (OC Para) had 2 rear puntures one after the other in the space of around 40 mins, the weather opened up with a servere down pour, i fell off going up hill as i couldn't unclip fast enough (blame my brother-in-law) and Gav Froley also fell off in the same manner with everyone cheering and cycling off leaving Gav in the ditch. We finally arrived to meet up with Phil Stout aroud 1210 for lunch having completed 51 of the 112 miles where bacon baps, chicken, and a load of other good food was waiting for the team, OUTSTANDING admin support by Phil and his team. After the lunch break of 30mins we finally hit the road for the final push, more down pours and sunshine thrown in for the majority of the afternoon with a few more cheekier hills than the morning. We finally RV'ed at the Severn Bridge with the support team at 1600 with not too many aches and pains other than the bottom area and thighs. The team complete then cycled across the bridge where Phil and the support vehicle were waiting to take us to the Rifles Camp in Chepstow to spend the night, an overall cycle time of 7hrs an improvement of 50mins from yesterday. Tomorrow will be one of our most demending days with 109 miles of cycling with severe climbs for most of the day, wish us luck.