This is the place to read all about my ride around the UK for CLIC Sargent. The start point on the 5th Sept 2010 is the entrance to the Mall of St James Park at the Trafalgar Square end, at 12noon. The end point is Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square on the 8th Oct 2010 at 5pm.
Psycho John Rides can from an interest in the psychological support CLIC provide and the rest is fairly self explanitary.
Had a bit of a lie in to recover from yesterday and left at midday. The ride through the country lanes was smooth and picturesque, passing quaint villages. I got to the Humber Bridge at 4.30pm and stopped for a bit to admire the architecture and the view. there were also workers adjusting the bridge which was fascinating to watch. The ride along the A63 was fairly frightful the arctics getting pretty close. After 5 miles I turned onto the A1079 and the cycle up to my host for the night was fine even if i did miss the road and go three quarters of a mile further past her house. I went to a couchsurfing meeting with Sarah and her boyfriend Pete, at the local Wetherspoons having a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
I set off at about 9am having said my goodbyes to Neil as he left on his bike for work. The Country lanes were winding and I got a good pace up despite a strong cross wind between Ramsey and Benwick that nearly took me off on several occasions. I took it easy in the morning to Peterborough stopping to take picture along the way whilst listening to Fern on Radio 1. It was 1pm before I reach Peterborough tough and I realised i was behind so no time to stop in the city, it was straight up the A15 having made a quick pit stop for provisions. I devoured these in the memorial gardens at Bourne where a group of girls asked me whether I was doing this for charity and if I had any spare t-shirts. Sadly I didn't, but I gave them a card so they could have a look at the website, which they got very excited about.
The road seemed long and I began to worry that I wasn't going to make Lincoln by night fall it was 25 miles to Sleaford and to be fair it was taking a while I left Bourne at 3.30pm 7 miles into this route with no idea how far Lincoln was. I raced and got to Sleaford at 5pm with 18 mile to Lincoln. I pushed on harder though I was getting more and more tired having already covered over 80 miles. Then the road started rising and falling and the strong cross winds started to worry me. Lorries rushed past from behind dragging me on and then from the front forcing me to grip for dear life but I survived, barely. My determination had payed off, the culmination was a 35mph fly down the hill into Lincoln and a 2mph ride up the hill to St. Giles where I was staying for the night. I had covered 105 miles today and I was beat.
Amy my host is going travelling in SE Asia next year like myself and we spoke for hours about places we are going and logistics. Here Gran cooked us a nice curry and after a couple of drinks we wandered in the rain to see the cathedral which is stunningly lit by night. We got drenched so a warm shower later, I headed off to bed.
I set off for London at about 9am as I planned to do the London Skyride with my friend Laura before setting off at midday. Having cycled to Moor Park met station i discovered it was undergoing engineering works, so was forced to return to Watford Junction to catchy a train. The first one was full but I managed to get on the second and rode into central London from Kensington Olympia with a family I had met at the Junction. I then rendezvoused with Laura at Euston and we set off for the Skyride it wasnt a disappointment with a sea of yellow cruising the embankment to St. Jame's Park. Having done a quick lap of Trafalgar Square we set off back up the embankment and i started the clock under Charing Cross station We were off.
Up through the city, old Street and Hackney, I left Laura at the Le Bridge roundabout and headed off up the A104 through Leyton. It was all slightly up hill but I made a good pace and was soon passing through Epping. From there it was a straight run to Cambridge, via Harlow and Bishop's Stortford. It would be fair to say that i was aching as I passed through Epping and was wondering by this point what I was doing. My groin, left hand and shoulders all screaming at me to stop but i carried on following a quick stretch.
As I rode into Cambridge I couldn't help but notice that these were some of the best roads and cycle paths I had every been on. The City itself is beautiful, its architecture stunning and cobbled streets reminiscent of a gone by era. Sadly it was getting late and I needed to head off for Waterbeach my stopping point for the night before the sun set on me.
Neil was a fantastic host and took me out to dinner at the local pub where we enjoyed gammon egg and chis whilst discussing life and past travels. It was almost midnight before i turned in but it had been a successful day, having covered 22 miles on the Skyride and another 67 up to Waterbeach.
Hello and welcome to my blog this is the first video i made for the ride and i hope you enjoy it. There are many more to come including my bike being sprayed pink and my hair being dyed yes you guessed it........pink. Not to mention i will be doing a video blog along the way as i ride. So please keep revisiting this site.
