Bike maintenance

Today I got a puncture in my back tyre. Or rather, if I was going to be pedantic, I got a puncture the last time I rode the bike. However I only discovered it this morning. I am ashamed to admit I don't have the faintest idea how to mend a puncture.

It is, I think, imperative that I get some bike maintenance expertise under my belt before the Big Trip. It is not an entirely remote possibility that we could have a row and I find myself on the road alone. To get a puncture in the middle of nowhere would be a pain if I could not fix it.

Life Cycle is a charity which runs Bike Maintenance Workshops which are very good, I hear. However a day workshop costs sixty quid, which in my present condition of impecunity is an amount I would find it difficult to justify spending. It is also short notice to get on a course before we go, as they tend to fill up quite quickly.

I could ask Mick to show me but I fear this may well be a re-run of my experience as a seventeen-year-old, when my dad decided that he would, in an heroic effort to save me some money in driving lessons, Teach Me To Drive. He would patiently show me how to do something - change gear, mirror-signal-manouvre or whatever. I would nod impatiently - yes, yes, I can do it, don't go on, don't patronise me, in a typically seventeen-year-old-know-it-all manner and then promptly go on to completely mess it up. When he tried to point out where I had gone wrong I would resort to shouting and finally storm off, yelling "who wants to drive ANYWAY!" leaving him to take the car home, sighing all the while.

No, I won't ask Mick. Maybe I can get a friend to show me. And maybe I should invest in some puncture resistant tyres...

Training ride to Street

We have just completed a two day ride from Bristol to Street and back, a distance of around 95 miles. We decided we should practice hills when laden, so we piled things into our panniers. Mick took his laptop and SLR camera (neither of which he used once), I carried my sleeping bag and thermarest, camera, random carabiners, a spare pair of shoes, complete change of clothes, pyjamas, shampoo and conditioner etc. I did at least use the pyjamas and the shampoo. The widsom of this loaded up policy escaped me somewhat when we climbed up the Mendip ridge from Chew Valley Lake though.

We were cheered however by the rather wonderful clock at East Harptree

I especially liked the message "Time Flies Don't Delay", which was, at the time, probably an exhortation to get back to the fields and get working, but from which I took the meaning that our time here is short and we should do the things we want to do in life......but it was half past eleven and time to get on. .









After a hearty bowl of chilli and a couple of pints of Potholer at The Hunter's Inn at Priddy (known to cavers as the Centre of the Universe), we took a detour onto Priddy Green to look at the new plaque depicting a map of Swildon's Hole cave superimposed on a map of the village, taken from Alison Moody's map in the recently published book by members of Wessex Cave Club. Swildons is one of my favourite caves. I am sure that many visitors to Priddy will be surprised to learn how extensive the system extends under the village.





Me on the "Twenty" in Swildons and going through the Mud Sump (not on this ride obviously, we did not get that lost!)

Down on the levels the cycling was pleasant not least of course because it was very flat. The rain, which had been coming down all day was easing off as we pulled into Glastonbury for a cuppa before heading onto Street. We passed Clarks shoe factory. Cyrus Clark, a local Quaker, set up his factory in Street in 1825. Sadly the shoe production is now entirely in China, and the building now houses only the company offices and a museum. Employment in Street now is either in retail at the famous Clarks Village retail park, or at the huge and ugly distribution centre on the edge of the town, for goods coming in from.....China.

The hostel was originally built in 1914 for Clarks employees who needed recuperation after illness. As such it was thought a good idea to place it out of town at the top of the hill, a fact which now generated much complaining at the end of a long days slog. It became a youth hostel in 1931, the first in the South West. Once we had recovered from the climb up the hill, we decided we liked it very much. One small mis-hap though - I popped the bacon and milk we had bought for breakfast into the smallest fridge ready for the morning - the next day I realised the "fridge" was in fact a table top freezer and both milk and bacon were frozen solid.

On the way home we cycled around the levels, passing the Peat Moors Centre which was not yet open for the season. Being wetland, the area around Wedmore is a major centre for peat supplies, although Somerset has nothing on Finland which apparently is over 25% peat. North of Shapwick, we stopped at Sweet's Peat and Science Museum which unfortunately was also closed. The cafe, although it looked unprepossessing from the outside, was excellent and I heartily recommend it if you are down that way. Ray Sweet, a local peat worker, discovered the "Sweet Track", one of the oldest engineered roads known in the world, dating from 3807/3806 BC, and a site of world renown.

We cycled to Cheddar and after refuelling with a fine cheddar ploughmans we cycled up the gorge, managing to get to the top without getting off. From there the going was easier, back around Chew Valley lake. A fairly typical discussion ensued, ie. I suggest a route, Mick refuses to follow it. The debate was whether to go straight up over Dundry which was more direct or the longer route round the left of the hill. Mick won and I later conceded he was right to insist on the flatter option of left through Winford and joining the A38 to coast back into Bristol.

A bit weary but taking into account the Mendip hills I was fairly pleased with our performance. Not sure whether I could do it again tomorrow though, and the next day, and the next day....

Continuing preparations

I have been on something of a spending spree. After compiling such a horrendous list of stuff we could not possibly do without, we need to make sure that the kit we do have is as light as possible. So a trip to various camping shops to get some gear.

Sleeping bag – some debate about this i but went for a higher range Vango three seasons bag which should be warm down to -5, and which weighs in at 800g. Also bought a self inflating mat.

Also bought a paid of Sealskinz socks in Nomad. At £25 per pair these are the most expensive socks I have ever worn, they had better be good. They come recommended though and are supposed to do a good job of not letting water get to your feet. The last thing I want on this trip is trenchfoot to add to my other (expected) woes!
Mick says he is made of sterner stuff and would rather have wet feet than fork out £25 for a pair of socks.....

Taunton Leisure had some nice tops so I have also bought some quick-dry tops as regular t-shirts take forever to dry. Not that it is going to rain of course..
Hopefully by the end of this week all the kit will be sorted and we can then try some rides fully loaded.

Only four weeks and three days to go and I am beside myself with excitement already. Mick says I am getting to be a complete bore. He says if I ask him once more, just once more, which route does he think would be good to get through Cornwall then he will deck me. Hurrumph. Anyway I don’t need his opinion as I have just blown another six quid on the Sustrans Cornish route map so I will simply stare at this for a few hours and say nothing..

We joined the YHA today. We will stay in youth hostels rather than camp if the weather and/or Mick’s arthritis is bad. I also discovered that some youth hostels allow you to camp in the grounds which is cheaper and you can still use all the facilities.

We are not too keen on booking accommodation in advance as we have no real idea how far we will get each day. Whether this will prove to be a mistake we will find out in a few weeks time.

Routes again

Route planning exemplifies the different approaches Mick and I have to cycle rides. I like to have the route planned in minute detail before we go – to reduce roadside debates and make sure we choose the best route. And as I said, its a great excuse to spend hours looking at maps...On the bike I will have the map in a holder on the handlebars,(the map turned to face the way I am going of course), the route highlighted and ideally a print out of route directions as well.

Mick’s approach on the other hand is to have a vague idea of where he would like to end up and head off in that general direction, and with any luck he will end up roughly where intended.

I have spent a week looking at maps and still have not decided on the best route to cross Cornwall. North coast (scenic but hilly) or inland (flat but can’t see the sea)? On the roads or follow the Camel Trail on the old railway line? Also, I am not sure how much time to allow per day on our itinerary. Cornwall is hilly and on the first few days its best not to overstretch. Just go to St Ives? No that’s silly it’s only 19 miles out of Land’s End) or go full out for Lerryn/Golant where we have friends we could visit (70 miles on the first day - hideous!!)

And I haven’t even started on route planning across the rest of England yet!

Even worse is the dilemma when we cross the border into Scotland. East coast or West coast? Edinburgh or Glasgow? Inverness or Ullapool? Aaargh. Mick very sensibly points out that we can decide this when we get to the Border and assess a) how long we have taken and b) how energetic we feel. (Cue hollow laugh.) I know he is right,
it would be better to just see how it goes.

Note to self – I will try to relax and go with the flow a bit more.

But first I’ll just have one more look at that map of Cornwall........

How much training?

The training schedule has stalled a little. Mick has disappeared into the depths of Wales to visit his brother. And the weather has turned cold again - snow on the mendips yesterday.....

I have been reading various websites and blogs by cyclists who have completed the End to End and the training schedules and advice given varies enormously. Some people seem to have set themselves a punishing schedule of two or three seventy mile rides per week. Other sites say that as long as you are reasonably fit and a competent cyclist then there is no need to worry about punishing training schedules. I am hoping that as we are going at a relatively leisurely pace it should not be too much for us. Or is that wishful thinking? I was enormously inspired by reading on the CTC forum about one cyclist who managed to complete the trip in sixteen cycling days despite weighing in at 32 stone at the start. He was a few stone lighter at the finish. What determination that must have taken.

A friend who is a much better cyclist than I am advises that in any event you do get fitter as the days go by. So even if the first few days are a struggle, it should get easier. We should, I reckon aim to get out on at least one, possibly two long rides per week, maybe stepping it up to three nearer the start date. It would also be a good idea to start riding with full loads sometimes to see how we get on.

Diet is another dilemma. On the one hand I am thinking I should try and eat as healthily as I can, in preparation. Better also to be carrying less body weight. On the other hand, if the chap I mentioned earlier lost five stones, maybe I should just stuff myself with chocolate and other goodies, secure in the knowledge that I will be burning it all off in a few weeks time anyway?

Mick is also making changes. He has exchanged bacon and eggs for yoghurt and fruit, and he has given up drinking alcohol, which I think is taking this all MUCH too seriously,

Not to be able to stop at a pub after riding all day in the spring sunshine! No Eden Ale! No Cuillin Black! No Wye Valley best bitter! No local brews whose delights I have yet to discover!

I will have to make Mick see sense or the whole trip may be in jeopardy....

Equipment

When we cycled from Bowness to Whitley Bay last year, we were absolutely clueless about what to carry. Or more accurately – what not to carry. We now realise it is crucial to keep the weight carried as low as possible. For this trip we are therefore putting a lot more thought into the equipment we are carrying.
We debated staying in hostels and B&B’s which would save us having to carry the tent and sleeping gear. However we decided that the benefit in costs saved over a month was worth the extra weight we would have to carry. It would also hopefully mean we could be a bit more flexible about where we stopped for the night.

Here is our provisional equipment list – no doubt it will be subject to some fine tuning later on.

Two man tent (as I mentioned before the smallest bivvy bag was much too small to be comfortable).
One lightweight compact sleeping bag each.
One self-inflating bed mat each
Three bed rolls (one for me, two for Mick to try and ameliorate the worst of his arthritis)
An inflatable pillow each
One compass
One small book of routes
Pages from atlas
Marker pen
Biros
plastic bags/stuff sacks
Two spare inner tubes
Bicycle pump
Two pieces of tyre
Bike tools - one multi-tool, tyre levers, chain thingy
Minibottles/sachets of soap, shampoo, conditioner, handcream, shaving foam, suncream (optimism), vaseline.
Razors plus spare blades
Comb and hairbrush
One travel towel each
Travel pack of wetwipes and tissues
Travel pegs
Length of twine
One lightweight digital camera, charger and lead (my semi-luxury item)
One lightweight computer notebook, powerlead and charger (my luxury item)
One SLR camera (Mick’s luxury item)
One dictaphone for notetaking on the move
One Swiss army knife (cos every camper has to have one of these)

Clothing - Me
One pair lycra cycling shorts
One pair long cycling trousers
One pair lightweight casual trousers
Two short sleeved lightweight t-shirts
One long sleeved t-shirt
Cycling jersey
One sweatshirt
One pair cycling shoes (ones which look like trainers for evening use as well)
Two pairs socks
Three pairs pants
Two bras
One neckscarf
One warm hat
One pair sunglasses
One pair flipflops
One cycling jacket
One plastic cape
One pair gloves
Front and back panniers and barbag to spread weight

Clothing – Mick
One cycle shorts
Two Long trousers
Two lightweight T-shirts
One lightweight long sleeved shirt
One cycle jacket
One lightweight sweatshirt
Two pairs socks
Three boxer shorts
One poncho
Shimano shoes
One flip flops
One neckscarf
One sunglasses
One hat
One pair gloves

Hmmm - this still looks like an awful lot of stuff to carry.........

Which route?

I love maps. They are brilliant. A decent OS map will keep me quiet for hours.

I just adore looking at the maze of roads and obscure footpaths, the little details like picnic stops and post offices (although most of the latter have probably closed by now) and the little mug symbol denoting a pub or inn (hopefully also not closed down).

It's odd really because although I like looking at maps I am not very good at navigating with them. In fact I have to do that thing which seems to infuriate some chaps where I turn the map around so that it lies in the same direction I am going. Then I know that "left" on the page means "left" on the road and vice versa. To me this makes perfect sense, in fact I can't see why you would read a map any other way. But it seems that I am apparently lacking an "internal mapping facility" which allows one to do this inside ones head. This is a skill which, whilst impressive, is totally beyond me.

The End to End gives me a great excuse to spend inordinate amounts of time looking at maps. This is because there are a huge number of possible routes. And I don't mean silly one's like going via the Norfolk Broads or taking in Tenby on the way. Even going in a relatively direct route there are a large number of options to choose from.

I don't suppose Andy Wilkinson who completed the End to End in 41 hours, 4 minutes and 22 seconds took the scenic route. If on a tight schedule or if speed is your thing, then the quickest route is to follow mainly A roads. They are usually the most direct and good signposting means it is difficult to get lost. They will get you from A to B in probably the shortest time and mileage. The downside is that they are busy and are often heavy with goods traffic They usually bypass local towns and villages and local places of interest and the scenery is also often not great.

An alternative is to follow Sustrans National Cycle Network routes. There are a network of these across the country. Route Three for example will take you all the way from Lands End to Bristol. The drawback with these is that they are really designed for leisure cycling and often meander miles out of the way in an effort to keep off main roads and so forth. Some routes are on gravel footpaths or along towpaths which can make progress very slow indeed, especially when navigating around small children, dogs and other obstacles. Although they are great for a day out, we had doubts about following them if we were going to make any meaningful progress up country. If we had another month then maybe...

The other option is to stick to B roads. There are downsides with this option too. B roads are not necessarily safer for cyclists than main roads. Cars often travel too fast on narrow, winding roads. It is also easy to get lost in the patchwork of minor roads, necessitating frequent stops to check map and compass reading (especially with my navigational skills!). The upside is that you get to see more of the countryside, the pace is less frenetic, and the traffic less heavy than on the main roads.

As we have four weeks available (most End to Enders complete the trip in between 14 and 21 days), and as I would describe our cycling style as “ambling with plenty of rests”, we have decided to plot a route which combines the more direct parts of the NCN Routes and minor roads where possible. In some places we may have to ride on A Roads but we are going to try and avoid this where possible.
This narrows the choices down a bit. I have purchased Phil Horsley’s Land’s End to John O’Groats book which sets out some suggested routes along minor roads. Armed with this book, a road atlas and a marker pen it's time to get to the pub to settle down for a good map reading and beer drinking session.