Reflection

After Bruce, Andris, Fraser and myself enjoyed a night in Thurso with my Dad and James we were in the cars and heading south. Only after looking at a map of the UK I realised that we had cycled that distance in 12 days. Quite an achievement.


P.S. Grum is back on the bike today from Bonar Bridge to Dumbarton to complete the 2 and a half days he missed to go to the wedding. Driving down the road it has not stopped raining and looks worse for the days ahead. So unlucky for G and Bill.

Whilst we were driving down the A9 I was thankful we took the route to Tongue even though it added an extra day to our schedule. The hills at Helmsdale and Berrydale Brae's were horrific even in a car and I felt slightly sick during the drive down the steep declines and chicane corners. This stretch of road is certainly infamous for a reason.

The Chainspokers vital stats: 989 miles, 12 days, 3 punctures and 3 broken spokes.


We were certainly lucky to have covered such a distance with very little going wrong. There was never a spanner in the works after the first day where we couldn't reach the accommodation we booked. But by the following afternoon we were back on schedule.

It has been a great experience for us all and there's not many things I won't miss about the whole thing. There are however a few things I will miss that are not acceptable in day-to-day life:
- wearing lycra while casually shopping in the supermarkets of the UK
- being allowed to pee at the side of the road
- eating a bag of Haribo before lunch and not thinking twice about it
- having a 12 day beard without shaving
- a cooked breakfast nearly every day
- Nick wearing gloves every day caused him to have a tanned arm but white hands!
- The tan mark's from Bruce's gloves made his hands look like he was Spiderman
- Grum using a Toy Story wallet from about 1996

Thank you so much for your support. We have completely smashed our target and raised just shy of £6,500 which is so much more than I ever dreamed possible. Thank you again kind people.

The Chain Spokers.

.

Day 12 Tongue to John O'Groats. Tuesday 5th July 2011

64 miles
Total: 989 miles


Today was our earliest rise and we awoke to a strong wind battering the windows. After a quick survey it was bad news as it was an easterly wind and we were going due east all day. Maybe it was payback for our over casual day yesterday. After a quick breakfast we were on the bikes by 8am - there was to be no mucking about today.

The previous evening ended with a discussion about the position of the sun when it rises and set's and in the morning it felt like it did neither as it stays astonishingly light for most of the day this far north.

After we left the hostel and joined the road to Thurso & the wind was in our face all day and never once relented. We were battling the wind and also the hills. And they weren't small hills. We found out later that we had a 21mph headwind all day which was so draining it's untrue. It made things incredibly tough just to get to Bettyhill 13 miles away. We had no option but to get the heads down and the legs pumping but we were working as hard as ever but getting nowhere. To be forced to pedal downhill is morale sapping.

After 20 miles my dad and James Banks first appeared and we arranged to meet for lunch in Thurso. But Thurso was 25 miles away and our average speed had dropped to only 10 miles an hour. Not long after they left us we were amazed to cycle past the Marie Curie Field of Hope. To see such an inspiring sight in the middle of nowhere on the North coast of Scotland at our lowest ebb helped to drove us on. My word's way back at Land's End about having 'a tough 12 days in front of us but would be nothing compared to the pain and suffering that cancer victims go through' were at the forefront of my thoughts as we struggled to grind out the miles.

We ploughed on through the hardest, grimmest, bleakest part of the whole trip only stopping for a brief snack short of Dunreay Nuclear facility. I guess it's hard to describe how tough the wind made it today. It was simply relentless. I suppose that it was fitting that the final day was the toughest of the lot and meant we had to dig deep to get over the line. Grum was really feeling his knee at this point and was in a fair bit of discomfort.

I never stopped again till Thurso. Dad and James again drove past to offer us some more encouragement. The team were very spread out by this point and I was at least 2 miles ahead of the tail. 10 miles short of Thurso I began to feel very emotional and had to fight back the tears. I think it was due to a mixture between how hard I was working on the bike and how far we had come as a group on our challenge for Marie Curie. I was sobbing along alone for about 5 minutes. I was almost at breaking point and I wondered if I burst into tears when we arrived at John O'Groats. It was a long 10 miles from here to our stop in Thurso.

We regrouped and had lunch with only 21 miles to the finishing line.

I again put the hammer down with all I had to get to JOG. Fighting the headwind effectively added an extra 15 miles of work and the miles just never ticked over. The only thing that was getting me through was singing along to the songs on my MP3 player. I can remember great renditions of several Proclaimers songs, Manic Street Preachers and Belle & Sebastian.

I was again in tears with 10 miles to go. Once I reached JOG I stopped and waited for the rest of the boys. It turns out that through my determination I was 17 minutes ahead of the last guys. It gave me time to compose myself and gather my emotions. Once we were all there we rolled into John O'Groats towards the famous sign as the team that we were. All 6 of us had made it together.

Dad, James and Andy Forrest were there to greet us and the smiles we back on the Chain Spokers' faces. We hugged and congratulated one another for completing 989 miles. Exhales and sigh's of relief all round rather than overwhelming joy. I didn't feel the tears I felt on the road today but, for some reason, slightly anti-climatic. We were just far too drained to celebrate. Andy Forrest brought some beers so we toasted our success.

It hasn't really sunk in yet what we have achieved but the thing I do know is that I am so proud to have done it with 5 of my best friends.

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than 

miles." Tim Cahill 

Day 11 Bonar Bridge to Tongue. Monday 4th July 2011

51 miles
Total: 923.3


Today is what cycle touring is all about!

The day began with an early start after a top breakfast from Mrs Thomson which included Black Pudding - a rare treat for the Chain Spokers.

As 4 out of 6 prepared to hit the road, Nick and Andris enjoyed an episode of Friends before deciding we would finally get on our merry way!

We soon passed the majestic Carbisdale Castle perched on it's throne on top of the hill. Now a Youth Hostel, it holds a special place for the 4 Stewart's Melville FP's in our ranks as we stayed there for the best part of a fortnight on a school trip when we were 15. I took great pleasure in explaining to the other two lads the colourful history of the place and the great memories we shared there. I think Fraz and Andris understood that I really, really, love that place! It was a shame we couldn't stay there but the castle bore the brunt of the severe winter weather and was closed for repairs for the foreseeable future.

There is not much to report apart from more great scenery and open landscapes - and also our two pub stops. We did however bump into the token Hibby coming out of the shop in Lairg! The first pub was at the Crask Inn after 24 miles exactly half way through our day. (The fact is was only just gone midday didn't matter.) We stopped for a pint and had our packed lunch in the sun. We laughed how most of us thought there would be more relaxing day's like this when bike touring!

The next "refreshment" stop was at the Altnaharra Hotel. It was great banter sitting in the sun for an hour at each pub and a far cry from the extreme -27 degree's that it reaches during the winter as the coldest place in the UK.

One of the best bits of today was the Tornado jets that flew through the Glens and really low over our heads. It certainly created a buzz with the boys. Easy target practise for the pilot I presume.

On approaching the Kyle of Tongue, Ben Hope cast an incredible presence over everything else in the area. The chiseled face was very imposing and we got some great shots of it.

Before arriving at the hostel we stopped off to buy dinner at one of the world's limited Spar's. Nevertheless, as student life was not too far behind us we managed to throw together two pasta dishes from an onion, chicken, bacon, Cup a soup, and Feta cheese. I had presumed we would cook our tea more often but between staying some nights in B&B's and arriving late in the evening most nights we had a pub dinner.

The hostel was absolutely superb, situated right on the waterfront and carpeted throughout! After dinner we decided to walk into the village for a pint. We almost immediately regretted this decision as it was up a very big hill and took us 25 minutes - so to make it worthwhile we stayed for 2 pints. As we walked back to the hostel at 10.30pm the sun was just setting and it was a great sight this far north.

With a great tail wind behind us and little hills to climb we barely had to pedal today. It was one of the easiest day's on a bike we will ever have.

John O'Groats tomorrow!

Day 10 Food Diary

Today I kept a diary of everything I ate. Here goes:

2 bowls of Muesli
Cup of apple juice
2 cups of coffe

100g of Chocolate (at once)
Mars Bar
Bag of crisps
Energy gel sachet
2 large banana's
1 litre of White Chocolate Milkshake
400g Pasta Pot
1/2 bag of Haribo

Cup of tea and biscuits
2 pints of Best
Soup and crusty roll
Roast Pork dinner
Andris's leftovers

NB: no cooked breakfast this morning or Nutella sandwiches or cake for lunch.

After about day 4 or 5 our diets of cooked breakfasts, sweets and chocolate were beginning to take their toll on our bellies

Day 10 Fort Augustus to Bonar Bridge. Sunday 3rd July 2011

75 miles
6hrs 5mins in the saddle


Breakfast was not to bad for £2.50 so we helped ourselves to the Continental brekkie and saddled up the bikes by 8.45 - our earliest start yet. Nick was particularly keen to leave as he didn't pay for his bed and breakfast upon arrival at the hostel. You should know he didn't intentionally pull as fast one as the girl at reception made a pigs ear of collecting the money. 4 of us had handed over our money while Nick went to get his wallet from his bags. By the time he returned the girl had marked us off as paid and handed over our keys. With the money Nick saved he got the first round in at the pub so fair play to him!

With no tyres to pump up or any other maintenance to do we got off to a flyer and soon discovered we had broken the £6k fundraising barrier this morning! Incredible.

"Take the south side of Loch Ness. It's much safer" was what we had been advised by several locals, end-2-enders and internet forums. OK, we appreciated the advice and made the decision to take that road. However, nobody mentioned the mountain we had to climb within 30 seconds of leaving the hostel. Not great for cold muscles so it was a very tough start and seemed to go on and on... an on. Not the best way to start a morning.

It turned out to be a 6 mile climb which he churned out in about 50mins with a few water stops thrown in. At 400m it was near enough the same size as the hill on the A6 to Shap and the climb was in half the distance! Once at the summit the views were brilliant. Minutes after our arrival, to our shock, a minibus and two vans appeared and a group of 10 unloaded their bikes and were ready to enjoy the huge downhill ride without deserving the privilege we had just earned!! We spoke to the girl and the group of adults and children were heading for Inverness (read freewheeling to Inverness) on a charity ride for the Archie Foundation for a kids hospital so good on them.

We let them get a good head start before flying down on the drop bars for a good 5 miles of freewheeling at 30mph which was fantastic. Unfortunately it was so enjoyable we didn't notice the wee road at the bottom to take us along the banks of Loch Ness. We only realised 6 miles later at another junction that we were on a parallel road to the Loch-side one and were separated by a big range of hills. I was very annoyed because I was looking forward to cycling the banks of the Loch for a good 20 miles today. Having said that, it was a hugely enjoyable 10 mile section and we eventually joined up with the northern tip of the Loch at Dores. The road that dropped down to the Loch was again great but I sat on the brakes in case there was a car coming in the other direction. I could only imagine how good it would have been with the confidence to let gravity do her work.

The early morning climb had been incredibly hot and sweaty work so Fraz took a dip in the Loch to cool off on another scortching day and ended up doing his best Daniel Craig 007 impression as he emerged from the water in his tight lycra shorts. We had been so lucky with the weather for a solid week of sun! The tans were coming on very nicely including some epic cyclist's tan lines. Nick enjoyed his break at Loch Ness at it was a chance for him to feed the ducks! He only succeeded in whipping them into a frenzy and having a fight with the gannets.

There was also a lot of bare-bum cycling today.

At one point some dare-devil sheep bolted over the road in front of Bruce and Fraz which was hilarious!

On to Inverness and over the Kessock Bridge onto the A9 - another stretch of rapid dual carriageway cycling - until we turned off at Evanton where we climbed over the moors for the rest of the day. With only 15 miles to our destination it was a real slog and took a good couple of hours. Although Andris was feeling better he still had a dodgy stomach so he had a few quick dashes to the woods which included some awkward eye contact from some horses and cattle. From the summit of Struie Hill we had a great view over the Dornoch Firth and to our destination at Bonar Bridge. The downhill from here to Ardgay was an absolute joy supplemented with cries of "Boner!" every time we saw a sign for the village. Boys will be boys.

The Kyle House B&B was really nice and we could see why so many cyclists stay there when passing through. He had dinner in the local bar which was real healthy portions which brought an end to day 10 of 12.

It's hard to believe there's only 2 days left.



- I had realised that I had left my fleece in the Hostel at Fort Augustus to add to the socks I left in Welsh-Bicknor
- Andris also lost one sock on the road in Conglesbury as a driver pointed out while we waited at the lights about 2 miles later!
- Nick Forrest has lost a pair of boxer shorts
- Bruce broke both his iPhone and iPod in the rain on day 1
- Grum left his iPhone charger at some point also

Day 9 Crianlarich to Fort Augustus. Saturday 2nd July 2011

83 miles


Today was my 24th birthday but since the previous week had all been mashed together I had almost lost track of when my birthday was! To make matters worse, Fraser knew my birthday was the 2nd July, but since the start of cycle he had been writing his diary one date behind and had told the guys "don't worry Matt's birthday is on Sunday." At breakfast time I still wasn't exactly sure if it was today or not so I never said anything apart from "I'm pretty certain today is my birthday but I'm not sure!"

We got on the road after a prolonged midge attack outside the hostel. I was cycling with increased drag today simply for the reason that my jaw was open all day at the amazing scenery. Not long after leaving Crianlarich we were approaching what I presume was Ben Dorain at 1074 ft. The road that skirted around the mountain was excellent despite being filled with caravans. This didnt detract from the downhill however, and even though most of the lads cruised down I put on the gas and got a serious buzz from it. We met Eliza again shortly after and she had a little birthday fairy cake complete with candle which I was so chuffed about! This was a rather extended pitstop as we scoffed on the sausage rolls, pork pies, donuts and Mars Bar's Eliza had brought us.

I could hear the faint sound of a bagpiper coming from over the next Glen but Andris, the Englishman, dismissed it as merely for the tourists on a Saturday morning. Sadly he was right.

The next leg of the day was particularly spectactular going through Lochaber before reaching Glen Coe. It was simply stunning and made it one of the birthday's to remember. Going through the Glencoe pass was something I was really looking forward too and it was a great experience. I was getting a fairly intense geography lesson from Andris about the features of the hills but the only downside was the amount of motorcyclists that were out for the day. I don't think any of us has any real affinity to motorcyclists after today as 5 or 6 would overtake at the same time at deafening noise and ridiculous speeds. I have to say it spoiled the tranquility of the pass somewhat. Nevertheless it was a great cycle up and then down and one of the funniest things I have even seen happened on this road.

A convertible car overtook us and on the rear passenger seat was a large, hairy dog sitting on the middle seat. Our canine friend was absolutely loving life with his floppy ears blowing in the wind. At first I had thought it was actually a blonde woman in the back of the car but realising it was a dog sitting up made me laugh so much more. I had pictured him wearing some sun glasses too! Maybe the Highland air was getting to me.

Ben Nevis was now in clear sight and offered more spectacular views. It's not called the Great Glen for nothing. Once at Fort William it was again a quick stop into the first bike shop to fix another broken spoke in Nick's wheel. I popped into the bakery for a bridie... then went to the chippy next door! I have to say I was loving the sheer amount of food we were eating on a daily basis just to keep the fuel in the tank.

Still on the A82 we bashed on through Spean Bridge and passed the Commando memorial there. Bruce retold one of my favourite stories about Sir Tommy McPherson of Newtonmore who was in the original Commando's in World War 2. A truely heroic man who still casually wears a kilt in his day to day life.

Today was a day that we were either flanked by amazing mountains or superb loch's. I for one went very overboard with the amount of photographs I took today but once you've seen one hill you've seen them all right? Wrong. Not on the West of Scotland you haven't.

Once at Fort Augustus we were led to the William Wallace room. The hostel was really lively with lots of tourists and this is where I heard the term 'Jaffa' for the first time. I cant possibly explain further. Nick again raised the bar improvising for a towel by using the smallest hand towel seen to man to dry himself with after his shower. It was so small it hardly fit around his waist which didn't leave much to the imagination. I have a hankerchief that is bigger!

Today was a long day climbing but it was well worth it and the best day on the trip by far. I had begun the challenge at the young age of 23 but certainly finishing it feeling 24.

Day 8 Ayr to Crianlarich. Friday 1st July 2011

91.7 miles
7hrs 14 mins in the saddle


After a good 12 hours sleep Andris was feeling slightly better but still very under the weather. He survived yesterday's ride but we were concerned he might not be able to repeat that feat without having any dinner the night before and only a slice of toast in the morning.

After a slight detour around Ayr we went through the town centre and headed for Prestwick passing by Troon and Irvine.  Just outside of Johnstone, after a great downhill, Andris pulled up and armed with his baby wipes made the first trip of the day for the woods. We had made it 7 days on the bikes before such an emergency.

After another 30mins or so we reached the cycle path over the Erskine Bridge. It was at this point Grum had to leave us to be the Best Man at David Chalmers wedding. We wished him all the best and kept our fingers crossed that JJ's planned Skype appearance would work without a hitch. I have to say we were pretty jealous that Grum would have two and a half days off the bike to rest the legs. But he was to re-join us on the Sunday evening after a boozy weekend.

The dual-carriage stretch of the A82 at Dumbarton was one of the worst experiences we had. It was very busy around 3pm on a Friday afternoon with drivers desperate to get home and they weren't too receptive to any cyclists on the road. It was the only time I felt uneasy on the bike - I don't know if that was due to the reputation of this section of road or the actual situation I found myself in. It certainly wasn't enjoyable.

Once we got off the dual carriageway things settled down and we were much more relaxed. On a layby outside Cameron House Hotel we met Eliza, Bruce's better half.

Cycling along the banks of Loch Lomond was definitely a highlight and as we got further up the Loch we can confirm that in fact the sun does shine high on Ben Lomond. It was nearly impossible not to be inspired and we got a bit of a team singsong on the go. For some, the lyrics had been learnt by numerous visits to the cheese floor in Liquid nightclub!

We stopped in Tarbet to take on some water and were slightly worried the remaining 17 miles to Crianlarich would be very punishing. It turned out to be a relaxing, quiet road where we passed a boy on his touring bike carrying the biggest set up we had seen. Fraz loved it! Even though this section was pretty quiet we did have one close call that was totally avoidable. A transit van overtook Bruce on a stretch where a 4x4 towing a boat was coming in the other direction. Bear in mind we were cruising down a hill at 25mph at this point so there was no need for the aggressive overtaking manoeuvre which ended up with Bruce being squeezed out to the last inch of road and the van clipping the rear of the boat.

Slightly shaken we carried on and the climb to Crianlarich was pretty enjoyable. Fraz livened up proceedings by playing the Indiana Jones theme tune on his phone as we raced onwards! I was bent double with laughter at the banter and almost forgot to pedal at times! Bruce was being treated to a night in the 'Love Shack' with Eliza while the 4 remaining Spokers ruffed it in the Youth Hostel.

Another great day of weather! Tans were coming on very nicely.

Day 7 Carlisle to Ayr. Thursday 30th June 2011

91 miles


The day began with giving the bikes a little TLC and we witnessed one of the funniest things to date. On the instructions to Nick to oil his chain and brakes, he took it a bit to literally and lubed up his brake pads!

We soon got to the border and took great pleasure in several photo's to mark the occasion. Our only English member predicted that it would rain as soon as we reached Scotland - and Andris was right! During the photocall it indeed started to rain and the waterproofs were on sharpish.

After a pit stop at the Aldi in Dumfries to load up on as much munch and sweets as possible (and a controversial toilet stop for Nick and Fraz) we battled against a strong head wind and really hilly section to Ayr on the open B729. At lunch one well known Chain Spoker divulged some rather juicy personal information which we all had a good laugh at. Due to the superinjunction I can't say anymore.

Andris was really ill today and was struggling badly with flu symptoms. Credit to him, he was on the bike all day and kept his legs moving even though the day is almost a blur to him.

We weren't in the greatest spirits but we did feel that on another day it would have been a fantastic road to cycle on. It was a real slog but once we reached Ayrshire the road became even better and we cut down a lovely valley.

Our accommodation for the night was at Yvonne's house and it was really kind of her to let us stay as she was away on holiday. We arrived to find frozen lasagna's and beer's left for us. Spot on.

Day 6 Preston to Carlisle. Wednesday 29th June 2011

90 miles
Total: 442 miles


Grum was rather redundant today as we needed no navigation as we stayed on the A6 all day. Poor Grum - he loves it really.

Some aches and pains were more apparent today. I had a few old football injuries giving me jip. Painkillers, muscle rub, freeze spray and vitamin drinks were being added to a few of the boys morning routines. By day 6 I also think we had all had at least one bowl of Coco Pops each morning and each breakfast after this we all asked "Do they have Coco Pops?" as we took our seats for breakfast. Who said we had ever grown up? Breakfast of Champions.

Whilst we were saddling up outisde the B&B a local girl on a bike stopped us to ask if we were LEJOG'ers. She was beginning her JOGLE the day we were due to arrive at John O'Groats.

We flew along to Lancaster and Kendall where we stopped for a sugar break and to mentally prepare ourselves for the infamous climb at Shap. I was excited for it but there was certainly a sense of trepidation in the camp. Bring on the 1400ft climb.

I really enjoyed it and to be fair it wasn't as long or as steep as we had expected. I raced along the first mile or two and the views were getting better and better. I was using this as a proper test of my ability. Bruce and I finished first while the others took a more leisurely pace. We celebrated at the summit because it signified the half way point or our challenge.

Lunch today was during a well deserved stop in the village after a 7 mile cruise down the other side of the hill. I enjoyed a steady 25mph without the need to pedal. It had been a hard thigh burning, lung bursting climb for an hour or so but the commitment and determination from the boys was great. I am certainly feeling the benefits of improved fitness right now.

By the time we passed Penrith en route to Carlisle it became noticeably colder and we could see the heavy rain clouds further ahead at the Border. Not a great omen for entering Scotland!

We arrived at Carlisle around 7pm and got our order into the Domino's Pizza across from the very nice B&B. 6 large pizza's were demolished - apart from Andris who didn't finish his. I should have known all was not well with him if he ever loses his appitite.

Day 5 Telford to Preston. Tuesday 28th June 2011

94 miles
7hrs 21mins in the saddle


After being thoroughly entertained by little Theo and Ella at breakfast we left Suzanne's and headed north. Continental breakfast today and I think our guts were grateful. Unfortunately we were fighting a head wind all day and had to employ some professional team cycling tactics where each person took a turn to pull the chain along the road. I think Nick missed the point as when it was his turn to lead he shot off way in front of everyone else at a much higher pace and created a 10m gap! Nevertheless, we made good time over the flat Shropshire roads and after 20 miles we met up with Fraser's dad, Ian, who had come down from Manchester to ride with us for the day. We could tell straight away Ian was an experienced cyclists and he was really welcome company.

During a lunch stop in Nantwich Morrison's two different locals stopped to have a chat with me as I was wearing my team tshirt today. We chatted about their own End-2-End experiences and their work for Marie Curie. I really appreciated 2 mins of their time each to chat about our cycle.

We experienced our first piece of bad driving leaving Nantwich where a car cut us up and weaved between our two groups on the approach to a roundabout. Ian gave the driver a severe ear bashing and implied he needed a trip to the opticians!

We came to the conclusion that one of the highlights of each day was checking out the front pages of the newspapers when we stop to find out the latest with the Ryan Giggs saga! After lunch we climbed through a few Cheshire villages in proper footballer's country - 2 brand new Bentley's were in fact being put through their paces. Was it Giggsy making a sly getaway?

Next up was Warrington where the urban sprawl really began. It seems the North-West is one big city separated by a few huge roundabouts. What happened to all the countryside we had seen for the last 4 days? Getting through this part of England was simple a 'keep your wits about you and get through as fast as possible' job and it was quite hairy at times as it was rush hour. Our saving grace, however, was a green cycle path all along the A49 which kept us pretty safe. Ian said his goodbye's at the other side of Warrington and it had been a really good ride with him today.

The roads in and around Preston were pretty shoddy but the B&B was decent. They locked our bikes inside the bar area to keep the gypsy's away. Another pub dinner and I was struggling to stay awake as I nursed my pint.

The North-West is the North-West. Not much else to report.

Day 4 Welsh-Bicknor to Telford. Monday 27th June 2011

75.8 miles
5hrs 30mins in the saddle


'A day on the A49'


We woke to an absolute honking room in the hostel. As you would imagine 6 boys in a sweaty dorm room filled with cycling kit wasn't pleasant. The driveway to the hostel was a mental hill so we were glad to find out we did not have to go out the way we came in. Instead we were pointed down the back of the hostel to a path that goes over the river. What the YHA staff didn't tell us was that we had to go right at the fork. Instead we went left in the direction we wanted to head but it came to a dead end 500 yards along the path. Fraser took a jog along 4 fields to try find the mythical bridge but returned with bad news. At 8.30am a brisk 5 minute jog shouldn't get you dripping with sweat but this was an indicator of another hot day of cycling. We doubled back and eventually found the bridge but lost about an hour! Bruce commented that "if a shortcut was easy then it would just be the way!" One good thing about this detour was that we could see the hostel, an old rectory, in all its splendor in the basin of the valley.

We soon got going to Ross-en-Wye where we found the bike shop to get Nick's wheel fixed. After an hour we got going on the A49 to Hereford and flew past the Cadbury's factory at Leominster and passed through many other nice Shropshire market towns. The amazing smell of the chocolate stayed with us for a good 2 miles down the road!

We stopped at Ludlow after 45 miles for lunch where the only shower of the day caught us out as we sat in the market place. After lunch Fraz didn't know we were turning off the road so early and ended up at the bottom of the hill trying to find a right turn to meet back up with us. We powered onto Much Wenlock on the undulating hills making 17-18mph for a good 12 mile stretch without stopping which was a great effort by the boys. Fraser nearly caused a bit of carnage when a metal water bottle flew out of his pannier at 25mph and bounced down the road nearly taking out Andris, myself and a car. I ended up careering over it as it was too unpredictable to avoid and luckily there was no damage to me or my bike. Phew

Approaching Telford we enjoyed the benefit of some big hills then made the unfortunate decision to climb the Wrekin instead of going via Ironbridge. It was one of the toughest and longest climbs yet. I have spent a lot of time visiting Telford over the years and forgotten how big the hill was. I had hoped the road would merely skirt around the bottom!

Today was a good solid days riding with some better cloud cover which really helped even though it was so warm. By lunchtime, Nick finally got into the habit of getting into a higher gear when coming to a stop as starting off again is much easier. Also after day 3 a quick tutorial about using the full range of gears made Nick into a much better cyclist as he didn't ruin himself by lunch time grinding up hills.

I was having a problem today with sweat and sun lotion stinging my eyes so I employed the old school Jim Leighton tactic of putting Vaseline over my eyebrows. It worked a treat!

Once we arrived at my aunt's house, Suzanne greeted us with a cool beer and the biggest spread of pasta bolognese and pizza which was most satisfying. Definately up there with the best scran of the trip and it was promptly demolished with enough room left for a Danish Pasty. We arrived at 6pm and this was the first evening we could relax before dinner.

At this point Grum had hopped on a train to Birmingham to visit our buddy JJ Chalmers in the military hospital. JJ had been caught in an IED explosion in Afghanistan only a couple of weeks before we departed for Land's End. I hope the surprise helped cheer him up and that he is well on the mend to better health.

Nick solved his lack of a towel problem today by stealing Grum's after he had jumped on the train to Birmingham! As for forgetting his sleeping bag he just had to suck it up and sleep in clothes!!

Day 3 Bridgwater to Welsh-Bicknor. Sunday 26th June 2011

88.5 miles
Total after 3 days = 272.2


Another day another cooked breakfast. The accommodation was actually top notch. Probably a bit too good for 6 smelly cyclists!


From Bridgwater to Cheddar we cained it eating up the miles on the flat Somerset roads. If yesterday was about counting counties (Cornwall, Devon & Somerset) then today was about counting countries as we would pass through Wales and back into England.


Cheddar was an enjoyable climb to Axbridge passing lots of cyclists out enjoying the terrific weather. It was a scortching day that sat around 27 degrees all day with no cloud cover at all. Nick claimed he doesn't get sun burnt so applied little sun cream all day while the rest of the Spokers slapped on the Factor 20 every hour or so. Fraser also indulged in some 'taps aff' cycling for most of the day! At the end of the day Nick was looking much much redder than the rest of us - apart from his comical white hands as we was wearing gloves all day.


We met Andris' parents, Janis & Carole, early in the morning and again at lunch on the sea front at Clevedon. 


Grum again directed us towards the Avonmouth bridge except I had to school him on one or two points. Whilst reading the map he asked "what does this large 'H' stand for on the map? I think it's either a hospital or a helipad." I had to point out this was the grid reference for that particular page of the map! But it was a very hot day and we were pretty frazzled so we let that one slide...

We crossed the River Avon and then over the M48 Bridge over the Severn Estuary to Chepstow. We were now in Wales but slightly disappointed not to see a 'Welcome to Wales sign.' At this point I collided with the back of Fraz’s bike as we had to pull up sharply on a small path as two paramedics were approaching us with a stretcher.


The rest of the day was spent climbing through the Wye Valley which was pretty spectacular and lined with large houses. Nick broke 2 spokes on his rear wheel on this stretch which would require attention from a bike shop ASAP the next morning. 

The descent into the basin was absolutely superb and again we touched 40mph. Eventually we found the road to the hostel at Welsh Bicknor but we didn't arrive until 10.30pm as we stopped 1 mile away for our dinner at the Hostelrie at Goodrich. We arrived just in time to get our order into the kitchen before it closed and we suspected the chef wouldn't be too happy about that. Nevertheless it was a very welcoming pub and the proprietor was rightly proud of his local sausages which Fraser had for dinner. For us it was quite a funny sight to be having our Sunday roast dinner kitted out in our full lycra!


We eventually got to the hostel in a sun lotioned, sweaty mess after travelling up and back down the steep driveway which was pretty hazardous in the low light. After getting the cycling kit off and a quick shower it was off to bed to put the lycra back on in about 8 hours time...


At this point we discovered Nick had forgotten to pack a towel as we caught him trying to disappear to the showers with a duvet! He eventually settled with a YHA bedsheet to dry himself. What a boy!

Day 2 Launceston to Bridgwater. Saturday 25th June 2011

86 miles

6hrs 30 in the saddle

13.5mph average speed

A topnotch cooked breakfast to start the day! Bruce asked the receptionist if there was a bike shop handy. It turns out there were 3 within 100 yards! It seems a lot of cyclist pass through the 'Capital of Cornwall.'

Whilst in Launceston Cycles a very kind local donated £10 to our cause. While Bruce and Grum were in the shop Andris and I took a brisk morning stroll around the lovely walled village and saw the castle. Before we set off Bruce realised he had put his shorts on inside out with the padded part on the outside! A classic Bruce moment. To make things worse he had already slapped on the chamoix cream to the inside so that was now almost useless!

We were off to Okehampton on the dual carriageway. Whilst on this road a car pulled into the layby in front of us and two figures clapped and cheered us through. It turns out it was Andris's Godmother and her husband who just happened to be on holiday in Cornwall and passed us on their way home!

Myself and Bruce were half a mile ahead and took the junction for Okehampton. Unfortunately for Nick, Andris and Fraz they missed the turn off as Grum, who was leading the way, failed to notice the huge 20ft signs for Okehampton! They stopped and had to walk their bikes 200 yards back up the hard shoulder - much to the amusement of Bruce and myself who watched their escapade from the flyover.

Once off the dual carriageway the words "well that was worth it!" were uttered for the first time as we climbed and descended for mile after mile. Bruce was dressed in red today and attacked the hills like the preverbial matador!

We had our picnic lunch in Crediton and Grum had a trip to the Bike Shed as his front disk brake had been sticking all day. It was fixed for free and some local knowledge was thrown in for good measure to avoid a very big hill to Tiverton. At first we were unconvinced as climbed and climbed on some questionable roads in the hottest part of the day but once again "that was worth it" as we flew through picturesque country hamlets of thatched cottages, beautiful gardens, crossing small brooks and even the villagers were out playing cricket. How more English can you get? I have to say I really enjoyed this leg and Andris proudly claimed he was enjoying his cycling mainly due to the fact he "just loves being outside." A claim he would later come to regret.

Near Taunton we stopped at a camp site to refill our water bottles and have a chat with the proprietor. We had the idea to drop down to the canal and we flew along to rejoin the A38. A nice wee, flat shortcut we really appreciated.

Grum then expertly navigated us through Taunton on a Saturday evening where there were several stag and hen parties out for the night. Grum was carrying enough equipment to navigate us through the Amazon and this probably didn't help the fact he was cycling a bike that resembled the weight of a tank! Having said that we were all very grateful for him taking on the role of navigator through the town then along the country lanes to our accommodation at Carrington just outside of Bridgwater.

The Friendly Spirit Inn was a very nice country setting with excellent twin bedrooms which resembled a small cottage. We enjoyed a really good dinner and a pint of Somerset cider in the evening sun. 

It was a very hot day and we were expecting the same for the next few days. Bruce, Grum, Andris and myself were all suffering very badly from hayfever today. After failing to make our accommodation on the 1st day we were now back on track without a problem.

Today's banana count: 15

Day 1 Penzance to Land's End to Launceston. Friday 24th June 2011

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

97.3 miles
7hrs 30mins in the saddle


The day began bright and early with a wee 10 mile jaunt to Land's End from Bill & Liz's house. We passed a few LEJOG'ers on the way who were just starting their adventure and they must have thought 'these boys are looking fresh and fit for cycling all the way from John O'Groat's.' We knew we would have to hit the ground running today as it was 100 miles to our youth hostel in Okehampton.

Photo call done at the famous sign we were back on the same road to Penzance. You don't really realise how high you are climbing until you go back on the same road and freewheel down the other side! We nearly had our first casualty at Penzance when Andris came round the corner into the Tesco and smashed his pedal off the tarmac. Luckily it was only superficial damage and it still spun without a problem.

After a quick burst on the A30 dual carriageway we were on the 'Atlantic Highway' from Redruth to Newquay which was a very pleasant road. There was lots of climbs but included a 16% downhill where I touched 41mph! We had done 58 miles before lunch at Newquay which was a fair achievement for the 1st day.

We had our first puncture here where Bruce's rear tyre had picked up a slow puncture. We had problems where his 2 spare tubes tore while inflating. What a pain in the arse but nothing we could do about it. The 3rd tube was reinforced with gaffer tape and held enough pressure to get him to our evening stop.

The rain came at Wadebridge and never let up for the remaining 40 miles and I remember the hills to Camelford were particularly tough in these conditions. (I have described it in my diary as an "absolute b***h.") There were big climbs with little down before going up again. We started to realise at this point we would be pushing it to reach Okehampton for the night as it would involve another 35 miles on top of the 95 we had already done and we were fast losing light for the 20 mile stretch of dual carriageway which was starting to look like a bad idea. We knew the first day would be the longest and one of the toughest but I was beginning to feel I had let the boys down by being over-ambitious.

The end of the day was into rain and a strong headwind so we decided to get to Launceston and find somewhere to crash for the evening. Nick was beginning to really struggle at this point and I'm sure he was wondering if he would ever make John O'Groats.

Fraz, Andris and myself made Launceston by 8pm and found us rooms at the White Heart Hotel in the town centre which did the job. The other 3 were five miles down the road as Bruce's rear tyre had finally given in and they walked the remaining 2 miles along the A30.

A cheeky take-away burger and a pint in the hotel bar which was clearly full of the local underagers having a drink on a Friday night!

Tom Hark by The Piranhas has been in our heads all afternoon after having our lunch outside an arcade in Newquay. It was slowly driving us mad.

Even as I sit here in front of Google Maps it is telling me that our day to Okehampton is 110 miles on our route. Nae chance! We did 97 to Launceston and were still 30 miles short! Google Maps has a lot to answer for.

Getting to Land's End. Thursday 23rd June 2011

The previous couple of weeks had been spent training and mentally preparing for what was ahead. The great news was that we broke our £5000 fundraising target 4 days before we left which was a massive boost to all of us. Our Chain Spokers Tshirts had also arrived just in time with thanks to our sponsors Babcock and Hunter Property Fund Management.

Thursday began with an 8.15am meet with Grum at Europcar. We had hired a car and a transit van to take us and our bikes to Penzance. Grum lost the toss and had to drive the van! He hired that without a hitch but there was a problem when I tried to hire the car. Long story short, my sister had to take me back to Livingston to grab  as much correspondence as I could that included my name and address and also swing by the bank to pick up more proof of my address. I was pretty stressed at this point thinking how I could get me and the boys down to Penzance. Whilst I was doing this Grum picked up Bruce and Nick and loaded up their bikes and hit the road south. A stress I could have done without.

1 and a half hours later I had managed to hire the car caught up with the boys at the "Bentley" of M6 service stations at Tebay according to Bruce. At this point Nick and Bruce tossed a coin to see who would ride with me in the car. Bruce said "Nick if it's head's you go with Matt" but Nick replied as quick as a flash "NO! I want tails!" Thanks Nick for that (he claims not to have heard what Bruce had proposed)

Back on the road we picked up Fraser at Bristol Parkway station as he had come from Cardiff that morning. 5 Spokers on board... one to go. It was a long, tiring journey to Penzance and we met Andris Apsa there. He was not long back from 7 months in Canada so it was great to see him again. But before we picked him up we took the scenic route around the one-way system in Penzance before we eventually found the entrance to the train station on the 3rd lap!

Grum and I then had an episode trying to pay for the overnight parking at the station where the Europcar office was. Firstly Grum's card wasn't accepted by the ticket machine so I tried to phone to pay via my mobile but that also fails. We then scrape together £5.06 - 4p short of our ticket price!! Grrr. Eventually the machine accepts my card a good 30mins after we parked up the vehicles. The day was bookended by a farce! Grum asked how many graduates it takes to use a pay and display machine...

We made it to Bill and Liz Phillips house at 10.30pm who provided us with a lovely dinner and a beer. A big thanks to Bill and Liz for their hospitality.

It was only a 15 hour day on the road for me and Grum so feeling really tired before we are even on the bikes. Grum had made the journey a bit more bearable due to the £10 worth of Space Invaders and Haribo!

We made it to Penzance and have discovered Nick didn't bring a sleeping bag. Things will get interesting...

Training Day

As part of our training Graeme, Nick Waterman, Bruce and myself travelled to the Isle of Arran on Friday 29^th April 11 for a weekend of training. Some of us had been on some short training rides but this was the first time we would do a full day of cycling.


It was a good test of fitness with 8 weeks before our departure for Land’s End as we were fully laden with our equipment to take on the challenge of the undulating terrain which included a steep 667ft climb. It was the first time the majority of the group had ridden together and we all enjoyed the experience. 


The weather was scortching and we covered 58 miles anti-clockwise around the island after getting off the ferry at Brodick. Not long after setting off we were faced with the massive hill which was a 667 ft climb! We all enjoyed the coastal road but struggled to get to our destination at Whiting Bay after climbing up the relentless and undulating terrain. Nick picked up a puncture and decided to walk the last 5 miles to the B&B as he had no spare inner tubes. From there it was dinner and a few pints struggling to stay awake before a mad dash to the ferry the next morning!


Check out our training video of Arran here:

Fundraising Night

On the 2^nd April 2011 we hosted a race night at the Edinburgh Sports Club at Belford Place and raised over £2,500 on the night, which was an amazing amount! We were at capacity of 100 guests (maybe more!) made up of friends, family and Club Members, who enjoyed the racing action along with a raffle, an auction and karaoke – which I nicknamed ‘Curie-oke’ for the evening due to the cause we were raising funds for. There was a hardcore of guests left till 5.30am on the karaoke!


Many people had not been to a Race Night before but soon got caught up in the buzz and I am led to believe thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. The night was a great success. So much so that I had targeted raising £2,500 for our charity over the course of the whole challenge but had to re-address our target after we raised that amount in just one night. Sight's were set for £5,000 and fingers were crossed we could reach this.

Thanks to our Master of Ceremonies, James Banks, of James Banks Joinery, the night was very successful and Andrew Forrest, Chairman of the Edinburgh Sports Club (and father of fellow rider Nick Forrest) did a great job as Guest Auctioneer for the evening. Andrew had been the next highest bidder for a hospitality table for 6 at the Edinburgh Monarch's speedway and had lost out to the winning £245 bid. James then offered the same package to Andrew for the price he was willing to pay as the next highest bidder. He was in a bit of a shock and had been backed into a corner but he was a good sport and accepted the offer! Other lots also sold which included a lot of signed football memorablia.


I also have to thank Watermans Solicitors – Scotland’s leading Personal Injury lawyers – and their new iPhone app ‘The Accident Toolkit’ for their sponsorship of the evening which allowed some great raffle prizes to be donated. Lots of local companies also donated prizes for the raffle and auction which was very kind. Bar manager Steve Sproule and Yvonne Smith also sorted out some great food which I am very grateful for.


2 months of organising the event and collecting raffle prizes had paid off and the only thing left was for The Chain Spokers to get on our bikes...

Meet the team

1. Matt Hannah

•D.O.B: 2 July 1987

•Role: The Gaffer

•Nicknames: Mannah, Moosh, Mattanooga, Buzz

•Occupation: hopefully a surveyor

•Interests: Hibs, Fitbaw, Organising, Georgie Thomson, a nice cuppa

•Most likely to say: ‘Alright Moosh’ ‘Don’t stop believing’

•During the cycle most likely to... Make a motivational speech

2. Fraser Young

•D.O.B: 29 July 1987

•Role: The veteran

•Nicknames: Frazbeers, Coupla beers, Beers

•Bike Name: Cassandra

•Occupation: PHD student/ full-time genius

•Interests: Egg-chasing (rugger), slapping da bass, cells, crazy cycling journeys

•Most likely to say: 'Just a coupla beers', 'don't touch me!', 'I'll gie him the elbow'

•During the cycle most likely to... be miles ahead of everyone else or fixings someone's bike!

3. Bruce Robertson

•D.O.B: 5 August 1987

•Role: The wise head

•Nicknames: Brew-dog, B, Baba Ghanoush, Brewski

•Occupation: Charity worker

•Interests: Skiing, Football, Hibs, movies, Rugby, Real Ale, cheese

•Most likely to say: ‘I’m injured guys’ or anything from any movie. Ever.

•During the cycle most likely to... Get injured & also eat more than anyone else

4. Nick Forrest

•D.O.B: 9th January 1987

•Role: The Press Officer

•Nicknames: Toucan, Rolf Harris,

•Occupation: Post-grad journalism student

•Interests: Squash, football, Hibs, pets

•Most likely to say: ‘Sounds good mate’ ‘I really need to go to the gym today’ ‘A professional footballer should be able to use their weaker foot’

•During the cycle most likely to... Get a puncture within 5 minutes

5. Graeme McKinley

•D.O.B: 2 April 1987

•Role: The navigator

•Nicknames: Grum, G, Hammond

•Occupation: Electrical Engineer

•Interests: Tennis, spreadsheets

•Most likely to say: ‘I can’t actually tell you anything about my job’ ‘that’ll cost some of the boys!’

•During the cycle most likely to... Use the most colourful language

6. Andris Apsa

•D.O.B: 16 May 1988

•Role: The excited one

•Nicknames: Puppy, Bear, Badger

•Occupation: on his Gap Yaah

•Interests: Football, Spurs, Latvia, flowers, gnomes, causing mischief

•Most likely to say: ‘COME ON YOU SPURS!!’ ‘Harry’s got them playing well’ ‘We’re gonna win the Champions League’

•During the cycle most likely to... Be hyperactive all the time/injure Matt