6.50am Jack arrives at the reception having been locked out of his room.
6.55am Jack arrives at the bus and finds out he has left is cycle helmet in the room.
7.01am Bikes are off and Derek and Badger start the day’s proceedings.
7.12am Bus 1 is stalled for the first time on the journey by Rob Hussey.
THE RAIN IS LASHING DOWN
7.13am Bus one has to catch Derek up to ask him to slow down as Badger’s previous evenings drinking is catching up with him. Derek tells the bus that he has been talking to Badger for the last 10 minutes.
7.14am Jack, who earlier had said he would not be wound up today lasts 13 minutes when he blows his top.
7.35am In bus Badger is asked what time he got in last night, he decides he isn’t home yet.
8.23am Rob pulls into the slip road and as he is being told off by cyclist Mark Baldwin, Mark clips Gemma’s bike and gets a wobble on.
9.01am We stop and Aldo nearly goes one better by leaving Karen and Mark Cornish at this stop.
9.55am It has been coming and it finally arrives, the third puncture of the trip, but the pre-tournament favourite to be on the bike for the first puncture, Gary Mayes was on it.
12.01pm Aldo got on the bus and said his legs are like jelly.
Gary Mayes replied “it’s a good job your weren’t biking with Mike.”
THE HILLS CAME AND THE HILLS WENT
3.42pm 901 miles with no casualties and then Gemma Hussey nearly comes off her bike.
4.19pm The last shift and Mark Baldwin starts by biking through a pond and getting a lot of mud on him.
4.27pm Hookey, Rob Hussey and Mark Baldwin cycle into John O’Groats to finish the 908+ miles (Thanks to Mark Cornish messing up in Falkirk.)
WE WOULD LIKE TO ESPECIALLY THANK THE 3 (CRAP) BIKES THAT GOT US FROM LANDS END TO JOHN O’GROATS.
Day 5 – Wednesday 27th
SHOW ME THE WAY TO FALKIRK (Mark Cornish)
HAS ANYBODY SEEN HOOKEY?
6.59am Off we go on day 5 of the journey
7.13am Declan Martin and Mark Baldwin who started the journey had done 6.5 miles
but the problem that they had is was in the wrong direction.
WELL DONE MARK CORNISH
8.02am Mark and Dec finish their stint
8.29am Badger is attacked by a bungee rope in the back of the bus
9.54am “My Lungs were sticking out of my bottom so it might slow us down a bit”
DEREK BREEN
Everything is now going well since the disaster start but in the distance we are
approaching rain.
12.17am Hookey is left in the bus by driver Aldo. Dianne noticed his absence and
at least it was only 5 miles down the road.
Bus one went and rescued him. He had started walking in the right direction.
The Killer hill in Aviemore never materialized and apart from swapping one of
the wheels nothing else outrageous happened.
Nathan Bird and Keith Baldwin started to write songs. These will be published
later.
5.03pm Finish for the day. Nice day is over and the sun is shining.
Day 4 - Tuesday 26th
6.59am First bus leaves 1 minute early and Nathan seems full of life for the day (GREAT)
7.59am second bus leaves on time but not on time as they were hoping to leave at 7.45am. Not Aldo’s fault though he had been waiting with the bus since 12.00 the previous night so as not to be late. Gary and Martin were late
7.59am20secs Day starts well when reserve driver Kevin stalls much to the delight of Aldo.
8.32am Second bus reaches Gretna and Benny hops out but none of the ladies are up for marriage this early in the morning.
8.40am Bus 1 the only hill from Carlisle to Gretna was greeted with glee by Jack Warrell who was on the bike at the time.
9.28am Nathan Bird hit 42mph and passes Keith in a flash.
9.36am Hookey says if we had to sponsor Nathan for talking it would cost a fortune.
9.58am Bus 1 takes a look at the map for the first time in an hour and notice they have gone a different route to the planned one. Aldo takes the blame for bus 2 taking the right way.
10.58am Bus 1 take the wrong route again but super Dec spots the mistake and saves Karen’s blushes further by avoiding another M road.
11am Rob breaks driving laws 3 times at a service station. Pulls into a disabled parking bay, pulls out of a no entry sign and then drives down the wrong way on a dual carriage way.
12.59am Changeover at a mobile fish and chip shop in a lay-by. Everyone apart from bus one tucks in (Bus one have serious biking to do, no junk food) Mike Misson is left very disappointed because they only have ONE pie left.
2.06pm Lorry is caught speeding (over 56 mph). It is found to be slip streaming behind Gary Mayes.
2.43pm Arrive at the hotel.
3.10pm The new fourth bike arrives at Stirling. A Big Thank You to Mark Connell who brought it up with him on a plane.
Day 3 – Monday 25th
KERBY IS BORN.
8.00am Mike Misson is seen after the previous nights eating exploits and
shock horror he does not have breakfast.
8.20am Second bus finally leaves after waiting for 10 minutes for Aldo after
wires were crossed the evening earlier.
8.26am Mikes famine does not last long as he tucks into his first banana of the
day.
9.12am The 54 bus to Liverpool nearly has the mother of all accidents when Gary
Mayes swerves in front of it.
9.20am Keith renames Mike Misson the incredible bulk; at least Aldo is having
the day off. Still not quite up with the first bus.
9.21am Jack Warrel and Mark Cornish prove once again that they are never wrong,
when they take the right routes and bikes and the bus takes the wrong.
10.20am Kerby just caught up with the big bus
11.59am Big bus pulls up at bike shop to order some more parts. During stop Aldo
(the stud) Galea helps a young lady out by serving her petrol. He gives her the
travelling detail in Carlisle for a steamy liaison later.
1.28pm Mark Cornish gets a 12 incher for his wedding anniversary (Cumberland
sausage that is)
4.35pm the hill from hell begins we all muck in to get up Shap Hill
5.35pm With Carlisle just 15 miles away badger goes so fast he melts the tyre
causing more delays.
6.01pm Hookey cause uproar on the big bus by chucking an empty can in the bushes
6.32pm Finish a tough days biking when Hookey and Karen bike the last mile
Chester, 24th July
Thanks to all those signed up to Rob's Log and apologies, due to a small
technical hitch, (didn't have the right cable for connecting to broadband) for
not being able to send you photographs and an update, but hopefully by tomorrow
we will have found an internet cafe to make contact so we can update you on how
we are getting on.
After a day's hard pedalling through some really bad weather today (Sunday) the group has reached the hotel and after hot showers, we are resting for the ride tomorrow from Chester to Carlisle.
Again, thanks to everyone for their support and we will be sending you further details hopefully tomorrow.
Regards
Rob and the gang
ROB’S LOG (THE PRE-LOG)
It has been a tough assignment organising this bike ride but we are nearly there.
It all began back in August/September 2004 when it was agreed to do the Land’s End to John O’Groats bike ride “FOR REAL”. The initial details were sorted and then it was time to find 18 victims/suspects/idiots to do the ride. Finding the 18 “willing” participants was surprisingly a lot easier than you would think.
The training started in earnest in the wet and windy month of February when every Sunday morning the cyclists gathered at The Boot for a cycle ride of 16 miles. When the days got longer we upped the training to 2-3 times a week and now we are training up to 5 times a week. The fitness level of everyone has increased and everyone is now ready to take on “THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME”
If you would like to be kept updated by email on the progress of this epic event please click here
THE NEXT ROB’S LOG UPDATE WILL BE AFTER THE FIRST DAY OF THE TRIP
