"Once in a Lifetime..."...

A civilised breakfast, knowing we only had a shortish pull to hand over at Cape Cornwall: a short pull that got longer with successive road signs "Newquay 12 miles" became "Newquay 13 miles", before peaking at "Newquay 15 miles".........."Road to Nowhere".......indeed. Bit of dodgy route finding saw me hit the A30 sooner than intended but at least the road surface was better than it would have been on the chosen route. Over the hills above St Ives, where the "Alice Blue" colour of the sea was an inspiration and I'm on the coast road......racing traffic, especially Roger, and giving it my best "racing" effort for the last day. Rocket down the 1 in 5 into Cape Cornwall to finish my stint. Hand over to John, then back out of Cape Cornwall and over to Sennen, where the bike is finally abandoned and we regroup to march over the coastal path to Lands End! A faster day on the bike: 70 rolling miles on the trusty old Tarmac in 3 hrs and 10 mins. Might be getting a bit fitter after all. Champagne, photos.......the crowds we could see on our approach turned out  not to be for us, just bemused tourists.......and off to the beach for a swim while Roger sits down to do some interviews with John and Marjorie. It's done. Sense of achievement? Well, as usual I think each of us values what the others did far more than his/her own contribution, so we'll have to hold fire on that analysis for a little while. Will follow up with one more post with some facts and figures.......probably reasonably impressive for four old gits with a combined age of  240......but in our own heads we still think we're all forever 17!!!!

"Well we know where we're going"........,,

Bristol to "somewhere on the North Cornwall coast" today. Somewhere at least as far as Bude and we'd be winning, I reckoned. Home turf through Devon so it's on with the County flag cycle shirt at 4:30 am and try and sneak out without disturbing Joanne too much. Still dark.......I guess I should have figured that might be the case but had obviously become accustomed to the shorter northern nights! Still, being a true "ex-triathlete" I still pop on the sunglasses......can't let a technical issue like pitch blackness get in the way of the right image, can we!! Lorries to Avonmouth, then through a bike- friendly Bristol and over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. " I said "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck; I just ain't gonna pay no toll".  So we crashed the gate doing 98, I said "Let those suckers roll, ten four"....disappointing, therefore, to find that there's no charge for cyclists......or pedestrians. I suppose that's so as not to discourage potential"jumpers". Anyway, the A 38 to Bridgwater was surprisingly interesting with a mix of run down and "still thriving" towns and villages. Approaching Bridgwater itself I was glad that the cellophane  works don't still blast out that foul odourI remember so well from water polo trips up and down the M5 from Exmouth. Round the back of the Quantocks and I soon remember just how "lumpy" today is going to be. Left at Williton (quick phone stop to check on Roger, who's getting a tyre fixed and Joanne, who's taking the speedier motorway route to intercept me.....somewhere) then it's up, up, up 20% for what seems like....and actually is....miles. Next stop Wheddon Cross for a sandwich and regroup and it feels great to sprawl on the warm Tarmac of the village store car park and take stock. Taking stock always seems to take some time so an hour is lost having food and a bit of a laugh. I love this part of the world: enjoy the challenge of training on difficult terrain and, once upon a time, won a couple of Age group races nearby! Hills across the moor then swoop into Barnstaple and on to the Atlantic Highway. Traffic is considerate in the main and we keep rolling along.....I've run out of H2Pro by now so the drink top ups are more frequent but less effective now....and we're over the border into Cornwall. Should I change the shirt?.......wouldn't want an "incident". Think I'll get away with it. Camelford (don't fill up the water bottle!)...... and finish for the day at Wadebridge. 180 miles today and only 70 to go............

Put me in the water.....

Amazing what Ibuprofen can do......we stood on the banks of Lyn Tegid on Sunday morning and looked at the perfect conditions. All we had to do was get a one-armed swimmer, her mother and a kayak across the railway line and past some sleeping anglers who would no doubt not appreciate our intentions to disturb their fish!
After all dissolving into helpless giggles not helped by the neoprene booties incident, we were off. I discovered I could still swim after all, just as long as I didn't pull properly!
This has got to have been one of the best swims of my life-perfect, beautiful conditions and we had it all to ourselves. After about an hour, the shoulders miraculously eased up and I could finally relax into a rhythm once more. It was all over too quick, quite tempting to turn around and do it again, but breakfast was calling and Richard had to be off on his ride through the rest of Wales on another hot and sunny day.

The ride started off hilly and then got a bit lumpy. We went through some beautiful places with strange names, New Invention, and I'm sure I saw a sign to Woebley Little Dillyn, as for what clientele stays at the Cock Hotel...........
After some brief stops to listen to the tennis - well done Murray! We headed for the Severn Bridge, where the promised bike path did indeed materialise and I didn't have to pay to come back over and pick up Richard from the hard shoulder of the M48!

A little bit higher now.....

I remember the last time I was in Llanberis in a heat wave. It was the day that Boris Becker won Wimbledon, he was 17 and about a third of his present size, I was 15, a skinny swimmer, about a.......
John was a rock climber in those days. Fell running was only done to get to the foot of the crag quickest, and to get home again 2hours later than you had promised, in the forlorn hope that your wife hadn't thrown away your tea and gone out!

Richard started the day with a 14mile hill climb from sea level to 1100+ft to handover to John and start the final run - the welsh 3000's. the early morning mist soon swirled away and evaporated to leave what Brendan Foster would term "inhuman conditions"! What a difference from 2 days ago. We of course spent the morning in Pete's Eats, making up for the fact we hadn't had a meal since Wednesday. We then rolled up the Pass and waited in the sunshine and I continued to persuade my arms that they might raise above shoulder height.
Of course the sunshine brought the crowds. The world, his wife, his cousin and their kids caught the train up Snowdon and then stood on the summit and wondered why. By late afternoon I had success with my right arm, almost full ROM, shame about the left! The substitutes were warming up for Llyn Tegid.
At 7pm John appeared at Pen Y Pass and Richard swooped off down to Bala!

"Cross eyed and Painless" (ful)

Another early alarm call at 4.15am, quick bowl of porridge and we were back at the lake. This morning's swim leg from Bowness to Fell Foot a little over 7miles. The water felt much cooler early morning though it was absolutely flat calm to start. From a swimmers point of view you don't really see much just vaguely aware of the scenery changing gradually and finally a beautiful sunrise. But other than a close encounter with a swan and a cameraman, nothing too exciting! After a few hours, the cold and leg cramps started to set in and I became aware of my shoulders starting to scream with the effort. The last few miles were awful which was a shame in such lovely surroundings-like having your own personal 11mile swimming pool. Nice of the RAF to give me a fly past as I finished. Unfortunately I am now unable to raise my arms above chest level so driving in support of Richard was a non-starter! He instead packed a rucksack of food and spares and set off, whilst I headed motorway-wards (no gear changes necessary) to Colwyn Bay. He arrived much later with tales of beer drinking and fighting his way through the North West - so a normal day out for him then!

"Water dissolving, water removing. There is water at the bottom of the ocean".......

Not only at the bottom of the oceanbut plenty in the northern skies as John set off up Skiddaw. With much of the country basking in glorious sunshine the weather gods assiduously continued to fail to send anything resembling dryness, sunshine or stillness our way. So his assault on the 3000 ft peaks in England began wet and windy; became mistier, wetter and windier before finally brightening up right at the end. Funny how that works. Inevitably, some time was lost early on and given John's role as mobile cameraman he would not get the chance to claw any back before handing over to me for a sprint to the lake, where Joanne would begin her epic! We'd always planned an evening swim but with John now not expected off Helvellyn until after 7:30 we would be looking at a late finish. The wind had swung round to the North West so we decided to put in at Ambleside and hopefully hit Bowness before total darkness set in. The water temperature was variable but Joanne soon settled into a rhythm and was moving smoothly southbound. Marjorie and Roger were in early support until Roger turned back to collect the van and film the finish. As darkness began to wrap itself around us we waited at Bowness for sight of the orange kayak, which duly hove into view at about 11 O'Clock. Not too cold but by the time we got back to the B and B we only had time for a bowl of porridge and 4 hrs sleep before getting up for a bowl of porridge and re-immersion.

" Find a city, find myself a city to live in".......

So three days of kayaking, running and cycling through the glorious scenery of the highlands.....I'm fairly sure there was scenery: we even spotted some of it through the clag from time to time.....is left a distant memory as the four forty five alarm kicks me out on to the mean streets of Glasgow. I didn't spot a " murrrderrrr" or any murrrderrrerrrrs, but even the quiet early morning comings and goings seemed so strange after the peace of the days afore. I know that Joanne and I live in a " local" community....every day a bit like an episode of The Archers....but this was a really strange experience. Unfortunately every traffic light was agin us and between that and getting slightly lost for a couple of miles the cross city traverse took a bit longer than anticipated. Even at that unearthly hour I was engulfed in clouds of cigarette smoke as I passed each bus stop and with many a passing car. We toured past signs for many a low ranking Scottish football teams: East Kilbride, Motherwell, Hamilton and eventually reached our B road heading south. So southbound and bumping along a lumpy road. No huge excitement unless you count my misnavigation up and on to the motorway......not my fault: Joanne and Roger also misinterpreted the same sign. Gretna: time for a photo stop and to finally shed a long sleeved layer. Find the sunnies which by now are buried very, very deep in the boot ...somewhere. Off to Carlisle and upwards into the Lakes. I'd forgotten what a long climb it is from Carlisle to Bothel. Then down to Bassenthwaite and up behind Skiddaw to where John starts (or rather, by now, "started") his run across Skiddaw, Scaffell, Scaffell Pike and Helvellyn. Day done! 137 miles with a lesser headwind. Grateful for small mercies. So far, then, 497 miles of biking with 37 000 feet of climbing; Cairngorm and Nevis range 4 000 ft peaks in the bag along with a 27 plus mile kayak up Loch Awe. Not too bad for a bunch of oldies!!!

"Take me to the river. Wash me in the water..."

After a splendid night's sleep at Loch Awe House ( thank-you for your kind donation to H4H) and a good breakfast I head off to the end of the Loch where the kayak leg will commence. A very bumpy ride later along the twisty turny loch side track and we all arrive in Ford for launching. This sheltered cove at the end of Loch Awe is a beautiful point from which to set off on the 26 plus mile journey to the finishing point by the Castle......just 6 or 7 hours away!!! Final preparations and Joanne and Marjorie sre off. The promised gale force winds have failed to turn up...so far, and they beat a course out on to the Loch and out of sight, disappearing into the mist and drizzle.....surely you didn't think the conditions had improved that much!!! A quick shower, change out of cycling gear and check out of the accommodation and I'm back at the loch side with John, searching for two needles in a very fuzzy haystack. After about two and a half hours we finally make contact: the conditions had deteriorated considerably with an increasing wind whipping up a tidy swell and chop on the water. Rain! The intrepid pair manage to stick to their schedule, stopping to feed and stretch out every hour and a half or so. Our final point of contact is with about 6 miles to go: a six mile stretch, during which visibility is down to about 150 yes so the end is never in sight. If you've ever been stuck out in near "white out" conditions you'll know what it does to perspective. Scale is lost and tufts resemble distant copses. It was a fairly desolate last few miles. We spot them from the Caste and rush to make sure they head for a suitable exit point. Out they leap.......well, stagger by then. Joanne unsure that her arms will ever recover, let alone in time for a Windermere swim in two days. Marjorie declares that that distance is just about her limit!! A good bit further than a channel crossing ( especially hugging the bank rather than straight lines)....if you're going to have a limit it may as well be a proper one!! Top effort. My turn again and after a false start....I heade off with the car keys in my pocket....I climb from the Loch, over the top and descend to Loch Lomond. Rain! Pretty foul for cycling as well but decent time is made and just under three hours later I arrive at our overnight stop in Dumbarton. The pub over the road is beckoning, so we put the showers on hold in search of food.....we'd had one of those adventure dried meals the night before.... The good news, they serve food until 9:30..we're in! Bad news...they've run out. Then more good news.....beer @ under £2:50 a pint. So, a swift half(ish) and we're raiding the M and S food store at the adjacent garage. Fed, bathed, alarm set......bed. The delights of Glasgow await first thing in the morning.

"...we're on the road to paradise; here we go, here we go " .

Rested, Joanne and I head off up to Glen Feshie, where John came down on day one for me to start the cycle to the Nevis range 4's. a little watery sunshine lulls us into a false sense of warmth. Throughout our stay in the highlands and down through Glasgow on to the borders the temperature never gets above a somewhat chilly 12 degrees. In fact, as I write, at 9:30 pm just under the Pennines, it is still warmer than the warmest warm moment during our sojourne in Scotland. My ride to the Aonach Mor ski station is quiet, except for the flotilla of Contractor van ferrying people to work. But they give plenty of room and despite rain and a sharp headwind I cover he 60 miles in under 3 hrs and hand over to John who sets off on what turns out to be another memorable adventure. In the mean time I get a massage, which eases my left knee a bit and at 11 in the morning satisfy a craving for mashed potatoes......plus sausages and beans. Ready for the climb up through glen Coe. John returns.....delayed once more by filming and some terrible conditions. July 1st and he has to resort to his hat again as snow falls on Ben Nevis. Once finished, I crank my way out of Fort William into a raging headwind, dreading the 80+ miles ahead.Headwind unremitting until I reach North Balaculish where I pick up a taily to the top of the climb.......result! Always a price to pay as the headwind and broken road surface almost breaks me out of Glen Orchy and into Loch Awe. John's Nevis range run was a 5.5 hr undertaking. My 80 miles to our most excellent B and B.....with a bath!! taking 4.25 hrs. Food, bathing bed and ready to tackle Loch Awe in the morning. A little apprehension as the forecast is for rain and up to 50 mph winds. A good night's sleep not necessarily guaranteed.

" Letting the days go by: letting the water hold me up"

And there's been plenty of water during our few days in Scotland! When Linda ( our accordion playing Scottish correspondent) assured us that the weather was looking a lot more settled for the start of our epic, we presumed she meant " settled" in a warm and pleasant fashion. Instead it was settled in a cold, wet, windy and even snowy fashion. However, before you become too concerned at our northern plight I can report that Joanne and I partook of a couple of alcoholic beverages last night (I know this will be hard to believe to most of you) and it cost £4:96 for two pints of Stella 4 so there is a silver/gold lining to even the blackest cloud. Unfortunately we had a 4:45 alarm set for this morning so could not really take appropriate advantage of our good fortune. Apologies for the lack of blogging.....not caused by extreme fatigue but rather technological malaise. Back at John and Marjorie's for this evening so a chance to bring things up to date. The "epic" started early......it was so cold and windy when we assembled in John O'Groats that we had a quick vote and decided to crack on; a decision that was vindicated over the following hours as the "sliding roon" came in handy in the face of a solid 25 mph headwind with considerably speedier gusts! It barely got dark. The cycling was as tough as you'd imagine under the circumstances but the privilege of rolling through the penumbra in emptiness was more than adequate compensation. The highlight: probably the two hundred yards or so when a Barn Owl accompanied me, flying a metre or so off my left shoulder. Huge thanks to Joanne and Roger for their support during the night and for singing Happy Birthday at midnight. My cycling time for the 167 miles was nine and a half hours but with plenty of stops to keep morale high and food intake up we took nearly 11 hours to reach the ski station on Cairngorm. In the dark, without a computer it's almost impossible to keep track of pace: energy is wasted climbing......because you can't see the gradient. All challenging but all fun......once I'd finished. Longest ever ride: 4 hrs and 60 miles further than ever before.....even when I was fit! Did I mention the headwind? The headwind was not about to let up any time soon. John headed off up Cairngorm to tackle the Cairngorm 4's into the teeth of a gale which was blowing at well over 50 mph on the tops. Add a little drizzle and you can imagine the scale of the challenge. It was cold enough for him to don his hat......a rare Chadwick occurrence. The route is long and remote so we wouldn't see him again until his descent into Glen Feshie. While we waited for him we were entertained by the Golden Eagles soaring overhead.....a stunning location. John duly returned, some 8 hrs or so later, which was maybe ( like my cycle) an hour longer than he would have hoped for but not unexpected in the conditions. Time for a pizza, bed and preparation for day two! Only nine to go......can that be right? Stay tuned for day twoness.......it gets colder and wetter !

" and you may ask yourself...." How did I get here?"

The journey from John and Marjorie's up to Aviemore passed without any delays yesterday. We arrived to sunshine and the opportunity to stretch our legs: Joanne set off up through the beautiful Rothiemurchus Estate woodlands for a run and I recce'd the climb up to Cairngorm ski station. TT bike will be fine tomorrow so no need for a bike change. 10 miles or so of climbing which will, doubtless, take me more than yesterday's 35 mins as I'll already have biked 150 miles by the time I do it next time. J and M arrived a bit after us and after a very pleasant meal we went to bed and waited for it to get dark.....and waited.......and waited. Still a glow in the sky at 11 and already light at whatever time the pubs kicked out and the drunken dawn chorus awoke us from our deep sleeping. Tomorrow we'll know exactly what time that was as we'll already have some miles under our belt, having set off from John O'Groats at midnight. A strange way to spend the first 8-10 hrs of your 53 rd ??!!? birthday. For those of you who are worried about whether it's wise for Joanne to return to Aviemore, we're fairly certain that her misbehaviour here as a college student has all been forgiven.....if not forgotten. She did get some strange looks and comments as she ran through the centre of the village yesterday but we're putting that down to the misguided behaviour of a drunken minority. No- one has mentioned Cyril the Squirrel yet, anyway. Oops, the cat's out of the bag. Off for breakfast in a moment but will post before we head to J o'G with some more sensible thoughts on how things may go over the next hrs / days! Richard

Hey Ho.....Let's Go!

After illness and the stress of rushing around organising SwashBuckler and ForestMan it was nice to get back on my bike yesterday. Just did a few repeats up to Hartside from Melmerby, which is where Joanne's parents live, just east of the Lakes, right under the North Pennines. It's not steep, particularly, but a good 6 miles or so of " alpine" type climbing. Three ascents of that got me back in the saddle and I finished before the rain set in for the rest of the day The bikes were great.....thanks Alex and Primera, for the posh Zipps on the faithful old TT bike. Nice to see some spare sprockets behind me, which I'm sure these old and undertrained legs will put to good use in the hills. Actually, considering the lack of riding over the past month my legs felt reasonable. Lungs still shot to pieces after the virus but hey ho......let's go! Joanne and her folk headed to Ullswater to collect their kayaks....thank- you to Distant Horizons for your support! Roger Burlinson is bringing a kayak for Joanne. They took the opportunity for a trial swim and Joanne worked out the best guidance/ navigation strategy with her Mum, who will be supporting her on Windermere. She was in the water for nearly 2 hrs, which was a good work out and also good for confidence. Fairly comfortable conditions....thanks Mike for the lovely 2 X U wetsuits!!! So today we head off to our base in Aviemore, where we'll tie up with Roger and chat through some filming details. I will continue to try and consume as many calories as possible. All this being under the weather and race organising has left me somewhat "lean" at just under 10 stone! Slightly worrying as that was as low as my weight got by the end of 7 in 7. So it will come as no surprise that I've moved on to the " Guinness" diet, along with ice cream and chocolate milk......although only rarely at the same sitting ( usually when I've had too much of the former!!!) See you all in Bonny Scotland, where I predict .......mixed weather, I believe " dreach" is the word but I shall rely on our accordion-playing Borders correspondent to confirm !!

Heading Up North! The day has arrived - we are all packed up and headed northwards. 1st stop Penrith to meet up with John and Marjorie, collect the kayaks - kindly provided by Distant Horizons on Ullswater! Hoping to have a bit of a test swim Thursday and then we'll be off to Aviemore for the weekend.

Just when you think you're making progress!!

Our event season has kicked off over the past few weeks and the additional stress that comes with those was always going to challenge our training a bit. After the first event we managed to take the motorhome to Exmoor for a couple of days wher many illy miles of cycling were undertaken......despite a sore throat. Bad idea. The past 10 days have been exercise free whilst I try to shake off the virus. Add to that an infected finger and I've not been a happy bunny!! Joanne fared a little better, at least managing to get in a couple of longer kayak sessions (one a beautiful trip on the Hamble with Roger) and some open water swimming before she succumbed to the same lurgy. Despite our coughing and spluttering....and wondering at one stage who would have a voice to do the briefings.....SwashBuckler was a success. Great venue, lovely weather and a switched on crowd of athletes...... should ever be thus!!! So now it's gently gently back on to the bike for me with a few Exmoor days for next week when Joanne is intending to up the open water swimming. Meanwhile in the not so frozen North John and Marjory have been able to get out regularly in the kayaks, John has continued to recce the lakeland 3's route to try and shave a few minutes here and there. In view of the very low water temperatures I have taken the step of getting hold of a wetsuit myself, just in case we need to do a bit of a relay. This will be interesting as I haven't actually swum a stroke since early November when I first developed my neck/left arm problem. Thanks to Mike Martin at 2XU for the loan of a magic suit which will surely do all the work for me. Still, how difficult can it be? Speak soon Rich

Get Some Miles In!!

Putting on an event like the Sprint and Standard Tri's at Bucklers over the weekend makes a huge dent in your energy levels!! The stress of the week leading into the race weekend along with the hard physical and mental work involved mean that no meaningful training gets done over a 10 day period. With SwashBuckler coming up in less than a fortnight and then ForestMan three weeks later that leaves only a couple of 3 - 5 day "windows" to crack on and do some longer rides and kayaks and swims. So it's off to Exmoor for a couple of very hilly rides over the next ouple of days and Joann has a long paddle on the Hamble planned for Saturday. Thank-you Roger! Roger Burlinson is coming with us on our Epic to film the event. As well as being a great film-maker......see his ForestMan video via our website www,racenewforest.co.uk....he's also loaned Joanne a kayak for training and using up in Scotland. He's also helping with some coaching! Meanwhile up in the very damp Lake District John and Marjorie are managing to get on to the water at least once a week for some kayaking. Routes have been recce'd and they are definitely better prepared than we are. Will be back with an update once we're back from Devon.....rhymes with Heaven for a good reason!! Rich

Time Moves On!!

I guess you are never "fit enough" or consider yourself adequately prepared for such undertakings. A quick, flying visit up to the lakes at the end of last week was on the one hand reassuring......planning and organisation wise, but simultaneously a bit daunting. Joanne had a dip in Windermere, where she has to swim 10plus miles in a few weeks time and it was a little "fresh". Kayak wise, she and her Mum have practised together for Loch Awe and also some rescue drills for Windermere.....just in case! John's been recce ing the Fells and we've run through the routes/ take over points etc. I have put in a few more bike miles and feel a bit happier....or at least I did until I plotted the route for the first two cycle legs at 310 miles with 26 000 ft of climbing!! Ouch! Once I've finished the detailed route plotting I'll publish a list of each day's targets.

Well, I suppose it's about time I launched this BLOG and the Justgiving site that goes with it.

Over the first 10 days (or so) of July Joanne and I plus her parents will be taking a family holiday with a difference: a trip from John O'Groats to Lands End via the highest mountain ranges in Scotland, Wales and England and the longest Lakes in the same Home Countries!!

The team has a combined age (and probably IQ, given the project) of 230!!!

I'll be knitting the trip together with a spot of cycling: John will be fell -running over the Scottish 4000ft peaks followed by the English and Welsh 3000's: Joanne will be swimming the length of  Windermere and Bala and she and Marjorie will be kayaking the length of Loch Awe.

Roger Burlinson will be filming the whole trip just to prove we did it........assuming we do.....and we'll be trying to raise cash for our local, Downton based Help for Heroes charity.

It's my intention to post daily over the coming weeks and I'll try to give a few more details about how it came about, our preparations and what each section of the trip entails so I'll start with day 1.

At midnight on June 30th ....my 53rd birthday...I'll set off from J o G, destination Cairngorm, a ride of approximately 170 miles. When I get there (hopefully mid-morning, gale-force South Westerly permitting!!) John will set off to tackle the Cairngorm 4000 ft peaks. Cairngorm (4081ft), Ben Macdui (4295), Carn Toul (4249), Sgur an Lochain Uaine (4127) and Braeriach (4252).

Simple.....what could possibly go wrong!!!

Early mention and thanks to Mike Martin and 2XU for once again supporting one of my lunatic schemes with a couple of wetsuits for Joanne......thanks!!!