Chute! Chute!

Wednesday 29th June 2011
Day 14
The Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge
Dunnet Head / Thurso to Dornoch
69 miles
Posted by the Secret Secretary

Every cycle tour offers scope for a few tumbles and spills. "Chute! Chute!", "Crash! Crash!", is a familiar cry from the commentators on the Tour de France. So it didn't come as too much of a surprise when Les 'phoned home earlier than usual yesterday afternoon with bad news: he's had a fall, one that has resulted in the classic cyling injury, a broken collar bone. Ouch! The bike was undamaged. Not even a scratch, but Les is out of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge; he's flying home from Inverness today (Thursday 30th June) and won't be on his bike again for a few weeks at least. It's very disappointing news as he has been enjoying finding some form again on the bike. Les takes over yesterday's story:

"It was overcast and grey when we left Thurso; ominous early signs maybe. The grey soon turned into hard rain and before long we were all decked out in our wet weather gear. It was now bucketing down, occasionally with stinging hail. Fortunately the rain eased but it was still dull. Before levaving Thurso the Team had decided that everyone should ride at their own pace. Nigel and I set off together, got into a groove and were banging along quite nicely back down the same coastal road that we had ridden the day before. The North Sea was now on our left. On a good day, the coastal scenery is a real treat but yesterday we were just focussed on our lunchtime rendez-vous with Liz and Geoff at the 'Challenge Arms', now at Loch Fleet (where we had seen the Osprey). Needless to say we missed lunch! We were bowling along at 25 mph when I hit a rough patch and the wet white line on the inside of the road and... down I went. Ouf! That hurt. No damage to the bike but I'd hit the deck hard. Happily I was wearing my helmet (as I always do). Nigel was with me and was able to 'phone Viv who in turn phoned Liz and Geoff. The message was quickly relayed and pretty soon Liz and Geoff were there in their caravan (the afore mentioned hostelry), having packed up and abandoned the Team's lunch. I was then ferried to a nearby cottage hospital where I was strapped up and dispatched with strong painkillers and declared 'hors de combat' for cycling, for the immediate future at least. It's very disappointing. I've been riding so well and can't now complete The Challenge, even if I have completed another Land's End to John O'Groats. And we were so near to our destination for the day, less than 10 miles away from our digs for the night in Dornoch. We should have had an early finish after lunch. As it was, everyone's day was thrown into chaos all because of a moment's misfortune. I'm now booked onto a flight back to London Gatwick from Inverness. Hey ho!"

Les and Nigel
"got into a groove and were banging along quite nicely".

So Les crashes out of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge but the Team rides on. They are now down to 4 as yesterday morning Chris also bade farewell and, as was always planned, caught the train, with his bike, back to Ripon, LeJog in the bag. Team Leader David and his remaining riders, Mark, Neal and Nigel carry on with their route south and west towards Cambletown and then, after a ferry ride across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland, down through Ireland before returning to mainland Britain and heading east again back to London. But even if he is now grounded and for the time being recovering at home, Les will be following the Team's progress very closely via the Internet and the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge website.

Click here to go directly to the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Website and follow the Team's progress.

And don't forget to tune into The Wobbly Weasel for more follow-up reports, albeit from a distant perspective!

Been there, done that!

Tuesday 28th June 2011
Day 13 or, if you are superstitious, Day 12b
or maybe even Day 14*
The Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge
Helmsdale to Dunnet Head
80 miles
Posted by the Secret Secretary

Only the Brave !

Dunnet Head: a cheerful tombstone (!) welcomes travellers daring to venture this far north.

*Day 13, 12b or 14?
If you include last Friday's (24th June) rest day in Stirling, it was (yesterday) 14 days since the Pedal for Parkinson's Team embarked on its Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge, making Tuesday 28th June Day 13 of cycling or, for the superstitious amongst us, Day 12b. However you count it, yesterday saw the Team complete the first of its geographic targets: having left Lizard Point in Cornwall, the most southerly point of mainland Britain, the riders were now at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of the mainland. From Helmsdale, where the Team started this final ride of the first leg of its Odyssey yesterday morning (and according to the Roadbook) this meant a 64 mile ride. 64 miles plus a few bonus miles to take in John O'Groats, presumably because it's there.

Land's End to John O'Groats is of course a classic long distance ride for British cyclists at least. Les, Neil, Dave and Nigel have already ridden the course, again to raise money for Parkinson's but the route is new for Mark and Chris. For this reason, the Team did a prologue stage from Land's End to Lizard Point at the beginning of this year's Tour so that yesterday, by making the detour to John O'Groats, everyone could say that he has ridden LeJog!

Look John O'Groat's up on the Internet and you might come across Clement Panhard on the Web**, as its name suggests: a website dedicated to the Clement Panhard, "a veteran car beyond its time". The website tells us that: "in July 1901 John Stirling of Stirling's Motor Carriages drove a Clement Panhard from John O'Groats to Land's End in 59 hours and 15 minutes to prove the motor car's resilience. [...] Today the route between the two ends of Britain covers 850 miles and would take approximately 16 hours, back in 1901 it took a little longer." Travel in the other direction on bike and it takes a little longer still but the mission is almost the same - to prove the rider's resilience, particularly in the case of the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team and the 4 riders who have Parkinson's: Team Leader Dave, master mountaineer Mark, veteran LeJogger Neil and... Les, who have been joined on this year's adventure by friends Nigel and Chris on their bikes and, in the support vehicles, (at various times) Jean, Viv, Liz and Geoff (and later) Stuart and Ann.

The Parkinson's is of course manageable to a degree through careful medication. Yesterday Les, maybe because of the Midnight Sun, was late with his first morning dose of anti-wobble pills and consequently had to wait behind at the hostel in Helmsdale for his legs to switch on before taking to the road on his bike. As Les has been proving himself to be the closet speed merchant in the Team, this was an opportunity for everyone else to get a head start at a more civilised pace. Les would catch them up, for sure...

Speedy Gonzales takes over the story: "Yesterday was a good day, clear blue skies and mild. With the detour to John O'Groats there were 80 miles to ride, all the way on the spectacular A9. Despite the fine weather at the start of the day, it had clouded over by the time we approached John O'Groats; the overcast weather only added to the village's usual dreich*** demeanour. It got very cold as we flaffed around for the commemorative team photos - part of the ritual of the LeJog experience. Then later, as we approached Dunnet Head the clouds parted to let the sunshine break through and it warmed up appreciably making a sunny backdrop for more team photos near the lighthouse before we then made our way to our digs in Thurso. Stage one of our mission accomplished."

(Above) Driving from John O'Groats to Lands End in
a Clement Panhard: a demonstration of resilience!**
Yesterday in grey, cloudy weather,
John O'Groats no doubt looked as dreich as it did in 1901.

So, having achieved the first target of this Double End-to-End ride, the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team can now say "Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt." Only, if they did get the proverbial tee-shirt modesty dictates that they don't flaunt it. Take a look at the Team Photo, taken supposedly for posterity at Dunnet Head and now on ostentatious display on the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Website (contain yourself, it's just a click away - follow the link immediately below). Fathers with daughters, be afraid, be very afraid! Oh Lord! Talk about posing.

Click here to see the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team photo at Dunnet Head (there is probably a law against this):

Cyclists Come Wannabe Rock Stars

**Clement Panhard on the Web

The Clement Panhard

***Dreich - chiefly Scottish, almost onomatopoeic word meaning "dreary."

A Revel in the Rain

Sunday 26th June 2011
Day 11
The Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge
Blair Athol near Pitagowen (Perth and Kinross) to Inverness
80+ miles

Click on the map to view a larger image of yesterday's route.*

Posted by the Secret Secretary

Whilst the Glastonbury revellers were yesterday donning their flowery wellies to dance to the dulcet tones of Beyonce in deep mud that, after the torrential rains of Friday, had now, in the very warm summer temperatures of England's mini heatwave, turned to a chocolaty goo, the Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team were making their soggy way northwards through yet more heavy rain across the Cairngorms, from Blair Athol near Pitagowen to Inverness.

The riders were able to make an early start for the 11th stage of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge: an early start in cool, drizzly weather. The drizzle gradually turned into rain that then got heavier and heavier until it was, as Les reports, "bucketing down". At least if the weather was testing the route was fairly straightforward following the Sustrans Route** along the A9. There were no opportunities to get lost, it was one straight road all the way, up over the Cairngorms, but at times the Sustrans Route was bordering on the 'all terrain' category as it followed its path along the old road and through the bottom of a disused quarry where the road surface was a mixture of hard dirt or tarmac covered in sand, all of which was now turning into Glastonbury goo in the wet weather. It was a wet, dirty ride and Les for one was at times chilled to the core with cold. He has of course experienced difficult conditions like this before when he rode the LEJOG with the Old Portlians' Cycle club in 2008***. The route the riders took three years' ago over the Cairngorms some how managed to take in Glen Shee and was much bumpier than yesterday's course, which offered a much softer approach to Inverness, even if the weather was as grim as it could be. Curiously enough, even with just the A9 to follow, the Roadbook still underestimated the mileage for the day, which grew from an anticipated 80 to 90 miles at the finish early in the evening when the Team checked into their lodgings in an Inverness boarding house with polka dot (almost) wallpaper (for its two wheeled climbers maybe?). Another long, wet ride but the Team still have a full complement of 6. "Everyone is riding well, especially Nigel who is in contention for the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey". Just as well given that there has been plenty of climbing on this Tour.

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Les on Skype
Les looking very clean and dry after yesterday's cold,
soggy revel in the rain and mud
across the heights of the Cairngorms.

Today, Day 12 of the Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge continues north into "the badlands" across the wild, bleak landscape of the Sutherland moors to Helmsdale. The ride shouldn't be as hilly as the Cairngorms and according to the Roadbook it should be a little shorter at just under 60 miles. With a bit of luck, there may even be a little less rain.

***

* The Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Website includes a tracking page and interactive maps to help supporters follow the Team. Click on the link here to go straight to the website:

http://pedalforparkinsons.co.uk/maps.aspx

** To find out more about Sustrans, click here:

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/

*You can read about Les' 2008 ride from Land's End to John O'Groats with the Old Portlians in his book "From Wits' End to John O'Groats." Proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Cure Parkinson's Trust. There's more about the book in the right hand column or click here:

http://theweaselonwheels.blogspot.com/p/from-wits-end-to-john-ogroats.html

Le vélo, c'est la souffrance!

Thursday 23rd June 2011
Day 9
The Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End Cycle Challenge
Moffat to Stirling (Scotland) 70 miles

Posted by the Secret Secretary.

The Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team is now in Scotland after crossing the border and encountering some particularly inhospitable weather on Wednesday. But if the weather could then only be described as disagreeable, the warm welcome the Team received at The Buchan Guest House in Moffat*, where the Team was staying for the night, more than compensated.

Rested after a comfortable night's sleep, the Team was yesterday morning hoping for more clement weather as the riders embarked on their 70 mile ride from Moffat to the university town of Stirling, in central Scotland. Unfortunately, the forces of nature were not in an obliging mood and whilst the skies cleared a little for the mid-morning tea stop in Albington, the break in the precipitations was short-lived and deceptive: the early morning drizzle was soon replaced by progressively wetter and wetter weather and the Team was once again riding in torrential rain. Under different conditions the Scottish borders would have afforded some fine scenery for those travelling on two wheels but yesterday the countryside was shrouded under a low, grey, dismally wet cloud and largely hidden from view. The Team then had to find a way through the rather grim, urban lanscape of the Glasgow-Edinburgh corridor. It was as bleak, or to use the Scottish synonym, as dreich as the weather and made for tedious riding. Not surprisingly then, it was with some relief that the Team finally arrived in Stirling at 7 o'clock last night. The bike computers had logged some 86 miles. Again, the estimated mileage for the day had been short. The extra miles and the misearble weather made for a tedious day's riding but if Les reports feeling a little weary last night the prospect of a day off today is reassuring.

Whilst in Stirling, the Team are staying in a 4 Star Youth Hostel in the old historic quarter, just next door (some might say appropriately enough) to the old jail. Today the inmates are being "let out on good behaviour". A day to recuperate and maybe do a bit of laundry! The R&R started well last night with an evening meal in a Thai restaurant in town where the Team and its dedicated Support Crew (Viv, Liz and Geoff) were rewarded a free pudding of sweet rice and mango and chocolates. And after the antics of Wednesday, Mark too is in ebullient mood and reports that he is "in a class of his own when it comes to the hills." Of course, in France, the spiritual home of cycling, there is an adage amongst cyclists: "Le vélo, c'est la souffrance!" or "To cycle is to suffer!"

A bit of R & R
After 9 days of cycling, the Pedal for Parkinson's Team
are resting at the Youth Hostel in Stirling.
(Above ) "The 6 Day Cyclist" (1937) by Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

* The Buchan Guest House, Moffat: The facilities at the Buchan guest house include a drying room. Chris and Brenda Wallace often welcome cyclists on their way from Land's End to John O'Groats and understand the laundry needs of these particular travellers! To find out more about the guest house, go to:
http://www.buchanguesthouse.co.uk/