The Epic Cycle Ride

Apologies

I’ve been away since Thursday at the geekiest event in history, and have literally just walked in the door- I promise I’ll update on everyone’s progress tomorrow, but just to confirm they are still alive!

10pm

“We’ve arrived in Thurso, found the campsite and pitched the tent.  At last, we were beginning to get cabin fever on the train!  It is dark, clear and cold, sky full of stars.  We’re going to do some noodles and hit the sack.  Pleased to have arrived!  Oh, and we’re camped about 50metres away from the sea!”

Update #1

I woke up this morning at a leisurely 8am to this text from Callan, sent at 7:20am:

“All aboard!  Awesome, if occasionally sketchy, ride through the dark on a potholed road which no-one knew but me.  Very surreal.  Pissed off the guard cramming bikes on to the train.  We got into London fine and had no map so chased the 188 bus half the distance before finding a signed cycle route.  Rob’s bike is already broken, gears don’t work properly so first repair session tonight!  Slight panic when station woman told us we wouldn’t get on a train, but she worked for the wrong company so it’s fine.  Now waiting for the four hour service to Edinburgh…loading the bikes on now!”

I love the way that the bike ride hasn’t even started properly yet and they already have bike troubles…

Hello :)

Ooh, WordPress, how snazzy!  *pokes things*

For those of you who don’t know me:  I am Claire, a friend of Callan’s, and I am your source of information for however long these crazy people are away.  I am your blogger, or rather, bloggerette (someone asked me today whether the female equivalent of blogger was bloggess, and I disagreed).

I spent the afternoon and evening with The Gang(TM) today, and there was a mixed feeling of “what the f*ck are we doing?!”/”this is going to be AWESOME!”/”my bum is seriously going to hurt…”

They leave at 5:15am tomorrow, and get to Thurso at around 9pm, I think, if all goes to plan.  Then the cycle down (it’s all downhill, of course, north-south!) begins on Thursday morning bright and early!

And now for a few photos, hopefully the first of many:

And then the manliness set in, nearly killing Helen in the process…

Fingers crossed I’ll have update number 1 tomorrow!

Hello world!

Hello world indeed. This is a little sub-blog for friends and family of those good people participating in the John O’Groats to Lands End cycle ride, this September ’08, so that they can see how we’re getting on! There will also be an area of the site for us cyclists to put kit lists, route suggestions, practise weekends etc on.

3rd of September is D-day, and we’ll move out from Thurso on the morning of the 4th. We’ll then cycle allll the way down, on an unspecified route, to end up at Land’s End at some point in September All told, we’re allowing three weeks to complete the ride, but obviously we’ll keep that flexible until the last minute!