Day 10: Newquay to Lands End!

As it was just a short day, I woke up a little later and enjoyed a 'Full Cornish breakfast' (full English) at the guest house. I was in no rush this morning!

At roughly 9:30 I set off on my leisurely 45 mile ride down to Lands End. Mr Trevelli who owned the guest house gave me a £5 donation towards my Macmillan fundraising and wished me luck on my last day.

Straight out of Newquay the climbs started, but not so many of them today, and they were getting less steep towards the finish line.

Down through Redruth and across to Penzance, I bounced across the coasts until I reached the coastal cycle path along the edge of Penzance beach. At this point I stopped for a salmon sandwich at a habour-side bistro. I didn't want to get to the end before Anna!

I decided to take the slightly more scenic route round to Lands End, rather than the slightly scarier A30 route. It meant a couple more steep climbs, but allowed Anna to get there a few minutes before me to take some photos.

I crossed the finish line and Anna took some photos and handed me a medal saying Two Tyred JOGLE. I'd finished, and cycled another two countries!

We had a good walk around the Lands End visitors centre (though its almost a theme park!) and took plenty of pictures of the fantastic views. Then it was into the car and back to Penzance to our fancy B&B for the night.

I'm glad to have finished and completed cycling across another two countries! The hills down here in Devon and Cornwall were probably the trickiest parts, but made up for by the excellent coastal views!

As ever, please donate to Macmillan via my JustGiving link: www.justgiving.com/TwoTyredJOGLE Many thanks!

Miles today: 47.9
Grand total miles: 907.6

Day 9: Barnstaple to Newquay

I woke up hungry! Yesterday's fish and chips obviously hadn't filled me up as much as I'd thought! I started the day with the cooked breakfast provided by the guest house, yum! At breakfast I chatted to a Dutch guy who was cycling Harwich to Plymouth, then getting the train back from there. I wished him well on his travels.

I took the bike path round to Bideford, where I met another 4 Dutch touring cyclists who were also doing the same route as my friend at breakfast, but heading all the way to Lands End like me.

After reaching Bideford I joined the A39 to Bude, followed by a short trip round to Widemouth bay where I stopped for a locally made Cornish pasty for lunch, delicious! From there I joined the coastal road, which quickly became incredibly steep; up to 30% gradient in places! I had to walk some sections of the climbs as the front wheel of my bike was lifting off the ground with every pedal stroke, not good!

After a short hike up the cliffs I found my way back to the A39 for a stint down towards Bodmin. Now the climbs were more manageable, but still very steep. I glanced Bodmin and headed on downhill towards Newquay.

On one of the long steady downhills, the driver of a white BMW coming the other way decided to make a quick turn across my lane right in front of me. I had to brake hard to avoid him. My language was colourful. The first and hopefully only close shave of the trip!

My route into Newquay took me right past the end of the 'Newquay airhub' runway and up one more surprise climb before I reached the town centre and found my way to the Trevellis guest house for my stay for the night.

After showering and giving my cycling gear a rinse in the sink, I headed into town to find a 'pie night' carvery at the Griffin inn in town. Turkey and cranberry pie was a little out of season, but very tastey, plus I ate my fair share of vegetables! I then went for a short walk over to the beach to watch the fantastic sunset.

Tomorrow is the last day and only a short one to finish, with 45 miles to cover before the finish line at Lands End. Nearly there!

Miles today: 84.7
Total miles: 859.7

Day 8: Bristol to Barnstaple

It was a cold start to the day, with a very fine mist in the air as I escaped Bristols maze of smooth cycle paths.

Shortly after leaving the city, I started climbing gradually towards the top of Cheddar Gorge. This climb becsme very steep, on one of the roads that Tom has warned me about; it was incredibly steep! But after the pain came a wonderful fast descent through the very idyllic Cheddar Gorge, dodging tourists along the way.

I stopped for lunch in small village called Mark as Cheddar was swamped with tourists (even on a Tuesday!). The sun had come out and it warmed up nicely for the afternoon. A quick sandwich later and I was back on the road.

The route became a big flatter for a while after Cheddar, but as I neared Exmoor the hills started to grow again. Eventually the hills became near mountains, very steep and very long. It was a tough slog up the side of Exmoor, but eventually they gave way to some very steep descents, where I regained some time.

The hills began to pick on me now, each one threatening to be the last but it wasn't  for quite a while till I could see the coast. During one of the last descents, an elderly lady flagged me down and asked if I was after sponsorship. She gave me £8 for Macmillan, saying she was a supporter and that she used to cycle too, very kind!

With about 8 miles to go I'd finally suffered through all the climbs and had a long run down into Barnstaple. The road was a bit bumpy, and it was a bit of a challenge to avoid the potholes at the speed I was going!

I made it to the Cresta guest house, my stay for the night, but nobody was in! After about 10 minutes the owner came round the corner, fish and chips in hand! After getting sorted in my room, I copied the owner and went to get my own fish and chips, I needed something filling!

In total I climbed nearly 7500ft today, up to a gradient of 20% in some places. Hopefully less tomorrow as I follow the coast round to Newquay

Miles today: 98.7
Total miles: 775

Day 7: Shrewsbury to Bristol

Luc and Leah left some bread out for toast in the morning as they both had to head out early. When I woke they had both gone, but their cat was standing guard and watching me through the catflap!

I got my things together and set off, heading south out of Shrewsbury along the A458. Shortly out of the town, I started a fairly tough climb up into the Shropshire hills. The first climb was very steep, but that was by far the worst.

On Luc's orders, I stopped in Much Wenlock at the butchers to buy myself a pork pie for lunch! Very very tastey! A top tip!

After the Shropshire hills, the rest of the day was fairly flat, with a few rolling hills between the towns. I cycled through Worcester, Tewkesbury and Gloucester before rejoining the A38 down towards Bristol.

I'd made a bit of a mess of my route planning today. I'd routed myself off the A38 and up a bridleway to get across to the smaller B roads. The bridleway was very rough and unrideable so I had to walk the small section up to the next road. Still, the shade was a welcome relief as the sun had been beating down all day.

The minor B roads weaved through some small villages and eventually led me to the Avon cycleway, a fantastic cycle highway that runs into the centre of Bristol and out to Bath. This would take me to the back of Tom and Leahs house (friends from uni) where I'd be staying for the night.

After a long shower (which was painful due to the sunburns) we headed out to the local pub for dinner and the pub quiz. It's tricky to think of the right answers when you're knackered!

Tomorrows ride is shorter and takes me round the corner to Barnstaple, but I've still got quite a few big hills to contend with heading over the Mendips and Exmoor.

Miles today: 112.1
Total miles: 676.3

Day 6: Preston to Shrewsbury

I had a late start today, partly because it was a Sunday, and partly because my warmshowers host in Shrewsbury couldn't meet until 6:30pm so I had plenty of time to get there.

Heading south out of Preston, I aimed for Wigan, trying to navigate the A and B roads out of town. After a few missed turns, I reached Wigan and stopped for a bite to eat. No rush today!

It was a sunny start to the day, but the clouds rolled in halfway through the day and the wind picked up a bit, making it a bit chilly later. Luckily, the sun came out again a couple of hours before I reached Shrewsbury.

Down through Warrington, the ride was a little hillier than I'd expected, with plenty of ups and downs, rather than a big up and big down as I'd been used to the past few days. The extra wind made it a bit more challenging, but I made it to Shrewsbury with plenty of time to spare. I headed for the park at the bottom of town and waited for Luc to get home.

Whilst I was waiting in the park, a man in a giraffe onesie came over to me to tell me he was on a 'random mission' and asked if I could take a photo of him on his phone. I obliged and he thanked me before heading on his way. I honestly have no idea what he was on about!

My host for tonight was a couple called Luc and Leah who I found using the warmshowers site. I met Luc outside the Wheatsheaf pub in town and whilst there entertained the locals with where I'd cycled from and where I was heading. They were impressed, but still called me a madman! One guy came over who apparently owned roughly 20 £10 bikes that he uses for getting the to pub, but then forgets where he's left them!

For dinner we headed to a small pub called the Coach and Horses for some delicious food and a local Shropshire ale. We chatted about touring and about Luc's upcoming tour round France and what he should take with him. A genuinely friendly and exciting couple, they seemed to know half the town on the walk back!

Tomorrows the long one, down to Bristol, so I've got to get up early. With the schools mostly going back tomorrow I hope I can avoid the parent drivers!

Miles today: 87.8
Total miles: 564.2

Day 5: Carlisle to Preston

The guesthouse in Carlisle offered a full English cooked breakfast which got me going in the morning. Then it was out to follow the A6 south out of town.

The roads were steadily climbing as I cycled between the lake district and the Yorkshire dales. The climb would take me over to Kendal, but shortly before the last (and steepest) climb, my gear cable snapped and I had no spare. The nearest bike shop was 17 miles further along the road. I had no choice but to battle up and over the last big climb in my highest gear, pain!

After the painful climbs came a long descent into Kendal, a pretty little town  famous for its mint cake. There I dropped into Evans cycles to buy and fit some new gear cable. They were very helpful and I got my Tifosi ship-shape again. I set off into town for a quick bite to eat, before carrying on my route.

After the big hills in the morning, the rest of the day was fairly flat. After a little while I ended up on a towpath that was pretty bumpy and, being a sunny Saturday, had a lot of walkers to dodge. I decided to escape back to the road for the rest of my journey so I could keep a constant pace.

As I neared Preston, I headed in the direction of a Joshs house (a friend from uni). I found what I thought would be the quickest route was actually blocked by some gates, and that Google maps was wrong - you cant cycled through there! I skirted around the muddy footpath around the edge of the house I couldn't cycle through, and eventually made it to Joshs place for the night.

For food tonight we went to a curry house in one of the local villages. It was quite a fancy place, and I felt a little out of place in my shorts and flip flops whilst everyone else was dressed up! Still, the food was good and very filling!

Tomorrow I'll head down the Welsh border towards Shrewsbury. Hopefully this sunny weather will follow me all the way!

Miles today: 91.9
Total miles: 476.4

Day 4: Glasgow to Carlisle

My alarm woke me up just before 8 this morning. The easyhotel room didn't have any windows, so I wouldn't have know it was daylight outside! After a bit of breakfast, I got kitted up and set off through Glasgow heading south.

After a few wrong turns in Glasgow's grid style city full of one way roads, I began heading out of town. Once out of the suburbs, I joined the A74 that would run me all the way to Carlisle. The road was ghostly quiet, probably because the majority of traffic uses the M74 that runs alongside my route. The A road was very rough; the surface hadn't been redone in quite a few years. Parts of the road had separate bike paths, which were often better than the road, but for the majority the bike lane was just a faintly marked metre wide bumpy bit at the side of the road.

There weren't nearly as many hills today, which made the riding quick and fairly easy. During one of the gentle climbs, I saw a C130 Hercules doing low flying exercises through the valley, quite a sight. Unfortunately it was too quick to get a photo of.

The A74 took me down to Gretna Green, a border village known for marriages. Apparently one in every six Scottish marriages happen here! Some of the signs on the buildings boast they have performed over 10000 marriages! Its almost a little 'Vegas'.

Just on the edge of the village, I stopped for the obligatory photo with the sign. 'Welcome to England'. I had crossed Scotland, from top to bottom and east to west.

Just a few short miles left and I reached the centre of Carlisle and found my B&B for the night. As I got to my room, a short rain shower had started, I got here in perfect time! Dinner was a cheap Chinese buffet, and a quick walk round the town to help loosen the legs, before getting back to relax in the room.

Scotland done! Tomorrow, I head further south, to Preston.

Miles today: 98.8
Total miles: 384.5