Homeward bound

100 miles to Coventry. Sunshine most of the way typically after 2 days of rainshine.

Can highly recommend cooked breakfast at the green wellie stop and the lamb burgers at tebay services.

We have establised that the gladiator movie theme tune is the definative sound track for driving through glencoe. And that it is impossible to sleep in the back of a Citroën Picasso. Particularly with a fenlander behind the wheel!




-- Post From My iPhone

Take me home country roads

Alas, all three teams are now heading south having devoured a
veritable nutritious delight in the form of a fry-up. And bought some
tack. Greg, aka Doormouse, was especially vulnerable to tack purchase,
his eye drawn as if by an eye magnet to some of the worst merchandise
yet invented.

And of course, the weather is now glorious following three days of
more rain than you can shake an umbrella at.

That was the Three Peaks Cycle Challenge. We did it. Woo!

The Fenlander

Sent from my iPhone

That's one small step for a man...

...one giant leap for queasy kind.

At 7.30pm the forward party reached the summit of ben Nevis less than 48 hours from leaving the top of snowdon.

The whole team made it - 2 drivers included despite injuries, detours and other encounters.

A great adventure. We are all shattered and looking forward to proper beds!

See you all tomorrow.

Jc




-- Post From My iPhone

A race against time....

And so it begins...

25miles, an hour and a half to get to Fort William before the last climb, some of the toughest terrain in the country.

No problem.

Team 3 to the rescue.


-- Post From My iPhone

Team 3 Update

Team 3 aka Facebike pick up the virtual baton in about 45 minutes for
the last push towards that tall chap called Benjamin Nevis. Then only
the small task of climbing the UK's highest mountain!

Fenlander

Sent from my iPhone

Team 2 update

After driving a drunken army veteran to hospital, where he promptly
plastered himself to the front entrance, Team 2 left Dumfries at 0300
heading north. Currently just south of Glasgow

2 in the bag!

For most a steep 5km climb. For one intrepid rider a 10km extension after his chain snapped 7 miles from base camp. Comiserations to the stig whose non wheeled transport and lack of sleep let him down. To all those back in the office have a great weekend!





-- Post From My iPhone

Badger waste disposal?

Don't get many of these in Coventry!




-- Post From My iPhone

Dark and scary...

Team 1 have just finished their leg. It was dark. Very dark. It was wet. Very wet. And we won't talk about the hills. Ever. But our work is done for the night and we're back in England. So we're heading north to wait for the others at Scafell Pike in the Lakes. And we're now going to go to sleep. Hopefully except the driver...

The Nags Head

Team 2 are attempting to sleep in a pub car park close to Ellesmere
Port. Oh, and it is raining..... In fact it hasn't stopped raining
since we started.

National Brummy Day

Today is National Brummy Speaking Day or something equally regal so,
in honour of our driver who hails from the National Democratic
Republic of Acocks Green, our Star In The Reasonably-Priced (But
Ultimately Woeful) Car, Team 3 says...

Bostin'

All day breakfast

It's now 1am, I'm pretty sure that's not fresh.....sod it...we'll take
4!!

1 down!

1.45 to the top of snowdon. Visibility zero. Great fun!




-- Post From My iPhone

Wales!

3.40pm: Team 1 crossed the border into Wales on our way to the start line...

And we're off!

Team 3 checking in...

After a brief stop at JC's to pick up a bike rack, we're Snowdon bound.

Oh did I mention the Citroen has a 'nifty' iPhone holder....apparently you can call shotgun for the backseats!!

Hunty





-- Post From My iPhone

We're off!

Team 1: Last to leave. Even after a stop at Morrisons for Jaffa Cakes and then a trip back to hand in my car keys (doh!) we're ahead of teams 2 & 3. Apparently team 2 have picked up a 1970s Raleigh Chopper for Greg. Oh this is going to be fun...

We're off

Well Team Badger is moving...... To the bike shop to buy Greg a
bike...... Don't ask

How much packing

Just how much stuff do you need for a 40 hour trip! Hope the rest of team facebike are travelling light otherwise the poor citroen is gonna struggle.

Weather forecast

Rain.  Followed by showers.  Interspersed with drizzle.

As Rob, said, "It must be summer.  The rain's falling vertically."

Snowdon..... the warm up

Mountain number one.... and no we won't be using the train.

Dedicated followers of fashion

While we're in the mood, more thanks to Serigraphia, digital print and design gurus extraordinaire, for supplying these rather spiffing t-shirts for the team:

Each one has a personalised back with the team member's nickname on it. I'm very pleased to report that the 'FATBOYFAT' one comes in XL.

Liquid refreshment

A big "Thank You" to the good people who employ my wife. Not only do they (largely) keep her out of trouble, but they've supplied us with drinks for our challenge:

Mainly bottled water and some of those isotonic sports drink thingies. Plus some Pepsi Max because, well, you have to rock out sometimes.

We will most likely be broken men at the end of this; sleep-deprived physical wrecks. But at least we'll be wonderfully hydrated physical wrecks.

Just like Lance Armstrong

Greg, looking bothered, recently.

The following conversation between Greg and Ian was overheard the other day:

Ian: So have you got hold of a bike yet, Greg?
Greg: Yes, I'm borrowing it from my brother.
Ian: So what's it like?
Greg: I think it's made from solid steel. It's a bit heavy.
Ian: Don't you think that might cause you a problem? You're going to be cycling up hills.
Greg: Mmm. Yes. The tyres won't help, either.
Ian: Has it still got mountain bike tyres?
Greg: Yep.
Ian: Don't you think you should change them for road tyres?
Greg: Nope.

We're going to enjoy this.

Fundraising - another good cause

The previous post about fundraising reminded me that there's an other good cause being supported by all this effort.

James P is raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK, in memory of his father who sadly passed away last month. The rest of the team is right behind James with this, and if you'd like to support him, his Justgiving page can be found here.

Trickling in

Before we get too carried away with plans and things, just a quick reminder of why we're doing all this.

The funds are beginning to come in for Age Concern & Help the Aged. And if you haven't yet donated, you know what to do.

"Fellers, I got a plan..."

Jeremy has been working hard on the plan. Or, as it should be written, The Plan.

Those of you who were watching last year will remember The LEJOG Plan. Using most of the colours available on MS Excel, it determined, down to the last minute and final mile, everyone's place. Who was cycling, who was driving, who rested, who wolfed down Jaffa cakes. It was more than mere organisation; it was a work of art.

And it was out of date within the first three hours.

Not Jeremy's fault, we'd just got all excited and pushed on. As a result we were way ahead of the plan. Jeremy is determined that this shall not happen again, so we have fixed handover points between each team. So it's supposed to go something like this:

Climb Snowdon.

Team 1 ride to Ellesmere Port then drive to Wasdale Head to sleep.

Team 2 drive to Ellesmere Port, rest, ride to Lancaster, drive to Wasdale Head, rest.

team 3 drive to Lancaster, sleep, ride to Wasdale Head.

Climb Scafell Pike.

Team 1 ride to Dumfries then drive to Glencoe to sleep.

Team 2 drive to Dumfries, rest, ride to Loch Lomond, drive to Glencoe, rest.

Team 3 drive to Loch Lomond, sleep, ride to Nevis - joined by other riders at Glencoe for last 20 miles if they wish (this is meant to be a great, mainly downhill, stretch that everyone wants a crack at).

Climb Ben Nevis.

Beer.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Accommodation. Or the lack, thereof.

OK, now it's getting worrying.

I thought Richard was joking. but it appears that we are going au naturel.

I should rephrase that, as it's clearly a disturbing image. What I mean to say is that until we get to the end, we're not sleeping under roofs.

A couple of the guys in my team are talking about tents. I'm trying to see just how far back the seats in a Citroen Picasso can go.

Which perhaps leads to the second disturbing image in the same post.

A worrying moment

"Oh yes," said Richard, "I think it's only right. Otherwise you're just going to be sitting around, aren't you?"

Jon covered himself in glory last year by abandoning his driving duties temporarily to ride a bike over the Scottish border. Us other drivers thought this was a poor show.

"Yes, I really think we drivers should volunteer to climb at least one of the mountains."

Steve and I are going to have to have a word.

Team C

Jeremy C.

Ian H.

Andy D.

Phil S (team C driver).

Clearly a team of talents. However, we're not certain if the talents in question will be of any use when it comes to the actual 'riding and climbing' bit of the challenge. Three out of the four team members are confirmed iPhone addicts so will probably spend the entire time cooing over their latest cool applications. The fourth team member might be merely an embarrassing Brummie, but he does at least have blogging privileges.

Team B

Tom W.

James W (some say).

Greg R.

Steve W (team B driver).

Another heady mix. We're not too certain what it's a mix of, but it's a mix, nevertheless. Encouragingly, Greg hasn't touched a bike since last September. But he tells us he has been training for the mountaineering by climbing stairs a bit.

Team A

Rob L.

Richard F.

James P.

Jon S (team A driver).

Introducing a new Queasy Rider for this year, James P. JP is a keen mountain cyclist, to the extent that the only helmet he possesses is a full-face job. We think he might be trying to out-Stig the Stig. As for the rest of the team, a healthy mix of iron-willed monosyllabic determination and howling insanity. A good mix, then.

Team selection

This time we're going to have a degree of science in team selection, we said.

We need to have a balance of skills and experience in each team, we said.

We should carefully consider the different characters involved - everyone's strengths and weaknesses - and make sure everything fits together. We said.

"OK, someone write down the names on slips of paper. Who's got a hat?"

Creature comforts

"This time it will be different," intoned Richard.

I put down my cup of tea. Greg swung round from whatever fiendish thing it was he'd been doing to a spreadsheet. There was expectation in the air. Richard continued.

"We faffed around on the LEJOG last year. All that nonsense with Travel Lodges and the like. Quite apart from the cost, they took us off the route a little bit. So I think we should keep it simple this year. Who's for camping?"

There was a pause.

Ever since a week in North Wales in the early 80s, sitting in a rain-lashed ex-army tent in what was apparently an open-air wind-tunnel, I have proudly avoided the alleged delights of camping. Greg, veteran of several music festivals, was perhaps marginally more enthusiastic but was still hardly bubbling over with delight.

There was another pause.

Richard sensed the tension. Employing the diplomatic skills for which he is universally famed, he went on.

"Well, I think it's a good idea...."

The reason why we're doing this

As if "mucking about on bikes and up hills" wasn't enough of a reason.

This year we aim to raise funds for yet another good cause - Age Concern & Help the Aged.

OK, I know that sounds quite a bit like two good causes, but they are merging to form one organisation. Between them, they do a lot of good work for older people. Campaigning, direct support, financial assistance, there's a lot they can offer.

At first, you might think, not the most of exciting of causes. But we all get old, we all know someone who might need their help. Spend a little time, like I have, understanding the issues that they're working to overcome, and hopefully you'll agree.

And if you'd like to help, there's now a place you can go.

The Plan. Well, a plan, anyway.

So here's how it's going to work.

As per last year, we'll be needing three teams, each with three cyclists and one driver (this is where I'll hopefully come in, my physical prowess not having developed much, if at all).

Thursday 16th July will see us driving out from Coventry to get to Snowdon. Once there, all nine riders will climb and descend. Apparently there's a very nice caff up there now.

Once everyone's back, one rider will start off, heading in the direction of the Lake District. He'll be replaced some two hours later by rider two, then a further two hours later by rider three. The second team takes over from rider three and the cycle (no pun intended) starts all over. One team three has finished its stint it hands over to team one all over again.

This way everyone gets a cycling phase, a rest phase and a 'driving like maniacs to get into position' stage.

When we reach the next peak all nine riders, no matter what they're supposed to be doing at the time, have to get kitted up and climb. No-one's mentioned anything about the drivers' climbing responsibilities yet.

Which suits me just fine.

A decision

The Three Peaks Challenge it is, then. For those of you don't know, the Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks, respectively, in England, Wales and Scotland. The Peaks are:

• Snowdon (Wales - 1085m)
• Scafell Pike (England - 978m)
• Ben Nevis (Scotland - 1344m)

And here's the map:


View Three Peaks Challenge in a larger map

Normally the Challenge involves completing all three in 24 hours which, given there is 450 miles of driving, makes it difficult enough.

So we're going to cycle between them instead. This will push the event out to 48 hours (we're not superhuman) but the combination of cycling and climbing makes it hugely, erm, Challenging.

Another year, another meeting

We're suckers for tradition. So there was really only one place the first 2009 meeting of the Queasy Riders could happen. The pub.

"What are we going to do this time round?"

The suggestions came thick and fast.

John O'Groats to Land's End?

Dover to Cape Wrath?

Canoeing from Coventry to the Coast?

Five capitals (London/Edinburgh/Belfast/Dublin/Cardiff)?

Whatever it is we do, I'm still not getting on a bike if I can help it.

Oh no not again

"OK," said Richard, "what do we do this year?"