Getting up to date...!

Hello! This is Kate again here - Thank you to the very VERY wonderful Henri Fawcett who was updating the blog while we were on the road, as well as looking after us all so well. We quite honestly couldn't have done it without the support vechicle!

We're now all home, safe and sound, if not a little tired and achy!

Updating the blog (as you will have noticed) was rather difficult while we were away, due to lack of internet connection/battery power/internet cafe's etc etc...

I will post days 4 to 10 as soon as I can, as I'm sure you're all dying to know what we got up to! :o)

As you have probably gathered, WE MADE IT! 340miles completed, and we arrived at Land's End as one big happy group in glorious sunshine - what a treat!

Watch this space! x

Day 3: White Cliffs of Dorset

Despite yesterday’s dramas everyone was in surprisingly high spirits this morning. The route today was a little shorter and (hopefully) simpler, about a third of which took our hardy travellers along the Bournemouth cliffs. We’re camping at the Star and Compass pub in Swanage this evening, which I’m sure will help to encourage a fast reach to the finish today!

Today went like absolute clockwork, the entire team finished the whole thing, and at the final sprint home Roti and Oscar destroyed a ridiculous hill in Swanage with the help of a tow-rope and the sheer brute force which you can only expect from these boys. Ridiculous.

We laid our weary heads in amongst the Star and Compass chickens, overlooking the stunning Dorset coastline, entirely knackered, satisfied, and excited.

Day 2: Into the Wild

An early start for everyone today, except Ob who had to find someone to repair a wheel. A huge thanks a MILLION to City Cycles in Chichester, who on seeing Obs cute little face and hearing his story, did the repairs for free!

Today it was the rain that was against the cyclists, in a big way. I’m talking heavy, sideways, zero visibility epic rain towards the end of the day. The coastline between Portsmouth and Southampton can be bleak at the best of times, but after the first day’s success the team took to the high seas with high spirits. Today’s route had three ferry journeys, meaning a couple of ambitious time constraints. Although the route was fairly straightforward, the insane weather that came in later in the day made things worse. We were hard pressed to cross each ferry before the final one closed, and by the time the last of the team arrived in Hythe, the weather was at it’s worst and totally unsafe to continue in. The van met Oscar just outside Portsmouth, and went on.

Finding a decent campsite also became an issue, as the route had to be shortened and neither time nor weather was on our side. The Pushers took refuge in a warm pub in Hythe while camp was set up, but the difficult day had taken it’s toll on everyone.

Day 1: Set Sail...

After an excited send off at Brighton Pier, to the sound of our very own tartan-clad bagpiper, the group set off as one into the sun. Progress was steady for the first half of the day as the team began to work out a good pace, and all the cyclists met for lunch on Sussex’s windiest beach, Littlehampton. I tell you, today it was all about the wind.

The shore wind forced a few Pushers inland, and subsequently off the planned route, so we had a little more time than expected to set up a warm welcome at Old School House in Itchenor for the first night before everyone arrived. Cyclists started trickling in at about 6, to a full on feast put on by the fabulous Mrs. Fawcett, hot showers and even a warm bed space for everyone. Somewhere in Birdham (only 2 miles from home) Sam, Roti and Chris, with the best of intentions, fell for the old “ask a local for directions” trick, but they made it home eventually!

Oscar’s hand-cycle (which I’m calling ‘the Steed’) gets up to about five or six miles an hour on average. We’ve come to realise that this may mean that he can’t complete every day of the ride, especially when time constraints or conditions are against us. After a three or four mile accidental detour at around five in the afternoon, Oscar and the Steed decided to call it a day and were picked up about six miles from home late afternoon.

The Support Van Diaries

A brief and wholehearted apology to start off with: we’ve been so carried away in the madness of this trip that keeping you guys updated has been difficult. As everything has calmed down now I’ve found a quiet moment in the corner of a seaside café in Swanage, and will upload all our blogs from the previous days’ adventures… enjoy!