More kit.

Well i am back at Church farm- Sixpenny Handley for the BPC weekend static meet. At the last weekend meet i saw the neo air mattress that Mike had and almost the first thing i did on my return home was to purchase my own. On that meet it was the first outing for my new NALLO 3 GT TUNNEL TENT. What did Mike do when he got home? Buy one of course! That weekend meet cost Mike a lot more than it cost me. The photo today is of Mike and Chris with their NEO AIR MATTRESSES and behind them their new NALLO TENT.

HERITAGE / CYCLE - LEJOG

I have been in touch with Ian and his brother and I am pleased to report that their ride is running to plan.

On Monday they left Land's End in the morning and achieved CAMELFORD for their first night's stop.
Tuesday's pedalspinning got them as far as CREDITON and today they have arrived at GLASTONBURY which is where I had hoped to meet up with them.

They are both feeling tired as the stresses and strains of multi day cycle riding begin to sap their energy but they are trying to offset that with plenty of malt loaf -the cyclists friend.

Tomorrow they will turn a corner. After BATH they will start to head north as they leave the West Country section of the ride. This first section is known as one of the toughest parts of the cycle LEJOG -being so hilly at the very beginning before you have managed to get into the tempo of things.

Support them at www.justgiving.com/heritagecycle

Back Home.

Well I am now back home following my sudden illness whilst on my cyclepack. When Anne arrived I had packed everything up for loading in the car. I had stripped the bike of it's wheels /mudguards and rack ready for the bike to be packed into it's various travel bags. I am always amazed that we manage to pack all the kit into such a tiny car as the Peugeot 107. (It just confirms to me that we did the right thing when we downsized our car this year).

When we got back to Poole -Anne took me to the hospital for a full check over. Because of my medication any variations in my health have to be checked out. We arrived at the hospital at 1515hrs and didn't leave till almost 2200hrs.

I won't bore you with all the medical details but I feel a lot better now and I know I did the right thing by ending my trip when I did. It's a great pity that I did not manage to meet up with Ian Heritage and his brother as planned as I was only 15 miles from our rendezvous point when I was taken ill. I am in touch with Ian and will keep you updated on his progress as he makes his way up the country on his LEJOG. I will make the first posting later today.

As for the Backpackers static meet this coming weekend at Sixpenny Handley- I WILL BE THERE.

Game stopped

I was taken ill during the night. Probably something to do with the medication i am on. Severe dizziness with blurred vision and a very light headed feeling. No i hadn't been drinking! This morning i still feel unwell. I have phoned Anne to come and pick me up. While i wait for her i will break camp and strip the bike ready for the bike bag to make loading in the car easier. Obviously with dizziness and loss of balance it is impossible to continue on my bike. I AM GUTTED!

Moved on

I have now moved on for night two. I am now camping at Wincanton racecourse. Weather has been good but i dont know if it will stay that way. My plan on this trip is to get up late and stop for the day early Great! Only covering about 30miles a day- just 2hrs on the bike. Lazy riding.

First night on the Neo Air.

Tonight will be the first night spent on my new Neo Air mattress. I have cycled over to Church farm at Sixpenny Handley. I am using it as my first night stop on my cycle trip to meet up with Ian Heritage and his brother on their LEJOG. On Friday i will be back at this site for another Backpackers Club static weekend meet. Two members are already here for that meet. They obviously wanted to make sure that they didnt arrive late!

Ready to Ride !!

The Heritage brothers Ian and Derek are ready to ride.

I posted details about their up-coming LEJOG attempt a week ago. This morning I spoke to Ian and he told me that everything is now ready for the start at Land's End on Monday morning.

Over the past few weeks they have been too busy with the preparations for the ride to have much time to think about the challenge that they have taken on.
Now everything is ready they are going through that period of apprehension that all long distance cycling challenge riders experience on the last few days prior to the ride itself.

As Ian said to me "We can't wait to get started now everything is ready".

I will be setting off on Sunday or Monday (weather will dictate which) on my touring bike in order to meet up with the lads and their support team somewhere towards the end of their West Country section. That should be sometime during Wednesday and I hope to be able to post some pictures with a progress report at that time.

Please visit their web site at www.justgiving.com/heritagecycle to find out more about Ian and Derek and their ride as well as the charity (BLESMA) which they are riding for. I think that you will agree that it is a very worthwhile charity and I urge you all to show your support.