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| PAUL
BEAMENT MOUTH CANCER APPEAL - Raising Awareness
& Funds |
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| The
Paul Beament Mouth Cancer Appeal
is one of the leading fundraising
arms of the Mouth Cancer Foundation.
Kezia Beament's husband, Paul,
passed away after being diagnosed
with mouth cancer. Now Kez is
raising awareness and funding
in memory of her loved one. Email:
kezia@mouthcancerfoundation.org |
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John
O'Groats to Lands End
Two physiotherapists, Tom Wainwright
(24) and Mal Godtschailk (34), from
the Royal Bournemouth Hospital got on
their bikes to cycle from John O’Groats
to Lands End in just 11 days –
that is an average of nearly 90 miles
a day! They risked sore bums in support
of the Mouth Cancer Foundation. |
The proposed route and schedule
was as follows:
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Online
Diary
We flew up to Inverness yesterday and
got vital sustenance during a visit
to my Uncle and cousin. We then drove
up to Wick and put the bikes together,
as they had been boxed up during the
flight. Unfortunately Mal’s front
wheel had buckled slightly during the
flight and I had left my bike computer
behind!
The famous John O’Groats sign
welcomed us at about 10pm last night
in the dark and the rain, and we found
the local hostel just before the doors
were locked at 11pm. From the look of
the owners, they wouldn’t have
been too sympathetic if we had been
late, so I am very glad we did make
it in time so we actually had beds for
the night.
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Day 1. Sunday
31st July
The first leg is done, and it is starting
to sink in what a challenge this is going
to be. 105 miles or 7 h 20 mins in the saddle
today. Whichever way you look at it, it is
a lot! Especially as Mal was cycling without
a front brake due to the buckle in his front
wheel! As today was a Sunday and in the middle
of nowhere, we didn’t have a chance
to get it looked at so we’ll have a
go fixing it ourselves tonight.
This morning was a hard slog. It was overcast
and very hilly, but despite that we were still
able to appreciate the beautiful scenery.
This afternoon we turned inland from the coast
and it was much more enjoyable. The area was
very remote so we were able to make the most
of not having too many cars about. This is
sure to change as we near Glasgow!!
We got to our digs nr Rosehall at about 5pm,
showered, washed kit and ate as much as we
could. The evening’s entertainment arrived
– a Canadian Ukrainian Dance Troupe……..which
made our minds up that an early night was
in order, in preparation for tomorrow.
Day 2. Monday
1st August
Today was a good day. So much so that after
we had completed our planned 85 miles, we
carried on for another 20.
The sun was shining and the scenery was fantastic
- if the wind had been behind us then it would
have been perfect, but unfortunately we were
cycling into the wind. So the totals for today
were 105 miles or 7h14 mins in the saddle
and the average speed was 14.4 mph.
We were both fairly free of aches and pains
this morning, although the first 5 minutes
back in the saddle were a little cautious
- 2 big climbs soon sorted us out though,
and we were soon following the road around
Loch Ness (no sign of Nessie!). Loch Lochy
followed and then Fort William.
A local bike shop was a welcome sight and
we got Mal’s bike looked at, so it is
better, although not 100%. He’s still
not using his front brake, which was almost
scary when coming to the bottom of a steep
hill reaching speeds of 40 mph.
We saw another group of cyclists who we passed
yesterday – they look very professional
and have the benefit of a support mini-bus
and trailer – whereas we are carrying
everything with us on panniers.
So here we are at Fort William (where we’ve
been fortunate enough to secure free overnight
accommodation) with Ben Nevis looking down
on us, mentally preparing for tomorrow (we
are expecting rain………….)
Day 3. Tuesday
2nd August
Hello from sunny Dumbarton,
just north of Glasgow.
Today’s statistics are: 89.51 miles,
6h10 on the bikes and average speed of 14.4
miles per hour. No. of punctures: 1
This morning was overcast with a big climb
up Glen Coe, fortunately with an assisting
wind. Although the wind turned for the descent
so we found ourselves having to pedal going
down hill.
The anticipated bad weather hit this afternoon
and we spent a good few hours cycling into
the rain. We’ve also become rather snobbish
about poor quality tarmac and uneven road
surfaces!
Today saw the first puncture. A swift inner-tube
change meant we weren’t delayed for
too long and we were soon back on the road
again.
Our informal ‘race’ with the other
(supported) trio of cyclists continued, and
we’ve progressed from a nod and a wave
to actually saying ‘hello’ to
each other now. We were joined today by a
lone cyclist, and we worked together for a
few miles. One takes the lead and does the
hardest job, and the other two sit behind
them and do the ‘easy’ bit. With
three of us it meant that we had longer doing
the ‘easy’ bit than the ‘hard’
bit, so it made a real difference.
Added to that the fact we did a shorter distance
today, we feel relatively spritely this evening,
so we’re off for a well deserved pint!
(after a puncture repair session and a good
look at the map to work out how best to get
round Glasgow tomorrow)
Day 4. Wednesday
3rd August
We made it past our scheduled stop-off at
Thornhill and are in sunny Dumfries, 89.58
miles further into the journey than this time
yesterday. (6h12 in the saddle and an average
speed of 14.4 mph)
We negotiated Glasgow successfully and stopped
off in the High Street to take a photo by
the station (photographic evidence, just in
case any one thinks we are making this all
up!)
Lunch was spent at, what we were told was,
the highest hotel in Scotland (I wonder how
many hotels make this claim?) before pushing
on.
Our good spirits remain and once we’ve
sorted everything out for tomorrow, we’re
off out for some dinner.
Day 5. Thursday
4th August
The Cumbrian town of Kendal is our host for
the night after we cycled 83.66 miles in 5
hours 37 minutes at an average speed of 14.8
mph.
It was another good day today, with no major
incidents. We probably saw the most traffic
today as our route took us on quite a major
dual carriage way, but it was straight so
we were able to get some good speed up for
a while and tick off a few miles fairly quickly.
We stopped for a short break after 25 miles
and 60 miles to take on food and water. Breakfast
is usually as much muesli, toast and banana
as we can eat, and then during the day we
eat (more) bananas, other fruit, cereal bars
and wine gums (an excellent energy source!)
We have a massive box of pasta salad for lunch
and eat out in the evening (more carbohydrates).
We drink about 1.5 litres each of isotonic
drink (water with a carb/glucose powder added)
and then about 3 litres of normal water throughout
the day to keep us hydrated.
We crossed the border today, and stopped for
a photo. We met some cyclists who are cycling
the other way, starting at Land’s End.
They’d taken 8 days to get here, and
we hope to finish in another 6 days. We hope
we can do it.
We had a chat to the other group who we have
seen every day so far, and they are cycling
in aid of Cancer Research UK. One of their
group was lagging behind a bit, so we worked
with him for a while, acting as his windbreak
to give him a bit of a rest. Although he did
beat us up the hills, as he was carrying less
weight than us as all his belongings were
in their support vehicle.
Tomorrow’s weather forecast is for rain.
The rain isn’t so much of a problem
as we just put on wet weather gear and get
on with it. It is the wind that is our enemy
as so far it has seemed to be against us more
than it has been behind us.
Day 6. Friday
5th August
We reached our proposed stop off at Wigan,
decided that there was still some life left
in our legs, so we carried on and ended up
at Chester. 93 miles, 5 hours 59 in the saddle
and an average speed of 15.3 mph.
We took the opportunity this morning to stop
off at a family friend in Lancaster, and refuelled
with bacon butties before we set off again.
We were navigating through towns of Wigan
and Warrington on a Friday evening at rush
hour so there was LOTS of traffic about. It
wasn’t quite as much fun as earlier
on this week when we were on our own out in
the Highlands with just the scenery for company.
We are over half way through now, and well
on track to reach Land’s End on Wednesday
as we’d hoped so we are well pleased
with progress so far.
Day 7. Saturday
6th August
Not much to report today other than we exceeded
our target location Clun, in Shropshire and
reached Hereford where we are spending the
night with some friends of Mal’s. (94
miles, 5h52 on the bikes and an average speed
of 15.9mph – up again from yesterday)
This means we will have a fairly ‘easy’
day tomorrow as we head to Bristol.
We had a slightly later start this morning
as we had made excellent progress yesterday
and we were able to crack on as there were
no big hills to battle with, and the wind
was on our side for a change.
We’ve not seen the other group for a
few days but they were going via Nottingham,
so we probably won’t meet up with them
again until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Day 8. Sunday
7th August
More bike repairs were needed this evening
as Tom’s back wheel was looking rather
strange. A visit to a bike shop resulted in
a few spokes being replaced, and hopefully
a much easier ride tomorrow now the wheel
is no longer buckled.
We had a relatively leisurely day today and
didn’t set off till about 10.30. We
did 57.71 miles in 4 hours and 7 minutes with
an average speed of 13.9 miles per hour. This
was slowed down, no doubt, by the numerous
nasty hills in Bristol! Top speed today was
87.9mph.
Tomorrow we’re heading to Tom’s
home town of Ottery St Mary in Devon. Although
it will be nice to know where we are, we also
know where the next hill is! When you’re
in an unknown area, it is good not knowing
what is ahead, as then you can’t worry
about it. Ignorance really can be bliss!
Day 9. Monday
8th August
Another good, trouble-free day to day (sorry
to disappoint those who were hoping for drama,
or at least another puncture)
We left Bristol at about 9 o’clock this
morning and reached Ottery St Mary by 3.30pm.
It must be down hill from Bristol as our average
speed increased again to 15.9mph. Total mileage
for the day 71.69 miles, and 4 hrs 28 minutes
on the bikes.
We did have some support today from a friend
from Taunton through to Ottery St Mary, which
we think helped the speed. And also we were
joined by Tom’s father for the last
15 miles.
As we got to our destination early enough
we were even able to pop down to Sidmouth
for a swim, and a drink at the Cricket Club.
Tomorrow is the penultimate day. Wadebridge
here we come.
Day 10. Tuesday
9th August
More broken spokes and buckled wheels today.
We noticed Tom’s rear wheel wasn’t
looking too healthy this morning, so he had
to take off the brake and cycle with just
the front brake all day until we reached Wadebridge
and could find a bike repair shop.
But we still managed to get to Wadebridge
as planned (77.42 miles) with 4 hours 46 minutes
on the bikes and an average speed of 16.2
miles per hour.
This brings our total mileage so far up to
866.57 with JUST ONE DAY LEFT TO GO.
We saw quite a few cyclists going the other
way, all looking fresh and clean and wondering
what hills lay ahead as they headed towards
John O’Groats.
We’re really glad we chose to do North
to South as we are ending up in familiar territory,
in warmer weather (it was very cold in Scotland)
and we’ve been able to stop and see
family and friends and have some enjoyable
evenings (not forgetting the psychological
benefit of thinking you are cycling down hill!)
Tomorrow: Destination Land’s End. We
hope to be there by about 4pm. We hope to
be in a beer garden somewhere by 4.05!
Day 11. Wednesday
10th August - Mission accomplished!
Greetings from Land’s End.
Our final 61.5 miles today brings us to a
total of 928.07 since we started. We were
on the bikes for 3 hours 56 minutes and had
an average speed of 15.6 miles per hour. A
rather large down hill gave us our highest
top speed to date of 46.7 miles per hour!
We left Wadebridge at about 10 after a very
pleasant evening with Mal’s family,
and reached Land’s End by 3pm.
Mal had two punctures today, one after about
5 miles and one about 3 miles before the finish!
We can’t complain really as we’ve
been pretty luck so far.
The worst bit of the day came about 4 miles
from the end, when we saw the other group
(who were cycling for Cancer Research) again
– all packed up in their van driving
away from Land’s End having finished
before us. We’d be lying if we said
we weren’t a bit annoyed that they’d
got their first!
After the obligatory photo, we spent the afternoon
on the beach, relaxing and having a bit of
a swim. It’s been the hottest day so
far today and it was great to be able to cool
off a bit.
It feels really good to have finished, and
we just hope that we have achieved our aims
to raise awareness and funds for the Mouth
Cancer Foundation. If you’ve pledged
any money, don’t forget to pay up! And
if you haven’t yet but you would like
to, please contact Tom, Mal or Kezia.
Note from the Mouth Cancer Foundation:
If you have any messages for Tom or Mal, email
them to kezia@mouthcancerfoundation.org
and we’ll pass them on.
And don’t forget you can send in
your sponsor money to:
Mouth Cancer Foundation, PO Box 498, Wakefield
WF1 9A
Cheques payable to Mouth Cancer Foundation
If you are a UK tax payer, gift aid it by
either using the Gift
Aid form or the Sponsor
form.
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