14 July 2012 Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle
Max, William and Philip sent this dramatic account of their ride and we could think of no better way to display it than in their own words:
"We are closing in on £4,000 raised (inc. cheques and cash donations) for DDMT which is fantastic.
Overall the ride was a great success as we completed the 966 miles in the 6 allocated days. On reaching John O’Groats, the overriding feeling was one of relief rather than happiness or achievement as it had been a 6 day battle with weather, mechanical issues, our Garmin computers and nutrition (not to mention mileage)!
However, looking back on it now, I think all three of us feel a huge sense of achievement.
A few choice bits of info/stats from the ride:
6 day calorie counter
84,754 (Will’s heart rate monitor)
Average cycle time per day
13.5 hours (inc. stops)
Average miles per day
161
Total ascent
11,871m
Punctures
1 (amazingly)
Mechanical failures
2 (without the spare bike one of us definitely wouldn’t have finished in the 6 days)
Best meal(s)
Cheese and ham Panini (warm nr Portreath) / Pizza Hut (in the rain at Hoghton, nr Preston)
Least idyllic location(s)
Preston, Bridgewater
Most Idyllic location(s)
Cornwall, Devon, Sutherland & Caithness
Longest day
Day 4 – 191 miles [Milnthorpe to Balloch, Loch Lomond via Lake
District (Kirkstone Pass) and Glasgow)
Worst rain
Day 5 – The entire day for 145 miles (Balloch to Drumnadrochit over
Glen Coe/Rannoch Moor)
Worst wind
Day 6 – from Brora to John O’Groats (approx. 85 miles
Worst road surfaces
Scotland (pretty much all)
Biggest route fail
River Clyde pedestrian tunnel, Glasgow (had return through it to get
back on course at 7pm after about 170 miles)
Once again, thank you for you for your generous sponsorship and support with the ride. We had initial hopes of being able to update a blog each night and send emails updating on progress. However, there wasn’t sufficient time nor energy levels to contemplate this kind of activity let alone do it.
A final thank you must also go to our one man support team of Charlie Paddick who fed, watered and lube’d us throughout.
For anybody more interested in our chosen charity, the DDMT, please visit our justgiving page.
Best
Max, William and Philip"
And a HUGE thank you from all of us at DDMT boys.
We would love to hear from you if you know of any soldier (whether current or past), family member or any project that might benefit from our help.