Lands End to John O’Groats Cycle Ride 2007

On 17 May Rodney Paul and Mark Jordan set off on a sponsored cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats. Rodney was raising money for computer equipment for the Old Grammar School Room; Mark was raising money for the Burton branch of the Alzheimer charity.

Ian Barkers the Butchers put up a £25 prize of goods from his shop for the person that guessed the nearest mileage, Starbucks did a similar prize. There was also £20 worth of vouchers from Cycling 2000, the bike shop on Wellington Road, that could be won by guessing the mileage, all for a £1 stake. Alternatively people could sponsor 1p a mile.

Planned Route

Progress Report

Update: Message from Rodney - 21 May 2007 17:07 We set off in thick fog from Lands End on Thursday 17th and had quite a long days ride to Wadebridge, where we stayed in a pub on the edge of the town. The locals were all very friendly and made us welcome. On Friday we set off on a very slow uphill climb that was quite tough start to our second day out, but eventually we got out onto the open road and apart from a few downpours made it to Holsworthy in North Devon in quite good time. We stayed in Great Torrington in a very comfortable B&B. On leaving Great Torrington we had a number of very steep hills to climb including a 1:4 quickly followed by another one, but we made it to the top and then enjoyed a downhill that seemed to go on for about 6 miles !!! we went across to South Molton where it started to pour with rain, a man walking up the street took pity on us and invited us back to his house for some refreshments. It turned out that he had the most wonderful garden and took pleasure in showing us around before his wife produced home made cakes and warm drinks. We left the comfort of their house and went onto Taunton. On Sunday we set out from Taunton and had a good smooth ride until we got near to Bristol airport when we hit a hill on the A38 that seemed to go on and on. We had been advised to take a number of back lanes into Bristol and thus avoid the worst of the traffic, but the back lanes included a 1:4 hill and we then got off the route in Bristol and ended up doing quite a detour, we eventually arrived in Stroud after an 88 mile ride. Today we have had a pleasant journey through Cheltenham and onto Stourport on Seven where we are staying with friends.  From here on we head up to Winsford and then across Lancashire and Cumbria before crossing into Scotland on Friday. We are both in good shape, all the months of training are paying off and we are doing well.

John O'Groats - A successful conclusion to their journey They successfully arrived in John O'Groats on Thursday 31 May soon after 1.00pm, having been on the road for a total of 15 days. The final few days were tiring, especially as the weather had been terrible with torrential rain that lasted over 36 hours and during that time they covered over 120 miles. Fortunately on the last day the sun shone and they were able to celebrate their success in reaching the end in warm sunny conditions. Having taken a few photographs and got a final signature on their record sheet they were able to load their bikes onto the back of a car and start the long journey back home. They arrived back in Rolleston on Friday evening and promptly went to the Jinnie for a celebratory drink with family and friends.  They cycled 979 miles in total, averaging 65 a day at an average speed of 13.2 mph. In total it took about 75 hours in the saddle spread over 15 days. The bikes both preformed well, Rodney's Dawes Galaxy hit 47 mph down hill in Devon and apart from the chain coming off twice was fine. The panniers all remained water proof despite the torrential rain, they had no punctures and apart from a daily squirt of lubricant had no other maintenance. During the trip they went through some wonderful countryside, seeing many new places, meeting many very generous people and enjoying the entire trip. Rodney hopes to have raised over £2000 for Rolleston’s Old School room while Mark will be getting in excess of £1500 for the Burton branch of the Alzheimer’s society. Rodney said afterwards "It was a great experience and although we wont be rushing to repeat the feat may well do a coast to coast next year!! It was a big undertaking but something that we can look back on in future years with a sense of pride. We would both like to thank all of our sponsors, family and friends for their tremendous support and enthusiasm." STOP PRESS - Rodney's hard work and broken bits (ask him about them!), together with your support raised an incredible £3,000! To which Rod’s employers, Care UK, added £1,000!

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Last updated: 14 January 2008