Update

We have raised more than £5,000. Again, thank you for your support to Different Strokes.

Thank You to Everyone

Thank you to everyone for your participation and support of Different Strokes Land's End to Oxhill Cycle Ride!

Thank you  to all the people who made donations on the blog, who put coins in our collection box and who signed the pledge forms.

Sponsors of our Minibus include: The Peacock Oxhill, Wixey's Transport, Spencer Outfitters of Shipston, Red Horse Fuels and Hortec Horticultural.

Total donations raised to date is more than £3500!

There is still time to donate to raise our total even higher. Please give anything you can for young stroke survivors.

Day 7 - Gloucester to Oxhill (Home!!!)

Home at last!!

45 miles on our final day. In total we did 325 miles - 50 hours of cycling and 5 hours of map reading.

Andy Fog joined us at 7 am at the breakfast table in Gloucester. He left his home in Warwick at 2 am and cycled 45 miles to meet us only to cycle the whole way back (and he still held the lead). He is leaving today to France to cycle the Marmotte - a cycling event in the Alps in which 8000 people start and only half make it to the finish! Go Andy Go!!

Graham & Andy

Andy led us out of Gloucester without a map - in fact not a single stop for map reading all day. As a result it was the first day we did a bit of sight seeing (railway station in Toddington), stopped for ice cream in Broadway, chips in a pub in Mickleton and still it was our best time yet! We arrived back home at 3:30 pm!

We arrived at Ronnie's (The Royal Oak) just as Ronnie was rolling a ciggie and having a bit of quiet me-time (sorry Ronnie). Bikes were parked, beers were poured and the wind down began. 

Feeling happy we then cycled up to the Peacock up in Oxhill where we were given champagne and yet more beer!! Big thank you to Pam & Yvonne!

We stumbled home for showers and to say hi to loved ones, only to all meet up again for an early doors party at Ronnies. Penny put out a delicious spread - in appearance and taste. Thank you also to Rosemary for helping to organise our home coming party. We ate, we drank, we told wild tales of our adventure and had a wonderful wonderful evening. 

I got a bit emotional at the end of the evening because Ronnie & Penny gave us (Different Strokes) £200. I was very touched!

Day 6 - Chew Magna to Gloucester

We started at 9 am and limped into Gloucester at 8 pm - 63 miles today (and 150 stops to read the map says Vanessa).

The day started with the obligatory high hills and beating sun. I covered myself in half a jar of sunscreen. The route we chose was a bit complicated and as a result it took us longer today. But the scenary was beautiful!

Steve's always happy near a railway track

Liz has been on Brian's mountain bike for 2 days now and she is amazing - no whinging, she just gets on with it. I can tell she is suffering sometimes but she never complains.

The other person who never complains is Hugh. The rest of us are whingers.

When all hope looked lost we stumbled into a splendid pub in Ham called The Salutation which has just won Gloucestershire Pub of the Year Award 2010. The landlord opened it up especially for us (we looked that desperate) and supplied us with tea and thick cheese and onions sandwiches. Once revived we headed off again into the searing sun.

 

At the pub.

Ten miles later Graham got a puncture. Luckily I had a spare inner tube that fit his tire, because his spare was flat!

 

Fixing Graham's puncture.

 

While the men fixed the bike, Vanessa and Liz had a nap.

We finished the day by cycling on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal towpath. It was 16 miles long and it took us almost 2 hours. Steve may never recover (we almost lost his friendship!). The path was bumpy, rocky, craggy and slow - but ever so beautiful!

Please tune into BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire at 10:10 am to hear me give an interview about our charity cycle ride. Let's hope we find a quiet cafe on route which has mobile phone reception before 10 am.

Tomorrow is our last day, which is somewhat bittersweet. We all want to finish and yet the journey has been so wonderfully memorable.

Day 5 – Wiveliscombe, Somerset to Chew Magna, Avon

We did 57 miles today! The Quantock Hill was the highest yet. None of us cycled all the way to the top but we tried!

Steve reaching the top

Thank you to Monica, Brian’s elder sister, for her delicious flapjacks which we ate at the top of The Quantocks. (We noticed that Brian was rather deferential to her when she visited us at the hotel, unlike to us.)
 

Almost at the top of The Quantocks

After the Quantocks was a wonderful flat bit for 15 miles - a welcome relief.

Then came the dreaded but beautiful Cheddar Gorge. I had the misfortunate of cycling up just behind Liz & Vanessa. Vanessa stopped suddenly on a steep corner & Liz smacked into her. A car was passing at the same moment, so I was trapped between the car and the girls and had to stop. It's a shame because I really wanted to say I climbed Cheddar Gorge. Once I stop on a hill I can't get going again. Only one leg works well enough to pedal quickly and on a steep incline I just can't work it out. Not to worry, 20 metres further ahead the road was flat enough to get going again - so I guess I climbed Cheddar Gorge minus 20 metres.  

Cheddar Gorge

We were hoping to catch the England World Cup game this afternoon but it took us a bit longer to reach West Harptree than we expected (not unusual) so we caught the last half hour. England won.

Hugh replaced a broken cable to his gears while we watched the game. Then it was a quick and easy 5 miles to our destination in Chew Magna.

Relaxing having a Murphy's moment at the end of the day

PS - We are getting wonderful promotional support from Hook Norton on their website courtesy of Penny from the Royal Oak in Whatcote. Read more here: http://www.hooknortonbrewery.co.uk/news2010/Royal-Oak-customers-cycling/Royal_Oak_cycling.html

And BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio are doing a special piece on us on Friday. I don't know what time yet but I will post the time as soon as I know. They want to interview me.

Day 4 – Stibbs Cross, Devon to Wiveliscombe, Somerset

50 miles today! Halfway.

We started off the day with groans and moans and saddle sores. We were on the B3227 the whole day. I don’t like going downhill, especially steep hills. My sense of balance is faulty. It was the hardest day for me because of the relentless 25% hills.

3 months ago we could hardly get up the hills in the Cotswolds and now we are climbing successive steep hills. In fact we are almost forgetting what it’s like to ride on the flat. Edge Hill near home once seemed impossible to climb, but now seems easy (but I haven’t climbed it yet). Luckily the hills in the afternoon were much kinder.

You can see how the roads drop and climb in this pic.

Hugh and Graham brought their own high performance foods on the trip.

Hugh with sweet oat bars

Graham's grapefruit

Yeh Somerset!!

Steve’s legs are hurting him badly, so the ladies are giving him tender loving care – perhaps it’s all a ruse!

Steve & Graham on break

Tour de France here we come!

The gears on Liz’s expensive racing bike (which she only bought 2 months ago) shattered in the last mile before our destination. The back wheel seized up completely. Luckily Liz was climbing a hill so going relatively slowly. Brian brought a spare bike along which Liz will now use for the rest of the journey. Unlucky for Liz it’s a mountain bike, so she’ll be joining me and Graham with our mountain bikes.

Liz's broken bike

Day 3 - St Columb Major, Cornwall to Stibb Cross, Devon

The worst day yet - very difficult. We did 54 miles, up and down crazy hills and along the A39 three times with dangerous fast traffic. We started at 9 am and finished at 5:30 and we only took one half hour break for morning coffee.

I felt like giving up a couple of times, but I can't give up on the charity. My right hand (the stroke hand) ached at the end of the day (still hurts).

Brian & Liz were King and Queen of the mountains today! They were the only ones who got to the top of a long hill with a 16% incline. It was difficult to push the bikes up nevermind cycle up. The hill was 3 miles before the end of our day, so well done to both of them.

Us climbing the hill that Brian & Liz cycled

We are staying in Bude tonight and we finally have internet in our room. I writing this in bed - well I'm dictating and Vanessa's typing.

 

Devon village names.

Vanessa wants to include beach pics of Bude: