My Bike: The Creed (based on The Rifleman's Creed)

Day 7, Rugby to Nottingham

60.31 miles, 4:44:56 hours
Total miles: 404.36
Total hours on the bike: 33:08:38

Another day of rain (making a total of 5 out of 7) and a fair degree of pain in both achilles and right knee made for a tough final day.
At the halfway point I was reduced to stopping at McDonald's for lunch - it was throwing it down and I couldn't find anywhere else. I changed into my last pair of dry socks and stuffed handfuls of serviettes into my shoes as I tucked into the only veggie food available - chips and onion rings.
After a half hearted attempt to dry my shorts under the hand-dryer I set off in the rain once again.

After an hour or so I came upon a familiar sight - in the distance were the towers of Ratcliffe power station. For the first time in my life I was pleased to see the ghastly coal-fired monstrosity - because it meant I was properly close to home.

By the time I hit the Nottingham city boundary my knee was screaming with every rotation - and even slight hills were difficult to tackle without a grimace. I was reduced to taking the cycle-lane around the ring-road because I couldn't maintain the kind of pace required for the road.

And then almost without realising it I was home, and within the hour I was in a hot bath with a cup of tea - and no pain!

Thanks to everyone who supported me - either by donating money or by helping out in other ways. At the time of writing the total raised is £1125 against the target of £1000 so it's mission accomplished.

Now to choose a name...

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Day 6, Evesham to Rugby

43.54 miles, 3:5:36 hours
Total miles: 344.05
Total hours on the bike: 28:23:42

After yesterday's easy experience, today was a whole lot tougher, and it was all down to the weather again. Strong winds and heavy rain made for slow and uncomfortable progress. Fortunately it was just a short run to our friends Donna and Ed in Rugby, my wife is working in Coventry tomorrow so she's coming down tonight too.

I've had no mechanical issues on the trip yet - with one day to go - thanks in part to a pre-ride service from Ross at Cycletastic. The bike is in desperate need of a wash though - at the end of each day we have both been covered in road-gunge, but I have been able to shower. A job for the weekend then.

My left achilles and my right knee ligaments have been in competition all day to see who can shout the loudest. I've been ignoring them in the hope that they will eventually get bored and stop wingeing. My left knee has occasionally joined in with a 'me too!', but I ignored that as well.

So, last day tomorrow - 60+ miles to Nottingham.
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Day 5 Coalpit Heath to Evesham

63.39 miles, 5:05:44 hours
Total miles: 300.51
Total hours on the bike: 25:53:06

Today was a doddle, a delight, a dream - because there was NO RAIN!
There was a large thunder shower in the afternoon but I managed to find a pub and waited it out.
Just a few hills and no real wind made for the easiest day so far.

Heavy rain is forecast for the night and early morning so I copped out of camping again and found a B&B.

Just 2 days (of rain) to go.
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Day 4, Bridgwater to Coalpit Heath. Fewer hills, more rain.

45.77 Miles, 4:00:05 hours on the bike.
Total miles: 237.12
Total hours in the saddle: 20:48:02
Total hours in the rain: about 15.

Made it to my brother and family's house, just north of Bristol.
I'm now past the halfway point. Less than two hundred miles to go.
It bucketed it down today - after a couple of hours of constant downpour through North Somerset and into the Mendip Hills I reached a whole new level of wet.
My proposed stop off at Cheddar Gorge was scrapped as expected and instead I went to the pub to partially dry off.
The rain eased off to a light drizzle after an hour or so, so I set off again. Of course, within 5 minutes the heavens opened again and by the time I got to Bristol I was wetter than ever.
My new 'waterproof' gloves had decided they would rather be a pair of old sponges than an item of expensive technical clothing. At one point I could be seen at the side of the A38 wringing them out like a dish cloth.

Today also marked the day I got properly lost for the first time.

On the plus side - it seems I've developed an interesting new skill. The ability to pee by the side of any road - anywhere.
Regardless of how busy it is, how many motorists, horse riders or ramblers are around.
If I gotta pee, I'm gonna pee!
Quite a useful skill for a long-distance cyclist.

On through Gloucestershire towards the Midlands tomorrow. The forecast is for more rain so it's probably B&Bs from here on in.
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Day 3. Torrington to Bridgwater.

66.05 Miles, 5:42:20 hours
Total miles: 191.35
Total hours in the saddle:16:47:57

If the forecast for the rest of this week is accurate then today was perhaps the only dry day I will have in the whole week. There were plenty of hills in the morning but the afternoon was flat, windless and dry - so I made good progress.

The dull pain in my 43 year old knees is now constant but the worst hills are behind me and at some point tomorrow I'll pass the halfway point.

I had planned to semi-wild camp in the middle of Exmoor but with heavy rain forecast for the morning I pushed on to Bridgwater and a B&B.

Waterproofs on in the morning and on towards Bristol. I was going to swing by Cheddar Gorge and a next-door Wildlife Trust reserve, but I think I will just press on to the next base if the forecast is correct.
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Day 2, Wadebridge to Torrington. More hills and a lot more rain.

55.05 miles, 4 hours 42 min.

Total time on the bike: 11:05:37
Total miles: 125.30

I rescheduled from last week to this because the forecast was better.
So much for the forecast! It rained almost non-stop today. When it wasn't raining it was foggy. I even had to have lunch in the rain because the cafe I stopped at only had outside tables available.

But the weather wasn't my biggest problem. That was the hills.
Constant hills!
Towards the end of the day I was reduced to pedalling for 30 seconds then resting for a minute, pedalling then resting. Such was the angle of the incline and the energy levels in my legs.
It was all worthwhile when I crested the last one in Torrington to see my wife and parents in the distance waving me in. I was then treated to a chocolate medal, a pasta dinner and a home made chocolate coffee cream cake :-)

Tomorrow's section is the worst day for hills, including a 25%er - but the forecast is DRY!
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