Day 10

We started by being picked up at 6:30 and went back to where we left off - at the bottom of a long hill! The weather was okay for the first hour but rained constantly until the end. We needed to make up time and would be going further than planned so we decided to take the A30. I have never concentrated so hard! In fact cars gave a wider birth than on single track roads - perhaps out of pity for the idiots on the duel carriageway in the pouring rain. We made good time apart from one more puncture which i fixed in some road works. Arriving at Lands End was amazing. We were greeted with cheers and applause as well as cake from the family and friends of another end to end team.

I really enjoyed the journey and am confident that it was one of the most demanding 10 days i will have. That is why the reward of finishing in one piece and in 10 days os so satisfying. My thanks to all the support but especially to Stuart who kept me going and kept me sane.

Day 9

Epic. Bath to Tavistock.....or at least it should have been. This turned into a bad day for team Chateau McGuire. I had a blow out at 30mph and we spent an hour fixing a puncture in the pouring rain - a trapped inner tube caused endless problems. A second puncture later on caused further delay. It pains me to say but Stuart was a hero. I had lost all patience and sense of humour. Stuart kept his head and sorted all the punctures and stopped me from throwing the bike in a hedge.

10 miles from Okehampton it was dark. Our road was a B road without lights and full of hills. I had the headlamp while Stuart picked up the rear. We couldn't see much and had no idea how long the next hill would be or which way the road would turn on the way down. We hit Okehampton after 11pm and started to make our way to Tavistock in the pitch black. After the first hill we thought better of it and got a taxi. Arrived at the hotel for midnight and had the same taxi booked for 6:30am to take us back to Okehampton to pick up from where we left off. A very hard day. 14 hours with the bikes.

Day 8

Heading out of Ironbridge, it was very painful getting back on the saddle. It’s a funny sort of pain, a little bit like putting your ski boots on, you know it’s going to be sore but well worth doing none the less.

We started the climb out of the gorge at a much slower and easier pace than that we descended in the night before. We stopped at a nice country pub which was delightful as well as stomach filling. As pleasant as the break was, the muscles enjoyed the rest a little too much and seizing started.

Arriving in Gloucester we were greeted at Cafe Nero by a lady who had more questions regarding our ride than I thought possible. Certainly I didn’t possess all the answers she was looking for and soon I realised neither did Mark. After the fifth iteration of “But why would you ride all that way?” I knew it was time to go and buy the tea.

It was then I learnt the lesson that a nice cup of tea with chocolate shortbread was not the food and drink to power me up the 200m and 250m hills which lay between Gloucester and Bath . . . . .The hill climb into Bath felt never ending and when I thought the challenge was tough, the skies opened and a deluge of heavy rain pounded. I actually like the rain and generally find it quite soothing. Mark on the other hand detests the rain and I understand was plotting his emigration.

The descent into Bath was a speedy treat and quite beautiful as we were greeted by the splendid architecture of this grand city. Our hotel on Wells Road was on on another hill which caught us a little by surprise! However, this was soon forgotten as we soon enjoyed the luxury of our hotel.

An evening spent enjoying good Italian food and icing my knees up made this a good stop over.

Day 7

Leaving Clitheroe this morning we were rather apprehensive about the navigational challenge that lay ahead. The gravitational pulls of the big cities Manchester, Liverpool, Blackburn, Warrington with their inter-connecting main roads made map reading a challenge. A far cry from the single track roads in the Scottish highlands. Mark picked a superb route and we were soon missing the big hubs with some good back roads.

What we didn't factor into the mix was the torrential rain that would hit us three times on today's journey; once in Warrington, once in Haydock and then finally as we entered Telford. The latter with some rather impressive thunder and lighting.

Eventually we rapidly descended into Ironbridge Gorge, a fascinating place well worth a visit......

Day 6

Brampton to Clitheroe. We had carefully planned to avoid the Yorkshire Pennines and the Lake District by going between them. Unfortunately this meant we ended up touching both. Steep is not the word. If the Old Scotch Road had pavements, they would have to be ladders. This road which ran along side the M6 caused both of us to fall. Stuart fell into a verge getting back on after stopping to let a tractor down. I fell further along as my chain came off as I went into bottom gear for the first time.

The Lancashire Moors were bleak. We passed a dead sheep but hit speeds close to 40 on the way down. 98 miles in total and the hardest day so far. On the bright side however, the weather was perfect.

Meeting some cyclists cycling the other way - Lands End to John O’Groats

Day 5

Our most efficient ride. 85 miles with an average better than 4 minute miles.

First half to Dunfries took us on the main road but no traffic to speak of.

We went into Dunfries and found a bike shop, Kirkatrick Cycles. A real life saver. Stuart had been concerned about his bike and asked if his was okay only to be told ‘it's fine, not as bad as your mate’s!’ Gears and brakes mended we went onto the edge of Scotland at Gretna. Not worth a visit but the road was amazing. Averaged 19-20 mph and even took on a random cyclist for a race. England reached and photos taken, we set off for Brampton where we arrived in time to watch the team pursuit final. We have also seen the hills in the background awaiting us tomorrow.......

Day 4

Our day started out from Ardlui with heavy rain, more rain, in our face wind and rain! Visibility was poor and weren't able to appreciate Loch Lomand. We navigated off the busy road onto a cycle route which took us close to Glasgow then across the very busy Erskin bridge.

The route to Cumnock was slow with the wind reducing our efforts to a snail’s pace.

After a number of climbs, we finally arrived in Cumnock. All I'll say is Cumnock requires some significant investment; it has had some challenging times and this is evident in the town. I'll leave it at that.

Our hotel however was superb, with a fantastic shower! The landlady very welcoming and everyone was very friendly.

Day 3

Leaving the Loch Ness behind us we cycled out of Fort August and were treated to the most amazing scenery of towering mountains and still lochs (loch lochy in particular). The sun was out and cycling along the A82 was a treat and we made good pace. Always at the back of our minds amongst this journey of tranquility, was the thought of the 1000 foot climb we'd have to make after Glenn Coe. Like a big exam, we took this challenge fairly seriously and took a break at the Glen Coe visitor centre before starting the ascent. The mountain was everything it promised a slow steady painstaking climb.

After reaching 314m (sorry for the change in units but this is according to my garmin watch!) we then descended to 250m before climbing back to 350m. A pleasant descent awaited us but a third peak to 300m and a very strong wind ensured we had to continue pedalling.....

Day 2

Lairg to Fort Augustus. This should have been an easy 75. In fact it was a tough 80. Big hills and bad rain were the problem. Stuart also tried to argue with a tractor driven by a novice 70 year old farmer who followed him closely for a couple of miles.

Today also brought our first puncture (Stuart) and our first falls from the bikes - at a junction (Mark) and at the top of a big hill (Stuart).

Arrived at Fort Augustus and finally settled in for Haggis with a few beers (for medicinal purposes)

Day 1

A big day today. 95 miles turned into 103 after a wrong turn down a dead end. Happily the mistake took us down the most incredible path past a lake and into the remote hills.

The scenery has been spectacular, even Doonrey was interesting

Some big hills were conquered including a 2 and a half mile climb. Legs are tired and our bodies have seen better days so we are tucking into Guinness and a curry.

Tomorrow will be tough. We are worried how we can get back on the saddle but if tomorrow is like today, it will be worth it.

Pre Cycle

Dear all

I hope this email finds you well.

On the 29th July my friend Mark and I will attempt a childhood ambition, to cycle from the most northern point of Britain, John O’Groats, to the most southern, Lands End. The chosen route is just shy of 1000 miles.

As you may be aware in May 2011 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I was fortunate that the cancer had only spread to the lymph nodes in my abdomen and as a result I only required the removal of one testicle, a single round of carboplatin chemotherapy and 15 doses of radiotherapy.

It’s the dedication of people working in cancer research that has transformed the success of testicular cancer treatment. Mark and I will cycle for Cancer Research UK, our chosen charity.

If you do wish to sponsor us on this adventure please use the following link:

http://www.justgiving.com/chateaumcguire

Thank you to those of you who have asked after and prayed over my health, I am exceptionally grateful. The treatment was declared successful at the end of last summer, and I am now a year into a 10 year period of long term follow up which includes yearly CT scans (my next one being on 23rd July 12), 6 monthly chest X-Rays (the type of cancer I had typically travels along the lymphatic pathway from testicle – abdomen - lungs – brain) together with three monthly blood tests.

For those that would like to follow our progress, please see www.chateaumcguire.com for daily updates as we follow the route:

John O'Groats to Lairg 95 miles

Lairg to Fort Augustus 75 miles

Fort Augustus to Ardlui 85 miles

Ardlui to Cumnock 86 miles

Cumnock to Brampton 88 miles

Brampton to Clitheroe 88.4 miles

Clitheroe to Ironbridge 105 miles

Ironbridge to Bath 105 miles

Bath to Tavistock 108 miles

Tavistock to Lands End 91 miles

Thank you very much again and I look forward to following up soon.

Best wishes

Stuart McGuire and Mark Watson