The E2E4E Weblog

e2e4e Day 15 - tongue to john o'groats

2006-07-09T23:01:00.000+01:00

E2e4e Day 15 Tongue to John O Groats.

The day began for most of us by leaving the excellent Tongue YHA, near the Causeway linking Tongue to the road to Durness (see photo), and cycling the short distance up to the hotel where Sara and Anthony had stayed, the Ben Loyal.

We had booked breakfast at this hotel and it was very good indeed and a wonderful start to the day. We knew that the first part of our 66 mile trip today would be pretty hilly and this proved to be true, with some challenging climbs for the first 25 miles, through Betty Hill village, and well on the road to Thurso.

The scenery was different yet again. Scotland has so much variety to offer. This time we had some great views of the coastline and some impressive sandy beaches, all deserted given that the day was cool, cloudy, and windy, but still,still, DRY. Over 15 days we have had only one wet day, on the road to Dartmoor. I’m told that 6 consecutive days in Scotland without rain can in no way be guaranteed. Herbie has been lucky on his trips to Scotland over the years as he always seems to bring good weather.

Some distance before Thurso , at Strathy, Herbie let us know that we had reached the magic 1000 MILES ! We stopped to take photos of the computer reading at this momentous instant.

Bike-computer showing 1,000 miles!

Roy, David, Sara, Herbie and Anthony at 1,000 miles (thanks Andrew!)

After 27 miles we stopped for a coffee at a seaview hotel in Melvich and this was a very welcome break from the regular climbing which we had gone through since the start of the day. Interestingly, a group of three women came in, who were the support crew to a group of three men. It had been four, but one became ill in the Lake district and had to go to hospital in Carlisle, due to problems brought on by the heat. So, we now knew that another group was just behind us !

Having the bit between our teeth we made further good progress along our route until we reached Dounreay, the nuclear power station. I don’t know why, but I started thinking about Homer Simpson, the world’s most incompetent employee in a nuclear power station. I also looked closely at the cows nearby, half expecting some unusual, nuclear power affected, features. However, they all seemed to have the normal complement of ears, eyes etc.

Beyond Dounreay lies the town of Thurso, which is also the town we need to catch a train from early in the morning to Inverness. We took a short break here and had a sandwich. Davey came upstairs and met us, having parked the van, and asked if we had left our computers on our bikes. We said we had, and he replied that someone must have taken them as they had all gone
. He then dumped them all on the table and said he had removed them for safekeeping ! There was then a frantic scramble as owners tried to retrieve their computers to avoid a mix up.

I telephoned Jenny, our British Red Cross contact for John O Groats, arranged via Beth Swarbrigg, and, by a sheer stroke of good luck, she said she was in Thurso and would pop in and have a chat, prior to our welcome by red cross at JOG later.

Jenny came to see us, with two BRC volunteers and her young granddaughter.Sara took their photo and made them feel at home, and we arranged a welcome at JOG at about 4pm.

A word now about Andrew. He led us out from Thurso for 13 miles and never flagged, even though there was a headwind at times. This was really welcome, especially as the 5 e2e4e’rs were all pretty tired after 1000 miles.

I’m afraid to tell blog readers that the infantile sprinting for any village sign still carried on, even after 1000 miles. Herbie, I and others had indulged in this childish practice every day.Basically, the score is, Herbie 296, Roy 5, Anthony 4, Harris 2,Simon 2 , Mike 1, [ but broken chain at Land’s End means point lost, sorry Simon ], Graham 1 [ he got more, but set off too soon so it didn’t count], Andrew 1. So, the important point to note is that Herbie just pipped me somehow.

I am sure that our hearts started beating faster as we approached JOG. As the miles clicked away we began to see a settlement in the distance, and realised that it must be JOG, the top of our world, and the Orkneys were visible over to our left, an imposing sight with clearly defined hills.

In no time we could see that the holy grail of the JOG sign was in sight, just a few hundred yards down the arrow straight road. Herbie, Anthony and Sara made way for me to reach the sign first and I yelled out as I passed it and the end had been reached. We exchanged embraces and hugs, and were joined by David too at this point.

Then there was an exhilarating few hundred yards down to the van, parked by the side of the road, and Davey waved a chequered flag, esp provided by Herbie for just this moment. We were joined by Mike’s friend, Kate Skinner and her friend, and also passed a car festooned with welcome balloons.

After this, it was down to the seafront, and a great welcome from Jenny and red cross volunteers, and loads of photos, including the official end to end photo. A quick rush to get our final stamp on our cards, and the Sara opened the champagne and truffles which her friend, Nicky, had thoughtfully posted to her for this moment. Later, there was even more to come as Nicky hd posted a huge cake and more champagne to the YHA at JOG ! As I write this, we are back at the hostel, getting ready for a slap up meal provided kindly by Mike.

The five again at John O'Groats, with Red Cross welcoming committee.

The full team at the end: (left to right) Andrew, Roy, Sara, Dennis (at back), Mike, Herbie, David, Anthony, then Davey and Harris kneeling.

Roy, Anthony, Sara, Herbie, David - after 1,040 miles!

One rider who completed the ride is missing from the phtot - Martin 'Flagboy' Ingram - as he rode with us until Clun and then completed the rest of the ride at a faster pace to get back for a social function - well done Martin, and thanks for the company in the early stages!

This has been one fantastic experience and it’s going to seem so odd not getting on a bike to ride over 70 miles tomorrow.

Today’s mileage: 64.90 miles; avg: 15.2 mph (4hrs 16mins)
Cumulative: 1040 miles!!.....
.....and not one puncture - 5 full e2e4e's, 17 stagieres - in all around 10,300 miles puncture-free!

e2e4e Day 14 - carbisdale to tongue

2006-07-08T16:19:00.000+01:00

e2e4e Day 14 - Carbisdale Castle to Tongue

Having said goodbye to Ed and Rosemary after last night's meal, we were losing Jayne and Jeff this morning. Though, not until we had had a great continental breakfast amongst the 300 Italian students in the diningd room. So we are now down to our final complement of riders: Roy, David, Sara, Anthony and myself as the full End to Enders, and Mike, Harris, Andrew and Dennis as stagieres extraordinaire!

We are now so much into the rhythm and routine of this ride now that we could probably just keep going without too much effort - just as it is coming to its end! It is going to be very strange for us to stop - physically, mentally and socially! For each of us this is a great personal achievement, requiring commitment, but we wouldn't have got through it without the great leadership and organisation from Roy. He's made sure everyone played their part, and that everything we needed was available at the right time.

Leaving the castle and rolling down the hill to the railway line in Culrain we had fantastic views back at the hostel/castle on the hill. Over the railway on a footbridge, soon we were climbing on the hills again. Lairg was a small town in a depression in the plateau, with Loch Shin stretching out before us. We then followed the Strath Tirry stream with incredible 'big' scenery openeing up in front of us. On to the Crask in via a dramatic descent.

Here we were around halfway to Tongue and still it was fairly early. Rather than lunch we settled for coffee and Highland shortbread. Like Lairg, Crask was another settlement in a bowl on this high plateau, surrounded by peat bogs and distant brooding mountains. The pub stop was very welcome, and even meant we sat in for the brief cloud-burst that passed quickly. Davie found a tame lamb around the back of the pub, and later the landlady, Kai Geldard (originally from Yorkshire – it’s amazing how many times complete strangers have been prepared to tell us their life’s story as soon as they’ve met us!), got Sara to feed the lamb from a bottle. Like so many over the last couple of weeks, unasked for, the landlady gave us a donation for the e2e4e cause.

From here the road, all single track with passing spaces, and they’re can’t be many A-roads like it, rose slightly before an even more impressive descent through forestry. First we flew through Altnaharra, and then descended to turf roofed cabin on Loch Loyal. Here Davie instigated a skimming competition, but no-one could touch him, despite valiant efforts from Roy, David and Dennis. Rain came on a little here, but only briefly, and after sheltering in the lee of Cnoc na Cuilean we continued on our way.

This journey across the Sutherland Highlands has shown us just why Scotland is known as the ‘Big Country’ – good name for a band! Beside Cnoc Craggie the road steadily rose at a low gradient, and Mike pulled away for the Tongue town sign – yes, we’re still chasing those place-name signs after nearly a 1,000 miles, and I seem to have infected most with this childish pursuit.

At some point Roy asked Andrew to play some Scottish tunes on his tin whistle in the Highland scenery, so we stopped for the most atmospheric impromptu concert. Andrew gaves us Mingulay Boat Song, Ye Banks and Braes, and the Blantyre Explosion - all recorded for posterity on camera videos.

The final descent into Tongue gave us fantastic views over the Kyle of Tongue, with its causeway and a medieval broch on the hill opposite. In the post office Mike and I bought postcards, and in a scene reminiscent of one in the film Local Hero, the lady behind the counter of the shop informed us that we would have to buy stamps for our postcards at the post office counter at the back of the shop. She promptly walked over and then served us from there herself.

As we had arrived in Tongue at 10 to 2 in the afternoon, and the local hotels had finished serving lunch, we made our way across the causeway to Melness on the opposite side of the Kyle, and had lunch in the Craggan Inn. It had fantastic 180 deg views of the Kyle, Rabbit Isles and Eilean nan Ron, with ghostly distant views of the Orkneys. A great lunch was had with stunning weather changing by the second in front of us. In this remote part of Britain strangely the signal for the wireless connection of Roy’s laptop (required for blogging) was one of the strongest we’d had. So, we were able to send out yesterday entry complete with several photos. Again the landlord of this establishment gave us a donation.

We had to wake Harris up, in order to leave, but only once he’d got up off the floor where he’d fallen asleep! A quick roll down the hill at 5pm and we were at the Youth Hostel on the Tongue side of the causeway. Unpacked and showered, we soon found ourselves at the Ben Loyal Hotel, having a well deserved aperitif and then setting about yet another meal.

It was amazing being able to walk back from the hotel to the hostel in what seemed like early summer evening light, but in this case nearing 10:45 pm when we arrived back. The hostels surprising us all with their quality and diversity of style. We’ve now stayed in English manor houses, corrugated tin shanty dwellings on dank hillsides, castles, Swiss chalets, bunk houses, and stone cottages. In Tongue we’re treated to a large Victorian house with Scottish styling on the outside and Scandinavian-like efficiency and luxury inside. What other form of accommodation could offer such variety at a blanket price?

And so to bed, but alas the signal has deserted us here, so this may be being read a day late again, or at best without photos to start with!

Today’s mileage: 55.42 miles; avg: 15.3 mph (3 hrs 37 mins)
Cumulative: 975 miles

e2e4e Day 13 - loch ness to carbisdale castle

2006-07-08T15:58:00.000+01:00

E2e4e Day 13 Loch Ness to Carbisdale Castle

Imagine waking up in a hostel on the shores of Loch Ness. I guarantee, you will find yourself involuntarily scanning the surface of the Loch , just in case you will be the lucky one to spot Nessie, even though you doubt her existence

We woke up and had one of our famous e2e4e homemade breakfasts, muesli, cornflakes, bread, marmite, toast, yoghurts, bananas. I must also put in a word for Sara and Anthony’s unending supplies of dried mango, which are a real treat on our rides.

Our ride today was 64 miles, and began with some flat riding to Urquhart Castle, near Drumnadrochit. We stopped at the ruined castle, which is a significant tourist attraction and took some photos. It looked very imposing overlooking the Loch, and must have been a fantastic castle in it’s prime.

It was a short ride to Drumnadrochit, and then we faced a very steep and long climb, at 15% . Basically, it consisted of several sequential climbs and was a good test. Everyone rode strongly. Ed started strongly three days ago, and has basically got stronger every day. Harris is a delightful person to ride with and has some good talent for cycle racing if he chooses to pursue it. Mike has adapted well to his bike and loves riding with his shirt off when the weather is warm enough. He is almost always in good spirits, and you can hear his laugh from some distance away. Jayne is great company and has soldiered on even though she has had a sore knee.

Sara has been consistently strong during the ride, and has been our number one fundraiser as we have gone along. She has also ridden through a pretty painful injury, from which she is recovering, and yesterday she took part in a long, 15 mile sprint group, and was an essential part of it’s effectiveness.

Anthony is always great company and has a bon mot for every situation, as well as a rapidly developing turn of speed and he has been a real delight since we started.

Andrew is still as strong as ever, is brilliant company and I know from previous experience that his photos will be fantastic.

David Ward takes all the stages within his stride and remains unflustered by steep hills in particular. He is also taking loads of photos and we look forward to seeing them later.

Dennis is such a strong and consistent cyclist, and is a wealth of good knowledge and always helpful [ except when I crashed in France recently and he said I shouldn’t be allowed to have a plaster as there was not enough blood! ].

Herbie has been the lifeblood of the ride and is the one we all naturally turn to for advice. There is no doubt that we have all got stronger as the days have passed, and the 5 e2e4e riders now have some 900 miles under our belts.

David, the driver, is a fantastic chap and cannot do enough to assist us, and is always interesting to talk to.

At noon, we observed the silence for the 7th July bombings 2005, and stood quietly by the side of the road.

Lunch was at Dingwall, which is sited near Moray Firth. It’s very interesting how the parts of Scotland we have toured through have differed. Our run over a fairly barren Rannoch Moor two days ago, contrasts sharply with the pine, gorse and heather clad features of the Struie near Ardgay, which then led our way up to Carbisdale Castle.

View from the Struie.

When approaching the castle by bike, prepare for a stiff climb,and to be awestruck by the size of the castle and the number of rooms. There were four large tourist coaches when we arrived, and we discovered we had turned up at the same time as more than a hundred young Italian students, as well as others. The building seemed to be run on an industrial scale and our room contained 16 beds. Once again we chose our bunks and ‘bagged’ a bunk by putting a helmet or bit of kit on it. Mine is once again a bottom bunk, with David having the bunk above me.

Some great news, folks. Martin ‘flagboy’ Ingram, who came to carbisdale before us, has left us a message on the bike shed door saying ‘e2e4e almost there’. Good old flagboy.

We said a fond farewell to Ed and Rosemary this evening, and looked forward to the ride to Tongue tomorrow.

Today’s mileage: 64.19 miles; avg: 15.4 mph (4 hrs 09 mins)
Cumulative: 920 miles

Media coverage: Le Tour de Fragrance

2006-07-07T16:30:00.000+01:00

I just got a Google News Alert on this article Le Tour de Fragrance - Why Roy Taylor, Andrew Webster, and Mike Reid are in Lycra which appears on the CareandHealth site:

"As the crew eased into their lodgings for the evening they were greeted by their host Helen who was waiting with acupuncturists and a masseuse. Having just proclaimed that their ride was hardly taxing and that they were looking forward to some hills in the next leg, all of the riders suddenly found some muscle pain which needed immediate attention. Roy Taylor remarked, "I've never seen so much enthusiasm as each rider went the whole hog and had all the treatments going." The therapists were also pleasantly surprised to find so many sweet smelling men, completely against their expectations."

e2e4e Day 12 - glencoe to loch ness

2006-07-06T16:50:00.000+01:00

The daily blog!

e2e4e Day 12 - Glencoe to Loch Ness

Well after a few near perfect nights' sleep, and some easier riding (yes, cycling in Scotland has been the easiest terrain so far on our journey, but that will probably change!), last night was probably one of the most sleepless nights for most of us. We left the window open in the heat and returned from the Clachaig Inn to find our room full of midges! The compromise between boiling in our sheet sleeping bag to keep the midges away, or cooling off slightly only to be bitten to death was not one we were going to win. Well I'm speaking for the lads, the lasses having been slightly more sensible and did keep the windows closed. As for the famed Avon 'Oh so Soft' - useless!

Oh well. After a continental breakfast bought from the hostel we set off through the village of Glencoe and back to the main A82. Not for the first time in Scotland, the day started overcast with some rain in the air, but very soon had cleared up and was ideal for cycling. With a following wind we were soon at Balachulish, where I remember catching the old chain ferry with my parents years ago- now replaced by a large metal bridge, offering fantastic view back towards Glencoe.

A flat 20-21 mph stretch to Fort William saw us have an early tea stop at the Ben Nevis mountaineering store café, where Roy and I were able to get really up to date with the blog as the signal was on strength 5 of 5. We managed to add photos for the last 2 days, and publish yesterday's entry with photos. This first strecth had been a nice introduction to Jayne Aplin, our new rider for the next few days, while Dennis and Ed were now into their second day's ride with us.

Mike Reid, Ed Naylor and Andrew Webster, some of our 'stagieres' for Scotland stages.

Back on the road tanking along the Great Glen (Gleinn Mhor) Harris mixing it with the best, and certainly earning his Sigma cycling jersey as he took his turn time and again on the front as we 'bit and bitted' (sharing the slip-streaming) through Spean Bridge, even winning the village sign sprint at Laggan.

Our next stop was to have a quick look at the Laggan Locks, before lunch at the Glen Oich Restaurant at the Great Glen Water Park. In great weather we sat outside the Swiss chalet style restaurant, really taking our leisure for the first time, not being able to believe how quickly we were covering the miles.

From here still with a slight following wind and nice temperatures we continued the short way through Fort Augustus to Invermoriston, where we again could afford some time to ‘sight see’ the Old Invermoriston Bridge built by Thomas Telford between 1800 and 1820. Real watercolour scenery!

Just round a few bends and we were at the Youth Hostel in Alltsigh, and for the first time too early to check in. We were able to get into the lounge, where Roy made us all play Trivial Pursuit, every else being put to shame by the easy win of Harris and Davie’s team!

Later, after our first real leisurely afternoon, we made our way down to the Glenmoriston Hotel in Invermoriston for a meal. After helping to rearrange the dining room to fit us all in, and with a few pints of Red Cuillin local real ale inside, we sat down to a well deserved meal. Several having haggis for starter or main course, with the obligatory neeps and tatties. Maths by this time of the trip and evening was becoming tougher so they gave us a calculator to sort the bill out with.

Finally we all piled back into the support vehicle, some amongst the kit in the back, and returned to a midge free dorm at the YHA. The sky was still light, and the sound of the water lapping on the shingle beach below us was very soothing. Every glimpse of Loch Ness seeming to offer the possibility of a ripple or shadow being Nessy!

Today's mileage: 60.98 miles; avg 17.6 mph (3hrs 28 mins)

Cumulative: 855 miles

e2e4e Day 11 - loch lomond to glencoe

2006-07-06T11:02:00.000+01:00

E2e4e Day 11 Loch Lomond to Glencoe

PLEASE REVIEW THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS ENTRIES SOON AS PHOTOS WILL GO ON THEM ASAP.

The morning after a great night. Mike Reid arranged for a catered meal for us all in a private room at the YHA, and it was sheer bliss to have had such a treat.

This morning, Ed Naylor joined us for the first leg of his 3 days, looking very much the part in his Pakistan Cricket team shirt. It was also Andrew Webster’s first day. He is riding all the way with us to JOG. The morning began with the usual briefing, and today it was straightforward, given that all we needed to do was to follow the A82 up to Glencoe, 65 miles north.

We had a few mechanical probs to sort out. Harris’ front brake had lost a key component which needed replacing, and somehow, two bikes were locked together and no key could be found to undo the lock. But, hey we’re all in a mellow state after our recent massage, acupuncture, and last night’s meal. No need to panic, just put the two entangled bikes in the van, and Harris’ brake parts, and send it off to a bike shop to get fixed, with the riders joining us later en route when ready.

The day began with mist, and some rain over Loch Lomond, and the A82 is a narrow road which gets a lot of tourist buses, lorries etc. Fortunately, on the western side, there is a well marked hard shoulder which doubles as a cycle lane, and we covered the first 15 miles pretty well, except that the road surface, especially round the Loch itself, was really bumpy.

We had a short pit stop at Tarbet, where there was a visitor info centre, at the north end of the Loch, and then made our way through another 15 miles to Crianlarach where there is a famous little tea room on the railway station platform. This made a great stop and we met two super local people,one of whom was Neal Cook of Scotrail, and they told us to watch out for the stags as we approached Glencoe, and also to watch for the midges. Apparently, one stag had managed to stop a train, as it put it’s antlers through the compressor at the front of the train, thus disabling it !

They also told us that Jimmy Saville owned a house near Glencoe, and that, if he was at home, a flag flew ! Same policy as Buckingham Palace, I guess.

Next stop was a refuel with the van at Bridge of Orchy, and this is where Mike decided to take a dip in the river. Then began the long climb up to Rannoch Moor, which was gradual, and absolutely breathtaking as we could look down on the rail line, and begin to get a feel of the enveloping hills, which loomed ever larger and more imposing.

In the distance, coming the other way, from Fort William, we spotted a familiar figure. It was our e2e4e rider, Dennis Clarke, who was due to join us for the rest of the trip.

A quick refuel with the van in the middle of the moor,where our driver, David, got stung , and it was then down to Glencoe itself. Our CTC notes explained that we would probably have to pedal, even though we were going downhill. This turned out to be the case as the headwind was strong. What is it about desolate places that calms the spirit? It was very awe inspiring in the midst of three huge peaks, and I began to try and imagine what it must have been like to have been in the middle of the Battle of Culloden.

We arrived at our youth hostel in good time and we have a room for 6 blokes, one for 3, and one for Sara and Jayne Aplin to share. Right on cue, as David the driver arrived with the van, Jayne phoned to say she had been dropped off at the crossroads and was ready to be picked up , so David went to get her straightaway, spraying his armpits with ‘ Avon Skin So Soft’ which not only repelled midges, but gave an extra aroma of ‘metropolitan sophistication’ , he claimed.

We heard that Mike, David the driver, and Harris, had decided to book in to a local Inn, the Clachaig, and arrangements were to all have dinner there.

A really good day, with all doing well. Ed was a star and his training paid off handsomely. It was great having Andrew, who helped the faster riders keep a good pace by leading the group with fresh legs.

Today’s mileage: 66.68 miles; avg: 15.6 mph. [ 4 hrs 15 mins ]

Cumulative is 794 miles.

e2e4e Day 10 - wanlockhead to loch lomond

2006-07-05T12:44:00.000+01:00

e2e4e Day 10 – wanlockhead to loch lomond

Well that last stop was definitely the ‘high point’ of the trip so far – Scotland’s highest village, acupuncture and massage, and a fantastic meal. After a treatment enhanced sleep, and a great breakfast, we said goodbye to Blaine, after his 3 days on the ride, having been great company. We also said goodbye to the landlady, yet another friend made en route – this seems to be a constant feature of our trip. Her and her husband are moving to run a guest house in Normandy – we left our address so that we can look forward to a Scottish breakfast while on a St Lo cycle trip sometime.

Following the Captain Mainwaring briefing at 9am where Roy tried to describe the route from Loch Lomond to Glencoe, just a day early (‘wondered who’d spot one, good show Pike!’), we set off down from Leadhills near Wanlockhead, and soon the sun was out and we were crossing from one valley to another high in Scottish moorland. After the splendidly named Crawfordjohn we found a quiet B-road alongside the Motorway to Glasgow.

We met the support van at Happendon services, Davie Jones proving another great driver/soigneur (technical cycling parlance!) – with his own laid back style. The next stop he suggested for us shortly before Hamilton and the urban jungle that awaited us, was a café/garden centre at Chatelherault Country Estate. This set us up with a good lunch before the push through Glasgow.

A 20 mile stretch of gritty route and map reading took us through Cambuslang, Rutherglen and then into Glasgow City Centre proper. Over the Clyde on the Victoria Bridge and there was the Loch Lomond cycle way – all the way to our days destination (not!). A great stretch of the cycle way took us past the new Scottish Exhibition Centre and onto Govan. Here the diversions started, and the shipyard disgorged its workers just as we were trying to refind the route. A quick pub stop in Old Kilpatrick and we were soon back on superb tracks beside canals and waterways, slowly leaving the city behind.

After a massive weir and a few more twists and turns we found ourselves in Balloch at the head of Loch Lomond. It was a short push on to the Youth Hostel, Auchendennan House, which was more of a castle/country house. The place was huge and baronial, and only slightly blighted by 300 US kids running a-muck (what’s US-speak for ASBO?)!

Here we were greeted by Mike Reid’s mum, Jean and her friend Wilma. Between them they had organised for caterers to provide us with a meal in a function rook of the hostel overlooking the loch. This was a great reception for us, and an opportunity to welcome Ed Naylor to the ride, accompanied by his wife who will shadow us for the next 3 stages. Andrew Webster, due to join us at 6:30pm for tomorrow, didn't arrive until 10:30 courtesy of BA delays dept., but luckily the caterers had put something aside for him.

Today’s mileage: 68.72 miles; avg: 14 mph (4hrs 54 mins)
Cumulative: 728 miles.

e2e4e Day 9 - carlisle to wanlockhead

2006-07-04T13:04:00.000+01:00

E2e4e Day 9 Carlisle to Wanlockhead.

A truly brilliant day from start to finish, folks. In Carlisle we said a very fond farewell to John Legate and wished him well on his journey back home. John has done a fantastic job for us and will also decommission the van when it finally comes back south after e2e4e. We’re also looking forward to some great photos given John’s skills as a professional photographer.

We welcomed the team from Scotland at 8am, Mike Reid and Harris Stockbridge, who will both be riding with us all the way to J O’Groats, and David Jones, who is our next driver. John and David had a good chat as John showed him the ropes.

Today, Jeff Jerome is on a rest day.

We set off north from Carlisle, also with Eric Chasseray, who joined us last night. Although the temperature at Wimbledon was 30 degrees, ours was much cooler, with a threat of rain, and welcome for it.

We had been anticipating another tough day, with a big climb to Wanlockhead, Scotland’s highest village, but we started with a lovely, long flat run for over 30 miles,going past the magic ‘Welcome to Scotland’ sign, and passing Gretna, and Annan . Mike spoke to me about the amazing transformation which has taken place in Gretna as a result of the football team being taken over and getting to the Scottish cup final.Most importantly, the amount of engagement with children and young people in the town really seems to be paying off and crime has fallen.

We had our lunch stop at Dumfries in a very good tea rooms with friendly service. It was good to see our new riders settling in quickly, and enjoying the pace. David got right into the hang of being our driver, and was rapidly supplying us with bananas and other fruit. At our van stops the sounds of Bob Marley and Johnny Cash began to be heard. Between Harris, Mike and David we now have some excellent local knowledge at our disposal too.

We set off for Wanlockhead via Thornhill and the estate of the Duke of Buccleuch, with it’s impressive castle.

Here’s a question, ‘What creature can you find half a million of in one square metre ?’ The answer is not ‘ Scottish M.P.’s at Westminster’, but the dreaded Scottish midges.

We sprayed ourselves with the famous ‘ Avon Skin So Soft’ which Mike had obtained. This was to be our midge repellent, and has a great reputation, even with the military, I understand. David Ward called it ‘ Avon Crawling’ !

I’ve never smelled such a sweet smelling group of cyclists before. We kept looking for the midges to left and right and wondered when the first wave would attack. We were told the evening would bring them out.

Then came the final 7 mile climb up to Wanlockhead, and our stop for the night at ‘ Mona B and B’ in nearby Leadhills. This was a great climb , right in the midst of some very impressive hills, and it was a struggle for most of us but manageable.

We had a warm welcome from Helen, our host for the night, and our big treat, acupuncture and massage, were waiting. I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm as each rider went the whole hog and had all the treatments going. The two therapists, Lynda Sharp and Blair Templeton, were first class.

Blair not only gave excellent massage to legs and other parts, but he was so skilled that he could spot strengths and weaknesses, and work hard on the parts of our bodies most needing treatment.

Lynda, as well as her massage skills, gave us acupuncture and ‘ cupping’ which involved putting heated glass cups on the skin, which drew the blood up from deep inside and diffused it.

As I write this, we are all still full of wellbeing from these treatments.

Lynda has a website, http://www.solwayholistics.com/; and Blair can be reached at his e mail address, blairtempleton@hotmail.com.

Our thanks to Lynda and Blair for their exceptional gift of these treatments to our charitable cause. Lynda also has skills as an equine muscle release therapist, which must be unusual.

Our mileage today turned out not to be the alleged 62 miles, but was over 70.

Today’s mileage 71.70; avg 14.0mph (5hrs 5mins)
Cumulative: 659 miles

e2e4e Day 8 - slaidburn to carlisle

2006-07-03T07:23:00.000+01:00

e2e4e Day 8 – slaidburn to carlisle

A day when the tarmac popped like bubble-wrap as we rolled over it – it was that hot! Also my route-finding seemed to be back on track after a slip blip yesterday, except for a quick tour of the village of Ingleton! After a well organised breakfast and briefing, then planning the rendezvous points with John Legate, we set off, up!

Having climbed Bradford Fell and then descending to Slaidburn in the Trough of Bowland the night before we had to climb back out. This time over Great Harlow, a massive climb through beautiful moorland and a chance for a photo opportunity at the top – here we have Blaine making it look easy.

Featured rider, Blaine Cole - compare this to the profile photo on the e2e4e website for Blaine!

Shortly after this we entered High Bentham and made good use of the cash point for those of us running a bit low of funds. A few miles up the road we were swamped by a motor-bike rally, and the peaceful roads to Sedburgh were occasionally rumbling with groups of our leather clad kin.

A lovely ride alongside the Langdales brought us to our lunch stop at the Cross Keys in Tebay. It might seem like the ride is all cafés and hills, but the feared climb out of Tebay to Orton never really tested us after our good lunch.

This brought us to the ‘downhill’ part of the day, where following the Lyvennet and Eden rivers should have guaranteed us a virtually hill free run in to Carlisle. Somehow the road contrived to leave the river valley several times to remind us not to get complacent. One of these meanderings however, did bring us to a important ‘mile stone’ – the probable HALFWAY mark on the e2e4e. I say probable as the promised mileages of each day’s stage have been exceeded by a good bit on several occasions (must have a word with the Cyclist Touring Club when I get back!). This point was the village of Culgaith, almost level with Penrith (the commonly recognised mid-way point).

Getting over the disappointment of arriving at the halfway village and finding a tea rooms had just closed, we followed the river Eden for a bit longer and then got ourselves onto the A6 to fly down into Carlisle.

Another long day, but most of us finished in better shape than yesterday.Jeff went off to meet a friend and take a well earned rest day. While the rest of us made our way to Stanwix Tandoori and had a blow out curry to see our driver John Legate on his way. After 4 days dringing the support vehicle and attending our every need john is handing on the role to David Jones – and like John Azah before him has left a high standard for the next to follow. We also picked up our next new rider, Eric Chaseray, who will be a useful addition as he lived near Glasgow and might be able to pilot us through 'Old Reeky' better than the route-sheet and our hazy knowledge of the area!

Today’s mileage: 85.52 miles; avg:13.2 mph
Cumulative: 587 miles

e2e4e Day 7 - chester - slaidburn

2006-07-02T14:58:00.000+01:00

Photos now added!

The Magical Mystery Tour moves on ! Our night in Chester was eventful at the backpacker’s hostel, with lively activity going on outside in the street for much of the night. We awoke to find our van with blood smeared on it. But, what a sunny morning, with our longest day’s riding in prospect, an early morning heat haze, a Brit playing at wimbledon, the start of the Tour de France, and England in the World cup !

Our featured rider of the day - David Ward, here on the climb our of Slaidburn, in fact on day 8 - turning out to be great company and dropping into the role of our 'rear gunner' and bike mechanic.

We had a pit stop at a great bike shop in Chester, ‘ The Bike Factory’, and then began the trip to Slaidburn, an alleged 80 miles away. This was the day on which we had to circumnavigate Manchester and it’s environs, and so, was set to be a day of complicated map reading and careful planning re rendezvousing with the van, esp as the heat was mounting by the hour.

We made some really good early progress, although we could not get away until 10.30 or so due to our bike repairs. Jeff Jerome, on his way to our start point from his digs, managed to rip a tyre and burst a tube in a pothole, we had some minor repairs to Sara’s bike, and Anthony needed work on his disc brakes.

The Cheshire cycleway, which took us into Delamere Forest, was a dream on a day such as this, and hundreds of England flags were on display on passing cars.

As we got nearer to the outskirts of Manchester the heat was really building up and the intrusion of an urban landscape came as something of a shock.
We stopped for lunch at a canal side pub in Leigh, which was pretty good, and a relative oasis among the urban scrawl.

After lunch it was off to Chorley, and then once more into calmer lanes until, eventually, we made our way towards Preston and Blackburn, getting sight of the Reebok Stadium at one point.

Throughout the long day, Herbie had once more been a stalwart, taking long turns on the front and map reading splendidly. As we reached Hoghton, the route instructions let us down a bit and we ended up, fortunately, at a bike shop with an incredibly helpful owner, who printed out precise route instructions for us to get to Slaidburn, 25 MILES AWAY ! As we were all more or less tired out by this point [ nearly 70 miles in baking heat] this was something of a shock , as we’d put our money on the trip being 80 miles.

The sat nav route sheet took us along the A59 and it was really quiet, as the England-Portugal game was nearing the end of normal time. We had a great ride into Clitheroe and met up with John in the van. Clitheroe is only some 10 miles from Slaidburn, and so we thought we would be home in good time for the ‘meal curfew’ at the pub near our Youth Hostel for the night.

Unfortunately, as we were in Clitheroe, a noise erupted as England lost a penalty shoot out and were dumped out of the world cup. The world then went temporarily mad as cars whizzed about, all with angry drivers with little heed for anyone. It didn’t last but was unsettling. As we rode through the town, the local groups of people who had spilled out on the pavements, suddenly started shouting, ‘ here’s the bloody yellow jersey from the tour de france, come on you bugger !’. At this point, I sort of wished I had not chosen today to wear a yellow jersey ! Still it was all fun.

We then made our way to Slaidburn, and gradually began to realise that we were ascending, at first gently, and then, increasingly steeply. Turned out that we had to go over a huge Fell, taking us right up into the hills. This was a real challenge as our meal deadline [ ‘ if you are not in your seat by 8.45, you don’t get fed !] was rapidly approaching.

Somehow, despite there being several climbs, we all made it , although most riders did not even have time to shower first.

The service in the pub was pretty unique, with the world’s most miserable barman being teamed with the world’s rudest waitress, who barged her way through customers using her shoulders, ignored requests to take food orders and was generally a female Basil FAwlty in terms of charm. However, when the pressure was off, later, she was much nicer, but by that time we were all terrified and even had to offer Jeff £5 to be brave enough to ask her for some mustard !

Sara was doing a great job fund raising with locals and got £70. She has tremendous powers in getting people to donate. And even got an actress from coronation street to donate

Later, the second curfew came over the horizon, we had to get back to the hostel by 11pm or the door was locked. As David Ward said, ‘ we were between a rock and a hard place !’

A word about our new recruit today, Blaine Cole. Blaine, who is with us for 3 days, had a real test today, with such a difficult [ over 90 mile ride ]day as his first day. He did really well and is our third vegetarian in a group of 7 at present. In fact, everyone did well today . Unsurprsingly, the barman informed us that our next day would be diificult and that the only way out of Slaidburn was ‘ UP’, and so to bed……….

e2e4e Day 6 - clun to chester

2006-06-30T22:57:00.000+01:00

After a good nights sleep in the Clun YHA, we formed two lines to send Martin Ingram on his way - this mad fool is attempting to reach John O'Groats before us, by doing over a 100 miles a day, in order to make a social commitment at the same time as our last 2 days.

We then retrieved our washing - one of the obsessions of a trip like this is to get this done wherever the opportunity presents itself. With Jeff and Bruce now in toe, we set off into the Shropshire countryside, alongside the Long Mynd. After this the hills were behind us for the moment, and the ride took us back and forth across the Welsh-English border.

Nick Edwards then left the group to catch a train home after his 2 days on the event, and then at Ellesmere Bruce McDonald and Graham Everson similarly left the ride, after we'd all had lunch.

We really were now in easier country, with rolling hills and ornate black and white timbered buildings, and a second day of warm sun. John Legate taking the opportunity to get some professional photos of the team with Mark Roy as we bowled along the Dee Valley into Chester, meeting Blaine Cole who's joining for the ride for the next 3 days.

As we arrived the city of chester looked great on a sweeping bend of the river, and we quartered ourselves at the Backpackers Hostel. Having stabled our bikes in the kitchen, on the fire escape and in the back yard, we then met Herbie's old friends Pete and Julie who had a table booked for us all at the Old Harkers Arms just around the corner on the canal.

Then back to the hostel and the Blog, plus the stats:-

Today's mileage: 68.71; avg: 13.0 (5hrs 16mins)

Cumulative: 411 miles

e2e4e Day 5 - welsh bicknor to clun

2006-06-30T22:42:00.000+01:00

John Legate at our Leominster lunch stop.

Mark Roy joining us at Ross-on-Wye

e2e4e Day 5 - welsh bicknor to clun

2006-06-29T23:35:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone,
Our day began today with some goodbye's and some welcomes.We all said goodbye to John Azah and wished him well on his journey home,and thanked him for his great contribution to the success of e2e4e so far.

Avid readers of our blog will recall that our new driver, John Legate, joined us last night and he has been a great organiser for us and taken on the challenge of being our driver.

Our two e2e4e riders, Graham and Nick, joined us at Ragman's Farm as planned and it meant we got off to a prompt start, and, unusually for us, it was a downhill start.Next, we had to rendezvous with our third new rider, Mark Roy, at Ross on Wye, and this also worked out well as Mark was waiting for us by the market place.This was a very busy market town, with traffic whizzing by, but we still found people who stopped us [ actually, we usually stop them !]to ask about e2e4e. It's really heartening how people are taking to the purpose of our ride and are genuinely interested.

Today was scheduled to be an easier day, of some 50 miles, but it turned out nearer 60 overall. There was the most fantastic part of the ride which went down the Wye Valley, with a beautiful morning, a very warm day in prospect, and the river as calm as a mill pond. Some of the riverside cottages were stunning.

Generally, we're finding that the quiet country lanes have a sting in the tail with steep gradients at some point and this proved no exception as had some pretty steep climbs for a time.We met a couple at a beauty spot whose son is currently cycling across Bhutan ! It's amazing how often we meet people who have ridden the e2e at some stage.A man at a cafe this pm had done it twice.He also gave us a generous donation,encouraged by Sara , who is very effective at this!

The day grew hotter and we lunched at Leominster. This was where I finally thought I would put some sun cream on, only to discover that I had packed insect repellent instead.This was odd, because, just after I swapped the repellent for suncream, I got stung !

We made good progress during the afternoon and reached our destination, Clun, in good time.Clun YHA is really good and has a brilliant view and good facilities.

Our rooms are a 7 bedder and a 4 bedder.We went into the Sun pub in Clun for an evening meal and were joined by 2 e2e4e riders who start with us tomorrow, Bruce and Jeff.Bruce is riding with us to Chester tomorrow and Jeff is hoping to reach JOG, but will see how he gets on.

First rule of e2e4e is that all those who have to leave us keep in touch, and so we heard from Simon and from John Azah tonight, both of whom really enjoyed their time with us.

As we're heading for Chester tomorrow , it feels as if we're beginning to go north.

Today has been a good day [ although I did take a wrong turn and get lost temporarily]and i'm really looking forward to tomorrow's stage.

roy

Caption Competition!!!

2006-06-29T00:51:00.000+01:00

.....and now Roy has gone to bed and isn't looking over my shoulder - here is a photo for you to add a caption to - use the Guestbook to send in your suggestions. The winner gets Roy's e2e4e T-shirt that he's been wearing all week!

e2e4e Day 4 - Wednesday

2006-06-29T00:04:00.000+01:00

Martin Ingram called today 'Herbie's Adventures of Tintern' - and somehow that stuck. Finally an almost entirely dry day, with a fair amount of sunshine.

It started with us saying goodbye to Sara's aunt Rene and close friend Lena at the Street YHA. Rene and Lena have great experience as two exceptional midwifery trainers and provided us with up to date info re the work which a midwife, trained by them, is doing in the earthquake region.

In all we took in Glastonbury and the Tor, Wells Cathedral, Chew Valley Lake with 11'ses stop, the Clifton suspension bridge, the old Severn Bridge (Pont Hafren), Tintern Abbey for afternoon tea stop ( the only tea rooms in the country with a dance floor!), and the magnificent Wye Valley.

The first day with Martin and James now on board, and finding out just how tough life is on the road - Providence Hill near Long Ashton nearly killed us all, and climbing out of the Wye Valley to Coleford was close to alpine! - and this was supposed to be the first of the flatter days!!

It was a great relief to see John Legate, our next driver, as we approached our bunkhouse at Ragman's Organic Farm at Ruardean, and in the evening we set off for our meal at the Royal Spring Inn. This gave us a chance to say goodbye to John Azah, who has been such a great driver and support for us.He was simply, fantastic.

At the pub, we were joined by Martin, 'flagboy' Ingram's friends, Paul, Ros, and their son, Joe, who has just finished his 'A' levels.

Roy is very grateful to his P.A., June's, daughter, Georgie, who texted him from Centre Court with the latest scores from Wimbledon !

Tomorrow we should welcome three more riders.........more to follow!

Today's mileage: 78.53 miles; Avg speed: 13.6 (5hrs 46 mins)
Cumulative: 284 miles

Send-off photo

2006-06-28T13:13:00.000+01:00

Kingston Mayor Mary Reid posted this photo on her weblog over the weekend, describing the send-off at Richmond Park.

Click the photo to enlarge and see her entry for details on the people in the photo.

e2e4e Day 3 - Tuesday

2006-06-27T23:28:00.000+01:00

After a hopeful weather forecast we awoke to yet more rain. However, after a cooked breakfast at the tea rooms/B&B across the road from 'hostel in the gods', the rain eased. We said goodbye to Simon after his two stages of great company, and to Sara's parents, and set off to climb the remaining hills of this edge of Dartmoor.

Soon we were out of the misty woodlands and into the Exeter, which hencefowrward should be known as the 'City of the Bus' - just hundreds of them!

By contrast Honiton was a lovely town, with a farmers market and John with the support van parked in the middle of it all. One more pasty for the road and superb efforts from John (see photo - in Ghana strip; shame they lost today to Brazil!) with the collection bucket out to make another £30 for e2e4e.

From we were next into the softer hills of Somerset and bowling along lovely lanes through Long Sutton and Somerton to Street. The hostel was a Swiss Chalet at the top of Ivythorn Hill with fantastic views of the Somerset Levels and Glastonbury Tor.

We had a meal at the Bear Inn Bistro, and retired to the hostel. A little later James Parker and Martin Ross joined us for their stint across the Welsh borders.

Today's mileage: 66.71 miles; Avg speed: 12.9 mph (5hrs 9 mins)
Cumulative: 206 miles

e2e4e Day 2 - Monday

2006-06-27T22:52:00.000+01:00

Day 2 began with a great YHA breakfast at Golant, which was made even better by it being Sara's birthday. This was a modest affair which began with party poppers, banners, balloons, rose petals on the table, and Sara's cards and e mails, and a fantastic T shirt designed by Herbie to help Sara come to terms with her advancing years.

As we left Golant, by way of yet another climb, balloons were attached to Sara's bike for the day. Once again, the legendary 'dad's army' style briefing session went down well,with even a real classroom to give it in.

This was a day of ferries and hills, as we went on ferries at Boddinick and Torpoint.After a dampish start, the weather settled into a fixed pattern, cats and dogs all day ! Cycling through Plymouth was an interesting experience, as the cycle ways occasionally emptied into busy sliproads.

Gradually, we got closer and closer to the entrance to Dartmoor national park. For the e2e4e gang , Dartmoor ,though undoubtedly awe inspiring, was shrouded in mist and rain, so much so that it was almost impossible to see even a few yards in front of the bikes. See our featured rider, martin 'flagboy' ingram on Burrator. It was a relief to reach our hostel at Step's Bridge, although it turned out to be pretty basic [ or, 'ideal' as described by Martin]. Dinner was at a pub up the road, where we were joined by Sara's parents, Val and Mike, who were great company, and Mike even sang us a folk song about our venture.

This was the first night which required people to travel in complete blackness in the back of the van in order to fit us all in on the way to the pub.This is an experience not to be missed as you lie on the floor between Jayne Aplin's bike and Blaine Cole's.

That's enough for this day, folks, and it's over to herbie for day 3.

roy

Today's mileage: 66.63 miles; Avg speed: 11.7 mph (5hrs 39 mins)

Cumulative: 139 miles

e2e4e Day 1 - Sunday

2006-06-25T22:11:00.000+01:00

Well the first day's riding is under our belts now, and everything went brilliantly - the Captain Mainwaring style briefing from Roy setting the tone for the day!

After a good breakfast we fixed for oursleves in the bunkhouse, we set off to take up the offer of a free light airplane ride around the peninsula - however, the cloud cover was too low, and we had to forego that kind offer from Andy.

We all made our way to Land's End for photos with the signpost (e2e4e 1,000 miles - Lahore 4221 miles), and a photo-call with the Cornwall County Council press photographer.

Then the hills beckoned, and did they keep coming. Penzance, with the Mayzie fair on, and the beautiful St Michael's Mount passed quickly though, and we were soon on the narrow Cornsih lanes with stone hedges either side.

The rendezvous with the van worked well, and seeing John Azah at the appointed place always lifted our spirits. A quick lunch stop at a pub in Porkellis, and then we started to tick the miles off. John keeping us informed of the England World Cup match score against Ecuador.

WHen we finally rolled into Golant Youth Hostel, after 72 miles, we found everything we needed - bike store, laundry, drying room and excellent evening meal.

Today's mileage: Bunkhouse-Land's End 5.24 miles; Land's End-Golant 67.47 miles
Avg speed 12.9 mph (5hrs 12 mins riding) Cumulative: 73 miles

e2e4e Day 0 - Saturday

2006-06-25T22:04:00.000+01:00

Hi all e2e4e followers. Well we've finally arrived in Cornwall for the start of the e2e4e, and what a day we've had! It's been brilliant from start to finish.

We began with a fantastic send off from Richmond Park this morning by the 2 mayors of Kingston and Richmond, and the First Secretary of the Pakistan High Commission. The e2e4e riders were presented with garlands to start the ride and this was a most auspicious start.

The brilliant logo bedecked van was driven by Martin Ingram and John azah all the way to Cornwall, and the riders went by train.

Our reception on arrival in Cornwall has been just wonderful, and many thatnks to Carol Tozer, Director of Cornwall Social Services, and to her staff and friends, who laid on a fantastic BBQ for us, on a sun drenched evening.

Sara, Anthony, Martin, David, Simon, Herbie, John, and I are just about to settle down in the bunkhouse for the night at Kelynack, just a few miles from the start of our 1000 mile journey tomorrow.

Captain to Blog, Captain to Blog......

2006-06-22T21:56:00.000+01:00

It's that 24 hours to go kind of feeling,and my head is full of words and tasks.
Pack the bags,cycle kit,change of clothes,route maps,accommodation addresses and phone numbers,radio interview 7.30a.m saturday !
Take the laptop,store all mobile numbers of riders and drivers,make sure to carbo load,take drinks bottles,don't forget midge spray,sleeping bag,saddle sore cream,spare saddle bolts,gaffer tape,bungees,specs,sunspecs,shower creme,get hair cut,take press releases,buckets for collecting coins,track pump,immodium for tum,spare shoes,flip flops,back belt,camera and leads,take a book for relaxation!
Keep raising funds,say thanks to all the helpers,richmond park send off,dash for train,BBQ in Cornwall,thanks to Carol in Cornwall,sharing rooms with several others,15 different beds in 15 nights !
Take muesli,spare tubes and tyres,razor,suncreme,will it be hot,wet,dry,cold,windy,or the lot ?
Great feeling to be getting underway,cycling with friends and helping in Pakistan.More than anything, hope I don't let people down. Must catch up on Wimbledon each day,World Cup,Tour de France.I need three TV's each night.
Herbie is a rock, and we will all benefit from his knowledge.Griff will supervise our blogging all the way over in Minnesota.Must go now, I feel another list coming on....

The E2E4E is nearly upon us!

2006-06-22T16:36:00.000+01:00

Well the e2e4e is nearly upon us now. All the preparation - accomodation (thanks to James & Martin), fund-raising, attaining corporate sponsors, route planning, website, training, logistics, and much more are drawing to a close.

Tomorrow Roy, John Legate & I load the support vehicle with tools, spares, supplies (from Sigma), provisions etc., and then on Saturday 24th June 2006 we all gather from 10:30am for the big 'send-off' in Richmond Park. This will take place during 'Bike Across Cultures' and we will be sent-off by the Mayor of Kingston and the Pakistan High Commission.

7 of the riders (Sara, Anthony, David, Martin Ingram, Simon, Roy & I) plus the support vehicle driven by John Azah, make the dash down to Cornwall, leaving around 12 noon. Once there we have a reception hosted by Cornwall County Council. On Sunday 25th June, we are finally off for real - this time sent off by CCC and BBC Radio Cornwall, plus local press.

It will be great to finally get on the road - be sure to catch the unfolding Blog, as we make our way up the country. Other riders will then join and leave us as the ride progresses. Thanks for your support.

Final meeting of the e2e4e riders

2006-06-15T23:17:00.000+01:00

Herbie Blackburn sent these photos from today's final meeting of the e2e4e riders. Click to enlarge and see other photos in the FlickR e2e4e preparation photo set.

Sigma Sport, the local Kingston cycle shop, provided the mechanical checkups on the bikes. Final route sheets, accommodation details, contact lists, equipment lists, driver information packs etc. were also handed out.

Podcast episode #5: guest Simon Higgins joins Roy and Herbie

2006-06-15T01:21:00.000+01:00

This week's podcast episode includes updates from Simon Higgins, as well as regulars Herbie Blackburn and Roy Taylor.

Click play to listen (11 minutes, 30 seconds), subscribe to the podcast or subscribe via iTunes.

4 June update from Roy

2006-06-04T22:56:00.000+01:00

Roy sent this out today via email to his e2e4e network.

Hi e2e4e gang,

Stone me, it's June already ! That means there's only 20 days to go before the start of the 1000 mile ride. That's OK, no need to panic, as we're all in training and getting nicely tuned up, aren't we ?

I hope everyone's training is going well for the part of the journey they're undertaking. A number of us rode about 70 miles today in glorious sunshine, which I feel we've waited so lomg for this year.

Once again, there's lots to update you on folks and I hope you're all busy doing what you can to raise funds too.

Last night, the P45s rock band played a gig for e2e4e at the Wheatsheaf in Farnham. You may recall that I wrote to you all to tell you that the band is known to us through one of our e2e4e gang, Jon Fairclough, who is the bass player.

The band played a great set last night and I'm grateful to those who came to support us. As well as a bucket collection, the band donated their fee for the gig to e2e4e, which was a significant amount, and so our I'd like to give our thanks to Jon, Hilary, Richard, Rob, Peter for donating their services and fee.

Many thanks are also due to Herbie who once again got his iron and ironing board out, as well as computer, to make sure that we had e2e4e t shirts for the night for the band to wear. Herbie was also a master at the art of bucket collection!

Talking of buckets, I'm very grateful to James and to Martin Ross for agreeing to take charge of the June 19th bucket collection at the Guildhalls, for staff to contribute to e2e4e. Marie Gadsden from Human Resources will also help James, and we're hoping for some bucketsfull of cash for e2e4e charities.

James has also come up trumps with his booking of all our accommodation across england and scotland. Virtually every place he has managed to book for us is bang on the recommended route for the end to end. This is no mean feat, and it means that we will not have to make lengthy detours. So, well done to you, james. Can anyone who owes money for accommodation please settle up now?

As far as food on the ride goes, the general plan is that we breakfast together at our various youth hostels etc en route. We then leave at 9am each day and have our various energy bars etc as we ride, with a lunch stop. Our aim is that the support vehicle has water, energy bars and drinks, fruit etc on board as needed. We will need to phone ahead each day to book meals at the youth hostels if poss. Not all the hostels offer this, and we may need to resort to pubs on some occasions. Remember that there is a BBQ in cornwall on 24th June, and also the BBQ at loch lomond.

I would expect that all riders will bring some of their own essential provisions [bars etc] too. Each of us will need to pay for our meals in the evening.

Last week I heard from the Pakistan High Commission, and the First Secretary is coming to see us off from Richmond Park on Sat, June 24th, together with the Mayor, Councillor Mary Reid, who is also supporting the ride by advertising it at her engagements over the next month. Don't forget to come to the 'send off', which we are planning to be at around 11 to 11.30 am on 24th. I need as many of our riders as poss to turn up and be photographed with the Mayor and First Secreatry sending us off. You will be given our official t shirts with the sponsors logos on. These are being provided by Pantons of Kingston, and Martin Wilson of Mibrand, is working on the design with Roger Panton.

This week, Ian Whittingham is back at Sigma, and I'll be contacting him to meet up and put the final details on Sigma's helpful sponsorship.

There's another name for me to introduce to you, John Riley. John will be handling the signwriting on our support van and Herbie and I have been in touch with him re getting logos on the van and advertising for the e2e4e itself, so that we can raise money as we travel from Land's End to John O groats. From talking to John, I'm sure he's going to do a great job.

I'm also very grateful to Steve Bassett, one of our 4 drivers, who has arranged to try and raise funds at grand avenue school, where he works.

Sean Duggan, and the Surrey Comet have been brilliant from the start of our enterprise and this support continues. I hope you managed to see the excellent profile of Sara a couple of weeeks ago. It really was good, and Sara has done some fantastic things in her life to help others. Sean has also ensured regular coverage in general, including more photos [ Jon, and Ed Clark] from the May Merrie. I was interviewed by the Comet last week, and this may appear soon. I expect that Sean will make sure that the headline refers to me as 'no spring chicken'!

I was pleased to bump into Ed Naylor last week. He is now cycling round richmond park up to 4 times a day on his training rides ! That's very impressive, and Ed says he is hoping to build this up to a total of 8 circuits.

I happened to see Mark Roy cycling in Kingston last week, he was going at quite a clip, and I could see that he was an experienced rider.

I'm sure you don't need further reminders from me to turn up at guildhall with your bikes at 12.30 on June 15th for sigma mechanics to give them the once over.

Remember also that the June training ride will leave the bike sheds at 12.10pm on June 22nd and will be combined with the famous Bushy Park picnic as part of national bike week. There will be a ride along the tow path to Hampton Court and then over to Bushy Park and the picnic. People need to bring their own picnic but some basic neccessities will be laid on.

Finally, I'd like to tell you about an individual girl in Muzzafarabad who British Red Cross have been helping. Her name is Samia Mukhtar and she's 10 years old. Samia was in school when the earthquake struck and, although she evacuated the building, she went back to get something and the school collapsed, trapping her in the rubble. She cried out for help for five hours and was eventually rescued, but her five year old sister was killed. Samia had a leg amputated and is undergoing rehabilitation. Red Cross staff were involved at a number of key points, and have been very impressed at Samia's positive outlook on life, despite her trauma.

Let's just keep focussed on trying to help Red Cross and Fountain House in their essential work as we fundraise, and as we undertake our very challenging ride.

I think that's about it for now, folks, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon,

best wishes,

roy

P45s for e2e4e

2006-06-04T21:43:00.001+01:00

Herbie Blackburn sent me this report, with photos (click to enlarge) for posting here:

Griff, here are some photos from last night's P45s gig in aid of e2e4e. They played at a pub called the Wheatsheaf in Farnham, about 10 miles west of Guildford in Surrey.

The gig represented some useful fundraising and awareness for the event. Varied numbers from Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd), Rock 'n' Roll (Led Zeppelin, Paint it Black (Stones), Doctor Doctor (UFO), White Wedding (Billy Idol), Riders on the Storm (the Doors) and many more went down a treat. The band really are pretty good, and irrelevant of the cause, it was a good evening. The band are:

Peter Trevena on vocals

Rob Scott on lead guitar

Richard Brake on rhythm & acoustic guitar\

Hilary Brake on keyboards and backing vocals

Jon Fairclough on bass guitar

plus a guest drummer

26 May update from Roy

2006-05-27T22:16:00.000+01:00

Roy sent this out today via email to his e2e4e network.

Hi e2e4e gang. The bulletin is back ! I had a break for a while as we were cycling in the Tarn gorge, east of Toulouse and Albi. This is a great part of France and has some challenging cycling and plenty of climbing. The highlight was the fantastic scenery, and the lowlight was when my saddle bolt snapped half way up a climb !

The pace is quickening on e2e4e as we get nearer to launch date on Saturday, June 24th at Richmond Park and the 'bike across cultures' event. The cornwall riders will be leaving the park at noon to catch a train to penzance, arriving at 19. 30pm. John Azah, our first driver, will drive the van down to cornwall, and we will all go to the BBQ which Cornwall council is laying on for us. Well done to Herbie for getting us rail fares for £22 each.

John Legate will pick up the LDV van from Heathrow a few days before we start and will do some fitting out for tools, luggage etc. John is our second driver and joins us near the welsh border. The third driver will be David Rigg-Jones, who will take over in Carlisle and will lead e2e4e through Scotland to John O Groats. Our fourth driver is Steve Bassett, a new recruit to the e2e4e gang, who bravely came forward at the May Merrie and offered to help. Steve will drive the van [ with bikes] back to kingston, and will be able to help John with fitting out if necessary. If all goes well, John, John and Steve will have a practice driving the van before we go 'live '.

We are hoping to get some logos on the van to advertise our event and two charities, and to mention our sponsors. I'm in touch with a signwriter re this and hope to hear soon.

Many thanks to Iain Millar, who has secured sponsorship from Zurich insurance for our 4 drivers, and from UBS who will help us with fuel costs. This is great news.

I've heard from Roger Panton today, who has his own business in Kingston. Roger and his company, Panton's, are going to supply us with T-shirts. Martin Wilson will help us re design and siting of logos etc. We can wear the T shirts at press events and photo time. Many thanks, Roger, for this.

A big event coming up is our fundraising gig at The Wheatsheaf, in west st, Farnham, on Saturday, June 3rd 8pm. One of our gang, Jon Fairclough, is an ace bass guitarist with his band, The P45's, and the band have kindly agreed that they will support us via this gig. So, this is an invitation to you, partners and friends to come and join us. The band play some great songs, including a fantastic 'Purple Haze','White Wedding' and 'Losing my religion'. And a brilliant ' Like a Rolling Stone'. Can't you imagine yourself singing along ? Come and do it for real, I promise you'll have a great time.

I've heard from Red Cross this week, and at our e2e4e meeting in the Guildhall on Thursday, was able to let everyone know that there is an emphasis now on providing seeds and fertilisers, as well as tents, rebuilding, cooking materials etc. Much agricultural land was lost in the earthquake and Red Cross is helping people to begin cultivation and restoration. I've also made contact with Fountain House again and hope to hear soon re progress.

Iain briefed us on our donations so far. Cash is beginning to come in, just under £2,000 so far, but with much more being pledged. We need all e2e4e gang to fundraise and to keeep cash, cheques and pledges mounting. We will try and let everyone know how this mounts up via our webpages. We have had one donation of £500 from a generous donor, and several of £50. I'd be very grateful if all could aim for a minimum of £1000 if possible, recognising that some can get more and some will have a harder job. If we could achieve this, it would mean that we would raise over £20,000 between us, which could bring a lot of help in Kashmir and surrounding area.

I'm very grateful to Bruce, our Chief Exec in Kingston, who has agreed we can have a 'bucket' collection in the council on Monday, June 19th. Any volunteers to help me organise this?

Bruce has also agreed that an e mail can go to all members of staff, asking them to contribute to e2e4e charities and I will arrange this next week.

Many thanks to Mike England [ our Head of Housing] and to Sandie Barker at Kingston College, who will be organising a series of fundraising sessions on the exercise bikes at the college while we are on the e2e itself. Back in Kingston, people will be riding 20 miles on exercise bikes to raise funds.

One of our e2e4e gang, Mike Reid, has arranged that Glasgow City Council lays on a BBQ for us at Loch Lomond ! What about that folks ! If we're very lucky, another of our e2e4e gang, Andrew Webster,will serenade us on flute with his version of 'Loch Lomond'. Andrew entertained us with this in France last week and he is very good.

Mike has also arranged that a tent is set up at Wanlockhead with massage and acupuncture on offer inside. As this is Scotland's highest village, then we'll certainly need something to revive us. Apparently,the acupuncturist also works with animals,probably mostly hedgehogs and porcupines I should think by the look of them.

British Red Cross are hoping to provide some cheerleaders for us in Cornwall and John O groats. That will be something to look forward to. I understand that Beth, at Red Cross [ and honorary member of the e2e4e gang] might keep local red cross teams informed re our route.

On the rider front, we've had a couple of withdrawals and a couple of new recruits. Bruce Bolton is still recovering after a period of ill health and won't be able to ride, but he's still a member of e2e4e and will be keeping in touch, and fund raising if possible. Jon the bass man has a clash of commitments, but his place on the Cornish part of the ride is to be taken by Simon Higgins, who several of you have met on our training rides. Sara encouraged Simon to take part and the gentle pressure she applied to his throat has brought results. Also Jeff Jerome, Director of Social Services from Richmond on Thames, is joining us for several stages. I don't want to worry you all, but we now have 3 directors of social services on the ride, so cut price counselling is a certainty.

As I write this, I'm hoping that Griff Wigley, our blogger and podcasting expert from USA, will be able to join us. If he can come, he will be riding a recumbent. That's a sort of bike you ride whilst lying down and resting, whilst trying to ignore the pain in your legs. E2e4e afficionados can listen to our podcasts [ several already in the can] by visiting our blogging website.

By the way folks, keep up to date with training etc and sponsorship forms at our main e2e4e website.

Oh yes, we've managed to fill the one accom gap in our schedule. We have just solved the Carlisle Conundrum, by booking accom at Marlborough House in the town, and handy for the A7, which we have to take the following day up to Wanlockhead and death by 1000 needles in the acupuncture tent. [ no, honestly, it's ok, I've tried it, and it works !]

Don't forget [ riders] to bring your bikes along to guildhall on Thursday, June 15th, at noon for a mechanical check from Sigma Sports excellent mechanics. And don't forget to keep training and fundraising. I snuck into my tennis club at 7am today and put a 'sponsor me' notice up, right under the wimbledon ticket draw, so I know people will see it !

Thanks to Sean and the Surrey Comet for their continuing coverage and help, which is much appreciated. And thanks to John Azah, who is hoping to get us interviews on Sunrise radio and Kissmart radio.

Have a good weekend everyone.
Roy

Podcast episode #4: update from Roy and Herbie

2006-05-26T13:41:00.000+01:00

This week's podcast episode includes updates from both Herbie Blackburn and Roy Taylor.

Topics covered: their weeklong trip in France, the support van, sponsors, a music gig, the two charities, and more. (Apologies for the occasionally erratic audio.)

Click play to listen (10 minutes, 30 seconds), subscribe to the podcast, download the MP3 File, or subscribe via iTunes.

New photos from France in training album

2006-05-25T05:55:00.000+01:00

Herbie sent me a batch of photo from last week's trip in France.

I've added them to the e2e4e training album on Flickr.

Route map/segments

2006-05-22T13:40:00.000+01:00

See these for details on the e2e4e route and the daily segments/distances.

Support van from LDV Heathrow

2006-05-16T17:44:00.000+01:00

Roy and Herbie talked about the support vehicle in last week's podcast episode. LDV Heathrow is the dealer who will be providing it as a sponsor.

We hope to soon have a photo of the real thing but in the meantime, you can see more about LDV and their vehicles from their website.

LDV Heathrow
Unit 6b Ascot Road
Feltham Middlesex TW14 8Q
01784 420430

The LDV factory is in Birmingham.

New location for the e2e4e main website

2006-05-16T16:18:00.000+01:00

The main e2e4e website has a new location and a slightly different look.

I've updated the sidebar links here.

Sigma Sport's news item about e2e4e

2006-05-14T18:23:00.000+01:00

Sigma Sport, one of the E2E4E sponsors, currently has the event featured on the news/home page on their web site.

Where is their shop located, you might ask, besides on the web?

"...on the opposite side of the river to the main town centre of Kingston upon Thames in Surrey."

Media coverage

2006-05-14T18:11:00.000+01:00

Recent media coverage of E2E4E:

Surrey Comet, 4th May: What a May day!
Kingston Guardian, 4th May: Easy riders attempt to make charity ends meet
Bucks Free Press, 20th April: Quake cycling challenge

Podcast episode #3: update from Roy and Herbie

2006-05-12T04:00:00.000+01:00

This week's podcast episode includes updates from both Herbie Blackburn (center) and Roy Taylor (left). Topics covered: the upcoming training ride, the support van, sponsors, a music gig, the two charities, and more. (Apologies for the occasionally erratic audio.)

Click play to listen (9 minutes, 40 seconds), subscribe to the podcast, download the MP3 File, or subscribe via iTunes.

May Training week in France

2006-05-10T19:12:00.000+01:00

Some of the other e2e4e riders from the Guildford area and Roy and I are off on our annual cycling holiday next week, this time to the Tarn Gorge in southern France. We should get some miles in and test ourselves for cycling several days in a row.

Previously we have been to Piemonte in Italy, near Pau in France, Auche in Artois, and also combined the trip with the 2002 Etape du Tour from Aime to Cluses in the French Alps.

The photo above shows the 2004 Pau trip, with us on the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.

7th of May update from Roy

2006-05-08T01:14:00.000+01:00

Roy sent this out today via email to his e2e4e network.

Hi e2e4e gang,

Another bulletin to keep everyone up to date. It's Sunday night and several of us have been on a long training ride today in the Surrey Hills, brilliantly organised and led by Herbie. Anthony, Sara, Martin [on his velocino bike], Andrew and myself, together with our friend, Simon, set off from Oxshott station and took in some tough climbs during the day. It was all good practice for the e2e4e, especially when combined with the Isle of Wight ride last weekend.

I mentioned to you that I hoped to have some good news about a musical event. Well, I'm delighted to announce that Jon Fairclough, one of our e2e4e riders, is organising an evening at The Wheatsheaf pub in West Street, Farnham on Saturday, June 3rd, when his rock band, The P45's, will perform to help us fundraise for the earthquake. The landlord has kindly agreed to let us do this, and to pass the bucket round etc.

So, please take this as an invitation to you and your friends to come along and join us. Jon's band are very good, and play great versions of 'Purple Haze', 'White Wedding', 'Losing my religion' amongst many others. They are well worth coming to see. I've asked Sean Duggan if he can help put me in touch with a local newspaper editor who might be prepared to publicise both e2e4e and the gig.

James is busy sending us all our invoices for accommodation on our e2e4e, and we all need to ensure that we pay as promptly as possible as our 'float' is fast drying up as we've had to use much of it to reserve the accommodation.

Beth Lindsay from British Red Cross is due back in this country this week, and I will ask her for an update on the position in Kashmir.

I will also be in touch with Fountain House re progress with this project. I'm hoping this week to begin making stronger links with Asian communities and possible sponsors for e2e4e. It may be a dream, but I've noticed that the Pakistan Cricket Team will be in England for test matches around the same time we are doing e2e4e, so I'm wondering if there can be a link up re this. All I have to do is to find someone with the right contacts!

I've written to Sigma Sport re sending us a mechanic to our June meeting at the Guildhall, and I'm hopeful that they will send someone to give our bikes the once over. However, we all need to ensure that our bikes are serviced and in good condition for the ride.

Thanks to James and colleagues, we've pretty much cracked the accom problems on the route, and just have to sort out Carlisle, which we're working on. James will ensure that you all have the details of where you are staying on the ride.

I didn't manage to see our van last week [it's at Heathrow, I believe], but I'll keep trying. I'm esp keen that John Azah and John Legate get to see it or learn about it.

I won't be sending a bulletin next Sunday as I'll be in France [and with no PC to hand], but please, everyone KEEP FUNDRAISING and we'll meet at the Guildhall in May as scheduled. Can I urge you all to come to this meeting please?

Best wishes to everyone,

1st of May update from Roy

2006-05-01T14:03:00.000+01:00

Roy sent this out today via email to his e2e4e network. I've added some links and photos from Herbie.

Hi e2e4e gang,

Phew, what a weekend of activity for the e2e4e gang! Herbie, Martin, and I had our usual Saturday morning e2e4e business meeting over a cup of coffee in a bookshop, and this was followed by a hectic Sunday, where 18 of us boarded an early ferry to the Isle of Wight for the annual 'round the island ' ride.

E2e4e gang figured strongly as 5 of us [Bruce, Herbie, Sara, Anthony and myself ] stayed together for the whole ride, which turned out to be nearly 80 miles with the odd slight detour near the end. Hats off to Sara and Anthony for tackling this so well, especially as Sara had trouble with the gears and they wouldn't shift properly for much of the ride. Also Graham, Nick, Jon, Dennis and Andrew took part and braved an unusually cold day.

Several of us stayed on the Island overnight and caught a very early ferry to get up to Kingston for the May Merrie where we had a stand next to the Surrey Comet's space. I'm very grateful to Mike England and his staff in Kingston's Housing Service for putting up the stand in time for us to start on schedule with Herbie and Bruce on turbo trainers. We had some great support from e2e4e riders and others. Many thanks to Martin Ingram, Ed Naylor, Ed Clarke, Jon, Esther, Graham, Martin Ross, James, Lyn Abrahams, and Blaine.

Quite a lot of people came up to our stand and pledged to help the earthquake charities, and we also made a good contact with the Round Table, who have kindly agreed to help re the earthquake.

We had the great idea that our turbo sessions would be better if we had some music to train to, so Herbie brought his family ghetto blaster, but it became clear after a couple of minutes that the 1000 watt P.A. system right next door to us from Radio Jackie, would blast us off the planet. It certainly made the adrenalin flow. What impressed me was the interest which people I spoke to showed in e2e4e and the earthquake, and how many said they had read about it in the Comet. I'm also very grateful at the personal interest Sean Duggan at the Comet is taking in e2e4e, it really helps us.

It's actually been a pretty momentous week for us in several ways. I'm delighted that Sigma Sport have taken us under their wing and are going to do several things to help us with e2e4e. All of us who are riding will get a card from Sigma entitling us to 10% reduction on cycling purchases re the ride. I will email Ian at Sigma with our details to set this up. Not only this, but Sigma will supply us with drinks bottles, a jersey each, and will help advise us re our bikes and a mechanical check. I will arrange the date for this, probably the June meeting in the Guildhall if possible. Sigma also let us use their banners today at the May Merrie.

The Kingston Chamber of Commerce dinner took place on Thursday last week, and 100 of our leaflets were distributed, so I hope this leads to some further sponsorship and fundraising. Thanks to the efforts and kindness of Nick Kift and Geoff Cole, I hope to make contact next week re the van we will be using for e2e4e. There may be a chance of some signwriting for this too, and I will follow up this week.

James has done some sterling work re accommodation, and we are now all booked except for Carlisle, which we hope to crack this week. On Friday we secured a booking at Raglan's Farm, near welsh bicknor, and this is an organic farm which also runs training courses. On our night here we will need sleeping bags. Iain Millar managed to finalise this booking for us, so thanks Iain.

I may have some news to announce soon re a possible e2e4e music gig in June, so standby for this. If it comes off I hope that as many of you, partners, and friends can come as possible for what I know will be a great evening.

How's your fundraising going folks? Following Sara's excellent tips [see notes from our meeting on April 20th ], I'm contacting as many people and organisations as I can, and I hope you're able to do the same. I already know of 3 hospitals and one Primary Care Trust who will try and help, and Herbie's article on e2e4e has gone to at least 30,000 people in BT ! So, please keep the donation bandwaggon rolling as we try to bring help re the earthquake.

We've had a great contact from Cornwall who are setting up 2 radio interviews and TV, and I'm hopeful, that thanks to Sean's contacts, we may be able to place some fundraising press articles in local newspapers all the way along our route, and, through Bruce, contact local Councils too. I can't think there's any other Chief Exec who would take on several stages of an event like this.

We also have a new e2e4e rider joining us, Jeff Jerome, who is a Director with London Borough of Richmond. Jeff will be riding quite a few stages with us and is now in training and hopes to join us in some of our training sessions.

Remember our training session which comes up on Sunday next, May 7th. We will leave Oxshott station at 10am for a ride which Herbie will lead. Herbie is a great route leader and almost never makes a mistake reading maps and following signs. In fact, in all the years I've known him, I can't think of any mistake he's made. Until yesterday, that is.

Somehow he managed to miss a very big and obvious sign, and we had to send out search parties. The reason given for this was that he was 'so deep in conversation' that he somehow missed it ! [Buzz Aldrin to Mission Control, ' sorry, Neil Armstrong and I were chatting and we missed the moon, so we're on the way to Mars, hope that's ok'] However, you're all welcome to join us at Oxshott station for a ride, safe in the knowledge that Herbie will be doubly keen to make sure we don't go wrong.

Some more newsbits, Michael Wong has had to pull out from e2e4e as a rider due to an injury not clearing up, but thanks, Michael, for giving it a go. Our e2e4e rider, Bruce Bolton, has had a period in hospital and we wish him well, especially after his enthusiasm on our ride a couple of weeks ago.

Finally, a bit of chicken news for you. As well as my two bantams being broody and having to be wrenched of the nest to feed each day, my very large Brahma hen [Mrs. Slocum] has also gone broody and is absolutely squashing the bantams by insisting on joining them in the nest and generally flattening them. I now have three pairs of eyes daring me to try and remove the clutch of eggs beneath the feathers.

Have a good week everyone and I believe we're promised some hot weather very soon. That should really encourage the training for e2e4e.

24th of April update from Roy

2006-04-25T04:39:00.000+01:00

Roy sent this out today via email to his e2e4e network:

Hi e2e4e gang,

I expect you have all been waiting for my usual Sunday evening bulletin, and had a kind of empty feeling today as you could not find the latest one in your inbox ! Well, fear not, here it comes, albeit one day late. Basically, the heat was off as James had sent you all a full note of our meeting on Thursday with e2e4e members, and I wanted to wait for some further developments on a couple of things.

Some good things have been happening which takes our planning forwards and which gives us a push to start fundraising too.

I'm delighted that Nick Kift, from Kingston Chamber of Commerce, has agreed that his company, Mann Island, will underwrite the cost of us hiring a van for the ride. Nick has been in touch again today and may be able to help with us getting some signwriting on the van. This would be brilliant and could help us as we try to raise both our profile and some funds for the earthquake as we go on our voyage of 1000 miles.

Thanks are also due to Lisa Gagliani, Chief Exec of the Chamber of Commerce, for being willing to place over 100 e2e4e sponsorship packs at an event later this week. I have written to Lisa this evening explaining the things we need help with,but most importantly, asking for contributions to our two chosen charities

Also on the sponsorship front, we've had a really generous offer of a discount on TREK bikes from their marketing person, Lena Blackmore, and I've let Sara and Jayne, our two riders hoping to get new bikes, know.

I'm also delighted that Sigma Sport have agreed to help us and I am due to meet them late tomorrow pm.

The May Merrie is nearly upon us and I was contacted by Freda Ahmed of the Surrey Comet today to finalise arrangements regarding our alloted space. Just to recap, we have 11 riders and will start at 11am, although our helpers from Kingston Housing will be on site from 9am. Fingers crossed for a dry day and a good turnout.

Griff Wigley, our man in Minnesota,is looking very hopeful to join us and is out training on his recumbent! Griff is leading for us on our E2E4E blog and E2E4E podcast, and we're just about to put links for these on our E2E4E website.

As far as accommodation on the e2e4e goes, we continue to make good progress, and this week will be trying to finalise accom in or near Welsh Bicknor, Carlisle, and Wanlockhead. I think this will then give us the set of 15 places.

Can I refer you all back to James note from last Friday, April 21st, and the section on fundraising following some helpful hints from Sara. I took my courage in my hands this afternoon at a meeting with central government depts and brazenly sought a slot to talk about e2e4e and our charities. Amazingly, this was well received and pledges are coming in. So, can I urge all of you to get fundraising and let's see if we can start the funds rolling in. I've also had my first indication that my letter to social services departments is having an effect.

My next bulletin will be a bit later than Sunday as we'll be on the Isle of Wight and completing the round the island event, and, on Monday morning, making our way to the May Merrie.

Have a great week everyone and keep on getting your bums on saddles if you're riding with us, and supporting us if you're in the wider team.

Podcast episode #2: Guest Herbie Blackburn

2006-04-21T01:18:00.000+01:00

This week's podcast episode includes guest Herbie Blackburn, e2e4e webmaster and ride participant, along with Roy Taylor. See Herbie's rider profile for a photo and cycling background. It also includes updates on miscellaneous news from Roy.

Click play to listen (21 minutes), subscribe to the podcast, download the MP3 File, or subscribe via iTunes.

Media coverage: Surrey Comet

2006-04-20T01:01:00.000+01:00

In last week's Thursday 13th April 2006 edition of the Surrey Comet was this article titled: 1,000 mile ride to aid quake survivors.

An intrepid team of cyclists from Kingston will be pedalling from Land's End to John O'Groats to help the victims of last year's Pakistan earthquake.

The 26-strong e2e4e team, which stands for End to End for the Earthquake, will be led by Kingston Council's director of community services Roy Taylor CBE. He is hoping to raise more than £10,000 for two charities British Red Cross and The Kingston Pakistan Earthquake Appeal to create a psychological rehabilitation centre for survivors in Lahore.

The team, whose ages range from 15 to 81, will make the 1,000+ mile trek from June 25 to July 9.

Not only will there be online updates of progress via a weblog, but participants' groans and moans will be captured in a pod-cast which people can download and listen to on their digital music players.

Mr Taylor said: "For the last 15 months I have been working with Government agencies on the tsunami, the London bombings and Hurricane Katrina.

"When it came to the earthquake in October, many people from ethnic communities in Kingston lost family. Over 75,000 were killed and 3.5million made homeless. It's a huge catastrophe and I had the idea at Christmas that we had to do something to help."

But given the enormity of the disaster, Mr Taylor felt a small undertaking would not suffice, and decided on a monster 1,000+ mile effort.

The trip will be split into 15 legs, averaging more than 70 miles a day, with five riders due to go cycle the entire distance.

Special mention must go to 81-year-old Mark Roy, a member of the Sikh community, recipient of the mayor's useful members of the community award in 2001 and executive member of Kingston Racial Equality Council.

Mr Roy had a heart bypass operation in 1991, but still manages to cycle 50 to 100 miles a week and will ride from Clun to Chester to Slaidburn in aid of the appeal.

Others taking part include the council's chief executive Bruce McDonald, who plans to ride the five stages from Welsh Bicknor to Carlisle, workload permitting.

The ride's only female participant, Sara Butterfield, plans to do the whole trip, and welcomed the opportunity after working with disaster response teams in Rwanda, Liberia, Zimbabwe, India and Kosovo.

She has cycled in the past in France and Scotland, and fitness should not be a problem, as she recently led an expedition to climb Everest in aid of Nepalese street children.

Mr Taylor said: "We have a really good team together and we have all started training. We went on a 60-mile ride this weekend and I think people are starting to realise just how hard this is going to be.

"Of the 26 people I think 15 are from the council, and everyone is taking their annual leave to do it."

With such a mammoth undertaking there is a huge amount of organising to do, including corporate sponsorship, individual fund raising and sheer organisation of equipment, accommodation and more.

The group is trying to get corporate sponsorship to pay for fuel in the support vehicle, accommodation, equipment and much more, in return for publicity and helping a good cause.

First on the e2e4e wish list is a support van capable of taking the team's equipment from Kingston to Penzance, then up to at least Carlisle.

If you can help please ring 020 8547 6000.

The team will also be doing lots of other fundraising activities as the date approaches, so watch this space.

drankin@london.newsquest.co.uk

Feeds/email notification

2006-04-12T03:26:00.000+01:00

On the right sidebar, there's now a box with the options to subscribe to the e2e4e weblog (email and RSS) and the podcast.

The inaugural e2e4e podcast: interview with Roy

2006-04-12T00:00:00.000+01:00

The initial e2e4e podcast is an interview with (left) Roy Taylor, Kingston Council’s Director of Community Services, and the brains behind E2E4E (End to End For Earthquake). We did the interview via Skype. Roy was at his home in London and I was in my home office in Northfield, Minnesota.

Click play to listen (12 minutes), subscribe to the podcast, download the MP3 File, or subscribe via iTunes (coming soon).

TRAINING DAY

2006-04-11T21:49:00.000+01:00

On Sunday about a dozen of the e2e4e gang set off on a 50 mile ride as a 'gentle' warm up. We rode into the Surrey Hills and soon discovered that climbing can test the mind as well as the body.

One trick is to imagine a giant hand pushing you up the hill.Another is to think of a tune and push down harder on the pedal on every 4th beat.Of course, you have to pick a good tune.I don't know why, but recently,although I try to concentrate on 'Born in the USA', I always seem to slip into 'I shot the sherriff'. I think it must be 'Marley's Ghost '!

Does anyone know what tune Lance Armstrong thinks of when climbing ? That's the one I want !

Podcast -- close but not quite yet

2006-04-04T16:39:00.000+01:00

On Sunday night, I connected with Roy via Skype (me in York, he at home in London) and recorded an initial interview for the e2e4e podcast. Or so I thought. Turns out, only one channel got recorded -- my from my mic on my laptop. Roy's voice, though coming in clear on my headset, never got recorded. Aarrggghhh.

I've since done a little research and I think I know what needs to be done to remedy the problem but it may be the weekend before I have time to fully test it and redo the interview with Roy. Apologies for the delay!

3rd of April update from Roy

2006-04-04T15:56:00.000+01:00

Roy has been sending out periodic updates via email, but now that we have a blog, I thought I'd post it here for others to see what's been going on behind the scenes:

Hi everyone in the e2e4e gang, this is just another bulletin from me to keep you all informed and the pot boiling as we now hit the month of April and creep ever closer to June 25th and our date at Land's End for the start of e2e4e.

Since I last wrote to you a lot's been happening, so here goes with the updates:

Riders : our age range is now 15 years to 81. Harris Stockbridge will be our youngest rider, and he has been introduced to us by Mike Reid, and will cycle with us in Scotland. By the time we reach Scotland I'm guessing that the 5 complete e2e4e riders will either be on our last legs orsuperfit and lean, and that Harris will be as fit as a fiddle.

I wrote to you in my last bulletin about the amazing Mr. Roy, who is our oldest rider. I have now had an opportunity to read about the cycle trip he led in India, and it's very impressive.

I'm hoping that Griff Wigley will be able to join us too. Griff is from Minnesota and has been working with UK government on 'e government' work, in particular, blogging. First question: what is a blog? It's something you can put onto the internet yourself, and can be a diary, or a comment column, or your views about your neighbourhood, your job etc. Griff taught me the rudiments of blogging last year and I was a guinea pig for a while, and had a go. However, I am now a hamster and unable to blog on a regular basis.

If Griff comes with us on e2e4e he will make sure we have an ongoing blog as we ride across the land. Not only that, he has a new form of technological advance to toss into cyberspace, it's called 'podcasting'. A podcast is like having your own radio show and letting everybody have the chance to hear it or download it. This could mean that our moans and groans as we ride, but more importantly, our requests for people to donate, could be heard anywhere in the world. I tell you, e2e4e has the chance of being the grooviest cycle challenge around. 'Grooviest' by the way is a 1960's term meaning 'most groovy'. As an example of Griff's talents, look at the blogging website he has created for the ride.

Accommodation: Here is a conundrum folks. James is trying to find us accommodation each night of the e2e4e. Given that our regular number of riders is 12 or 13 per day, then this poses a challenge if Youth Hostels are already booked or closed down. Our first night, in Penzance, is proving interesting as most places don't want people to book just for one night at a weekend! James, working via YHA has made a great start, booking us into several successfully. I have a list of the nights when we still have to find accommodation and I'm going to ask my fellow directors of social services across parts of UK to reserve us places on camp beds in day centres if we can't find alternatives, but there's a long way to go yet. Does anyone have aunties and uncles with very big houses and lots of beds along our route? Castles and Palaces will do nicely!

Sponsorship: Last time I wrote to you we had just visited the big cycle exhibition at sandown park, and met a lot of potential sponsors. A cycling buddy of ours, Simon Higgins created a great excel spreadsheet of all our contacts and six of us [ simon, martin, graham, herbie, andrew and myself' ] are following up. Hopefully, this will bear fruit and we should soon be getting supplies of energy drinks, cycle tubes and equipment, and horse manure [we dropped a sponsors leaflet at the stables as we left sandown park racecourse]. I told you last time about Iain Millar, RBK's Head of Treasury services, who is the brains behind setting up our bank account. Iain has some great ideas re possible sponsorship, including trying to get us fuel for the support vehicle, and approaching some big investors locally. I tell you, it's a different league from my thinking about drinks bottles. Do please contact me if you wish to approach corporate sponsors for a contribution to the earthquake charities we are helping, and I'll make sure you get some of the wonderful sponsor's packs designed by Martin Wilson for us.

Individual donations: I'm pleased to say we're all but ready to go with this.We have the forms ready for you to download later this week. Herbie is just turning the template into something that you can print off. We are also going to send you a two page, full colour, leaflet which you can show to people as you encourage them to part with cash for the earthquake charities. This week, we've also been working on enabling people to donate directly via our webpages and, if all goes to plan, this should soon be possible by a redirection to a paypal site I have registered for.

Webpages: the updating is happening on a regular basis and more and more photos and text is coming in from riders for our riders profiles. So keep 'em coming folks. Many thanks to Herbie and Chris Stottor for taking us ever forward on this. Keep checking the training rides and tips, and remember to get your bums on bikes whenever you can.

May Merrie: we still need a few more riders to take turns on our turbo trainers at this event folks, and someone to help us on the day by telling people about the challenge and helping us set up. Any offers, just contact me or my P.A., June.

That's all for now folks as I have to put my chickens away and do other things. I'll write again soon. Regards, Roy

e2e4e launches a blog... and soon a podcast

2006-04-02T17:32:00.000+01:00

Hi, i'm writing my first entry for this weblog with griff wigley, who is the most amazing blog teacher. He's also going to set up a podcast to accompany this e2e4e bike ride -- from the extreme south of england to the tip of scotland, a journey of 1000 miles.

Pretty soon you'll all be able to hear our first podcast and we'll be doing this regularly as we approach the ride, and, hopefully, as we undertake the journey.

Our first recording session had griff in a cafe in York and me at home near London. Hope to catch up again soon.

Audioblog test

2006-04-02T16:37:00.000+01:00

Just a little test to see how much the background noise interferes, as I'm here at the Evil Eye Lounge in York where the internet access is terrific but it's a little noisy. I hope to record an interview with Roy Taylor at his home in London via Skype in a few minutes.

MP3 File

e2e4e web site is up

2006-04-02T14:39:00.000+01:00

Roy Taylor, the main man

2006-04-02T13:59:00.000+01:00

Last Friday, I met with Roy Taylor, Director of Community Services for Kingston. (Click photo to enlarge.) Roy is the lead organizer of this summer's e2e4e and he and I are strategizing on how blogging, podcasting and videoblogging can be utilised before, during and after the trip.

More to come!