There at last ... There at last

We finally made it!! There at last, there at last and what a feeling of relief. We finished the last few miles from Penzance to Lands Ends and yes there were more hills but all was forgotten as we rode into the car park and had the finger post in sight. Unlike John O Groats the finger post at Lands End is fenced off and you have to pay to get your photo taken. The SD wasn't having any of that so we nipped to the back and took our pictures there. This time the mileage on the finger post didn't upset the SD as this was miles we had done and not ones we needed to do. This was great as it saved me another Mr Whippy!  We were met by the Promet staff in their car who took us back to Herefordshire. So by the evening we were back home and as the SD remarked it could all be put down to a horrible, although sometimes fantastic , dream. The SD is still cogitating on whether she wants to do more tandem travel. Time will tell.

Overall the bike stood up to the test and although we always seemed to be in for bike fettling it was usually for small stuff except for the electrical malfunction in Shropshire. If you want to know more about the bike then look on the EBike site where we bought it at https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Gepida-Rodanus-Tandem-Bosch-Electric-Bike .     Martin from Ebikes on learning of our trip generously made a donation so thanks Martin.

The bike always seemed to draw a crowd and we met some great people on the journey. A common comment was "I could never do that". We heard this from people of all age, shapes and sizes . Well if your reading this and you are thinking  "I could never do that" well think again. You can do anything if you put your mind to. Me and the SD are just your average, not particularly fit,  slightly overweight ( the SD asked me to add in the word slightly so as is the natural order of things I obeyed) mid 60's and we managed to do it . So it you have a burning desire to swim the Channel or climb Mount Kilimanjaro then get on your speedos and give it a go ( on reflection perhaps don't wear your Speedos for the Kilimanjaro trip as it can get a bit chilly up there particularly at night). We are the Baby Boomers and having messed up the country for the younger generation ( or so they all believe) we are now retired and can do anything we like - arthritis and haemorrhoids allowing.

All this moralising is great but what was it really like. Well it was tough, both physically and mentally. It gives you thighs like Usain Bolt and the mental stamina of Bear Grylls and this is only the SD!  At times I didn't think we'd make it. The effort to get the tandem and the trailer + case up some of the hills, frequently in appalling weather often seemed beyond us, but we pulled together and got the job done. It's like with any task you just have to see it through. Tenacity, hard work and a bit of luck is the order of the day. Would I do it or something similar again well I might but I don't think the SD would be on the back. As I always say there must be a moral in there somewhere , but I not sure what it is on this occasion.

Finally some thanks.  Thanks to Promet and Will for great support and collecting us on several occasions. If you need any first aid training (or long distance bike support) these are the guys to go to.

Thanks to Joe Meredith from the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund for his encouragement and support.

Thanks to everyone who contacted us and supported us throughout the journey and made donations to our just giving site

Finally I would like to than my wife Ursula (AKA The Senior Doctor or SD) for her tremendous support and effort in the endeavour. It probably wasn't her ideal cup of tea but she stuck at it manfully, or should that be womanfully, and I could not have done it without her. She was an absolute star and a great companion, but I always knew she was. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder but in this case puffing up a massive hill lashed by rain and hail in a 50 mile per hour gale did the trick.

           One bike, two riders and 942 miles completed so bring on Mount Kilimanjaro!

Final Mileage

For those interested in such stuff the  total mileage we did was:

Thurso 22 Borgie Lodge 37.6 Altnahara 25 Inveran (Corrected) 28.2 Connan Bridge 38.1 FortAugustus(Corrected) 43.4 Fort William 31.8 Fort William Day Off Glen Coe 16.2 Bridge of Orchy 23.9 Innischonain 27.9 Glasgow 35.6 Boghead 27.6 Moffat 38.2 Gretna Green 32 Keswick 38.3 Kendal 35 Newton in Bowland 33.3 Bolton 33 Runcorn 31.7 Wem 40.8 Home Repairs Much Dewchurch 26.6 Chepstow 32.3 Winford 25.7 Somerton 31.1 Payhembury 41.8 Morehampstead 25.5 Torpoint 30.6 Fowey 25 Old Carnon Hill 27.5 Penzance 26.2 Lands End 10.6 Total 942.5

Sunning it in the South West ( well not really)

Here we are in Devon. - the county of thatched cottages, cream teas and fantastic sunny days. Well the first two materialised, but the third eluded us yet again. As we climbed up on to Dartmoor the mist closed in in minutes and the rain came bucketting down. Add in the usual smidgen of hills, hills and more hills and the spectre of the Cross of Greet started to raise it' s ugly head. We didn't have any hail this time but the SD saw a snow drift up ahead. Snowing in August!! Turned out to be just two sheep hunkering down to see out the gale. I was tempted to hop off the bike and join them - at least it would be warm - but as they say two's company three's a crowd so I stayed on the bridge as captain and just took it like a man. After our day up on the moor I can see why it used to be home to Britain's most secure prison. Warm, comfy cell with your mates with porridge for breakfast or arctic blizzard and dossing down with two sheep - now let me think about this for a sec!!

 D

One of the B&B's we stayed had a massive hound ( I think it was a Doberman to be precise but having a severe disinclination to get up close and personal with dogs I can' t be sure). The SD was convinced she saw flecks of luminous paint on the poor chained creature. Highly unlikely I told her as this trick had already been pulled, but we didn't leave our shoes outside our door for a few nights before we ventured on to the great Grimpen Mire (Dartmore in actual fact) just to be sure. Two geriatrics with their throats torn found dead on the moor beside a huge bike  - no chance.

 

 

Our route took us via three ferries and just like buses as we waited for one several came along. Nice to take the weight off though and have a rest on the open waves for a few minutes. The guys on the King Harry Ferry let us off the fare as they saw we were riding for charity.  Funny how the people in the South West haven't managed to learn the craft of bridge building. Must be something in the genes the SD claimed.

        

 C

Finally we entered Cornwall with renewed enthusiasm for the task ahead and hope in that any hills would be small ones. Both of these feelings didn't last long.The hills returned in earnest and yet again the weather turned nasty, but we battled through fuelled by the inevitable pastie and a keen sense that the job was almost done. By now the SD looked as if she had had a spray tan, on her head at least, but it was all curtesy of the great British outdoors and didn't cost a penny. What a team! Almost 900 miles and not a cross word (well this is the official version I promised the SD I would put out). Finally we have reached that last bastion of civilisation in Cornwall - Penzance. We have booked into a posh restaurant tonight as a bit of a treat. I really couldn't face yet another steak and ale pie. We cycle the last few miles to Lands End tomorrow. Here's to the finish and going home ( I can hear the SD shouting her approval in the background). I'll let you know how we fare on our final push for the summit (well actually the finger post at LE) in the next exciting episode of two riders, one bike and hardly any miles to go.

 Bnr