Well its now Wednesday evening, my resting is going well (well its resting, im really good at it!)

Most of the pain during general movement has gone, in fact i feel almost back to normal, the only time i get pain is when i bend my knees more than 90 degrees,  although this is promising, i still have concerns that the problems will come back quickly once i return to the bike.  Only time and riding will tell though.

I hope to go out for a quick ride tomorrow to test my legs, i will probably keep it to just a couple of miles and see how it goes.

If all goes well i may go out for a longer ride on Friday to recover the lost mileage from last Saturday.

Other news:  I will be on Radio Northampton again on Saturday Morning, talking to Kevin Saddington about the progress (or not) of the ride.

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Sunday’s ride from Towcester to Market Harborouh was a tough day for me, mainly because it proved that i cant yet set off for the rest of the ride.  The day was quite frustrating because i forced the pace to be very slow, infact i hardly felt i’d even done a ride at all at the end of the day apart from the fact i couldnt walk! having lots of energy in reserve yet being unable to use any of it was very annoying.  I felt like i was an anchor for the rest of the riders, especially towards the end when i had to keep stopping and walking.  Im sorry for that, it was probably quite frustrating for everyone.  Everyone showed great patience though and no one pushed me to go faster than i could.

The morning after, it was a real struggle to get out of bed, obviously my knee’s had seized over night.  I also had physio to look forward to and i knew i was going to have to do the exact things that cause the most pain in order to plan a recovery.

The last time i went to physio, it was quite difficult for them as the problem i had with the IT band healed very quickly so at the time of my visit, i had no pain at all and all the physio could really do was guess at it based on my information.  This time though, i was really going to get my monies worth!  I had the IT band problem as bad as ever, plus i had pain under both knee caps whenever my legs bend.

It was decided to concentrate on the knee cap issues as i had already been given excercises to do for the IT band problem.  after 30-40 minutes of what basically ammounts to ABH! i was sent away with little other than i need to rest, take pills and take it easy when i start riding again.  Atleast this was confirmation of what i already suspected.  It was nice to hear from the physio though that she didnt think any permanent damage was done and with some rest i should be back to normal.

So where does that leave the ride?

Well, its not over yet.  im just not really able to confirm when it will continue.  I have a plan to rest it as much as possible this week, if the pains goes i will try a couple of local short rides just to test my legs, then maybe do a longer ride to recover the mileage that is missing from me getting picked up on Saturday,  if all goes well i hope to be heading north again within a week.  It does rather throw my schedule into dissarray, mainly work commitments and also home commitments.  so i will be busy weighing up the options and making re-arrangements this week.

This is a set back i hadnt really prepared myself for, it feels like a failure,  doing the ride with a rest gap in the middle feels like its now two trips and just isnt the same as doing Lands End to John O Groats in one.
The problem is, i simply cant set off while my legs are this way, i wouldnt even last a day so i have to be practical about it.  Hopefully with a few days rest and some short training rides, i could be ready to set off again soon.  Lets just hope i can keep on top of the injuries this time as the remaining distance is much greater than that completed so far.

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Firstly a huge thank you to all that came along on Sunday’s ride, it was a great turn out.  I hope everyone had a good day and wasn’t suffering too much.

The day started in Towcester, I met with Louise Wilson, Tim Redding, James Kent and John Kent at the Towcester services.

We set off towards Silverstone at 09:30.  I had to lower the pace of the group, so i could ‘test the water’ with my legs.  It turned out to be probably the quickest part of the ride as my knee pains came back within a couple of miles.

We made our way to Stoke Bruerne.  At this point we decided to change the route slightly in order to make it to the start of the Brampton Valley way in time.  We took a shorter route that took us through Blisworth, Milton Malsor and then into the town.  We picked up the Brampton valley way at the very start and followed it through the town, through to Kingsthorpe and finished the first leg in the car park opposite the Windhover Pub.  Here we met with everyone else before setting off on the Brampton Valley way.

I had made it further than i thought i was going to, but was unsure whether to continue or not.  After a short break, i decided to go on and see how far i could get.

We set off in two main groups along the Brampton Valley way with our sights set on Market Harborough.

The weather was agan very kind,  but thankfully a little cooler than earlier in the week.

It was again a fairly sedate pace, but that was all i could manage (appologies to those who were frustrated by this!)

 A few riders decided to turn around part way through the ride as they had to cycle back too, in fact they probably covered more distance than most because of this.

After a few hours riding, we made it to the end of the track at Market Harborough.

That wasnt enough for some though, a few decided they were going to cycle all the way back too! (well done those people)

It was a great day, i hope all the others riders had a good day too.

I would like to thank the following people for giving up their time on Sunday to join me on the ride…

Mick
Louise
Keith
Jaqui
Stuart
Dawn
Julie
Darren
Rory
John
James
Tim
Nigel
Steve
John
The entire Roberts family
Lorraine
Thomas
Dorothy
Claire

and Darren for being ambulance and getting me home again.

I hope i havnt forgotten anyone!

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Well after a full Monday to Friday shift, ending with a near on 80 mile day and a ‘roughing it’ style overnight stop, i woke to a bright Saturday morning.

Day 6 mileage: 9.89
Overall mileage: 281

After i packed all my gear and got the bike ready, i headed out onto the road, climbed aboard the bike, went to pedal away and was struck by a blinding pain in my right knee, i had a feeling it was going to hurt still as it felt painful while packing my things, but i was unprepared for that first pedal turn.  I had to quickly jump of the bike before i fell off!

ok….both knees shot,  one day to get to Towcester, 53 miles to go.  Now what do i do?

Well i did the only thing i could think of at the time, i started pushing the bike along.  It was just after 5am so i had plenty of time ahead, perhaps a warm up of the legs will ease things.

Unfortunately, things didnt get any better, it just got more and more painful to carry on, so after some 2 or so hours of pushing the bike, i reluctantly made a phone call home to ask to be picked up.  This isnt a quit as i have a plan.  It was really important to me to make the Sunday ride through the county, so i thought if i get a lift home, rest for the rest of the day and the night, maybe things will have improved enough to ride on Sunday, then i can either return to the place i was collected, or simply add the missing mileage to the remainder of the route.

So my plan is now set, I will attempt to ride from Towcester tomorrow, through to Market Harborough,  whether i make it or how far i get is anyones guess, but i’ll give my best shot.  Then on Monday, i have a Physio appointment booked, hopefully to sort out the now three problems with my knees (a kneecap pain on both legs, maybe tendon related, plus the rubbing IT band on my left leg that ive had all week)

Monday off will also give me chance to try and get the bike repaired, ive spent several hours on it tonight, i have made an improvement on it, but its still far from right, so may need parts to repair it.

If all goes well, i will set off again on Tuesday and head North.  I will probably set off from home, i need to gain approx 40 miles to make up for my collection today, some of this will be covered by starting from home instead of Market Harborough, the rest i will just add to the route one day.

I look forward to seeing a few people in Towcester tomorrow and maybe a few more at the Brampton Valley way when we arrive there.

fingers crossed for a miracal cure!

Andy.

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After a fairly good distance was achieved yesterday, i set my sights on recovering some lost ground today.  I had an early start (which was difficult considering the luxury of the bed and breakfast in comparison with camping)

Day 5 mileage: 79.8
Overall Mileage: 271

I set off to achieve a couple of things, firstly to cover more distance than any previous day, secondly to cross the M4.  This was a mental challenge and achievement,  its amazing how little things become significant when your on your own or when challenging yourself, i remember back to when i rode across a bridge over the M5, i wasnt expecting it at the time and it was the first large road and it felt very satisfying to think i had atleast got that far.

The day started fairly well, by about 11am i had covered nearly 30 miles.  Far more than the same time on previous days.  I still had the knee problem, but with the combination of ice, tablets, stretching and a fair amount of gurning i was able to make good progress.  I stopped for an early lunch to regain some energy.

In the afternoon stint, i got to a little town, i forget its name, but it was a maze of tiny roads barely wide enough for two cars, but with vicious inclines.  I saw most of the town on foot!

It was whilst pushing the bike up one of the hills that i noticed the pedals were turning,  if your not familiar with modern bikes, if it is freewheeling, the pedals should remain still, with just a quiet tick of the freewheel ratchet to let you know all is well.  A quick inspection at the roadside revealed that the freewheel body was able to move but was very stiff.  Ok i thought, i’ll have to stop somewhere and take a look.

I headed out of the town and the first quiet farm track entrance i found i set up shop for the bike repair.

within 5 minutes i had the rear brakes off, wheel off and completely stripped on the floor down to the component freewheel parts.  hmm, nothing obvious.  ok time to get dirty.

After probably a dozen or so adjustments, rebuild, test, disassemble routines, i was still no further on.

This is a very puzzling fault, nothing can fall off as its a cylindrical shaft fixed at both ends and fully sealed, there is no apparent damage to any component, yet every time its assembled, the freewheel hub tightens up.  By this time i have wasted an hour and a half on this.  Time to rebuild and carry on.

I decided to really test the freewheel by finding a steep downhill and forcing the pedals to stop therefore causing the friction in the freewheel.  Nothing seems to be upset, so i decided i would carryon and just live with the annoyance of the chain being thrown off every few minutes.  I would still keep on the hunt for a cycle shop though.  (i never did find one, well thats not entirely true, i didnt find any that wanted to be of any help whatsoever, thanks bike shop owner in Chippenham!)

Well, enough of the cycling breakdowns and on to the rider breakdowns (yes again!)

Although i now had a slightly less than functional bike, i carried on and made my way across country, intent on still making a good mileage despite the holdup.  Things were going well other than a slightly niggling disscomfort in my right knee (the other one than the previous four days problems)  This really started to get noticeable at around 50 miles.  It was only very mild though so i pushed on.  The pain gradually increased though, to the point where at 60 miles, i decided i needed to start finding somewhere to stay.

This thought just happened to coincide with many thousands of other people who very inconsiderately decided they wanted to go to the WOMAD festival.  This international music festival that i knew nothing of, just happened to be located right at the point where my body had decided it had done enough work for the day.  The niggling pains became excruciating and meant pushing was the only option.  Straight away i began the hunt for lodging, but knowing it was going to be tough.  In all there were three people hunting for a room for me, in all we came up with a grand total of nothing.  Absolutely everywhere was booked full.

I had no alternative but to keep moving, though mainly by walking due to my knee pains.

I very slowly made my way out of the town and into the country, hoping to pass a village with accomodation, i passed through three villages in fact, all with several b & B’s….all full.

This was not looking good, now in the middle of nowhere and no place to stay.

I carried on going but miles from any village, i finally relented and pulled into a field, where i spent what was left of the night.

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Appologies for the delay getting up to date messages to the site, i have been travelling through parts with poor phone reception.

Days 5 and 6 will be here shortly.

Andy.

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Right now while typing this, im laid on the bed of a b and b with a large
ice pack on my knee. I hate ice packs, in fact i just hate the cold!
Perhaps i was a reptile in a former life!

Hopefully making my leg completely and utterly numb will help for tomorrow,
if not perhaps i should take an ice pack with me on the bike and use it
like an anesthetic.

Another thing i find alien, is taking pills. Im on a ton or so ibuprofen
each day and ive noticed that on the larger bumps in the road ive started
to rattle slightly. I may need a child proof head fitting when i get
back.

Well, i’ll be back again tomorrow.

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My titles are sounding more and more like song names each day!

Day 4 mileage: 57.6
Overall mileage: 191

Im afraid my photography skills have somewhat dissapeared today. (yes i know they were never really there!) to be honest most of my riding today was tree lined roads with very little to look at.  A couple of photo opportunities came up, but i was travelling downhill at the time and when your in this part of the
world, on a bicycle, with one leg injured and the other exhausted from the extra duty…nothing stops you on a down hill run.  If an insect flying into my t-shirt and biting me repeatedly doesnt stop me on a hill, im sure yet another idylic countryside scenery wont either!  So today im afraid there is only one
picture to look at, but even worse than that, its of the M5,  it was nice to finally see a motorway though.  For me felt like a little civilisation.  (i know ive just insulted everyone in devon and cornwall, but to be honest next time i go back i’ll be driving a car or riding a motorbike so none of them will catch me anyway!

Well day 4 is over.  Its been a long one, the best part was finally reaching a main road, this being a dual carriageway. This allowed me to cover a lot more distance quickly.  It was quite a relief to start really motoring along.  I wonder how long it can continue though, as i can only use the main roads if
they are going the right way.  Main roads a re quicker for cars as they have higher speed limits and more lanes, but often much longer.  To a car this might not be a problem as the hugely increased speed can make up that extra distance quickly, but to a cyclist increased distance is the worst thing that could
happen as your speed is relatively constant on average.  With the odd slow climb and fast descent.

I will plan my route shortly to see how much im able to travel on the A roads.

This post continues above…

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Day 3 mileage: 41.1
Overall mileage: 133

The first half of the day really got me down (yes i know every update is
negative but to be honest i’ll whinge and moan to anyone who will listen,
its my character!)
I spent the whole morning climbing the hills of dartmoor national park, i
stopped for a break at lunchtime and discovered i’d only covered 7 miles.
The knee problem hit at the first pedal turn this morning so it was always
going to be a slow day, but 7 miles is ridiculous for a whole morning in
the saddle.

The afternoon was a lot more productive, i crossed the two highest peaks of
dartmoor, both over 1500ft and started to head downwards for the first
time. Of course this was immediately followed by another hill. But to get
over 30 miles done in the afternoon was good considering the injury.

My bike developed a squeak today, i hope its just the rear brake, i’ll
check this out tomorrow. (actually, just thinking back… It could be my
legs! As they were moving at the time)

I almost forgot to mention the ponies, these are wild ponies that live on
dartmoor a picture of them should be above. It was fascinating to see if
only for a few seconds. More entertaining though was the stubborn sheep
that laid in patches of shade in the middle of the road, they absolutely
refused to move for any car. Its refreshing to see nature taking control of
the roads instead of cars.

They moved for me though, perhaps they saw the unstable heavey load and ran
for safety.

Song of the day for me was a…wait for it…foo fighters track called
“stranger things have happened” i was pushing the bike at the time but it
really got me over the top of a hill. (i dont always listen to foo
fighters by the way, it was the right track at the right time)

Fingers crossed that a rest and a stretch will start to heal my leg.

Same time tomorrow?

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Day two is over and ive managed to get in to a campsite, so im roughing it
for the night!

Day 2 mileage: 38.1
Overall mileage: 92

A very dissapointing day in terms of distance. It was at 35 miles that i
decided i could no longer carry on and went on the hunt for a camp site.
Luckily i found one very quickly as even pushing the bike up hills was
causing a lot of pain.

Although my mileage was low today, i think i still worked a lot harder than
yesterday, the terrain was very challenging, repeatedly climbing to 600-700
feet then dropping straight back down to sea level. It really challenges
your sanity when you climb up hill for over an hour then the drop the other
side is over in 2 mins flat, before being greeted by yet another 500 foot
climb.

To give you an idea of sort of cycling ive done so far, my gps gives me a
figure for my total ascent, this just how much i have climbed. Currently
it is showing 6665 feet. How acurate this is i dont know, but it shouldnt
be too far out. The gps also gives a graphical reading of the altitude in
the form of a trace graph, after today this looks like the blueprints of an
alton towers rollercoaster!

My knee was the cause for me stopping short, i didnt think i could continue
without doing damage, im stopping and stretching every few miles to try to
keep on top of the problem but so far its not helping too much. Im just
hoping that it doesn’t turn into bursitis as that will imediately finish my
ride. Im now sat in the camp site resting and trying to remain positive.
Hopefully a good night’s rest will allow me to continue tomorrow. As ever,
watch this space.

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