Well its been over a week now since my last message, i thought i better give an update on the progress of the ride and the progress of my healing.

Although it took longer than expected, my knees seem to be getting better, my left knee seems fine now, my right knee is the one that is holding up the ride now.  It has taken longer to get sorted than i hoped and im not 100% sure that it is fully better.

I will be heading out on a training ride over this weekend as a tester to see how my legs are.

Im aiming for 25miles as a nice gentle start.

If all goes well, im planning on heading off again toward the middle of the week.  It should take me 10-12 days to get up to John O Groats if all goes well (touch wood!)

This weekend will the deciding time for me.  I really hope everything goes well as im itching to get on and get the ride finished.  Im not overly confident though as i tried some martial arts training this week and had to stop half way through as it was getting uncomfortable.

Lets see what this weekend brings, then i will report back with an update.

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The draw for the raffle will take place today (09/08/08)

I will put up all the draw results here later today.

If you have a winning card, you can either contact me directly via email - andy@pedaluk.co.uk

or contact the person who sold you the card.

Watch this space for news!…

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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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The start of the ride is looming and i havnt ridden for over two weeks now!

I seemed to be plagued by knee injuries. It wont stop me going for it, i will be starting the ride on Monday 21st July after travelling down to Lands end on Saturday/Sunday.

I will have six days to return to Northamptonshire where the organised one day ride will take place.

For here, to some extent the pressure is off, atleast in terms of time anyway. I will head north and cover the rest of England as quickly as possible. When i enter Scotland i will slow the pace a little in order to see some of the country. Im looking forward to Scotland as its a place i have spent very little time in, so to cycle through it is very exciting.

Here is the last training ride i did several weeks ago. I stopped near to home where i met up with my dog Sweep who decided he should get in on the photo!

Im now counting the days until the start.

keep visiting the site to see the updates!

Andy.

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Well its now only three weeks away from my start date.  I cant believe things have moved so fast.

Things are progressing well with the planning, although there still seems to be a mountain to climb (or a country to cycle!)

I still have absolutely loads to do, and not very long to do it in.  To add to the pressure, i am busier at work now than an period in the companies history so free time is at a premium.

I pretty much have all the luggage sorted, although i still need to find a location for the sleeping bag, i need to test pack everything with clothing too, up to now i have been loading the luggage with false weight purely as a training aid, i now need to focus on whether i actually have enough luggage to carry everything i need!

Another things outstanding is the tent, ive had it ages, its travelled several hundred miles with me on training rides, but i still havnt put it up once! i need to pick a spare few minutes when its dry and learn how to un pack, build, dissmantle and pack away so there are no horrible surprises on the ride.

As for my physical training, its good news and bad news.  Training was going well after my knee problem, lots of stretching and much shorter rides and no niggles.  I was just starting to build the distances up again last when i have another problem appear with the same knee.  This time though i suspect it to be a non-cyling related injury, so at the moment, all training is off.  I have a badly bruised knee cap which hinders pretty much everything i do so i can forget cycling.  Im hoping that with rest it will heal itself this week so i can atleast get a couple of weeks more training before the ride.  I will stop all training atleast a week before in order to make sure im fit for the start.

I will update again soon (hopefully more regular now its getting close to the ride)

Andy.

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Well i had my physio appointment on Friday and i came away with lots of stretches to do and instruction to reduce my ride distances for a while.

From my own research into the knee problem, i believe i started the training by going too hard too fast.  I should have kept in my mind that its been atleast 5 or 6 years since the last time i cycled.  I have been stretching everyday over the weekend.  On Sunday i tried a short ride (7 miles) and got home with no obvious signs of the injury coming back.  Today i didnt get chance for a ride, instead i put my bike on the trainer and used that for a while (like a rolling road for cycles).  Again no sign of pain yet.  I will need to get out cycling more often now, but for shorter distances.  I will gradually build the distance until i can again do longer weekend rides.  I just need to keep stretching, build the distance slowly and stop if the pain comes back.

It leaves me still concerned about the ride, but with a view that atleast i have a plan to try and overcome it, even if it does leave me with no room to spare in terms of training time before the ride.  I just hope i can get back to doing more distance pretty soon.

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On Sunday 27th July 2008.  I will arrive in Northamptonshire on route from Lands End, I would like you to join me on a one day ride through the county, finishing in Market Harborough.

The ride will begin in Silverstone and follow some lovely country roads through the county and heading for Northampton.  Once in Northampton we will make our way to kingsthorpe and to the start of the Brampton Valley way.  This will also be a meeting point for those who want to do a reduced distance and want to join the ride at this point (this may be a good starting point if you have children riding with you).

The ride will then follow the Brampton Valley way all the way to Market Harborough.

If you would like to join me, please ask for a sponsor form.  All moenies will add to the total fund that will be split between Fairfields School and Leukaemia Research.

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I have been in training now for a couple of months, although to be honest, i have cycled less than i would have liked.  I began with a few gentle short rides just to get back into cycling, this quite quickly led to me starting time trials, the trials are part of a martial arts target, not to do with this ride, however provide a nice short distance target to achieve.

I then began to increase the distance of the rides, the first being just under 20 miles, then a 30 mile ride.  On this 30 mile ride it finished with me being in a lot of pain and unable to cycle any further.  This worried me at first but the injury healed very quickly and i was back to normal in a few days.

The following weekend, i went out on a 40 mile ride, after around 10 miles the pain in my left knee that i had experienced the week before started to return.  At first it was just discomfort, so i carried on.  By the end of the ride the knee pain was quite intrusive and i doubt i could have cycled too much further.  Again the injury healed very quickly.

Unfortunately the injury returned again on my next ride and resulted in me having to push my bike home for the last 5 or 6 miles.  This was finally enough for me to do something more pro-active and make a physio appointment.

Watch this space and fingers crossed for good news!

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Today i would like to announce the date of the ride, after careful planning and consideration, i have decided to commence the ride on Tuesday 22nd July 2008.

I expect the ride to take just over two weeks, passing through Northampton by day five (Sunday 27th)

More news will be coming about the ride in the next few days…

Stay tuned!

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Today the online donation function has been added.

Its all been tested and is working great. You can pay using your paypal account if you have one, if not you can still use it and pay using your credit or debit card.

Click today and change the lives of some deserving people!

Andy.

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to PedalUK, This site offers information on my planned solo cycle ride from Land End to John O Groats. There will be lots of information added to this on a regular basis. As you can see, certain topics have their own pages, which will be updated as the planning of the ride progresses. General ride news will be posted here on the homepage.

During the ride, i will be uploading a daily blog detailing the days riding and my thoughts and musings of thr trip.

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