Day 3 – 18 June 2010

Sorry for the delay on updating the blog. We had our third straight day of headwinds on our way from Monmouth to Wigan. The start of the route was hilly to say the least. Due to the additional 10 miles that we tacked on to Days 1 and 2, we were not able to start at Hereford as originally planned. Macca and John made it the entire 140 miles; however, several others have started to feel the strains beginning on the 330th mile of our trip.

Today we reached £380 in charity donations by setting up our stand at ASDA in Shrewsbury. The public were really supportive of us and the cause. Luster set off with Macca and John but decided to join Alan Moyle and Rob Croft on the van after 30 miles into it to prevent further injury putting his total mileage for the day at 110 miles for the day.

The decision was taken for some of the team members to begin conducting relays in pairs in order to get the whole team through the John O’Groats without suffering permanent injuries.

Day 4 – 19 June 2010

Today John set off early with Macca while the rest of the team packed the equipment and hit the road. Once we caught up with Macca and resupplied him, the rest of the team set off while our support staff rescued John from a mechanical failure with a broken bottom bracket. All the team made it to Kendall by 1230 hours. Macca put his bike in the shop to repair his cables whilst Luster replaced his pedals, which no longer turned freely due to excessive use. Crofty purchased a new set of gloves to help pad his crippled hands that no longer have the dexterity to type or grip his eating utensils.

The support team collected £135 in front of Nevis Sport in Kendall, where the manager was very generous and supportive in allowing us to set up in front of his shop. Due to differing levels of injury, the team set off at differing times to negotiate the hill called Shap Fell, 1400 feet of ascent over approximately 4 miles...which was emotional.

At Clifton, we stopped to see the memorial marking the last battle fought on English soil between two armies in the year 1745. The team then pressed on to Carlisle to the Territorial Army centre located in Carlisle Castle. Crofty’s missus Ona met us with a tin of cookies, which were much appreciated by the team. The team then went out for our first real dinner since we began, which set us up well for the long day into Scotland.

Day 5 – 20 June 2010

Today, we left Carlisle and headed for Perth. Macca started out early again with John and Crofty, whilst the rest of the team packed the van. At Lower Langholme, Crofty and John handed the relay over to Luster and Alan Moyle. Macca persevered on his fifth day. The relay teams began making record time through Edinburgh and on into Perth. The wind finally stopped blowing from the north and started showing signs that it will blow from the south.

We stayed at the Territorial Army centre in Dundee, approximately 20 miles from Perth. George, the Quartermaster, had a fantastic spaghetti Bolognaise prepared for the team and waited until everyone arrived to make sure we were all sorted.