luludoeslejog 1100 Miles, 11 Days, 1 Cause
During the Christmas holidays 2010, i decided to set myself the challenge of cycling Lands End to John o Groats in aid of The Kids of Kolkata Drochas Trust. On the 30th of July i will start my journey of over 1000 miles in eleven days with help from friends and family along the way. This blog is my way of sharing my highs and lows from the day i got my new bike to my arrival day at John o Groats.........hang onto your hats this is going to be a bumpy ride :-)
Food For Thought
'Louise Jane Lemon ....You can do anything you want to, if you put your mind to it ' My Mum
'Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever' Lance Armstrong
'Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt ' Jose Ortega y Gassett
'The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' Lao Tzu
'Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving'Albert Einstein
Monday, 22 August 2011
Almost two weeks on ......
The ceilidh was a success, rythmnreel were fantastic and a great time was had by all ;-) Mum is still busy doing the books and counting all the sponsorhip and donations. The fundraising has been a huge success, every penny is going to make such a difference to the children in Kolkata who have very little.....
On a personal level lejog has left me with a big hole..... so many hours of training, planning and anticipation and now its all a memory, i was warned this might happen .... so i'm sure this comes of no surprise .....there was nothing else for it ... i needed a bigger and better challenge to focus on ....dust of your walking boots ..........
Kids of Kolkata Challenge - Easter 2012
Lulu walks 500 miles (with a little help from her friends )
http://www.luluandfriendswalk500miles.blogspot.com/
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Day 11 Dedicated to all the kids of kolkata who are living in poverty
We couldnt have planned it any better, with the wind behind us most of the way we left tongue with big smiles. It was a leisurely morning, we took our time cycling over the hills through bettyhill, melvich and on ....the views were stunning and at points it was quite emotional, the hugeness of the ride finally hit home. We met the support team for one last lunch in Thurso before cycling the last 20 miles to John o Groats. Ironically, the last 20 miles were the fastest we cycled in the last 11 days.
Then at 2 mins to 3pm on Tuesday the 9th of August we got our first sight of JOG. We sprinted the last mile where we were greeted by family and friends at the finish line. Party poppers and silly string galore it was time for a party, thanks to everyone who came and cheered us over the finish line....
However it was also game over ( for now ), The next day i would not be wakening up at 6.30am and riding my bike, i would not be wearing my cycling kit, i would not be counting down or up the miles, i would not be eating a ridiculous amount of calories without feeling guilty, i would be going home to James Street, Avoch. I'd made it .... from the South West of England to the North East of Scotland in 11 days safe and sound and in good health.
It has been a journey like no other...not just the last 11days but the last six months. Thank you to everyone who has supported, encouraged and sponsored both Speedy and i and i look forward to seeing you all for a gay gordons on Friday night at Strathpeffer Pavillion.
But a special big thanks to the following people who put us up, feed us, rode with us and came out of their way to support us over the last 11 days
In order of appearance ... ;-)
Pat in Blackpool
Greame in St Just
Mike in Devon somewhere
Howard and Coral in Bude
Stacey and Phil in Ludlow
Julie and Izzy in Leigh
Mum and Heidi in Moffatt
Mark, Stuart, Lauren, Daniel, Marji, Davie, Davie and Ben in Doune
Andy, Tilli, Emily, Isla, Lorna, Keith and Bob in Carrbridge
Jo, David, Emily, Lucy, Richard and Kirsten in Evanton
Jo, Becky, Lorna, Chrisitna, Emily, Lucy, Mum, Dad, Mark and Heidi in John o Groats
This is the end of one adventure but also the start of a new one ...
From the girl who could hardly ride a bike six months ago i hope this shows that anything is possible if you want it badly enough ...........
Photos of lejog will follow soon ;-)
Lululdoeslejog 2011 .......... the end x
p.s anyone fancy a bike ride on Sunday morning ...i'm getting twitchy already ..............
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Day 10 Dedicated to the one and only Speedy
Day 9 Dedicated to Bob, Keityth, Andy and Stuart who cycled with us today
Day 8 Dedicated to Stuart Lee …you’re a legend ;-)
Doune to Carrbridge 123 miles
Today my wee cousin Stuart joined us cycling form Doune to Carrbridge. We left as per normal just after 8am. It was a lovely sunny day as we set out towards Crieff….and then up on the back roads to Sma Glen…. we climbed and climbed long lovely hills, Speedy was in his element. As we reached the top at Amulree we stopped for coffee ….Stuart had me in fits when he told me he was singing eye of the tiger in his head all the way to the top ;- ) We had the best descent of the trip as we free wheeled 4 miles down into Aberfeldy.......it was great being back on the Scottish hills . On we rode to Pitlochry where we met Jack (aka dad) and the rest of the clan for sandwiches and cakes …….we did a quick mileage check to see how far we had to go to Carrbridge, it seems we made a bad calculation and our estimate of 105 miles was slightly out and in actual fact we were going to be cycling for 123 miles, thats a long flippin way… there was nothing else to do but get on with it. We made our way up the a9 along the dodgy cycle path. Just as we came of the bad bit psssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh first puncture of the trip and also the fastest puncture change… the midgies were out in force. On we went for another few miles where we met my dad who was waiting to lead us convoy style for three miles down the a9 to Newtonmore through the roadworks.
Woo hoo we made it to Newtonmore it was wine o clock at 100 miles, we had a wee glass of wine and more cake ….at this point I have to add that Stuart has only ever cycled 75 miles before so this was a huge achievment for him … we had 23 miles to go …it was raining now and time was ticking … the next 23 miles were ridden in silence as we all got into our zones and pedalled, kingusssie, kincraig, aviemore and finally carrbridge…… we’d spent nearly 9 hours in the saddle. My longest ride and Stuarts longest ride … we all did amazing but mostly stu, not a grumble or even once a suggestion that he was going to quit. So proud of you stu …you are a legend xxx
Friday, 5 August 2011
Day 6 Dedicate to Heidi Bear
Ingleton to Moffatt - 105 miles
Let it rain ............
Up at 6.30 and the rain was bouncing off the ground. It was a long mileage day.... was the rain going to make it worse ?? No Chance ... we've cycled through a lot worse...ok so it was pretty heavy but at least it was windless and warm....
So we climbed a slow climb up to Shap and just accpeted the drenching .. what else could you do ?? At 35 miles we had a coffee break and dried off a bit, over more hills and through more rain showers we cycled. I'm convinced the rain makes you cycle faster.... we made carlisle in good time 65 miles by lunch time. Spirits were high as we were only 10 miles from the border....lunch was sandwiches and millionaire shortbread in the back of the van oooohh the glamour !!!
We rode on towards the borders feeling all scottish and patriotic the wind picked up and the rain got heavier then as we got to gretna the skies cleared and the sun came out ....what a welcome home .....
Another 30 miles and we were in moffatt ...i got off my bike tired but happy. I was having a wee stretch against the tree and dad was like 'lou can you open the van please ' and i was like 'dad, 2 mins i'm stretching ' he askde me again and i told him again i was having a stretch .... this went on several times till i just got the door handle and pulled it back and wow ...........heidi bear and mum were in the back ... a whole day ealrry ..., i was delighted ;-) heidi love ;-)
we stayed last night in a b and b called no 29 10/10 for eveything what a delightful stay .... if you ever go to moffatt you must stay at this place it was a real gem.
Day 7 dedicated to Allan Lemon the support driver
Day 7 Moffat to Doune 86 miles
A pretty straight forward day really, the weather was bright but a bit windy, the terrain was lumpy (thats what speedy calls it ) everyone else would call it hilly !!!
Everyone was in good moods ...... being in familiar territory i'm sure helps. Also tonight we were meeting some more family and freinds so a great morale boost.
We made our way up over..... help!!! what was it called??? some big hill just outside moffatt, then on to biggar for coffee and then some layby for lunch..... its all getting a bit blury.....on to stirling then on to doune where we meet s few a familiar faces.
Most importantly stu's who will be cycling with us for the next couple of days. Thanks also to davie marji, davie and ben for coming an having a wee drink with us and wishing us well.
its all over for dad in the mileage game ..... cycliclts 6 support van 1 !!! (but only one mile in it )
p.s if your reading this and you know speedy or i and you havnt sponsered us yet please dust off your wallets and show your support..... i'm propbably making this blog quite lighthearted but i can assure you this has been no picnic ......were not doing this for fun ....there are children who are sufferring that desperately need your help x