Finished as planned in Falmouth at 48 miles. Completing just over 2,000 miles for the month of October and about 3,400 for the ride so far. It was a short day arriving in Falmouth before the rain and wind intensified in early afternoon. The actual ride was straightforward although I just got to the Helford ferry in time for the last ferry before low tide, I am still staggered that this 5 minute journey cost me £15, no wonder no one else was waiting! Tomorrow we head for Plymouth or beyond depending on the weather, it is becoming increasingly frustrating that the weather is so poor although as it is November tomorrow maybe it should not be a surprise! Thursday looks increasingly like a rain day!

we ended today in Penzance after 67 miles. A great moment to reach Lands End, the wind that had tortured me for the last three days became my friend on leaving Lands End this afternoon. It feels somewhat significant to be on the South Coast even if it is still several 100 miles to go. The weather this coming week looks atrocious so our current plan is to cycle to Falmouth tomorrow morning as the afternoon is forecast to be poor then Plymouth on Wednesday, Thursday looks poor so we will sit out Thursday and then go to Totnes on Friday. Saturday doesn’t look good but let’s wait and see what happens!

Day 46 ended in Newquay at just over 71 miles. Another day of traversing the North coast of the South West peninsula of England, we finally got to Cornwall as well! It was a very windy day, 20-40mph unfortunately a complete headwind! I did the northern side of the rectangle while Christina covered the other three sides travelling from Bideford to Newquay via Barnstaple, Exeter and St Austell! Tomorrow we hope to reach Lands End, a real defining moment!

Day 45 ended at 65 miles in Bideford. The day was dominated by the big climbs going across Exmoor particularly Porlock Hill at 25% the steepest A road in the UK. Going by bike was exhausting but Christina did it on an open top bus amazingly especially with the switchback in the middle! The morning views were fantastic although the weather closed in during the afternoon. The final 10 miles were along a beautifully tarmaced South West Coast path! Tomorrow we head for Newquay and start early as with the clocks changing we need to make use of all hours of light!

The day finished in Minehead at 79 miles. A decisive turn South West after crossing the River Severn. We managed to catch up with Pete in Bristol for coffee and Croissants before heading through Bristol to Bridgewater and onto Minehead. I completed my set of UK nuclear power stations with Hinckley Point! The scenery improved after Bridgewater with views of Wales and cycling 2 days ago! Tomorrow we head for Bideford

Finished in Chepstow on 72 miles. A straight forward day across South Wales, weather was ok and managed to avoid all rain showers except one in Port Talbot. A general tail wind so perfect riding conditions. Wales is almost over and we turn again decisively away from the finish tomorrow! The aim tomorrow is to reach Minehead then it will really feel like we are heading to Lands End!

My bike was fixed by Giant Swansea today so will be on the way to Chepstow tomorrow

Arrived in Swansea at 6pm covering 84 miles from Tenby. The weather was shocking during the morning with intense rain showers, however in the afternoon it cleared into a lovely day. The highlight today was the Gower peninsula which was especially beautiful with the autumn colours. There were still lots of ups and downs again although it was pretty flat for the middle third of the day that gave respite. There is little in the way of stats tonight as I forgot to turn the Garmin back on after Llanelli for 20+ miles! Tomorrow I will take the bike to the Giant store in Swansea and see if they can change the freewheel hub, I’ll update tomorrow night.

69 miles to just north of Tenby before dusk and the heavens opened! As can be seen from the profile of today it has been hilly, too many ups and downs to count which made it a slow day from an mph perspective when added to a strong headwind. The coast was as beautiful as ever and it was interesting to visit Milford Haven and Pembroke during the day. The bike held up well with no mechanical issues. Tomorrow we head for Swansea, Christina is back using train’s instead of buses for most of the west Wales coastline.

Ended in St David’s the smallest city in the UK at 64 miles, a significant moment as we now turn decisively East across South Wales to the Bristol Channel. It was another hilly day with lots of up and downs, I also learnt that Garmin have another hill colour beyond that of stale blood, there is mauve which I guess reflects my face colour at the top of some of today’s hills. The weather was good, almost warm at times which made a change! The coast and the mountains looked splendid. The bike had no more problems and is booked in for the required repairs at Giant Swansea, unfortunately they don’t know if they have the correct part till they see the bike! Tomorrow we head for Saundersfoot near Tenby, unfortunately the weather does not look too promising for the next few days

Day 38 ended at Aberaeron at 63 miles. The day started and ended with bike issues, a puncture first thing lost 90 minutes as the previous cycle store had tightened the quick release so much it would not budge. Once sorted I had the ‘fun’ of trip across a wooden slatted toll bridge in the wet! This in itself was a diversion because the Barmouth bridge was closed. The rest of the day was a series of steep hills up and down! When the weather allowed the views were magnificent of Snowdonia and the coast. The day ended in the cycle shop again as the freewheel hub failed again, I am amazed by the efforts and the time these independent cycle repair shops are willing to devote to getting me started again. This time he could only clean the part and advise me to get a new part from Giant when I reach Swansea. Aberaeron is lovely with a beautiful harbour. Tomorrow we press onto St David’s, Christina will have to take a taxi as no buses run on Sunday here!

Day 36 ended in Barmouth, a day of heavy rain showers. Mileage was 72 miles. Scenery was not as goo as previous days due to weather. There was also an enormous hill on the road to Nefyn which as well as being difficult to climb badly affected the mph for the day. Tomorrow has another weather warning so may sit it out. Christina battled with rail replacement buses as the bridge at Barmouth is closed. Also today the freewheel hub failed and while that was being cleaned we took the opportunity to have the chain and cassette replaced, the bike is a bit like ‘triggers broom’ now.

Day 35 ended in Caernarfon at 67niles, a bit short mainly due to strong headwind across Anglesey. I have never realised how beautiful Holy Island was outside of Holyhead. Anglesey was very pretty as I took the byways to try to keep close to the coast. We stopped at Reuben’s coffee shop in Holyhead for breakfast, awesome coffee, cakes and bacon sandwiches!

Day 34 ended in Cemaes Bay on Anglesey at 90 miles. A lovely ride along the North Wales coast mostly on cycle paths by the sea, absolutely beautiful. We stopped in Llandudno for lunch with Rob and Jane which was extremely enjoyable. The wind was largely behind us all day which enhanced the experience. Sadly we said goodbye to Brad at Bangor so back to Christina and me as we battle the oncoming storm down the west coast of Wales tomorrow!

Day 33 ended at Ewloe in Wales at 92 miles. The entire journey had been flat except for the climb to the hotel at the end. We crossed the Mersey by ferry and had lovely coastal views for lots of today. It was a long day after we were turned back by an employee of Royal Liverpool Golf Club who was not happy with us pushing bikes down a footpath on their land. I guess it is their land but it did have a footpath across it! We were further held up navigating through Shotton Steelworks. Tomorrow is along the North Wales coast to Anglesey leaving Brad in Bangor. This evening I got to spend some time with Chris Try whom I worked with 20 years ago, a lovely interlude!

Day 32 ended as planned in Blackpool at 96 miles, the south lakes were beautiful in the morning but very cold with starting temperatures around 5C. It was also very hilly for the first few hours which meant progress was slow! The afternoon was spent following the coast in and out until Blackpool. It was lovely scenery right round to Morecombe then very flat from Lancaster to Blackpool

Day 31 ended in Millom at just short of 96 miles around the Cumbrian coast. It was great to ride with Brad again who arrived from Kondon last night. The morning was dominated by a snapped gear cable which left me with two gears only. Incredibly when we arrived in Workington at Newland Cycles Mark who owns the business just happened to be leaving his bike and heading for a family function, so fortunately for us he decided to stay and change the cable first, I am so grateful!

Today we crossed back into England after nearly three weeks in Scotland. The day ended at 80 miles in Carlisle. The Solway Firth was beautiful in the clear albeit code weather. We managed to coordinate stops in Dumfries and Gretna Green which was enjoyable. Tomorrow the weather looks poor so will sit out and also get some checks done on the bike. On Saturday we head to Millom on the Cumbrian coast and hope that Cumbria will be as hospitable as Scotland which was stunningly beautiful and very friendly

Day 28 ended at 87 miles in Kirkcudbright at the Selkirk Arms, a fantastic place to stay with wonderful food! The day featured lots of beautiful seascapes again and with a brisk South Easterly wind progress was quite rapid. Tomorrow is planned as the last day in Scotland ending in Carlisle. Scotland has been beautiful and so generous to us both, last night we were talking to a group of guys working for Scottish Water who all contributed on just giving, a lovely generous gesture.

Day 27 ended in PortPatrick at 84m. All cycled into a 20mph headwind along the Ayrshire coast. Apart from the wind the scenery made it a special day. Tomorrow we turn and head for Kirkcudbrightshire and head East for the penultimate day in Scotland

Arrived in Ardrossan after 104m, it was good to leave Oban and certainly the afternoon showed the beauty of the Scottish coast once the rain had stopped! Tomorrow is World Mental Health day so please ask you friends and colleagues to donate, not for me or Mind but for mental health, the funds are really needed! We plan to head for PortPatrick on the South Coast of Scotland although there is another dreaded weather warning!

All roads to Oban are blocked by landslides. Rail is flooded. Using Christina’s phone as mine is not working at all as got wet yesterday. These issues have to be solved before I can leave Oban. We don’t know how long this will take.

I left Oban just after 7 this morning in heavy rain, after 16 miles the road became impassable so I turned round and returned to Oban. Not sure how long we will be here as for the flooding to clear it needs to stop raining and so far no sign of that! I will update when I know something tangible!

Day 22 ended at 87miles in Oban. A very wet day but otherwise quite straightforward. I even managed to get brake pads on the front brake replaced which feels a lot better. The weather is closing in again so I will take a break tomorrow and hope it blows through! Then it is on to the Mull of Kintyre and Campbeltown. Christina and I met up again tonight after she left to go home from Tain a week ago!

Day 21 ended in Mallaig with a ferry ride from Armadale on Skye. Cycling wise it was 86miles covering from near the top to near the bottom of Skye. The weather started poorly but did improve and the afternoon saw some beautiful Skye scenery. Tomorrow it’s down to Oban and again the weather forecast does not seem good!

Day 20 included cycling over Bealach na Bà first thing which was hard work, surreal in the fog and wind and also fun as well as scary! The day ended in the north of Skye at 98 miles, lots of wind and rain as well as lovely scenic views! Tomorrow down to the bottom of Skye then catch the ferry to Mallaig, Christina and I had planned to meet up there but train strikes got in the way and we will meet up in Oban hopefully.

Day 19 ended just South of Applecross at 97 miles. A very long day into a stiff headwind with quite a few climbs, stunning scenery as well! Tomorrow it’s over the top and then to Skye hopefully!

No stats at the moment as Garmin is apparently offline!

Day 18 ended just South of Ullapool at 60 miles, almost all into a headwind which was gusting in excess of 40mph which really affected progress as did the number of hills as well as a final moan, the quality of the road surface which had for the majority of today completely worn out! Tomorrow is the journey to Applecross in preparation for crossing Bealach na Bà on Tuesday. The weather looks increasingly uncertain as the week progresses!