The day started in Ipswich, the weather was variable with a couple of heavy rain storms. The route out of both Ipswich and Colchester was off road and quite challenging due to leaves and rain. Otherwise it was very straightforward and beautiful scenery across Suffolk and Essex. We ended in Harlow at the Green Man Pub with rooms. Tomorrow we head for Hertford then stop en route to Uxbridge at Denham as we bring the total to 37 out of 42. Tomorrow and Sunday Rebecca and Brad will join which is great

7 to go! Today was a quiet ride from Norwich to Ipswich via numerous quiet East Anglian country lanes only punctuated by the third puncture of the entire trip! We had dinner with Simon and Julia in Aldeburgh and are staying overnight at the Ipswich marina. Tomorrow we head for Chelmsford first then overnight around Harlow on our way to Hertford.

34 down and 8 to go County Town wise! This was the first with an airplane in the grounds! The day started in the gloom in Cambridge and to be honest the weather never got much better! A long day traversing East Anglia, no real hills, a highlight being race horses at Newmarket crossing the road! I managed to break a spoke for the second time in 3 days after 2 in 25 years! The day ended in rain, dark and heavy traffic on the A140 south of Norwich, never understood why roads are so busy at 4pm but I arrived completely mentally frazzled! Tomorrow it is Ipswich and number 35, hopefully we get chance to catch up in the evening with Simon and Julia in Aldeburgh

4 county towns today, Northampton, Bedford, Huntingdon and Cambridge. Down to the final 10 now! It was a very pleasant cycle across middle England, Ian joined me from Bedford to Cambridge which was great. For once Garmin chose a quiet route which ended with 10 miles into Cambridge along a cycle track next to a guided bus route which was pleasant to ride as it was fully asphalt and dead straight! Tomorrow it is to Norwich some c70 miles away but hopefully flat!

Over 1,500 miles now completed! Roughly 75% of the journey

The day started badly when within 40 metres the lower hanger failed and the chain was irreversibly damaged. There was nothing other than to find a bike repairer. None open on a Monday in Melton Mowbray. Fortunately Christina decided to phone the Giant store near Lincoln where I had bought shoes two days earlier! They had time to fix, they were really good although by the time we were back at the starting point it was 1-30pm. There remained little over 3 hours of light. In the end I rode to just North of Northampton covering 45 miles by 5-30pm. Tomorrow is now a big day with the aim being Cambridge via Northampton,Huntingdon and Bedford. So a 4 county town day

64 miles today from Nottingham to Derby to Leicester to Melton Mowbray. All achieved in the dry despite a poor forecast. We stopped at Pride Park for coffee with Pamela, Chris and Robert, probably the hardest Starbucks to enter! There were lots of cycle ways around the cities today which are great but something is needed when these end and leave you on a busy road, A52 this morning and A6/A50 out of Derby which is 3 lanes and very fast even on a Sunday! We end in Melton Mowbray as it brings us closer to Oakham but tomorrow we visit Oakham followed by Northampton and Bedford, for sure the number of towns is now substantial

The day started badly when my riding shoe broke as I put it on! Christina managed to fashion a temporary solution and started looking for cycle shops. She identified the Giant store in Lincoln as a possibility. Fortunately the temporary solution held till Lincoln. New shoes bought I headed for Nottingham into a stiff headwind! A lot of the day had involved cycling in a low sun which was quite challenging. Still that is 21 consecutive days cycling! Tomorrow we head for Derby, then Leicester and onwards into Rutland if not all the way to Oakham

1320 miles down, a lovely day starting in Husthwaite and ending South of Doncaster. The segment to York was along the A19 into a low sun so reasonably stressful as it was extremely busy. After York the segment to Selby was along an excellent old railway track, so excellent I got complacent and fell off which was reasonably painful but no lasting injury! From Selby to Doncaster the A19 featured again which was again busy, once off the main road the lanes improved the ride although there was a stiff breeze from the south West hampering progress. Tomorrow it is Lincoln then Nottingham, a reasonably long mileage day at c80 miles

First stop today was Durham for photos in the City. I met Paul Hollick there a former colleague at SMD, we cycled most of the day together, I was lucky that Paul had optimised the route to avoid major roads. The bad weather did not materialise and we had a stiff tailwind which made for quick progress. Beautiful views of the Vale of York all day. York is planned for tomorrow morning then onwards towards Lincoln stopping just South of Doncaster

60 miles from Hexham to Durham via Morpeth. A big moment to arrive from the West into Morpeth and leave to the South, we have been to Northern, Southern and Western points, just Ipswich to go! It was a lovely ride today in sunny weather, very quiet from Hexham to Morpeth then a much busier afternoon going through Newcastle. The day ended with 1 mile on the A690 in rush hour which was not ideal. We are currently about 4 miles North of Durham. Tomorrow we head towards York via Durham but bad weather is heading towards us so we will see who wins!

A day of two halves weather wise with a dry morning from Appleby to Carlisle then a very wet afternoon from Carlisle to Hexham. The afternoon ride was along long sections of the A69 which were quite challenging with the high volume of traffic and the lack of visibility. Carlisle marked the 21st of 42 county towns so it’s all downhill from here! Dinner with Kathryn and Jennifer ended the day well. Tomorrow it’s Morpeth first then a decisive turn South having reached the Northern most point of the route. The day ends near Durham

today we passed 1,000 miles in total for the challenge! The morning started in Barton near Preston and ended in Appleby going via Lancaster. It was a day of two halves with a pretty flat morning followed by a hilly afternoon as seen on the chart! The weather was very good, at times sunny! Lancaster was the first stop for coffee followed by lunch. The last 12 miles to Appleby was up some steep hills which meant a relatively slow end to the day. Tomorrow we head for Carlisle then Hexham some 75-80 miles. Hopefully the hills will be less going North rather than South!

This was the day when the weather changed but for the first two hours the rain held off and Rebecca and I got to the outskirts of Warrington before the rain started. The main challenge during this time was making sure despite all road signs that we went across the correct bridge in Runcorn! During the afternoon we moved to just South of Preston going through towns I associate only with Rugby League! After lunch we had a short ride in dreadful weather to Preston train station where Rebecca left for London

A lovely day cycling through Shropshire and Cheshire. Rebecca joined me and took the wind which was very helpful! It was a reasonably flat day being the last day before the predicted deterioration in the weather! Shrewsbury was very pretty as was Chester. Chester was incredibly busy! This totals 18 county towns to date! None tomorrow! Tomorrow we head for Preston and Rebecca gets train back to London

66 miles today from Solihull to Telford via County Town Stafford.  The route for the first few hours was across Birmingham, a lot of miles on a narrow towpath next to the canal.  There was one point near Dudley where the towpath ended but Google kept insisting on going forward, I assume it expected me to swim!  Meanwhile Christina visited Middleton Hall before meeting in Stafford.  The route from Stafford to Telford was relatively plain sailing,  very flat so good progress made apart from being held up by cows, not seen since Devon.  The weather was benign again but I feel we will soon be at the end of this good spell!  Tomorrow Rebecca rides with me as we head for Chester via Shrewsbury adding 2 more county towns

Lovely start to the day with some sunshine. We left the Abbey and headed for Worcester, a really beautiful city on the side of the River Severn, noted for having over 100 swans! Warwick was pretty as well. The ride was largely flat after the first hour as we crossed again from West to East. The day ended in Solihull leaving tomorrow to cover Birmingham on the way to Stafford then Telford

A reasonably long day starting in Burford and ending near Bromyard in Herefordshire. The first part of the day was spent travelling west across the beautiful Cotswolds to Gloucester then North West to Hereford and finally 18 gruelling miles North East from Hereford. Tomorrow sees another traverse across the country to Warwick via Worcester before heading North. The weather remains benign although change is on the way! Christina took most of the photos, thanks to Christina plus all the food!

11 county towns in total with 2 today being Buckingham and Oxford. 67 miles again today coincidentally! The day started in Thame, a pretty market town, the ride North to Buckingham was generally flat and quiet apart from passing the HS2 construction site twice! Buckingham was a nice market town with a predominance of Sandstone buildings. We immediately turned around and headed South West to Oxford now with a tail wind which was very pleasant! Lunch in Oxford was very pleasant. The day ended in Burford a beautiful Cotswold village. Tomorrow onward to Gloucester and Hereford. Thanks to everyone who has donated, we appreciate this so much. Finally today thanks to Kevin for his patience IT support when I mess up this blog!

67 miles today from Winchester to Thame on the way to Buckingham. Straightforward cycling and mostly flat with only one steep hill. Beautiful October tree colours and quiet roads. It was interesting to see a quiet Henley in non regatta times! Reading won the award for the worst stadium name! Tomorrow we head for Buckingham then completely turn around and head to Burford via Oxford on the way to Hereford as we traverse back across the country to the west!

As explained yesterday was a short day to accommodate an Apprenticeship reunion in Bath. Today we travelled west to east via Trowbridge from Bath to Winchester. A great start was a street donation as we prepared to leave Bath. Being Sunday traffic was quiet, only one huge hill a few miles out of Bath, otherwise pretty flat which was good Weather was pretty benign! A pretty trip including Salisbury and Salisbury plain and beautiful autumnal leaves. Tomorrow we turn decisively North heading for Buckingham via Reading

One county town today (Taunton), 6 in total. The hills of Devon eventually gave way to the flat of the Somerset Levels before the climb towards Glastonbury. A dull day with a little rain. Christina went to Taunton Minster then outlet shopping at Clark’s Village of Clark’s Shoes fame! Tomorrow to Bath for an apprenticeship 45th year reunion then on to Trowbridge and Winchester on Sunday

Day 5

The day was spent traveling across Cornwall and most of Devon. Tomorrow we journey to Wells in Somerset via Taunton some 75 miles. It was a lovely day today going around Dartmoor taking advantage of the old railway for 7 miles to Oakhampton which made a change from the 20 hills! Christina managed to go North, find ice cream and Exmoor ponies!

First rain of trip today and also first puncture, not surprising with the terrain and road surface! Lots of hills but also some flat bits particularly the Camelford Trail. Reached Truro late afternoon and immediately turned around and am 12 miles East tonight having started the long haul to Taunton which is scheduled for Friday, tomorrow is just a traverse across Cornwall and Devon

A tough day from the off with an 8% hill. I estimate 2.5mph! Still faster than walking! The pace picked up but the start made it a very slow dayVery hilly, I remember why I was told keep Devon and Cornwall to last so one has miles in legs!!! We got to Exeter for lunch then I headed north around Dartmoor and Christina went south. We met and are staying tonight in Launceston just in Cornwall. Tomorrow it’s Truro then turn around and head for Taunton in a couple of days

Bournemouth to Colyton near Axminster, the hills kicked in midway through the day, great scenery and so pleasant travelling down country lanes till you get to cows and overgrown bridle paths (see pictures). Christina suffered from road closures so reached Dorchester late as the A35 then a crash on the A31! Glorious weather for October! One town tomorrow being Exeter, then start the long trek down to Truro

A decent start to the challenge starting in Angmering and ending in Bournemouth via the Isle of Wight with 2 ferries. Wind was a reasonable headwind all days, looks similar to Truro in a few days! A pretty flat day, I suspect this will change tomorrow as we head for Dorchester then aiming to stay overnight at Axminster some 70 miles

Having to delay start to Sunday to allow storm to pass especially as day 1 includes the ferries to and from IOW