Hi all.
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| Hard in training(notice the budweiser!) |
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I am a bit new to this so if my page a bit cr@p i am sorry.... Ok so my name is Badger,well yea its a nickname! i am 38,i smoke and have never undertaken such a challenge before.... Yea i have done loads of mad stuff like camping in dec on mountains etc... but a full-on tour was a new concept? So i had the bike which is a Trax TR1 rigid MTB from Halfords... £90. Yep i can hear alarm bells too!!!! So then i spent the same amount of cash on turning it into a touring bike! That was rack,panniers,double lights,tool/puncture kit,water bottle,lock,bungee's,gel seat and the all important computer to track progress..... So the bike is sorted,now its my turn! Well yes i do smoke and i don't follow a balanced diet but i am very active and have done plenty of hiking and stuff so i feeling good and fairly confident!! OK i am a tad worried in my ability but i am equally worried can the bike hack it? So i got as many hours training as i could on the bike and then with a week to go the seat snapped!!! Halfords fixed it (warranty) for free. Damn! No excuses to not go! Just kidding,i couldn't wait to hit the road but it was a weird mix of excitement and worry of the unknown???
Aug 1st- I left the GF's in Leigh at 9am and all i had to do was make it to Chesterfield for the 1st day; I have a friend there who had the promise of a warm meal,bed and bath.... an offer i couldn't refuse,i just had to get there 1st! The bike was heavy (25kg of kit) and yes i could feel it but once i was moving no probs,it was perfectly balanced too which is very important. I had packed more than i would for an ordinary tour since once i got to Cromer i would be staying for 2 weeks at my sisters and meeting my great nieces for the 1st time. So i had packed extra clothes plus tent and sleeping bag.... Hence the weight of the bike!!!
All was going well and i had chose to take the cheshire route down to Macclesfield and then along 'The Snake Pass' to Buxton!!! Was i mad? Certifiable i reckon.... That road is a killer for road racers never mind a fully loaded tourer! The method in my madness was that if i can do this on day one the rest of the trip will seem easy! A kind of 'make me or break me' attitude. So got to Macc with no problems and now it was time to test my theory!
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| Now I'm getting worried!!! |
So off i go to attack one of the toughest roads in the area.
Plenty of other cyclists around but they all on road bikes,not another tourer in sight? My guess is they all got more sense! God it was tough and i don't mind admitting that i did get off and push on more than one occasion. I was exhausted and still half a mile from the top but it spured me on knowing a nice cold pint awaited it me at the 2nd highest pub in England (The Cat & Fiddle). I finished off the last of my water and dug deep until i got to the pub.... It was shut!!! I was mortified.... the pint could wait till another pub but i needed water badly... I went round the back looking for an outside tap but didn't find one. Then a family pulled up and started to set up a picnic on one of the benches nearby; Being the cheeky sod i am,i approached and asked could i buy some water/pop/anything wet? They were American tourists and gave me two bottles of ice cold buxton water from their cool-box for free! That was the best tasting water i have ever drank! I finished one bottle while i took in the scenery,god its beautiful up there...
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| Gutted in was closed |
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| Badger mascot chilling out |
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| Hydrated and ready to fly to buxton |
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Now for the fun bit... going downhill into Buxton. I had to watch my speed because with all that weight its pretty scary but was still doing 28+mph in places(i beat this later!). Got to buxton and found a pub to top water up and have a pint! Got the map out and checked my route and all was good. it started to cloud over as i left the pub so i set off at a brisk pace; More hills to head up but only slight long ones and yes it started to rain.. it was more like a half hour storm and i got pretty wet but i wasn't that concerned as i knew my stop-over that night was at a house. Got to my friends just gone 7pm and a meal was on the table with a cold beer and the bath was running. Thats the hard bit done...
Aug 2nd- Woke up and felt fine(was worried the legs would be stiff). My hosts did me a full English and i may have had too much because i could still taste it by dinner time! My goal today was a campsite just west of Boston,Lincolnshire. So i needed to get onto the A617 and go through Mansfield,Newark and Sleaford. Easier said than done! There were diversions all over the place and by the time i got onto it i had wasted about 3hrs and only covered about 18 miles!!! I had been sent down B-roads along with all the other traffic and i couldn't get past most of the vehicles because there wasn't room!!! Not the best of starts but oh well,i was on the main road now and was going at a good pace,it was a sunny clear day too. One high point of the diversions was a speed camera i set off going through a village!!! I didn't know i was going that fast!!!
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| 34.9mph!!! |
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I needed more supplies and being on a budget i was trying to avoid going in services so i decided to call in at Newark. What a lovely town,i have been past before but have never stopped and didn't have time to stay for long this time either! I will return one day though and have a walk around that castle.
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| newark castle. |
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Got the supplies and just got into a good pace,the weather was still good as i passed Sleaford and i was now on the A17 towards Kings Lynn. That road is very very busy... a real truck-fest. With the weather being good the traffic wasn't scary and from time to time there was a mini hard shoulder that i used as my unofficial cycle lane. This was completly different than day one,the roads are perfectly flat and straight,quite boring really but i was making good time now. Came off the A17 and went down A1121 towards Hubberts bridge where the campsite was. It was then that the sky began to cloud over,it just looked overcast though so i wasn't worried. Had to cross a level crossing and i knew the campsite wasn't far from here; Unfortunatly a goods train had just gone through and traffic was heavy on both sides,so much so that cars were hiding the sign for the campsite so unbeknown to me i had cycled past it! After about 4 miles i consulted the map and realised my mistake... Now i had a dillema because i was tired and i didn't want to go back on myself,plus i was still heading towards Norfolk which was good(less miles tomorrow). I decided to push on towards Holbeach as i knew there were plenty of other campsites in that area. The sky had turned black at this point and it was obvious a storm was coming,add to that i had a 10mph headwind and my legs were aching! Im not adverse to wild camping if need be but in Lincolnshire there are no woods!!! Its just flat everywhere,then the rain started spitting,then lightning... 'Oh god' I'm gonna get soaked! I saw some out-buildings down a lane so flew down there and joy of joy's there's an open barn! Within 30 seconds of getting under its tin roof a monsoon hit Lincolnshire!!! Considering it was August and after such a lovely sunny day it was a real shock. The rain didn't stop for about an hour so i used that time to eat and ring the GF (even she could hear the rain down the phone!). The rain eased and opposite the barn were industrial units and a farmhouse... the sky still looked suspect and any campsite i could find now would be water-logged! I found the farmer and asked could i pitch in the barn? He agreed and just said don't leave a mess!
You will notice two things from my next picture.... The tent is a cheap summer tent,i took this because it was small,lightweight and it was August!!! You will also notice that this is not a traditional Hay Barn!!! It had trailers in it and the ground was dust and rocks!!! I kicked the rocks away set the tent up,snugged in my bag and had a beer and rang home. Its crazy how things work out because earlier i was kicking myself for missing the campsite but had i found it my tent and me and my kit would have got drenched!!! Theres no way that tent could have took that much rain!!! So i went to sleep smiling to myself how lucky i had been...
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| Badger guarding the tent |
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Aug 3rd- Got up early(about 7.15am) Hadn't had a great nights sleep due to the storm returning,tractors coming back till 11pm and the floor feeling like a pebbled beach!!! Oh and a couple of owls having a chat across the barn. At least my kit was dry and apart from the puddles along the dirt track you wouldn't have guessed it had rained all night because the sun was up and hardly any cloud! Packed everything up and set off,i was hungry though but after 10 miles i came across one of those lay-by truck cafes. Ahhh strong coffee with 2 sugars and a saus and bacon barm. Well the girl serving put it on half a baguette when she found out how far i had travelled at no extra cost!! Love it when you meet people like that. So belly full and caffine-fueled off i go into Norfolk... Not far now and i decided on a average pace and took in the scenery and stopped at the odd little village store for energy drink and cereal bars. I also would ask people who were in there gardens to top up my water from time to time. Its a lovely county and everyone very friendly. There is one thing you will notice about Norfolk and it can be quite disheartening when you are on a bike. The road signs don't tell the truth!!! I mean the milage ones; It goes back to WW2,with the threat of a nazi invasion on the east coast all the road signs were taken down but they were not all put back in the right places!!! Its true! I went past a sign that said Cromer 17 miles and then 2 miles later Cromer 18 miles!! Anyway history lesson over. I got to Holt (10 miles from Cromer) and had a pint; The miles had taken there toll because they felt like lead,they were running on empty! So i had a good stretch and after half an hour i set off,that last part seemed to fly by and god when i saw that sign!!! Oh joy,although my sister lives the other side and its another 2 mile! I didnt care because i had done it! I got to a very shocked sisters at 3pm.
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| This sign was a bit grubby so i went to another the next day |
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| An old lady took this hence the angle! She didn't know how use the camera! lol |
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Holiday time- Well i had made it and i was going to have a couple of weeks holiday and then head back. You would have noticed the badger mascot(he hard to miss!) I took him for the occasions when nobody was around to take my picture and he served a far greater purpose on the way home??? So whats so special about Cromer? Well i have lived and worked there and its beautiful as my pictures will show.
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| chilling on the pier |
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| Top of Cromer tower |
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| prom and pier |
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| sunset from the east cliffs |
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| He didn't like the water |
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| east beach |
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| lighthouse |
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I also met lots of characters and of course my great nieces who until now i had never met. They took the badger home and washed him for me during my stay which was very sweet.
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| my Great nieces Teagan and Tayla |
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| The North Norfolk Air Ambulance(guy on the right called badger too!!!) Mad eh? |
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| Cromer Lifeguards |
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| Night out at the Social Club |
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Time to leave for home! Sob!!!
Got the bike ready and kissed family bye and set off. I had checked the weather and it was forcast rain early evening in Norfolk but i had worked out i should be in Lincolnshire by then and miss it altogether? That was the plan. I also didn't want to go back through Norfolk the same way so i opted to go by the coast road,it adds about 8 miles on my trip but its very scenic and would be worth the extra effort. I wasn't wrong,it was picturesque and the sun was shining. Went through some lovely villages along the way and then found a tank!!! Its parked outside the Muckleburgh Collection in Weyborne.
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| FIRE! My new toy...lol |
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No time to sight-see so off i go through Wells and then rather than go through to Hunstanton i decide to cut down and join the A148. About 30 miles done and it dawns on me i have left my energy/cereal bars in my sisters fridge!!! Not a good start so stopped at a little village store and the only thing they had that was any good was a Club multi-pack!!! Oh well no time to dwell and the suns disappearing and dark clouds form just as i approach the Lincolnshire border! Deja-vu anyone??? While in Cromer i had got the farmer a postcard and was going to drop off on the way as a thank you... You can see whats coming cant you??? Well it starts to rain quite badly and im on the A17,wagons covering me with spray from the back as they hurtle past and a 15mph headwind making sure i get a good soaking from the front!!! At this point i am worried about my kit,its slightly waterproof and my clothes are in bags but there's a lot of spray!!! Plus my sleeping bag on top of the tent and the badger on top of the sleeping bag. Last thing i need is a wet bag!! Get to the farm just as the sky clears(typical) looking like a drowned rat! Farmer drives towards me and stops and says 'are you staying again?' Yes please is my reply as i hand him his slightly damp postcard. He laughed and drove off,he returned a short time later and took me in to his yard and showed me a toilet block,hot running water and even a plug for my mbl charger!!! This is how the bike was loaded as i went through the rain..
The moment of truth.... How wet was my kit? Well the clothes at the bottom of both bags were wet!! I wasn't that shocked... What about the tent and the sleeping bag? The tent was fine because i always have the groundsheet on the outside when i roll it up. The sleeping bag??? Dry as a bone? WTF??? Ahh... The badger is so wet i had to wring him out!!! lol. He had took all the rain and protected the bag. He had done his job.
Settled down to another uncomfy night on the gravel... Zzzzzz.
Next day i woke up late(8am) packed up quick and made my way to the A17. Had to get to my friends in chesterfield. Binned the trainers i had worn the day before because the hadn't dried out overnight and they were an old pair that i had taken in that eventuality so that didn't matter,plus it was less weight to carry. Found another lay-by cafe (food and caffine) and hammered down the road at a swift pace. I went a slightly different route from Mansfield after that last fiasco and i got there about 5.30pm; One major drama was a scaffold flatbed wagon scraped the side of my panniers!!! and i was in that little hard shoulder,i was shook up but bloody fuming too,his wheels were over the white line? Close call!. Had another good meal,beer,bath and then bed.
The last day- I opted for 2 slices of toast because that breakfast was too heavy last time!! And i had changed my route too; No way was i going along the 'Snake Pass' again! This time i was going along the A623 towards Chapel-en-le-Frith. It was a hard slog getting there,plenty of hills but i knew 'what goes up,must come down!' The weather was fine and wind was light,great conditions. I had a welcome home party planned for 7pm that night which i couldn't wait to get to. Planned to be back by 5.30pm though and the GF said she be at my flat from 3pm. So skimmed by Le-Frith and got onto the A6 and stopped for a bite to eat,a cig and a drink. Looked round and saw a sign Manchester 20 miles!!! It had just gone dinner? Blimey Leigh is only 14 miles from Mcr... I don't know where the miles had gone that day and i didn't care? I was well ahead of time! Jumped on the bike and gunned it. The A6 is a fantastic road from here because when it wasn't going downhill it was flat... I was averaging about 18-20mph! Had a quick stop in Disley for some energy drink,necked it and carried on through Stockport and onto Mcr. Stopped at Air and Space museum for my last redbull and blueberry muffin and text the GF 'i might be early'. I didn't wait for a reply and headed for the Lanc's road. I eased down at this point,i wasn't tired,i was just reflecting and remembering what a fantastic trip it had been... It was kind of sad that it was nearly over to be honest; sort of like the feeling when you go home after a holiday... Gutted but glad to be back. Came off the lanc's and down Mcr road and then i saw it? The sign for Leigh...
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| Home at last!!! |
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I arrived home at 3.30pm and my GF was in shock!!! Got a shower and changed and then had what was supposed to be a bit of low key party..... Hmmm. Went to bed at 6am!!! It must have been the adrenaline and red-bull.... What a journey.
AFTER-THOUGHT.... Would i do it again? Yes absolutly.... I am already planning a different trip as i type this. It doesn't take years of training or a £1000+ bike and top-spec kit to do what i did. I have proved it can be done on the cheap with the right frame of mind and determination.
In the end i had done 470 miles due to the diversions and the detour to the barn(twice) and by taking the coastal route back. It should have been 440 miles. Those extra miles were some of the high points of the trip though so i wouldn't change a thing. And the most amazing thing was the bike! No problems with it whatsoever... not even a puncture!!! Two quick points for anyone doing the same... 1-If you take a backpack dont have much weight in it or you WILL get back/neck pain.... 2- If you have the funds put road tyres on; I did it with 'knobblies' but that may be why i didn't get a puncture???
Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i did doing it. Happy Trails.
