A few photos . . .

So its been over a month since we finished our mmmChallenge. I have to say that as soon as we finished we were so happy that we had managed to complete it. The morning afterwards, Andrew turned to me and said "is it silly that I feel sad that we've finished?" and it wasn't, cause I felt the same way. We had gotten into a nice routine of getting up, having breakfast, packing up, cycling, setting up camp . . . you get the idea. I really enjoyed the cycling, some of my friends think we are mad but it was a great journey.

So what next? I am not quite sure. I have no doubt that we will do something else. Lands End to John O'Groats is being uttered, as has Norway. I do know that I will be supporting the David Ashwell Foundation as much as I can. I will be using The Giving Machine every time I shop and collecting stamps.

As you can imagine we have taken a few photos on the way (slight understatement) and Andrew has come up with a creative way for you to view them without getting bored too quickly. We hope you enjoy this. We would like to say thank you to all our family, friends and colleagues for your support for the challenge. Your messages of support kept our tired legs pedalling. If you have been reading this blog and thinking "I'll sponsor them tomorrow". Please, please do it today. It takes 5 minutes to do on Virgin Money.

Hope you enjoy our photos! Here's to the next adventure.

Tips for a cycling holiday in Ireland

Time has flow past since the end of our mmm Challenge. For those of you that don't know, whilst we were cycling our final kilometres baby Auden was born.

I wanted to write a post for people planning a cycling holiday in Ireland. Andrew and I have been on a few cycling holidays in Scotland. We tend to camp on our cycling holidays. The first point I would make is that there seems to be fewer campsites in Ireland. You have to bear in mind that we are used to camping in Scotland, where you can wild camp. This isn't really allowed in Ireland  . . . and I'll leave it at that. Having said that we never had a problem finding somewhere to sleep. You just need to plan and we had this camping guide which helped. One tip is that if independent hostels have gardens they tend to provide camping as well. We did this twice, once in Donegal and once in Dingle. Both hostels were great and I would definitely recommend them.

When we packed for the challenge we packed three days food. But we really didn't need to. There are loads of food shops, we passed more than enough to buy food for the day. I would say again, just plan your day to see which towns you are going to pass through.

Last but not least, bike shops! As you know we needed to replace two spokes. We were quite lucky when they happened, near to big towns. If in doubt, ask! Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason and the Irish are really friendly. When Andrew's first spoke broke, a lovely guy stopped and took Andrew to his garage to use his tools. Good tip, if there isn't a bike shop look for outdoor adventure places that might have bikes.

Overall the terrain isn't too strenuous, getting out Killarney was probably the steepest hills we faced.

All in all, beautiful scenery, lovely people, amazing food. I couldn't recommend a cycling holiday in Ireland enough.

Day 10 – Kenmare to Mizen Head

We got up early on our final day of cycling to the sound of rain hammering the tent! Once we started the climb out of Kerry the sun came out. The views were great and we both felt OK during the climb up to the County Cork tunnel at the top of the pass, our final County. Conditions changed dramatically once we went through the tunnel. The clouds rolled in and the visibility was minimal, making the descent to Glengarriff interesting and a bit hairy in places.


We started to go along roads that Andrew knew from his many summers in West Cork. The clouds were still low when we reached Bantry for lunch. We used this as an good excuse to warm up in one of our favourite eateries in this area, Organico. After a lunch of quinoa and sundried tomato burger, salads followed by tea and brownies we set off again, towards Durrus and Mizen Head beyond. We started the final climb from Barleycove beach to Mizen Head the mist was thick, like something out of a Bronte book. Mizen Head caught us out when it suddenly materialized through the shroud of mist. We were equally shocked to see a banner with our names greet us, as well as a welcoming party. Lynn had spent hours making the banner. We had done it! We had a champagne, well Guinness moment, before being presented flowers like a Tour de France winner. We were overjoyed to have finished what has been an amazing experience. Unbelievably, we are both missing the bikes and the routine of being on the road. Having said that, a bed and cooked breakfast were very welcome. We still have a bit to post but we will be enjoying the few days we have with family before heading back to reality.

Day 10 Stats
Distance 90km in 5hr 53min

mmmChallenge Stats
Distance 1033km in 64hr 19min
Average speed – 16kmph - bet Bradley Wiggins is worried ;)
Number of Mr Whippy’s: Serena – 2, Andrew – 3
Number of isotonic pints of the black stuff: 8 (the stuff professional cyclists are powered on)
Number of coach tours encountered on the Ring of Kerry: 21
Number of Highland Bagpipe players: 1 (Ring of Kerry, very odd)
Number of spokes broken: 2 (all Andrew that one)
Number of times Serena pointed out Donkey: too numerous to count
Song most sung by Serena - Domino by Jessie J (much to Andrew's annoyance)

Last but not least a very big thank you to our friends and family who have sponsored us and sent us messages of support whilst we were cycling. We really appreciated it. To those of you that have read this and haven’t gotten round to sponsoring us, or were waiting to see if we would do it you can still sponsor us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mmmChallenge

Final push

So we have packed the tent up for the last time and we are almost ready to start going. Weather ain't too great, but it is called the Emerald Island for a reason you know. Today should be shorter but we have to get over the mountains into Cork, our last county! Hoping to finish around 5,just depends on how fast the tired legs can pedal. ;-) See you on the other side.

Day 9 - Dingle to Kenmare

We woke up to the sound of rain. So we packed up the tent and had breakfast. The weather looked iffy to say the least. Off we went. It started raining but cleared quite quickly. The road from Dingle was good, fast tail wind (the first of our trip). The road along the coast was beautiful to look at as well.

We stopped for lunch at Killorglin, the site of the puck king (Google it :-D). We found this wonderful bakery which meant we bought way too much bread, cheese salami, quiche and apple strudel. Nom Nom Nom.

We then headed to Killarney and started on the ring of Kerry which was 10km of constant ascent. I surprised myself with how well I copied. Though counting the coach tours distracted my mind from my tired legs. The descent was wicked, 10km all downhill to Kenmare. Had a bit of a nightmare finding the campsite meaning we added an extra 13km to the distance. Pasta for tea and just one day left.

Day 9 Stats
Distance - 123km in 7hr 34min
Total Distance - 943km

Day 8 - Tralee to Dingle

When Andrew got up in the morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I have to say by the time we got going it had clouded over. We headed to the Dingle peninsula which meant quite a climb but we had some great views on the way. Then the rain started. Once we got to the outskirts of Dingle the weather started getting better and this is when Andrew's bike spoke broke. The second one on this trip.

Panicked that we couldn't find a bike shop on Google. We asked a local outdoors shop, who told us to take it to Paddy's bike shop. He doesn't usually do repairs on a Sunday but said he would do it. :-D But it wouldn't be fixed until 6! :-( We had only done half of our distance and even though we would still have done our 1000km without it, we hired Andrew a bike and continued the route we had planned.

We cycled the Slea head road and I am so glad we did. The weather was great and the views stunning. We had a bit of race to get hire bike back but we managed it. We celebrated with an ice cream, locally made and gorgeous. We also had dinner out at Ashes Bar, the highlight was the scallops and pork belly. We went to bed late for this trip, 10:30. Fingers crossed the spoke lasts for the next 200km!

Day 8 Stats
Distance - 46 km in 3hr 27min (with loop ~ 97km in 6hr 57min, no bike computer for loop)

Total Distance - 866km

Day 7 - Doolin to Tralee

<p>Got up very early to go to the Moher cliffs before the crowds. The place was quiet. We managed to spot some puffins. We then continued around the coast, and stopping for lunch by the sea around Quigley. We were stopped by a guy who wanted to know how far we were going. I think he was quite impressed with how far we had cycled, to be honest I can't quite believe it myself. </p>
<p>We then headed round to the Shannon ferry after we got off I had real dip in energy levels. The next 30km to Tralee seemed to go on forever. Tonight's camp sites is very noisy, good job we are shattered, so falling asleep should be no problem.

Day 7 stats
Distance - 117km in 7hr 25min
Total Distance - 769km

Day 6 - An Spideal to Doolin

<p>What a difference a day makes! We got up early, so we could be in Galway for when the bike shop opened. </p>
<p>The 19km to Galway went quickly and then we were on the hunt for a bike shop. We found one that said it would take about an hour! We had heard that before but we went for our second breakfast and hoped that the bike would be fixed. I was excited about getting to Galway so I could visit Sheridan's, a great cheesemonger. So we bought lunch there. Great news was the bike was fixed. :-D </p>
We then headed towards the Burren. We stopped at Ballyvaughan for lunch and Andrew had the largest Mr Whippy I have ever seen. Weather was fantastic, Andrew even has a tan. It was a great cycle. We stopped to camp at Doolin, had beef noodles for dinner, very tasty. Then had a pint of the black stuff whilst listening to some traditional music.

Day 6 stats Distance 101km in 6 hr 9min Total Distance - 652km

Day 5 - Erriffe Bridge to An Spideal

<p>I'm going to be honest, today was pretty brutal. </p>
<p>It started off nice enough. When we began cycling it was blue skies and warm. We headed to Leenane, the scenery was fantastic reminding us of Scotland. However, this is where Andrews spoke broke. We only realised it was the spoke that had gone when we arrived at Letterfrack. So we peddled as fast as we could to Clifden, where we were told there was a bike shop. </p>

<p>We got there in good time and the guy said it would take about an hour. So we went to get a spot of lunch. Crab and smoked salmon sandwiches with chips, very nice indeed. We picked up supplies and then headed to the bike shop to find that Andrew's bike hadn't been fixed! The person that does spokes wasn't available until tomorrow. So the guy gave us 2 options: stay at Clifden and get the bike fixed tomorrow or get the bus to Galway and get it fixed there. We didn't like these options as it meant we wouldn't met our target, so we carried on. Andrew's wheel wobbling crazily. He was also making extra care to avoid any potholes.

The next 30km from Clifden were into a headwind and was brutal. Then it drizzled on and off until we made it to our destination, a bit later than intended and shattered . Found the campsite, fed ourselves and then had a lovely hot shower. A very trying day. Tomorrow we will head out early to get Andrew's bike fixed, fingers crossed.

Day 5 stats:
Distance - 120km in 7hr 28min
Total Distance - 551km

Day 3 - Donegal to Easkey

Day 3 we started in Donegal. This was a day of national roads. Whilst quicker they aren't exactly inspiring. We were heading for Sligo which was about 70km. We stopped outside Sligo, in Grange for the usual lunch of cheese, salami and bread. Once we arrived at Sligo we stopped for supplies. On the other side of Sligo we had our 2nd Mr Whippy.

The road to Easkey was hard going cycling into a headwind but it was worth it once we pitch the tent on the beach. No one else around. Dinner was cous cous, courgette and salmon very yummy. We went to sleep to the sound of the waves.

Day 3 stats:
Distance - 107km in 6 hr 40 min

Day 4 Easkey to Erriffe Bridge

We followed the coastal road from Easkey. Headwinds, again! We stopped in Ballina where a salmon festival was being held. We had a quick wander round the streets and a welcomed snack of a scone. Had pleasant weather as we cycled through Crossmolina and Newport on the way to West Port. We stopped briefly to pick up supplies. Then once we had hit our 100km we started looking for an ideal camping spot. Whilst we found a nice spot, and we can confirm that Ireland has midges too.

After dinner we do our usual routine of counting kilometres for the next day and where to stop. After that it's a battle to keep our eyes open.

Day 4 stats:
Distance - 111km in 6 hr 48min
Total Distance 431km

Guest Post - Fuelling the Ride

The post below is written by Dr Emma Stevenson from Northumbria University. Emma is Associate Director of the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre. Emma has also worked as a consultant Sports Nutritionist for a number of International athletes and squads including the England Women's football squads, Great Britain Ice Skating squads and England Netball. Emma is currently the club nutritionist for Sunderland Association Football Club.  Emma is currently a member of The Nutrition Society, BASES and Association for the Study of Obesity.The focus of Emma's research has been the influence of the types of carbohydrates consumed before and after exercise on metabolism and performance. So as you can see Emma is great person to give us some advice on what to eat on the challenge, Thanks Emma!

Food and fluid intake will be extremely important to Serena and Andrew during their challenge
not only to fuel their working muscles but also to maintain morale! It is difficult to say exactly how
many calories they will need to consume on a daily basis but the good news is that they will be
able to eat plenty without any weight gain!

Each day should start with a substantial breakfast. Although a traditional Irish fry-up may be
tempting, it is most important that they consume plenty of carbohydrates to fuel their working
muscles. This means plenty of cereals, bread and fruit and not too much fried sausages and bacon!
Scrambled, poached or boiled eggs and baked beans on toast are a good option too. It is also
important that Andrew and Serena start each day in a well hydrated state. Although it may sound
strange, the best way to ensure this is to check the colour of their pee every morning and if it is
not a pale straw colour then they need to drink more!

During the ride, Serena and Andrew should try and snack every hour or so. Good snacks include
dried fruit, cereal bars, bananas, hot cross buns, malt loaf, chocolate, peanut butter sandwiches. It
is best to try and experiment with different things during training rides to see what is easy enough
to eat whilst cycling and how the body responds. It is also important to take on fluids - little and
often is best. Again experiment with different sports drinks or diluted cordial. If you are able to
eat real food whilst cycling then you probably don’t need sports drinks as well – water or cordial is
fine.

Recovery is going to be really important on a day to day basis to enable them to cover long
distances on 10 consecutive days. I have no doubt that there will be several delicious pub meals
consumed after a hard day but try to choose high carbohydrate foods such as pasta, potatoes, rice
and bread. High fat food will take longer to digest and won’t refuel the muscles.

I am sure the odd pint of Guinness or two won’t do any harm (in fact the calories and iron may
come in very useful!) but only once the cycling is done for the day! Also remember to stay
hydrated so plenty of non-alcoholic fluids too! Milk is actually a great recovery drink as it can help
to reduce muscle soreness (essential in this challenge!), it can aid rehydration and help refuel the
muscles. A pint of milk with a plate of Irish stew and potatoes will definitely do the trick!

Best of luck with the challenge!

Day 1 and 2 vital stats

<p>So far so good. Day 1 we travelled from Malin Head to Gleanveagh National Park. In total we cycled 103km in 6 hr and 15 min. The friendliness of the Irish has been noted. So far we've been given a lift to a pub, I have cheered up a hill and given water at a pub. We wild camped the first night. </p>
<p>The start for day 2 was nasty. Wet and a little chilly. We stopped for a cup of tea and a bacon roll. We then stopped for lunch at Dungloe before heading on. The rain got lighter and made good progress. It might have been wet but it didn't dampen our spirits. We camped last at hostel just outside Donegal. After dinner we went to a pub stopping for an ice cream on the way (Andrew had been pointing them out all day). </p>
<p>After a pint of Guinness, we headed back for a well earned rest. Day 2: distance - 110km and time - 8hr 40 min. Today off down to Sligo and onwards. </p>

The Brief and Beautiful life of David Fazollah Upeksa Ashwell: having a baby with an undiagnosed rare condition.

Amelia has written a post for our blog, this is why we are cycling a 100 km a day for 10 days:


As you begin to read this, it is worth noting that this is rare; this is unlikely to happen to you – but it happened to us and we have a story to tell.  

On the 4th of March 2012 our son David should be one year.  I say should have been, because at 15 days old, after 13 days of his short life spent in PICU units at the Freeman Hospital Newcastle and The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, David died in my arms.  

At 1518 on Friday 4th March after an unremarkable delivery and a very easy pregnancy David Fazollah Upeksa Ashwell was born.  A beautiful boy weighing 3.6kg or 7lb 14oz with lots of dark hair and the softest skin imaginable came into our world and we were overwhelmed with love and emotion.  I was rather exhausted after over 11 hours of labour but every second was worth it for the stunning boy that appeared.  I held David in my arms through the corridors and was met with admiring glances at our beautiful son.  I was so proud of my gorgeous little man, and was so looking forward to showing him off to the world.  Little did I know then, how our days were numbered and how much I would treasure that feeling of holding him in my arms.

To cut a long, and very difficult, story short David became ill on his second night, first night at home.  Over the next 10 days or so, David would show signs of improvement followed by great dips of deterioration.  On the 13th day of his life, David went to theatre to have a lung biopsy.  After two weeks of watching David being poked, prodded and attached to machines that made loud noises, this was yet another traumatic day.  But the worse was still to come.  On the 14th day of his life we were given the results of the lung biopsy.  David had Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia (ACD) a rare and fatal lung condition.  There is no cure, there is no treatment; it was time to turn the machines with all their incessant beeping off.  All our immediate family came back to Newcastle to say goodbye to the little baby who was going to be with us so briefly.

While we only had two short days while David was in good health, the following 2 weeks were the most difficult of our lives and, at the same time, the most consciously precious.  It frequently felt like being trapped in a nightmare from which we couldn’t wake and we pinched ourselves on a number of occasions. We had a number of highly fraught journeys up and down the A19 in the middle of the night, phone calls which brought only bad news and sleep was something which we caught in snatches on hospital waiting room chairs.  

However amongst the nightmare were some precious moments. The cuddles with David on PICU and the brief moments when he opened his eyes and looked straight into ours, when he gripped our fingers tightly. These moments made all of the waiting, uncertainty, and sitting on PICU worthwhile and provided us with some hope. 

ACD is extremely rare, only 200 reported cases worldwide, so many basic questions need to be answered about this condition.  More research is required to try to answer parent’s questions, like will this happen again?  Simon and I have focused much of our energy into running The David Ashwell Foundation, which fundraises for ACD research.  We have a number of fundraisers including Simon and colleagues from James Cook cycling coast-to-coast in one day.  There is more information about the foundation and the fundraisers here:
www.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/davidashwellfoundation

While this is unlikely to happen to you, I think it is important to remember that infant death could affect someone you know or even someone you went to antenatal class with.  When it does, unfortunately, happen the parents-to-be will have just had the most huge disappointment of their life.  This is a particular kind of grief and a unique form of grieving; they are grieving a future with the child that never came home.  Everyone handles grief differently, but please don’t forget these parents, please include them.  They can say no, but it hurts more being excluded.  Being with young infants or pregnant women may be painful for them, however they simply want their own child and are not jealous or craving to have yours.  Don’t ignore them; don’t ignore the fact that they had a baby.  Try to show sympathy without crying every time you see them.  Being immersed in grief and having people talk to you with tear filled eyes doesn’t necessarily help, but then neither does ignoring the fact.  It’s a fine balance and it’s better to be up-front with them and ask ‘would you like me to talk about [baby’s name]?’  Most important, in our opinion, is to talk to them about that precious infant, because acknowledgment of that life, however brief is most precious.  

On a personal level, I miss so many things.  Mainly I miss my beautiful little boy and my chance to be his mother, but there are other small things.  Hardly anyone has asked me about the delivery after weeks and months of preparing for that event, it got overtaken by a somewhat larger event.  I don’t see or have any contact from any of my antenatal friends, I’d love to know how they are getting on, how their babies are...
Simon and I are over 12 months down the line from losing our precious son.  Time doesn’t heal, you just get better adapted to living with your loss. Some of the most supportive people locally have been friends whose son is 3 weeks older than David and who we see regularly. Huge amounts of support have been found with the small group of international and UK ACD parents.  Our common shared experience unites us across all kinds of cultural even language barriers.  We have found comfort in turning our grief into energy to fundraise for a condition which is so rare and where so little is known.  Research will only happen if the group of parents worldwide fundraise.  We are inspired by the phenomenal efforts of friends like Serena and Andrew who are going the extra mile (or even 1000km) to help us in our quest to raise money for this important cause and to keep David’s memory alive.  

If we could capture and save the happiness, joy and contentment that we felt in the first few minutes, hours and days following David’s birth we would be smiling for the rest of our lives.  However events have turned out somewhat differently. My son is known to the wonderful nurses and medics on the wards at Freeman and James Cook, however to those who ask I am more than happy to share the beautiful and the heart wrenching story of our son’s short life.

It begins

Well its finally arrived, Sunday 8th of July. Today, after all the planning, training (well maybe not so much training!) we are starting the long ride from the top to the bottom of Ireland. If you are reading this then we have sent off, knocking off a kilometre at a time. We have tried to plan how each day will go. After packing up and setting off. We hope to cycle 50 km in the morning before stopping for a long lunch break and then knock off the other 50 km in the afternoon. But it so difficult to plan these things, the most we have ever cycled is 8 days in a row and I don't think that we cycled 100 km on any of those days. I have no doubt there will be tough days where it takes us much longer than expected, but we are determined to do this.

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored us so far and if you haven't that would really motivate us as we are peddling.

So the challenge begins . . .

For Scott and Zac

I received this email a couple of days ago. It feels strange for people to thank us for this challenge. It's is also strange to think that I would much rather to cycle in cold and rain than in 40+ degrees Celsius. Scotland has changed me!

Hi Serena,

My name is Scott Melvin and I, like Amelia, Simon and unfortunately alot of parents also suffered the loss of a child from ACD.  Being medically trained this was especially difficult due to the fact that I lecture on Pediatric Pulmonary disorders. I also have done fundraisers in aid of ACD through endurance events and am 3 weeks away from completing my 1st Ironman in Canada. I appreciate the sacrifice made to train for endurance events, our circumstances are not that dissimilar; you fight the elements like cold, wind and rain w here I endure 40+ degrees celcius as I live and train in the Middle East. I just wanted to wish you and Andrew well and thank you from the bottom of my heart for tackling this daunting task in aid of ACD, your generosity is very much appreciated. Again good luck, and thank you.

sincerely,

 

Scott Melvin R.R.T.

Neonatal/Pediatric Instructor

and most importantly, Zac's dad

You have to look the part too!

So we have been planning this for a long time and we can't believe that it all starts tomorrow. We just want to start peddling now. A couple of days ago Andrew picked up our cycling tops which we have had customised.

 What do you think?

Sometimes you need a little motivation

I am under no illusion that this challenge is going to be tough, especially going over the Macgillycuddy's Reeks. So I have made some additions for my bike for when times get tough.

Cause I know whatever pain, fatigue or tiredness I will be feeling, it's nothing compared to what Amelia and Simon have gone through. 

When I slogging up the hills their names will be on my handlebars and the frame. Plus if we are going up, there has to be a down, right?!

Making a list, checking it twice...

Well this is going to be our last night in our flat for a while, as we start our public transport marathon getting the bikes to the top of Ireland. All the panniers are packed up, so now we start the process of trying to work out what we've forgotten?!

As this is a unsupported ride we carrying all of our camping equipment. This takes up a surprising amount of space - you've got the tent, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, wash stuff, stove, fuel, utensils, matches, torch not to mention food for a few days. Also carrying a minimal tool kit for any on the road repairs. Cycling in the British Isles means we also have to carry clothing for every weather conditions. However its clothing is the area where we've had to compromise. So we are taking two sets of cycling clothing (encase the first gets wet) as well as waterproofs and a clean pair of clothes for the evenings - well we can't head to the pub in the evening in Lycra now can we!

The only luxury items I've taken in is my camera and a wee radio. Lets hope we haven't forgotten anything important...

The final countdown

do do do do do dum dum dum dum..... Or something like that.

We've only got a few days to go till the big off. Time has past so quickly. It doesn't seem that long ago that Serena was blogging about it being 100 days to go. It still feels like we have loads to do. Yesterday I changed the stems on both our bike - nothing like last minute tweaking. Before Orkney we swapped our upright handle bars for trekking butterfly style bars. These give you alot more hand grip options making them alot more comfortable over long distance. They do, however, require a much longer stem - unless you want to get grazed knee on every hill. I've also got to pick up some additional camping supplies and a map (that might be useful)! We also still need to pack.

We will be catching early bird ferry to Belfast on Saturday morning. After that it's going to be a combination of trains, buses and any other non-two wheeled forms for transport to get us as close to Malin Head in time for Sunday. Its going to be a proper public transport marathon! I'm looking forward to starting the challenge, if for no other reason than to have a single daily goal - 100km...

Orkney Adventure

Well, we've been back in Edinburgh for a two weeks and a half now so I guess I should post a wee update here. I think its going to be more a photo than word heavy blog post!


We had a fantastic trip over the Jubilee weekend (thanks for the long weekend Ma'am!). Things didn't start too well though - tragically there was a bad road accident on the A9 in the early hours of Friday morning. This meant that we had to take a long detour over the west coast, travelling up through Fort William. We eventually pulled into Thurso at 11pm. Given the time, we drove over the to port at Scrabster, parked in the long stay car park and collapsed to sleep in the car.

We were woken early the next morning with bright sunshine streaming through the window. This was a good thing as we had to cycle the 20 odd miles across to John O'Groats to catch the 1030 ferry across to Orkney. So it was a quick breakfast, unloaded the bikes, packing up the last of our paniers and set off. It was a pleasant enough ride across the north coast. I've heard a lot of things about John O'Groats, but have never visited. Lets just says it lives up to all expectation - a very uninspiring place.

 Serena searching for the John O'Groats sign post.

I'm not the best sailor and was very happy that the crossing was both short and calm! We landed on Orkney around 1130 and start the ride north to Kirkwall around the eastern edge of Scapa Flow. We saw the sea defences built during the war, these included the decaying hulks of sunken ships.  It was great riding despite the northerly winds. We did find that Serena back wheel was a little buckled and rubbing and the back break pads - this what happens when you don't give everything a good inspection before setting off on a trip. 

From Kirkwall we caught the ferry over the the island of Sanday and cycled over to Otterwick bay, pitching the tent around 2030. After a quick dinner we collapsed into the tent and were asleep in minutes. It had been a long day! Lucky, Sunday was going to be a more relaxed day. After breakfast we pack up all the kit, before going for a walk along the beach at Otterswick taking a picture of the ruin we camped next to. 

We then headed over to the Quoyness Chambered Cairn. I didn't really know what to expect having read the guidebook, but I was pleasantly surprised. It felt like something out of an Indiana Jones film, crawling along a tunnel to enter a tomb over 5000 years old. Best of all was that we were on our own, no guide, no large group of tourist.

We went for a walk around the coast, seeing seals, Arctic Terns, Shags and Oyster Catchers. 

  

Then, after a quick stop in Kettletoft, we headed back to the ferry terminal via Backaskaill Bay. As you can see the weather was wee bit different from the Jubilee weather in London!

Monday was an tourist day, although there was going to be a little bit more cycling involved. We left the campsite in Kirkwall around 8am heading west through the centre of the island. We stopped off at Maes Howe, another chambered cairn. While it was much bigger and grander than the one on Sanday, having to view in a group of other tourist did take away some of the magic. That being said, the scale of Maes Howe is simply amazing when you think it was built 5000 years ago. Up the road from Maes Howe we stopped at the Ring of Brodgar, a standing stone circle. The location of this stone circle does make it a bit more impressive to view than Stonehenge (which is sandwiched between dual carriageways). 

From here we thankfully left the main tourist route and headed over the the amazing RSPB reserve at Marwick Head. This was the real reason that I'd taken my SLR - I wanted to see some puffins. Luckily there were a few around, as this is not the best location for the wee birds. There were also lots of guillemots and kittiwakes. We sat around for quite a while watching the comings and goings. 

We spent the night camping down at Bay of Skaill. We arrived too late to visit Skara Brae, but there is always next time. After a pasta dinner and a few bottles of Orkney brewery, we crawled into our sleeping bags listening to the Jubilee concert in London on the Beeb. 

Our last day was a short ride south to Stromness to catch the ferry back to Scotland. We did visit Yesnaby Head quicky, but with the ferry being at 1130, we unfortunately didn't have much time to play with. We ended up cycling around 180km over the 3.5 days. Not great training for the mmmChallenge in terms of mileage, but we've trialled the new tent and check all our kit is fine. We've identified a couple of items missing from the kit bag that could be useful in July. Top on the list though is to get Serena's bike serviced - I'm not very good a truing wheels!

Our last view of the Island was of the Old Man of Hoy as we sailed south back to Scotland and day-to-day normality. It is great to get away like this. It always feels like a longer trip than it really is. 

The sink or swim appoach

Well, its the 1st of June - where on earth did the first five months of the year go? Whatever the reason, we now find ourselves 38 days from the start of the mmmChallenge and the only training we've done is a 90 odd mile ride in in mid April and a 200 mile ride I did without Serena in way back in March. It seems we are taking the 'sink or swim' approach to bicycle touring!

This weekend we will be celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee in the only way we know how - by completely ignoring all the London pageantry and heading north, as far from a television as possible. During last years Royal wedding we escaped to the North West Highlands, this year its going to be Orkney. While maybe not being the best training for the summer excesses (there really aren't that many roads around the Orkney islands!), I'm really excited about this trip. Our previous 'Adventures' have generally involved very little time to stop and look around the places we visit - this is will be the same on the mmmChallenge. This Orkney trip is going to be very different - with no more than 120 miles to cover in 3.5 days we should have loads of time for wildlife watching. So I've pack up 300mm lens, Serena has her binoculars and even the weather forecast is looking good. Hopefully I get some good photos to share when we get back.

Once again we will be trialing the live tracking. Hopefully I've ironed out the battery issues. Guess we will see how long the battery lasts over the four day weekend!

Back on the bike

After I finished my PhD got a job working in a lab about 3 miles from where we lived. I don't drive and public transport connections weren't great. So before I started I bought a bike and decided to cycle.

Cycling to work was great it meant I exercised for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week and it helped clear my head after a day of work. I no longer cycle to work and the reason why is because I have had not one but two bike accidents. I know what you are thinking "well it must have been your fault". The first accident, a van turned right across my path and took me out, The second accident, the car was pulling out of side road, turning right, again across my path. The first time was quite a serious crash, I had the two-tones to Glasgow Western Infirmary. The second time, the driver took me to hospital. I don't prescribe to two wheels good, four wheels bad doctrine or vice versa. I believe there are good road users and bad ones. In fact the driver of the van from the first accident kept repeating "but I am cyclist too!".

I have seen cyclists that make me very angry! No lights, headphones on and a lack of arm signals!!! The worst one is no helmet. Below is a picture of my helmet after my first crash.

Imagine if that was my skull!

The problem is a lack of infrastructure for cyclists. I rarely use cycle lanes they box you in and people park in them which means you end up having to pull in and out which I think is more annoying for cars. I still find it hard to cycle round towns or cities and rarely do if Andrew isn't with me. That's why if Andrew is away, I am training for the mmm Challenge on a spinning bike at my gym. The Times has a campaign for Cities safe for cycling. Please click the badge above to support this initiative.

With our jobs Amelia and I hear about the UK's obesity problem, in fact Amelia's research focuses on this. If more people felt safe enough to cycle to work or even just small distances this would encourage people to be just a little bit more active. Not saying this is the only area that needs to be tackled but it is one small piece of the puzzle.

If only all roads were this quiet!