Day 7 - Shrewsbury to Dursley

Watching the wheels

The day started with a bang, quite literally. Steve had "topped" his front tyre up with air and returned to the room he was sharing with James when the most almighty crack was heard. Steve's front tyre had exploded and his poor father, Philip, who was within earshot of the offending tyre loading the car up, got the fright of his life. Tyre replaced and day 5 blog released, we left Shrewsbury. It was a shame we did not have more time to explore the historic market town which had a fabulous mix of period properties (apparently the town has over 660 listed buildings) and a toll bridge which you have to pay the princely sum of 10p to cross (except, seemingly, if you are on a bicycle)! We made great ground for the first couple of hours - again, it was turning about to be a very hot day with not a cloud in the sky.

We decided to stay on the A49 heading towards Leominster, some 40 miles south of Shrewsbury. Cycling so close to the Welsh border, we all had a good laugh when Steve received an email from Guy's sister-in-law Lucy which said (roughly): "You do realise that one wrong turn and you will be in Wales". Somewhat alarmed, we all perked up (especially Guy) to make sure we stayed on the right road.

Whilst on the A49, James had noticed an advertisement for a charity cricket match near Ludlow, involving a certain Freddie Flintoff and Steve Harmison. "I thought Freddie was injured!" remarked James.

At Leominster, we picked up the A44 into Herefordshire heading towards Worcester on what proved to be a tough road with long climbs - particularly tough given the searing heat. Still, spurred on by the prospect of our first pub lunch (see below), we pressed on with James setting a particularly fast pace with his unique standing-up, full weight behind climbing technique (I think he must have smelt blood - quite literally, as he was to have steak and kidney pie for lunch!).

Live and let live

James' parents, Simon and Chippy, found a great watering hole called "Live and Live" just off the A44 near to Worcester and we arranged to meet them for our first pub lunch of the trip. In typical fashion, James and Steve couldn't resist a couple of snifters - the local Marston ale was just too tempting on such a barmy day. A lady on the table next to us, with whom Steve had struck up a conversation, must have been quite surprised to see us tuck into our ales after Steve had impressed upon her the details of the trip so far (in particular, the training, discipline and abstinence (well, most of the time!)) - I think she was considering asking for the money back that she had kindly donated on the basis that she had been swindled!

Fuelled by the excellent food and booze, we continued towards Worcester and picked up the A38 heading towards Gloucester. By now it was seriously hot and James remarked how he was sweating all over - if ever Guy and Steve needed an excuse to pick up the pace, that was it. We had one final pit stop in Tewkesbury where we met Steve's parents, Isabelle and Philip, as well as Will. 2 support vehicles - what luxury! Tewkesbury was another interesting place and it would have been nice to stop there for longer (the photo is of Tewkesbury Abbey) but we were now quite keen on getting to our next port of call - a B&B called Waterend Farm near to Dursley, some 10 miles south of Gloucester.

One mile from the B&B, James let off a huge sudden scream and Guy and Steve feared the worst - torn hamstring? - no, he had been stung by a bee on his left thigh! A sting on an area that is already pink with sunburn is enough to bring a tear to your eye...

We finally arrived at the B&B at around 7.30pm - just enough time to shower and change, catch 30 mins of the Brazil v Ivory Coast game, and sneak a quick snifter in. We left for supper in 3 cars heading towards a nearby pub called the George Inn. We were 10 for supper - Simon and Chippy joined us as well as Jamie and (the soon to be) Nell Stebbings. It was great to see some more familiar faces. Chippy and Simon left at the same time as Jamie and Nell and we then realised that we had to get 6 of us in Isabelle and Philip's Toyota Yaris! Guy was the unlucky one who had to have Will on his lap.

Mind games

As we head into day 8, its fair to say that physically we are coping reasonably well - certainly the training we did seems to have paid off. The daily grind is, however, slowly beginning to take its toll and our fatigue levels are definitely rising - and with it a sense that we are slowly beginning to lose our minds. The days are long - we are waking up early at around 7am (although James has been waking up as early as 5 - 5.30am) and the period before breakfast, watching sky sports news and relaxing in bed, is really our only down time. From breakfast onwards, it always seems to be a race against the clock - preparing yourself for the ride (sun cream, chamois glide (don't ask!), protein shake, check route etc) and aiming to set off at around 9.30 fuelled by a big breakfast. We then tend to have 3 pit stops a day, roughly at 25-30 mile intervals. With the exception of yesterday's pub lunch, lunches are a quick affair and we then plough on through the afternoon focusing on winding the miles down to our next port of call. The earliest we have arrived is around 6.45 pm but we have also had a few days where we have arrived at around 8pm. The evenings always seem to be rushed affairs, quickly showering, applying sun cream etc before heading off for supper. Next to no chill out or footie time. A couple of pints over supper and we are pretty much spent and talking absolute nonsense - there have been a few classic lines along the way (for instance, James announcing that is was great that Graeme McDowell had won the Ryder Cup). Still, we are still very focused and I'm sure we will keep the banter up and get through these last few days, focusing on the finishing line and the real incentives for finishing the challenge - in James' case, that would appear to be a Cornish Pasty! (only kidding, Louise!).

We have become increasingly aware of each others routines and habits and the first thing to be said is that none of us are really morning people and this has become increasingly apparent with the early starts and the tiring days of cycling. You will be lucky to get a word out of Guy until about 2 hours into the day and James and Steve only start to wake up after a full English breakfast (and a bit more for good measure!) and a few cups of coffee. We are working well as a team though and morale is very good - no tantrums or temperaments getting in the way (so far!).

Our levels of fitness are all fairly similar and we tend to cycle at the same pace, although there are some interesting differences we have noted:

1. James seems to excel on uphill sections when he quite literally puts his full body weight into it - standing up and bobbing up and down like one of the meerkats in the famously annoying "compare the meerkat" adverts. He really does build up quite a sweat. His justification for this approach is that his bike is by some margin the heaviest of the three bikes and were he to sit down, he would probably end up going backwards down the hill. When he is stationary though it is advisable to stand well clear of him - today he managed to fall off his bike whilst not actually moving on it. Maybe he was admiring the local architecture again...

2. Guy is a speed-demon who loves the downhill stretches where he appears from nowhere and, prowling like a ginger cat, body low to reduce drag, he flies past James and Steve. He has hit 45.8mph on one downhill stretch and, when asked how it felt, described it as far more frightening than skiing at high speed because, in his words, if you fall you are "b******d"!.

3. Steve has a very unique cycling style - it appears almost as if he is riding a child's bike once his big frame is up and running on it - his knees stick out and he sways from side to side - not a good sign as most cyclists will tell you that is a sign of fatigue! Imagine John Wayne riding a bike. He does though, excel on the flat sections where his considerable bulk provides quite a slipstream for Guy and James to enjoy!

The blog has proved challenging and time-consuming. We try to start it in the evening but we always seem to be chasing our tail. The blog entries for the last few days have all been finished in the morning but I am sure you will understand.

Not long to go now...

Today promised to be interesting - we need to stay on the A38 which unfortunately means we wont be able to avoid Bristol (apologies to any Bristolian readers) - it would be great to avoid it and take a detour through Bath but with Steve "Tom-Tom" Mortimer in charge, that would just be too risky!

Our next port of call is Silverton - a village just north of Exeter, where we will be joined by Guy's parents, Andrew and Jane Stebbings. The good news is that we won't have far to go to eat as we are staying at an Inn that has a large restaurant.