Photos from the final leg

Tiredness Can Kill. Take a Break

The Final Push

Erskine Bridge

Hamish, Martin and some beautiful Loch Lomond scenery.

We're there. How good does that feel!

Having joined us for the beautiful ride through Glen Coe and along Loch Nes, Paul Brooks loses no opportunity to recruit for the hoops.

Hamish prepares for life after cycling

What Martin's boys want to be when they grow up

And now we're there!

No doubting the best moment of the ride - rolling 5 abreast down the final hill into JO'G with a great feeling of achievement masking the pain in various bits of your body.

The lowest points along the way are when your body refuses to do things you normally take for granted - such as bending or digesting at normal pace! The schlep up to Shap in Cumbria was undoubtedly the toughest section for me. Luckily George's visit to the doctor to sort his hand out allowed me forty winks on the grass verge at the top - oblivious to the passing lorries.

For a mixed ability, mixed age group we got on famously with great humour, encouragement to all and no hissy fits. We even cycled in good formation for very long periods, although I have a feeling Richard will now be working on constructing a dream team to beat this record (maybe North to South as well!).

I will put in an honourable mention for the lovely and very hilly section above Hereford (nearest to my home town of Stourbridge) but the best scenery was undoubtedly Glen Coe on a beautiful sunny day. Simply stunning!

Let's not forget a dishonourable mention for the car, van and lorry drivers of Wrexham and Cheshire whose incompetence and impatience knows no bounds! There are words of four letters that cannot be used here that describe you succinctly.

The near 150 mile days into Preston and Crianlarich were tough, but the first day was still the most brutal with 127 miles and 2700m of hills. The funniest moment, in retrospect, was at the end of that day when we took a wrong turn at the very last moment taking us down into a village we didn't need to go to. When we asked a local lady where we had to go for our B&B she said "you go up that road and up and up .....etc" and both she and the many children with her all pointed enthusiastically upwards. If looks could kill the one on Hamish's face would have wiped out half of Devon.

Finally - while my ability to faff can never be doubted I will mention the total reliability of my old Da Rosa and its derided Campag gears. It may not be the lightest, and the colour wins no beauty prizes - but no drama and no punctures from the little yellow machine while others were sidelined!!

......and on reflection

We didn't break any records, or do anything truly remarkable. We however completed the course quicker than most, despite 3 out of the 5 having relatively few cycling miles in their legs..... .....We also looked the part in our day-glo yellow cycling jerseys.
For me personally it was great to have my two sons on the trip and to see them go through the inevitable down periods and the pure elation of reaching the end of yet another long tough day in the saddle. Some of the climbs, downhills and mountain scenery moments were very special, and some of the the "collective memories" will last for life. We were not all able to cycle at the same pace, but we started together and finished together, and helped each other where necessary. The banter was sharp, very funny and a great reliever of tension. Everyone took and gave stick

Many have analysed why human beings take on these "painful" challenges. The sense of achievement on completion is obviously huge, but my own theory is that its a step out of normal day to day life with two major differences :

1. The lows are lower and the highs are higher. Normal life is relatively flat. Taking on something like this is more of an emotional rollercoaster. Maybe we need these extremes ?

2. There is an elegant simplicity and singularity of purpouse, which is very different from everyday life. All that matters is covering the miles and getting to the next coffee stop or B&B. 95% of thoughts relate to the task in hand. There is no juggling of work, home, hobby, family etc.,

Anyway enough waffle. We will get JOG phptos loaded asap, and finalise the ride stats for other like minded anoraks

Also a reminder that if you are of a mind to (and havn't already done so) and contribute to our MCS fundraising, please go to http://virginmoneygiving.com/team/Cooper9

We did it !!!

921 miles. 7 days, and over 12 000m of ascent. The team reached JOG at 6.20 sunday evening, after over 48 hrs "in the saddle". Some tears (me), a lot of champagne spraying, and a marveloous feeling of achievement and relief. Day 7 started from a B&B near Inverness, riding into strong cross/head winds. and ended with a blistering downwind roller coaster across the barren Caithness landscape. All members of the team had different problems during the trip (Hamish ...the runs, Martin .....too many ailments to mention, and a worrying tendancy to strip off down to his heart rate monitor for #2 relief behind an accomodating hedge, Jack acute knee pain, George..........neck & back pain - knee pain- achilles blisters, and a general propensity to be on another planet, and yours truly....chronic impatience disorder). Our support team...Chris Vokins to statt, Graham & Betty Cooper for the middle section, and John Cooper for the final 2 days made the whole trip possible. Huge thanks.

We covered large distances as a 5 man peleton, with each allocated a number. We never held our positions up or down hills. Thro the week, there were many polka dot jersey effort to top of hill, normally won by George or Dad, and some Green Jersey sprints, the most importantl & poignant of which won by Jack on the last day 10 miles from JOG. Martin was top of faffing league table at every single start & re-start. Hamish had more "cycling kit " options than my wife has shoes. He also managed to carry more (about 2.5kg) kit in his 3 jersey pockets than any other cyclist known to man. The most frequent peleton call was "hole" which tells a story about the state of our roads.

Average speed around 15.8 mph; average fluid consumption by Martin per day about 72 litres; number of YR navigation errors 5, including a 45minute detour trying to find the cycle path across M5 Avon bridge

Now being chucked off Hotel PC, so more to follow in due course...... R

Photos from Day 4

George and some girlfriends at the top of Cumbria!

Hamish officially welcomes us to 'his' country

George makes early bid for favourite son status having won the intermediate sprint into Scotland

Jack Cooper: Day 4

I have now had 8 punctures, roughly 6 more than anyone else in the group. The others have started relating these figues to my weight which I believe is not fair..brief injury scare involving tendons in both knees apparently because I had too low cadence according to dad which has resulted in me having to pull upwards when pedalling instead of the normal downward stroke that 99% of people do, this made the 7 mile hill today a bit tricky, with a heavy dose of ibuprofen I hope the next 3 days will be ok, only 400 miles left anyway ...

Thursday - on the roof of england

Day 4 lunch on roof of england. Shap. 9 mile ascent out of kendal followed by screeming 5 mile descent, and then the heartwarming sight of mum and dad in laybye with sarnis and a brew. Weather a bit unacceptable......saw a couple of clouds today. Younger lads (all but RC) suffering with a vast variety of ailments which would keep a team of doctors busy for weeks. Now on to penrith and carlisle and in scotland by end day 4

All the best from LEJOG team

Thursday 28th July
Photos!

Day 1 image: Land's End

Day 3 completed. 40 miles ahead of schedule. Beautiful weather. Beautiful bodies. Beautiful people. Some not so beautiful roads. But some equally spectacular stuff. Downhill 10 mile section into oswestry was wonderful. Tired bodies. Lots of aches. But all ready to go again. About 500 miles to go. As long as richard's navigational skills don't deteriorate with fatigue.

Day 2 Triumph & Trauma

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Started with the best B&B in the world. The farmer's wife even got up to have full cooked breakfast ready for us at 5:45 am. The only condition was that we had breakfast after first milking. A surprisingly good start to the day after copious refueling of tired legs, but in the knowledge that another 10 miles would be needed compared to Day 1 with 140 miles to Hereford. There would be less hills with 'only' 1800m. Another complication was the lack of a bed at the end of the day as we had decided to book B&B's only a day ahead to adjust for actual progress. We have also the revised target to complete the ride in seven days rather than the original eight to enable Jack to fly off to Australia on time. Trauma arrived when the Avonmouth cycle path in Bristol disappeared and sent us off in the wrong direction completely. But riding over the Avon and then Severn bridges was fantastic before a wrong turn between Monmouth and Hereford added some unnecessary miles and more importantly hills to the final tally. Mandy and Amy Cooper arrived to save the day with rooms at a pub near Hereford - a perfect solution. Another 6:30 start and 140 miles to Preston looms tomorrow.

Days 1 and 2

Apologies, but we're having a problem updating the blog - and we'll be finished in a few day's time!

Day 1: Monday - could just about see the sign post at Land's End through the sea fog at 7:30am. The day gradually cleared and we made good distance despite the 2700m of hills. A late wrong turn added a few miles at the wrong time, but we made the B&B at 7:20 pm, after 127 miles. Great food at the local pub and the landlady made us a fabulous breakfast at 5:45 am.

Day 2 - Tuesday - Done 140 miles to Hereford. more to follow...

Hamish Stewart is unwell, that's all I can say! Here is a picture of us at Lands End at 730 am this morning - a tad foggy.

OMG....18 hrs before we set off. Spectaculat N Coast of Cornwall rt from Lands End maybe compromised as forecast is for fog !!! then next 3 days of Northerly breezes. Hopefully we can all slipstream behind Jack's big backside. Bikes have all been de-wheeled for packing in van...Tesco has been raided. Hi viz bright yellow LEJOG tops are ready for action. Fans (?) should be abler to see us coming from miles away. !

T - 4 tension mounts

Only 4 days to go, before Le Grande Depart... Tour De France organisers worried that their media profile will erode when this massive competing cycling event takes place !! Max recorded down hill speed on Tour De France is over 100 kph. Change of Cycling shorts probably needed if any of us going at this speed !

Training now in taper phase, lists of lists everywhere. Hi Viz team kit being logoed. A5 maps per leg on way to laminators. B&B 's booked for first two days. Fundraising undereway....thanks to so-far contributors. Van packing excitement on sunday, after mega provisioning expedition to Tesco. On everyone's mind.....will my body cope ? Will I struggle to keep up? What will the weather be like ? Indications are favourable for day 1-2 with soft Westerly wind & showers. Here we go...here we go etc., etc.,

Pre-Event Crash !

Ric and two sons Jack & George out on a 50 mile training ride last night, had a nasty 20mph+ crash which could have put one/all of them out of the event. 3 man peleton with Ric at front working well, but jack on 2nd wheel a bit too close (ie <2"), wheels touched, Jack hit the deck hard, george hit jack & went flying over bars....now we know what its like Brad !!!

George finished about 15m further up road than Jack! and at first we thought collar bone had gone, but after a few minutes he was back on bike riding home. Jack less fortunate. His burly frame had just cuts & bruises, but the bike was less fortunate with bent rear mech & handlebar hoods. Bike now gone to local "Bike Hospital" for emergency repairs

The good news was that all 3 rode at a very comfortable pace keeping HR well under threshold, but still managed to average 18 mph

Why am I doing this?

I met Richard Cooper in May this year, I was taking part in the TdE (Tour d'Ecosse) which he had organized, it was my first time meeting this group and I must say I was a littel worried about what to expect.

Not only was it a great 5 days of hard slog (I couldnt do the climbing or too much of the mountain biking) I also had a great time.

During this trip Richard told me of his plans about the LeJog with his sons, this sounded great and here I am about to leave in 3 days from Seattle (yes, it does rain a lot). Im currently sitting in a hotel room in Tokyo, on a business trip - I have been on the exercise bike two days in a row...so I will be ready for next Monday.

Initially the LeJog adventure was one to tick off the "bucket list", however I discovered that we were doing it for a great cause. The one thing I realize as I get older is that you have to push yourself and you also need to be more aware of what we are doing to our planet and what some people do to stop the damage.

So here's to riding 900 miles in 7 days and raising money for a great cause.

Thats it ....my first ever blog.........In one weeks time we will be coming towards the end of Day one of lejog........Will we have covered 90 miles or 130 ? Will George have fallen out with his brother ? Will it still be raining ?

Watch this space...as the anticipation grows, and realization dawns that we have 7-8 days of 8-10hours per day perched on a very thin saddle to look forward to

I am raring to go ..... but still concerned that supporting logistics not in place. Any offers of help appreciated

Land's End to John o'Groats with a marine twist

Five intrepid souls will leave Lands End on July 25th hoping to complete the 950 mile journey to John O Groats in less than eight days. This is not a record breaking attempt or anything unusual, but the father and sons team composition and decision to travel overland whilst raising money for a marine conservation charity is somewhat unusual.

The team of five comprises:

Richard Cooper, 52, Businessman, and veteran of various similar adventures including an epic 2000 mile 8 week circumnavigation of the British Isles on a windsurfer back in 1999. Richard’s main sport is now cycling and triathlon, training hard, and racing over short and long distances

Jack Cooper, 20, son of Richard studying Engineering at Nottingham University, and first team Rugby Captain. Furthest ever bike ride 30 mile!!! Until he starts training in earnest next week.........

George Cooper, 18, also son of Richard, currently doing A Levels at Millfield School in Somerset. Also big into Rugby, and most other sports. Only previous cycling event was a respectable ten mile time trial at local club with dad.

Matt Tull, also of Nottingham University, and Ex Hall President so clearly a man of great popular appeal. Also has started his training well ahead of Cooper boys...

Hamish Stewart, 52, currently living in rainy Seattle as VP of International for Brooks running shoes, but clearly with Scottish ancestry. Hamish recently completed a gruelling four day trans-navigation of the West Coast of Scotland (Tour D’Ecosse) by bike and on foot with Richard and others.

The team will eat /sleep/ recover in a mobile home support vehicle driven by various volunteers .....some still to be appointed! The route will be published in due course but its basically :

Day 1 : Land's End to Mid Devon

Day 2 : Devon to Gloucestershire

Day 3 : Gloucestershire to Cheshire

Day 4 : Cheshire to North of England

Day 5 : North England to Borders

Day 6 : Borders to Mid Scotland

Day 7-8 : the rest!

Why are we doing it? It's both a physical and mental challenge - hour after hour beating into the expected northerly headwinds! - and a logistical challenge. Its also a family challenge...three from same family adds an extra potential “fall-out” dynamic...Will the fit muscle-bound Rugby players keep up with decrepit dad?

Why the marine twist? Richard worked closely with and raised considerable funds for MCS during his Round Britain Windsurf. Richard is a passionate supporter of looking after the Marine Environment around Britain’s shores, and a big user of our seas and waterways, via his Windsurfing, Sea Kayaking, Surfing and open water swim events.

Via his A level studies George has a keen interest in the marine environment, and in fact has done some scuba diving and survey work off a remote Indonesian island.

The others have no direct MCS connections, but are committed to support the cause and raise funds!

This page will be updated daily during the event - click here to bookmark this page!