Thurs 30th April

Free upgrade of rental car from Astra to Insignia. Beautiful roomy car but you wouldn't believe how tight getting my gorgeous Thorn Sherpa in the back. Time for pre-departure drinks with friends.

Geoff's End to End, ready to roll

Save for a few unrelated houseworky chores, I'm ready.

Chrissie's backpacking across the Peak District this weekend so I've been able to settle to final prep. This afternoon I packed my clothes in the van, ready for when I meet up with Chrissie halfwayish at Clitheroe, but also for our hillwalking trip round the north west of Scotland once I've finished. Life's a bugger when you're retired.

Also, I packed up my panniers and stuck 'em on t'bike for these photos.

Here's the mess on the spare bed before I got it organised.

And here's my gorgeous bike loaded up (minus tent cos Chrissie's sleepin' in it as I write).

She looks great. Will I still think that after 1000 plus miles?

I was persuaded to try to raise some cash for Cancer Research UK and a number of kind souls have already donated. If you'd like to join in, please look here: www.justgiving.com/geoff-crowther

Also, following several requests, I've agreed to attempt to post on here along the way. Might only be a sentence or two, maybe the odd photo should internet access allow, so, if you've nowt else to do with your time, take a look now and again.

If you're interested, here's an outline of my route, by landmarks, towns and villages along the way:

Lands End, Penzance, King Harry Ferry, St Austell, Fowey, Looe, Plymouth, Princetown, Moretonhampstead, Exeter, Corfe, Glastonbury, Wells, Bristol, Monmouth, Hereford, Clun, Shrewsbury, Delamere Forest, Runcorn, Warrington, Leigh, Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe, Slaidburn, Bentham, Kendal, Windermere, Keswick, Carlisle, Longtown, Annan, Dumfries, Moniaive, Dalmellington, Ardrossan, Arran, Kintyre, Oban, Mull, Ardnamurchan, Fort William, Great Glen Way, Inverness, Dingwall, Lairgs, Altnaharra, Bettyhill, John O'Groats ... phew!

I've already had an offer to join me for a short section. If you fancy doing that let me know by contacting me on here as I pass along the way. Or you can try texting or phoning me, 07785 790034, but be patient, the phone won't be on all the time ... battery conservation y'know. My email's geoff.kmrt@btinternet.com and I'm on Twitter: @GeoffCrowther1 And if you're along my route and have room on your lawn for a tiny tent, or might offer me crust of stale bread as I whizz past (kiddin') please do get in touch.

So, I think that's it. I'm leaving home next Friday, 1st May and the grand depart will be after a nice cooked breakfast at the Lands End Hotel on the Saturday morning, the 2nd. Please pray for a fine day.

Wish me well please and think of me when Carol Kirkwood (bless 'er) gives out a lousy forecast.

Should hit JOG early June, God willing.

Smile!

Just WHERE will it all fit?

I'm kicking my heels a little this afternoon and trying to take my mind off the cost of re-roofing our house, since that seemed to be the, almost inevitable conclusion after a roofer looked at our leak this morning.

Less than three weeks now 'til I set off on my epic bike ride. It's epic for me anyway; I've done nowt like it ever before. True, I've had a coupla cycle camping trips but really nothing on this scale. Over 1000 miles, on my own, camping all the way. I keep waking up at night contemplating silly little details, like coffee filters an' pee bottles. I'm not really worrying, it's just that it occupies a lot of my waking (and sleeping, it seems) thoughts.

A couple of weeks back I had a dry run packing, primarily cos my new Ortlieb panniers looked, nay ARE, somewhat smaller than my old Karrimors and there was a slight, nagging concern that all my stuff wouldn't fit in. Anyway, it did ... with room to spare once I'd worked out how to close the panniers prop'ly!

So, for my own amusement, and indeed, that of anyone else out in t'internet mush, I thought I'd detail; wot I'm takin' here.

Rohan merino long sleeve shirt              Food and drinks               

Rohan merino Union T shirts x 2           Pan & frying pan              

Humvee cycling shorts                           Alloy spork          

Endura cycling tights                              Scrubber              

Rohan Escapers trousers                         Multi-use detergent      

Rohan knickers x 3                                 Drying cloth        

Rohan socks x 3                                      Mug         

Hankies x 3                                             Plate        

Rohan Spark Top                                    Sea to Summit bowl/chopping board         

Berghaus Paclite waterproofs                 MSR coffee filter             

Neoprene overboots                                MSR Pocket Rocket stove              

Goretex shell mitts                                  Gas x 2   

Fleece gloves                                          Lighters + matches             

Fingerless cycling gloves                       Water filter          

Baseball cap                                            Emergency chlorine           

Buff                                                         Sea to Summit washing up bowl     

Bike shoes                                               2x2 litre Platypus + tops    

Sandals                                

                                                                 2 x Petzl E-lite headtorch        

                                                                Towel         

Helmet                                                    Toiletries  

Garmin Edge Touring satnav                 Baby wipes           

Cateye bike computer                             Mosiguard            

Bike repair kit                                         Loo roll etc              

First aid kit                                              Head net

Panniers                                                  Spare glasses         

3 x bike bottles                                        Kindle       

                                                                Tent & airbed repair kit       

                                                                Trash bags 

Compact digital camera                          Pee bottle             

Camera gorilla pod                                  Radio       

Camera batt charger                                2 x microfibre cloths         

Sunscreen                                               Terra Nova Superlite Voyager                 

Wallet                                                     Neoair XTherm max air bed              

Mobile                                                    S to S Aeros Premium pillow          

Notebook & pens                                    Rab Ascent 700 sleeping bag          

Powergen and charger                            Hayfever meds   

E-Werk charging device                         Helinox Ground chair  

Mains USB charger                                 Rear lamp batt 2xAAA      

                                                                Headtorch 2xCR2032           

                                                                Computer CR2032

(Sorry about the strange formatting with that list. Life's just too short to sort it out)

And, for completeness, here's how it fits in, complete with the scary bit ... what it all weighs.

Front left pannier: Clothes, sandals, baseball cap 

In pocket: spare glasses, headtorches

Weight: 3.2kg

Front right pannier: Paclite jacket & trousers (including elastic for cuffs), overshoes, duvet, kindle, wash kit, towel, toilet kit

In pocket: Buff, warm gloves, warm hat, overmitts

Weight: 3.2kg

Rear left pannier: Sleeping bag, sleeping mat, pillow, pee bottle, FM radio,camera charger,mains usb charger,headnet, bike repair kit, 2 x cleaning cloths,Helinox chair 

In pocket: Powergen mains charger, spare spokes, long tie wraps

Weight: 5.8kg

Rear right pannier: Cooking kit, 2 x 2 litre water carriers, food, gas, sink, rubbish bags, water filter,

In pocket: Emergency food,Spork, gas holder, grater, 3xbag clips,spatula, frypan handle

Weight: 6.2kg

Bar bag: Route guide, snacks, notebook & pens, lock key, first-aid kit, camera, tripod, sunscreen, Mosiguard, Powergen, E-WERK  & leads, wallet, Swiss Army knife

Weight: 2.5kg

Rear luggage rack: Tent

Weight: 1.9kg

Total weight of luggage: 22.8kg plus 3 x 750ml of water (1.5l) equals 25.05kg

In clothes pockets: phone

NB Bike, with racks, lock, pump & computer weighs 15.6kg

Total load, bike & luggage = 40.7kg

No prizes for spotting if the two lists don't quite match; they're near enough. I actually have that second list reduced in text size and laminated. It comes out small enough to fit in the front of my bar bag so I can remind myself a.where stuff is in an emergency and b.how to repack. Much of my camping experience comes from backpacking in the hills but you don't normally have five separate rucsacs plus a luggage rack to sort your gear into, so I see this as essential. Maybe I'll have memorised locations by the end of the trip?

Although my trip doesn't quite match up to most of those in the book, I've found Stephen Lord's, Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook invaluable for hints an' tips, especially re stuff to carry in my bike toolkit. It's also an inspiring read. It was on Stephen's recommendation that I bought a Leatherman Crunch, with it's superb, self-locking pliers (like a mini Mole wrench).

I've booked a rental car to get to Penzance and also a room at the Lands End Hotel for the night before my departure. A little pre-trip luxury won't do me any harm. And, simply cos it'll be May Day Bank Holiday weekend, I've booked campsites for the first two nights and, if all goes to plan, three weeks today I'll be spending my third night wild camping on Dartmoor, looking forward to a full, cooked breakfast at The Fox Tor Cafe in Princetown on Tuesday morning; bin there before - highly recommended.

Following several requests from friends I've decided I'll post brief updates on here along the journey so anyone interested can follow my progress. It won't be anything lengthy; just a sentence or two an' maybe a photo if I find free Wifi along the way. Hopefully, I'll expand that into a proper trip report once I'm home, which'll be a while away since Chrissie's meeting me in the camper at John O'Groats and she and I, an' Tilly our lab, plan on enjoying some hillwalking in the beautiful north west of Scotland for a while before returning home.

Finally, if you feel like supporting Cancer Research UK, please go to my Just Giving page here

Cheers!

Cancer Research UK

Just a quick note to say I have decided to try to raise some cash for Cancer Research UK during my End to End ride. If you'd like to make a donation it's very easy; just go to my page:

www.justgiving.com/geoff-crowther
Even easier, click on the link on the top left side of this blog.

Cheers all.