Lejog day 11 Kinross to Ballater

Today the route goes from Kinross to Ballater. I started at Kinross with the intention of riding to lunch. The second half of the route has some serious climbing and my knee wasn't enthusiastic about that (neither was the rest of me, to be honest).

Before the rain

It started pissing down on us on the way to lunch at The Wee House of Glenshee. Lunch was fantastic and they have a ton of lovely gift ideas. I bought a set of coasters for Sherry with drawings of hares on them. The knee felt good - only slightly sore.

The Wee House of Glenshee

I rode the rest of the day in the van. It rained a lot more.

At the second brew stop I tried to get photographs of all the riders as they came in.

In Ballater, Michele and I ate at the Lochnagar Indian Restaurant. I was a bit dubious at first but it was some the best Indian food I have ever eaten.

Back at the hotel I tried a shot of Royal Lochnagar whiskey. It was really good.

I'm going to ride the rest of the ride. I'm sure of it.

Lejog day 10 Moffat to Kinross

Today we rode from Moffat to Kinross which goes through Edinburgh. I had hoped to ride today but my leg just wasn't ready. Rain was threatened but never really materialized.

Michele picked up her new Roam from Evans Bikes in Edinburgh so that was a good thing. She also got some florescent yellow shoe covers on sale for only twenty pounds which was a great deal.

Wendy at the first brew stop before the riders arrive

I rode in the van and got dropped off at Dunfermline A&E. They replaced the bandages and everything looks good. There is no train station in Kinross but I was able to get a bus from outside the A&E to Kinross. From the bus station to the Green Hotel was a short walk. Again, using public transport is so easy when it's done right.

At dinner I tried Laphroaig which is very peaty and must be the Petit Syrah of whiskeys. I didn't like it. I'm looking for the Merlot.

The good news is the leg is finally healing and the infection is gone. I really want to ride tomorrow.

Lejog day 9 Penrith to Moffat

Today we were supposed to ride from Penrith to Moffat. I had to ride the day out in the van. Leg is feeling slightly better but I can't bend the knee without pain. I still visited the brew stops, but because I wasn't riding I had to show restraint.

There is a toffee shop in Moffat that I adore. Michele loved toffee too. I waited for her to arrive and we walked over together. I bought some Rhubarb and Custard candy for myself and shortbread and toffee for Sherry. I also bought an orange aero bar for Amber and a Cadbury fruit and nut for Edgar. My suitcase was quite a bit heavier after this trip

Moffat Toffee Shop

While I was waiting for Michele I got the drone out again and took some video around Moffat. It started to rain again in about five minutes but I did get some shots.

We stayed at the Rockville B&B which was the only overnight without soap or shampoo. In fact, it was a bit tatty all around. Fortunately Michele and I both carry extra. My leg is less painful. Yay!

The group had a dinner ordered at the Star Inn (the narrowest inn in the UK). I skipped the haggis this time (once is enough) but I decided that I should try some whiskey so I ordered a Glenlivet. It was surprisingly mild. I suspect this is the zinfandel of whiskeys.

Lejog day 8 Lancaster to Penrith

Today we were supposed to ride from Lancaster to Penrith. That didn't happen for me. My leg was not getting any better and the original A&E in Street had told me to get my wound evaluated so this was the day to do that. I got dropped off at the A&E in Lancaster, but they told me to go to Morecambe about six miles away. Fortunately there is a train so that wasn't a problem.

In Morecambe they took the bandages off and decided the wound was infected and there was necrosis. Great. They cleaned it up, redressed it, and wrote a prescription for anti-biotics and Naproxen. They told me to I couldn't ride for two more days. I think I need to take them seriously.

I took the train back to Lancaster, then another to Penrith. It was raining heavily when I got there, but right next to the train station there is a Sainsburys. I got the prescription filled and bought a five pound umbrella. I can't believe how easy it is to travel around by train. I'm used to Amtrak running a train every two hours if you're lucky. Fortunately this wasn't one of the days the rail workers were striking.

Penrith is very pretty

From the Sainsburys it was about a 3/4 mile walk to the George Hotel. There's not a lot of food options open late in Penrith but we did find a nice tapas restaurant called La Casita. It was good, but expensive.

I started my course of anti-biotics and naproxen. I won't be able to ride for a couple more days which was lucky for Michele. She had previously dropped her Wahoo Roam and damaged the seal of the display. In the heavy rain today, water got in and damaged her Roam so that maps wouldn't show (probably the memory card was damaged). We found an Evans bike store in Edinburgh that is close to the route and had a new Roam in stock. They were nice enough to put it behind the counter until we got there in two days. Michele borrowed my Wahoo Bolt until then.

I was disappointed to be missing three days of riding, but I feel it's the right decision.

Lejog day 7 Runcorn to Lancaster

Today our route was from Runcorn to Lancaster which is 73 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing. However my knee was really hurting so I rode from Runcorn to lunch at the Rock Inn. We had our first heavy rain of the trip and I got soaked to the skin. Traffic was fairly heavy with a few nice sections.

Last time the Rock Inn offered a great lunch but they seem to have new management and the only offering was curry or curry. I can't eat curry while riding because I'll suddenly find myself racing for the nearest toilet. 

I've made that mistake once before and I don't want to repeat it. There's still a woman somewhere who remembers walking towards a porta-potty in Camp Pendleton and being rudely out-sprinted by a cyclist (me). In my defense, it felt like I was having a medical emergency.

In the end I settled for a plate of rice and bread. They seriously had nothing else available.

It turns out I could have had the curry because my leg was so sore when I tried to start riding that I jumped into the van and got driven to the Lancaster House hotel in Lancaster. This gave a chance to ride into Lancaster and buy a new rain jacket.

The Lancaster House Hotel was fantastic, especially after the Holiday Inn the previous night. I think it was possibly the best overnight of the trip. It's right next to a laundry facility at Lancaster University so Michele and I finally managed to get all our gear clean. It might have been here that one of Michele's knickers got mixed with my stuff which caused a little embarrassment when my wife found them in my laundry when I got home.

We had a lovely meal at the hotel. I have no recollection of what it was.

Lejog day 6 Bishop's Castle to Runcorn

Today's route was from Clun to Runcorn, but as we were at Bishop's Castle we had a shorter day. The pain as we set off was excruciating so I detoured to a chemist to buy new dressings and bandages which helped. To catch up with Michele, I got a ride in the van to the first brew stop. There's not much climbing today, so I thought I would be OK to ride.

There were fewer of the narrow country lanes as we approached the Manchester conurbation but we didn't hit any real traffic until we were close to Runcorn.

Cycling with the Australians (Chris and Eileen)

Lovely bit of pavement

Lunch at the Burlton Inn was amazing (same as last time). My fear that Peak-Tours was being forced to cut corners with the lunches was well in the past by now. For some reason the first three weren't memorable, but every lunch after that was a treat. After lunch it started to rain again.

Light rain after lunch

We had only had a little light rain so far, but my Californian "rain gear" was already showing its limitations. I had to upgrade it as soon as possible. At least we had a tail wind so the rain wasn't in my face.

We had to deal with some traffic for the last five miles or so. I'm not proud of riding on the sidewalk, but our safety is paramount.

We all stayed at the Holiday Inn in Runcorn. This is a huge hotel with a serious understaffing problem (Brexit?). We went to the restaurant and there was no-one there. I could hear cooks in the kitchen but there were no servers. Apparently you had to scan the barcode on the table and order through an app. We did this and waited but the app gave no acknowledgement that it had received the order and no update on the order status. Eventually, we assumed the app hadn't worked and went to the bar instead.

There were no barmen at the bar. Joe was waiting there. Joe had a knack of heading straight to the nearest bar at the end of each day's riding. I joked that if Joe sat still for more than ten minutes they built a bar around him. After a long wait three barmen showed up and explained how the food ordering worked. They moved our order to our new table in the bar and after about 45 minutes our food showed up. It was very good, but that's one messed up restaurant.

The brochure in the room said they had laundry services but when we tried to get laundry done they said they didn't have the staff to do it. Other riders got their laundry done. This is unacceptable. I wouldn't stay here again. Inadequate staff is no excuse for inconsistent and confusing service. That's just poor management.

Lejog day 5 Monmouth to Bishop's Castle

Today we were scheduled to ride from Monmouth to Clun but Michele and I were booked into a place called The Poppy House six miles north in Bishop's Castle. It was only 62 miles with about 4,500 feet of climbing so I was able to ride the whole thing, but slowly.

The roads were rough again but not as bad as yesterday.

Picturesque Weobley

Lunch was at the New Inn in Pembridge - I remember it was excellent last time and it was excellent this time too.

The New Inn in Pembridge

After lunch it started to rain.

I noticed a lot of cars and vans with damaged passenger side mirrors. Mark explained it's because of the narrow roads, and having to drive so close to the hedges and trees, especially when passing oncoming traffic.

Driving narrow roads

Lot's of scenery like this

As we got close to Clun we saw a signpost that said Clun left, Bishop's Castle right. We checked Google maps and saw we could take a shortcut to Bishop's Castle. Yay, we saved 2.5 miles. We thought we were going to avoid a steep hill from Clun to Bishop's Castle, but we had to climb Stank Hill which was a long (1.5 mile) 8% grade. Michele had been getting stronger each day and really cranked up it. She was rather proud of that.

The Poppy House was built several hundred years ago and has sagged in places. I swear our room's floor was a foot higher on one side than the other. We set off exploring for food and stumbled upon the Bishop's Castle Delight which was one of the highlights of the day. The guy running it was so happy and talkative you could tell he loved what he was doing. He offers a wide menu, but we were up for fish and chips. We each got his cod and chips for six pounds fifty. A fantastic meal, so big that even though we had just ridden 60+ miles, we couldn't finish it. We had to bin a few of the chips.

Lejog day 4 Street to Monmouth

Today we rode from Street to Monmouth, but my knee was very painful so I only rode from the top of the initial big hill to the second brew stop at Tintern Abbey. 

Chasing the tandem

I've seen wider bike paths

In retrospect I should not have ridden because the pain was telling me I was doing more damage. This part of the ride contains some very rough roads as I recall from last time I did this. That didn't help much!

We had a good lunch today at the Fox Inn - best lunch so far and an indication of the lunches to come.

Crossing the Severn bridge

As we crossed the Severn bridge we noticed there was a car on fire on the south bridge. Someone was having a bad day.

Ouch

By the time I got to Tintern Abbey my knee was starting to swell and get more painful so I took some Ibuprofen and climbed into the van. Tintern Abbey was destroyed by Henry VIII - I think he sat on it. I was planning to get my repaired drone out here, but the whole area is a no-fly zone. I assume they don't want people flying their drones into the ruins and ruining them more.

Tintern Abbey

That was my ride for the day. I rode 48 of the official 69 miles and climbed 3000 of the 4800 feet. My knee hurt like hell. We stayed at the King's Head in Monmouth. Last time, this hotel had water leaking into the fire alarm system which forced us all to relocate to a different hotel at 11pm. That was one of the times Peak-Tours excelled. Fortunately there were no such issues this time. It's a nice hotel.

Day 3 Lejog Mortonhampstead to Street

Today we rode from Mortonhampstead to Street - 70 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing - much easier than yesterday. We were riding more North so we enjoyed a bit of a tail wind all day and no rain.

The route took us through quiet roads with high hedgerows with gentler, rolling hills. 

Ryan and Tracey heading into lunch at Broadhembury

Bikes at lunch

The first three lunches had all been inferior to what I remembered from four years ago. As their prices had been set a year ago, inflation was ravaging their profits. It made sense that they would have to cut costs somewhere so I didn't resent them spending less on the lunches. After lunch the riding was pretty much the same as before.

Speaking to our guides, Mike, Mark, and Wendy, they told me a lot of the B&Bs they used to use had gone out of business during the Covid shutdown so they were being forced to use hotels, which costs more. They hoped the B&Bs would come back because the riders and the organizers prefer them.

 After lunch the route was still lovely

Michele, the tandem, and the Australians

About eight miles from the end I tried to avoid a cluster of manhole and drain covers but a car was trying to pass me so at the last moment I tried to avoid them by going left but didn't see the curb and ended up close to it with my weight over it. I crashed hard and took a lot of skin of my calf, dug a big hole below my knee and also injured my left shoulder, right ankle, and right calf. It was ugly. Even worse, I tore my socks and arm warmers, and broke my GoPro mount. Amazingly the GoPro and Wahoo were OK.

Ouch!

I rode the last eight miles to the hotel in Street and Mark (the guide) made me go to the Minor Injury unit (like urgent care but restricted to injuries). I didn't want to go, but he was right to make me. They numbed my knee and pulled quite a lot of road out from under my skin. It hurt like hell. They put some stuff on the wound, then some dressings, bandages, and a surgical stocking. They gave me extra dressing and stuff and told me to redress it in two days. Can I ride? Sure, they said.

I was at the hospital an hour and they didn't charge me anything! Who says the NHS is no good?

While I was getting that dealt with, Michele was heroically doing our laundry. Thanks.

Lejog day 2 Fowey to Mortonhampstead

Today we rode from Fowey to Mortonhampstead. It's 64 miles with 6,400 feet of climbing making it the most difficult day in terms of total effort. It's pretty lumpy between Fowey and Plymouth with sustained grades over 12% and, just like last time, I had cramping problems. The Endurolytes I brought didn't seem to help so Michele gave me some Salt Sticks which helped enormously. I later threw my Endurolytes away and ordered Salt Sticks. We had a strong cross wind but the high hedges and walls gave good protection.

High walls protected us from cross winds

We seemed to have a new route through Plymouth, at least the traffic seemed less daunting and no toothless woman driving a Skoda verbally assaulted us. So that was good. We were soon on NCN 27 climbing up to Dartmoor. It's a wonderful ride with some light off-roading and totally traffic free.

Once we got up to Dartmoor the route flattened out a bit and we had a wide view all around. Here's the view from the second brew stop.

Dartmoor and brew van

I got the drone out to take some video but as I opened the arm it snapped where I had fixed it before so I couldn't launch it. I had brought super glue so I fixed it that evening. Would have been great video though.

Riding across Dartmoor is a bit scary because of all the sheep, ponies, and cattle grazing by the side of the road. Sometimes you're bombing down a hill and all it would take is for a cow to take three steps to be right in front of you. Some of them looked quite menacing, but we made it through without any problems.

Michele and I were one of the first to get to Mortonhampstead where we stayed at the White Hart which was a ridiculously expensive, but fairly nice pub. No rain today.

Lejog day 1 Lands End to Fowey

I decided to ride Lejog again this year with Peak-Tours, this time with Michele Brougher of Minnesota and Wayne and Melanie of Florida. I rented the bike again because it's so much cheaper than flying a bike back and forth across the Atlantic and their rental bikes are more suitable anyway.

I did a test ride with Michele from the hotel in St. Just to Lands End and back and the bolt holding the front mudguard to the fork fell out so they zip-tied it into place which caused a lot of rubbing issues until we figured it out.

I took Michele to the Cook Book and she had her first cream tea there. Two plain scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, hot cross bun, pot of tea. She liked it.

Cream Tea at the Cook Book in St. Just, Cornwall

We started the tour on Sunday at about 9:30 riding from Land's End to Fowey headed into a strong, cold headwind. That's pretty much what I expected. We should pick up the tail wind on day 3.

Le Grande Depart

Riding along the coast through Penzance to Fowey, the scenery is amazing. It's 65 miles with about 5,000 feet of climbing so it's not easy.

Lunch was not as good as I remembered - just a sandwich, really. I was hitting the brew stops harder than last time. Michele tried millionaire's shortbread for the first time. I think she likes them.

The rain got to Fowey about 30 minutes before we did. The last climb with heavy traffic was a bit scary but otherwise the route was amazing. We stayed at the Galleon Inn and arrived quite hungry. Did the first of many loads of laundry here.

Saint Michael's Mount

Penzance

I fixed my drone

I fixed my drone with superglue. I should have removed the arm, fixed it, then re-attached it. But I didn't know you could do that until after I had fixed it. Oh well, next time. I'm sure there will be a next time.

I rode from Yorba Linda park to Beach City Provisions and back - 66 flat miles - on the Brompton. I have just put a 44 tooth chainring on it and this was the test ride. I like it. My top speed is limited to 20-21 mph which is fine because I don't often ride this fast anyway. My lowest gear is now 66" (distance traveled for one turn of the cranks). At 60 rpm, that's just about 3.75 mph.

I ate at Beach City Provisions again and had the cheese quesadilla while listening to Hotel California. Please excuse the wind - there was an enthusiastic head wind on the way out and a lovely tailwind on the way back.

In the video below, the guy on the left is playing guitar, the guy on the right plays sax, the woman sings, and the guy in the middle points to people.

Cheese quesadilla and monster

I love riding to Huntington Beach after work on Fridays. The drive, however, ...