Monday 2nd June 2008 - Stage 1

Having spent the previous night at the Lands End YHA with its fantastic sunset.

On Monday 2nd June 2008- what would have been our eldest daughters 23rd birthday- my younger daughter Jessica (19yrs) myself and team of six other riders began our journey in memory of Emily Rose. The challenge to complete the ride and acheive our target of raising £50000 for CLIC SARGENT the young persons cancer charity .

That morning my wife Caroline said goodbye as Jessica and I set off with the rest of the Embo Team on our epic journey from Lands End to John O Groats. Heading off in the mist of the morning at 0930hrs on a 94mile stage of the LEJOG. Ready to take on the weather and hills of Cornwall in all its glory. The ride started off slowly as the team found its feet and got used to the traffic of the A30. By mid afternoon we were making good progress and eating away at this arduous first stage. Up one hill down the other, the hills just kept coming and to add insult to injury along came the rain!! Later that afternoon I encountered a problem with one of my tyres, told the team to continue whilst I stopped to look more closely only to find it was a puncture, the support van came back, I changed my tyre and then had to catch up with the rest of the team (15miles later) We continued to ride against the weather which by this time was windy and raining.

The team took it in turns to ride alongside my daughter Jessica (19) keeping her company - she was totally fantastic and we are all very proud of her today. We continued during the day with about 25miles to go at 1530hrs, we hit base camp 1 (Okehampton -Dartmoor) at around 7pm, enjoyed a good evening meal before being tucked up in bed.

Tuesday 3rd June 2008 - Stage 2

We woke early and after I finished my conversation with my local radio station KM FM back in the Medway Towns we set off on stage 2 of the LEJOG - Fotunately a nice 3 mile downhill stretch, just what the doctor ordered! The Devon countryside was beautiful but hilly. Basked in sunshine. Our support drivers Jim & Tomo were settling in nicely, Jim settled in very quickly - parking the minibus on a flood plain and bogging it in!!! Thanks to the local in a landrover for pulling us out.

After the first day a lot of riding problems were ironed out and progress was better. This stage took us upto Bridgwater and was a relativly short stage, we had the option to bite into the next days stage. We arrived at the M5 Travelodge shortly after 5pm after a little persuasion Jessica agreed to riding 10miles off the next days stage.


Jessica and the team of lads have done me proud with their continuous efforts. We arrived back at 6pm lots of time to rest those legs and bums! Big stage to come

Wednesday 4th June 2008 - Stage 3

The morning started with the arrival of Allan Ridler, CO & RSM of 26 Engineer Regiment to join us on this stage and to present us with a cheque for over £3000. Allan had raised the money by doing a sponsored LEJOG Static bike ride, the winning team completing in 42 hours. I gave my radio interview to KMFM and spoke of my pride in Jessica (Queen of the mountains) The ride was flat as we made our way to Bristol, I think we were all looking forward to an iconic landmark in the Severn bridge and welcome to Wales. This stage is one of our longest rides (120miles).

We got into Wales just after midday and had a spot of lunch in a beautiful spot on the Wye valley, it was at this stage Allan and his team moved on ahead of us as they were on a tight timefame. We passed through beautiful towns like Monmouth, Hereford and massive amounts of countryside.

My Mum & Dad were there to meet us as we rolled into Ludlow, Dean beat me to the pub and entertained my Mum & Dad till Jess & I got there! Today I believed that Jessica would finish this tour - just needed to get her to the rest day!

Thursday 5th June 2008 - Stage 4

We covered 87 miles today, set off from Ludlow on a cloudy overcast morning at 0850hrs. Right from the start Jessica set a good pace. We soon motored through Shrewsbury and had our sights set on Whitchurch.
The road (A49 was smooth and not too busy) We stopped for lunch with the over half the miles covered. Once through the market town of Whitchurch (debatable shortcut Neil!!!) it was onto the A41 and onto Chester. The pace was picking up as the end was insight. Jessica set a pace of 13.5mph and again led from the front.

We rolled into Russ & Pams house for a welcome reception. Thanks to Big Bills Bikes for servicing the bikes before our next leg to Kendal.

Friday 6th June 2008 - Rest Day

Jessica with her Sister Em. Thanks to Paz for being so supportive and spreading the word across Europe.


Well so far so good, we have got nearly midway and apart from a couple of falls, punctures and bent wheels we are all here in one peice. Today we are stretching off and doing the 11 miles from Ellesmere Port to Liverpool via the Mersey Ferry. Having spent some time growing up on the Wirral and Caroline coming from there, the ride was very nostalgic for some of us. The Liverpool skyline imposing and brilliant. My brother Mark met us and Paz rolled in with his van to give us a welcome surprise. As ever the good people of Liverpool showed their generosity and several donations were made as we crossed the Mersey. Caroline arrived at Chester at 16.00hrs and that evening we had a great meal at the Agra Fort with old friends turning up to join us.

Thanks to Big Bill for servicing the bikes

Saturday 7th June 2008 - Stage 5

We left Liverpool at 0900hrs today from Liverpool. Our start point being the iconic Liver building. Progress through Liverpool was slow as there seemed to be a set of traffic lights every 2 minutes.

The weather was overcast and after an hour we pulled over to put on our waterproofs. Once past the Aintree racecourse the scenery started to get better and the pace picked up. Our next destination would be Preston in the Ribble valley, its there we picked up the A6 North. After lunch the sun came out and we were Lancaster bound and still making good progress hoping that we could steal 10/20 miles from tomorrows stage.

Lancaster came and went and Kendal was upon us our target reached. However one steep climb and a wrong turn had put pay to making anyn extra miles that day. The day ended with the rain rolling in from the hills. (One thing to point out from here was the discovery of Morrisons superstores. From here to Dunbarton they turned out to be fantastic rest stops. When travelling with a young lady in your party it is very important to ensure there are good WC stops!)

Here we are enjoying the ride!


Nice hair style - Russ!

Sunday 8th June 2008 - Stage 6

On a cloudy cold Sunday morning we rolled out of Kendal with an air of uncertainty of what lay ahead. The stage started with a steady climb of 300m (1000ft) to the highest road point Shap Fell in Britain.

It was there that the sun was shining above the low cloud base. The pace then picked up as we rolled into Penrith and then Carlisle. We knew we were about to leave England and another major mile stone was going to be met.

Unfortunately a diversion saw 5 miles extra put onto the journey as there were works on the A74

Monday 9th June 2008 - Stage 7

We all rolled out of Dumfries at 0830 knowing we had a hard day ahead - Dumfries to Dumbarton (80 miles) plus we needed to grab at least 20 miles from tomorrows stage.
The scenery was breathtaking as we passed through the Nith valley on our way to Kilmarnock.

We got to kilmarnock at 1300hrs just in time for lunch. Even though the wind was in our face we still made good progress. Several punctures later the team arrived in Glasgow at 1500hrs and we all felt quite good.

Jessica was in fine fettle and fought through the wind to make anothe 20 miles seem possible. The shore line of Loch Lommond was an inspiration to us all. The day finished wth a sprint finish between Russ & Jess, however there was a crash between the last 3 riders which caused a little damage to their respective bikes. 101 miles were covered in 7.5 hrs of riding. We spent the night at the Travelodge at Dumbarton and enjoyed a very good carvery meal at the pub directly opposite- fantastic value if you are doing things on a budget.

Tuesday 10th June 2008 - Stage 8

The morning began at 0830hrs, we started the day at Loch Lommond and followed the shore road north to Fort William. The weather was poor, overcast and threatened down pours. Progress was slow. At 11.00 we had our first break, Jess was struggling and needed a good few jokes to keep up her moral .

A quick rallying call to the troops and nomal service was resumed. The climb was steady now up to the Scottish Highlands the scenery was breathtaking however, the weather was shocking. At the height of the mountains the pace was backwards as the wind took its toll.

We got into Fort William late at around 5 oclock only covered 70 of the required 100 miles. Jessica had a second wind and led from the front for the remainder of the ride.
At 9pm we arrived at Loch Ness YHA. We all enjoyed a team cooked pasta meal. (Also a top tip at this time of year the Loch is visited by millions of midges and creme is a must-they were everywhere and would be a real problem if you were not prepared) On the whole a hard day, but thankfully it was now behind us.

Wednesday 11th June 2008 - Stage 9

Started at 8:30am In Fort Augustus making up 10miles we lost from yesterday's stage. We were in good time to meet our welcome party from CLIC Sargent in Inverness at lunchtime.

Weather was a little breezy to say the least, with a North North-West. Turned North after lunch in Inverness with the wind head on! Made 50miles by lunchtime. Caroline Pam and Tommo went to collect the girls from Inverness airport and later they took a detour to a little village called Embo. This -with the plane called EMBO were surely signs that our darling Emily Rose was with us.

From here scenery was totally breathtaking and only 30 miles to Helmsdale where we arrived at our very nice Youth Hostel at around 7:30pm. This is a privatly owned hostel booked through the Scottish YHA. A former 1930s gym and recently refurbished, it was spotless and a great place to stay. Some of us enjoyed a fish and chip take away and others a meal at the pub.

The NL girls, Little Kell,Becky, Rachael, Vicky & Natalie - all gave us fantastic support all the way. Sheilas arrival too, made things complete.

The next day the last stage of this epic journey began early with 51miles to go and the hardest hill to climb before reaching our destination to John OGroats.