Little Bike Trip

The Little Bike Trip goes large!

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:13:00 +0000

After dreaming about a long distance bike trip for the last 5 years bikeabout is born. We shall start our next ride in New Zealand in September 2009 and spend the next 15 months making our way back to England.

We plan to cycle as much of our route as possible, however if we were to cycle the whole route in just 15 months we would need to cycle too many miles a day. This would leave us little time to experience the culture and diversity of the lands we travel through, which is one of the main reasons for doing the trip. So we shall be taking buses, trains, boats and maybe a horse or a camel if our legs get really tired.

This website will provide us with a place to share our experiences with our friends and family and anyone else that is interested in our trip.

Whilst we have been preparing for the trip the most common question we have been asked is ‘Why are you doing it?’ There are many reasons but primarily the trip is for us; we hope to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in.

In addition to this we hope our ride will draw attention to Child’s Dream, our chosen charity. If you want to find out more or donate please visit our charity page.

Thanks to our sponsors, with their help and support our dream has become a reality.

End of Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:24:00 +0000

If you have enjoyed following our trip and would like to sponsor us please sponser us at our justgiving page

You can see some photos from the trip on our photos page.

Sign up for our RSS feed to the right or add your email address, to recive notification of news about our next trip.

Thanks,

Chris and Liz

Land's End

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Wilton) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Day 15 Getting home.

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:40:00 +0000

We had booked a taxi the night before, a cheat I know but I was more comfortable with the decision after sleeping on it. I was tiered and if I was honest with myself and I had had enough of cycling for a bit and was looking forward to a rest. The taxi driver was great really friendly and the trains were pretty strait forward even with the bikes which was a relief. We got to Bristol where we met up with my Mum, Sister and Gran who were coming to stay with us for the weekend. We squeezed all our stuff and ourselves into the car and set of back home to the Lakes. We had a great weekend climbing and walking before heading back to work on Monday. So that concludes our End to End a great trip with many highs and plenty of lows. It was very different to my first cycle ride in France. I think the combination of the rain and the fact that we would have liked to have taken more time to explore places made it feel like we were rushing a bit. I must remember that it is meant to be fun, just because we don’t cycle 100 miles a day it does not matter. We are there for the freedom and the opportunities that cycling has to offer not to break records. We are busy planning our next trip now, a slightly bigger one this time. We hope to be able to take some more time off to do it and explore the places that we visit.

Day 14 St Columb Major - Land's End 57 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:39:00 +0000

It rained a lot during the night but fortunately we stayed dry.We had a good days cycling despite wanting to stop and rest our screaming legs every time we went up a hill.By mid afternoon we had done most of the climbing for the day and we had some amazing views of the seas.We arrived at Penance, it was not what I felt like it would be.I should be excited at the end of the trip, but in some ways I was disappointed as the trip was finishing.It was only 9 miles to Lands End and I kept telling myself that there could not be anymore hills in the way. It was a long 9 miles but every mile brought us a little closer to our goal. Just as we were on the last stretch the heavens opened and it started to rain. We arrived to Lands End about 7pm, it was nothing like we expected. Compared to John O Groats, Lands End was like a theme park, all be it closed by the time that we got there. I quite liked it, just a few people wondering around in the rain and a couple of people finishing work to congratulate us on our achievement. We took some photos and called our family, then set of to find somewhere to sleep for the night. We stopped at the Inn, I thought about asking if they had any room at the inn but I decided it was a bit unoriginal. After an interesting chat with one of the locals who was quite persistent that we go and stay at his friends B & B we headed back up the road and found a nice hostel to stay at they was cheaper than a B & B and we even got the whole dorm to ourselves. We had an excellent meal and celebrated with cider, then head to bed content that we had done it.

Day 13 Launceston - St Columb Major 38 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:38:00 +0000

We had a great breakfast and pulled into the local bike shop www.launcestoncycles.co.uk to get some advice on the best route.The guy was really helpful and gave us a great route to Lands End. He tightened a few bits on the bike and said to donate the fee to our charity, which was great.We set off looking forward to getting some good miles done for the day. After a few hours of cycling we had not done even 10 miles and neither of us were feeling that energetic. I think we both wanted a day to rest our muscles and generally chill for the day, despite the laid back life style of cycle touring we felt like the last few days had been wake up cycle stop eat sleep repeat. We plodded on for the rest of the day arriving at a camp site near St Columb Major. A good campsite but I wish the water was a bit hotter in the showers.

Day 12 Nomansland - Launceston 48 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Ater a good nights sleep we set of down the hill. We wiggled our way up and down country lanes and arrived in Okehampton at lunch time. We were both knackered and in some serious need of food. We decided to treat ourselves to a pub lunch.I had an excellent lasagne, Liz had some rather stodgy fish cakes that did not sit very well as she spent the next hour trying not to be sick. I think the combination of heavy food and cycling, rain and an attempt to cycle on the A30 did not help. We pulled of the A30 and stuck to the side roads and Liz started feeling a lot better. Despite the rain it was a pleasant cycle to Lauceston where we opted to stay in a B & B for the night. Was very expensive but I think the shower and the ability to stand up rather than kneel down just about made up for it.

Day 11 Bathpool - Nomansland, Devon 38 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:36:00 +0000

After a good breakfast we set of, we had hoped to get to Okehampton but our Sunday cycling was not fast enough so we settled in Nomansland for the night instead. We cycled with Mum into Wellington where we met my sister who was picking up Mum so she could get back to London. We said our farewells to Mum and set off again. We found a cycle path along a canal that took us into Tiverton, whilst it was lovely to cycle in the sun next to the river it was slow Sunday cycling due to the amount of people that were also using the tow path. It’s lovely to see people using the tow paths but not so good for getting miles done. Just before Tiverton we pulled of the two path to get directions by road to Tiverton. We chatted to a lovely couple about our trip and they gave us some useful directions. We arrived in Tiverton just before 4pm and managed to get some food before the shops shut. We had planned a route via Witheridge instead of the main road to Crediton. This seemed like a good idea at the time but as I was cycling up to Witheridge I thought I hope it’s not a really big ridge. As we turned off the main road onto Longdrag Hill I knew that this was not going to be a short cut. The hill climbed and climbed for about an hour and a half through pleasant forest and it was still hot enough to cycle in just a t-shirt. We reached a natural lay-by and had rest, Liz’s knee was not happy so we decided to stay at the next camp site that was only a few miles up the hill.We arrived at the campsite and were met with a warm welcome. The campsite was in a lovely spot on top of the hill. We sat in the sun until it disappeared then crawled inside the tent to keep warm and have our dinner.

Day 10 Bristol - Bathpool, Taunton 50 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:36:00 +0000

We said good bye to our friends and cycled over to my sisters flat, where my Mum was staying.After loading up her bike, this was the first touring day she had ever done, we set off. It took us some time to navigate out of Bristol but we got there and started the long climb out of Bristol towards the airport.It was a great day sun was shining and I was generally feeling good about things. I reached the top of the hill and lay in the sun by the airport and waited for Mum and Liz to appear. Thankfully that was the only real hill of the day and after that we had great cycling all day and managed 50 miles, a great achievement for Mum. We stayed at a lovely campsite, on a farm, just outside Taunton, the campsite was cheap and had the hottest showers I have every experienced at a camp site. After showers we headed for the pub and had an amazing meal, and great service with a few mandatorily ciders to help things along.

Day 9 Berkley - Bristol 30 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:35:00 +0000

We arrived in Bristol about 4pm, after a leisurely cycle on easy flat roads, great for sticking the iPod on and cruising. We pitched up at our friends house in Bristol and relaxed in their front garden until they got back from work. After some tea and a catch up we headed out for some food and met up with my sister, her boyfriend and my mum who had come over from London to cycle with us for a few days.It was a great to see everyone, wish we could have stayed for longer.

Day 8, 51 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Easy roads and great sunshine brought us to a little campsite near Berkley that was only a fiver for the night. Tomorrow we head to Bristol to see some friends and family and hopefully pop into St Peters Hospice who we are raising money for on this ride.

Day 7, 0 miles.

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Rest Day, Butterfly farm and cinema.

Day 6, 52 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:33:00 +0000

We took a cycle path to Measham and had a lovely ride in the sun on quiet B roads to Stratford upon Avon. We stayed in a great B & B as the campsite warden was not in and the showers tokens were only available from him. We negotiated a good rate for 2 nights and had a day off on Wednesday to take in the sights and rest our legs.

Day 5. 33 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:32:00 +0000

We had a great day cycling in the sun despite getting frustrated with Burton town centre. We stopped in Moira at a C&C (camping and caravanning) camp site where we met some enthusiastic cyclists who were interested in our new bikes and our route. We had a great Indian delivered to the camp site! and fell asleep with full bellys and clean clothes thanks to the on site laundry.

Day 4, 31 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:29:00 +0000

After our free breakfast we set off for Buxton where we had lunch. Upon leaving we managed to take the A6 instead of the A515 to Ashbourne. This lead to us taking a lovely scenic route to get back on track. It was our first afternoon of cycling in the sun and the rolling hills were great fun and a welcome break for our legs. We camped at Fenny Bentley and watched the sun go down. We were to lethargic to go mole hunting. The farmer who had already given up some bread said we could have a free night if we caught one of the moles that were digging up his camping field.

Day 3, 26 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:27:00 +0000

We started with a great downhill to Delph then had some climbing towards Oldham. We stopped at Ashton under Lyne to get some maps as the phone and therefore google maps was no longer working. We proceeded to Hayfield and spent a warm but frosty night in the tent. The lovely people that let us stay at their camp site made is tea and porridge for breakfast much to our delight and surprise. Thanks so much for that.

Day 2, 21 miles

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:23:00 +0000

We set off from Hebden bridge had a great morning and amazing sandwiches in Ripponden for lunch. Then we headed towards Denshaw having past under the m62 and were met with some monster hills and crazy wind and hail. The wind got so bad that it was impossible to cycle without being blown off when going up hill, so we pushed instead. A few days later we found out this was called windy hill. Then downhill beat any roller coaster ride we have been on. We arrived at moorlands caravan park and tied then tent down 2 stop us blowing away.

Technical Issues

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Well the phone did a Jesus died and came came back to life and then vanished again. Only this time he came back again and seems to be fine hurrah.
Right time for an update.

Phone Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Hello all we are back on line, phone did not like getting wet, having a pub lunch after a good 20 mile morning should be in Stratford tonight. Will do a better update then.

Day 1, 22 miles.

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Well I never thought I would be in a hotel tonight! Its been an interesting day. We set of at 8am after only a few hour of sleep between us. I managed to get about 5 meters from the front door before snapping my chain. We tried to botch a repair just to make it into town and to the bike shop.but it was no good. Liz went back to bed, for some much needed sleep, while I took the bike 2 get fixed. £2.00 later we were back in business. I found a camp site for the night and we set off for colne. At 5pm we left Colne station and gave our new bikes there first taste of touring.

The new bikes are very different. Liz is finding hills are disappearing under her tyres while I am finding my bike a bit wobbly. It feels strange but as the day went on, the steep climbs and beautiful downhills have let me get used to the new sensations and I am feeling more confident with every peddle stroke.

Our campsite was conveniently closed to campers so we kept going to Hebden bridge where we treated our rather chilled bodies to a pub dinner and a bed in a hotel. Its time for a hot bath and some much needed sleep.

Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Liz Wilton) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:06:00 +0000

Setting off tomorrow morning to finish the trip! Will be bogging via the mobile....

2009 Update

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:02:00 +0000

Well it’s 2009 and most of you may have worked out that we have not completed the little bike trip yet. The good news is we are getting serious about setting a date to complete this trip. At the moment we are looking at March but this all depends on work and anything else that may come up.

I can’t believe it’s been just over 4 months since we finished part 1, the time has flown and our plans to keep our fitness up and keep training never happened. Liz has been flat out with work, which I suppose is thankful in our current economic climate. I have been busy finding work; check out my new website www.leakeysworld.com, getting work, finishing my Mountain Leader Assessment and NVQ in child care and having a neck operation to remove a rather persistent cyst.

We got a new exercise bike for Christmas, so we can train indoors during the cold winter evenings and over the next week are going to be putting a comprehensive training programme together so that we are hopefully fit enough to compete part 2 within 2 weeks. We shall be keeping you updated with our varied training program via the blog. We hope that with a combination of exercise and real bike, strength training for our knees and some running and walking we should be ok. My mum is going to be doing the three peaks this year, she is planning to come up to the lakes once a month to train with us and as always will be on hand to advice and fix any injuries.

So now it’s time to unpack the exercise bike…

Friday 29th August

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:41:00 +0000

Tuesday took it out of us both and having arrived late, we decided to stay at Robert and Barbara’s for the day, to rest our aching muscles and knees, and spend some time with them.

On Thursday morning we woke to yet more rain (how can it rain so much?) and set off towards Colne. Following the road to Gisburn and then the 68 cycle route, along the canal, we reached Colne after a wet and windy cycle ride.

Having reviewed our finances, our aching legs and the terrible weather, not to mention Chris’s dodgy gears and the lack of time left, we decided that we would stop at Colne, Lancashire. Stop cycling that is. It was a bit of anti-climax, we both hoped that we’d get a lot further down the country before having to stop, but the decision was made.

We have cycled 603 miles and it has been quite tough in places, before setting off the most I’d cycled in one day was 35 miles and I haven’t cycled that much before, so I am proud to have achieved everything we’ve done so far, we just need to come back and finish it, and we will!

We got back to the Lakes and guess what, the sun was shining and blue skies were peeping out from behind the clouds, it was a welcome sight. We cycled home and I considered what we might do differently for the second part of the trip. I think less gadgets, leave the laptop and video camera behind, but not the ipods – I couldn’t have managed the hills without the help of the Fratellis and the Ting Tings, or the low roads without Newton Faulkner and the Eels! Despite having written so much about the bad weather and how hard some days have been, I have really enjoyed the trip and enjoyed cycling, even if the blog appears to suggest otherwise.

Thanks so much for all the support and sponsorship throughout, we will keep you posted and let you know when “Little bike trip - Part 2’ kicks off.

Tuesday 26th

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Chris called his great uncle Robert Leakey who lives in Giggleswick, Settle (Yorkshire) to see if we could stay with him and his wife Barbara, he said that would be fine and so we set off from Shap towards the Yorkshire Dales. I was looking forward to meeting Chris's uncle as I had heard much about him (he's 94 and likes inventing things).

To start with it was just drizzling and we headed towards Orton and followed the 68 cycle route, over the Orton fells towards Asby which was lovely, not much more than a farm track, so we had the place to ourselves and it was nice to be surrounded by hills covered in purple heather.

The cycle route didn't quite take us where we'd expected (Tebay) and after 20miles we ended up at Kirkby Stephen, more east than south. But we found a route through from there towards Hawes and down to Settle on google maps and set off. The wind was blowing and the rain joined in too, so for 10 miles we were cycling in very bad conditions, I almost stopped and gave up after 5 miles. It's meant to be summer.

After that 10 miles we still had another 20-30 to go, I didn't think I could cycle that far, not with the weather being so terrible. Chris's low gears had stopped working meaning that he had to stand up to get up the hills. We headed towards Hawes and the rain stopped and the wind calmed down, so we agreed to continue.

The next 15 miles took us through the Yorkshire dales, hill after hill, very heavy rain and wind, it was miserable to say the least. There was so much water hitting my face that my eyebrows couldn't cope, I needed windscreen wipers! Water was in my eyes and we were getting soaked. After 5 miles I decided i couldn't do this, it was too hard, but there was nowhere to stop and we had to carry on. So we did and after 61 miles (in total) we arrived, in the dark, in Giggleswick. We were both shattered, cold and wet, however there was a lovely dinner and warm beds waiting for us, which was very welcome indeed. It was such a hard day and I was aching all over, my knee was hurting, but pleased that we had made it - it's true what they say about the human body being far more capable than we think, but its also interesting to see how far you can push yourself, even when you think you have no more to give!

We sat up chatting with Robert and Barbara until midnight, before a well earned sleep.

Monday 25th

noreply@blogger.com (little bike trip) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Leaving Carlisle in the rain and wind, it was slow going and we followed the A6 to Penrith, arriving around lunchtime completely wet through. After a leisurely lunch (trying to dry out and warm up in a pub) we headed off to Shap. The rain and wind continued and it was hard work cycling. We arrived at New Ing Hostel in Shap and had a nice evening in the warm. Only managed 33 miles today but we got to Shap so we were happy with that.