Greetings from Penzance

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A number of you have asked to be kept up to date with progress on our Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) cycle ride this week. For those of you who didn’t ask (the vast majority) consider this diary something of a distraction from your daily grind. Over the next seven days we will try and provide some mild amusement, as we share with you the trials and tribulations of three men in the throws of a mid life crisis, as they attempt to complete this notorious cycling challenge. We are:

Graham, fifty something, Gentleman of leisure and sometime buyer and seller of slightly surprised companies. Graham’s been chief route planner and responsible for training scheduling. As he insists on starting training sessions at or before 5am, Sam and Chris have always considered there to be certain greatness to his lateness. Wife Sue and family Eleanor and Henry all believe he’ll make it as by common consent; Graham is built like a ‘brickshithouse’

Chris, forty something, an unreconstructed bean counter who’s current role involves draining away what’s left of this year’s National Health Service budget in support of the world’s largest (and some would say most dubious) computer project. Chris has been the scourge of local physiotherapists in an attempt to make his knees function like those of any normal human being. Wife Helen and family James, Tom, William and Victoria think he probably make it, all things (particularly knees) being equal.

Sam also forty something, a management consultant who still believes in Father Christmas, that people actually like management consultants and that if he spends enough money on his Giant SCR1, he may end up with a bike that actually works. Thought by many (specifically Graham and Chris) to be rather unprepossessing in Lycra. Sam’s wife Manda and family Jack and Harry simply snigger and look at their feet whenever the conversation turns to the probability of him actually completing LEJOG in seven days.

So that’s us. In terms of who or what we are doing this ride for, Graham is by far and away the most noble, as he is raising money for the British heart Foundation and Aldworth Church. Chris and Sam are unashamedly doing it for fun, although they’ll probably sponsor Graham if he behaves.

All being well, our route will take us from here to Tiverton tomorrow night (Saturday), Leominster on Sunday, Lancaster on Monday, Abington in Lanarkshire on Tuesday, Bridge of Orchy in Argyll on Wednesday, Inverness on Thursday and John O'Groats on Friday night. Naturally, this week’s weather forecast is for rain!

Finally a big thank you to Sue, Manda, Helen and all the kids for putting up with our extended absences during training, Amanda Wooding, arguably the coolest Physio in Berkshire for sorting out our knees and Neal and Craig from Trailjunkies who have carried the weighty responsibility for keeping our bikes working whilst graciously relieving us of most of our disposable income for the past few months and for transporting us down here to the west country today….

Time for bed then, Land’s End at 06:00 and the start of our 900ish mile ride, I wonder if the famous Land’s End sign will be there….?