Well then I have given the motorbike a rest for a while and I have now moved onto a pedal bike.

THE BIG UK RIDE


Lands End to John O'Groats

14th - 28th July 2007

Claire Chedzoy, Clare Povah, Geraint Rowland and Jody Foy will be completing a mammoth challenge by cycling from Lands End to John O’groats. A Total of over 1000 miles, from the 14th to the 28th of July 2007.

To achieve this phenomenal challenge we will need to complete on average 75 miles per day, consume over 6000 calories a day, drink more than 5 litres of water a day and climb some of the steepest hills in England, Scotland and Wales, while completing all of this in the height of summer.

Imagine cycling from Taunton to Cardiff, over 7 hours of cycling, everyday for 14 days and carrying all of the supplies needed for the 2 week journey.

To make this challenge worthwhile we are raising funds for WaterAID and hope to raise in excess of £5000.

Please dig deep and sponsor us online, your donations are truly appreciated, you can sponsor us easily and securely here:

http://www.justgiving.com/landsend2johnogroats

This website will include more information on THE BIG RIDE and will include the day-by-day route we will take, team photos, training plans and so on. Following the ride we will post up photos from along our route.
We are cycling from Lands End, Cornwall to John O'Groats, the very tip of Scotland over two weeks. Its a long way people, a very long way, up to one hundred miles each day and that's if Jody doesn't get us lost! Nearly a thousand miles in total, over all those hills and in the heat of summer! The riders are: Claire Chedzoy, Clare Povah, Geraint Roland, Jody Foy. We thank you for your interest and support.

What is WaterAid?
WaterAid is an international charity dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people. In the Western World we take safe, clean drinking water for granted but unfortunately there are millions of people in other parts of the World who don’t have access to it.
WaterAid works in partnership with local organisations in 15 countries in Africa and Asia to help poor communities establish sustainable water supplies and latrines, close to home. in 2003, WaterAid was named charity of the year at the Charity Times Awards. More information can be found here: www.wateraid.org.uk.
NB: We are keen to pick up any form of corporate advertising sponsorship for this mammoth ride for charity. If you are interested in sponsoring us this way please contact us through our website above. Corporate sponsors involved so far include: The eyewear company Nueu www.nueu.net.

Home Sweet Home,
Well the trip has ended! I ran out of money and energy!!

Since my last post I travlled down to stay with firends in the south of France and then back to St Cassien.

The total distance travelled was approimatley 14,500 and over 250 hours of riding. I will add a few more photos of the rest of the trip.

It has been the most amazing journey, during which I had a truely amazing adventure, made a number of excellent friends and now can't wait for the next trip (hopefully Morocco)

Times were hard in the south of France

Albi

Ambialet

MIllau Bridge



Bridge in the Tarn Gorge

`

Hello all,

I hope everyone is well! I am now in St Cassien just outside Voiron in France. I am staying with my new French friends that iI met in Lithuania.

I'll keep it short and sweet and just add some pictures.

I arrived in Interlaken in Switzerland, to find a massive folk festival taking place, it only happens every 12 years, lederhosen, yodling, horn blowing, fireworks etc etc. 100000 people over 3 days!! Maybe they new I was coming!

Riding across the Alps has to be one of the highlights of the trip. Only doing about 400kms each day, but they are all spent lent right over scraping the foot pegs.

Right thats it for a bit, over and out!

Well then, I eventually got my bike fixed!! I collected it from Zagreb in Croatia and then travelled to Venice.

Here i spent 2 nights on an excellent campsite full of Australians. it had a very good bar! I don´t remember much about the last night there, but i did wake up outside the tent, in just my underwear with a big pile of vomit nearby, Oh dear!!

Well i am shortly going through Lictenstein into Switzerland, then to lake Orta in Italy for Saturday night, then I am visiting friends in France.

Plitvika National Park in Croatia. Very nice indeed!

The water is so clear these trout wouldn´t stand a chance if I had a fishing net!

Venice.

Austrian Alps!

Penserjoch Pass 2211m above see level.

Snow!

Lake Balaton, Hungary.

Bran, Romania.

Somewhere in deepest Bulgaria!

Damn! Still somewhere in Bulgaria.

Greece, 100mph, 1 handed taking photos!

One for Flash, on a similar theme to the Bears in German, loads of decorated cows in Athens.

Some old stuff from Greece. I can't remember what it is called though! Only joking I think it is the Theatre of Adonis?

Acropolis, Athens.

Temple of Zeus, Plus a Greek God!!

Campsite in northern Greece.

Greek roads, awesome.

Macedonia.

Sunset in Kosovo.

Sunrise in Bosnia, 6.00am.

Beach by campsite in Trogir, Croatia.

Still here! or there not really sure.

Well a lot has happened to me since my last update!! I will start at the beginning.

Travelled to Hungary nothing too exciting happened 370 miles. Stayed just north of Lake Balaton. Got an SMS (european for text) from my Polish buddies saying that the had sorted a hotel €5 a night and would I still be visiting them. Of course I would. The place Bjala 8km north of Obzor.

Romania next!7am start, 470 miles. I had to adopt the Romania driving style in order to progress. Very aggressivee, riding maybe a little dangerouss but nothing a good blast of the horn couldn't sort out. Road are awful and wild dogs everywhere make for some interesting moments. Going well and then it rained a little, then it got dark and I still had about 120km to get to the campsite. I stopped in a petrol station for a break and there was aducthh man on a bike. He was heading the same direction and we traveled together. The Next 100kms were the most dangerous I had done to that point! Driving style no different, now you don't see the dogs or the people and we took a short cut which was less distance but I reckon took more time. Mainly because of the awful roads. We arrived safely at 10pm.

Bulgaria next! 9am start 570 miles. More aggressive riding, I was getting good at this by now. Borders getting easier, I adopted the style of joining the queue at the back getting off the bike and walking to the front. Showing my British passport and then being given priority, often going through the VIP lanes. In exchange they required a wheelie!! I arrived at Bjala at 5pm ish where Piotr and Ewolina where staying. Showered a few beers (€0,50 per pint bottle). Ate very well for the pricely sum of €4. The next day was spent on a very quite beach working on my tan. I was then planning a monster trip, to Athens were I was meeting a young lady!

Athen, eventually 7am start 14/08/06, 4am arrival 15/08/06. 1016 miles. 3 countries! Well where do I start, the plan was to make it into Komontini in Greece for midday and then travel to Athens, easy! WeIl i hadn't planned on the next part of the journey. I got to the border near to Komontini where I was stopped by a couple of border policemen. I forgot that in Bulgaria Nodding your head means NO and Shaking means YES. Well I think the guard told me the border wasn't open to me and I should turn around and the road was too bad, but what with the shaking and nodding and me trying to bribe them I got confused and went towards Komontini anyway. Everybody I saw stared and then talked amongst them selves. Got lost found some more border police who turned me around and escorted me back to the main road and sent me towards Turkey which was the only border open to me. So this cost me about 2 hours and I now had and extra 2 or more hours and 200+km to do! Got to the Turkish border where I had a discussion about the need for a visa considering I would only be in their poxy country for about 20mins. It turned out I needed one, but only euro€'s would do and I didn't have any! I had to do a deal with a Bulgarian bus driver to change some. In and out of Turkey in 25kms got to the border with Greece than had lots of people to see more paperwork but a Greek dude on a bike helped me now to Athens just miles and miles of riding, in the fun I had forgotten to eat, so plenty of Red Bull was needed. I arrived in Athens at the apartment at 4am no longer tired. I had a legendary week in Athens which I will update people on when I get back!!

Right then 2 ordinary days on the west coast of Greece 200miles each day, tent, swimming sunbathing.

Left Ingoumenista northern Greece 9.30 and I had planned to travel to Skopje in Macedonia, found a campsite in the Lonely Planet book, all sorted! Got to Skopje after some awesome roads in northern Greece! Found campsite eventually but looked like it had been shut for some time. I asked a few people but there were no others! Oh well I thought I could make Sarajevo by 10pm ish and would say in a hostel. I left Macedonia on a route I had planned the day before. Sort of by mistake this took me into Kosovo, which I now realise is a country all of its own. Borders were taking abit longer as i think i was a bit more interesting. It was late afternoon and i was alone in Kosovo, and i didn't know where to stay so i thought i would carry on to make Croatia for the morning. Loads of police and UN guards everywhere. Progress going well, unIil i reach a check point not shown on the map, apparently Kosovo and Serbia still aren't really mates Ind i had the wrong kind of stamp, but was told to see if the Serbian border police would let me in! so off i trundle in the dark to be met by police who just laughed at me and told me to turn around, I did offer them €50 but i don't think they really understod, i went back to the Kosovan side and used my Greek language skills to talk to a UN guard, who said i was lucky not to have been arrested for try to bribe the Serbian police! Whoops!! He showed me a route which ment i went into Montenegro first which would be OK! The adventure continues riding in the dark getting very cold must be about 11pm. arrived at the Bosnia border 1am had fun sorting out the green card. At all the crossings the guards stop what they are doing and come over and laugh at me!! This was no exception and by 2am i was on my way much to the amusment of the police. Got to Sarajevo to see the sunrise over the city not many people can say that they have seen sun set in Kosovo and seen sun rise in Sarajevo all in t less that 10 hours on a motorbike!! well I got to the site 30km north of Split in Croatia only to notice a problem with the bike but it is being sorted after a few lengthly conversations with BMW. I have a car and need to drive to Zagreb for Saturday where BMW are putting me in a hotel and delivering the bike. In the mean time i am just chilling and working on my tan!! I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

Ah 975miles, 25.5 hours and 6 countries!

Well then, the bike is all sorted now, had loads of work done, tires, brake pads and a rear disk, sorted out the oil leak from the gearbox! 1200Euro later I had the bike back. I had been without it for 2 whole days and it felt a little wierd not having near my tent when I slept.

Then on the way back to the campsite I might of upset some German cops!! 120kmh in a 5okmh! Whoops, I was just checking the throttle response honest. Well using my wit and charm and extensive German language skills I wasn't arrested! Mainly the fact I was British, if i was a local I would have been arrested lost my liscence and had my bike impounded. Anyway 35Euro later, I got a certificate.



















And as promised the thieving git of a hedgehog caught red handed!! I am sure he or she is smiling!