Why are we doing this?

Good Question!

Well, both of us are reasonably fit cyclists who can go out at the week-end and cycle 50 miles around our local roads in a few hours but we'd like to venture a bit further and and we're looking for a bit of a challenge.

One-day Sportive rides like the Dragon Ride, which I've done twice, are a challenge and they are fun but they can be a bit restrictive in some ways - fixed-route, too many people, queues for the start, queues for the food, etc.

Something like the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) from Whitehaven to Tynemouth is a challenge but in the end it's only 140 miles and we could probably do that in a day if we tried hard enough.  So, what about LEJOG or JOGLE or even LEJOGLE I hear you say.  Well that's probably a bit too much in terms of distance and logistics for the time being, although there are now organised events like the Ride Across Britain - if you can afford them. So maybe another time ...

Why Fishguard to Felixstowe?  Well, for a number of years I'd been thinking about riding coast-to-coast from Fishguard, where I grew up, to Felixstowe, near where I now live, but never got round to seriously planning it.  It's about 350 miles so achievable in four or five days. The name also has a nice ring to it and the route and ride will be on our own terms.

The view from Goodwick across to Fishguard.  We'll be starting from the Sea Front car park

Last summer my friend Roger, previously a mountain bike rider, bought a road bike and found the speed and ability to cover large distances addictive.  On one Sunday ride he asked me if I had any plans to do any organised rides this year and we then got talking about longer rides and I mentioned my F2F idea and then I got the feeling it had become more of a when than an if.

We talked some more over the winter and talked to our families about doing it in 2013 and then my wife mentioned it in our family Christmas letter that we send to close family members.  So I was committed.

The planning started in earnest after Christmas and training started and then abruptly ended due to the snow and ice, family commitments, illness and injury.

The beach at Felixstowe will be the end of the ride

This blog is a way for us to record our thoughts on the process of planning for and training for the trip - not just the physical training but the organisation, the route, the kit we need, getting accommodation and the like.

Some of the static pages will hopefully be of help to others planning similar endeavours.

I have no idea whether people will read this but I'm hopeful that this blog will also be a means for friends, family and anyone who stumbles across it to provide support and contribute to the overall experience for us.

Have a look at the static pages linked from the menu bar under the image at the top of the page to find out a bit more about us, the route and the bikes and kit we'll be using and come back to the blog regularly to see how we're getting on.

Thanks for reading this far.

Mike