LE-JOG Day 9

Over the past nine days Cycling City communications officer Ben Hillsdon has been riding between Lands End and John O'Groats in a bid to raise money for Cancer Research.

Every night he's been emailing us a summary of the day's riding. Here's what he has to say about Day 9...

"Day 9 was the toughest so far and it was touch and go as to whether I'd even finish. I woke up to a roaring northerly wind which meant a final 80 miles pushing hard to even make 15 mph. Plus I noticed a very loose spoke on my rear wheel. I tightened it with a pair of pliers and hoped it would make do.

"Six miles down the road I heard a loud TWANG. I looked down to find a spoke hanging free. 

"At this point I was very much wishing I'd taken up a Life Cycle UK maintenance course. Without any tools to make a repair, nor much of an idea about truing a wheel I bent the spoke around its neighbour, released my back brake, crossed my fingers and hoped it would make do.

"To my surprise it held out, even over a tough mountain peak and the subsequent downhill (taken very gingerly with only one working brake).

"As the day wore on the villages were sparse and the landscape barren, imposing and very windswept.

"I counted down the miles and knew the finish promised an end to saddle soreness and the unrepentant wind.

"But with three miles to go that familiar TWANG sound came again. I didn't even look down, knowing instantly it was another spoke. Head down I swung around a corner and there it was, the end of the land.

"Nine days after starting my journey and 900 miles later I'd completed a challenge I'd been planning for months, if not even years subconsciously.

"My bike and I have a new found respect for each other and I have realised that scenic leisure routes are far more enjoyable than faster main roads.

Now where did I put those south west maps for cyclists..."

To read more about Ben's adventures on two wheels you can visit his blog here: http://benlejog.blogspot.com/

If you're into riding for sensible distances in your leisure time check out the Leisure Cycling pages at  http://www.betterbybike.info/get-around

Previous posts:

• LE-JOG days 5-8
• LE-JOG day 4
• LE-JOG day 3
• LE-JOG day 2
• LE-JOG day 1