Colorful 2,500km for cyclist Eddie

”My daily motto was disappointment is a factor of expectation, so I set out each day not expecting sunshine and wind, so whatever happened I was never disappointed,” said Eddie.

He got to the start at Lands End as scheduled on 26 August. “Unfortunately the parrot I had taken for company flew away and the carrot to see me up steep hills was eaten on a hungry day.

It was now up to my legs, Mongoose mountain bike, Garmin 800 and saddle bag kit filled with necessities to see me through, what is commonly called End to End.”

The months of training, planning and plotting was put into practise. “Cars run on fuel, but my Mongoose runs on fat so I knew my storage of fat would be depleted within a day, so I ate and drank local stuff as I traversed each county. Cornish pasties and ale in Cornwall, clotted cream and ale in Devon, Yorkshire pudding and ale in Yorkshire, until I got to Scotland where haggis and ale did not go down too well every day. I switched to single malt whiskey and salmon, which had me wobbling along merrily each day.”

According to Eddie, no tour guide could have put together the 26-day adventure. “I never knew exactly how far I would end up cycling each day, or where I would stay. I had planned the route mainly along cycle paths, canal towpaths, rejuvenated paths, next to railway tracks, farm roads and at times across farmland and shallow boulder-strewn streams. From high cliff coastal views to beautiful inland countryside via Dartmoor, Exmoor, Wye Valley in Wales, The Pennies, famous Lake District, where cycling along most of the lakes was amazing.”

He moved on the Scotland’s renowned lochs. “Loch Ness, was my companion for sometime, but I did notice a discernible quickening of pace along the banks as the the legend lives on I wasn’t going to be the first statistic to end up in Nessie’s long gut.”

Eddie had one scare on the trip. “I had been cycling for what seemed like hours and reached the top of a long, winding hill breathless and with a pounding heart when I noticed a fresh grave on the side of the road. The epitaph said, ‘this hopeful End to Ender cyclist died on this spot quite suddenly. I left the fateful spot a great deal faster than I had arrived.”

He also found out it was not compulsory to wear cycling helmets in the UK. “Having been schooled by Toti Mambas MTB Club, where the rule is ‘no helmet, no ride’, I followed this rule, as the seagulls are vicious and many cyclists have fallen victim to these head bombers from the sky.”

“On 20 September, 26 days after departing Lands End, the Mongoose decided enough was enough and posed with pedalling Eddie for a ceremonial photo at John O’ Groats where all finishers have a quiet gloat.”

Having lost 5kg of cycling fuel, he decided to fatten up at the John O’ Gaunt Inn.