Le Grand Depart
November 1, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
The challenge to ride the Leeds-Liverpool Canal started next to the River Mersey. We had parked the car at Costco, perfect for a loo stop before heading round to mark the official start of theRead more
Everton's New Stadium
November 1, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
On our drive in we clocked where the canal moved away from the Riverside and into Town. But it wasn't quite so obvious when we got to it. We turned off the road to check out how Everton's new stadiumRead more
Finally on the canal
November 1, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
Having crossed busy roads and gone around building sites we finally found the official start of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. With a rather impressive set of locks. A bit of bike carrying over the locksRead more
Motoring Along
November 1, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
Once on the Tow Path it was all go. I was the support vehicle and planned to intercept Holly & Jonah at various bridges. However, on the first few I arrived there to see they had already gone throughRead more
Aintree Racecourse 🏇
November 1, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
I honestly didn't think they would be quite as speedy as they were. I managed to intercept them at Melling Road and show them the fabulous Aintree Racecourse. It was lunchtime, had just started toRead more
Leg 2 begins
November 2, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Leg 2 picked up where we left off yesterday at Aintree Racecourse. The weather was good but we were very conscious that it could change, so would go for as far as possible.
Maghull
November 2, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
I thought I would be miles ahead of them for this stop but no! Yesterday it was traffic congestion and traffic lights that slowed me down, today it was level crossings. I parked at Home Bargains inRead more
Waiting...
November 2, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
I've finally managed to get ahead of them with enough time to draft a post. The weather is starting to get quite horrible with a driving headwind picking up and the rain starting to get heavy.
WhileRead more
Mechanical Failure
November 2, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
The attached video has commentary so you'll get the picture, it has sound too.
This event, plus the rapidly deteriorating weather ended today's ride earlier than anticipated.
The muddy legs tellRead more
Here we go again!
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
It's half term so we're back in the North West on the Bike Ride challenge. A short back track to complete the section where we previously had a mechanical failure and they're off again. Today theyRead more
The Saracen's Head
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
Aunty Sam got the first check point, with bags of sweets to hand, while Grandma and I could scoot on ahead. All is good, the sun is shining and the weather is perfect
Interception
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
After setting the kids off on today's leg, we jumped into the cars and headed off to the Ring O' Bells pub near Burscough (more of which later) - all part of the exceedingly complex logistics plan! ItRead more
The Ring O Bells
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C
The Ring O Bells pub at Burscough is a perfect place to sit and wait. The car park is right on the tow path so the support crew could stay inside the car and wait for either the bikers to appear orRead more
Parbold
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
Fully refueled and refreshed, they're off again. A short hop on to Parbold where the bikers were taking photos of an old windmill and and swing bridge, while the support crew get to appreciate theRead more
Gathurst Viaduct
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Getting to Gathurst on the outskirts of Wigan, was a drive along memory Lane, these are the roads where I learnt to drive, taking you right past the famous Heinz factory and this stop is just down theRead more
The Approach To Wigan
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
The bucolic Lancashire countryside (a phrase I never thought I'd write) turned very urban, very quickly as we hit the outskirts of Wigan. However, it wasn't all shabby warehouses, barbed wire andRead more
Wigan Pier
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Wigan Pier was where we were aiming to finish today, After the previous 2 legs I thought this may be ambitious but achievable. Turns out everyone was up for just keeping going!
Grandma and I keptRead more
Bloody Locks
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Now I get it's exceedingly difficult to get water to climb hills, but how hard can it be to build a tunnel under the Pennines? I'm sure the Wigan Lock Flight is an exemplar of Victorian civilRead more
Where are we?
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Having checked out a potential finish point at Redrock, thinking there was a big pub to finish at, we discovered that the pub was derelict and not actually a good finish point. So the support crewRead more
The potential finish point that wasn't
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
The alternative finish point that wasn't
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Fredericks Ice Cream Parlour
February 12, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
We needed to find an end point where Grandma, Holly & Jonah could wait in comfort with some refreshments while Chris and I drove back to the Ring O Bells to collect the car. One idea was the MarinaRead more
Start of Leg 4
February 13, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
This morning we picked up where we left off yesterday, minus the Ice Cream 🍨
I popped into the Marina Café who had pointed us in the direction of Frederick's yesterday to use the loo, say thanksRead more
Just missed them!
February 13, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
There's a fine art to trying to find a good point to do a safety check point and intercept the riders. You can't have it too close or they're too fast and will always be ahead of you. Too far andRead more
A muddy old start
February 13, 2024 in England ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
As we did yesterday, once we'd set the kids off on their way, I drove down route, parked up and rode back to meet them. I'll be honest, this bit was hideous - the ground was super boggy, I was ridingRead more
























































































