Having arrived in Ireland just over a week and a half ago and survived my first hangover in Waterford, I subsequently progressed westwards towards Cobh (pronounced Cove) where the Titanic was to set sail from on her last journey. In a former life when things got tough, the superiors used to call it character building. Well I can honestly say that I have been doing some character building stuff during this past week and a half as I have never experienced so much shitty weather as I have done in Ireland. It has rained absolutely every single day, oh apart from one day on the way up to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast, where we had a little sunshine but I was cycling into Gale force winds. You can't have everything I suppose! ... read more

From "No Man's Land" to "Come to Good" they certainly have some weird and wonderful named places in Cornwall but the "Drive slowly for Fox sake" was the sign which made me chuckle the most. Cornwall really is a beautiful county. It always reminds me of Enid Blighton's "Famous Five" adventures with secret caves and pirates. On this part of the journey I also tried out a Youth Hostel for the very first time in Perranporth which was absolutely wonderful with magnificent views of Lugger Bay. In terms of the journey getting any easier....one big mistake. The roads continuously meander from one village on the coastline to another, dipping from sea level to the tops of the hills which makes this place so attractive. Yes the hills are painful with some of them having a 1:4 ... read more

Having packed my panniers about 10 times, changed my boxer shorts to jock straps, reduced my rations to beer and chocolate and done a quick limbering up exercise I finally set off today from sunny Southsea in Portsmouth for the beginning of my journey around Britain and Ireland. Accompanying me for the very first day was my long time friend Paul, who would cycle with me to Brockenhurst in the New Forest. What preparations had I done for this ride? Well the previous 4 months had been spent travelling from Dover to Beijing along the southern silk route in an overland truck drinking copious amounts of beer and vodka, dealing with a parasite called Trumpton-Farquar and reading books throughout the day, so in terms of cycle fitness I would say that my muscles were well relaxed! ... read more