Day 1 - Land's End to John O'Groats

Good day today, training in the Yorkshire hills really pays off, lots finding the hills difficult. Got post ride headache and really hoping to sleep tonight! Base camp organisation is run with military precision.

Not a massive amount to see en route due to the hedgerows. St Michaels mount was the main sight and even that was shrouded in mist. Pleased to have got the first day under my belt.

Woken up this morning by Eye of the Tiger - Survivor blasting through camp at 5:30am! Well I say woken up, I was just lying there having given up trying to sleep. The zip on my tent then went and Neil's cheery and annoyingly awake looking face appeared yelling 'MORNING TIGER!!!' :-)

Why am I writing a blog?

In September 2014 I'll be riding 969 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) in 9 days as part of a team from Vodafone for charity. That's an average of 110 miles per day.

This is my story of the 5 months between now and September as I get on the bike and prepare for this challenge.

I'm writing this as a record that I can look back on in the future and in response to comments from a few friends who wanted to read more about what I will be going through. Perhaps others will find it when searching the net and find something useful too.

I have a Just Giving page, if you would like to sponsor me then you can do so here

https://www.justgiving.com/Jason-Phillips-LEJOG

I'm raising funds for the Vodafone Foundation Moyo Lesotho Challenge which aims to get treatment to 41,000 young people living with HIV/AIDS.

Lesotho is one of the poorest countries in the world and has the third highest HIV prevalence (23.6%). More than 130,000 youth have been orphaned by the disease. The epidemic has had a devastating impact on families, communities and economic development.

Every penny counts, is very gratefully received and feels like a vote of confidence from you in my chances of completing the challenge. I'm hoping to raise a whopping £3000!

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Anyway, here are my favourite cycling quotes that I've found while clicking around the net:


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” Eddy Merckx

"It never gets easier, you just go faster." Greg LeMond

"Training is like fighting a gorilla. You don't stop when you're tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired." Greg Henderson

and this gem;

"It's not about the bike" Lance Armstrong
With hindsight it actually wasn't!