The Background

   Had it not been for a certain lawnmower, we wouldn't be attempting this trip. The three of us know each other through scouts, Lister and I have come through all the sections together and I also know Martin from school. Lister and I have helped out at scouts for a while and when it came the time for the annual fete held in the scout garden, it was found that the grass was quite literally 3 feet high. This was because our longstanding monster lawnmower was finally beyond repair and the grass hadn't been cut all year. Anyway Lister's dad gave us this small sit-on mower which wasn't working and in fact hadn't worked for about 10 years. He said we could have it if we got it working, so we set to work using various parts from the old mower. We let Lee do the more delicate adjustment of the points settings whilst we concentrated on mechanics like using a coconut shy metal pole to lever off the flywheel whilst he wasn't looking.

   After weeks of work and modifications including 'restructuring' the exhaust with a club hammer and bypassing the electric safety system in impressive fashion it cut through the remainder of the 3-foot grass and also ate some bricks, trees, wire and other random strips of metal we really weren’t expecting to find. We also created some new bricks out of compacted grass. Throughout this the engine was not happy and kept cutting out, as well as making lets say a lot of noise. For the record (as if anyone really cares) the engine was a Briggs & Stratton 7hp unit with 250cc, and a great 3-speed + reverse gearbox. One thing was reverse gear is right next to second, which caught us out a few times.

   Later when most of the work was finished we found that when the grass was short we could cut the grass in 3rd gear at about 20mph (slight exaggeration), and when we let some of the other Ventures have a go and they kept stalling it, a combination of which irritated one of the neighbours who gave us an earful. She threatened to call our Group Scout Leader Dave Spooner, so we told him ourselves as obviously the grass had to be cut it just took a while. He told us this was the same neighbour who complained the previous year when it was cut with a strimmer and told us we should get a sit on mower! In any case having spent half our free time for a month fixing this mower naturally we were at a loss for a new challenge, so having sorted out the electrics in the hut and a ramp to get the mower out (it was putting on weight), I had the idea for a different challenge - to cycle the length of the country.

   Armed with an impressive sounding idea I set about finding recruits mad enough to do the distance with me. Fortunately I knew Rich would be up for anything, and Martin doesn't like to say no to anything, so I found my victims. I also was quick to invite our friend Sean, who unfortunately didn't want to come for reasons he has yet to explain! Having said that someone has to keep the country running whilst we're away! We set about planning then and buying some stuff we were going to need, and fixing the bikes (see the exciting bikes section). We decided on Easter, which was pretty much the earliest opportunity after the campsites open. Indeed we decided to go camping to do it is cheap as possible, and at Christmas we did a less than successful practice ride where we found cycling 100 miles in a day was harder than it looks. It didn't help that we set off from the hut and had our first puncture at the Thomas Kemble, which if you don't know is about 200 yards down the road. Unfortunately an endless string of punctures on Rich's front tyre and two broken pumps later we had to admit defeat and Martin came home from Colchester on the train with the broken bike.

   Fortunately we've now bought new road tyres and tubes so we're hoping that punctures will not be a big feature of the trip. In any case Rich is not taking that bike, as the gears didn't work either. Also on the practice run my bike had some weight on the back to simulate conditions - in the form of nearly two dozen cans of Dr Pepper. Of course on the ride we'll be taking a tent, trangia, water, meths, cloths etc so between the three of us there will be a lot of weight. Lister and I rode the bike and found that it made going up hills about ten times more difficult so we were going to have to be as light as possible. On the positive side the two of us cycled home and got back about eight o'clock having done the full distance, which is good considering all the stops we had and that at Easter it will still be light at eight. On the negative side we were both well knackered, walked up some hills, and on one occasion were overtaken by some pregnant slugs on the Maldon bypass where worryingly looking back it would have been quicker to walk even though it was flat! More worryingly Martin didn't do the distance and if we're honest was struggling a bit with cramp on the outward journey. We then made some promises about doing some exercise between now and Easter.

   In February Lister and I fulfilled these promises in one day whilst working on his collection of minis (two to be exact). One was already working whilst the other was at least making promising noises by the time I left. On one day we got an upper body workout driving the mini up and down his dead end road. The steering is so heavy that Arnold Schwarzenegger would have had trouble doing 3-point turns in it, something which we tried to correct with some success using more of Rich's JCB grease and his brother's heavy duty industrial grease gun. Both the car and Rich performed well with no stalls once it was warmed up (Rich has never had a driving lesson but drives a bike). However the best was still to come as later in the week we flattened the battery (there is only one between the two cars) and had no charger so we had to bump start the working one. Easier said than done when there's only two of you although the first time we got it going only the second or third attempt. When we needed to do it again we were overconfident though and couldn't do it. By the time we did manage it we were getting desperate as we didn't fancy pushing it up the steep drive to his garage and we'd had the most exhausting half hour of our lives.

   Here is a semi-sensible list of stuff to do and take we drew up:

Stuff to take/Do	Who to do it/Item Location
Tent	Rich
Sleeping Bags	All
Trangia	Rich/Martin
Meths+Bottle	Easter
Compass	Lister/Easter
Maps	Rich
Waterproof Jacket	All
Waterproof Trousers	All
Jumper x1	All
Underclothes/Socks x7	All
Shorts/Trousers x1 each	All
Trainers x1	All
Tools/Multithingys	Lister
Pump x2	Lister/Rich
Panniers	Rich
Spare Tube x1	Lister/Wiggle
Mobiles/Batteries	All
Money	All
Cycle Computers	All?
Gloves	All
Record Sheets	Rich
Lights	Martin/Rich
Mudguards	Lister
Watches	All
Lighter x2	Lister
Plates/Bowls	Rich
Knife + Fork	All
Toothbrush	All
Toothpaste xShared	Martin
Soap/Swarfega xShared	Rich
Scourer x2	Rich
Plasters x(a few) +savlon	Martin
Camera+Films	Rich
Stuff to strap tent/Sleeping Bags	All/Easter
Trains	Martin
Route	Rich
Arrangements for 3rd April	All/Easter
Emergency Phone Numbers	All
Campsite list/Booking	All/Rich
Swapping Rich's Chain	Lister
Pack of Cards	?
Settle Money situation	All
Water Bottles	All/Done
Martin's Tyres/Bottles	Martin/All/Easter
Sunscreen	Yeah Right
Travel Towels	Lister