Mick’s LEJOG Challenge: Day 2

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After a good feed at Wetherspoons the night before, day 2 of Mick’s Land’s End to John O’Groats cycling challenge began with his important routine of pulling the curtains back, checking the weather, deciding which clothing to wear and packing his bag for the ride.

Mick had met some nice people at the Angel Guest House and had his breakfast at 7.30 for an 8am start, a bit later than scheduled.

He had a good start to the day, the weather was sunny but there were showers on the forecast later in the day, however he was lucky to dodge them and he set off at a good pace. Concerns about the previous day’s pace focused Mick’s mind to take it a bit steadier. His heart rate monitor helped to keep him in his endurance zone and he worked towards setting goals to reach various towns or cities, rather than focusing on mileage and time.

Mick said that his mental state throughout the ride was better than the first day, although his body was aching in five different areas which he had to battle through. He was still suffering from the niggling injury to his knee that came on in the first day, he experienced pins and needles in his hands, his backside was sore from his bike seat, his calves were tightening and lower back was aching.

The route took him through a number of cities and towns today, including Gloucester, Worcester and Taunton, however navigating his way through Bristol caused him the most trouble.

One of the main dangers of doing an event like this is the road traffic but Mick hasn’t experienced any bother so far from motorists and has found that if the correct hand signals are used then there are no problems and the drivers don’t get too close.

Mick changed his diet today; as he was working his way through Bristol he decided to stop for a good old McDonalds. It was busy due to the school holidays so he shared a table with an elderly gentleman. After telling him his story, the man was very keen to donate some money to his cause but only had 80 pence in his pocket. Mick was very thankful and assured him that every penny counted!

Mick reached 138 miles for the day, arriving at his second checkpoint around 6.45pm. This takes his total so far to an already impressive 275 miles. He burned 5 – 6000 calories on the second day as his body and muscles were still recovering from the day before, so he had to take on more food and water to keep refuelling. He even tucked into a bag of peanuts that he had saved since his training when he did the Coast-to-Coast to keep him going.

His night involves resting up, massaging his muscles with oil, applying creams where needed and trying shake off any injuries for the next day, which is set to be the longest totalling 160 miles.

Mick again wanted to thank everybody for the support he is receiving; all of the texts, phone calls and well wishes are spurring him on and making him stronger. He had a good laugh at a phone call he received from our Contracts Manager, Mardy, who told him that he had seen some young lads cycling in Cumbria heading to Land’s End and he set Mick the challenge of catching them up over the next couple of days. We know you are fast Mick but you might have to let that one go!

Watch his video to find out more about why he’s doing the challenge or if you would like to sponsor him, please visit his fundraising page.

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