How Many Lights Do You See?

'How many lights do you see?', sang Conor Oberst of the excellent Bright Eyes in the song of the same name. Well depending on my mood next Saturday night, fellow Bike and Hikers might see 1, 8 or 21 LEDs' lighting up the night sky. I got my head torch the other day and what a contraption it is. It also has 'disco mode' (flashing on and off), so if you are in the inverness area next week dont worry, its not an illegal rave, just DJ Blog giving it some 'big fish, little fish, cardboard box'!

On the subject of choons, our mate Barry - DJ Iceman for the purposes of this blog - is compiling a cracking playlist to help get us through the night. A veritable melting pot of rave, britpop with a dash of indie disco and a couple of timeless classics and we will be all the road. Wonder if there will be any Proclaimers?

Back to the head torch. I am glad everyone doing the gold stage has to wear one. That way we can all look like idiots together. I dont think anyone is capable of looking good wearing one and actually carrying it off. Walking poles and a head torch? Not a good look. But still, better than carrying one of these around in public...

Three bags between them but who forgot to pack the zinc oxide tape?

The Friday Foot Update

The pain in my foot came back during our walk on Sunday. I wasnt a happy bunny it has to be said. I decided at the start of this week that I would bring a premature end to the training and hope that a week or so worth of rest would do the job.

With a week to go, I am starting to get a wee bit apprehensive about it all. The pain is still there - but not as sharp - and only really hurts if I point my foot down the way. The middle of my foot (whatever the technical term for it is) is a bit tender too.

I am still trying to work out if ice, strapping, an ankle support, deep heat or prayer is the best solution but any ideas let me know. Otherwise, keep your fingers crossed for me a week on Saturday....it might be a LONG 73 miles. If you have magical healing hands, please get in touch!

On a positive note, my wee girl has offered to stand in for me as a late replacement and looks raring to go...

I did like the suggestion from one friend that I could do the event wearing a pair of fur-lined baffies. If anyone has a few pairs going spare, get in touch :-)

Come On Ye Pars!

Very little to do with the Bike and Hike but a MONSTER win for the Pars tonight. As two of your team are Pars fans (and one is probably dancing the night away in Mount Florida) one is a so-called part time Par, and your team are called The Dunfy Boys I thought I would post this...



If we show the same level of team spirit a week on Saturday, we will be just fine. If any of us start to struggle, we could maybe attach a cup final ticket to the end of a fishing rod and have it dangled in front of us as we stoat along the road.

However your scribe here isnt a fan of Celtic Dunfermline finals. Celtic win, I have to hide from the wife, mother in law, and plenty of others. Celtic lose and I definitely have to hide from the wife, mother in law and the rest of the town. Having attended her first game earlier this season, my wee girl Robyn will probably be learning how to give me stick. I did enjoy listening to her tonight though, "Come on the Pars!!"

McIntyre 0 - 1 - Hibernian v Dunfermline
Uploaded by samgoff

Perth. 28 Miles!

It seems like yesterday I wrote the words 'In exactly 9 months time it will all be over'. Now I am writing 'In exactly two weeks time it will all be over'. The excitement is now starting to build but there are still thoughts of 'where did all the time go' and '73 miles? in a day!'.

We were at the Fishing Club Dance on Friday night. A rather excellent buffet at the Civil Service club and a few pints put paid to any training on Saturday morning. Your bike and hikers didnt win any prizes incidentally, but then thats no real surprise...none of us fish! I have set my sights on winning a prize next year...biggest fish supper consumed.

With Scott down in London and Stuart working, myself and Alan went out today walking the same route as last Sunday. I made Alan stop at the side of the road and 'Hold the 40'...



The bad news is that the pain in my foot came back today after about 8 or 9 miles. All was going well up until then. We made it to the 12 mile mark and then I called it a day. A wee bit worried about it but will try to work out what might be causing it and not overdo it in the run up to the 5th.

As we waited on the support vehicle (Lee and Robyn) we crossed a flyover on the M90. We spotted a road sign displaying: Perth 28. We then realised that having done the 12 miles today, if we were to complete the Gold Stage we would need to walk to Perth (and then add on another 3 miles). Oh yeah, and we would already had to have cycled the 30 miles as well! Despite all the training we have done, I still cannot comprehend walking to Perth, let alone all the other additional miles of cycling and walking. Today, I couldnt have walked another 28 feet, let alone 28 miles.

Will spend the rest of the weekend trying not to freak out. I might get a curry.

Who Are You? David Bailey?

You've probably noticed that I like taking photos. My wee Sony Ericsson phone has taken over 2000 of them. A lot of the recent ones feature my fellow bike and hike comrades. When we were out cycling on Thursday I tried to get a few 'Action Shots' of Alan and Scott in full flight whilst still on my bike. I now have full respect for the cameramen who cover the Tour De France but to be fair, they aren't trying to ride the bike whilst holding the camera.

Having narrowly avoided crashing into Alan on more than one occasion, I was able to get a few pics...

Scott mapped out our cycle at just over 15 miles. Apart from it being a bit chilly, it was a great run and we were nearly tempted to go round again (I didnt fancy Waterloo Road on the telly). There is a new feature on Map My Run which charts the elevation of your route as well as the distance. As you can see, we were going 'Into the Valley!' C'mon the Pars for Tuesday night!

Yee-haa!

First things first, the pain in my foot is gone and I have passed the fitness test (sort of) with no ill effects from the cycle tonight. It was freezing to begin with, but it was great to be out there. Don't know how far we travelled - cue Scott and his Map My Run - but will post the route later.

Some of the downhill sections were great - the road down to Dunfermline Building Society HQ is a beauty, no pedalling from top to bottom. The flip side is that you usually have to come back up the hill at some stage and we chose one of the steepest in the town - East Baldridge Drive. Its neverending but fair play to Alan, he got all the way to the top so we have duly crowned him 'King of The Mountains'...



It was good to go somewhere other than along the cycle path and Scott's magical mystery tour was far more enjoyable (and less scary) than when he took us along the Cuddyhouse Road from Kingseat to Cowdenbeath. His bike has now been re-named 'The Hogwarts Express' (see post below) and thanks to the guy at Halfords waving his magic wand and spanner, it now goes like a dream.

In the pursuit of great photography I took some action shots of your Monster tamers on their trusty steeds tonight - whilst on my bike. I nearly crashed into Alan a few times, but think the pics are worth it. Will post them tomorrow.

But for now, I must dash, there is a Dominos pizza winging its way up here with my name on it (well, half of it).

Harry Potter and the Fort William Midges

I have enjoyed ready the comments left by family and friends who sponsored us via our Justgiving page - www.justgiving.com/thedunfyboys

Was VERY interested to see a comment left by one of Scott's work colleagues...



All of the lads have at least one celebrity look-a-like but we had never noted the resemblance between Scott and the wee wizard Harry Potter, although he does do a mean version of Brian Potter. (Jerry! Jerry! The Clubs on Fire!).

For those blessed with ginger hair (and it truly is a blessing you know), anyone who also has ginger hair is considered a potential look-a-like, even if they have no facial similarities. That's why myself and Fraz usually get referred to as Tin Tin and Jimmy Somerville. Chucky from Rugrats is another nice one for me - apparently I look just like him with my glasses on.

So following this twisted logic I must also look like Harry's pal, Ron Weasley. Scott has decided that we should bin all previous bike and hike nicknames and have Harry Potter themed ones from now on. I don't know any of the other characters so if anyone has any suggestions for Stuart or Alan, let me know via the comments. As a possible starter for five...


Alan and Scott help Steven get to the next Checkpoint.

Proclaimers Revisited

Just walked past Craig Reid of The Proclaimers AGAIN, coming back to the office with my lunch (panini and soup for those interested - very nice). Who knows, if I see him again, I might even say hello...or da da da da!

Fordell Firs

I had never walked through Fordell woods in my life and neither had Stuart before today. Scott's wife Laura joined us for a walk this morning and took us on the most picturesque route we have been on since the training started. It helped that the nice weather continued and your scribe even had the Factor 15 on his neck and his temples - since the hairline started to go north the temples have been particularly vulnerable!

Here's a picture of our band of merry men - and woman - trekking through the woods near Fordell Castle.

This time next week, Laura will have completed the London Marathon and Scott will be dutifully tending to her blisters. After our event, we all have a few days off before going back to work. Laura's reward for running the world's most famous roadrace? Back to work the next day with a class full of primary kids. Hope they dont have PE first thing on a Monday.

Our route took us down on to the coastal path at Dalgety Bay with some cracking views over the Forth and some equalling cracking looking houses. We have all picked out the ones which Stuart will be buying for us when his numbers come up - swimming pool for me please!

The 1000 mile socks have failed in their promise and I have had to deal with some big blisters over the weekend. I was thinking about sending the socks back - unwashed - demanding a refund, but still think they are better than a pair of white sports socks from kinross market. The employees of the 1000 mile sock company can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

I have a sprain like pain going across the middle of my right foot and had to call it a day today after 11 or 12 miles. Well done to Scott and Laura for going the full distance. Having a rest for a few days to give it a chance to get better. Will keep posting how the others are getting on. Note to Fife Council employees - we didnt pinch your 40mph sign found lying at the roadside.

Bridge Over Foggy Waters

I dont like heights. Planes I can handle. Top of the Empire State building I could handle - because you are inside. Outside, anything could happen to you. Freak gust of wind, slip on a banana skin, anything like that. Therefore, despite living close by for all my life, I have always resisted requests to go for walks over the Forth Road Bridge. For some bizarre reason yesterday, once it became obvious that Scott's bike is still goosed, I suggested we walked down across the bridge and back and off we went.

Despite being a scorcher from lunchtime onwards, the day started off really foggy and we could hardly see much in front of us. No photos from yesterday as there was basically nothing to see. I had a peek over the rail once or twice and couldnt see the water below. But I am sure it is still all there. I walked dead centre in the middle of the path all the way there and back - wasnt as freaked out as I thought I would be, but in no real hurry to do it again.

Thanks for all the messages of support received from passing motorists yesterday. A few of them picked up on the fact that we had left our poles behind and helpfully pointed out to us that we need two of them. At least that's what it looked like they were trying to tell us....

I'm Gonna Be (43 Miles)

Hey there pop pickers. Out and about doing a bit of celeb spotting in Edinburgh's West End on Friday and sure enough, current chart topping artist Craig Reid from The Proclaimers walks past. I had this near unstoppable urge to go up to him and shout 'da da da da, da da da da, da da da da, da da da da, da da dum da da dum da da dum da dada' (no sure if I have all the da's and dum's there but you know what I mean). Needless to say I was able to restrain myself and instead grinned like an idiot and continued walking.

I have sang this song at Scotland games on numerous occasions during the half time interval. Yet, I have never really sat down and thought about the lyrics too much - its hard to believe but bloggers really do have a life!

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked a 1000 miles
To fall down at your door

This week I have walked a total of 50 miles over 4 days. I am struggling to comprehend doing 43 in a day, let alone 500. Can't see me singing this song with quite so much gusto after the 5th of May :-)

Da, da, da, da

Have You Seen This Man?

WANTED
Name: Stuart Wilson
Hometown: Dunfermline
Age: Older than me ;-)
Possible sightings: Doncaster, Manchester
Rumoured to be on the run with ex Scotland international goalkeeper, Alan Rough and his lawyer (below). Reported as AWOL and required to return to training duties.

Reward For Capture: Exercise is a reward in itself !

Poles Apart

Looking ridiculous is not something particularly new to me. I have walked the entire length of both Edinburgh and Schipol Airports wearing a flowery dress, timberland boots, mascara and a set of pearls. I have stood up in the middle of the German end of the Westfallon Stadium in Dortmund clad in a Saltire to sing the Scottish national anthem (badly) surrounded by thousands of home supporters. I have even worn the aforementioned frock with a brides veil to a Edinburgh / Glasgow speedway match at Armadale.

But nothing comes close to walking along the cycle path that we have traversed many times, passing familiar faces, with a set of walking poles. Alan and I thought we really needed to try the poles out before the day but couldn't bring ourselves to walk round Dunfermline with them. The cycle path seemed like a good idea, but the pair of us just looked like choppers - and uncoordinated choppers at that. A few jokey remarks, but mainly just a lot of very straight faces trying not to laugh.

During various stages of our two mile ordeal (we walked the rest of the 7 1/2 miles without them), we proclaimed that we had 'Found our Rhythm' but I looked it up in the dictionary later and can confirm that neither of us actually had. Ministry of Silly Walks, yes, Rhythm, no.

Having a handy utility belt on his bag, Alan offered to carry the poles home. Or as he is now called - Quick Draw McGraw.....



After something to eat, we decided to go out again, doing our agreed 10 mile walk round the outskirts of our fair town. The walk stimulates a diverse range of discussion topics which help take your mind off the walk.

• Will that woman be knitting in her front room watching the telly? (she wasn't this week!)
• Did you hear the one about the snake draped across the ford fiesta bonnet.
• Plans to finally open the mothballed Hyundai plant and achieve world domination involving the sale of carpets.
• Rumours of the new garden centre selling pints of lager!

Anyway, we completed the 10.3 miles in about 2 hrs 25mins, and we did the 9.5 miles in 2hrs 15mins. Pretty good going (especially considering I had a Chicken Bhuna, rice and nan bread in between!). But as noted in a previous post, my feet were aching by the time I got home. Fair play to the 1000 mile socks though, not one blister.

Life On Mars

Have just finished watching the last ever episode of Life on Mars. If you haven't seen it before, go out and get the box sets. It has been worth this year's licence fee. Anyway, this is the reason why this post isn't going to be too big (hurray, I hear you shout) but I am tired and off to my kip. Will post more about Monday's training tomorrow with a couple of good pictures.

On the programme tonight, when asked how you can tell if everything around you is real, one of the characters explains that the only way you can tell if you're alive, is if you can feel it. Well, if the pain in my feet last night was anything to go by, I am alive and well and this training is very, very real indeed. They felt alright today, but I wonder if the pains will come back tomorrow when we go out again. Will soon find out...

Midweek Madness

We walked 10.3 miles in just over 2 1/2 hours last night. Not bad going, and not bad for a school night. Slept like a log last night and felt good this morning. We are aiming to do two sessions during the week of a similar distance and then a big session at the weekend. Basically, if we can find some spare time, we will be training. In a desperate bid to improve my fitness, I am getting a set of skipping ropes. I used to skip when I went to boxing many, many, moons ago but I imagine it will be quite a sight trying to recreate the old magic! I think attempts at crossovers will end up with a trip to A&E.

In the interests of entertainment, I might post a you tube clip of my best efforts - and those of my team mates if I can persuade them!

The Clock's Ticking Boys

34 Days To Go Until The Big Day. It's quite a scary thought and we are all starting to have wee mild panic attacks wondering if we are going to be ready. Just to add to our anxiety, I have added a wee countdown timer to the bottom of the blog. Scroll right down to the bottom to see how long we have until Judgement Day!

Gartmoran Dam

We went to Gartmoran Dam yesterday. It's very similar to Gartmoor Dam except its spelled correctly! No wonder some people didn't have a clue where it was when I told them a few weeks ago, I am making up Clackmannanshire landmarks for the fun of it.

I took Lee and Robyn back there today (in the car) to feed the swans. The place was hoaching with midges but we managed to steer clear of them.

Back to yesterday, the trip to Alloa was pretty quick and incident free. Apart from when we got chased by one of those huge dogs that are the size of ponies. I am still laughing at the line uttered by one of my colleagues '****** me, I hear paws!'

Scott had a bit of a 'mare with his bike yesterday, culminating in his chain snapping about a mile from home. It could have been worse, if it had snapped at Gartmoran, I think Scott would have thrown the bike in the drink!

Meanwhile, Alan had employed a new setup for yesterday's outing (it almost sounds professional dont ya think!). Me? I had plenty of Nobby's Nuts and Boost bars to keep me going and was having a ball until we came home when the wind was awful...Alan just couldn't help himself :-)

It didnt seem like there was any wind at all, but it felt like we were going backwards between Bogside and Oakley. Add to the fact that Scott's bike went from having 18 gears to one gear, and you can imagine it was fun and games for us yesterday.

I will leave you with a wee story from yesterday. Stopping for a breather just outside Blairhall, we meet a woman who tells us this is the first time she has been cycling for 3 years and this was her first time on the cycle path. The exchange went something like this.

Woman: 'I thought there would have been a few more rest stops along the way'
My colleague 'What, do you mean for horses?'
Woman: 'Naw, for me! I am knackered'

Despite being inadvertently referred to as a horse, our new friend didnt seem to take offence and set off for Blairhall where we told her there was a place she could stop...provided the horses hadn't got their first.

These photos were taken before Scott's chain snapped yesterday :-)

Our Friends In The West

Things have been pretty hectic the last few weeks with other commitments limiting the training a bit. With 34 days to go until the big day, I'm sure things will start to pick up again. They NEED to!

When we first signed up for this (many moons ago), our mate Fraz said that we would need to cycle to his house and pay him a visit. Fraz stays in Alloa which is a bit of a trek and when he said it, we laughed and couldn't quite envisage cycling all the way to his house. It takes long enough in the car.

But yesterday we thought it would be a bit of a fun to chap his door just before 9am. It took him a few rings to answer. Turns out we woke him up, which is probably why we didnt get invited in for tea and biscuits or some nice bacon rolls. As you can see, both myself and Alan have 'helmet hair' but not to be outdone, Fraz has the bed head!



As our mate Mo lives a few streets away, we thought it would be rude not to pay him a visit too - that plus the fact that none of us really fancied the cycle home! We were worried that Mo might answer the door in his newly aquired Borat wrestling atire but luckily he was wearing these fetching pj tartan trews instead. And yes, Scott is wearing shorts. It will take more than sub-zero temperatures to put off us tough Fifers!

And just to dispel the myth that all Dundonians are tight - Mo offered us tea and toast. Tempting as it was, we said farewell to Alloa and set off for home...