WE'RE OFF AND CYCLING Please show DJ & Lewis your support by sponsoring them at http://www.justgiving.com/DONALD-MACLEOD We would like to sincerely thank the following local businesses for their very generous contributions towards the cycle expenses. Day 10 (part 2) – General Update
This has been some journey (albeit for the most part we were based at Muirneag) and we have had the privilege of being part of the fundraising effort for The Leanne Fund for several months now. Our boys, together with Callum, have planned, trained and now completed an amazing feat in cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groat’s in 10 days. They have tested themselves to a point that is beyond the limit of the majority of people in carrying through this cycle and it will certainly add to their character through time, especially when they take the time to reflect on their achievement. It has been a real learning curve (in every sense of that phrase) to have worked behind the scenes in helping to make this possible for the boys. But from the moment DJ told us that he wanted to do something for a charity, and subsequently identified The Leanne Fund as his chosen charity, we were in there and behind that all the way. DJ asked Lewis to do the cycle with him, and he needed no persuasion, and when Callum was approached to help as the support man, we were especially thankful that he agreed knowing that there was someone with them that they could trust doing such an important role. The support of many local businesses in contributing towards covering the expenses of this event has been just amazing in itself. We thank you all for your kindness and hope that our recognition of your contribution is reflected in a genuine manner on the website and through the media outlets. In addition, the generosity shown by individuals who have sponsored the boys is overwhelming, and we trust that the total raised will reflect the effort that DJ, Lewis and Callum have put in. Callum cycled the last 55 miles with DJ and Lewis on the final day and he did so well in completing that in really bad Chrisell had the task of ensuring the boys had good accommodation each night and she did that brilliantly each and every afternoon. It’s not easy trying to find a decent place to stay when you are so remote from the actual event (and also to keep the boys happy!), but she managed and just about every place she booked guaranteed they got a good rest and a good meal to set them up for the next day. Anyway, we organised the finish, we got appropriate celebrations in place and we made sure that the boys got time to ‘chill’ after they finished. We really do genuinely thank everyone who came along to mark that special time because it was a very special moment for everyone involved. DJ, Lewis and Callum were accompanied for the last 10 miles by Willie (Chrisetta’s husband), William, (Chrisetta and Willie’s, son), Craig, (Chrisetta and Willie’s brother-in law), Andrew (DJ and Lewis’s brother) on hired bikes, and Steven (DJ and Lewis’s youngest brother) joined them all for the last half mile on his bike. You know this, that really made the finish something special. Especially as, Chrisetta, Donna, Des, John, Mary Flora, Joan, Lorna, Ann Marie, Angela, Peter, Fraser, Hannah, Chrisell and myself were all there to cheer them on. The people at John O’Groat’s commented so favourably on the number who were there and how it made for such a special occasion. That in itself was enough to know that this event was appropriately recorded. The main purpose of this cycle was always aimed to mark the genuine and positive effect that Leanne had on people’s lives together with the current and dedicated commitment that Chrisetta and Willie have undertaken in ensuring her life and the memory of it will be retained. We just thank the boys for their determination to carry through their amazing achievement, and most of all we thank God for keeping them safe and well throughout their whole time on the road. Chrisell and Ian Day 10 Saturday 31 July - The Final Day
Yep, it’s the back-up guy with the last word on this amazing adventure. The first point I have to make is that I cycled the 55 miles with DJ and Lewis today and I think I did really well – to the point of surprising them at how fit I was. In fact, I would propose that I even had to spur these two guys on a bit in the first 30 miles because they just kept moaning about the rain (I’ll come back to this). So what about the day itself? Well, sorry we’re a day late with this, but we had no internet connection in the place we were staying last night. It was an exciting and highly charged emotional day for everyone involved. Chrisell and Ian had come up to Helmsdale on Friday night to take the van back to Inverness to pick up bikes for Chrisetta’s husband Willie, their son William, brother-in-law Craig and Chrisell and Ian’s son Andrew to join us for the last 10 miles cycling. We knew there were some people coming up to John O’Groats for the finish, but we were quite taken aback with how many were there (comment later). DJ, Lewis and me set off at 9am and we did the first 30 miles in two and a bit hours. We left Helmsdale in the rain Anyway, we had to wait there for nearly two hours for Chrisetta, Willie and their family, and for Chrisell, and all the others she was taking up, to pass and head on up to John O’Groats, and in the meantime poor Ian was trying to co-ordinate how the finish was going to work out with so many people all over the place and us three waiting patiently (?) for all the cars to reach the end for the final celebrations. Eventually, we got the word from Ian that everything was ready, they were all more or less at the finishing point and it was time for us to hit the road for the last time. We set off from Wick in the pouring rain again (and I kid you not, this was the second full day of torrential rain). We set our sights on catching up with Willie, Craig, William and Andrew so we could all finish together at the end.
DJ and Lewis took the lead (with Steven alongside) and it was just brilliant to see 14 people waiting for us at the end. It was so emotional and so overwhelming. We had done so much and now this was the culmination of it all. We got the photos taken, we had a wee celebration at the finish, and we enjoyed a hot shower and change before we all got together that night. It had poured rain (heavily) all day (absolutely bucketing) until five minutes before we finished. So, even after all the moaning of the day, it was so good for all of us to get together dry at that point. We got the photos taken at the finish line and then we headed back to our accommodation to get showered and Thanks also to all the family and friends who were at the finishing line, that was quite something to experience (especially Mary Flora, DJ and Lewis’s granny). There were 22 of us out to celebrate last night, and we had a great time together in Wick. Now, I just want to sign off now by saying that the one and only reason we did this was for our dear friend Leanne, and the fund that Chrisetta and Willie have set up in her memory. I have to say that these two guys were just amazing over the 10 days. They just kept peddling almost constantly uphill (because it is much harder going from Land’s End Northwards than the other way) with the goal of enabling The Leanne Fund to help some more people suffering from Cystic Fibrosis. It might sound relatively easy just reading these reports over the last 10 days, but believe you me, it was anything but. Please give freely for the sake of all the Cystic Fibrosis sufferers who the fund hopes to help and support. It’s not about us, it’s all about them. Callum (DJ and Lewis) Day 9 - Friday 30 July 2010
We set off from Inverness at 9am, it was raining from the start and the rain just got heavier and heavier – it was non-stop. We stopped for a break 30 miles up the road at Tain. While we were there, we met Lesley, the Cystic Fibrosis nurse for Highlands and Islands. We chatted with Lesley for about half an hour, and that was good and she was really encouraging. While we were at Tain, we also met up with two other cyclists (I think they were professionals) who had left Switzerland 19 days ago on a tour of Europe and Britain on their bikes! The other photo is of us just leaving Dornoch heading North. We left Tain about 12.15 and it started raining again as soon as we got back on the bikes (the rain had stopped when we stopped and it started again when we started again) so we just powered on to Helmsdale arriving at 2.15pm. We covered 35 miles in that 2nd leg, so it was just 65 miles today. We couldn’t be bothered stopping anymore in the 2nd leg because we were soaked right through and just wanted to finish off for the day. We made straight for Leah’s grans house and got a really warm welcome (her name is Anne Sutherland by the way The three of us are really looking forward to reaching John O’Groats tomorrow and meeting up with those at the finish line. It’s been a hard slog but we’re really chuffed to see all the planning working out so well. We’re having a wee party after, so no doubt we’ll have the odd fresh orange or two, or something like that! Short and sweet today, but no doubt our final report tomorrow will have a lot more to it. DJ (Lewis and Callum) Day 8 - Thursday 29 July 2010
We had a good night in Pitlochry last night. We stayed in a place called Morag’s Cottage and we were looked after really well. They even gave us a discount because of what we were doing. That was nice. We left Pitlochry at 9am and hit the A9 heading North. It was raining, we had a fairly strong headwind, especially through the valleys, and it was uphill most of the way. We didn’t enjoy it too much because it was hard going and it’s not good when you have a difficult start to the day. Anyway, we stopped after 30 miles in the middle of nowhere for our morning break; that was at about 11.30am. We pushed on and reached Carrbridge at 2.30pm, taking our dinner break there for 45 minutes. In that second leg, two lorries (on separate occasions) blasted their air horns at us as they drove past us, as if we shouldn’t be there and they shouldn’t have to slow down for us. We both got the fright of our lives each time and very nearly went off the road. Well, we have as much right to be there as them, and if I ever saw them again I would tell them straight! We set off on the last leg of the day leaving Carrbridge at 3.15pm and reached Inverness at 4.30pm. Now that was a good part of the day. Yes, it was windy and the wind was against us all day. But we had long slow hills which also gave good downhill rides as well. The best was coming down the hill into Inverness. We hit 40MPH. Awesome! It was so good in the last leg that Callum’s camera couldn’t catch us at an opportune moment and so we didn’t get a pic of us as we passed the ‘Welcome to the Highlands’ sign or the ‘Welcome to Inverness’ sign. Sorry about that, but the speed was amazing! After 8 days on the road and averaging 90 miles a day, we’re both too fast for Callum and his camera. Now that’s something, is it not? The only decent pic he got was of us somewhere up in the Northern part of the A9 with cars coming in the opposite direction. Pretty boring, eh? Mum got us a flat for rent in Inverness for tonight at a really good price so we’re enjoying staying there. We had our meal at Weatherspoons, chilled out now, and so the two BB addicts are glued to the telly till 11 as usual. I got talking to a Uist couple in Weatherspoons and it turned out that the guy knew Seumas, Maggie Bugsy’s nephew, who works as a joiner at Calmax Construction (that’s where I work as a brickie). We’re leaving Inverness tomorrow by 9am at the latest and heading for Helmsdale, that’s about 70 miles. I think the road is a bit tough in places, but so long as we don’t have a headwind like today, we’ll be happy. We’re going to stay with Leah’s gran tomorrow night in Helmsdale, so I have no doubt our every whim will be pampered to! Thanks for having us Leah’s gran. We’re also going to meet the head Cystic Fibrosis nurse for the Highland's on the road tomorrow. Chrisetta and Willie have arranged that and we’re due to meet her somewhere around Tain. You know, it’s been hard going a lot of the time, but now we have the finishing line in sight and these meetings are really good for us. We’re also doing a live interview for Isles FM from Helmsdale shortly after 5pm tomorrow, so have a listen to that. That’s about it from me tonight, I need to get the head down now. Lewis (DJ and Callum). Day 7 - Wednesday 28 July 2010
Today was a pretty easy day compared to the previous six, only 60 miles, so we finished early at about half past two. We left Edinburgh at about quarter to nine, first 20 or so miles were a bit of a challenge, strong breeze and a bit of grief from both Lewis and my own knee, but as the pain eased we reached an almost perfect stretch of road about 10 miles outside of Perth where the bikes just seemed to fly. We managed to hold great pace, up to 30mph on the straight for about 4 or so miles which is quite a boost to motivation after 20 miles battling the wind. After a quick stop in Perth we then headed on to Pitlochry which is almost all downhill but with the wind, was much more difficult than it should really have been, but we reached there none the less. Although Lewis was complaining about the pace for the most part of today, but as the MUCH better cyclist, I guess I am just faster than him in all weather conditions. Sorry Lewis, but let's be honest eh? The photos today are actually from last night in Edinburgh. We just thought it might be good to have a wee change from the usual ones on the bikes. We had a great time with Florence and Donald so we thought we had better get Florence into the frame or we might not get invited back! A really BIG thanks to you both from us ‘cos we enjoyed the laugh and we did relax and we really appreciated you taking time out with us. DJ (Lewis and Callum) Day 6 - Tuesday 27 July 2010
First of all, I hope you enjoy the main photo for today; that’s me beside Woody’s van just entering Scotland. That’s probably one of the most significant photos taken so far (not because of the shorts I’m wearing either) but because I guess it’s quite apt that it’s me that’s in it ‘cos there’s been far too many pics of these other two guys and none of the real hero giving them all this support! We gave the bikes a quick once-over in the morning before leaving Carlisle. Lewis and DJ then headed off for their 92 mile cycle to Edinburgh. The high point of the day was crossing the border into Scotland at 9.30 in the morning. It really gave the three of us a big spur on for the day. It’s not that we have anything against England (apart from the football team winning games ‘cos that’s a normal Scottish attitude anyway), but it certainly gave us a big lift to see that signpost and it made us realise the progress we had made in the last five days. It’s one thing to plan something like this, but it’s quite another to see it all working into place. So yes, that was a big moment for each of us. Today’s mileage –Carlisle to Edinburgh - 92 miles We’re going out now for a meal with Florence and Donald (Chrisell and Ian’s friends) so we’re looking forward to chilling with them for a couple of hours. The big thing for us now is that because we can’t reach John O’Groats till Saturday afternoon because some folks are coming up to meet us at the finishing line (even though I think these two guys could have made it in 9 days easily). But it does mean that DJ and Lewis can take their foot off the gas a bit and cut the mileage for the next four days down to between 50 and 70 miles a day. That should make a huge difference to us. At the moment, our plan is to reach Pitlochry tomorrow, Inverness on Thursday and then about half-way up the North road on Friday. That should leave a maximum of 50 miles to do on the last day. It’s quite awesome to think that the two of them have covered almost 600 miles in the last six days. We look forward to Saturday and meeting up with the folks on the finishing line. But we are still on one day at a time till then. One last thing: Lewis mentioned in Yesterday’s report how Foggy’s call was at exactly the right time after climbing the 8-miole hill (another mountain in Lewis’ mind). Well, there was a little more to it than that. Foggy, I think you actually stopped them from throwing the bikes over the edge at the top; they were both pretty scunnered at that particular point. So thanks also from me, because it saved me having to do two major repairs. Callum (DJ and Lewis)
Hi, it’s Lewis here with some news about our cycle today. Well, what a day. You know the old saying, when the going gets tough then the tough get going. That’s us! In fact Callum thinks we’re ‘a pair of warriors’. We started the morning in Preston at 8.30am and did 40 miles in the first leg without stopping. That took us to a place called Kendal and we reached there at 11.30am. It was a bit tough in parts, but mostly alright – that’s how we covered so much in one go. After an hour’s break we headed off again this time to Penrith. You know this, if we had had any idea what was ahead of us, I don’t think we would have gone. It was really tough. That 30-mile stretch was almost constant uphill, in the middle of nowhere and it was pouring rain. There were three huge hills to climb and one of them is called the 8-mile hill. Let me tell you this, it was every inch of 8 miles long – and really steep all the way up! Me and DJ only managed to cope with this by keeping the ‘crack’ going between us. We had to stop at the top of it at a place called Shap (that was at 2pm), and would you believe it, Foggy phoned to have a wee chat with us. Perfect timing because that really lifted our spirits and lightened the mood. Don’t worry Foggy, I won’t tell themeverything we laughed about – they probably wouldn’t print it anyway! I do, though remember Foggy saying that the rain must be good for us because it would keep us cool on the way, and I replied “that it couldn’t rain anymore because we’ve been climbing that long we must be up past the clouds by now!” He then threw a crack saying “that if that was the case, we better watch out for the planes”. Anyway, after that wee interlude which helped us get over all the climbing, we carried on again towards Penrith – reaching there just after 2.30pm. We took 45 minutes out for lunch there and then pushed ahead on the final leg towards Carlisle. We reached Carlisle an hour and a half later at 4.45pm, and boy, were we glad to get the day over! Once again, the digs were organised for us for when we finished (thanks mum) and after getting settled in and having a good meal we all just wanted to rest (I think Callum was tired just driving up these hills in the van). Today’s mileage – Preston to Carlisle - 91 miles For me anyway, today was definitely the worst both physically and mentally. Still, we’ve covered a really good mileage once again and, all being well, we are well on track to keep to our target. DJ’s knee is a bit better, but I think that is mainly down to the strapping and support he is using on it. He’s managing to keep the pace so he’s relieved about that. He even reckons he could still go faster than me with his injured knee. Sorry DJ, I don’t think so. Callum performed well today, he had a good day, looking after us all the time and getting our food to us when we needed it, and all that without one wrong turn. Thanks Callum, it’s much appreciated. That’s about it for now from me. We’re hoping to reach Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon so I had better give Florence a mention because Florence and Donald are going to look after us tomorrow evening. Look forward to that. At last, Scotland here we come! Lewis (DJ and Callum) Day 4 - Sunday 25 July 2010
We left Telford at 8.30am heading for Whitchurch which was our first stop. We had planned to do 25 miles in the first leg but carried on to do 36 miles. In that first leg of the day and after 20 miles, we had to stop three times within a mile just to ease the pressure on my knee as it was really painful and playing up. When we finally stopped for a break I wrapped the knee up tightly with a few bandages to give it additional support and that helped a bit. After the break, we headed for Warrington and arrived just at lunchtime having covered 62 miles in the morning sessions. We left Warrington after a 45 minute break and set off for Wigan. That was just 18 miles up the road so we rested there for 30 minutes. The final leg of the day was to Preston which was about 22 miles. We ended up on a slightly longer and different route than we had planned because of really poor road signs. Still, we made it there just after 4.30pm. Now then, that all sounds very easy but in fact I would say this was the most difficult day yet for several reasons. First, my knee was quite sore at times, but also, although it was dry, we had a 20 knot headwind for most of the day as well, and that was pretty tough. Probably the biggest problem was that we had to go through loads of roundabouts and traffic lights, so there was a lot of stop-start throughout the day. It was definitely the hardest day mentally for us and time just seemed to drag for the whole day. Still, we did expect to have days like this. Today’s mileage - Telford (just north of Birmingham) to Preston- 92 miles One roundabout was 5 lanes wide with loads of exits coming off it and me and Lewis ended up taking all the wrong One other thing. Lewis conned both me and Callum with the same patter on separate occasions today. He was falling a wee bit behind in one part of the ride, and when he did catch up he said that a car had knocked him into the ditch. He said the same to Callum later on, and we both swallowed the story and felt sorry for him because he had been really convincing. What had actually happened, we later found out, was that his water flask had fallen on the road and a car went over it and crushed it. Needless to say, it wasn’t sympathy he got after that! Tomorrow we cycle north to Penrith, but if conditions are favourable we might try to reach Carlisle. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for all the encouragements, keep it coming please because this couple of days in the middle of the 10 are probably the hardest. Still, we’re really happy with our progress and are a bit ahead of schedule just now. That will hopefully allow us a couple of easier days when we get into Scotland. We’re all looking forward to crossing the border on Tuesday. I’m off to bed now. DJ (Callum and Lewis) Day 3 - Saturday 24 July 2010 Hey, it’s Callum here with some info about how today went. You might think that I have the easy job just driving around in Woody’s van and making sure these two guys are well fed and looked after. Let me assure you all that it is very difficult. They are both very demanding individuals and my stress levels are ridiculously high every day trying to pamper to their every whim! (I just thought I would get that off my chest the now). I think DJ and Lewis were making sure I didn’t go anywhere near Spaghetti Junction when we bypassed Birmingham after my escapades yesterday. They reckoned if I went anywhere near there then their lunch would be going round in circles for a long time! On part of today’s cycle the boys had to climb a steep 2-mile hill. When we reached the top the view was magnificent, so I asked lewis to go back down to the bottom and take some pictures of us at the top. He refused point blank, moaning about some kind of difficulty he had on the climb up that hill. I can’t understand that because it was no bother in the van! Apart from that, the day went very well, fairly flat, good weather conditions until Kiddieminster where we were also hit by a few fairly considerable hills. All in all a good day, heading for Wigan or maybe Preston tomorrow. Today’s mileage - Bristol to Telford (just north of Birmingham) - 95 miles We’re in the digs now, had our meal, chilling out and watching big brother as usual and going for an early night. It’s going great so far and now looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks to all who have sponsored on the sheets and the Just Giving site, it really does give us a lot of encouragement. I also know that DJ and Lewis are really encouraged with everyone who drops them a text to help them on the way, so please keep that going as well. Callum (Lewis and DJ) (Note from DJ’s parents – Chrisell and Ian) – We’ve just had DJ and Lewis ranting on the phone that we’re not taking them seriously enough and that the effort they’re putting in is not appreciated by us. Well, from our side, this is a real encouragement because it tells us that they’re happy and things are going well. (Other parents will understand that interpretation!) Day 2 - Friday 23 July 2010 Hi, it’s Lewis here with some news about our cycle today (it was DJ who did the update last night by the way). Now then, I had had a bad night with stomach cramps and felt pretty awful when we were about to start. We saddled up on those brilliant bikes from Alex Dan’s Cycle Centre and started at 9am just outside Okehampton and set off on the first leg of the day to a place called Tiverton. In case you’re interested, I was really sick after 1 mile. I didn’t think at first that I would be able to carry on, but of course I’m so great that I just battled on! Anyway, that first 30 miles was very hilly and hard going so we had a 20 minute break at Tiverton. We then cycled another 30 miles to Taunton on much flatter roads and (eventually) had our lunch there. I say eventually because Calum (our meals on wheels) got lost in Bridgewater where he had gone to buy the lunch for us. And yes, he got lost even though he has a satnav in Woody’s van! DJ and me had waited for 10 minutes in Taunton expecting Callum to arrive with the food any minute. We got fed up so we just got on our bikes again thinking he would catch up with us shortly. We weren’t far up the road when we spotted Woody’s van – on the other carriageway and going in the opposite direction! Good support we have here, eh? Anyway, after a 30 minute lunch break and a good laugh about Callum’s little error (he’s not very happy about me telling you all, but I’m not worried about that), we set off again at 1.45 and headed for Bristol airport, which is about 11 miles outside Bristol itself. The last 5 miles on the way to the airport were really hilly, especially a 2 mile section, which was a killer for us. We had a 10 minute break there before starting the short final leg of the day to Bristol. Again, the first 5 miles of that leg was really hilly, but then we had a good finish downhill all the way for the last 4 or 5 miles into Bristol. Total mileage for the day – 94 miles. We’re all feeling much better after today. We’re on target with the mileage, we’re both feeling ok and coping with it all, the weather was hot and sunny (that’s the tan topped up again), we had light winds, and our team-working is really starting to come together. By the way, Callum is taking photos along the way so we’ll hopefully get some emailed when we find a place with wireless internet. We’ve just had a good meal, going to watch big brother now and then off to bed. Lewis (DJ and Callum) DAY 1 - Thursday 22 July 2010 Hi everyone We drove from Penzance to Land’s End in the pouring rain, an indication of what lay ahead of us for the day. We started the cycle from the Land’s End Visitor Centre at 8.30am (recorded on camcorder by Callum) and continued on in the rain until our first break in Redruth at 10am.We continued on in the rain for another 25 miles to a place called Bodmin, where we had lunch in the van on the side of the A30 duel carriageway. We had covered 55 miles by lunchtime. After a 45 minute break, we started the 3rd leg and cycled for 25 miles in the worst rain of the day and in the process did 3 ascents, each of which were steeper than the Clisham! We then stopped off for 15 minutes in Launceston before cycling the final 19 miles of the day which culminated in a really steep climb into Okehampton. We pulled up at the B&B in Okehampton at 4.30pm soaking wet but really satisfied with our time taken and the mileage covered in the day (approx. 95 miles). We’ve all had a hot shower, a good meal and looking forward to getting a good rest tonight. DJ, Lewis and Callum.
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From Chrisell and Ian.
weather conditions. Ian got a flavour of what was involved in supporting the boys in these last few hours and he found out really quickly that it was no easy task because they had to have food, shelter and warmth from the moment they stopped cycling and he was literally at their beck and call whenever they required him to help out. (Thanks Callum, I do now have a little understanding of the pressures you were under for these 10 days).
Hey, it’s Callum here with some info about how today went.
(HEAVY rain as usual), we looked ahead, we looked behind, and we looked sideways, and it was all clear blue skies; but just above us, all day, there was this big black cloud, and we were soaking and tired. Ian (who was supposed to be supporting us!) was late in reaching Wick, where we had stopped, and we had to wait nearly 45 mins before he arrived (now he has some idea of the responsibility of keeping up with the boys on the bikes). We were freezing waiting for him, and when he did arrive, we all jumped into the van, got some food and switched the heaters on because the wind really was quite chilly.
We caught up with them just two miles short of John O’Groats so we slowed down a wee bit so we could all keep together for that last two miles. There was one more twist though, because just 500 yards from the finishing line, DJ’s wee brother Steven joined us on the cycle. There we were, all eight bikes heading downhill to the finishing line, and what a feeling that was!!! Don’t underestimate this, it was something else!!!
changed. We then went out for an arranged meal and eventually back to our accommodation to chill out for the night (thanks Chrisell for all you hard work in arranging all this, we really do appreciate it).
Hi everyone, it’s DJ here with an update on our progress today
and that’s her in the pic with me and Lewis). We each got showered straight away and then Anne fed us a cracking meal. In between we did the Isles FM interview of course. So we hope that came across ok on the radio.
Hi, it’s Lewis here with some news about our cycle today.
Hi everyone, it’s DJ here with info on our progress today.
between Edinburgh and Perth. He only went wrong once but we won't dwell on that.....at least not right now, although I would be happy to tell the story to anyone who asks. 
Hey, it’s Callum here with some info about how today went.
(although Lewis and DJ will say it was a lot stronger). It was really good to get a break from these big hills (Lewis, who is prone to a little exaggeration, calls every one a mountain).
Hi everyone, it’s DJ here with info on our progress today.
ones first before we finally got exited on the right one for our route. Wait till you hear this though. As we finally came off the roundabout at the correct exit who did we see coming back up that road in the opposite direction and back onto the roundabout. Yep, Callum! He had actually got off at the right exit with the van on his first attempt, but he then thought he was on the wrong road. So what do you think he did? He made a U-turn in a really short one-way street (which was only about 50 or 60 yards long) thinking it wouldn’t matter and he would soon be off. Guess who came round the corner to meet him head-on? Yep, a police car which was, of course, travelling in the right direction. After making excuses to the men in blue, they got him back on track and away again. Callum has been arguing with the satnav most days because it always wants to take him on to the nearest motorway, and of course that’s the last thing we want!
