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Carlisleto Edinburgh – 92 miles
Friday 12June 2009
As the Be Number 1 LEJOG cycling team made steady progress from Carlisle to Edinburgh today on the sixth leg of their odyssey from Land’s End to John O’Groats, Sarah Ayton explained exactly what is required to support the riders.
Ayton, who forms the back-up team with Adam Gosling, the husband of Sarah Webb, may well have been in the saddle herself, but for the fact that she and windsurfer husband Nick Dempsey are expecting their first child at the end of this month. As it is, Webb and Dempsey are peddling the route while Ayton and Gosling are making sure that the riders are offered first-class support as they head northwards. Gosling, too, could have been in the saddle if he had not suffered a serious skiing injury in the spring.
“The cyclists have got it easy!” said Ayton, who has won a gold medal with Webb in the Yngling sailing discipline at each of the past two Olympics. “And I say that because Adam and I are rushed off our feet all day. Not that we mind, of course.
“The first thing that we have to do after the morning school workshop, which generally finishes about 10 o’clock, is to clean up the camper van. And that is not a particularly pleasant task, given the fact there are five sets of clothes and five sets of underwear strewn around!
“Adam and I then go to a supermarket to load up with supplies for lunch and afternoon snacks before hitting the road and then finding a suitable place for lunch about 50 miles away. It might sound easy, but we have to be spot on with the lunch locations. For instance, it is greatly appreciated by the cyclists if we stop on the top of a hill, so that they can start the afternoon session with a descent. And they want to be looking at some nice scenery, too!
“We normally arrive at the lunch stop about half an hour before the cycling team and set up shop straightaway before starting the cooking. Lunch may be fresh chicken with pasta and vegetables, although yesterday our mobile kitchen extended to serving up a three-course barbecue!
We also have to load them up with high-sugar fuel supplies, such as hot cross buns and jam sandwiches, for the afternoon session.
“Once they have gone – downhill, of course! – we pull up the awning, get everything cleared up and make our way towards the hotel. By the time we have stopped for half an hour or so to give the two dogs (one belonging to Nick and me, and the other to Adam and Sarah) some exercise, we will normally reach the hotel about 30 minutes before the cyclists.
“After checking everyone in, we make some protein drinks for when the riders arrive and then it’s a question of finding someone extra nice in the hotel, so that all the kit can be washed. With saddle soreness becoming an increasing factor as the days go by, we have to make sure that everything is super clean. By a similar token, it is imperative that the drinks bottles are properly sterilised, so that there are no lingering bacteria lurking the next day.
“After an evening meal, we all generally get to bed about midnight and then it’s another day. Another workshop in a local school followed by more dirty clothes, shopping, cooking and anything else that the riders may need!
“But it has been a fantastically rewarding experience. The school presentations have been inspiring from both our side and from the children’s side, and it is actually very emotional when the cyclists are cheered off by the kids, as they have been every day this week. We are obviously looking forward to reaching John O’Groats, but there will be a tinge of sadness when it is all over. Not that I will miss having to pick up everyone else’s dirty clothes.”
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