Newcastle United

It was inevitable that Newcastle would be a bit of a let down after my experience at Sunderland. I had been told in previous correspondence that the squad would be away in Hamburg so there would be no one around. Nevertheless a PR guy came down and showed me into the ground which is a very impressive stadium. He signed my shirt and I was soon on my way. On the way to the club I crossed the Tyne Bridge which some of you will remember from the Great North Run. On the way back I went over the magnificent new Millennium Foot Bridge which actually opened to let a boat though while I was there. I had now reached my furthest point north and turning south I encountered a very strong head wind. But I staggered my way back to Durham to stay with Eunice's cousin Glyn and Jean Carter. 1000 miles completed and probably the best day I have had.

Sunderland

Sunderland was not on my original itinerary, but as I have made good progress and Ian and Viv Duncan are fans so I decided to go and have a look at the Stadium of Light about 20 miles on from Hartlepool. I started to regret the choice when first another spoke broke then within a couple of minutes my GPS packed up again. After a bit of wandering around the city centre I saw the stadium and went to the main reception. It was full of security and I was told to go to the PR department as they were having a graduation ceremony in the stadium.

The reception for this is in a separate building so I cycled over there. The lady in reception was very friendly and said that Niall Quinn was in his office and she would ask if he would sign my shirt! The reply came back that he would come down and meet me in a few minutes. I was offered a cup of coffee while I waited. In fact, I had two! Then Niall came in and was really nice and applauded my efforts. We had photos taken and before he was called away by a phone call he gave me a £50note which he said was on behalf of Sunderland Football Club. I was stunned but I think I thanked him! Before I left I borrowed a paper clip to reset my GPS. As I cycled away I was quite emotional to think that 'the big man' had been so kind and friendly to little old me.

Hartlepool United

I set off the 12 miles to Hartlepool with a little trepidation in my heart. I was dressed in my cycling gear and you may have heard that they hung a monkey in Hartlepool believing it to be a spy! I may have looked a little inhuman myself! I need not have worried; they were very kind and welcomed me in. The manager Danny Wilson came and signed my shirt and I had my photo taken with him. He is really a nice guy. I went to the pitch and took a photo of HUFC..... no.!.... the letters were in blue not black and white. I then set off north to Sunderland.

Middlesbrough

I had intended to stop near Northallerton for the night but I got no response from the B&B I tried. I passed a church with a poster outside “This Church Is Prayer Conditioned”, and I thought to myself that I was prayer conditioned by all the thoughts and prayers of friends back home! That's the best fitness one could have.

The weather was good and a strong breeze at my tail helped me to gain ground quickly. I made a spur of the moment decision to push on and see what hotel I found. I didn't find one and ended up at the Middlesbrough Stadium 76 miles away. Contrary to the letter I had received they were very friendly. When they found I was doing it for MS they gave me a signed pennant. Signed my shirt and took of on a quick tour of the ground. I had photos taken and ended up sitting in the changing room with my shirt hanging on a peg with my pennant. The lady on reception found details of a hotel nearby. Unfortunately they were fully booked but they gave me the number for a pub who did rooms. This is pretty basic but has a dry warm room to sleep which is all I want. Just up the road was a fantastic Chinese buffet restaurant. You could eat all you could for £6.50! It had a fabulous selection and you could keep going back for more up to 7.30pm. I resisted the temptation to make a pig of myself!

Leeds United

It comes to something when I come to the evening and can't remember where I stayed the night before. Wherever it was, it was only 11 miles from Leeds and I arrived quickly with Billy Bremner standing proudly outside. This was a reminder of the glory days of the sixties and seventies when Revies boys kicked their way to many victories.

At Reception I met Stix Lockwood who I had corresponded with. His wife also has MS diagnosed 2 years ago. I had my picture taken with him and my shirt signed by one of the directors then went to security who showed me to the pitch side. He said that he had been to Hereford about 10 years ago following Doncaster. I got all my photos but still left with no memento from the club.

Barnsley

I have often been told when I have been asked where I was going next 'they are a funny lot over there'! This was said of Barnsley and it was quite true. I went to reception and the glass window opened half way and I was asked what I wanted. I explained that I had written to Michael McIndoe the ex Hereford player about my challenge. She said she would get my shirt signed and I poked it through the half opened window. I was told to go to gate 1 and I could take a photo of the stadium but don't go on the pitch. The ground staff didn't want to talk either so I used the toilet, picked up my shirt and left. Making my way to Wakefield I arrived at St Pierre Hotel for the night.

Rotherham United

With some of the hills around here you can imagine the little boy going off to get his loaf of Hovis although he would probably look like a little chav today! It is about 7 miles to Rotherham from Sheffield but they are miles apart when it comes to hospitality. When I arrived at Rotherham I asked for Mark Hitchens, the liaison officer. He greeted me warmly and after a coffee he presented me with a signed pencil drawing of their longest serving player. Rotherham are in administration and have been docked 10 points but Mark showed that some things money just can't buy - friendship. I hope they soon get over the current financial difficulties. Photos were taken and I was told that I would be on their website later today and also in a match programme soon.

Tony Butterworth Cycles

The bike was beginning to feel very sick and the wobble on the back wheel was so pronounced that I had disconnected the back brake several days ago. At least two more spokes had broken and the wheel would not turn freely any longer. When I saw a big bike shop outside Sheffield United called J James my spirits lifted. When I went in I found them very unhelpful. They were stockists of my Trek bike but couldn't possibly look at my bike until tomorrow. I thanked them politely but left seething. If this was Jesse James they should be outlawed! Just up the road from Wednesday I found another bike shop - Tony Butterworth Cycles. There I met the proprietor Chris Faulkner. He was very friendly and when I explained my circumstances he immediately took my bike in for repair. He spent about an hour putting in spokes, straightening my wheel, adjusting my brakes and generally cleaning it up. He also made me a cup of coffee! When I went to pay he refused any payment at all. I thanked him and shook his hand. If ever you are in Hillsborough go and buy a bike from Chris and forget about going to Sheffield Wednesday!

Sheffield United & Wednesday

This has been a strange day down at mill! I left the best all round B&B of the trip this morning which was Boon Hill Farm. They were really friendly and gave me a donation as well as being the cheapest. Their son is captain of Cambridge hockey team this year. Anyway I started out with the wet weather gear on again. The terrain is very hilly around Sheffield and I had a lot of trouble with the tram tracks and nearly came to grief. The road surface here is diabolical and as I descended into the city my GPS bracket snapped and it bounced down the road!! A bus and a car avoided running over it and amazingly it still worked! I arrived and left Sheffield United within 10 minutes. Sheffield Wednesday is only about 5 miles away and I was in and out of there within 10 minutes as well. The only difference between the two was that my shirt was signed by a receptionist at United and a security guy at Wednesday!

Tuesday I think

Not sure what day of the week it is except it is Sheffield day. Have completed 823 miles and been to 28 clubs, plus 1 ground under construction and 1 ground being demolished. Been to 3 cricket clubs and 1 dedicated rugby club although several are multi venues. Generally the League 2 clubs have been much more welcoming than Premier with the exception of Spurs. Best welcome has been from Torquay, Barnet and Wycombe. Off to breakfast now.

Mansfield Town

About 15 miles north of Nottingham is Mansfield. The wind was behind now and it was much easier pedalling. After stopping for a bite to eat at a garage I arrived at Mansfield on time. They greeted me warmly and said they had been following my progress on my blog and produced a printed copy. The Youth Team coach who had lost his car keys spent time with me and signed my shirt. We then went and had our photo taken by a grounds man. I was given a cup of coffee when in came the assistant manager. He also signed my shirt. After promising to send them a photo and keep in touch I then set off for my B&B 10 miles north

Notts County

Just over the river Trent within a mile is Notts County. The gulf between the clubs is immense. The County players were training on the pitch as they can't find another pitch. I was presented with another football signed by the players. Had a long chat about clubs and football before it was time to move on to Mansfield

Nottingham Forest

The 35 miles to Nottingham were a struggle with my head down against the wind. Arrived at Forest at 12.15. It took a while to find reception but had a nice chat with a guy in hospitality who raises money for Whizz Kids. He directed me to reception, they were very pleasant and told me to go and find a player. A couple came out from lunch and were happy to sign my shirt. It turned out to be assistant manager Dave Kerslake when I asked in reception.

Lincoln City

After a slightly later breakfast I left for the short trip to Sincil Bank and arrived shortly after 8.30. I recieved a warm welcome and was told they had come in yesterday to meet me. I apologised but they were happy. They presented me with a signed football and pennant. They took my photo and hope to put it in their programme soon. Said goodbye and off I set west to Nottingham into an incredibly strong wind coming from the south west

Grimsby

There was a 40th birthday party at the pub last night. I ate and went to bed. I soon went to sleep while watching Match of the Day. This morning I set off the alarm when I went to the loo and the landlord had to get up and turn it off. He hadn't got to bed until 1.30am! As I had breakfast the rain poured down so I left kitted out in full wet weather gear. The sun soon came out. Then it was head down for the 40miles to Grimsby. I thought I would never say it but the highlight of the day was lunch in McDonalds.

Grimsby Town was all locked up so I had lunch and set off back to Lincoln 38 miles away. I wish Grimsby had been promoted last year! The trip to Lincoln was hard against the wind. But I arrived just before 5pm. The owners of the B&B didn't arrive home till 6pm. After a shower I went into town for food and ended up in church! New Life church had about 100 in the congregation mostly students and the worship session was great! Then the preacher spoke about Rahab and making a new start. That reminded me that I was half way now having done 760 miles. So I start again tomorrow on the 2nd half of my challenge.

Boston v. Hereford

This is my 2nd attempt to write this after I deleted the first one. After going to the social club for a couple of drinks I met the team bus to get my clean gear from home. I was given a large mug of red wine by Joan and chatted to the directors. I had my photo take by Bulls News in the ground and I'm sure you will find a report on the game on there (http://bullsnews.blogspot.com/). We drew 1-1 and nearly won it near the end. They did an announcement about me at half time and I got a few donations while getting my coffee. I also had to collect a signed football from John Blackwell before I left. This I put on the coach with my dirty clothes. I had to cycle 12 miles to my digs for the night. So had to set off in the dark for the first time. I thought I had got lost at one stage as I saw a sign for Holland Fen then saw a warning sign saying Gilders then I realised it was a sign warning of low flying Gliders!

Boston United

The landlady at the Aragan B&B is a really nice German lady who came from Herford in Germany. I had a really good breakfast and on paying the landlady donated 7 pounds of her fee to MS. I left soon after 8.30 and made rapid progress. A combination of flat fen land and a strong tail wind enabled me to arrive in Boston at about 11am. I met club secretary John Blackwell and he have me a ticket and a programme. The rain was tipping down when I got there and I got very wet. I put the bike in the home end and left for a cafe and fish and chips to await the game.

Peterborough United

A pattern of pain is the order of each day. It takes about 10 miles to get rid of the stiffness in the leg muscles. Then for 20 miles I feel fine and pedal along well. Then my backside gets a bit sore from hitting numerous potholes and rough surfaces. From 40 miles, my hands go numb and I have to start swinging my arm round to get the feeling back. From 60 miles on, everything hurts. When I come to a small hill the power in the legs I had at the start has dissipated and I have to get into a low gear to wobble my way to the top. When I stop for more than a few minutes my legs seem to scream at me and I feel a little sick until I warm up again so I tend to try and keep going until I get to the destination.

I arrived at Peterborough United in good time today. A combination of tail wind and flatter terrain being the best explanation. Phil Adlam met me and took me into the ground. He said that most people have left but he went off to try and catch Keith Alexander. I wandered around the pitch and talked to the groundsman. His son had had a kidney transplant and football people had raised most of the appeal money. Phil returned with a signed programme from Keith Alexander from the recent Posh game against Everton. Phil took my photo and I set off for my B&B just around the corner. If the London hotel was posh this is definitely not! A small room with single bed and wash basin with a tiny telly on top of a wardrobe. Still the warm bed is all I want. I have arranged my whole trip around tomorrow when Boston play the Bulls. I hope I get there in time and don't get a puncture!

Northampton Town

Mursley, where I stayed last night was the west side of MK whereas I needed to go north east. The apartment I stayed in was ideal. It is self contained and had a kitchen including a washing machine so I washed my gear and Mr Baxter put them in his drier. I had to get my own breakfast but the food was all there. I finished breakfast by 7.15am and set off on the 24 miles to Northampton. The weather was dull, dry and windy. Generally it was behind me but swirled alarmingly at times. I arrived at Northampton Town in double quick time. At reception a lady greeted me. I thanked her for the tickets they had sent and asked if I could take some photos and have my shirt signed. She invited me over to the training ground to see if the manager was available. I was asked in to meet John Gorman who greeted me and introduced me to the players. He signed my shirt. We chatted until he was called away by his mobile ringing. I took my photos and said bye. With over 40 miles to go I got my head down.

MK Dons

It is nearly 40miles to MK Dons but the thought of escaping the M25 and London spurred me on. The penguin getting back to his proper environment sprang to mind! The strong wind sometimes helped and sometimes hindered but after stopping for a sandwich near Leighton Buzzard I arrived at the National Hockey Stadium at about 3pm. I found the press officer upstairs and we waited for the local press photographer to arrive. The Press Officer had to take a call from manager Martin Allen while we waited. I thought how young he was them realised how old I was! They presented me with a signed shirt and we had photos taken by the model cows. After a cup of coffee I made my way to my stay in Mursley. My GPS got confused by new building work but I found my way to a fabulous self contained apartment for the night.