Borderer and Son on Borders 350 attempt.

[Ray Young]

Bridget and Joe posted a link to their spot on Facebook for their Borders 350 attempt which they started this morning so I thought I'd put it up here for those who don't do Facebook.

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... howAll=yes

[restlessshawn]

Trails are as near to perfect as possible out there just now, hope they have a good ride

[Blair512]

No ping since 14:00, any word from them Ray?

[Ray Young]

No ping since 14:00, any word from them Ray?

No. Nothing on Facebook either. Hopefully ok.

[pushbikemike]

I saw them rolling into peebles around 6pm. They decided to call it a day. Both ok.

[Ray Young]

I saw them rolling into peebles around 6pm. They decided to call it a day. Both ok.

Glad to hear they're ok, sorry to hear they decided to retire. Good on you Joe for giving it a go .

[Borderer]

Yes we bailed very early. Sorry Ray, but we hated your route!

When I take Joe out riding it has to be fun. If it isn't then he will lose interest and not want to come out with me any more. I am happy to cajole, encourage, motivate and inspire him to get out there and achieve things but I won't bully him and if he is really not enjoying it then we stop. He has persevered in some pretty challenging conditions on our rides and done so with good humour so something was obviously very amiss for him to dislike the B350 so much. I have to admit that I wasn't enjoying it either. Before we gave up I sat him down and tried to understand why this was. He said that crossing the Picos recently had been fun - the trail was challenging and interesting and it felt like an achievement to be able to reach the tops. The camino routes also followed ancient passes that took walkers through the mountains as the easiest possible places - so although they were tough they weren't deliberately so - unlike Ray's route where we formed the distinct impression early on that it had been designed with hardship or suffering in mind. Knowing first-hand that the Borders has some beautiful trails that are a pleasure to ride (not push the bike through) made this difficult to stomach.

Rather than drag Kevin the Teenager round another 300 miles of the route, I made the decision at the Thief's Road to quit and we headed down to Stanhope and then back along to Peebles via the disused railway. At the final part along the Tweed to Peebles we bumped into PushbikeMike out walking his dog which was very nice to see a friendly face and talk to someone who knows that part of the route too.

When we got back to the car I found that a kindly Peebles resident had taken it upon themselves to put a note on my car instructing the traffic warden not to give me a ticket for parking on the route of the Beltane parade as the parking restriction signs hadn't been put up when we left and so we couldn't possibly have known. No ticket, so our tale has a happy ending of sorts.

[Karl]

It's a tough route Bridget isn't it. It's always got to be fun (maybe type 2 at times) but always fun. I think after Moffat the route will get better (well I hoping for my next attempt). Joe's done well just to start, it's a massive undertaking and shows great strength of mind to know when to stop! Well done Joe

Ray has set a challenge, a tough one, but a challenge. Because of it's length it feels like it should be a few days of a ride but the realisation is that it requires the same respect as much bigger routes. Good luck to people starting the group start. I hope we get a completion soon then the flood gates will open.

[Borderer]

Yes we have ridden most of the part from moffat to the Cheviots and it's nice riding alright.

[middleagedmadness]

Your right about keeping it fun ,I've only just managed to start to pry my 13 yr old away from trail centers ,his first attempt at this was on the Jenn ride 50 , nothing in comparison to the undertaking young Joe does but after about 6 miles the smile faded and I could see the stroppy teenager starting , as luck would have it we bumped into a lovely young couple off this parish and she was also having a bad day ,this cheered him up a little as he could see even adults have trouble sometimes ,by the time we dropped into Ambleside ,(and it was quite late the smile was back on his face ) we'd made a agreement of he wasn't happy at Ambleside we'd find away of getting back to staveley,it's no fun for either parent or child if they aren't having a great day , after speaking to Scott about it he said it sounded like Karl and Cath ,if it was cheers guys as he managed to get around the route smiling after your chat

[Ray Young]

Hi Bridget and Joe. I can fully appreciate your feelings and totally understand your retirement. Peebles to Moffat is very, very hard both physically and psychologically but I think if people can get past that then they have a good chance to finish. By way of making up for the hard start Moffat to The Cheviot Hills is 120 miles of mostly gravel riding so you can cover big miles, indeed many people will plan to hit Moffat at the end of day one and reach the Cheviots at the end of day two. The route is a serious undertaking and I can only take my hat of to Joe for wanting to give it a go.
As an aside I think the only reason that the route has not had more finishes is because people underestimate the time required to cover the distance and have had to give up at two thirds distance not because they couldn't complete it but because they have had to be back at work.

[fatbikephil]

+1 for what Karl said - better to try and fail then not try at all an' all that.
Mebbes do something like the lower loop of the highland trail - some great bits, nothing horrible other than 2k of bog hopping before Ben Alder cottage (which will be bone dry just now), various bothies and a pizza shop at the halfway

[restlessshawn]

I think a route is a very personal thing,,and this is Ray's just the way he wants it. That's cool and I admire all the work he has put in to it*...however if it makes Joe feel any better I'm 48, not adverse to some suffering but am not going to ride it despite it being local coz it's just not my sort of riding. I totally get where you two are coming from, admitting it and scratching isn't easy especially when it's something you've aimed for. I hope he (you) doesn't take it too hard.

Anyway enough being mature I am off to STW to argue about shirts

*I know this having been working on something

[restlessshawn]

+1 for what Karl said - better to try and fail then not try at all an' all that.
Mebbes do something like the lower loop of the highland trail - some great bits, nothing horrible other than 2k of bog hopping before Ben Alder cottage (which will be bone dry just now), various bothies and a pizza shop at the halfway

I did this last month with a loop round loch ness thrown in, ace time...though I nearly died of a stomach upset while navigating the Ben Alder bog

[fatbikephil]

[quote="restlessnative]
I did this last month with a loop round loch ness thrown in, ace time...though I nearly died of a stomach upset while navigating the Ben Alder bog[/quote]

Right enough - South Loch ness trail and GGW I take it - makes a nice extension to that circuit

[Karl]

Your right about keeping it fun ,I've only just managed to start to pry my 13 yr old away from trail centers ,his first attempt at this was on the Jenn ride 50 , nothing in comparison to the undertaking young Joe does but after about 6 miles the smile faded and I could see the stroppy teenager starting , as luck would have it we bumped into a lovely young couple off this parish and she was also having a bad day ,this cheered him up a little as he could see even adults have trouble sometimes ,by the time we dropped into Ambleside ,(and it was quite late the smile was back on his face ) we'd made a agreement of he wasn't happy at Ambleside we'd find away of getting back to staveley,it's no fun for either parent or child if they aren't having a great day , after speaking to Scott about it he said it sounded like Karl and Cath ,if it was cheers guys as he managed to get around the route smiling after your chat

That was me & Cat

We had exactly the same agreement and seeing you guys brought it home to Cat to stop being stroppy (I didn't tell her this, she made her own mind up). After we got to Ambleside, we got some food and cracked on. We had an amazing weekend ending in a swim in Windermere and playing on a rope swing. We're all still kids really

Glad you made it around. Onward and upwards for more adventures!