The Journey Begins

Hi, it’s Chris, the Project Director here. Each day as I cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats, I’ll be keeping you up to date on this post, so do check back as I’ll be updating it every day or two.

Day 0
A sunny day in the morning, but it was quickly replaced at lunchtime by overcast weather. Although it wasn’t in the original plan (hence, Day 0), I actually started today. This is because we (Hannah, my wife and I) had some car problems on the way down here. The garage can’t get the bits they need to fix it until Monday, but that means we need to get the car to Penzance as early as possible tomorrow morning. Taking me to Land’s End first to take photos, register and sign in would have slowed things down, so I cycled the two miles from Land’s End to the farm where we have been staying, and I’ll start from the farm tomorrow morning. So far… so good!

The Stats
Distance: 2.43 m, Average: 13.8 mph, Max: 29.8 mph, Ride Time: 10 mins 33 secs, Total Time: 10 mins 33 secs

Day 1
A good start to the day, sunny again, but it quickly turned changeable, with several showers throughout the day, as well as strong wind (mostly behind me, fortunately, but I did encounter a few exasperated cyclists heading the other way!). I quickly made it Penzance, where Hannah had taken the car to the garage to be fixed, and met up with her briefly in the town centre. Unfortunately, just as I was on my way down the hill into the town I recognised the wobble-wobble of the back wheel letting me know I had another puncture. It was, in fact, one of two that I had repaired a week ago leaking, but I decided it was a good reason to go and get myself a ‘slime’ (self healing) inner for my back wheel.
Onwards, and eventually I made it to Redruth for a large pasty for lunch (well, early lunch, it was only 11:30am, but I was getting hungry after my 8:30am start). The hill out of Redruth seemed to climb forever, before I got back on the A30 towards Bodmin. I’m starting to remember why I dislike cycling on the A30 so much, as the primary road in and out of Cornwall it carries much traffic, including many lorries, but many of them don’t give cyclists much room (to be fair, it isn’t always their fault, there is often oncoming traffic, and slowing to 10mph for a hill-climbing cyclist probably isn’t something they want to do). Although there are other routes I could use, the A30 has many cuttings and viaducts compared to any other route, meaning fewer and gentler hills. The A30 was closed at Indian Queens, meaning an interesting detour for the last part of the route to Bodmin.
Hannah was still in Penzance waiting for the car to be fixed as I arrived in Bodmin, so I decided to find the campsite myself, not realising that it sat atop a tall hill overlooking Bodmin! It was the kind of hill that seemed to keep in going, just as it seemed to level off, there was a corner and it carried on climbing! Eventually I arrived, only to realise that Hannah would still become time and I had very little shelter. I got by with a storm shelter I had, and spent 4 hours waiting, resting, getting bored with nothing to do! Hannah was equally bored in Penzance at this point, having exhausted her welcome in two coffee shop/cafes and resorted to reading in the local library. At 4:45pm, the car was fixed, at the princely sum of £385 (ouch!), but not that a bad price given the small number of garages we realistically had the choice of and the fact our car is a Daihatsu, so probably parts a not all that common and a bit more expensive.
Despite it all, the tail wind was helpful today, helping me to reach almost 40 mph on one downhill, and over 35 mph on three others, and giving me a good average. So, both Hannah and I are looking forward to a nicer day tomorrow, although the forecast is still for rain, the distance is shorter, scenery more spectacular across Bodmin Moor, and the car works!

The Stats
Distance: 56.12 m, Average: 14.3 mph, Max: 39.4 mph, Ride Time: 3 hours 54 mins, Total Time: 5 hours 50 mins

Day 2
A wet start today, which wasn’t nice at all, especially across Bodmin Moor, where the dual carriageway had no hard shoulder for an uphill stretch and visibility was down to 40-50 metres. Fortunately all the cars and HGVs spotted me! Past Jamaica Inn, and on to lunch in Launceston with Hannah, who I miraculously found in a multi storey car park despite her phone having no battery!
Not much to report from the cycle after lunch, except a very long hill up towards Okehampton on the A30, followed by some nice downhills, which almost made the effort worthwhile! Met up with Hannah in the town for a lift to the campsite, where she had already put the tent up.
In a different tent tonight, as the one we used last night didn’t cope too well with the gale force winds and rain. It didn’t break, but it did leak and complain about the wind!
Although it was a shorter day, I felt just as tired, perhaps due to the fatigue of weather and having to be constantly alert on a dangerous road. A longer trip tomorrow and some steep hills, but finally off the A30, which I recall from last time as being one of the worst parts of the trip. The weather is looking up too, now that the remnants of Hurricane Irene are out the way!

The Stats
Distance: 45.82 m, Average: 13.4 mph, Max: 39.0 mph, Ride Time: 3 hours 24 mins, Total Time: 5 hours

Day 3
I was pleased to be starting today dry, and as I climbed out of Okehampton, it stayed that way, to the extent that I got rid of my jumper and waterproof trousers (don’t worry, I was wearing cycle shorts underneath them!). It didn’t stay that way for long, and the morning and early afternoon appeared to be on a three hour cycle of sun, drizzle and grey cloud, resulting in me deciding that leaving the trousers on was for the best after all! It has turned out to be a day of two halves, I am convinced that Tiverton, where I stopped for lunch is the other side of a mountain range, I seemed to keep on climbing all morning, which meant I was only doing 5-7mph for much of it, panniers with heavy locks, water and repair kit in all slow you down, especially uphill! It was nice when I finally saw a sign warning me to use a ‘Low gear now’, because of a 10% downhill gradient ahead, which for most cyclists actually means, high gear now, you’re about to get a speed boost! It got even better half way down when I was reminded to ‘Keep in low (high) gear’ because the hill was getting steeper, 15%!
Having met Hannah for lunch, the second half of the day was broadly much flatter, and on quieter roads as I followed the National Cycle Network Route 3 with a canal towpath from Tiverton, then a few 5-7mph hills and heavy rain slowing me down before Taunton. Taunton led me back onto a towpath for another 6-7 miles to the Somerset flats, which meant I could get a reasonable speed back up again (unlike the towpaths, which were flat, but having a loose surface meant an average speed of around 11-12 mph). Only a few hills remained in the 17 or so miles to Glastonbury where we are staying the night. The scheduled stop was in Street, so that, plus the NCN route not taking the most direct path (canals wiggle) meant the day turned out as quite a long one! I’m pleased to be out at a pub for food tonight, and the sun was shining as I arrived at the campsite overshadowed by Glastonbury Tor.

The Stats
Distance: 80.45 m, Average: 12.6 mph, Max: 37.0 mph, Ride Time: 6 hours 22 mins, Total Time: 9 hours

Day 4
A dry day! Woop woop! A pleasant downhill into Glastonbury, punctuated by stopping to try and figure out what the strange clicking was as I pedalled. It wasn’t my waterproof trousers hitting the frame, nor my shoelaces. Very confusing. Unperturbed, I continued towards Wells, on a broadly flat route. Then I hit the Mendip hills, or rather, one very long hill out of Wells, with a couple of miles of mostly 5-7mph climbing round tight bends with fast traffic! Despite having looked on a map and seen that this road clings to the side of a hill looking over a valley, so should give good views, much of it was obscured by trees, so it wasn’t very rewarding at all! Eventually, after a little dip through Chewton Mendip, came the longer hill down into Farrington Gurney, where Hannah caught up with me at the Book Barn, a huge second hand book shop.
I had a quick coffee and slice of cake at the coffee shop there, and Hannah tried to help me figure out the clicking noise (it was annoying me now), before I set off again (still clicking), leaving Hannah to delight in the abundance of reading material. It was a fairly uneventful ride to Bath, although seeing the city in the distance at the bottom of a valley as I passed a ’5 miles to Bath’ marker was a good feeling, knowing that the next 5 miles would be easy going!
I ate some lunch in Bath, before heading off towards the A46, and was pleased to find a cycle route signed for the first few miles, not least because they were uphill (yup, 5-7mph) and the alternative route avoided me having to do that on a busy dual carriageway. There was still a fair bit of climbing to do once I joined the road, but the promised views did this time materialise, and so I stopped and took a quick photo. I need to buy an adapter to be able to post photos easily at the moment, but I hope to get some up before the end of the trip.
Onwards, and into South Gloucestershire, where I crossed the M4, thus loosing a lot of the traffic that had been struggling to overtake on the windy road from Bath. The campsite is near Horton, past Chipping Sodbury, so I continued a little past my planned stop to cycle to the campsite, as it’s easier than asking Hannah to pick me up and tying the bike to the car. It was exciting to see a warning of a 1:7 downhill into the village, although I did double check my map (that kind of wrong turn can be costly!). The hill went on for miles, which does now have me slightly worried about escaping the valley tomorrow, but it is another two shorter days leading to Birmingham, so it shouldn’t be too bad, even if there is a big climb at the start! We’re in a lovely quiet campsite, we have the whole place to ourselves, and it is sheltered and away from traffic for the first time so far on the trip. I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep!

The Stats
Distance: 43.53 m, Average: 12.7 mph, Max: 31.5 mph, Ride Time: 3 hours 25 mins, Total Time: 5 hours 45 mins

Day 5
Although we were promised sun today it failed to show up in the morning, which was a grey and drizzly affair, but after that, it did stay dry, which was once again very welcome. After climbing another 1:7 hill back out of the valley for the campsite, I was rewarded with a flat(ish) road, with less traffic than yesterday. Even better, I found another county border around the corner.

After a long downhill, I found the valley town of Nailsworth, then it was onto a disused railway track as part of the National Cycle Network into Stroud. It was on this ‘traffic free’ path that I almost had a crash! There was a hidden dip, and it was just at the same point as I entered it, that another cyclist from the opposite direction started descending, both of us assuming that the path ahead would be clear! Lots of skidding, sliding, narrowly avoiding and apologising to each other later, we both got on our way again! Another couple of miles and this path led into Stroud, where I met Hannah for a late morning snack. Being a short day it would soon become evident that I would finish for the day before lunchtime anyway!

As I left Stroud I climbed through Painswick, a pretty village that you see lots of when you cycle through in one direction (uphill) and very little (I would imagine) in the other! Back up into the Cotswolds, and a sign reminded me that walking here can be a dangerous sport.

From there onwards, it was a gentle ride with a long downhill and some pretty valley views to our campsite at Cheltenham. Arriving at lunchtime gave Hannah and I time to explore Gloucester in the afternoon, and buy the bit needed to upload photos (as you can see!) Tomorrow will be a bit of a longer day, hopefully I’ll make it through Birmingham and Saturday shoppers without issues!

P.S. The clicking noise is still there… narrowed it down to the crank shaft, but no signs of deterioration. Will try and strip it down after tomorrow’s ride to see if it can be seen/sorted.

The Stats
Distance: 31.67 m, Average: 13.2 mph, Max: 29.8 mph, Ride Time: 2 hours 23 mins, Total Time: 3 hours 45 mins

Day 6
From Cheltenham to Birmingham! A good morning, with mostly flat roads and a tailwind meant that my average speed was over 15 mph by lunch time when I met Hannah in Alcester, having crossed two county borders in the meantime.

The afternoon consisted of many more cycleways and canal paths, taking me through Redditch and into the centre of Birmingham on a virtually traffic free route along the Rye Valley. I got excited (in a sad geekish kind of way) at the solar powered cats eyes along both sides of the cycle path through the country park here! Having got to the city centre, I faced the challenge of getting back out again in Saturday afternoon shopper traffic, and the cycle route signage was not as good heading north, so I stuck to the main roads. I managed to avoid all the motorways and finished the day in Sutton Coldfield, before a very enjoyable evening with our hosts for the night in Great Barr.

The Stats
Distance: 61.33 m, Average: 14.1 mph, Max: 27.6 mph, Ride Time: 4 hours 20 mins, Total Time: 5 hours

For a different perspective on the trip so far, do read Hannah’s blog at rockangel.co.uk

Day 8
After a good night’s sleep in a Travelodge in Birmingham, I was ready to get on the road again, with my new assistant, my Dad! Hannah’s had to go back to work, so my Dad has come to help out for the remainder of the trip.

After a quick visit to a bike shop where they assured me that the clicking was nothing to worry about and was probably my left pedal I was underway, again with a quick morning leading me to Ashbourne, again with an average over 15 mph, probably due to the gale force winds tailing me for much of it! 2 more county borders and lots and lots of dumper trucks passing me, must be quarries nearby.

It got difficult from then on, because right at the beginning of the afternoon I entered the Peak District, with many more hills, and much less shelter from the wind, which was now blowing across me, slowing me down rather than speeding me up. With the wind and the large hills I was frequently slowing to 6 or 7 mph and stopping to catch my breath. Indeed, given the amount of tree debris I needed to go slower, but thankfully there were many fewer large lorries passing me now, so there was much less chance I would get blown into one (the bigger gusts did blow me one or two feet across the road). I heard a few rocks toppling off dry stone walls as I passed them too!

Once off the main road and heading for Bakewell I found my speed picked up a bit as I dropped into the valley, only to find more tree debris!

Finally, after a 14% hill down (42 mph!), a similar one back up, and a few wrong turns I found the campsite, a welcome break from the wind! Tomorrow is still due to be hilly and blustery, although a little less, and still dry, so I hope it works out okay, especially as I’ll still be following some ridge top roads in the morning. It may be a much slower and more tiring day!

The Stats
Distance: 56.37 m, Average: 13.5 mph, Max: 41.9 mph, Ride Time: 4 hours 9 mins, Total Time: 6 hours

For a different perspective on the trip from here onwards, my Dad will be guest blogging his experiences at Hannah’s blog rockangel.co.uk

Days 9-10
Both longer days for various reasons, mostly wind, rain and hills! That’s why I haven’t posted until now… Well, that and the fact that there’s no reception on any mobile network in the Yorkshire Dales, which makes life interesting when two of you are trying to meet up!

Yesterday (Tues) was good in the morning, once I’d climbed onto a ridge road, that kept me sheltered from the wind it was fairly easy going, with a few big dips and subsequent steep climbs. It was sunny too! Then in the afternoon, it was much harder going as the wind hit and I took a wrong turn after Huddersfield, 5 miles uphill into the wind! Fortunately the correction involved 5 miles downhill with a tailwind, taking me back towards Halifax. After that it was a very long uphill out of Halifax, not too steep, but very tiring, and then vey windy at the top, blowing rain into the side of me, which stung because of the wind speed on the hills! Finally I reached Haworth where I was met by my Dad for a lift to the campsite.

Today (Wed) I made it into the Dales along a fairly flat valley, but with a headwind until lunchtime, which made progress slow. Eventually I turned a corner, climbed a very long hill, and ended up with a long downhill and a tailwind (nearly 40mph on this one). Then along another valley with the tailwind still, and up a steep but shortish hill before Aysgarth Falls, which were at the bottom of a 25% hill! Up again out of the valley towards Castle Bolton, which was a little way up a hill that afterwards seemed to go on forever, probably about 3 miles climbing fairly steeply, which involved lots of stopping and wondering why I was doing this! Eventually, the moorland began to drop away, and I had a nice stretch with a few twists and turns going downhill for about 2 miles at up to 40 mph again! Arriving in Reeth I realised I still had no phone signal, meaning my Dad couldn’t find me, so I decided to wait by the road in the hope he drove by. Turns out (when he did find me) that he’d been waiting 2 miles earlier and I’d passed him!

Day 9 Stats
Distance: 65.72 m, Average: 11.5 mph, Max: 32.1 mph, Ride Time: 5 hours 42 mins, Total Time: 8 hours 25 mins

Day 10 Stats
Distance: 50.73 m, Average: 11.1 mph, Max: 40.9 mph, Ride Time: 4 hours 32 mins, Total Time: 7 hours 15 mins

Day 11
What a day! I am so pleased to have made it through 3 or 4 (depending how you count it) hill passes, most of which had some pretty steep and/or long climbs associated with them. Fortunately, they all had similar downhills, which was nice, especially as on one, towards the Northumberland border I reached 37 mph without pedalling! It does get frustrating when you see many lightly laden racing bikes passing you on the uphills as you pant for breath, stopping every 25 metres, so the downhills are a big bonus, the only times I can keep pace with racers!

The weather has been kind to me, with little wind and no rain, so it was only the hills I had to contend with. Unfortunately tomorrow’s forecast as I head into Scotland is not quite so nice, with heavy rain forecast for most of the day. Happily, the climbs are not so frequent or steep according to my maps.

My back brake blocks gave up yesterday (must be all these 40 mph downhills!) and so my Dad got a new set today which I have fitted this evening. I was reluctant to though, as my whole body was aching somewhat by the time I had got to the campsite. All in all though, today wasn’t as tough as I expected it to be, which has boosted my confidence for the rest of the trip – perhaps my fitness is actually improving! I might make it to John O’Groats by this time next week yet!

The Stats
Distance: 55.59 m, Average: 11.7 mph, Max: 37.7 mph, Ride Time: 4 hours 44 mins, Total Time: 7 hours 10 mins

Day 12
The wet day. Well, it started dry, for about the first 3 miles. I climbed out of the campsite, having carefully planned to follow a bridleway from the site that took me onto route again (campsites aren’t always exactly on the route!). However, what started of as a vehicle track quickly turned into a stony, bumpy path, then a stony bumpy, muddy, sloped path with a gorge beside it and brambles and nettles tall enough to touch the handlebars on my bike! Finally, when it came to a two plank bridge near the end of the path, once I had decided that this really wasn’t much of a bridleway and that the sign and Ordinance Survey should both be rebuked for calling it such, I met a jogger coming past me who confirmed that I was on the right path and that I would get to the next village by turning left at the road at the top. I’m pleased she told me, as the only sign at the top told me the way back to the campsite along the path I had emerged from. I rode along the road, through a farmyard and onto an unfenced section covered in sheep. I was beginning to wonder if this was a public road, or just a farm track, as I had seen no roadsigns and crossed no cattle grids! Even the road ahead was closed by a gate, which I dutifully stopped, opened, rode through, stopped and closed behind me. Fortunately my fears were hereby dealt with as I discovered a signpost with directions down the road I had come from, confirming it was indeed a right of way. The signpost even had a direction pointing to my next village destination! I eagerly followed onwards (especially as it pointed downhill), only to come to a T-junction with no signposts. By now, I was well and truly lost, as my planning the previous night on an OS map was on the iPad we have with us, and I only carry a paper road atlas map with me. Finally, after a bit of exploring both uphill and downhill on the road, I figured out where I thought I was and made a guess at the right way to go.

It turns out I was right, as I crossed the river at Chollerford, and continued along reasonably un-hilly (in comparison to the previous two days), but very bumpy and poorly surfaced roads to Kielder Water, where the rain kicked in. My Dad had been shopping in Hexham and caught up with me much later on as the traffic, weather and roads slowed him, so it was a late lunch just outside Kielder village and only a few miles from the Scottish border.

Onwards, and I soon crossed the border, the only photo of the day as I didn’t fancy stopping often in the bleak weather.

And back towards England!

The weather didn’t get any better as I climbed through a mountain pass and low cloud for a couple of hours to reach Bonchester Bridge. The looks on the face of the local motorists coming the other way as I descended were great to watch, I think they thought I was mad to cycle the pass on a day like today!

From Bonchester into Hawick was over a couple more ridges, but fairly easy going, but then I wasn’t able to find my Dad (he wasn’t answering his mobile), so I gave up, sent him a text and went to sit in Morrisson’s for a cup of tea. Eventually, my Dad found me, and the rain stopped (in that order). Once he arrived, I confirmed that the person who’d offered us a bed for the night hadn’t got back to me and wasn’t answering my calls, so we set about searching for a campsite, B&B or anywhere else to stay that was close enough and cheap enough for us to be able to afford it. Eventually we found somewhere (having been quoted prices up to £120 for both of us), and it has been lovely so far. It’s nice to be able to dry off inside a house, rather than a tent!

Thank you to everyone that prayed and helped look for places for us to stay!

The Stats
Distance: 56.65 m, Average: 12.5 mph, Max: 35.3 mph, Ride Time: 4 hours 31 mins, Total Time: 6 hours 20 mins

Day 13
A long day! Eventually made it to the campsite at Kinross. The day was reasonably flat with the biggest climbs being at either end, first over some hills to Selkirk, and at the end, into Edinburgh, out of Edinburgh, and across Fife.

The day was mostly on-road, and mostly dry along the valley from Selkirk to Peebles for lunch, but I did hit a little rain after that as I skirted the Moorfoot hills and dropped towards the outskirts of Edinburgh. It was just before lunch my right knee started hurting quite badly, but I decided to continue and complete the day. Central Edinburgh was a little tricky to find the cycle path I was looking for, but far easier than Birmingham as my knowledge of Edinburgh centre is better! (Bear in mind that I have been following a car road atlas that I’ve torn sheets out of, so city centre detail isn’t great!)

National Cycle Network Route 1 is very good out of Edinburgh once you’ve got past the new tram system they are building. It follows an old rail line, then more footpaths across to Queensferry and the Forth Bridge. The east footpath on the bridge was closed, so it was a trip down the subway to the other side, and then across the bridge, which has a 15mph speed limit for cyclists. It was very busy, and judders lots as heavy trucks pass, made a little more disconcerting that the bridge is suffering structural issues!

Although my original plan was to follow NCN 1 through Dunfermline and on to Kinross, I changed my mind once in Inverkeithing, instead opting for a busier but more direct B road to Kinross. Several hills later I made it, but not before crossing another county border.

It was here, about 6 miles from Kinross that I discovered both my panniers had broken, and one was hanging inches from the ground! Fortunately I was able to tie it onto the luggage rack for the remaining few miles, over one final hill into Kinross. As I write on Sunday afternoon, my knee is somewhat better, thanks to the restful day off, but we shall see how it copes with the 300 or so miles ahead in the next 4 days!

The Stats
Distance: 80.88 m, Average: 12.6 mph, Max: 37.7 mph, Ride Time: 6 hours 23 mins, Total Time: 8 hours 20 mins

Day 15
Monday, and time to get back on the bike after a day off. Fortunately my right knee which had been giving me some trouble on Saturday seemed better, and I made it to the agreed lunch stop in under 2 hours, before I was hungry and before it was sensible to eat, so we moved that a few villages further along to somewhere called Waterloo.

Getting to lunch time was so easy because most of the trip was downhill, through a gorge valley that had obviously had a difficult time of the storms last week, there were many branches and bits of tree that had been dragged onto the side of the road, and even more fallen trees as I looked down across the water. Once I was in Perth, I found the cycle path that I would be following for the rest of the day fairly easily, and it took me along beside the river for several miles. At one point was evidence of a significant landslide/erosion with a tree precariously balanced on a hilltop over the river.

Onwards, and the run up to lunch was country lanes, following NCN 77, and then 7, roughly alongside the A9. At Dunkeld I popped into the Hilton (well, almost) as the cycle path uses their driveway to get you to the river, and then follows the river back to the A9. Rather confusingly here, I had to turn the wrong way back across the river on the A9 to get to another valley road that ran alongside the river and parallel to the A9, just on the other side of the valley (and with much less traffic). Unfortunately, the downside to these roads is that they often aren’t as flat as their dual carriageway counterparts, and towards the end of this stretch the road climbed significantly, which was frustrating when I could see the flat A9 in the valley below!

Although my scheduled stop was Pitlochry, I’d agreed with my Dad to continue for a few more miles to take the edge off tomorrow, which otherwise would have been much longer than today. In the end I have climbed half way up to the high point of Drumochter Pass, where my I was met for a lift back to the campsite in the car. The extra distance takes about 20 miles off tomorrow’s distance, but I may well push on then too, and try and make Inverness tomorrow evening, which is further than was planned. The sign on the way up to the pass was I think intended to encourage you to make sure you at least have warm clothes and waterproofs with you!

The Stats
Distance: 66.31 m, Average: 12.4 mph, Max: 28.1 mph, Ride Time: 5 hours 20 mins, Total Time: 7 hours

Day 16
The pre-penultimate day. A bit of a tough climb first thing up the remainder of Drumochter Summit, but I’m pleased that my efforts yesterday meant I was already half way there. As I got close to the top, the promised sudden change of weather that the sign yesterday mentioned happened, with rain and severe winds blowing against me, to the point that I put my gloves on for the first time this trip, my hands were so cold! At the peak, only a quick stop for a photo of the county border, as it was raining and cold and I didn’t want to stick around long. (If you’re wondering why some photos have me in, and some just my bike, the ones without me generally mean it’s raining and I don’t want to perch my camera on a wet surface to do a timer shot!). Incidentally the railway to Inverness climbs the pass also, making it the highest point on the UK mainline rail network.

The next few miles were reasonably quick, but not too much downhill, it was pretty gradual really. As I went through one of the villages my left knee suddenly started hurting, much worse than my right knee has up until this point. I may need to get them checked out after this trip! For half a mile or so, I was seriously wondering if I would have to give up, the pain was so bad, but it eased, and gradually I was able to continue, although I have spent the rest of the day taking it easy so as not to make things too much worse.

After much confusion about where we were actually going to meet, I eventually found my Dad in Aviemore, the popular ski and tourist resort. For such a small village the array of shops in the centre was quite amazing, including a full Tesco and shops like Fat Face, Julian Graves and Blacks, plus plenty of gift shops in a big shopping centre! Obviously tourism is well and truly alive here!

Off again, and having been got some painkillers by my Dad, I began to climb the second pass of the day, Slocht Summit, passing the historic bridge in Carrbridge on the way. Another narrow pass with the railway on one side and the A9 the other, and more rain as I climbed, but it was dry enough for a photo of me on this one.

As I dropped towards Inverness I passed by our campsite for the evening, quite by chance, but knowing I was not far from Inverness and would likely not need my repair or safety gear, I dropped off my panniers with my Dad there, continuing to Inverness on a much lighter bike! I chose here not to follow the NCN route into Inverness, which would have added 4-5 miles to the distance, but instead joined the A9 dual carriageway over a large ridge, before dropping on a long smooth slope towards the city. I stopped on the outskirts for my Dad to pick me up and head back to the campsite, but as it was rush hour we decided to have a meal out at a supermarket instead whilst the traffic cleared.

Heading further than planned yesterday and today has had a positive effect on the last two days mileage ahead, so I should be able to do around 60 miles on both, making them easier days as I head towards the finish line!

The Stats
Distance: 70.05 m, Average: 13.5 mph, Max: 30.9 mph, Ride Time: 5 hours 10 mins, Total Time: 7 hours 20 mins

Day 17
Another long day today has meant I have a relatively short day tomorrow to reach the finish line at John O’Groats (about 50 miles). It started with a 2 mile loop in Inverness as the cycle route forks, but then the signs are somewhat sparse and the ones I followed ended up taking me back to where I started, so I gave up and followed my sense of direction instead, which took me across the suspension bridge onto The Black Isle. The rain and wind gradually increased here, and although there was cycle path for some of it, eventually I ended up joining the A9 dual carriageway, which didn’t have a hard shoulder here, leaving me on the carriageway in what was quite poor visibility (I was struggling to see another bike about 100m ahead of me!). After not too long, there was a roundabout and some of the traffic left, along with the road turning single carriageway, so a little safer.

The rain continued as I got to Cromarty Firth, where there were roadworks slowing things down on the bridge. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long in the rain for the temporary lights, and was soon across the mile or so long causeway. The lights also gave me an advantage for the next 10 or so miles that the traffic mostly came in batches, so there were quieter spots. The wind was also behind me well here, so the 20 or so miles to lunch were relatively easy, but my left knee did start hurting again here.

Following lunch at a lovely little cafe (sunflower themed) in Tain, I thought I’d better stop to take a photo (no county borders left to cross!), so I did as I crossed Dornoch Firth, my last major bridge.

(Photo tomorrow!)

From there it got a bit hilly, skirting Loch Fleet and the coastal mountains. Passing Golspie and Brora, I made it just past Helmsdale, up a very big hill, before being picked up and taken to the campsite by my Dad.

The campsite is actually closer to John O’Groats than my stopping point, in Dunbeath, so on the way I got to see the even bigger hills I’ll be tackling tomorrow morning. Fortunately it flattens out a bit after here, towards Wick, so the worst stuff will be out the way first.

The Stats
Distance: 73.77 m, Average: 14.4 mph, Max: 32.6 mph, Ride Time: 5 hours 7 mins, Total Time: 7 hours

Day 18
The last day! Yippee! As I said it would, the day started with a few big hills, through a road with closure gates for snow in winter! I met another ‘End to Ender’ cycling up one of them as I was being dropped off, but as he was slower than I was I overtook him and didn’t see him for the rest of the day. It was on one of these hills very close to the campsite where we have been staying that I reached my top speed of the trip at over 42 mph!

The road flattened out somewhat after that, although it still had quite a few dips and turns, none were as bad as the first few, and eventually, after what seemed like an age, I could see Wick in the distance, the last town before the end. About 3 miles before Wick, my back tyre had started making a very strange noise, as if something were trapped in it. Upon closer inspection I realised I had a puncture, but the self healing inner was trying to repair itself, unsuccessfully. I decided to take it easy but take advantage of the partially repaired tube, allowing me to catch up with my Dad who was at a retail park just on the approach to Wick.

After a quick repair, a drink and some snacks (it was a bit early for a proper lunch), I carried on, with only just over 17 miles to the end. The road turned into the wind asI left Wick, making it very hard going for a couple of miles before I again turned north east, with the wind. The luxury was fairly short lived however, as the wind ended up mostly cutting across me quite viciously, meaning I could only do around 10 mph for many of the last 14 or so miles. The last 4 miles are particularly bad as there is a big hill and the road climbs around it, meaning whichever direction you are coming from at some point you are likely to face a headwind, and being exposed to the sea, lots of it!

Eventually, having passed another struggling cyclist on the climb I made it, down the hill for the last couple of miles, through John O’Groats village and to the finish line at the harbour where my Dad was waiting to take photos. I’ll post them up soon, probably in the car on the way back tomorrow. Unfortunately the start and finish line at the hotel was out of reach as the hotel was undergoing building work, so the sign in point was at a little cafe on the site.

Having phoned Hannah and my Mum to let them know we’d arrived, I set about eating lunch, before an afternoon visiting the tourist shops on site and popping up to Duncansby Head (by car), the ‘actual’ most northeasterly point by road (far hillier to get to and far far windier!)

I’m now back at the campsite having gone out for a celebratory meal, and getting ready for a long drive south tomorrow!

The Stats
Distance: 49.18 m, Average: 13.7 mph, Max: 42.2 mph, Ride Time: 3 hours 33 mins, Total Time: 5 hours 10 mins