Lands end to John O'Groats

[jonny jeez]

DAY TEN- East!

Thursday, 3 October 2013

Like Hadrian before us, today we would bisect Scotland, travelling from the far west to the furthest east, in preparation for the final leg up to John O Groats.
We're close now, close enough to begin to feel success and and at the same time close enough for the danger of complacency to creep in.
There have been one or two daft things happening within the group today, things that would never have been done a week ago, when there was so much to do but now, with the finish line on the horizon the group is beginning to let its guard down here and there.
To me, its vital to remain on my game, to keep it business as usual. I don't want to take any risks or cut any corners. There will doubtless be plenty of opportunity for high jinks and celebrations in Inverness....after the finish line, and I plan to enjoy those with abandon then.
For now though, its all about the rain. Leaving the relative shelter of the Hostel in Loch Lochy and stepping out into stair rods of rain, was a shock to the system.



So far on this tour we have enjoyed unseasonably clement weather, almost perfect in fact ....if it weren't for those meddling head winds!, as Scooby might say.
Oddly though, something inside me relished the opportunity to ride in filthy weather, I kind of want to be able to say I did this in "all sorts" and that it wasn't just a fair weather ride. Whether I truly wanted this or not, my ambition was achieved today...in spades
Whilst foolishly wishing for rain, at the same time, I would have liked to be able to enjoy the area that we rode today a little more. The Inverness region, along with the Cairngorm, occupies a privileged place in my heart and to have to blast through it all, head down and concentrating on nothing but the 8 feet of road in front of you, was a small disappointment.
Our route this morning was to take us through the beautiful and tiny town of Fort Augustus and along the stunning northern shore of loch Ness.


Whilst Nessy herself didn't make an appearance we did enjoy watching a TV crew attempt to make a "lottery Nessy", complete with huge lottery ball inflatable humps, float past Urquhart castle...in the pouring rain.





We approached the halfway mark along the shore at about 30 miles (..30 miles...HALFWAY! .....Loch Ness is enormous!) and turned to face our nemesis for the day.
Drumnadrochit is an immense steep and fearsome hill, at nearly 1000 feet tall and boasting a 15% incline, its prowess was the topic of conversation all morning, even beating the now awful weather into relegation.
Everything we had heard was true, the switch back bends, the gradient, the height...oh the height! But despite all this, the hill surprisingly passed without any major issues. It amazes me how much more stamina we all now have. Hills that would have deserved a long detour before we began this challenge, are now everyday occurrences, taken in our stride and cycled over whilst in full chat. This isn't an exaggeration, I would literally never have taken on a number of the hills that we now climb, on a day to day basis.
Ascending the "Drum" reminded me of this huge group accomplishment, of my own improvement and, most of all...how far we had come.
The top of this hill is a lost world, flat and quiet, with huge calm lakes and clouds hanging in the trees. A brief respite from the rain, accompanied with these breathtaking surroundings, served as the perfect reward and for the second time today Drumnadrochit took our breath away. However, as the rain crept in again and we realised we had almost 50 miles more to ride.


Atop the Drum'


Angus, with some one else's helmet on.


We rode on, as we have had to do so many times, passing this magnificent place with a promise to return another time when we had less to accomplish and more time to spend.
The rain kept loyal company, refusing to leave us for even a moment.
By the lunch stop in Dingwall, we were well and truly soaked...through to the skin. I could wring a cup of water from each glove and my shirt...underneath my "waterproof" coat...was stuck firmly to my skin. My strategy to load a spare set of dry clothes on the lunch van proved a master stroke and I left the lunch stop, dry and warm.


Philip, Grinning like a fool


Just in time, for the rain to stop...
We climbed up away from Dingwall onto a ridge that followed the busier A9. The road was high, long, straight and mostly abandoned by cars and pretty soon we were stopping to strip of various layers of clothing...
...Funny this Scottish weather.




The last section of road to our hotel, took us along single track estate roads, Lined by ferns and forests, twisting and winding their way through the terrain, occasionally throwing up long, uninterrupted straights along which we purred, contentedly.


Craig, sleep-riding




The rain tried to join us once more but its persistence couldn't match ours and we finally rocked up at the Royal Hotel in the town of Tain, dry and happy.


The "Royal" Tain



It had been a soaking wet ride, starting dark and cold and ending dry and beautiful. Tomorrow is our final "full" days riding, we will by then have covered over 970 miles and will be 30 miles from our target.

Nobody knows what the weather wants to do tomorrow, it seems so changeable that its impossible to call it, other than to call it, simply... "Scottish".

 

[jonny jeez]

DAY ELEVEN- Chain Gang

Friday, 4 October 2013


Our Stay at the Royal Hotel, Tain was Tain-ted marginally (see what I did there?) by the appalling breakfast service, which left a good number of the team without breakfast and heading off on a 75 mile ride ...empty.

As we pushed our bikes out for the penultimate days riding, we were warned of a 50% chance of fog and rain to come. Choosing clothing, like so many days before became the topic of conversation, most of us decided to brave it and wear arm warmers and gillets...or a combination of this theme. Full coats were rare but the chill of the fog soon made those of us without them, wonder if we had made the wrong choice.


The Mist out of Tain

The road out of Tain soon led us to the Dornoch Firth, a usually tempestuous body of water pulled fast by strong currents and changing tides. Today, however, the Dornoch Firth chose to welcome us with a silky wave.....we waved back, grateful for the sentiment, posed for photographs and then stood, silently in awe.






There was more to come....

Mountains pushed through the clouds to came say hello, the wind respectfully left us to it, the road ran smooth and all the while the sun worked double time to burn off the mist and colour in the surroundings still more.



It seemed the entire World...no the Solar system... was coming together to welcome us along, this mornings ride felt magical so far

...but still there was more to come

The road continued to run smooth, enhanced all along by the misty beauty of the surrounding forests and ferns.





We picked up pace and began to detect traces of a new environment through the muffling fog. The smell of salt in the air, the noise of crashing waves and then, through the fog a sudden and dramatic view... of the North Sea.




The moment wasn't lost on us. Whilst we still had a log way to ride we were moved by the realisation that we had ridden, under our own steam from Atlantic Coast to the meeting of the North sea, across the entire length of Great Britain.

It was an exciting moment and none of us could take our eyes off of the waves rising up as vast, white horses and evaporating in dramatic sprays backlit perfectly by the rising sun.




But....there was STILL more to come.

Our progress was somewhat halted by a small and insignificant issue (insignificant to all but me). As we approached a hill, I shifted down and with a gentle and undramatic clatter, my chain gave out, snapped and fell to the tarmac. It was a relatively simple problem to fix, a quick donning of latex gloves, a break of the chain, removal of the offending link, assisted all the time by a myriad of helping hands all working as a team, relinking a chain had never been so easy and within minutes my chain gang had us on the move again.

This small mechanical moment was a major disappointment to me, up until this point I had suffered no mechanical issues, no punctures, no brake squeal ... I hadn't even had to put air in my tyres for over 900 miles. I was looking forward to reporting a clean ride of over 1000 miles but it wasn't to be. Still, I refused to swap the chain and chose instead to ride on ...intactus... for the rest of the ride.

It was a decision that could cost me dearly. Removing a link isn't a big issue, removing a few is and without a replacement I could soon be in the wilds, without the means to ride. I pushed on and left the group to enjoy the comfort of a local coffee shop. My strategy was to get as far ahead as possible so, in the event of another issue, I could either try to fix the chain without holding up progress, or wait it out for the guys to join me.

As I left Helmsbridge, I rode alone into the wild, wilds of Scotland...and this is where it got really good.

Sutherland, the area of the Scottish Highlands I was now entering, was like nothing I had seen before (in real life) it was a movie set of trout streams and wild, flat fens banked by huge mountain ranges sat far on each horizon. Not a sound existed, save the wind, the streams and the occasional birdlife. It was heavenly and I was strangely happy to be alone to enjoy it.













Occasionally I stopped riding, just to soak up the silence, look around and try to take it all in. It was inspiring terrain and I pushed on, my pace growing faster and faster as I swept over small stone bridges and between fern tracks.






This was the most beautiful riding I had even been privileged to enjoy and was worth the 900 miles before it, I had earned this ride and I was bloody well going to enjoy it. All fears of my chain snapping were put to one side and I grinned hugely as I progressed on and on....after a short visit to the woods for a...er...comfort break



My last "on the road" lunch was served from a verge, bang in the middle of this glorious area. Bacon Butties were produced as a last super treat and I was grateful to once again be in the company of others as we moved off toward Thurso.



Some 45 miles of glorious head-spinningly beautiful riding later, we finally saw the North coast, which was as far as we could ride on this particular Island, without turning right.







15 miles after our last right turn...we arrived at the over confidently named Royal Hotel in Thurso.

Today had without any doubt been a highlight of this tour, made somehow more adventurous by the jeopardy of my weakened chain, the constant clicking a reminder that it could...at any point...throw in the towel.

I loved it and would love to share it with my family sometime. I promise some day I shall.

 

[jonny jeez]

DAY TWELVE- Closure

Saturday, 5 October 2013


Waking in the truly awful Royal Hotel In Thurso this morning, wasn't a great start but the knowledge that only a short 30 mile ride came between us and our final goal, spurred us on to the point that we were raring to go ... and go we did, at full pace for Dunnet head, the most Northerly point of the U.K, where we would stop briefly before progressing onwards the last 20 miles, to John O Groats.

My chain had received some much needed TLC over night and was running smooth (still I picked up an emergency power link in the local bike shop...just in case), giving me the confidence to push it hard. We crept up to an average speed of 25 MPH, impressive in this exposed environment and moved ahead.




The road was flat and featureless, offering little of any interest other than a forceful headwind and, as we each turned off for the 12 mile detour to Dunnet, the pack began to brake up. Instinctively and without discussion, we each gave one another space, some were emotional, some were introspective but all wanted a little room to themselves, to take in the enormity of our achievement.




Dunnet Head, whilst an important destination was a slight disappointment to me, not because of its look or position (both wild and beautiful) but because for the very first time on this ride, the detour to the head required us to retrace our steps back to the main road, I preferred the feeling of constant progression that I had enjoyed throughout the tour and was keen to find new tarmac to explore.






John O Groats awaited.

Another 20 miles of featureless road and relentless headwind ... and we found ourselves holed up in the Sea View hotel a few hundred yards from John O Groats...whilst we waited.

Spirits were high and each of us did our best to ignore our proximity to the goal, drank instant coffee and welcomed the rest of the group as they arrived in dribs and drabs.

Then we were off...en-mass for the crossing of the finish line.




My chain held, as did my legs, and after 1000 miles of riding, across England Wales and Scotland. We were here...in one successful group, no failures, no drop outs all winners and all elated.














I did it!!!

I rode from Lands End to John O Groats, in the late Summer of 2013 with 20 mates and one fantastic, beautiful and totally dependable bike.

What ever next........



HOLD ON!!!,
I need to add something to this day .. .an addendum if you will.

Once our celebrations at John O'Groats (JOG) had finished...which took a while, The DA team loaded the bikes onto the two support vans, while we grabbed coffees and reminisced.

After picking up a packed lunch (again DA sorted this) we loaded ourselves onto a coach and prepared to travel, for the first time in two weeks, through the landscape under the power of something other than our own legs.

It was odd, to not be shouting "HOLE" or "CAR UP!" at various times and even more odd just how slowly the coach seemed to travel. It took over 3 hours to drive from J.O.G to Inverness. I couldn't help think that we, with our now strong legs and even firmer spirit, could have managed it in less time by bike.

I was delirious of course.

When we eventually arrived at the Hotel some of us separated to our rooms for a uncommonly early shower, a spruce up and in some instances a snooze. The remainder of the group scuttled off into town in search of gifts for loved ones, souvenirs and proper coffee. I did all three and somewhere along the way incorporated a snooze too, Costa can be accommodating that way.

When we reconvened at the hotel for our celebration dinner I was informed by my ride buddy Angus, that he had never been in a hotel that was occupied almost entirely of cyclists who had ridden across Britain...we were a rowdy bunch that night. Philip, had been secretly organising a surprise (since the ferry trip in Largs) and presented each and everyone of us with a smashing, engraved medal. We all felt like Olympians and it added a level of achievement to the ever noisier commotions.

We were a real team, with badges to prove it!



Some drank, some nattered, all laughed...and some even grabbed the rare chance of a decent wifi connection, to blog it all up





But what fianlly made the evening special was the utterly surprising and totally out of character appearance by Don, "The Don".

Up until now Don had presented himself as a strong willed, no nonsense chap big on action and not one to dally in the sentimental or creative aspects of life.

until tonight.

The room was ushered to a quiet murmur and to the raucous sound of bagpipes in full glory, The Don entered all red faced and puffing cheeks, to deliver a near faultless rendition of Scotland the Brave...on his own set of Bagpipes, brought along especially for the opportunity.

It was awesome, perfectly apt, emotional and utterly ... utterly surreal.

Thanks Don, there were times when watching you ride full pelt down hill on the wrong side of the road, scared the absolute bejesus out of me ... but tonight you showed us all your true colours.

well played The Don.

 

[jonny jeez]

FACTOIDS



I wanted to add this post as more of a Q&A, or reference, for anyone considering a 2 week supported cycle tour from Lands End to John O Groats.
When I first thought about undertaking this challenge, I found myself scouring the internet for answers and sometimes for questions, to settle my mind and better prepare.

So, I thought it would be helpful to put down all the biggest questions that I could think of about a 2 week ride across Britain ... and give my view on the answers.

So here goes.

1. Can I do this?
While many people will say "anyone can do it" this is most probably more of an encouragement than fact. Those that say this most likely enjoyed the challenge so much that they want as many people as possible to share the experience and therefore will want everyone to have a go.

My answer is probably a little more pragmatic.

Whilst I agree, anyone who can ride a bike CAN complete the challenge. there is a lot more to it than just "completing". If you want to enjoy the ride, in particular the early days, then a level of training is recommended.

If you aim to complete the tour within a fortnight, I would suggest you train on your average speed. There is no need to be at the front of the pack all day, speeding up hills at 20 mph, no one expects that... But you will be expected to ride 100 miles a day. Pure maths dictates that if you ride at 5 mph then you cannot finish the miles in a single day. Therefore, you will be struggling from the get go, will feel deflated and awash with self doubt and worry.

My advice is simple. Go out and ride 20 miles, over flat as well as hilly terrain. If you can ride 20 miles at an AVERAGE pace of between 10 and 20 mph, then you are more than capable of completing this challenge.

Be aware, I said AVERAGE. Time the ride and divide the TOTAL distance accurately to calculate your average mph...or use a cycle computer to keep an average pace as you ride.

If you ride at 10 mph, you will finish ... but will likely finish last each day and that may deflate you over the entire 12 days. Its also possible that at this pace you will spend a good deal of the day riding on your own, which is tougher mentally and physically as you have no one to draft, no one to keep pace for you and no one to just have a giggle and a chat with.

If you ride at 14-16 mph, you will ride with the pack all day long, enjoy the company, the laughs and the motivation that riding in a group will offer. You wont struggle (any more than the rest of the group) and you will enjoy the entire experience a lot more.

If you ride at 18 mph or more than, you will finish each day at about 4.00 (perhaps before, depending on the time spent at stops), will have plenty of time to relax but may miss out on the fun of riding in the main pack. That said if you can ride at the higher speed, you can choose to pace yourself and ride wherever you wish within the entire group at any time.

I found I was capable of completing a 100 mile day at 18 mph but often rode at 15, sometimes at 13. I enjoyed each of these speeds for different reasons...but enjoyed the sense that I could choose, even more.

To ride at any speed within the group, start training at least 6 months prior to leaving. Get a couple of back to back rides of 60 miles plus under your belt, get up to an average mileage of at least 100 miles a week and work that up to an average of 200 miles a week for the three or four weeks prior to leaving. Don't worry too much about hill training, work on mileage.

Also, what ever speed you wish to train for, ride at least TWO 100 mile rides at some point before you go. Do this, not for distance training but to see what the bike does to you over that distance...in particular what it does to your arse. Find shorts, longs, tights and a position that is comfortable...this will pay massive dividends on the trip as you will be comfortable (ish) for the entire tour.

2.Which are the Hardest Days
This, of course depends upon your organiser and route. However, if you choose DA and take the same route as I did then I guess I can answer this. Many factors contributed towards what I feel were the hardest days and I don't want to "spoil" your ride but if you read these pages then you will see that I initially considered Day 2 to be the most challenging. It was full of long hard climbs with 15% drops and punishing ups to follow. Oddly though, with hindsight, day 2 wasnt too bad, it was packed with breathtaking views and by then I had relaxed and already formed close alliances with other riders, as such we kind of helped each other along on day 2 and it became immensely enjoyable.
So for me, (despite the Drum in the Highlands) Day 1 was actually the best... and the worse day.
Work that one out!
Day 1 was full of excitement, everything was new and we were all showing off to stake a position in the pack. This made it good fun but at the end of the day, on the climb out of St Austell I met a long steep hill that pooped me out good and proper. I lost the lead pack and had to work hard to recapture them, only to then get held up by 5 consecutive red lights (FIVE...I think I didn't see another red light for about 700 miles!!) within a mile and was left well behind. My mood instantly dropped and I thought it was a sign of things to come. As it turned out I regrouped at the tea stop to find that everyone had struggled and despite the lights, I was only a few minutes behind the lead. So that hill and the fact that we all got much better at hills as the tour went on, means that Day 1, for me was the hardest (at the end)

3.Are there tons of nasty hills?
No. Sure there are a few that you would normally avoid...and wont on the tour...but there are surprisingly few and even more surprisingly, the worst collection of hills are in the South, not the North. The ride actually flattens out considerably around day 3-6 and by day 9 you are properly bike fit and can take on any hill in your stride...
4.What happens if I get Ill or injured?
Prepare yourself with anti informatory's (Ibroprofen), immodium and diralite, there are tales of wet rides kicking up bugs off of the road and giving riders unsettled tummys. We avoided this in the main but its worth preparing. As for injury, for small injury's there is support and first aid within the DA team and one rider in the pack is likely to know a bit too. For more long term issues, you have an option to ride out a day in the vans and suffer the knowledge that you didn't complete the challenge. Some hotels had a sports masseuse available and each stop tends to be near a town, or via one, so essentials can be picked up in a chemist if needed. I had my knee strapped up with Rock tape on day 4, as it was complaining considerably despite shifting my seat height, this saw me right through to Day 12 successfully.
5.Who do I do the trip with?
I Chose to use "Discover Adventure":
https://www.discoveradventure.com/


L-R Ian, Jen and Lahcen, the DA crew

6.What does it cost?
Discover Adventure (DA) operate a lot of tours in many parts of the world and seemed to have this LEJOG thing pretty well worked out. You can choose to go with them under sponsorship or without. Under sponsorship means that you pay £300 and your sponsor commits to paying the rest (£1200) so long as you raise at least £3,000 in sponsorship. They do so, typically, out of the tax relief that the government provides on every donation, so your charity gets all the sponsorship that you raise, and you get a trip for £300. If you choose to go without sponsorship, the trip costs about £2k, I believe.

7.What does that Include?
Initially, I felt that £1500 (total cost) was a lot for a trip but having done the tour, I am now totally convinced that I would never, in a million years, get close to that cost on my own, without staying in a tent each night. For the cost we received;

• A three man (women) support team.
• All accommodation
• All food, including a full buffet Breakfast and three course evening meal
• All soft drinks (whilst riding)
• Two tea/water stops a day, as much as you can eat/drink
• One buffet lunch a day, as much as you can eat
• The logistics of moving our kit each day, taken care of for us.
• Written route notes each day
• Written route maps each day
• Waterproof bags, in abundance, each day
• Route briefing each day
• GPX route data for each day (Garmins and the like)
• DA tee shirt
• Tons of advice and motivational support.
• Technical backup in the form of spare parts, an entire backup bike (that was used on our trip) and general consumables (tubes, tyres, oil etc)

Our accommodation ranged from a few nights in Premier Inns, (which never disappoint) , one night in a Hostel, which was occupied by only us and felt like a fraternity house (this was a good nights stay) and a few very posh hotels (5 star) with spas, pools and masseuse thrown in. Each night we had a three course meal (of our choice, the night before) and were able to make shopping orders for spares to DA, who somehow found the time between setting up tea stops, lunch stops, and carting luggage, to go and find bike shops too!
We had a couple of mix ups along the way such as the GPX (Garmin) maps not matching the route notes, which meant that on one day those on Garmins, missed a tea stop. in addition, some of the group were expecting a tail end Charlie truck (sweeper truck) to follow the last rider each day. This wasn't provided, nor needed but some were initially worried about being left alone.
This all works out at an average of £125 a day. The hotels alone must have cost that for some nights (the Hotel we stayed at in Inveraray cost £199 a room!), let alone the three course meals, lunches, teas and support.
But the overriding value, is the lack of having to think, or worry about anything. its all taken care of, you just take care of the riding part.
You can even use the lunch/tea trucks to mule spare clothes and bits and bobs to various parts of the route each day, a real life saver when the weather is changeable.
8.How hard is it?
Its a tough challenge. You will cycle 100 miles (on average) each day, over anything between 7-10 hours a day. Some of the hills are MONSTERS and some days contain a good number.
BUT...here's the odd thing.
Its not as hard as it sounds, truly.
If you have trained you will find that breaking the days riding into 4 parts is relatively straight forward (20-30 miles a piece). and will ride to "tea" pretty easily, rest for 20-30 mins (less if its cold or wet), ride another 20-30 miles, stop for lunch (always in the dry...except for one day) rest for an hour, then its off to tea again some 20-30 miles later.
So you ride for a couple or few hours and rest, ride, rest, ride...etc ... all the while eating and drinking the right foods to carry you along.
On the hills front, you will find that, after a few days, you will just get on with them and not really find them such an issue. Even the really hard ones only take 10 minutes to get over (less most times) and once they are done, you forget about them. Some riders will even choose to walk the really nasty hills, others would never dream of it.
One thing is for sure, you will gain a good level of bike-fitness during the trip, whether you want to or not.
9.How do I get to and from each end of the country?
These initial logistics are down to you and are not as simple as you may think. We took a train down to Penzance and took the option of DA putting us up in a hotel (for £45) and then transferring us to Lands end the next day. On the way back from Scotland, we hired a van from Inverness as we were travelling as a three man group, so this was the cheapest way to get home (with three heavy bags, three bikes and three blokes). Trains and planes are of course an option on the way back and you can opt to send your bike by DA courier at an additional cost. Either way, you will be transferred to Inverness after the last days ride, by DA to make things simple.

Warning, Driving back to London takes at least 12 hours, you will be tired and getting more tired the more time you spend away from the exercise of riding, so split the driving or take a plane.



10.What do I take to wear?
DA will advise you to take very little and suggest you wear riding clothes of an evening. This is mostly because they have to lift your bags across the country each day (Sorry Ian Liz and Lachen!)... so ignore this and take some evening clothes. Perhaps a few shirts, a pair of jeans, a change of shoes...anything to make you feel more human each evening.
And take a swimming costume!!, trust me, some of the hotels have lovely pools that you WILL want to relax in.
Other than that, take a good number of cycle jerseys (perhaps no less than 6) ditto on the shorts and however many arm warmers/jackets/socks that you wish. I set out my kit list in one of my early posts for you to refer to if it helps.
I used everything on that list except the leg warmers and the fleece, as we were blessed with unseasonably warm weather throughout. (if you call 10 degrees warm!)
11. Do I need any special skills?
Special, no but it is worth ensuring that you are comfortable riding with one hand (its helpful to point out pot holes to the pack) and can look clearly over your shoulder without wobbling too much (sorry if that sounds obvious).
Other than that I would suggest you get used to riding in a pack/Peleton. Drafting is a particular skill that will help on the trip (google it) and one worth picking up.
Be sure you now how to brake in the wet, and take bends at speed in the wet and the dry...or don't ride at speed, whichever works.
Lastly, its not a skill as such but I would be sure you now how to ride in heavy traffic. A couple of days will require you to negotiate city fringes and main roads full of fast moving heavy lorries and in some cases, nose to tail traffic. If you want to keep abreast of city cycling skills then check out this link..
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12757785/guide.pdf
It should help with the basics regards pinch points and primary positioning.
12.Do I need to take supplements?
Unless you have an overriding medical condition or need, then no. All the energy you require will be provided by the meals, tea stops, drinks and snacks that the organisers lay on. I didn't use a single gel or drink additive throughout the entire tour and I worked pretty hard each day.
12a.Will I enjoy it?
Without any doubt...100% Yes.
How do I know?... because if you have taken the time to read this long ... and frankly dull post, then you are clearly very interested, which means you are the perfect candidate to not just complete this challenge ...but enjoy every second.
Good luck
PS, one last thing I should mention as its become a question asked of me a lot recently. All of the photos contained on this blog, as well as the vast amount of footage on the associated videos (not those shot on a pole cam) were all captured and edited by my fantastic Nokia Lumia 925. Its a brilliant handset with an even more brilliant camera facility, it didnt put a foot wrong on the entire trip.
If you want to see more examples of what this cam-phone is capable of, check out my Flckr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/106139784@N07/

 

[Spinney]

That's a great write-up, and lots of good info at the end.
It doesn't quite make me want to take on a LEJOG, but it does make me want to get myself and the bike up to Scotland this year!

 

[joanna]

Wow, sounds like you had an amazing time - and I love the pics!

 

[jonny jeez]

That's a great write-up, and lots of good info at the end.
It doesn't quite make me want to take on a LEJOG, but it does make me want to get myself and the bike up to Scotland this year!

Its an awesome trip and you'd be able to spend the third night at home!!

Go on...do it!!!

 

[jonny jeez]

 

[jonny jeez]

A couple of videos, of different moods that captured the trip well,

 

[Spinney]

...we found ourselves riding over 40 miles before stopping for tea at a beautiful cake shop on Morcombe Sands.

The Albion pub on the corner in Arnside!
Used to cycle up there regularly when I lived up north.

 

[jonny jeez]

The Albion pub on the corner in Arnside!
Used to cycle up there regularly when I lived up north.

[/QUOTE]
You're right it was! well spotted, although we had cheated and bought cake from the bakehouse next door.

 

[thetribe]

That's a fantastic write up and makes me want to do it, it's now definitely on my bucket list, it was pencilled in but is now in marker pen!

 

[ianrauk]

Another great read, cheers Jon.

 

[Easytigers]

I really enjoyed reading about your ride! I wasn't going to carry on but got hooked in!!!

 

[Shanks]

Fascinating and very inspirational blog, thanks for taking the time to put this all down in such detail. Sounds like a great experience.