The Fridays Tour

[LouiseL]

I would love to join you for the first 5 days. I have another committment shortly after that which unfortunately means I won't be able to go all the way.

I'm very glad Simon mentioned laundry! Being a girlie hygiene arrangements are always quite near the top of my priorities. The only time I've cycled in Scotland it rained every day, so drying shorts off the back of panniers wasn't an option. Fortunately the YHs had good drying rooms.

Dependent on numbers, getting bikes back is possibly the biggest logistical problem. There used to be only 4 bike spaces on trains from Wick and booking their place was essential. It looks like Simon has a cunning plan involving the minibus.

Ooh I'm getting excited about this already.

 

[srw]

Assuming your nearest and dearest is on side, I think you've just scored 100% with your target market. Were I a single man I'd be signed up already. But I'm not, and I will see what interest my nearest and dearest has. Coincidentally, the week of June 15th is the second week of the only fortnight we've got available for holiday until August - so a cunning plan involving LE (or the Lizard) to London in week one, then London to JOG in week two may be on the table.

The support driver is essentially essential if you're going to get the likes of me to do 75-mile days in unflat terrain for a week. I'll also vouch for the benefits of someone to go shopping for elevenses, lunch and tea. It breaks up the day nicely, and gives those little milestones project managers are so keen on.

 

[redfalo]

I'd be interested as well. This tour might give me the final push to get my touring bike over from Germany to the UK.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Some initial thoughts would be that June would be a much better time to do this. With Route A you will have severe problems with people walking on the Tor Law to Jedburgh section, meaning you could lose a lot of time. In addition, that sort of terrain could start to demoralise some people, which you don't want for those who are trying to to do the whole route. However, as you said, the rest of Route A is good, so it's a bit of a dilemma. Perhaps lengthen other days slightly to have that particular section shorter?

Something to consider is what to do about lunch. It would be be hard to book ahead as well as find a suitable venue for all the riders, plus it would take up a lot of time to have a sit down meal every day. What you'll need is calories. Although the van/minibus can obviously carry routine food supplies such as snack bars, energy gels and drinks, it would really save a lot of time if you got people to say in the morning what sandwiches/takeaways/kebabs/etc they wanted, then the driver can get those purchased and be parked up at the halfway spot. I've got a number of gazebos you can borrow - I think one's either 6 m or 8 m long.

For camp sites, make sure they've got electrical hook-ups, so people can charge phones, cameras and gizmos and make sure people have the right connectors. Obviously all that stuff can also go in the van. Anyone planning on doing this at the last minute, who doesn't like camping, may have problems finding accommodation. For planning my charity ride last June, when ringing round places in Scotland in January/February, I had real problems in some places to find hotels - a common comment was that they were fully booked for June already. Which seemed odd. However, as already mentioned, Scotland is worth it.

 

[mmmmartin]

lunch should be an individual responsibility.
I have not yet encountered a hill I couldn't walk up.
a commercial driver would not be as good as a volunteer.
just my latest thoughts.

ps to embarass louise l i should point out that her "other commitment" is the Mille Alba, a 1000k ride round Scotland. Chapeau. Sorry L, couldn't resist it!

 

[mmmmartin]

Never mind LEJOG, the World and his dog do that one. Start from whatever counts as the furthest corner of Kent, ride up to HPC for the start and there you go, an end to end for the thinking man. You could even carry on across to Cape Wrath if you wanted to make it more of a diagonal.

Dungeness to Durness springs to mind. The alcohol I have consumed is playing tricks with my mind. I could do that, via HPC and JoG. Hic! I could easily do Dungeness to HPC, perhaps the week before.... and JoG to Durness is 90 miles and can't be that hard can it? Especially if Adrian was there to look after me.....

 

[dellzeqq]

Some initial thoughts would be that June would be a much better time to do this. With Route A you will have severe problems with people walking on the Tor Law to Jedburgh section, meaning you could lose a lot of time. In addition, that sort of terrain could start to demoralise some people, which you don't want for those who are trying to to do the whole route. However, as you said, the rest of Route A is good, so it's a bit of a dilemma. Perhaps lengthen other days slightly to have that particular section shorter?

Something to consider is what to do about lunch. It would be be hard to book ahead as well as find a suitable venue for all the riders, plus it would take up a lot of time to have a sit down meal every day. What you'll need is calories. Although the van/minibus can obviously carry routine food supplies such as snack bars, energy gels and drinks, it would really save a lot of time if you got people to say in the morning what sandwiches/takeaways/kebabs/etc they wanted, then the driver can get those purchased and be parked up at the halfway spot. I've got a number of gazebos you can borrow - I think one's either 6 m or 8 m long.

For camp sites, make sure they've got electrical hook-ups, so people can charge phones, cameras and gizmos and make sure people have the right connectors. Obviously all that stuff can also go in the van. Anyone planning on doing this at the last minute, who doesn't like camping, may have problems finding accommodation. For planning my charity ride last June, when ringing round places in Scotland in January/February, I had real problems in some places to find hotels - a common comment was that they were fully booked for June already. Which seemed odd. However, as already mentioned, Scotland is worth it.

all good stuff, FD, and I'm sure that I speak for the rest of CC when I say that 'I've got a number of gazebos' is the most desireable sig line of the year!

Tow Law to Jedburgh isn't easy to work around. You can't do much by walking on those roads, which is why some form of vehicle back-up is perhaps more of a necessity on Route A than Route B, and, unfortunately, there's not much by way of settlement between the two towns other than Corbridge. There's a small B+B at Rochester, (but believe me when I say small.......for the under 5'9"s only!) Having said that - it's 67 miles, which is, I think, possible. Susie did a tougher 68 miles from Girona to Perpignan, and she's let me back in the house (but only as far as the front porch...)

I do agree that people should book as early as possible, but I've always made arrangements on the move via the STB or whatever they're called these days, booking around 2 in the afternoon for the night ahead. It might be that the Euro shoots up in value against the pound, and brings German visitors back to the Highlands though.

I think that the van can play a role in meals, but that really depends on who is doing the driving. Martin may well be right about a volunteer, or somebody we know, but it's going to be a pretty dull task unless they're deep in to good books or Nintendo wotsits. Again, the British tea-shop is one of the great wonders of this world - it is possible for a dozen people to catch a cup of tea and a cake and be back on the bike in fairly short order, especially if there is an element of pre-ordering.

Thus far it's 100% for June.

 

[Flying Dodo]

I could easily do Dungeness to HPC, perhaps the week before.... and JoG to Cape Wrath can't be that hard can it?

A man of your calibre could easily do Dungeness to HPC during the day on the Friday itself. A few hours to recover and then set off at midnight on the big trip.

At the other end, JoG to Cape Wrath would be about 120 miles and 6,000 ft of climbing overall. Worthwhile though as it's quite stunning along the north coast.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Tow Law to Jedburgh isn't easy to work around.

I forgot to mention I wasn't able to find a place with spare rooms at all in Tow Law last June, so I ended up having to rejig my route completely. Looking back at my notes, we did 104 miles Edinburgh to Hexham, with nearly 12,000 ft of climbing.........

Although the A68 did have some nice descents, we really began to hate it as an actual entity, due to its unrelenting nature, the fact that the wind just seemed to blow straight down it and the annoying condition of the road surface in places, due to being surfaced with large stones so that even with titanium and carbon steeds, we started to feel a bit numb in places.

If you could alter that leg to, say Consett to Jedburgh, I think it might work out better. Plus at that point in the tour, mentally it might help people, knowing there's a shorter distance to be covered.

 

[Aperitif]

You should have got a tow, Adam - there's no law against it.

 

[mmmmartin]

JoG to Cape Wrath would be about 120 miles and 6,000 ft of climbing overall

I would need to ask for more time off work. But that might not be a problem. I am in charge of the holiday rota

 

[theclaud]

I'm unreservedly up for this if it's in June. In fact I'm quietly relieved [quietly as in ] at the shelving of the Barcelona-Nice plan, as I had no hope of making the original dates. A rash of family birthdays in June means I'm in danger of missing the start whatever happens. Which is a shame, but a better option than missing the end, which sounds fab. I might get the funny little Jeff Bruce bike out and see if I can make it fit me.

 

[dellzeqq]

FD - I'd like to make the Tow Law stop at the top of the hill, rather than at the bottom - I think starting the day with a 150 metre climb might chip away at my popularity............but, having looked again, there are a couple of B+Bs at Castleside, which is seven miles further along the A68 from Tow Law.

 

[mmmmartin]

One important thing - laundry.

Is this really necessary? We're only going for a week......

 

[Becs]

This talk of A roads is worrisome . . . Will the route mainly be quite quiet?