They’ve done it!
Posted on by Jon
What an achievement! Land’s End to John o’ Groats by bike. No time for a beer right now as they have have 20 more miles to cycle, so they made do with extra sugar in their coffee!
We got there....no mean feat when you are getting places by train with heavily laden bikes! That was last night, today the real miles start to pile on.
First full day today, 60 miles done but also over 4000ft climbed, (Cornwall is very hilly) and two rivers crossed by ferry. Tired and fed, no pub nearby so it's an early night.
Day two complete, 84 miles and 7000 ft of climbing. We are both cream crackered! Cornwall was cracked today plus a lovely ride along the granite way (an old railway line and one of the few flatish bits!) to Okehampton.
Day three done. Cullompton to Clevedon. All the hills out of the way for a few days. Delightful cycling along the Chard canal (with pill boxes, very bizzare) and the Strawberry line (very flat!). Clevedon sea lake was beautiful and still full of kids at 7pm.
Day four, Clevedon to Tewkesbury (and a comfy nights sleep at the Besien residence).Wind behind us and after going over Avonmouth on the M5 bridge the excellent NCN 41 got us traffic free out of Bristol. A ride up the Sharpness canal to meet our families at Gloucester docks (including a picture outside my old workplace). Rain has now set in so it's nice not to be in a tent!
Day Five, Tewkesbury to Market Drayton. An eventful day hence the post a day late. Claud (my bike) decided to throw off a spoke in Droitwich. This put us in limp mode, with one brake and a very warped back wheel. Bike repair shops are harder to find these days but we came across 'Spokes' and limped on 7 miles to Kidderminster. It was well worth it. The lovely Lev at https://www.facebook.com/theemilyjordanfoundationnot only fixed the wheel but made me (they were too long) 3 new spokes as spares. A fab place training SEN young adults, shame they are not nearer Swad.A very delayed and shortened catch up with family at Kinver as Mrs W had booked a table for our wedding anniversary (plus gooseberry!) next to the camp site. No time to shower, just straight in for food. Sat in the lovely sunshine now with very little energy, thankfully we are B&Bing it tonight.
Just woken up in a lovely bed in a hotel in Preston, bliss. Yesterday, day six, although not a long day in distance took ages in time as we travelled along many lovely but slow canal towpaths (8pm finish). The river weaver navigation, the Sankey valley and the Leeds and Liverpool canal all saw us safely but slowly past Warrington, Wigan and other towns. Met another fab bike mechanic, by accident this time though!
Day seven, Preston to Penrith.No canals hurrah, we make much quicker progress. However, this being a mimimal traffic route we do find ourselves doing ridiculous hills rather than a slightly easier route, it is a beautiful route but knackering. Lovely stop offs in Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedburgh and a bit down the middle of the M6!
Day eight yesterday, Penrith to Moffat. There are no 'easy' days now as we are both getting very tired, but yesterday was, at 73 miles, below our average of 77 and relatively flat. It had been a cold night and the tent took ages to dry , but we were in a hostel last night, so didn't worry unduly leaving later. Wetherspoons provided lunch and lots of coffee in Carlisle before escaping England. Moffat is a lovely town, made by the Victorians around a spa and the hostel was great, basically a large family home. Snooker, a plush dining room and a fab ensuite. Highly recommended!
Day nine, Moffat to Kinross. After a fab rest at the best hostel I've ever stayed in, we set off early-ish as we had 84 miles and about 4000 ft to do today. Luckily there was a strong South-westerly pushing us along. It was also turning many turbines on the hills.Fabulous run into the Firth of Forth through a country park before going over a traffic free Forth bridge.
Day Ten, Kinross to Dalwhinnie. Lovely ride to start following NCN 77 up to into and around Perth, following the river Tay. Then the wind turned on us as we got to Pitlochry making us having to pedal constantly to keep going. The Drumochter Pass was really heavy going to get over to Dalwhinnie, (although it is a motorway of a cycle path, being mainly the old A9) where we are staying in the old school hostel, complete with blackboard!
Day Eleven, Dalwhinnie to Contin. The day started rather chilly, I understand it's a bit warmer down south! Downhill virtually all the way to Inverness. Coffee and scones in Aviemore on the way before we came across the packhorse bridge.Claud threw a spoke again off his back wheel just before Inverness, delaying proceedings somewhat but after a DIY repair (with the help of Bikes of Inverness, those new spokes were slightly too long!) and more fish and chips we navigated over the Moray Firth to our campsite in Contin next to the river and about a million midges.
Day twelve, Contin to Tongue. Another dry day, another tiring day, near the end now. Past oddities like old AA boxes and telegraph poles with all the bits on top for loads of wires. Then onto the best A road in Britain, the A836 from Lairg to Tongue. Hardly a car in site, fantastic views, amazing wind turbines and very recently retarmaced, which does wonders both for speed and bottoms! Very smooth!
We’ve done it! Land’s End to John o’ Groats by bike. We would have a beer right now but we have 20 more miles to cycle, so we are going to have to make do with extra sugar in our coffee!
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About the charity:
Bowel Cancer UK www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk
We’re the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. We’re determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. Our vision is a future where nobody dies of the disease.
Many thanks.
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