July 14th
Well it's over and I am writing this from my office in a slightly dazed state. Did we really do it? I must admit in the last two days it was tempting to do a Donald Crowhurst but rest assured dear blogger I huffed and puffed on your behalf all the way there. I was talking to myself though on the last day trying to convince myself that it was nearly over and I would feel warm again once I got out of the cycling gear and put on some dry clothes. The Who's record "Won't be fooled again" springs to mind!!!
We covered 940 miles in 11 days and 3 hours which averages out at 82 miles per day. Not too bad for a senior citizen and a somewhat overweight 58 year old [59 tomorrow] With your help we raised well over one thousand pounds for each of our charities. A very big thank you from both of us.
Some facts and pointers if you ever feel the urge to do this!
- See your doctor first to get checked out
- See a shrink next to check your sanity
- Choose a good bike. I bought my Marin, Lucas Valley, on E bay for £275. The chain came off three times and a spoke went but no punctures. Alan was riding a Triumph touring bike. If you want to ride all the way make sure you have a good range of low gears.
- Get the right kit to wear. I made a big mistake in underestimating the weather in Scotland. It was like winter and I was wearing shorts!
- You need to get saddle ready. Spend some hours riding to get used to it. Because of time I was only doing 12 miles a day with the odd 20 miles before the start. There was a nice big hill in that though.
- We would never have had so much fun without Dave the trolley and his caravan in support. Getting on the road and doing 20 miles before breakfast at nine is the way to go so if you can convince someone to support you with a caravan it will make it all so much easier.
- Think of 10 miles as one hour unless you are really going for it and then you up the anti accordingly
- Ride on busy roads with lots of traffic before the start. You can't avoid doing this on the ride and if you are of a nervous disposition don't do the ride.
- Have a sense of humor because you will need to use it a lot.
- Of course you need a total plan but once that's in place think one day at a time only.
- Having a beer in the evening is fine but limit it to two. Sounds obvious I know but the temptation is great especially if you are with good company.
- Don't be frightened / embarrassed call it what you will to walk. I suppose I must have walked approx. one and a half miles in total.
- The only thing you can't plan well in advance is the weather. You will get wet and it will be windy at some point and again make sure you practice in the rain.
The route:
We drove down to Lands End with the bikes on the back of the car and returned with Dave in his vehicle.
Day 1: Lands End to St Agnes
Day 2: St Agnes to Okhampton
Day 3: Okhampton to Street
Day 4: Street to South Cerny [Alan's House]
Day 5: South Cerny to Bridgenorth
Day 6: Bridgenorth to Parbold near Wigan
Day 7: Wigan to Shap
Day 8: Shap to Abington
Day 9 Abington to Tarbert on Loch Lomond
Day 10: Tarbert to Spean Bridge
Day 11: Spean Bridge to Dornock
Day 12: Dornock to John O'Groats
I am going to put a video together and if you want one just e mail me.
A hugh thank you to Claire, Molly and Sheila for believing in us. Thanks to everyone that supported and kindly donated and thanks to the many kind people that wished us well throughout the journey.
Bye
John, Alan, Dave the trolley, Sooty, Geo Bear and JB's Willy!
PS Did I lose any weight?
NO
Would I do it again.
NO [well not next week]
