Fundraising - Thank You

Been 3 week since I finished LEJOG, with a total of 977 miles ridden, it seems appropriate that the total money raised was $975, almost $1 per mile.

So a BIG THANK-YOU to everyone who donated, it is all for a great cause, Financial Aid to support the Emerging Scholars program at the Congressional Schools of Virginia.



Mile 0 - Land's End June 13th 2014

Mile 977 - John O'Groats June 25th 2014

LEJOG - County Signs & Selfies

One of the aspects of recording my LEJOG that was disappointing, well maybe not disappointing but not as rewarding as I had hoped was that I did not pass and was therefore not able to capture Selfies of myself at all the county borders I crossed.  This was likely due to the route I took taking me along many small country roads and lanes where county signs would be impractical and expensive to install.
Despite not seeing signs at all the county borders I was able to capture pictures at quite a few, more in Scotland than England, so without further ado he is a selection of the county signs I did see.

Devon

 

 

 

Shropshire

Scotland

 

Scottish Borders

 

South Lanarkshire

 

West Lothian

Argyll & Bute

Highlands

 

Sutherland

Caithness

   

Day 13 Helmsdale to John O'Groats

The final day of LEJOG brought the following stats:

Miles: 54.2
Climbing: 2903 ft
Average Speed: 12.5 mph
Max Speed: 35.7 mph
Time Riding: 4 hr 19 mins
Total Duration: 5 hr 20 mins
Steepest Gradient: 11.6%



Berriedale Braes

The final day of my LEJOG adventure was underway at 8:30, with just 55 miles to do before reaching the goal of this fantastic journey I was expecting a relatively easy day. This expectation was shattered within the first 4 miles with the climb from Helmsdale which totaled over 700ft. A brief respite was had until mile 8 where I reached the Berriedale Braes. Here the A9 drops sharply towards the village of Berriedale where it crosses the river and then climbs steeply through a number of switchbacks.





After the Braes the A9 and then the A99 would continue to offer short but challenging climbs all the way to John O'Groats. As well as the constant rise and fall of the road another constant was again a head wind, must have been between 10 - 15 mph.  This kept the temperature low despite the glorious sunshine, requiring the use of 3 layers to stay warm. All this added to the relatively slow progress during the morning eventual arriving in Wick at noon.


After a brief refueling stop the final push was made to reach the ultimate destination. The final 13 miles seemed to take an eternity with yet more seemingly big climbs, in reality none were steep or hard but the legs after 13 days were spent.

As I rode the final mile into John O'Groats, thankfully downhill, I felt jubilation at completing this adventure amazed that I had had the staying power to see it through to the end.

After the obligatory photos at the iconic sign, many thanks to the tourists who took the pictures, no need for yet another selfie, I headed over to café and had a celebratory beer followed by coffee and cake, where I chatted with another cyclist who had just finished LEJOG. He had taken slightly longer than me ( 5 years ) having broken the journey up, I had to admire his determination.

Once the celebrations subsided and the coffee and cake had been consumed I headed to my overnight accommodation in Thurso, a ride of 20 miles, thankfully with a tailwind this was probably the quickest 20 miles of the entire journey.

John O'Groats to Thurso Stats:

Miles: 20.7
Climbing: 728 ft
Average Speed: 15.5 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph
Time Riding: 1 hr 19 mins
Total Duration: 1 hr 47 mins
Steepest Gradient: 10.4%

Helmsdale to John O'Groats

 

John O'Groats to Thurso

Day 13 Helmsdale to John O'Groats - Interim

Just a brief post I'll try and post a more detailed final day blog post tomorrow. But the all important details for day 13 are:

Miles: 54.2
Climbing: 2903 ft
Average Speed: 12.5 mph
Max Speed: 35.7 mph
Time Riding: 4 hr 19 mins
Total Duration: 5 hr 20 mins
Steepest Gradient: 11.6%

I made it successfully to John O'Groats this afternoon after the last 54 miles were pushed through.

Day 12 - Full Report - Inverness to Helmsdale

Day 12 - Full Report - Inverness to Helmsdale

Miles: 74.4
Climbing: 2430 ft
Average Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 34.0 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 38 mins
Total Duration: 8 hr 11 mins
Steepest Gradient: 18.2%

Kessock Bridge

Day 12 started early, rolling out of the B&B at 8:20. Threading my way through Inverness I soon crossed the Kessock Bridge where I followed NCN 1 for a few miles before leaving that route and heading to Dingwall, where I enjoyed a fine banana toffee tart and a latte. The calories from which were soon burnt off as I headed north east into a headwind that would persist for the entire day.

After leaving Dingwall I headed to the A9 and followed this for the majority of the ride as I headed to Helmsdale, with only short diversions into towns such as Tain when stopping for lunch.
A note on the A9, many people had warned that it is busy and can be quite intimidating to ride on, I found it to be not as busy as expected and because it is wide south of Tain the traffic always gave me plenty of space and I never felt uncomfortable. After Tain the A9 does narrow but there is also a significant drop off in traffic so again I rode along comfortably.


As you can see from the above picture I was wrapped up warm with the windbreaker, providing a relief from the cool headwind which helped keep the temperature in the mid 50's which gradually dropped the further north I traveled.
As the A9 winds it's way northwards it provides for a huge variety of scenery, from rugged coastline to rolling farmland and much in between.




As I approached Helmsdale I met a 64 year old gentleman who has been walking from Land's End to John O'Groats for almost 3 months, I had to admire his determination and staying power. Alas I didn't get his name but wished him safe travels as he was planning to finish in time for his birthday this coming Sunday.
I arrived shortly after at my accommodation for the evening the Ruard House B&B, simple, comfortable making for a good nights rest.

Day 12 Inverness to Helmsdale

The stats for the penultimate day of LEJOG are:

Miles: 74.4
Climbing: 2430 ft
Average Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 34.0 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 38 mins
Total Duration: 8 hr 11 mins
Steepest Gradient:

A full account of day 12 will be posted once I have a reliable internet connection

Day 11 Fort William to Inverness

The stats for Day 11 where I ride in search of the Loch Ness monster are:

Miles: 70.2
Climbing: 2566 ft
Average Speed: 13.6 mph
Max Speed: 36.9 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 09 mins
Total Duration: 7 hr 31 mins
Steepest Gradient: 8%

With less than 70 miles planned for the journey from Fort William to Inverness I had a really leisurely start not getting underway until after 9:30, by far the latest during the LEJOG.

Today's route was planned to head north out of Fort William taking a minor road for approx. 10 miles joining the A82 just west of Spean Bridge, then take the A82 to Fort Augustus, there climb up 1200ft on General Wade's Military road and head down the eastern side of Loch Ness all the way to Inverness.. This however was the day when I throw the route out. The initial half of the journey was almost as planned with the exception last 5 miles into Fort Augustus where I diverted from the A82 at Bridge of Oich and took the towpath on the Caledonian canal.



Feeling tired on arrival in Fort Augustus I stopped for a lengthy lunch break, enjoying fish and chips sat by the canal. After lunch the decision to be made was the climb up to General Wade's Military road and the fantastic views or stay on the A82 and travel along the west bank of Loch Ness. With the legs tired I opted for the A82, it was still a hard grind but that 1200ft climb was just not appealing.








I made steady progress towards Inverness but as I reached the top of the Loch it started to rain, requiring the maiden donning of the wet weather gear. The rain only lasted for 15 - 20 minutes and by the time I reached Inverness it was sunny and dry.

Day 10 Callander to Fort William

Day 10 stats for the up and down journey from Callander to Fort William.

Miles: 81.1
Climbing: 3257 ft
Average Speed: 12.9 mph
Max Speed: 28.4 mph
Time Riding: 6 hr 18 mins
Total Duration: 8 hr 18 mins
Steepest Gradient: 14.3%

Coppice House

The ride today started out after a great nights stay and a hearty breakfast at the Coppice House B&B in Callander.  After retrieving Norman from his secure accommodation for the night I set off North West on NCN 7.












NCN 7 was a mixed bag for me and Norman, some of the trail is paved or crushed compacted gravel fine with 28mm tires but in places it was really only suitable for 32 or even 35mm tires. The upside of the trail though is it passes through some wonderful countryside providing for some great views.








 After crossing the Glen Ogle viaduct NCN7 turns north but the old rail bed continues and is marked as a trail joining the A85 5 miles on. This I learnt is not the case. The trail does indeed continue but the surface gradually worsens and finally peters out in a sheep field. I had two choices at this point, retrace my route back up the hill for maybe 3 miles or cut across the farm land  to the A85. This is exactly what I ended up doing, requiring me to lift Norman over two fences and push him through two fields full of sheep and cattle, thankfully no Bulls.

Once back on firm paved road I made good progress on the A85 to Crianlarich. Conscious of yesterday's poor lunch I stopped here and ate a more substantial meal and then head onto the A82 which I would follow for 50 miles to Fort William.









The A82 climbs up to Rannoch Moor at 1100ft, the climb is certainly worth it as the scenery is stunning.  After crossing the moor the road drops back down to Loch Leven. It was on this descent that I encountered the first rain of this LEJOG, it hardly amounted to more than a brief shower not requiring me to done the wet weather gear.

 After reaching Loch Leven I had only 20 miles to go to Fort William, which was a fast run in due to the wind now blowing from the south pushing me onwards.

Day 9 Biggar to Callander

The stats for Day 9 (Saturday), a hard slog from Bigger to Callander.

Miles: 70.1
Climbing: 3514 ft
Average Speed: 12.4 mph
Max Speed: 35.7 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 39 mins
Total Duration: 7 hr 39 mins
Steepest Gradient: 14.7%

This morning the weather looked like it would be another warm sunny day but by the time breakfast was eaten the grey cloud cover had thickened and the wind had strengthened out of the west. The resulting cool temperature meant starting out with the arm warmers but soon required the additional warmth of the windbreaker.

The cool temp and wind along with the rolling hills made for slow progress as I headed to Falkirk and the Falkirk Wheel.

Arriving at the wheel via the Union Canal and departing via the Forth & Clyde Canal made for some welcome level cycling that was over all to quickly. The sun came out as I was leaving the wheel and made for a pleasantly warm ride up to Sterling and then onto the night's final destination of Callander.






The final 10 miles to Callander were a hard slog, partly due to the wind still blowing from the west but mostly I think to me not having eaten well during the day and the tank running on empty.  One bacon roll and a chocolate muffin are not ideal for a 70 mile  ride with 3500ft of climbing.

Union Canal

Stirling

Church in Callander

Day 8 Carlisle to Biggar (South Lanarkshire)

The stats for the last day in England and first day in Scotland are:

Miles: 70.8
Climbing: 2850 ft
Average Speed: 13.6 mph
Max Speed: 30.0 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 13 mins
Total Duration: 7 hr 55 mins
Steepest Gradient:

Day 8 (Friday) started with very tired and sore legs, the worse they have felt on the entire journey. The aches soon eased as I threaded my way through Carlisle and onto the Scottish border at Gretna. Whilst relaxing and taking in the fact that I had ridden the length of England another couple of  End to Enders joined me. We shared LEJOG stories before going our separate ways, them North West into Ayrshire and me North to South Lanarkshire.
The road north from Gretna is the old A74 demoted to a minor road when the A74(M) was built, it would be a great route as it is wide, relatively straight and the gradients are gradual but the road surface, as many had warned, is so harsh it sends constant vibrations up through the front forks, often causing the teeth to rattle. It is also a fairly boring route though there were welcome breaks as I passed through Lockerbie (grabbed lunch and ate with the Lockerbie Sheep)  & Ecclefachan. Eventually I left the old A74 and headed along the A701 Edinburgh road into Moffat, a sunny market town. I took another break here, enjoying a nice Latte sat in the sun just relaxing watching the world go by. It was just as well I took the break because I was not prepared or expecting the climb that followed. Rising to 1372ft. The climb was not as hard as Shap the day before but was equally as stunning, only surpassed by the descent. The descent was Fantastic, mile after mile of awesome scenery as I descended from the source of the River Tweed down the valley for mile after mile. Perfect!

River Tweed

With only 6 miles to the overnight stop in Biggar I turned off the A701 and headed west, eventually arriving at the B&B at 4:45 (would have been earlier but I managed to put the wrong address into my GPS).

Carlisle

Lockerbie Sheep

Moffat

Tweed Valley

Biggar

Day 7 Lancaster to Carlisle

The all important stats for the last full day in England are:

Miles: 70.1
Climbing: 3569 ft
Average Speed: 12.8 mph
Max Speed: 34.3 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 29 mins
Total Duration: 7 hr 44 mins
Steepest Gradient: 10.1%




Day 7 (Thursday) is the day that many dread or at least look forward to the least, the climb up and over Shap. But before I attempted Shap I had to get there. All I can say is that the ride up from Lancaster was a delight. Taking the Lancaster canal north to Carnforth was much slower than using the A6 but the views were worth it. Such a wonderful pace to life on the canals.






After leaving the canal I meandered along country lanes, avoiding the A6, making my way slowly to Kendal. Arriving there just before lunch I stocked up on provisions before the assault on Shap.  The climb up to the summit of Shap from Kendal is 1200 feet. None of it is exceptionally steep , max grade 10%, but it is a long continuous climb. But the views on the way up, at the top and back down are worth it.


Kendal

Part way up I was joined by another LEJOGer, Mark  Booth from Lincolnshire, having someone to talk to on the climb psychologically made it easier. I ended up ride with Mark for a good portion of the remaining ride, only going our separate ways once we reached Carlisle my overnight stop.

This was by far my most satisfying day on the journey so far. The scenery was awesome, having a ride companion for a few hours was great as we discussed why we were both crazy enough to be doing this adventure and conquering Shape.


A Grand Day indeed.




At Shap Summit