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.