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 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 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 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



Day 5 Astley Worcs to Tarporley Cheshire

The Day 5 blog entry is finally here. Better late than never. Unable to post yesterday due to a lack of internet connectivity at my overnight stop.

Without further ado here are the all important stats

Miles: 90.3
Climbing: 4502 ft
Average Speed: 13.3 mph
Max Speed: 34.9 mph
Time Riding: 6 hr 48 mins
Total Duration: 9 hr 23 mins
Steepest Gradient:

Day 5 (Tuesday) was a day of two distinct halves. The morning was all about the unexpected hills of northern Worcestershire and southern Shropshire. The afternoon the relative flat farm land of north Shropshire and south Cheshire.

The morning hills were totally unexpected, well maybe not totally expected but there certainly seemed to be more than was projected. I can only described this area as LUMPY. I followed the Severn valley all the way from Astley, through Bewdley, Bridgnorth (home of the Severn Valley Railway) and onto Ironbridge making slow tiring progress.

Ironbridge

Arriving in Ironbridge made it all worth it. A fantastic piece of engineering, the bridge was designed by Thomas Telford, and the home to the start of the Industrial Revolution

Alvanley Arm



 

After the climb out of the Ironbridge gorge and passing thorough Telford, I was able to make good time during the afternoon, as I headed into Cheshire and onto Tarporley and an overnight stop at the Alvanley Arms, which offered great food and ale and a comfortable nights accommodation.







Severn Valley Railway

Ironbridge 1779

Ironbridge Gorge

Ironbridge

Venetian Marina

Day 2 Trevallett (Cornwall) - Wellington (Somerset)

Day 2 is now complete, the important daily statistics are:

Miles: 76.2
Climbing: 4581ft
Average Speed: 13.1 mph
Max Speed: 40.3 mph
Time Riding: 5 hr 48 mins
Total Duration: 8 hr 18 mins
Steepest Gradient:

River Tamar

Started out much later than yesterday, rolling out of the Three Quoins B&B after a very relaxing and pleasant nights stay, at 09:15. Fuelled by a Full English breakfast the ride started out at a fairly decent pace, passing through Launceston before quickly arriving at the Devon border. This was the start of close to 4500 ft of climbing. The Devon hills certainly match their Cornwall neighbors for intensity but I found that they differed on how they inflicted pain. Where I found the Cornwall hills to be steep but short the Devon ones are less steep but are much longer. Really draining!!
I'm sure this was also made worse by the 91 miles put in yesterday making for some slow going. Now enough of the hills, the Devon countryside is awesome, really accentuated by the glorious sunshine.

Lunch was a welcome break, a hearty ham ploughman's washed down with a glass of St. George's ale, at the White Hart in Bow.

The ride for the early part of the afternoon continued to be a hard fought effort,  requiring a 4 mile detour to Tiverton to rehydrate. After replenishing the H2O stores the riding eased as I got to enjoy the Grand Western Canal for 5 or 6 miles. After the canal I had only 10 miles to complete, with the Devon / Somerset border crossed I entered Wellington and made it to the overnight stop by 17:30.

The second day now crossed off and on to day 3, planned to be far easier when it comes to climbing with only 1900ft, as I work my way up the coast towards Weston Super Mare and then onto Thornbury.

Tiverton

Grand Western Canal

Day 1 - Land's End to Trevallett, Launceston

So the ride today is all done and it was fantastic.

Stats

Miles: 91.2
Climbing: 5534
Average Speed: 13.4 mph
Max Speed: 38.2 mph
Time Riding:6h 47m
Total Duration: 9h 42m
Steepest Gradient: 19.9%

Any early start was required today so I would have time to try and fit in the missing 20 miles from yesterday so a 5am alarm call was in order. This allowed me to be at Land's End by 7:20 and set of, after the obligatory photo shoot of course, by 7:45. The weather was almost perfect with the only a slight  Northerly wind and even that wasn't to bad. Temperatures started out in the 50's but rose to the mid 70's, perfect conditions.


The 20 miles from Day 0 were quickly knocked out as I made it back to the overnight stop just after 9:15am. I was then confident that I could make it to today's accommodation, a further 70 miles by late afternoon. And this I achieved arriving at the 3 Quoins Bed & Breakfast a little after 5:15pm.  A long day but certainly worth the effort.

As part of the research for LEJOG I have read a lot about the Cornish hills, and all I can say is that everything I read about them was true and more so. The hills come so regularly that you would swear that it was just one big hill. None of them are particularly long but they are brutally steep. I spent much time just spinning in the lowest gear.

3 Days to the Start

Well with just 3 days left to the start of my adventure I have to admit to being a little nervous. Not with the ride itself but with the logistics of getting man and more importantly the machine to the UK.

This into.....

This evening I closed up the box containing my bike and sealed it tight, with enough shipping tape and bubble wrap being used to keep Staples profits up. Now I just have to concentrate on the clothes packing.



this.

When asked about taking my own bike for this adventure many people have been surprised that I am not shipping it as freight but rather taking it as part of my luggage allowance. All I can say is that British Airways cater to the cyclist and allow bikes to be taken as part of the regular luggage allowance. This is a huge saving over some other airlines fees for bikes and a saving of almost $600 roundtrip of the freight charges. So thank you BA.

I'll blog later on how the bike shipping goes, keeping fingers crossed here.

On another note, yesterday I rode in the Air Force Classic Challenge Ride. It was a great ride on a closed road 9.5 mile loop from Crystal City, to Rosslyn and back going via the Air Force Memorial and the Pentagon. Weather conditions were perfect for the approx. 2000 riders. I managed 6 laps of the much improved circuit in just user 3 hours with an average speed of 19.5 mph covering a total of 56 miles.


View back from start back along Crystal Drive