Next week I’m going to set off to cycle the length of the country with my friend Al.
It seems like a pretty major undertaking, so we thought we’d keep a record of our attempt, and hopefully this website can also serve as a way of keeping anyone who’s interested (reasonably) up to date as to where we are, how we're doing, and give you a few pictures to entertain you. I say reasonably up to date, as the idea for this came up when I noticed a few of the places we were booking to stay at said they had access to the internet, and that’s what we’ll be relying on to post updates. So this could be somewhat sporadic…
Anyway, a few details of what we’re trying to do. On Friday 27th July we’re taking the train down to Penzance (assuming we manage to negotiate the tricky matter of our national rail system’s arrangements for taking bikes on trains), and, the following morning, getting on our bikes and cycling to Land’s End. We go from there to John O’Groats. That’s in Scotland. The ride will go through England, Wales, and Scotland, and be a bit over 1,000 miles. We’re aiming to do it in 15 days, which means we’ll be doing an average of 70 miles a day, and that we should be rocking up in John O’Groats on Saturday 12th August. The ride will be unsupported, so we’re carrying our own gear, and we’ll be staying at various Youth Hostels and B&Bs along the way. Oh, and a pub. Needs must when the Devil drives, and all that.
It seems like a pretty major undertaking, so we thought we’d keep a record of our attempt, and hopefully this website can also serve as a way of keeping anyone who’s interested (reasonably) up to date as to where we are, how we're doing, and give you a few pictures to entertain you. I say reasonably up to date, as the idea for this came up when I noticed a few of the places we were booking to stay at said they had access to the internet, and that’s what we’ll be relying on to post updates. So this could be somewhat sporadic…
Anyway, a few details of what we’re trying to do. On Friday 27th July we’re taking the train down to Penzance (assuming we manage to negotiate the tricky matter of our national rail system’s arrangements for taking bikes on trains), and, the following morning, getting on our bikes and cycling to Land’s End. We go from there to John O’Groats. That’s in Scotland. The ride will go through England, Wales, and Scotland, and be a bit over 1,000 miles. We’re aiming to do it in 15 days, which means we’ll be doing an average of 70 miles a day, and that we should be rocking up in John O’Groats on Saturday 12th August. The ride will be unsupported, so we’re carrying our own gear, and we’ll be staying at various Youth Hostels and B&Bs along the way. Oh, and a pub. Needs must when the Devil drives, and all that.
This is an 'as the crow flies' map of our route (click here for a closer look):
Well, that’s the ‘what’, ‘when’, 'where', and ‘how’. The ‘why’ is rather more difficult, so I’ll cop out and say it was Al’s idea anyway. To be honest touring cycling’s not really my sort of thing – you have to carry loads of gear, read maps, and it all seems to be a pretty slow way of getting round. My perfect bike ride involves very little stuff to carry, someone telling you where to go, zipping round at a fast (okay, fastish) pace, and ends with Mexican food and margaritas. I can’t see there being too many days like that on our ride. However, I am hoping to see some beautiful sections of countryside, travel through places I would otherwise have probably never been to, and see the British landscape change and develop over two weeks. I’m also hoping to be eating Mexican food and drinking margaritas at the end of it all. Any advice on good Mexican restaurants in John O’Groats gladly received.
It’s taken quite a lot of our time organizing so far, and is going to be a test of mine and Al’s physical stamina (variable), tolerance (low), and navigational abilities (laughable). So we thought it would be nice if something came out of all this other than exhaustion, a frosty silence between us, and an intimate knowledge of areas of Devon that aren’t on our planned route; so we are going to try and raise money for Oxfam. If you’re so inclined, you could click on this link and sponsor us; we’d be very grateful, as they do some good things. I’m sure you know this, but if you’d like to brush up on that, you could look here.
It’s taken quite a lot of our time organizing so far, and is going to be a test of mine and Al’s physical stamina (variable), tolerance (low), and navigational abilities (laughable). So we thought it would be nice if something came out of all this other than exhaustion, a frosty silence between us, and an intimate knowledge of areas of Devon that aren’t on our planned route; so we are going to try and raise money for Oxfam. If you’re so inclined, you could click on this link and sponsor us; we’d be very grateful, as they do some good things. I’m sure you know this, but if you’d like to brush up on that, you could look here.
2 comments:
I've always wondered what people have against Orkney, go the extra mile!
Good Luck with this and I'll be needing you're exact ride time so as that I can beat it when I get around to doing this myslef.
Matt H
Good luck to you both. May any wind be on your backs and the sky free of dark clouds. See you in Onich.
Philip and Hilary
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