The Main Event -12 Days

Day1

John O’Groats to Dornoch Firth

Pedaling down the road from the B&B after breakfast in the mist to the start, after all the preparations after 10 miles my front wheel bearing developed a really annoying squeak, but it was ok I had another set of wheels so I changed them over at the first stop in Wick.. With the wheels changed and water bottles filled up it was onwards south towards our lunch meet up around Berriedale. The clouds start to lift as the morning goes on and a slight headwind develops as we seem to have a glimpse of what to expect on this trip, the headwind that is – let’s hope for the sun too. As we approach Berriedale  we take in a nice downhill and 2 very sharp hairpin bends – 41 mph I think is fast enough! The only problem with enjoying downhills is that you know you are going to experience an uphill as punishment too, Berriedale is no exception a double uphill with the last one being quite steep and long. The only good thing is that waiting at the top of the hill is lunch – phew!

After a decent lunch break and some treatment to an aching shoulder for me, it was onwards south past Dunrobin Castle and through to Dornoch.. About 8 miles from our final destination for the day I hit a pothole and thought I had kicked up a stone – later on I was to find this was actually my crank bolt working lose and dropping out when I hit the bump. Despite returning to the scene of the crime in the evening we couldn’t find the bolt and had to come up with a backup plan. As today is Sunday we obviously have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if there is a cycle shop enroute with a replacement available, lets hope.

Day2

Dornoch to Fort William

So first the search for the missing crank bolt, a few phone calls to localish cycle shops. In the end it is Steven at Highland bikes in Inverness who comes to the rescue, the support van goes ahead to Inverness to collect the bolt. Meanwhile we press on with the strategy of cycling with one crank bolt and when it feels like the nearside is coming lose I will take the chainring crank bolt out and tighten the nearside crank arm on and then undo the bolt and replace the bolt back into the chainring side. As it turns out in the first 30 miles we managed to get about 5-7 miles before needing to stop and carry out this procedure. So limping towards Inverness the support crew manage to pick up the part from Highland bikes and get it back to me about 5 miles out of Inverness, just before we go over Cromarty firth and the big Inverness bridge at Beauly Firth.

After the bridges we take lunch just before embarking on cycling the length of Loch Ness, the next planned stop is Urqhuart Castle, a popular tourist spot and photo opportunity. The sun is beaming down and we are all together cycling with Loch ness on our left hand side, the Loch is massive and so beautiful in the sunshine, how lucky we are to have this weather at this point in the trip. The road turns to the right into Drumnadrochit before bending back around towards the water for the hill up to the Castle. We have passed the support van and it looks like for the first time in the trip so far we will beat the van to a meeting point – we did.

After a short break we continue the A82 with the loch still on our left, stopping for a brief break and photo opportunity by the Loch, and then on to Fort Augustus. The roads beside the lochs it has to be said need some attention, the water obviously affects the road surface in bad weather as it is hard going, the vibrations through the handlebars and seat are becoming quite painful after many miles of rough surface.

We cross a bridge just before the end of the Loch and head into Fort Augustus, meet the van and don the wet weather gear as the heavens open and the light is disappearing with the clouds the lights go on too. Fortunately this road appears not to be too busy at this time of the day, its getting late now – 6.00pm and still 30 miles to go and 1200ft of hills to climb, its going to be a late finish I think.

Just as we arrive in Fort William I encounter a stupid Spanish Lorry driver  trying to run me off the road by not giving any space as he overtakes me with oncoming traffic too. There was a police car behind me that witnessed the whole thing, they stopped to check I was ok and said they were going on to pull him over – blue lights ablaze on the police car  we decided to see  if we could catch them up, however with very tired legs we could not see them before we made it to the site for the night camping at the foot of Ben Nevis.

Day 3

Fort William to Dumbarton 92 miles

Because of the late finish last night it had an impact on our start this morning, we didn’t leave the site until just before 10am, at least its not such a long day today – but we do have the pass of Glencoe to climb too amongst other hills. The Glencoe Pass is about 18 miles in and climbs 1100 feet in 6 miles, this is hot work and the jackets come off for the climb to the summit. It is a lovely climb and  I don’t normally enjoy hills but this was a pleasant experience, hard work but such a beautiful location and again fortunate that it is not raining. When I made it to the plateau the wind is picking up and a welcome cooling breeze at this point. I stop to wait for the others and take a short break. The plateau seem to go on for miles, we cant wait for the downhill from this height! There are a few smaller downhills and a mini plateau about half way down and encounter another uphill before the big downhill into Inveraman. A final meeting with the van and 34 miles to go, before going on to Loch Lomond and down into Alexandria just north of Dumbarton just outside Glasgow.

Day 4

Dumbarton to Dunscore

Starting the day with light but persistent rain going into Glasgow, cycling through the center of Glasgow appears to be a mistake with the route, it takes ages and is not very appealing, the way out to East Kilbride was a long drag up a hill with a good cycle lane it has to be said but very windy at the top.It takes us  3 hours to cover the first 21 miles, we arrange to meet the van for a fill up snack at  Chapleton and taking on just enough food for the next 20miles where we thought lunch would be just after Muirkirk. This is now going to be a late lunch obviously, but a highlight just before lunch Rob and I both overtake a tractor on the road before Smallburn, one goal for the trip achieved, NICE!

A quick lunch in a roadside layby – Jane and Lizzie are getting very good at the cyclist roadside café .. we are very grateful as well as we need the fuel for the hard miles and hills. We continue on and head through the hills towards Dumfries but we get a call at 8pm from the support team to say 9pm was the last time we could order food 8 miles from the accommodation we decide to continue to the village of Thornhill for food . So we finish 9 miles short for the day but they will be added to tomorrow’s route

Day 5

Dunscore to Ambleside

Today is a double porridge day it has been decided , what with the extra 9 miles and Kirkstone Pass at the end. We leave for Thornhill to start the day and head to Dumfries, here we take the A75 to Gretna, a long and busy road but with a good shoulder for most of it, a couple of hills to climb but should be quicker than taking the coastal/low road.

We meet the van at Gretna and a quick break then head towards the border, stopping for the compulsory photo opportunity at the border sign obviously. Just after the border Rob’s knee is giving him trouble and he phones for the support crew. We continue and in the distance we can see the lake district hills looming. Taking a cycle route through the side of Carlisle, past the race course the legs are getting tired and we haven’t reached the foothills of the lakes yet. At Greystoke the climb starts, we take it steady but arrange to meet the van and Rob at Troutbeck for the day’s finish in the lakes. All together again we take the A5091 (one of the best driving roads in the country) up and intowards Ullswater, Great Mell Fell is impressive on the left and the road climbs up to Matterdale end. I know this road well and there is a very impressive and long downhill to the Lake. Robin is with me and we are clocking up 40mph + again, there are sharp bends at the bottom so hit the brakes just in time to stay on around the bend and stop at the T Junction. The road is more gentle now around the northern edge of the lake and into GlenRidding, we are now in Patterdale with some of the best Fells overlooking us, Place Fell, St Sundays Crag and Helvellyn to name just a few. From Patterdale the road leads to Brothers Water with the impressive Hartsop Dodd directly in front of us and the guys catch their first glimpse of Kirkstone Pass. The impressive road winding its way over the ridge climbing to 1500ft in under 2 miles  and 13% for most of the climb. By now we have covered 88 miles and the legs are what we have termed treacle (because it feels like you are pedaling through treacle). Taking a couple of rests as we pedal the climb I am pleased to say that we all make it up there, everyone is encouraging each other through the pain. The reward for all the sweat is a pub at the top of the pass which I have to say served me the best pint I have ever tasted! Kirkstone Black Ale  is so good in fact that Jane suggests getting a pint in our water bottles, for the ride down The Struggle. The struggle so named from when horse drawn carts used to have to deliver the beer up to the pub is a lot more fun down hill, the road starts with a steep shoot like downhill which fires you up to speed of 30 mph + in about 200 feet. Then a nice left hander and right before a slight rise up, which you can do without pedaling. We group together again and let a car go past so we can stay together. There are other cars behind us but now they don’t catch us as we are going so fast around the corners, we still haven’t pedaled and hitting speeds of 42mph even on the brakes, my brakes are squealing and the bike is easily unsettled at these speeds so I am watching the road surface carefully for bumps. We all made it down safely into Ambleside in less than 6 minutes nearly 3 miles! At the bottom is a gentle ride to Rydal where we stay, the van had taken the longer route down to ambleside, so we waited for about 25 minutes for them to arrive – just as well Kev and I had beer in our bottles, a great finish to a tough day.

Day 6

Ambleside to St Helens’

Waking up in Ambleside is always a pleasure, but we are feeling the pain as yesterday was a tough day. Kirkstone pass is one mammoth hill and is now complete,the steepest climb and highest point on the route . Nothing else is as bad – I’ll keep telling myself that in the hope it’s true..
With a late finish last night we decided to have a slightly later start, yesterday was a big day and a long day, so leaving at 11 am we head out of the lakes. The first 25 miles take around 2.5 hours. It was hilly getting out of the lakes and not very kind to tired legs. Stopping for lunch in Hale, we find out that this is actually a recognised halfway point for JOGLE. We take a little longer than planned and at 3pm decide to make a move to finish the day – 56 miles to go … its gonna be another late finish! 
Just before Lancaster one of the guys has to pull out and let us continue, the previous day has taken its toll on the legs, muscles and joints. So we continue and try to make up some ground, through Lancaster and onto Preston, we manage to cover 30 miles in just over 2 hours including a break. 
We bumped into a local cyclist – Steve (training for the London to Paris ride) he helped us navigate to a local tourist spot to find the support crew just outside Chorley where Rob joins us again for the last stretch, 9 miles into St Helens,

Day 7

St Helen’s to Church Stretton

At porridge breakfast we listen to Gerry and the pacemakers, ferry across the Mersey – although we are not on a ferry today we will be crossing the river – still a landmark point for the trip as only 2 days ago we were still in Scotland. Leaving the hotel heading for Runcorn to cross the river at the bridge. The road to which is very busy and we approach using the bus and cycle lane, when we get to the bridge this disappears so we jump onto the pavement to cross the river, a safer choice I think. Heading out of Runcorn towards Tarporley  to pick up the A49 down towards Shrewsbury. The roads are not too bad the A49 has some nice stretches with a decent shoulder for us to ride on. This helps to maintain a decent pace, we decided today to keep to a good steady pace so as not to put too much pressure on ourselves later in the day  as we are aiming for a 5.30-6.00pm finish. This is possible with breaks too.

On the way to Whitchurch we see signs for the A49 being closed for bridge repairs, deciding to try to gamble we continue thinking that we can walk through or carry our bikes but the van has gone on ahead and seen there is not a bridge at all. So we take lunch at just before the closure and work out the best route around and into Whitchurch and then onwards. A local barmaid helps us out with the most direct and easy route to get back on track and away we go .. staying on the A49 after Whitchurch but with some deviations to break from the main road and see the local towns a little too.

Morale is good today, the timing is right and the pace and break intervals seem to be working. We arrive in Church Stretton at around 6pm.

Day 8

Church Stretton to Gloucester 62 miles

Leaving our families at 10.30 as it is a shorter day, the sun was strong and looks like it is going to be a hot day. The first hour covered 18 miles, a slight tail wind and down hills, nicer road surfaces helped keep a good pace at first. Then after our first banana break the roads became a little slower and the wind changed – to none. The sun was beaming down on us and cooking us very well. The hills are hard and we are craving shade to cool down and take in some drinks. Stopping for lunch at 2pm or so with 26 miles to go, so over halfway we feel confident. At 3.00pm we leave and take extra water as the temperature has gone up, probably the hottest so far on the route. Hard to get going again after a big lunch and with the heat too, this is going to be slower I can tell. One of the guys has pain in his leg muscles and we take the pace down – not that we could go too quick in this heat. Its got to be nearly 30 degrees today. Heading for Ledbury on the A417, coming off the main road sometimes to get a break from the main road noise and see some scenery too. On the A417 approaching a right bend with double white lines, an Audi convertible passes me on the bend and doesn't see the huge dead badger lying along the white lines in the centre of the road. The inevitable  happens as the Audi runs over the dead animal and spins up the body into the air, its a warm day and the stench is rancid not to mention the innards being splattered over the car and both sides of the road. About half a mile farther down the road we spot the Audi driver in a petrol station at the traffic lights, he is checking the underside of his car, with wry smiles we hope it smells bad! Karma?

The last 15 miles are hard on tired legs and we are extremely hot too, stopping frequently for shade and a breather. The route comes away from the main road for some nice roads on a cycle routes although one hill in particular was not a welcome sight, (despite the old man in his garden offering to spray us with the garden hose to cool us down) the long and smooth downhill afterwards was worth it. We make it into Gloucester at 6.00pm pretty much on target.

Day 9

Gloucester to Glastonbury 71 miles

Today we are heading for Bristol initially, following the A38/M5 corridor along cycle route 45. At Whitminster 2 guys had to drop out for the day due to injuries and ongoing pain. Kev and I continued to rack up some miles on the way to  Bristol where we cross the famous suspension bridge at Clifton and straight afterwards go through the Ashton estate down into Long Ashton – we meet the support crew here for refueling and see they have picked up our stricken teammates – they go on for a rest and to receive treatment – we continue on to Glastonbury, and around Litton Kev noticed an unusual roadkill contender, a grass snake had been flattened – a shame obviously but not the usual furry creatures we see littering the roads of this country. Neither of us had wet weather gear with us today and when a thunder cloud came over before we made it to wells we sheltered under some trees and took a quick banana break to let it pass. There was a nice big hill going into wells and it has to be said a great downhill 11% for a few miles, gathering speed down the hill Kev and I want to set off a speed camera, maybe we will be lucky and around the corner there will be one. Further down the hill , around the corner not a speed camera but instead a sudden  stop needed. We had to hit the brakes hard as there are traffic lights at the end, they are on red and really don't fancy jumping the lights with trucks around. It's a shame as we are still dying to see if we can set off a speed camera - maybe another day!

With a quick circuit of Wells centre to see where they filmed Hot Fuzz it was on to the camp in Glastonbury and meet the others. Quite a flat stretch for the last few miles and decent speed although we weren’t as fast as normal – we are both carrying injured quadriceps right now.

Day 10

Glastonbury to Bideford/Bucks Cross

A long day, with a few hills, but knowing that 10 of the last 15 miles are flat as we take in part of the Tarka trail at Barnstable to Bideford on the old railway line path. The ride out of Bideford however is climbing up to Bucks Cross where we camp for the night . rolling hills for the last 4 miles, when you reach the top of the hill the legs hope for no more downhill until destination but it doesn’t happen, the road drops again almost to sea level and back up again , it is late in the day, the legs  are empty and we are digging deep hoping for the road to stop climbing, my legs have now done over 850 miles and don’t I know it. After a breather and some water we continue up the hills and finally reach  the farm – an amazing location for a penultimate night , tiered pitches and good facilities with a cracking view over the bay – worth the effort and a return visit I think sometime in the future.

I am feeling like this was one of the most difficult finishes to a day, maybe its because my legs have now done  over 850 miles, maybe it’s the number of hills today in this heat. Whatever the reason I am so glad to finish and see such a lovely view from the tent pitch. We don’t put the gazebo up tonight as it is so good and the weather is lovely. As I sit here with a bottle of local beer and a fantastic view of the bay and headland, my legs relieved and cooling down  all the effort today is worth it and I feel the beer is well earned. As the sun sets over the bay, we are treated to one of the best skies I have ever seen in this country. The sky is a wash with stars and constellations from one horizon to the other, we stare upwards in the sky and see several shooting stars. Its quite a sight, we can see planets and stars I have never managed to see before. In fact the only time I have seen a brighter sky with more stars was at sea, many years ago in the Caribbean. This really does feel special and I don’t want to go to bed just yet.

Day 11

Bideford to Wadebridge/St Issey

65 miles and lots of hills today, well we are in Cornwall and there is not much option, the route follows the A39 corridor but not touching the main road unless absolutely necessary. When on the main roads you are mostly confined to the ’shoulder’ of the road which in most cases is worst condition surface and full of debris, it zaps all energy from your legs and as you are in the same position for a longer period increases pain in the back, legs, feet and arms and of course by now the very sensitive posteria area. At Holsworthy we have to lose Robin as his leg is giving sharp pain again, he gets the support van to pick him up as he wants to be stronger for the finish tomorrow. We continue with the rest of the 65miles and 3600ft of hills to climb. Down towards Wadebridge we go and still the hills keep hitting us, the sun is great but when you arte climbing 300ft hills it seems to be a curse – it is hard work. We take the A39 at Knights Mills to Wadebridge , there is shade here and we keep a good speed through the trees before hitting the town. At Wadebridge we make a short stop to get some gifts for our support team and take the big hill out to St Issey – our stop for the night. A great stop for the night, there is a pool and we have a BBQ too, I think we deserve it after covering over 900 miles now in 11 days, and tomorrow is the finale.

Day 12

St Issey to The END

So to the final day, after yesterday we know it wont be an easy 65 miles to the finish, Cornwall is full of hills and they are hard work when you have tired legs already, added to which there is a steep climb out of Penzance to look forward to as well. So we set of with an aim to finish at around 5pm, the weather is looking cloudy to start with – good for climbing hills right now, a nice journey into St Issey for the start and a 14% climb out of the village too – not a great start, we all have lead legs this morning although Kev nearly achieved a lifetime ambition of overtaking a tractor , just a few yards more and he could have done it but then the uphill happened – the tractor disappeared into the trees. The downhill start and sudden uphill seemed to set the agenda for the day as every decent stretch of downhill we encountered was followed by a sudden stop and uphill, the road surface and conditions did not let us carry the speed needed to get more than a few meters up the other sides before having to pedal frantically. Nearly 3000ft of hills today, this is hard going. We are following the A30 corridor and as previous days trying to stay away from the main road as much as possible. We pedal along A392 towards Newquay and then the A3076 towards Coldharbour, and the A3047 to Camborne where we meet the Support crew for a quick lunch. We eat in sunshine and the realize the heat is going to make the last 30 miles a hard finish. Just before Penzance we hit the A30 and some around the corner to catch a view of St Michaels Mount across the bay and see the Harbour of the town. Stopping briefly to take in this view it is beginning to finally hit me the feat we are about to complete, nearly 1000 miles from the most north eastern point of Scotland to here .. and all by bike, pedaling all the way is quite an achievement. We meet the van in Penzance to drop the bags and fill up water bottles for the last few miles. Taking the coast road out of Penzance with a hope of taking in the coastal views along the way to the finish, great in theory but there are some tall hedges blocking the views for quite some miles. However as we get 2 miles from the finish you start to catch a glimpse of the slope down and no more hills. Looking down with half a mile to go we see the Lighthouse and the finish line – this is it, we have done it, cycled 986 miles from John O’Groats, over 36000ft of hills and we can see the finish. 
Our Support crew are waiting for us to cross the line, they have even rigged up a finish tape (toilet roll - haha). We line up side by side, 4 abreast formation to cross the line together.
What a journey, we have laughed, moaned, felt pain, strain and elation through the whole journey and when the going got tough we pulled each other through and remembered that so many people had sponsored us to raise this money for such a good cause. 
We celebrate with the obligatory pictures by the post, some champagne spraying and well deserved cake! Its quite an amazing feeling and it still has not really sunk in, maybe in a few days or weeks, but I have to say I could not have done this without the endless support of my girlfriend who has in her words been a 'bike widow' for the last 6 months, but also the support crew - Jane and Lizzie, they kept us well fed, watered and nursed the injuries and strains for all of us for the whole journey. And of course I need to thank my fellow cyclists Rob, Robin and Kevin - we got through it together and there were some tough days I can tell you.




Advise for would be End to Enders ...


If you are considering a JOGLE or LEJOG I will say it will be a life changing journey no matter how long it takes you, when or how you do it. I recommend it to anyone but DO NOT take on the challenge lightly if you want to complete it in one piece, it is strenuous and demanding for the whole journey, cycling for 8 to 12 hours per day for an average of 80 miles or so is fine for one day but 10-12 days with no break is hard work. The first 2 days and last 2 days are the hardest and I don't think it matters which way you do it. We decided to go North to South mainly because we wouldn't have such a long journey home but also thought it would be warmer for the finish. This does however mean for a lot of the journey we had a headwind and this hills are steeper than going south to north but the finish line at Land's End is in my opinion more of a proper finish.

If you would like to know anything about the route, equipment or where to stay then I would be happy to help so please feel free to message me.


Once you have completed your challenge make sure you fill in the register to get free membership to Lands end and John O'groats for life, and feel very proud of your achievement.


Regards


Darren