1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Final Thoughts
I had achieved something that I had always wanted to do, to cycle from one end of the country to the other. I had achieved it within my original plan of 9 days, an average of 100 miles a day. I had proved to myself that at nearly 40 I was still in […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 10 Two Bridges to Lands End
I woke early and by 08:30 was back to the place where I had been picked up last night. The weather was foul, wet and very foggy on the hilltops. We had decided to take an overnight bag as there was the possibility that I would not complete the ride today and that […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 9 North Petherton to Two Bridges
I said farewell to Mum and Dad at North Petherton and set off with the aim of reaching Tavistock and the start of our holiday in Devon. Today however, was going to be a bad day. I took a stupid detour to get off the main A38 and ended climbing small country lanes and […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 8 Trumpet to North Petherton
And so into the second week of my journey. I left Trumpet at 9:15 and quickly settled into my rhythm again. After just over an hour I turned the corner and saw the welcoming sight of Gloucester Cathedral in the distance – I was really beginning to feel back home again. I sped […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 7 Stretton to Trumpet
We had breakfast at the Little Chef next door to the Travelodge. Dad was suffering from a hangover from his couple of pints from the previous night so did not feel up to a cooked breakfast (he only had two pints!). I was on the road again by 09:00 heading south to Whitchurch where […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 6 Penrith to Stretton
I was woken early with a cup of tea and loaded the bike onto the car and dad transported me back the 20 miles to where I had finished the previous evening. It was a very quiet and sombre journey for some reason, probably the thought of tackling Shap, this time on my bike. […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 5 Galashiels to Penrith
A real hot summers day today. I left Galashiels just after 9:00am and had a good ride for the first couple of hours. I turned off the A7 at Hawick onto the B6399 to avoid the traffic and headed cross country. The scenery was really pleasant but the sun was a scorcher. […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 4 Pitlochry to Galashiels
I anticipated this to be one of the longest days today, getting down towards the Scottish Border and hopefully meeting up with Mum and Dad. I left Pitlochry at 09:30 and managed for the most part of the day to keep off the main A9 which was a blessing. I had a minor […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 3 Tore to Pitlochry
After a good breakfast, left Tore and headed south to Inverness and the bridge over the Moray Firth. I stopped here to take a photo and to adjust my saddle-bag which was getting closer and closer to the back wheel. I only had today and tomorrow and then I would meet up with […]
1997 John O’Groats to Lands End – Day 2 Wick to Tore
I left Wick at 09:30 after a good breakfast and climbed steadily for several miles. It was a glorious day, blue skies and a cooling breeze. The first big test of the ride came at Berridale (which I had been warned about), which was preceded by a pleasant ride down into the valley. […]