John O'Groats to Lands End Cycle Ride (in 6 days)
The Idea
In January of 2014, Ben Wilding, whilst sitting opposite me at work, lifted his head and said: "I'm thinking of doing something different this year cycling-wise. I'm thinking of doing LEJOG (Lands End to John O'Groats)". Having known Ben for a number of years and having ridden with him on numerous occasions, I knew he wasn't joking. I also knew that he was telling me this for a reason and wanted me 'in' on the challenge. Ben also told me he had a close friend (Mark McCleavy - an seasoned Iron Man triathlete) who was also keen to take part. We immediately decided that June would be a good month to do the event - chance of better weather and certainty of more daylight hours, which meant we had just 4 months to plan and train for the event.
As I rode home that evening, I have to admit that I was slightly troubled by the prospect of taking only 3 riders and wondered who else I knew who would be up for the physical and mental challenge. I've ridden with a lot of people over the years, but this would be no 'normal' event and would need a seasoned cyclist who would rise to the challenge. The next day I told Ben that I felt we needed 4 riders and had decided to ask Neil Bradburn (a colleague at work who I had first met whilst riding with Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club) - Ben was in complete agreement and so off I went to speak to Neil. The response from Neil could not have been better: "Excellent idea - I've been wanting to do the End to End for a number of years". And so with 4 committed riders in place we selected a date for our first planning meeting.
Planning and Preparation
We held our first meeting in late January 2014 where 2 major decisions were made:
- We would do then event entirely without support meaning that all food, equipment and clothing would be carried by the 4 riders.
- We would attempt to do the challenge in 6 days.
To this day, none of us can agree who came up with these decisions and it is likely we will never find out. What we all now agree with however is that either of the above decisions on their own would be sufficient to turn this potentially enjoyable challenge into a gruelling, tortuous endurance event - attempting to take on both of the above borders on pure madness.
Over the coming weeks we trained mainly in isolation with work committments and other events preventing us from doing any rides involving the 4 of us - this was not a good position to be in and the effects of it would surface at a later date.
At subsequent planning meetings, we made more decisions such as deciding to ride from north (John O' Groats (JOG)) to south (Lands End) purely because it seemed to be easier on the mind to be 'cycling home'. A decision was also made to use Carradice saddle bags which enabled us to carry 15 litres of equipment neatly behind the seat - these bags were to prove to be excellent pieces of equipment. We also produce an equipment list which dictated which items had to be carried by all 4 riders and which items could be shared around the team. Finally, we made a decision that all bikes would have full front and rear mudguards - not just for the protection of the rider, but also to protect the rider behind (more on this later), and the bikes would have to be fully serviced before the event (more on that later).
In February 2014, myself and Ben Wilding decided that we would use the event to raise money for CRY (http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/) having both lost close friends and relatives to sudden death syndrome.
Logistics
Ben had been chosen to organise flights from Luton to Inverness on the morning of Friday 30th May followed by hiring a mini bus and driver to take us and the bikes from Inverness to JOG (a 3 hour drive on a good day). Neil was selected to book B&Bs for the 'Scotland leg' and I was responsible for the B&Bs in England. Mark was tasked with getting us back from Land's End on the following Friday.
In the week running up to the event,we located bike boxes from local, friendly bike stores and commenced dis-assembling our bikes and placing them into these seemingly too small boxes. Everything else went into our 15L bags which also highlighted how limited our space was going to be.
The day before the event we had a slight scare when Ben realised that he had book the Inverness to JOG mini bus for the wrong day! This event could be over before it started. Thanks to some spirited negotiating, we manged to change the date and as we were now sharing the minu bus with a couple of other riders, received some cash back - bargain.
The Event
Day 0 - Friday 30th May 2014 (Transit to John O' Groats)
The day before the event started for real (Day 0) was to be the transit day. We arrived at Luton airport at 08:00hrs handed our precious, packed bikes over to the ground staff - in the knowledge that they now had complete and total control over the success or otherwise of our event - we were not to be disapointed as they treated the 4 bikes with extreme care and 'respect'. The flight arrived on time in Inverness where the weather, despite seeing snow on the mountains as we descended, was amazing - barely a cloud in the sky. We collected the bikes from the ground staff and commenced assembling them on the grass opposite the terminal building - there was no rush here as we had 4 hours to wait until our mini bus arrived to take us onwards. Unbelievably, all 4 bikes had arrived undamaged and without any missing/left-behind components - a great start to the event.
At around 15:00hrs, the mini bus and all 6 riders (4 of us and two guys doing a separate event) set off for the long journey up to JOG. There's only 1 road from Inverness to JOG and as you sit there counting the miles, it is quite mentally challenging to think that the next day you have to cycle all of them in the opposite direction just to get back to where you started the day before. That aside, the journey was relatively easy, with the only concern being that we were now in a cloud that had blown in from the sea and the previous blue skys had become cold, grey and misty - the weather up there changes by the minute.
We arrived at JOG just after 18:00hrs and were greeted by Mark and Mary from the John O'Groats Guest House where we were staying for the night. Mark and Mary turned out to be the most friendly, helpful hosts we had ever come across and were genuinely keen to ensure that everything was in place for us. We explained to Mary that we would not be taking breakfast as we would be away by 06:00hrs the following morning, but true to form, Mary said she would be up at 05:30hrs to cook breakfast for us - what a star! At around 19:00hrs we decided to 'test' the bikes by cycling the 1 mile from the B&B to the famous JOG sign post - not just an iconic landmark but a true and accurate reminder that Lands End is 1500km in the opposite direction. We'd only been there a few minutes when another cyclists came running up to us with a simple need to just chat - he'd been on the road for 10 weeks (cycling the coastline of the UK) and clearly had not spoken to anyone for quite some time. He spent an age telling us about his trip and his route before asking us what we were up to.
"Doing the End to End" we said,
"How many days" he replied
"Six" we stated
"You're mad" was his response followed by a look of disbelief. The nerves at this point started to take hold of all 4 of us - what the hell had we signed up to?
We returned to the B&B where Mary has prepared evening meal - an excellent 3 course meal with a glass of wine, followed by coffee - we were now eating for England, in Scotland without having left JOG!
Day 1 - Saturday 31st May 2014 (JOG to Fort Augustus)
We arose at 05:30hrs, packed our equipment and ate a full fry which sadly none of us were hungry for. We set off at 06:30 and nipped back down to the JOG signpost for a few photos before setting off for real on the 1500km challenge. We were on our way!
Spirits were high as we cycled 2 a-breast out of JOG and quickly got through Wick. The road surface was good, the weather was overcast but dry and the traffic courteous and light. We were doing little or no navigating at this point as there is only a single road which hugs the coastline - as long as the coastline is on your left, you are on the right road. Most of the hills in this part of Scotland are rolling and as such relatively easy to climb and descend. We kept the pace intentionaly low at around 22-25km/h - this event would not be about speed, but rather about long smooth hours in the saddle. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and we made regular stops to take photos - a luxury we could ill afford but would not truly realise this until later in the day. We stopped for lunch (sandwich and a coke) in Tain at around 14:00hrs - we'd done half of the days riding and it was already 2pm! To be fair, we had been warned by so many people that there is no slack in a 6 day JOGLE schedule and that hours would simply dissappear.
After this quick lunch, we headed off back down the A9 and skirted around Inverness picking up quieter roads where possible - for the very first time, we were having to navigate using pre-prepared GPX map files on our Garmin 800 devices. The afternoon saw some steeper hills through the Muir of Ord and it was 18:00hrs before was dropped back down to Drumadrochit on the edge of Loch Ness. We arrived at the B&B at Invermoriston at around 19:00hrs tired but awake to the reality of how hard this was going to be. We also realised that we had booked a B&B 15km short of the intended day 1 finish point which although timely and welcome, meant that Day 2 (already the longest of the 6 days) would now be 15km longer.
Despite this, spirits were still high and we enjoyed a great evening meal in a local hotel before heading off to bed at around 22:00hrs.
As a slight aside, one of the downsides of carrying your own kit means you have to wash it each night. We had already done our washing before heading to the hotel for our meal and agreed with the owners of the B&B that we could hang it on their washing line in the back garden. Upon returning from the hotel meal, we attempted to collect the now dry kit from the line but a combination of painful and now seizing legs meant that as I attempted to walk back down the steep garden path, I stumbled and grabbed the wooden hand rail running down the garden steps only to see it crumble and break into small pieces along its entire lenght. Ben and Mark burst into school boy like fits of laughter which must have alerted the owners attention - I await their comments :)
Day 2 - Sunday 1 June 2014 (Fort Augustus - Kilmarnooock)
Once again, we arose at 05:30hrs, packed our equipment and ate the fruit and bread kindly left out by the B&B owners. Already saddle sore, we quietly left the garden without breaking anything else and commenced the 15km ride to the 'real' start of Day 2. At 30km on the south side of Fort Augustus Ben had an unavoidable snake-bite puncture. We all stopped to carry out the repair and were immediately swarmed by midges that started biting us within seconds. A kind elderly lady came from a nearby house to help us by giving us her 'anti-midge' lotion and also gave us £5 to our CRY charity cause - an amazing act of true kindness for which we all thank you from our hearts. Back on the move we made it to Fort William for breakfast and then onto Glen Coe at around 12:00hrs. The climb out of Glen Coe was hard as the wind was now in our faces and temperature dropped - snow was now visible on the tops of the mountains. It took us 45 minutes to climb to the top of Glen Coe and another hour + to clear over the tops and down to Crianlarich where we had lunch - once again, the hours had slipped away and it was almost 15:00hrs as we ate, with still a half day's riding to come. The ride out of Crianlarich was down hill and a welcome change from the mornings climbing. We soon reached Loch Lomond and then onto Dumbarton at around 18:00hrs - at this point, we were well behind schedule. Myself and Neil had ridden ahead of Mark and Ben and agreed to regroup near Glasgow, but the reality of the situation was that this meant we would cool down and 'seize up' as we waited, so via a phone call, we checked everyone knew the route and agreed to meet up at the finish in Kilmarnock. For whatever reason, we mentally thought that Glasgow was close the end of the ride but the reality is that Kilmarnock is another hilly 50km south. And as the heavens opened, this final 50km of the day became painful and gruelling with each of us reaching a 'sugar-low' point at some stage - not a great place to be!
Myself and Neil arrived at the Travel Lodge (Kilmarnock) at 21:05hrs having been cycling for 15 hours, Ben and Mark arrived 1 hour later - mentally and physically exhausted but still smilling (we had at least been able to access their room and run the bath for them). The staff at the Travel Lodge were amazingly helpful and even washed our dirty kit - thank you Travel Lodge! We ordered a few pizzas for delivery and hit the sack at around 23:00hrs.
Day 3 - Monday 2 June 2014 (Kilmarnock - Burton in Kendal)
We were on the move by 06:00hrs and headed south on the busy, noisy A76 - the wind in our faces and rain pouring down, a nightmare start to a long days riding. We had breakfast in Thornhill (20km north of Dumfies) at which point I garthered that not all was well with Ben as he was experiencing pain in his left knee. As we made it into Dumfries, Ben found the local Boots Chemist and took numerous anti-inflammatory tablets. We agreed to lower the pace a little and made it to Annan where we bought lunch from Tesco and sat in the car park to discuss the plan for the afternoon. It was obvious at this point that Ben was in extreme pain - making any form of climbing almost impossible. For the first time, we discussed extending the schedule by a day and easing off the pace even more, however, Ben stood up and said he would make a decision at Gretna (15km south) - we agreed with this as only he knew the true extent of the pain/damage in his knee. As we entered Gretna, I believe we all knew that Ben was in too much pain to continue and he graciously announced his 'exit' from the event and said he would be getting the train back to London. We all hugged him in turn and with a genuine tear in all of our eyes, headed off south, crossing the border from Scotland to England before leaving Gretna. The harsh reality of Ben's decision was that we now had 3 fit riders and were able to up the pace a little as we headed off towards Carlisle. We then climbed for over an hour before we reached the highest point of the entire ride between Shap and Kendal - a quick photo at the top before a fast descent into Kendal. We then had another 20km to go before reaching the M6 Travel Lodge at Burton in Kendal. Once again Travel Lodge we extremely helpful and with only a slight amount of persuasion agreed to wash our kit. Dinner that night was Burger King (across the forecourt) followed by Costa Coffee - bed by 22:30.Day 4 - Tuesday 3 June 2014 (Burton in Kendal - Ludlow)
On the bikes by 06:20hrs, we headed down towards Lancaster with views over Morecambe bay. We were heading into Lancashire and true to form, the rain came in. Fortunately these were only mild showers and our progress was good, clearing Preston, Wigan, Warrington before 12:00hrs. The number of miles we were doing was begining to take its toll and so a 'pit stop' at a local chemist
The afternoon riding was enjoyable as the roads were smooth and quiet, but all was to change as we hit Shrewsbury. I've navigated all over the globe with my Garmin 800, but Shrewsbury had us and the Garmin 800 beat - we went three times around the center before deciding to 'go it alone' and head out on the A49 - losing 45 precious minutes as part of this navigation mix up. We were also now on an extremely busy, dangerous road at evening rush hour and to make matters worse, we were now aware that all was not well with Mark's knee. We made a quick decision to turn off the A49 and to try and reach our destination of Ludlow via the safer back roads - these would be quieter but far more hilly. Mark was now in real pain with his knee and the prospect of more hills did not help - we had no choice but to return to the A49 and simply do the miles. Mark was now down to a slow pace and just needed to be left alone to grind out the final miles of the day - we got him to the A49 and pointed him in the direction of Ludlow - a straight road with no turn offs. Myself and Neil then blasted in to the B&B at Ludlow where Ben had returned in his car to meet us. Ben then drove back up the A49 to ensure that Mark came in safely. As we entered our room, we found drinks, food and all of the stuff you need at the end of a hard day's ride placed neatly on the bedside tables - Ben had not only chosen to rejoin us , but had gone out and re-stocked our food and drink - amazing!
Dinner was fish and chips in the local 'chippy' and we were asleep by 22:30.
Day 5 - Wednesday 4 June 2014 (Ludlow - Exeter)
As the 3 of us headed onto the road at 06:30, it was immediately obvious that Mark's knee was in no better shape than the day before. Within 5km, Mark announced that he was going to go at a slower pace and drop off the back. We agreed that, as Ben was now 'available' to support Mark in his car, this was a sensible decision to make. However, Mark's knee only got worse and as myself and Neil arrived for breakfast in Monmouth, Ben joined us and told us the news that Mark had had to retire from the event and was heading back to London on the train. We were down to 2!
As we left Monmouth, the rain came down and we knew from the forecast that it was to be torrential and set in for the day. We should at this point have gone 'full Gortex' but we made a mistake and chose to ride onto Bristol in only shower proof clothing - not a good idea. Ben met us at a warm, dry cafe where we ate hot soup and changed into dry kit, placing our wet kit into the saddle bags. Despite waiting for an hour the rain did not relent and we reluctantly headed back out into it at around 14:00hrs. The afternoon was wet, horrible and windy - the worst possible conditions for cycling meaning that it was 18:00hrs by the time we made it to Taunton. Ben met us with a warm coffee and we sat in his car trying to find any excuse not to have to get back outside and cycle the remaining wet 50km into Exeter. Leaving the warmth of the car was so difficult and I have to admit that had Ben or Neil suggested that we jack it in at that point, I would have probably done just that. As I climbed back onto a wet soggy bike, in wet soggy clothes, I recall looking at Neil and wondering what the hell we were doing - he clearly shared my view.
The next 50km seemed to take ages but we made solid progress and reached the B&B (once again room stocked with replensished food and drink - thanks Ben) at just gone 20:00hrs. As we rang the door bell of the B&B, the rain stopped and it became a gorgeous summer evening - unbelievable.
We enjoyed a pub meal and pint that night - concluding the hardest days riding of my life. Bed by 22:30.
Day 6 - Thursday 5 June 2014 (Exeter - Lands End)
We could not get access to the secured bikes until 06:30hrs on day 6, so we had already lost 30 minutes by the time we left Exeter, however, the weather looked good and the forecast was promising. I'd gone to bed the previous night feeling good and despite rding through 7 hours of rain had no apparent injuries/aches. It was therefore an awful shock when going up the first climb of the day that I felt a sharp, excruciating pain in my left knee - surely not another knee injury. I told Neil about the pain and asked if we could drop the pace to below 20km/h for 30 mins to see how it went. At this point Neil gave me numerous pills and to this day I will never know which one worked, but work they did and within an hour I had no pain at all in my knee (that would not be the last I heard from the knee however).
We had been warned that Devon and Cornwall would be hilly with steep unrelenting climbs so mentally we were prepared. We had also 'front-loaded' the ride so that instead of a normal 250km day, we 'only' had 220km to do, giving more time for the hills. Breakfast was in Launceston (cornish pasty and coke - I don't do diets!) where we were greated by the local bike store - if you get the chance to visit it, do as it's a true cyclists' bike shop. We then climbed over Bodmin moor and reached Wadebridge for lunch at around 14:00hrs - we were now facing the final half days riding to Lands End, a mere 97km away.
The climb out of Wadebridge is tough and keeps going for mile after mile, but once past Newquay, the road becomes less undulating and we were able to make good solid progress through Redruth, Camborne and Hayle. We reached Penzance at around 17:30 with just 15km to go - at this point, I hit 'the wall' and it was as if my body and mind switched off, almost as if believing that this was the finish point, sadly it was not and there were 15km to go. Fortunately Neil realised what was happening and through timely verbal encouragement managed get me re-focused on the end game. At this point, a strange but nice thing happened - as we passed a small cottage there was a middle aged man standing at his gate - we were going slow as it was a steep uphill climb - the man simply said in a calm, softly voice: "keep it safe boys, not far to go". These words also re-focused my mind and I realised that due to extreme fatigue we had been wavering all over the road - it was time to get back in the groove and start being safe again. 10km further and we came over the top of the final climb and rolled down in to Lands End to be greeted by Ben armed with beers and champagne.
I can't tell you anything about Lands End, as I was not looking, or to be honest bothered. After the obligatory photo at the sign post we simply got out of there and headed to the hotel (not B&B :)). Dinner that night was with many beers and at a fine restaurant in Penzance. Sleep by ? I have no idea.
