Day 13 LEJOG – Bettyhill to John O’Groats!

We have done it!!

It’s been a hilly, windy and very wet 59 mile day today, but none of that mattered as we cruised into John O’Groats.

We made an 8 mile detour to go to Dunnets head, which is the most Northerly point in the UK mainland!

From there we were counting down the miles until the big finish! It was emotional as we were heading to the sign post with joy and elation!

We were met by our starting crew to provide us with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate!

This had been one of the most rewarding, challenging and memorable journeys. We are over the moon we have been able to do it together! This is something that we will never ever forget. We would not change one single thing about the journey!

Finishing stats
Miles : 1011
Feet climbed : 43,130 ft
Hours on the saddle : 73.5 hours
Number of leg revolutions : 353,000
Number of moans about the derrière : 184729362936998292

Heather was laughing at size of David’s muscles from Brussels!

It was a touching and fitting end when sitting in the cafe at John O’Groats wearing our prostate cancer tops when someone came over to us and ask us what we have done, then announcing at the end he had had prostate cancer and he got quite emotional talking about it. There were other lovely people who also heard what we have done and donated at the end in the cafe.

Prostate Cancer is something that affects one in eight men and that does not include endless family and friends! There are so many people out there fighting this awful cancer and any bit of money would be greatly appreciated!

https://www.justgiving.com/WilliamsLeJog2014/

One last thank you to everyone for all your support and best wishes! It really helped us get through the rough days! It was a pleasure raising money for such a good cause

Day 11 LEJOG – Fort Augustust to Invershin

After a great nights sleep and making our own breakfasts, we got off to a flying start

(Thanks again to Neil for the photo)

We were going so well in fact, the Scottish highways had to send out a convey escort for us

We had a much better day today with 76 miles while sampling a few of the highlands hills. In truth the hill out of Dromendorick was probably the steepest we have encountered.

We certainly know we are in the highlands as the midgies are starting to bite, which means we cycle faster to avoid them!

We arrived at the Invershin hotel and were greeted with a lovely welcome of tea and biscuits and freshly cooked haddock and chips for tea!

Tomorrow is the penultimate day with a 20 miles of climbing to start!

Day 10 LEJOG – Oban to Fort Augustus

We made the most of the £2 youth hostel breakfast this morning after a fairly poor nights sleep.

On the road for 8am in the pouring rain! The weather only brightened just as we were finishing, so a pretty wet dull day.

We did a total of 76 miles today and probably due to the lack of sleep and weather, the 10 days of cycling started to get to us. Everything seemed to hurt and especially the saddle sores!

The ride itself was lovely along the lochs and Caledonian canal. It seemed strange passing Nevis Range with snow still in the gullies. It sunk in how far apart this was from Lands End.

We are staying in a bunk house hostel in Fort Augustus, which is a lovely village which connects Loch Ness with the Caledonian canal. We decided to cook in the hostel for a change which involved a kg of pasta washed down with some local beers.

http://prostatecanceruk.org/information/prostate-cancer/signs-and-symptoms

I think we may struggle with signal to update the blog over the next few days as we are starting to get into the back end of beyond!

Day 9 LEJOG – Lochranza to Oban

After a well deserved lie in, today started with a quick dash to the ferry to get back onto the mainland. The weather was not as good as yesterday, but it certainly did not spoil the views!

It’s was only short day today with 61 miles up to Oban, with an average speed of 15.4 mph!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/511495683

We are staying in the backpackers hostel tonight in Oban and we had a good laugh at the name of Geoff’s bunk …. That name is defiantly going to stick for while!

We have been for a lovely evening meal at an restaurant overlooking the bay and watched the paddle steamer dock.

Stats to date
Miles : 743
Feet climbed : 29,206 ft
Hours on the saddle : 54 hours … Ouch

We have also reached another milestone today … To date we have cycled the equivalent height of Everest (29,028ft)! I think that deserves a celebratory dram of whisky!

https://www.justgiving.com/WilliamsLeJog2014/

Also just wanted to share a photo of the sunset of Arran last night

Over and out from Butthead

Day 7 Carlisle to Ayr

Another 7am start and breakfast en route meant that we crossed the Scottish border by 7.45! This felt like a big milestone that we have now conquered England, but slightly daunting that Scotland takes up half of our milage! To mark this occasions we stopped at Dumfries for a full Scottish breakfast after 36 miles.

By pure chance we met up with another LEJOG cyclist who we last met at Lands End as we were starting our journey. Well done to Pete Jackson for your big ride North and solo effort with a really well loaded bike!

From Dumfries the road over the hills to Ayr must be one of the best cycling routes. This felt so rewarding traveling over the beautiful roads compared to the slog through the busy North West Days when the weather is nice and views as good as any, makes the miles float by! With only flocks of sheep to contend with, David looked like Nell the sheepdog rounding them up!

As the days go on we are starting to get fitter and fitter; getting into a good routine. This meant that today we managed to average 15.4 mph over the whole 93 miles including the lumpy bits. With the heavy panniers on that is not bad effort!

The only downfall today was the state of some of the roads. At times it felt like cobble stones and there was a few ‘testical shocking’ moments! Thank goodness for the cyclocross bikes!

We did not stop for lunch and carried on straight to Ayr which meant we arrived by 2.30pm. This gave us a good chance to get our clothes washed and turned around after the long 90+ mile days.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/510025113

Talk about a small world, arriving back to the hotel after a refuel we bumped into Fred the butcher from Greenside who was sat in the bar, so a good catch up was had swooping tour trip notes.

Geoff T shirt seems to be getting more and more appropriate:
EAT… SLEEP … CYCLE!
He reckons according to his Garmin calorie counter he has burnt 34800, which is rubbish. The amount we have to eat seems like that amount sometimes.

Tomorrow we are off sharp to catch the ferry across to Arran and with the weather looking good we are excited to get a full loop around the beautiful island!

Here is a link to some facts and figures about Prostate Cancer. Which is very scary, please have a read and share if you can:
http://prostatecanceruk.org/information/prostate-cancer-facts-and-figures

Also a big thank you for all your encouragement and reading of our blog. It is so nice that so many friends and family are interested and routing us on!

https://www.justgiving.com/WilliamsLeJog2014/

Day 6 – Preston to Carlise (made it over half way 😀)

Today was another big day, 95 miles with some big climbs over the Lake District. Day after day is really starting to wear the batteries down. But great news for the derrière is that we are now over half way!

The big miles are also starting to take the tolls on the bikes. New brake blocks for David’s bike and a minor disaster averted with Geoff’s panniers. The rivots which attach the pannier bag to the bracket attachment came away. In true Geoff style and the help of a dodgy garage the panniers can now withstand another 10,000 miles, i am sure!

Today’s big climb was up and over Shap, with the horizontal rain and wind it felt like something from the Giro d’Italia! As you can see by the elevation gain, it certainly was a monster climb.

http://www.strava.com/activities/146957384

Tonight we were met by Mum and Heather who have come across to say hello. Which brighten the spirits and brought some some much needed goodies to keep us going! Thanks Mum!

We are also delighted that we have now raised just over the £1000 which is incredible and we can now count in a £1 per mile when we are cycling. Thank you again for all your donations.

https://www.justgiving.com/WilliamsLeJog2014/

Here is a bit of info about prostate cancer which is worth a read

http://prostatecanceruk.org/information/who-is-at-risk

A curry was on the menu tonight and even the nan bread reminded us of the painful saddle which we have to get back on in the morning! Tomorrow’s plan is to get to Ayr, 92 miles with a fair few lumpy bits in between!

Stats to date
Miles : 512
Feet climbed : 17,221

Day 4 – Portishead to All Stretton

Long tough day today! A hilly 92 miles up the Wye valley and border of Wales.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/508254836

We were lucky again with the weather and just managed to avoid the heavy downpours.

The day started navigating through Avonmouth docks in rush hour, over the old Severn bridge and into Wales!

As soon as we crossed the border we hit the undulating hills, but the stunning views of the Wye valley distracted us from the tired legs!

The spare parts that we are carrying came into use when David’s pannier rack bolt sheared. Quick running repair sorted it out on the roadside.

We have found our new favourite cycling snack of Sainsburys granola squares!

We finally made it to our destination, which is a little remote bunk house up out of town!

Another testing day tomorrow with 95 miles through the built up areas of the North West…. Don’t tell the legs that!

Shout out to Neil Robinson for the best photo laugh last night. Feel free to make up your own captions!

Day 3 LEJOG – Exeter to Portishead

After a good catch up with Jim last night and a few Devon ciders later … David decided to cycle back down the hill!

Got off to an early start with a full breakfast to fuel us up.
Weather today was overcast and sunny spells. Perfect cycling conditions with little wind.
Today was a flat ish 83 miles so we managed to up the average speed and enjoyed the scenic lanes, canal paths and tracks through the apple orchards.

However, as you can see by the photos sometimes the shortest route is not always the quickest!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/507461951

We met up for the second time 3 ‘End to Enders’ on route and was great to hear their plans!

Off to meet Alex and Carla for a catch up, refuel and a pint. Planning to be on the road for 7am tomorrow for a 92 mile hilly slog… The big days on the bike are starting!

Stats to date
Miles : 214
Height climbed: 11,644 ft