The End!

And so that is it. Sam, Alex, Anouska, Emma, Dave M and Dave W have all successfully completed the challenge and cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats.

Woo hoo

After 13 days, 1000 miles, lots of sandwiches and even more beer they finally cycled into John O’Groats at 5.04pm on 6th August.

I must confess that I had my doubts before they started that each and every single one of them would cycle each and every mile but they did – and I know I and many others are blown away by the achievement.

I don’t think it really sank in until the long drive home yesterday to Chester. We left the youth hostel at 8.44 am, didn’t leave Scotland until around 5pm and didn’t get back to Chester until 8pm! God damn that is a really really long way (I hate the A9 with a passion after yesterday ).

After their arrival at John O’Groats the group made their way to our Youth Hostel in Cannisby, where we enjoyed out last meal together, had a few glasses of Cava and generally looked back on their last thirteen days (or at least we did until 11pm when we were sent to bed -  youth hostel rules you know!).

General consensus was that we were very lucky with the trip. The only real bike problem was with Sam’s wheel and that just so happened to go wrong in Taunton, where a quick trip down to the local bike shop sorted that. The only real medical problem was Anouska’s eye, but again a quick trip to the hospital in Langholm set her mind at ease there. Everyone enjoyed various different days of cycling, although many have mentioned the morning of the last day from Lairg to Melvich Bay as being the most beautiful and impressive. That one plus the long uphill cycle up to Edinburgh and the stunning view at the top.

The long cycle up to Edinburgh

The consensus on the worst days were basically the wet ones, Day 2 and the cycle to and out of Chester. I must say that even though they were the worst days, they were still not that bad. Everyone enjoyed the night in Dufton (BEER FESTIVAL!) and also the night we stayed in the Banfoot Inn (do you see a pattern emerging here?).

I have been asked by the LEJOGGERS to thanks everyone involved and who has helped them along the journey – special thanks go to…….

Josh for helping out in the first week, with the tents, with the navigation and also with the losing to me at pool (ok, drawing)

Kate – for helping out for two days, for the flapjacks, for the chilli and also for keeping me sane at the beginning of my support role

Emma’s Uncle Rob and Martin – for putting up with me, Anouska, Emma and Kate for the night so we didnt have to camp, for the lovely meal and the even more lovely wine.

Emma’s Mum and Dad and Rebecca – for their mammoth  and never ending lunch in Tintern Abbey and for the medication for Anouska’s Coldsore

Simon and Mandy – Simon for the 2 days hard slog he did on his bike and Mandy for the extra support she offered to both the support team and the cyclists.

The start line in Lands End

Nicky, Carol and Steve- For popping into Low Luckens (not an easy place to pop too) and to Nicky for keeping Alex properly motivated

Penny and John – for letting us stay at your house on the Chester night, for the curry and for the surprise at the lunch stop after Langholm.

Julia, David and Aliyah – for the great evening, the wine and the Sri Lankan curry…….mmmmmmmmm

Caz and Tony -  for having smelly old Sam and Alex at yours for the night, and for the loooovely flapjacky things.

J and P Walker – big thanks from me for the constant support for my blog entries! big thanks for everyone for the money for the support -you gave us a great last night!

Alexs friend Ian – for the surprise stop near Dufton and the Maltesers and the Minstrels.

The list is not exhaustive, but basically thanks to everyone who has sponsored any of the LEJOGGERS, everyone who has read and commented on the blog and everyone who has been involved with the preparation.

The last supper

As for me, my main memories of LEJOG will be happy ones (except for friggin Shrewsbury which was well stressful). For a group of people randomly thrown together everyone got on so well and we had some great evenings together. I will remember the never ending sandwich making, the moving of bags into and out of the car, the driving alone along weird roads to places with weird names.(happy ones?)

I will remember Alex’s repeated bonging (especially of the landlady at Bankfoot). I’ll remember Dave W and his midge hats and Dave M and his route planning. I will remember Sams dislike of midges (not midgets) and his rather unsubtle application of Assos. I will remember Anouska’s massive elephant eye and her getting lost on the A9 and Emmas finishing of songs that i’ve started and generally putting the lads to shame in the cycling department. I will also remember the effect of protein shakes had on the cyclists, that will stay with me for a long time!

The LEJOGGERS

And so that’s it for the lejoggler blog I’m afraid, I’m glad that people have enjoyed it and that its kept you all up to speed with what had been happening. Again I apologise for the spelling, its the iphone honest.

In the coming days I will hopefully (after unpacking and getting ready for work ) be uploading the exact route and going over the old posts and correcting them and adding some relevant photos that  I couldn’t upload with the iphone.

Massive congratulations to Sam, Dave, Dave, Anouska, Emma and Alex – its a massive accomplishment and something you should all be really really proud of.

Day 13 – Lairg to JOHN O GROATS!

Its finally here, the last push, the journeys end, the last day!

HOORAY

I’m actually writing this sitting outside the Journeys End Bar in John o Groats – it feels quite bizarre to finally be here!

I thought I would give you an early update before the cyclists arrive and then a second one later – before I’m too drunk hopefully – with more details.

They are due to arrive at 5pm – we have made them a large banner and bought some champaigne (well Cava) to help them celebrate. God I’m sooooo excited

They left Lairg at half eight this morning and have had a long day. The morning ride took them to Velwich Bay – and oh what a ride! I don’t know what their answers is going to be about their best moment but that journey was one of mine, it realy was beautiful (Rob Youds 2009) – and you can quote me on that!

Lunch ( for those of you interested in the support side of things) consisted of everything that we needed to get rid of – so was mainly stale pitta breads, sweaty cheese and smelly houmos – mmmmmm

That was 58 miles, which they did in 4 and a half hours which is pretty good going ! It must be pretty good as they arrived before their ever faithful support team – well some of them . From there it was a it was another 39 ish miles to John o Groats, but a pretty hilly 39 miles I must say, my clutch foot is very stiff

And that’s the story so far today, I will write later with some tales of punctures, periniums and a general post Lejog analysis . I wil try and upload some photos until they get here so you acanthus see the beauty that is (isn’t ) John o Groates – The First and the Last ( Thats what it says on the souvenir shop!)

Day 12 – Aviemore to Lairg

Miles – 90
Punctures – 0
Sams Perinium – who cares, there is only one day left

Well this is now the third time I have written this blog entry. A combination of bad Internet and dodgy iPhone usage has put paid to my two previous attempts. Needless to say I am a bit annoyed and so can’t be bothered writing too much! I can assure you that the previous efforts were witty and amusing, but this one won’t be!

A long day on the bikes was relatively incident free apart from the following -

Anouska got stranded on the A9 and her nearly started crying!

Alex an Dave saw a real life at otter at the Falls of Shin

We went to the best toilets in the world at Tain – they had numerous certificates and were staffed by the best attendant in the world. (don’t worry I was very careful when aiming)

We stayed the night in two caravans in Lairg. They are soooo retro, it’s like stepping back in time! Just the smell takes me back to my childhood holidays on te north Wales coast

And there’s little more to say than that ( well actually there is more to say, bit as I said this is the third time so I am running out of patience !)

Last day tomoorrow! Both a not sad and a bit happy at the prospect!

Byeeee x

Day 11 – Bankfoot to Aviemore

Miles – 76
Punctures – None (thank god for armadillos!)
Fally Overs – 1 (Emma D but don’t worry as she was at a standstill)
Sams perinium – forgot to ask, but I reckon it’s fine
Curry – 1

Bit late with the update sorry as was bit busy last night, what with drinking and going for a curry and stuff! Sorry everyone

The problem we have is that as you all know we are now on Day 11 and it’s hard to come up with new things to tell you about the cycling….they keep going a long way everyday basically. As you can see from above we had one incident of Emma falling off when changing gears going up a hill – but apart from that it was another day of steady cycling. Dalwhinnie was a nice little lunch stop, although quite literally in the middle of nowhere. All the staff in the cafe type place had “dalwhinnie twinned with Las Vegas” tshirts on which if a joke was quite amusing, but if not a joke then surely the most bizarre twinning in history?

The afternnon consisted of a journey from Dalwhinnie to a GREAT cafe jar outside Aviemore where they had amazing cakes ( I had lemon as they had run out of cheesecake – mildly dissapointing but I survived ) and you could sit there and watch the red squirrels galavanting and the tits and thrushes (tee hee) twittering – see the photos on flickr so you can see what I mean!

From there it was a short downhill onto Aviemore where we were staying at the bunkhouse – which actually was pretty ok. Again we were nextdoor to a pub ( and again the accommodation was booked by Dave Walker – strange?) so we all had a few drinks then went for a curry and proceeded to do the obligatory thing of filling up on poppadoms before the main meal arrived! Crazy English!

So another good day all in all, and today they have set off for Lairg (pronounced laaaaarg apparently) for the penultimate days cycling – can’t believe it’s nearly over

Wifi in Dalwhinny = big photo update

Would you believe that Dalwhinny of all places have wifi – hence I have been able to upload some photos, some I may have already uploaded but check em out blog fans!

In response to questions asked

People keep asking me questions via the comments and I keep forgetting to include them in the updates so here goes:

In response to J and P Walker asking about where we are – oops sorry I forgot to mention that! We stayed in the Bankfoot Inn in Bankfoot which us just above Perth up the A9

Penny and John – Anouskas face is now almost completely back to normal she now only looks a little bit like a hamster I will upload a photo of her as of last night x

Carol and Steve – the bolognaise went down very well, there were lots if appreciative noises coming from all round and I felt little bulb of pride in the pit of my stomach ( unless that was the garlic)

Nikki – Alex hasn’t seen ur comment yet but from the way he has ben talking last night I wouldn’t fancy your chances of making your house a bike free zone

Paul – they haven’t seen James Cracknell yet – if they do it’ll be today! Will let you know !

Chris Walker – re spelling being rubbish due to alcohol that crossed my mind too, but I do sometimes write the blog before (yes before) I have drank any alcohol, and my spelling is still pants so I m sticking with the iPhone excuse

Well that’s it for now – I’m planning a little q and a session for the lejoggers this evening , best day worst day etc so will hopefully post their responses in the morning!

As for now me and Karen are sat in Dalwhinnie (not sure if spelling) drinking coffee, she is doing the crossword and I’m typing this!

They should get here for lunch at Bout half one, and it’s now 12 so we hve got quite a wait!

Ttfn x

Day 10 – Edinburgh to Bankfoot

Miles – 56
Punctures – 2 (both Alex Codd who has now bought better tyres)
Sams perinium – “what perinium, it’s fine”

Ooooo we they are getting really close now, they can almost smell John O Groats in their noses! Day 10 brought more of the same, cycling and hillls and punctures and lunch and arrival and accommodation and beer and food and bed. Simple eh? There was more to it than just that of course. With debate raging as to the exact plan for the day the original idea was to have a cafe stop at Kinross, go on for dinner at Bankfoot, than cycle on to Pitlochry and get brought back by the ever willing supporters for the night at the bankfoot inn. However things went awry with Alex travelling to puncture hell and getting two in the morning “session” ( see I’m getting into the jargon ) therefore delaying the day. Theu got to bankfoot in the nd at about half four, and as a result the younger cyclists in the group decided to stop there for the night, Dave M and Dave W however, with a combined age of almost 167 years (I’m joking of course, although they cat be far off) braved the drizzle and continued onto Pitlochry. God old people are fantastic aren’t they?

Anyway the youngsters enjoyed almost two hours more “socialising” (drinking) time in the lovely Bankfoot Inn – bug thanks to Rab and Sue for looking after us all so well and also fit the steak and ale pie.

One disadvantage of stopping early is that they had to leave at half eight am to start cycli g to pitlochry whereas the two Dave are still at the bankfoot awaiting a lift to their start point.

After day 10s puncturegate debacle Nail an Ann were tasked by their son (and all the other cyclists who didn’t want anymore punctures) with obtaining some armadillos for the Codd which they did. Fitting them after three pints proved fairly difficult and strenuous – I dread to think what the good folk of Bankfoot thought was occuring down the alley with three grown men grunting and groaning and pumping away ferosciously?

And so day ten draws to a close, and with only three remaining the thoughts are turning to what peole are going to do after LEJOG an everyone is rather saddened at the idea of it ending. Don’t get me wrong, I think they will be delighted to get off their bikes, but there is a distinct whiff of sadness in the air as the trip reaches it end.

But enough of this emotional claptrap I am off to buy twenty more lambert and butler fags and a bottle of diet coke and then will get down to the serious business of sitting in the car and waiting for them to arrive!

Arggggh

Just arrived at the Bankfoot Inn, our accommodation for this evening ( which also happens to be a pub ) to sit and await the lejoggers arrival with a lovely pint of real Scottish ale, only to walk through the door and be told that the bar has just closed and isn’t opening again until 6pm

They didn’t arrive for lunch until one o’clock as Alex got two punctures this morning which delayed matters somewhat, so they won’t be arriving till half fourish. Meanwhile his ever helpful parents have popped into Perth to get him some Armadillos (not actual Armadillos, but unpuncturable tyres) and Karen and I are sat outisde the Bankfoot waiting for them to let us in to our toons at three o’clock! Only 9 minutes to go !

DISCLAIMER – I can spell usually

Having just spoken to my mother I would like to point out that I can spellbut I am doing all this on my iPhone and it’s hard sometimes to spell everything correctly. So I just want to say that I am not thick, but my thumbs are a bit sausage like – hence the numerous errors that are constantly being pointed out to me by one and all. Thus applies to eveything apart from “perinium” which I still don’t really know how to spell.

Thankyou

Robert P Youds

Belly Buster Bap in Kinross

After a pretty good nights camping I am now sat in Cafe 98 in Kinross awaiting my “Belly Buster Bap” which fir your information contains bacons, sausage, haggis and black pudding in a warm five inch nap! How much cholesterol can one man take! The cyclers are also stopping here soon I think ( well try said a caf in Kinross and this is the only one I can find) so hopefully they will partake too (well Sam and Alex probably will – Anoudka and Emma will probay go for the side salad and a glass of water!)

Sorry for the short update last night – it was a ling day with a lot of faffing round an I was a hit too tired! Feeling much better today however and will try harder to bring the news as it happens to your fingertips! But for now my bap has arrived! Do lets get busting my belly