Hi Guys! Here I am in Edinburgh on a bright and sunny Tuesday 18th May. I’m having problems with the internet connections here, as although the WiFi is working, it’s not allowing a connection to the web. The reception staff have tried to contact the people responsible, but nowt has transpired as yet - 09:00. Consequently, I’m working off-line at the moment in an effort to get ahead of the game. If SYHA don’t sort it soon, I’ll go out and fine a bar or cafe with Wifi to upload all this. My photo’s and movies are all edited and prepared, I just need a connection to get it all up on the blog.

Yesterday, on my way down from Pitlochry, I met DougieB fron the CTC Forum. He was a welcome and friendly sight! We sat in a cafe in Milnathort near Kinross - he with a cuppa and me with a full Scottish breakfast.

Anyway, here’s the story so far .......

I left Inverness at 07:30 eager to get away having stuffed myself with a Continental Breakfast of rolls croissants, cheese and ham, and loads of tea. The road climbs out of the city and into the hills and I found the Old A9 for a change. On previous rides out of Inverness, I’d taken the main A9 as it was always early in the morning and quiet with traffic. The climb is awful. It goes on and on and on, and I hoped that the Old A9 may be better, but it wasn’t. It was devoid of traffic, but it was still a climb.

Inverness from 400ft at only 3 miles up the Old A9

At Milton, the Old A9 runs out and I moved over onto the A9 to descend the steep hill to Daviot, then I turned off back onto the Old A9 - The B9154 - and climbed again up to Moy. From there, it’s ok for some miles.

After the Moy section, the road comes back to the A9 but you can follow a tarmac path alongside the main road, then cross over - dodgy, but ok - and follow the track a little way then onto the Old A9 again through Tomatin. Here we start to climb again across the Findhorn bridge and up to the Slochd Summit. The Old A9 is a bit dilapidated here, but actually quite fine. Soon enough, after a a while, you join a proper road and head into Carrbridge. I stopped here for snacks and a breather.

Carrbridge

From Carrbridge, the Old A9 is now called the B9153 and A95, then the B9152 through Aviemore. Again, I stopped here for a rest and to visit the loos. Getting back to Chopper, I was chatting to a chap and his wife who wanted to know all about what I was doing. He runs marathons for charities and we discussed the merits of “Just Giving” and publicity. I explained about the costs involved and the fact that I was doing this for a local cause. He and his wife were much taken by my ride, and handed me a £20 note! Isn’t that wonderful? I thanked them profusely, we parted with handshakes, and I felt quite humbled by the experience.

Cairngorms

After the tourism of Aviemore, I headed south through Kincraig and into Kingussie stopping into a cafe for a pot of tea and a huge baked potato with cheese and beans. Yum!

I was on my way again headed for Dalwhinnie via Newtonmore, again still on the Old A9, now the B9152, A86 and unclassified, but superb, roads. From Dalwhinnie, the Old A9 is still there and it takes you up and up towards Drumochter.

Then disaster stuck! I was a little over-exuberant with a gear change, and the chain over-shifted behind the big sprocket. The chain tangled up and pulled my sprockets off the hub! I disconnected Trailer, leant Chopper down, pulled out my little toolbox and took the rear wheel off hoping against hope that nothing was broken. I wasn’t disappointed, and within 15 mins, I was back in action, not before making a cock-up of knocking the speed/cadence unit on the LH chainstay. It fouled the LH crank, and initially I though that the Sturmey Archer hub had broken internally. If that happened, I was well and truly stuck - miles from nowhere and JOGLE over for me.

Suffice to say, I sorted it, and was on my way again - phew!

The rear mech is actually for 6 to 8 sprockets, and in throttling it back to only 2, the inner stop doesn’t work so I had to make a Heath Robinson screw system that would reach. The problem is, it adjusts itself from time to time, and this time it allowed an overshift. Two clicks is enough on the gear control, but I obviously managed a third!




At 1300ft or thereabouts, the road becomes a cycle path and twists and turns and ups and downs its way over little bridges and through gates. This is fine for lighter more agile bikes, in fact Mercian and Trailer have been though the area on more than one occasion, but Chopper with its wide ‘bars and mirror would have been problematical. The lure of the main A9 was calling me, so at the first opportunity, I pulled onto it and whizzed along with the traffic whizzing past me. At the summit, 1500ft, I stopped for a rest and prepared myself for the long downhill. I was worn out and had it not been for the long downhill, I’m not sure that I could have made it very well. I rested at about 30 mph freewheeling for miles! Sometimes, as the speed dropped below 20, I would pedal to keep my legs moving.

At Calvine, I pulled over on to the B8079 to go through Blair Athol, Bridge of Tilt and into Killiecrankie. It was there that my heart sank. The hill out of the village is steep to say the least, I was tired and hungry, only a few miles to go, and there’s a hill! Bottom gear got me up, but it was hard. Then along a little further, and Pitlochry was there. Relief washed over me, and I felt “all emotional”.

The weather had been glorious all day, and Wind Gods had been smiling on me. I hate to think what state I’d have been in if the wind had been against me and it had been lashing it down. I thank my lucky stars all was ok.

When I arrived at Pitlochry, it was 18:30. I was dog tired and thirsty for a beer and food, so I called into a bar and got stuck in. The Etape Caledonia cyclists had all just about gone after their race that day, but the remaining ones were in party mood and chatted endlessly with congratulations to me for getting a Chopper all this way - and hopefully to LE. I didn’t want to talk much, so ate and drank, then I was away up the hill to the hostel. I made sure that the hostel was happy for me to keep trailer in the porch rather than the bike shed as it would make life easier for me. I showered, phoned Hilary and asker her to put something on the blog, and went to bed. It was 20:30 and I’d done 89 miles over the Grampians on a Raleigh Chopper, pulling a trailer. I’d been on the road for 11 hours or more and I was entitled to an early night.

I was up early and packing, then surveyed the maps waiting for my 07:00 breakfast. I ate it with relish whilst chatting to the reception chappy, then I was off. Straight down the main road out of town, but just before it turns onto the A9, I turned off onto the Old A9 - my wonderful friend! - in fact, I had planned a more scenic road down the west side of the river through Dalguise on the B898, but having perused the OS maps at the hostel, it looked too hilly, so instead took a more familiar and flatter route.

The A9 has a path alongside it that is actually quite good, so the Old A9 eventually runs out and is replaced by this track, but it soon turns into a proper road again and enters Dunkeld. I crossed the A9 again and followed the B867 through Waterloo and Bankfoot, but back onto the A9 for a mile or two, then off again through Luncarty.

Although there is a track to take you into Perth, I went on the A9 for the last few miles into the city. I followed my Garmin course right through, stopping off at the park for nuts and raisins washed down with loads of water. I sat in the sunshine on a bench, watching the folk out for a lunchtime stroll.

Then off again and through Bridge of Earn on the A912 and up the long hill to Glen Farg. I hate that hill. It’s busy with quarry lorries on the lower half, and it twists and turn and climbs incessantly. I pulled over at the Bien Inn for a breather. At the Inn, the road becomes the B996 - it used to be the main A90 before the M90 was built.

The last view of the Scottish mountains

At the top of the hill, I turned onto the A91 briefly then back onto the B996 and entered Milnathort. I was ready for a meal, and knew there were cafes in the town, and if not Kinross wasn’t far away for another chance at food. It was then that I spied a cyclist coming out of a cafe who flagged me down and shouted, “Mick?” I pulled over with a relieved smile and he introduced himself as Dougie. I’d never met him before, but had exchanged messages on the CTC Forum with him about the route to Edinburgh, and he’d cycled out of the city to meet me and escort me in. Wonderful! I tucked into my meal and we chatted about this and that and poured over the maps.

We rode side by side when we could, and Doug shepherded me along down through Kinross, Kelty, Hill of Beath, Crossgates and into Inverkeithing. I was tired and my bum ached so had to pull over every few miles to stretch my legs. In fact, I was worn out and looking forward to today - typing this out - and relaxing.

Doug had told me that we had to go over the RH side of the Forth Road Bridge as they had closed the other side for maintenance. Doug wasn’t too sure that I could make it up the steep slope onto the cycle track. I can remember NOT having a steep slope when I went over the RH side in 2006 on my LEJOG and Back ride, so Doug handed the navigation over to me! I wracked my brains to remember, and had the vague idea that I went up through a carpark of a hotel. I was right! and we entered the track without much effort at all.

From the bridge, it was my plan to follow the cycle route to Crammond Brig and go the rest of the way into Edinburgh along the main road. It was rush-hour and the road was packed with traffic. It was a good job that Doug knew a better way. I handed myself over to him completely and he took me this way and that from the bridge all the way to Haymarket without hardly so much as a road! We followed through housing estates and old rail beds, then after a steep but short climb past an office block, we were right by Haymarket station! Perfect!

Then it was through the city streets to the head of Princes Street, round the back onto George Street and then to Leith Walk. Doug and I parted by the doors of the hostel with him saying he should be able to meet me at 8am when I leave on Wednesday. No doubt he knows a magic way out of the city too!

Sadly, after showering and changing, I was unable to get on-line. This must be in punishment for getting a freeby last week! What SHOULD happen, it that when you bring up a browser window - say Google - the system should hyjack your window with a login widow that you put a code into, it then times your connection. What is not happening, is the new window asking for the login. I’ve even paid a £1 to connect too! The cheek of it!

Oh well, if they can’t sort it soon, I’ll get my quid back and find a bar with WiFi.

That’s it for now.

Stats and routes/profiles so far:

Inverness to Pitlochry
89.15 miles
Pedalling for 8:41:24
Total journey time 11:19:51
3969ft total ascent
7222 calories
Average moving speed 10.3mph

Pitlochry to Edinburgh
73.07 miles
Pedalling for 7:18:31
Total journey time 9:49:08
3020ft total ascent
5725 calories
Average moving speed 10mph

Grand Totals from JOG so far
299.19 miles
Pedalling for 30:17:26
Total journey time 38:35:39
12,600ft total ascent
22,531 calories
Average moving speed 9.9mph

Thanks for reading, and now I’ll try and get this lot uploaded.


(Five minutes later)
WOW! They've got it working! I'm on-line, so here we go on an upload - but it's slow.

(Ages later)
Sorry if I've confused folk, but I've uploaded in two stages to make sure it all goes. Second stage is ok too but the movie uploads take an age to do - quite frustrating when I'm being timed.


(Still ages later - I'm still at it, and I may have to pay for another hour!)

Regards to all,
Mick

Hello All.
Mick's got problems with his WiFi connection at Edinburgh, so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with me again!

When I spoke to Mick each time today, he's sounded in good spirits still.

Today's ride has taken him just short of 10 hours, and he's covered 73.07 miles from Pitlochry to Edinburgh. His overall average speed was 7.4 mph, though his moving speed was 10 mph. Not at all bad I reckon.

In Mick's words, " The weather was glorious, and the Wind Gods were good!"

Since he left John O'Groats, he's cycled 299.19 miles! Fantastic!!

At Milnthort, DougieB joined Mick and rode into Edinburgh with him. A much appreciated diversion for Mick- Thank you Dougie x This was also really good as Dougie knew a better way through Edinburgh than Mick had taken previously. You just cannot beat a bit of local knowledge! Again Thank you Dougie.

Tomorrow, Mick's taking a day off in Edinburgh. A much earned day of rest! He'll be able to take in as much tartan as he wants and still have room for more! Though whether he can beat last nights haggis, neeps and tatties remains to be seen! Apparently, The Chieftan did him really proud!

His arrival at Edinburgh YH at first looked a bit too much, as it coincided with the arrival with a coachload of French school children, so Mick was fearful that check in would take an age. In the event, it wasn't half so bad, as just a couple of adults signed in for all of them. Phew! Mick had actually resigned himself to an hours wait, sitting in Reception with Trailer, but within 10 minutes, he'd phoned to say he was safely ensconced in his dorm.

I know how frustrated Mick is feeling at not being able to add his four pennorth worth to his Blog, and will do his level best to rectify the situation, hopefully before he leaves Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, so please be patient, and no doubt, you'll all find out all the ins and outs of the last 2 days soon from the horse's mouth!

Meanwhile, it's Good night from him and good night from me! X

Hi everyone in Blogland!
I'm Hilary, Mick's wife, and I've been given the monumental task of filling in a few 'today' blanks. You all know the expression, 'well follow that...' then you know how I feel.

If you're wanting geographical details, calorific statistics or indeed anything technical, well, I'm afraid I'm not your man ( or woman )

What I can tell you is that Mick has done 89 miles plus today from Inverness to Pitlochry. It's taken him about 11 hours. The wind was ok, the weather glorious and he's now a very tired little bunny! No doubt that's not a very technical term, but it works for me!

His ride has been, from what I can gather, as expected, except for
an incident with the chain and what I understand to be 'bottom sprockets'. I'm sure that when Mick has WiFi again he'll explain all.

When I spoke to my wonderful husband, apart from sounding tired and urgent, I knew he was in need of food, sleep and beer, though not necessarily in that order!

Tomorrow he'll be on his way to Edinburgh, where he'll be staying in a Youth (that's a laugh) Hostel. It's from there, he expects to be able to blog again.

Whilst taking a break in Aviemore, a couple came up to Mick and gave him a donation for the cause! People really are lovely! And when I spoke to Mick an hourish ago, people were busy taking photos and asking pertinent questions. Fantastic!

Meanwhile, back at base camp, I have a cold and I'll be back at work tomorrow!
( Sniff!)

Thanks for having the patience to read my drivel, but mostly thanks for following Mick's progress. X

Today has been a mixture of Brilliant, Not Quite so Brilliant, and Awful. I’ll start with the Brilliant.

The scenery today was brilliant and varied. I came down out from Golspie and crossed over Loch Fleet and followed the southern shore on a single track road with almost zero traffic. It was flat and smooth and wonderful all the way through Dornoch and onto the Dornoch bridge. The bridge was busy with fast traffic - it is the A9 of course - and I peeled off into Tain. Soon after that, the Awful started ........

Much later, I followed the southern shore of the Beauly Firth, again perfect and single track and deserted. Actually, the whole route from Muir of Ord to the Kessock bridge was brilliant.

Snow-capped mountains, hills heather and gorse, sunlit water and lochs, all filled my eyes wherever I looked.

Chopper and Trailer performed brilliantly - even me too! I couldn’t get over the amount of cars, vans, busses and lorries that sounded their horns and waved as they went past. Perhaps they do that to all the End-to-End’ers, but it made me feel rather special and I wondered if they read this blog!

Not Quite so Brilliant consisted of some fish and chips I had in Alness. The fish was ok, but the chips left a lot to be desired - underdone and firm.

Also, because I followed the signposts from North Kessock to Inverness - the cycle path ones - I ended up on the right hand side of the bridge. That left me having to turn off to the right and follow roads though endless industrial estates. Garmin showed me the way back to my intended track, and looking at my path, I wasn’t too far out of my way but it wasn’t enjoyable at all.

Awful was entirely the fault of the wind. I left Golspie in soft balmy breezes, and even all the way to Tain it was sweetness and light. The wind, though slight, was cool but gentle. As I turned west after leaving Tain and dropped down to the northern shores of the Cromarty Firth, the wind got up to a frenzy and full in my face. All the way from the roundabout south of Tain until I turned east at Muir of Ord I had a battle on my hands. This battle lasted from the 24 mile mark until the 52 mile mark - that’s 28 miles of it!! I was slow and frustrated. I saw other E2E cyclists going the other way with broad grins on their faces. I wasn’t sure if it was the sight of me on a Chopper, or just that they were enjoying the free ride!

The last and most awful bit was the Kessock bridge. This was awful for two reasons: the roar of the traffic, and the horrendous cross winds.

Don’t get me wrong, today has been a success. I’m happy and I’m tired, I’ve just scoffed Haggis, Neeps and Tatties down at a local pub and had a beer or two. Here I am, typing this sitting up on my bunk. I’ve covered 65 miles today - a record for a Raleigh Chopper I reckon!

By the way, I took some photographs and a couple of movies.

Quite a show of gorse flowers, eh?


Kessock Bridge

I'm here logged on courtesy of SYHA Inverness, but I had to pay £3 for an hour. They know how to charge here! I can't complain really, because at Edinburgh the counter kept resetting itself back to the hour. (This one doesn't seem to be.)

Off to Pitlochry tomorrow and it's a long one right over the Grampians. 80 odd miles, and I hope the Wind Gods will be favourable this time! The bit I'm looking forward to is the 20 miles of downhill into Blair Athol. This is possibly the longest continual downhill in the UK.

See you again soon, but I don't reckon I will get WiFi at Pitlochry hostel, I may have to go to a pub! (Oh no! Not another one!) If there's no WiFi, it'll have to be a double update in Edinburgh.

Today's route

Stats for today:
65.42 miles
8:35:36 total duration giving an overall 7.6 mph.
Moving average speed was 9.9 mph - surprising because of all that wind!

Total mileage from JOG - 136.97 miles.

Thanks for reading, and I'm enjoying reading all the comments.

Regards to all,
Mick.

Before I get onto today's ride to Golspie, I'd better fill you in about yesterday evening.

Phyllis, the landlady at Carey's asked if she could take a photo of me and Chopper, I suggested that we could do it in the morning when I was set up and ready to go. Later she asked me if I minded if she got in touch with the local paper - Caithness Courier (?) - I may be wrong - I said ok, and soon after she knocked on my door and handed me her mobile phone and I went through a telephone interview! We concluded by swapping email addresses and I sent him my picture at JOG with a link to this blog. Hopefully, I'll be publicised.

Later, I wandered down to Wetherspoons as it was Curry Thursday, and I had a couple of beers and a Beef Madras. Yum.

This morning started early.

I was awake at 05:30 and began preps for my ride to Gospie. John had said that it would be ok for me to get to Chopper and sort my stuff, so after washing and dressing, I was outside to the garage and back yard to begin. It would be the first time that all my stuff would be in one place, so I had a bit of a job moving things from box to pannier and back again. Eventually, all was sorted, and Phyllis suggested she get on with my breakfast. It was 6.45am and I didn't say no!

During the evening, a chap turned up on a bike, riding all around the Scottish coast. He's come up from Helmsdale and was on his way via JOG and west. We chatted down in the back yard, and also over breakfast too. We swapped cycling stories endlessly, but the road to Golspie was calling. I checked out of the B+B, said my goodbyes, and was gone.

I managed all of 10 yards.

The chain fell off as I pedalled away! I must've moved the gear controls during my packing and arranging, and when I back-pedalled to get my feet in position, the chain de-railed. Two minutes later, with some embarrassment, I was off and gone properly south into the southerly breeze, but sunny and fine. I was told that the weather forecast wasn't good, but not to take too much notice of it. It seems they get it wrong more than the get it right so far north.

The miles piled up.

Slowly, I must admit, but they piled up nonetheless.




I carried on almost non-stop to Latheron. This is a junction where the A99 ends and joins the A9 from Thurso. This road is the one I will follow in one way or another, all the way to Perth.

The road followed the coast in the bright sunshine. The wind from yesterday had abated and turned a bit to the east, so I had an easier time of it. Dunbeath was a problem as it's one of those hills that gets steeper the further up you go. Awful, but I managed it.

At 12:00, in bright sunshine, I pulled over and took a break. I also changed out of my warm tights and double layer of top, and put on a thinner, but long-sleeved top. I was wearing my shorts under my tights, so there was no display of bare bum etc!!!!

At about the half way point to Golspie, the Berriedale Breas raised their ugly heads. This valley sends shivvers down the spines of E2E cyclists. Steep both sides!




I was informed by the cyclist at Carey's that there had been an accident at Berriedale and to expect traffic lights. I went down the northern side holding my brakes. Not just because of the expected traffic lights, but because the hill is steep and has hairpin bends. I couldn't honestly say that I could stop if I was shifting along down that hill and pulled repeatedly on the levers to lose speed all the time. I took a bit of movie footage and pulled over into a layby at the top of the steep bit and took some more movie. I carried on to the bottom and took another bit, then threequarters up the other side, took the last bit.

I was horrified to hear the story. I learned later from where I'm staying here at Golspie, that it only happened a week ago and they were kids from Orkney - 36 of them - and ambulances were roaring up from the south one after the other. It leaves me pale and dithery just thinking about it. Anyone reading this who knows that bend will understand the horror of a vehicle going over. It's a good job that the barrier held.

Any road up, on a lighter note, I carried on south. The road climbed up over the Ord of Caithness and dropped down through Navidale and along the new bit of road that cuts a huge corner off, and dropped down into Helmsdale. I touched nearly 40mph down there!

Through Helmsdale and on to Portgower and another hill. Very steep but thankfully not too long. Then ups and downs to Brora for a call of nature and only 5 miles to go.

I'd snacked enroute with cereal bars and cashew nuts, and I got through a whole 750ml of water and then another half of the same size. The weather wasn't hot, but I was sweating quite well.

At 14:30, I turned Chopper into the carpark of the Ben Bhragghie Hotel and rode round to the rear. I entered the bar and ordered a beer. I needed it, I deserved it, and I was going to have it! As it was being poured, I introduced myself, was welcomed, and my beer went on the tab.

I'm staying in a pub, the bar is open all day, they do food, they have WiFi - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!

Soon after, I was shown to my room, Chopper was wheeled into the function room - (no less!) - and I was showered and changed and downstairs for another beer and Meatballs and Noodles - wonderful and very welcome. Soon after that I was typing this out in the bar.

Heaven?
Yes.

Tomorrow is another day, and 64 miles of it too, but there shouldn't be any horrors in store for me. My fingers are crossed for continued good weather and and favourable winds.

Profile of today's ride. The deep V in the middle are the Berriedale Breas

Today's route. 53.37 miles.

It took me from 07:45 to 14:15 - 6.5 hours, and I consumed 4895 calories - no wonder I was hungry! I averaged 9.8 mph whilst riding; including stops, this drops to 8.1 mph.

Thanks for reading,
More tomorrow at Inverness, providing I can get connected.

Regards to all,
Mick

I had problems earlier trying to convert my video mpg files into something that iMovie would like. Done it, and now here it is!

Today can only be described as damp and windy.

No, I'm wrong.

Today can be described as damp, windy and Far North!

Here's a couple of days in one go. I thought that Carey's Guest House didn't have WiFi but chatting to them, they gave me the password. So here we are, on-line.


Wednesday 12th May 2010

Awake at 05:30 - I’m and early riser! - and looked out of the window to see rain. Edinburgh in the rain - not a pretty sight. The dorm filled up during the evening, and all four double bunks were occupied. I dozed a while, then turned my light on for a read. At 7, I got up, washed and went down for breakfast. The place was filled with school kids, all well behaved, and I scoffed my Continental Breakfast washing it down with three cups of tea.

Then after packing up my stuff, I wandered up Leith Walk to Waverly for the 09:35 for Perth. The rain had stopped, but the pavements were wet and chilly. The rain cleared however as the train left and headed out of the city. In fact the weather was glorious all the way to Wick. Long may it continue.

The journey to Perth was a little boring, but a couple of highlights were the Forth Rail Bridge and the views back across the Forth. I was a little shocked to see the snow on the hills south of Edinburgh!

View over to Edinburgh from the Fife Coast

Perth to Inverness was better. I managed to get a signal on my Garmin where I’d not had a sniff between Plymouth and Edinburgh yesterday, the Cross Country trains must be shielded from satellites! My screen showed me our position and I set the Garmin to show me my proposed track that I will be taking south. The train line follows the A9 corridor and it was great to see the geography and imagine what it would be like on a Chopper.

At Inverness on time, I boarded the Wick train. I was last on this train in 1994 and so asked the guard about Georgemas Junction and how the train had split there - one half to Thurso, the other half to Wick. He laughed, and said that it hadn’t been like that for years and that the train goes to Thurso first, comes back to Georgemas, and then off to Wick. Oh well, that must be why it takes an age to get Wick, and for all you railway buffs out there, Georgemas Junction is the most northerly junction in Britain.

The Wick train stops at just about every single station enroute from Inverness:
Muir of Ord
Dingwall
Alness
Invergordon
Fearn
Tain
Ardgay
Lairg
Rogart
Golspie
Brora
Helmsdale
Forsinard
Georgemas Junction
Thurso
Georgemas Junction (again)
Wick at last, and on time too!!!!

A short walk to Carey’s Guest House, and I checked in. I told the proprietor of my plans, and he offered to drive me to Wick Airport in the morning. I declined saying I wanted the exercise, but thinking about it, I may take him up on the offer. The sooner I get to Chopper the better.

A quick shower then out to Wetherspoons - recommended by my host - and Deuchar’s IPA at only £1.10 a pint. How can you pay £2.90 or even £3.10 in Edinburgh, and then £1.10 for the exact same beer in Wick? It beggars belief. Anyway, I shoved a steak and kidney pud with chips and peas down my neck with another pint, then wandered back to Carey’s, and then was sitting on my bed shortly after 8pm.

Tomorrow the blog really starts. Wick to JOG and back to Wick.



Thursday 13th May 2010

Awake early, and then down for a huge breakfast at 07:30. Yum! I spoke to the owner (John) and he agreed to take me to Wick Airport at 08:30 hopefully to get a nice early start. The weather was clear and bright, with no sign of rain. Ha Ha.

I found Andrew Bruce of Far North Aviation upstairs in an old airport building and introduced myself. We chatted about this and that, and he told me to go along the taxi-way to the big hanger and see John.

The Big Hanger

My pallet was behind a blue plane. I wandered over, saw John - a chap from Grimsby no less! - and we walked through the massive hanger to see my pallet. All looked fine, and I undid the sticky tape and released my blade with a flourish. John was impressed, but said that they had Stanley Knives, but understood that I wouldn’t have known that as I had no idea of what facilities would be available to me.

Chopper and Trailer revealed themselves easily, and I began assembling it all. Ten minutes later, my rig was complete, and then in the chilly hanger, I dressed into my cycling gear. As the wind rattled the doors and the roof, I shivered into my gear, warming all the time.

Assembled!

Then it was time to go. Chopper burst into life and we glided out of the hanger and onto the apron and across to the main building. I paused briefly to say Ta Ta and thanks to Andrew and to fill a couple of water bottles, and I rode around the outside of the runway to enter the door of the main building. I asked a chap where the exit for vehicles was, and he just waved me in through into the reception area! Me and Chopper and Trailer wheeled ourselves through the tiled and air-conditioned opulence and out into the carpark. I started Garmin, and headed out onto the A99 for JOG.

The wind was strong and bowling me along nicely, and before I knew it, I was climbing the final hill and dropping down to JOG. 17 miles easily done and non-stop too with a good following wind. The trouble is, with a good wind one way, you know full well that it will be awful going back the other way .......

At JOG, I chatted to a carpark attendant and sorted my video and camera. Then I met the photographer at the kiosk and paid for a couple of colour prints. I wheeled my rig over to the finger-post and asked Mr Photo to fit “Gunnislake School” onto the finger. Great stuff, and he took a shot using my camera too! The cost was £12odd for two prints posted to home. I’ll do similar at LE.

Guess Who with What and Where

JOG looked a bit more swept up from the way I remember it, though the John O’Groats Hotel is still dilapidated. No doubt there are plans to refurbish the whole place as it certainly needs it. I didn’t hand around long, it’s not the most salubrious of places to be, especially as the weather was deteriorating rapidly.

Off up the long hill and south and into the rain. It had started to drizzle and spit and then really rain, and as the wind had got up to a frenzy, the rain just came in horizontally into my face. It was a long way back to Wick I can tell you! The hills, though not steep, are long and endless in a deserted landscape - or should I say Moonscape. I was in near-bottom gear just going along in places! I managed an average of 13mph going, but coming back was a pityful 8mph.

Moonscape

Instead of getting straight back to the B+B, I called in at Wetherspoons for a couple. I thought a Celebratory Drink was called for before finishing the day’s ride. At £1.10 a pint, it’s madness not to take advantage.

Today's route

That’s 35 miles I’ve ridden today, but only 18.18 miles done for the JOGLE. Those 18.18 miles took me 2:17:52 duration at an average speed of 8.2 mph. I wonder how those figures will pan out over the next 800 miles or so ........

Back at Cary’s, I wheeled Chopper in through the gate and into the back garden. I’ll need to sort my stuff out and re-arrange things between panniers and box. That’s a job for later or even tomorrow before leaving.

I have 50 miles to ride to Golspie. As I remember it, all I have to worry about are the major hills: climbing Navidale and down to Helmsdale, then climbing out of Berridale. But that’s tomorrow and another day .........

See you later!
Mick.