Cycling Lands End to John O’Groats
During Covid-19 in 11 Days
Self-Supported in Pre-booked Accommodation
Written by:
Scott Heleniak
Founder of Bomber
Published on: 5th February 2021
Estimated reading time: 45 minutes
Overview
My name is Scott Heleniak, the owner of this website, and this is the story of my journey cycling from Lands End, Cornwall to John O’Groats, Scotland - aka, LEJOG - with my 2 childhood friends, Luke Deeley and George “Geen” Hardcastle. Deeley, a fitness fanatic, having done various running challenges in the past, initiated the idea to cycle the full length of the country in the early summer (Lockdown 1.0) when we were out cycling one day - I was apprehensive but somewhat keen for the challenge. We started cycling together a fair amount and Deeley quickly threw the idea out to me again and considered inviting Geen on-board too - which pretty much swayed me. We asked Geen and he was keen to give it a go. After much deliberation, training and planning, we settled on a date (26th September 2020) which suited us all well and gave us enough time to get strong and fit enough. We were doing it - we fully committed. We started speaking to various people who had completed the challenge in the past, to get more thorough information on how what it’s like cycling the full length of the country and we kept receiving the same sort of feedback from everyone; “it is hard - but it is fun, but yes…hard”. One very helpful individual was Roy Taylor, a Professional Road Cycling Coach who had done the challenge a few years back and had some very valuable insights, which increased my confidence and eased my anxieties:
“If you’re not fit enough by the beginning of the trip, you will be fit enough by the time you FINISH it”
- Roy Taylor
That’s all I needed to hear.
We chose to use this as an opportunity to support a charity, so we went for Leeds South and East Food Bank (https://leedssouthandeast.foodbank.org.uk/_ ). Through sharing our story online, and with thanks to all our wonderful friends and family, we were able to raise around £1500. The hard work of the crew at the food bank truly helps so many individuals who are stuck between a rock and a hard place, especially given the current social climate of Covid-19, by providing them to put food in their families’ bellies. So, for helping us to give this challenge a greater purpose, we are eternally grateful.
Background
You wake up, cycle and stop for the night; this is the nature of your days on LEJOG. What we learned in those three sections of your day is crucial to understanding how this kind of trip works. Therefore, I have recounted our trip here through the lens of this three-part daily experience - the morning, the riding, and the evening routine. I have also detailed a cost and kit breakdown, and listed my top tips for a successful trip.
So - whether you are planning on doing the cycle yourself, or are simply intrigued as to the struggles and successes of our journey -I hope you enjoy reading the story of our trip.
Let’s get into it.
Getting to Lands End
We are from Leeds, West Yorkshire, which is 402 miles to Lands End. Deeley and I needed to get to the starting point, which is not a cheap or simple journey by public transport, especially when you’ve got bikes. Geen lives in Hayle, Cornwall (17 miles from Lands End), so we made arrangements with our legendary friend Dan Weatherall, to drive us and our bikes down in his Beamer in exchange for petrol money, some extra fivers and a Domino’s dinner. He drove back home to Yorkshire and we stayed the night at Geen’s house, made some pizza from scratch and got everything ready to set off via taxi to Lands End at the crack of dawn tomorrow. We struggled to sleep that night as we were all feeling excited and apprehensive about the (roughly) 1000-mile journey in the morning. We knew through our research, that getting out of Cornwall and through Devon is the most difficult section of the ride - aka, our first 2 days. Fun.
“It truly was a battle of fear of pain and worry that I wouldn’t be able to do this - first day nerves I guess and we hadn’t quite found our cycling legs yet.”
Day 1:
Lands End > Tavistock
155km/96 miles with 2985 metres of climbing, over the course of 8 hours moving time
The morning
We had prepared everything the night before, so all we had to do was fuel up on breakfast and get going. Yasmin, of Dodo Bakes (a friend and Geen’s wonderful partner) - is a pro baker and she made us all a variety of cakes and flapjack to take on our journey. So, breakfast involved lots of toast, coffee and flapjack. We jumped in the taxi to Lands End just after dawn, around 7:00am, lingered for about 20 minutes, chatting to another group who were setting off on a similar journey and did what we needed to do… set off.
After all, this is what we came for so we excitedly made the first pedal out of Lands End and onwards into many hills along the coastline. Due to heavy work commitments leading up to the trip, I was finding it difficult to find time to train properly and was wondering if I was actually fit enough to do this thing, especially with extra weight on the bike. Deeley had been hammering his training almost daily and Geen is a machine with experience in running many marathons, including 7 back-to-back marathons and also a certified Iron Man, which he completed in Canada. So there was what felt like a large gap between their fitness levels and my own. In hind-sight, this was a good thing of course to be riding with strong and confident friends on my first big endurance challenge. These were some of the thoughts running through my mind.
The riding
I’ll be honest, the first day was very challenging for me mentally and physically but riding at my own comfortable pace and fuelling up frequently on coffee cake provided by Yasmin was essential in getting through some of those Cornish hills. Lots of grinding away with heads down and psyching ourselves up. But alas, it truly was a battle of fear/pain and worry that I wouldn’t be able to do this - first day nerves I guess and we hadn’t quite found our cycling legs yet.
We stopped for our first break and had a fairly big lunch and coffee. We pushed on for probably another 6 hours, with various smaller stops till we successfully reached Tavistock. We broke up the day’s distance into approximately 3 chunks, to allow for food and rest-stops. The longest and most hill-climbing i’d ever done in one day, it was very intense.
The evening
We realised we were out of Cornwall now and in Devon. As we rolled into Tavistock in the dark, it was difficult to find the house we were staying in and the area was really hilly. So, we spent some time faffing around and eventually found the house; Honeysuckle Cottage. After getting a nice hot shower, where we cleaned off our sweaty gear, we went out for dinner at an amazing cycle cafe/bar place called Church Lane, where we ate some huge delicious pizza and pancakes and Vegan Mess with a few cold pints. Our host Lindy and her dog Jimmy were a welcoming thing to come back to and we couldn’t wait to get to bed. I was the lucky one and got a whole bedroom with a double bed and en-suite for myself. Her hosting was absolutely glorious, she told us stories of other cyclists who were surprised by the hills in Cornwall & Devon and she even pre-prepared us a hearty breakfast for the morning! Lights out - it was sleep time after a gruelling long first day to get the LEJOG ball rolling.
Where we stayed: Honeysuckle Cottage
https://bit.ly/3riexbw
Where we ate: Church Lane Pizza
https://www.churchlanetavistock.co.uk/
“…which allowed us to really chug some distance out in no time at all, through a tunnel of thick green trees on marble-like smooth roads with long corners you could lean and carve through without the need for brakes.”
Day 2:
Tavistock > Godney
145km/90 miles with 2132 metres of climbing, over the course of 7.5 hours moving time
The morning
We chowed down on as much toast, cereal, juice, water and coffee as we possibly could to begin our second day. The dog, Jimmy, was barking a lot as he was deaf and was confused why 3 men in lycra were just walking around his kitchen. Fuelled up, bikes packed and ready-to-go, we bailed straight out in to the cold morning, straight up another hill to warm up the cockles.
The riding
As we got going, we were aware that we had a lot more climbing to do, so yesterday was merely a warm-up for today. We welcomed these hills though, as they were high but less-steep, and much more pleasing after yesterday's regular steep climbs. The first proper climbs felt like a series of tiny mountains, but the roads were smooth and quiet, given it was only 7:30am when we set off. As any cyclist knows, once you embark up a hill, you eventually get to descend it at some point, so we got to enjoy some long, scenic and speedy downhill smashing in the morning sunshine - definitely something that gets you psyched up to the nines.
We took our first break at a little cafe, where a lot of laughs and snacks were had. Just a quick one though and we were back on the saddles and continued our venture past Exeter and towards Taunton. It was around this point where the cycling was perfect, the roads were so ideal, probably some of the best we experienced throughout the whole ride. There is one particular descent through Dunsford Nature Reserve, which was one of the most thrilling experiences of our lives; a 5.5km car-free speedster, which allowed us to really chug some distance out in no time at all, through a tunnel of thick green trees on marble-like smooth roads with long corners you could lean and carve through without the need for brakes. It felt like it went on and on and we had to stop at the end of it, to pause and feel the joy of it. If you’ve ever done a long run down a snowy mountain on skis or a snowboard, at a speed you’re almost uncomfortable with, totally on the edge, but every carve feels euphoric - this hill was on par with that feeling. Spirits were high and we just joyfully kept those pedals turning.
We were heading towards Glastonbury, which was exciting for us all, as none of us had ever been here - and we were aware that it is a beautiful place. All the roads were really flat for the last stretch but it was around this point where I started having some sort of pain brewing in my right knee - a sharp muscle/joint pain, which really hurt to ride with - a common cycling injury, which was concerning as it started to feel like it was going to become debilitating. We pushed on into GLASTO, stopping in the centre for a moment and laughed at how it was typical that the place smelled like sage.
The evening
We were bang in the middle of the countryside in a place called Old Dairy on a farm, which was a stunning place to spend the night. We were absolutely starving, so we ordered a huge Indian feast, which was delivered by a man with long dreadlocks (which isn’t surprising when you’re in Glastonbury) and we simply got our feet up by the wood burner. Getting enough food and sleep on an evening was the main priority over anything, so we were in bed in our humongous shared bedroom by 11pm. That night I was apparently talking in my sleep, waking Geen and Deeley up and breaking into some severe, manic sweat in the night. Something to do with being very fatigued apparently. Felt well rested by the morning though, just very wet.
Where we stayed: Old Dairy
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/34815695?source_impression_id=p3_1600187654_km8s2FIKMmdSz8eK&guests=1&adults=1
“A tear of pain came out of my eye and my will to do any more pedalling was dissipating and I was losing hope.”
Day 3:
Godney > Cheltenham
123km/76 miles with 1511 metres of climbing, over the course of 6 hours moving time
The morning:
We demolished the amenities in Old Dairy; we had pancakes, Nutella, jam, crumpets, toast, porridge, coffee, cereal, juice…the lot! Absolutely perfect. The man who built the place (who was staying in the other half of the house), came for a chat and kindly gave us a cash donation for the Food Bank we were raising money for. We were up before sunrise, so got to enjoy the sun coming up as we set off, a lovely brisk morning again - we were doing well for morning conditions so far!
The riding
Today was Cheddar Gorge day! I found we were slightly more enthusiastic upon setting off on the mornings when the day promised some sort of landmark to see. We got ourselves out of Glastonbury with steady cycling and before we knew it we were in Cheddar, where Geen almost crashed into the back of me as we stopped at some traffic lights - he must have been in awe of the Gorge up ahead. The Cheddar Gorge climb is a beautiful bit of work, it starts off really steep, with only one really steep turn and then it just gradually eases off from there and potters for maybe 5km further at a steady grade. I’d worked the climb up in my head and was pleasantly surprised I was able to just grind up it and take in the scenery.
We found out that our accommodation had cancelled on us this day, so we had to find somewhere to stop and organise a new place to stay, using our telecommunication devices in a little pub. We reserved a room at a hotel in Cheltenham, which was cheap and was going to do the job. As our ride took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, certain hosts weren’t allowing people to stay with them, but we had somewhere to head to. We got going and the riding had nothing on the first 2 days, but my knee injury was becoming unbearable. Ibuprofen wasn’t working and I was starting to get pretty concerned. A tear of pain came out of my eye and my will to do any more pedalling was dissipating and I was losing hope. It was at this point, where Geen informed me of his struggles with his knees on his 7 Marathons in 7 Days Challenge, and how Paramol painkillers were the reason he was able to finish that challenge. They are opioid-based drugs, which aren’t advised to be taken for longer than 3-days, as they are highly addictive and we had 9 more days to go. The guys joked about me developing an opioid addiction, but I was prepared to do anything to remove this pain and finish the challenge, so I was able to grab some from a small independent chemist, which is a common thing you will find in most small-towns and villages - there’s usually a chemist 95% of the time. At this point though, the distance to John O’Groats was out of our minds - this was a day by day challenge. Fortunately, the pills worked well-enough and I was officially a doped-up cyclist and we made it to Citrus Hotel in Cheltenham. I was really grateful for Geen and Deeley’s support while I was in a pretty bad way - it would have been a one-way train ticket back to Leeds on my own, if I’d have given up.
The evening:
Unlike the other places we had stayed on a night, Cheltenham is a well-populated town and our hotel was right in the centre. The staff were kind enough to let us store our bikes in a conference room in the hotel, but we locked them up with our big wire bike-lock anyway. We had gotten super wet from the rain, so we had to take some time making sure all our kit was going to dry overnight, luckily we had a heater and a few radiators in the room. When you’re on a bike trip like this, having some sort of drying setup in your accommodation is a treat, as nobody wants to be putting wet gear on in the morning. Most Airbnbs and hotels do have a kettle, so you can get quick and easy porridge packs and fruit from most supermarkets, so this was our breakfast for the morning. We ate at Turtle Bay this night so our bellies were full, we watched telly in the room for a short while and then it was lights out.
Where we stayed: Citrus Hotel Cheltenham
https://www.citrushotelcheltenham.co.uk/
“When Deeley made the celebratory announcement that I’d achieved my first 100-mile cycle, I was pleased somewhere in myself, but too exhausted, delirious and eager to get to Ilam to show any form of enthusiasm.”
Day 4:
Cheltenham > Ilam
174km/108 miles with 1511 metres of climbing, over the course of 8.5 hours moving time
The morning
Sachet porridge, a dose of Paramol and a lousy sachet coffee for breakfast and we were eager to get out of the busy town. We had a big 174km day today, so the plan was to get a good 40-50km done before we took any sort of break.
The riding
With yesterday’s distance being cut short due to the Airbnb issues, it meant today became our longest day so far. This is the challenge you get when you pre-book all your accommodation I guess, you have to reach your set destination. You have no choice, you can’t just stop when you’ve had enough. Ilam was our end goal for the day, which is located in the Peak District, which to us as Northerners from West Yorkshire, it felt like we were “relatively close” to home. Except Ilam is right at the bottom of the Peak District, and it is a very large National Park, so we still had a long way to go before we were in God’s Own County (Yorkshire).
We took the pretty grim route through Birmingham - nothing against Birmingham, just the roads were pretty busy and this section of the ride only offered classic outer-city blandness. We were in communication with our good friend Lee Redfern, who decided to come out and meet us to hopefully get some drone shots of us cycling, but our judgement of timing was slightly off and it was dark by the time we reached him - but we stopped for a quick chat and planned to meet up the next day instead, as we worked our way through the Peak District.
For Deeley and I, this is the longest distance we had ever cycled and for me, the first time I had ever done a 100-miler. When we reached the 100-mile mark, we were in the darkness on a country road, it was raining and my knees were screaming at me, the opioids had worn off. So, when Deeley made the celebratory announcement that I’d achieved my first 100-mile cycle, I was pleased somewhere in myself, but too exhausted, delirious and eager to get to Ilam to show any form of enthusiasm - but a nice moment nonetheless.
We all cycled close together through the dark country road in a group, as it was just forcing us to take it slow, we had to be careful as our headlights were only JUST capable of illuminating the roads. Deeley and Geen have floodlight-like front lights on their bikes, so I mainly followed them; being the cheapskate climber that I am, I was only sporting cheap 120 lumen bike lights.
We arrived at some form of civilisation, which was the small town of Ashbourne, just on the edge of the Peak District, where we had pre-planned to get some dinner, as there were no options at the remote hostel we had booked to stay in for the night. There is something really confusing about cycling in the pitch black for over an hour and all of a sudden, popping out in a random town. We knew we were in the right place to get some food in us, but somehow we ended up losing Deeley. He was just nowhere to be seen, so me and Geen were riding about in the street trying to find him, with no idea where he had gone and no way of contacting him, with his phone being dead. Eventually after 5-10 minutes, we just heard Deeley calling “SCOTT!” from somewhere distant in a direction we couldn’t fathom. We still couldn’t see him and he just continued shouting for us, and we started wondering if he was down a ditch, got kidnapped by the Ashbourne Ripper or had injured himself somehow. But, eventually he just popped out of nowhere as confused as we were, we all had no idea how and when we got so separated. But, at least we’d been reunited and could figure out where we needed to go. Not the worst situation ever, as we were only in the UK and not somewhere like Alaska, but worrying at the time.
The evening:
Our only option was a takeaway, as it was about 9pm, where me and Geen settled for some filthy takeaway food and Deeley chose to pass on the junk food as he is a man of a clean diet. Loaded with terrible food, we pushed the last 9km through more dark roads, until we finally reached the YHA in Ilam. The place was this Hogwarts-esque castle, which was a nice treat to arrive at. It was 22:10 when we arrived and the hostel reception closed at 22:00, so the receptionist wasn’t willing to sell us some cans of beer out of the fridge, but we were just grateful we could check in. We were all wasted from the big day, so we just got showered, got the phones and bike lights on charge, got our gear on the radiators and miserably got our heads down, in pure Ian Beale style - we had absolutely nothing left.
Where we stayed: YHA Ilam Hall
https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-ilam-hall
“It was pissing it down so we just got our heads down, cycled past Geen’s Grandma’s, the golf course we all used to play at, the hospital we’d all been to at some point in our childhood”
Day 5:
Ilam > Leeds
112.5km/70 miles with 1909 metres of climbing, over the course of 5.5 hours moving time
The morning:
The legs were aching big time this morning. I was on the top bunk and it was very difficult to get down that flimsy ladder on to the ground. It was a bit of a tight squeeze in the room as we’d dragged our bikes in and stored them in there the night before. We had to do some tactical manoeuvring to guide them back down three stories, through a maze of tight staircases on glossy stone tile flooring, something that requires a Torvill and Dean level of skill when you’ve got cycling shoes on. But we can assure you, YHA Ilam, no walls or bannisters were marked in the process of leaving your hostel. We managed to get some breakfast there before we left, just some sausage sandwiches, coffee and a dose of Paramol.
The riding
It was raining a lot. We were on the edge of the Peak, passing through familiar stomping ground on route to our halfway point - our own house! To make things clear, Deeley and I both live in Leeds, and we all grew up here. So, we mapped our route in such a way that would bring us home for a night. We couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad idea, but today was the day we found out. We had an unsuspectingly steep hill-climb out of Ilam, which was only short but it definitely warmed you up and really ignited the fury in my right knee. So we slowly kept pushing on through nice countryside bike trails on the flattest route possible, before we stopped for a rest in Bakewell about 1 hour and 45 minutes later.
Our original plan was to make this a big day, which factored in some of the best hill climbs in the Peak District. However, Deeley kindly altered the route on Komoot, as we all agreed that pushing big hills for the sake of it, may not be the most sustainable plan and gaining as much distance as we could, was the main priority. I don’t think my knee could have taken it.
In Bakewell we met Lee for a spot of lunch, where the guys had something proper to eat and I had a dose of Paramol and a “Cruffin”, which is a Croissant and Muffin amalgamation - something you don’t see often, so it had to be done. We finished up our coffees and were back out in the rain again, to blast our way through The Peak and get through hilly Sheffield.
Lee followed us in the car to capture some amazing photographs of us climbing Grindleford-Padley Gorge, which we all worked our way up at different paces. Deeley, being a super strong cyclist hammered it up at probably DOUBLE the pace I did, Geen not far behind him and I grinded away - in pain - at the back. I would say that this was probably one of my favourite hill-climbs of the trip so far, as I've driven down this road at least a dozen times, to meet friends at Grindleford Cafe for climbing days in The Peak over the past few years. My knee pain eased off while I was working my way up and was able to push it a little faster and was loving the suffer-fest in the rain and nailing it down the descent. Deeley was waiting for us on Hathersage Road on the other side at the turn off on to the road which shaves around the edge of Sheffield on quiet and smooth roads for a few miles, until you end up creeping back towards the city and end up climbing another hill. The hill was called Fox Hill and it felt like it went on forever. I knew Sheffield was hilly, but when you’re having to cycle your way around, you really do notice how hilly it is.
It felt like once we got out of Sheffield, we were basically at the end of the day. However, we did still have a way to go. It was pissing it down so we just got our heads down, cycled past Geen’s grandmother’s house, the golf course we all used to play at, the hospital we had all been to at some point in our lives (Pinderfield’s Hospital) and the village all three of us grew up in. Then, before we knew it, we were actually back on our home turf in Leeds.
The evening:
At our house stop, we had Geen’s parents drop us off a care-package of cake and some more painkillers for myself. Deeley lent Geen some normal clothes. We got some Deliveroo trooper to bring us some Vegan Doner Kebabs from Doner Summer. We probably stayed up a tad too late and drank a few too many beers, but it was a nice refreshing dose of normality. We realised that night, we had to quickly organise some new accommodation for the following evening, as the previous place had decided to cancel on us, for reasons we believe to be covid-related. Easily fixable, thanks to Airbnb. We took this opportunity at home to dump some of the excess stuff we were carrying, which wasn’t needed and was just taking space and adding weight to our bike-packs. I had left a stash of day snacks and we had some chamois cream, which our friend Sam had gone and picked up for us, because me and Deeley were Chafing Statham by this point! Geen was somehow, NOT chafing, his crotch is clearly built for this game. He was on the airbed that night, and me and Deeley got our own beds for one night only, before we ventured NORTH NORTH.
Where we stayed: Mine & Deeley’s house in Hyde Park, Leeds
Photography by: Lee Redfern
“We considered finding the hotel and abusing them for their inconvenience, but instead we opted for taking a moment to pre-order our food in the pub”
Day 6:
Leeds > Eastgate
140km/86 miles with 2520 metres of climbing, over the course of 7 hours moving time
The morning:
Porridge breakfast with a side of Paramol and coffee to kickstart the day. Please note: I was still the only one on the Opioids, Deeley and Geen are machines and didn’t require any doping. We were slow to start and get out of the house this morning, with the old home comforts, we naturally took the piss getting out of the front door, with one of those fragmental hangovers, which leave you feeling ever so slightly drained and demotivated.
The riding
It was about 8:40am when we left. Our latest dispatch yet, which wasn’t ideal given that we had some knock-backs in the first 2 hours. First of all, I had forgotten my knee brace, which was doing a really good job of easing my knee pain, so had to call Lee, wake him up and get him to come bring it to us in Ripley Castle in Harrogate. In the meantime, Deeley’s chain was basically about to snap off his bike, so he swung by Chevin Cycles in Harrogate, just down the road. We all ate some breakfast together and Lee took these dramatic portraits of us all, before we set off again. With a new chain and a knee brace, Geen needed no maintenance. We were ready for battle.
It was at this point, we felt like we were making really good progress, as we realised how far up the country we had travelled. We had worked our way through the Yorkshire turf at this point, up through the North Pennines via Masham and past Barnard Castle into County Durham, which was really beautiful daytime riding, with thanks to Deeley for putting the route together. We arrived at the town where we were supposed to be staying, before they cancelled, so we considered finding the hotel and abusing them for their inconvenience, but instead we opted for taking a moment to pre-order our food for tonight’s dinner at the pub instead, where we were going to be eating in Eastgate, in Bishop Auckland. One last push to the bunkhouse we’d newly booked for the night, a few miles further in the darkness and we were off the bikes. Another long day in the saddle filled with a bit more faff than we intended, but that’s just how it is. It was starting to feel noticeably colder the further north we got.
The evening
We ate at the pub just down the track from the bunkhouse, which was pretty much the only option, but a great option nonetheless. The food and service was incredible. We got chatting with a few locals in the pub who were all ecstatic to hear about our journey and donated us some cash for the cause. We were shattered so we headed back up the track and got ourselves ready for bed, after some cereal for dessert in the bunkhouse communal area. This is when I realised how well these new premium smartphones can handle water damage. My phone had gotten very wet, which is why there are no photographs for this day. But my phone put itself into some form of life-saving mode and demanded I dry it and guided me on how to do that effectively and like magic, it managed to salvage itself. That could have been a broken phone! Knowing I didn’t have a dead phone to worry about, it was sleep time - feeling beyond shattered.
Where we stayed: Hole House Bunkhouse
https://bit.ly/36D7Dps
“You’ve just gotta cycle up them, that’s just what cycling is.”
Day 7:
Eastgate > Selkirk
142km/85 miles with 2361 metres of climbing, over the course of 7.5 hours moving time
The morning:
The bunkhouse we were staying at had a really nice communal area with breakfast included in our booking, so as routine goes on a trip like this, we had almost mastered the art of cramming as much food/fuel and coffee in your face as you possibly can, without making yourself too heavy to ride. Two coffees, a bowl of cereal, a few slices of toast and jam later and we were back out. The bunkhouse was on the side of a hill with a gravel trail, which we had to carefully navigate our way back down to avoid puncturing any tyres. It was definitely much colder up here, approximately 3°, so there was frost on the surfaces, but we quickly warmed up after we’d climbed a few hills.
The riding
The roads are really pristine up in Northumberland and the scenery is stunning. Lots of large forest areas, with tall trees either side of the roads, which give you a sense of what cycling in Canada is like - according to Geen. At this point, for me personally, I had become totally accustomed to climbing long hills, which I generally took at a pretty slow pace to avoid putting too much strain on my right knee - much slower than the other guys, but nothing too detrimental to our progress, as we were always making good distance. I had started to really see the beauty in slogging it up a good hill climb on a bike - Geen put it well “you’ve just gotta cycle up them, that’s just what cycling is”. Anyway, the general highlight of the day was that we had a pleasant mix of weather, cold and foggy to start, so gloves and Softshell jackets with a buff was definitely required and then we had pretty nice sunshine for the best part of the day, with barely any rain. We stopped in a little town where the guys purchased themselves some premium gloves to keep those brake-clenching, gear-shifting fingers at a reasonable temperature and we treated ourselves to a Greggs!
Big, open, quiet roads, but the occasional aggy driver. Quick rant here but, I get that having somebody on a bike slowing you down in your car might seem frustrating, but seriously where do you need to be in such a rush, that you need to let your monkey-mind get angry and intentionally power your car right up behind somebody on a push iron and honk your horn? It’s pretty fucking scary and genuinely nearly freaked me off my bike and made me almost veer off the road in to a fence. Life tip for drivers - be cool to cyclists on the road, you’re risking somebody else’s life by reacting with your big heavy motor vehicle that could literally crush a human to death and you will go to jail - think about it.
Anyway, we actually broke through into Scotland in the middle of the day, which was mind-blowing to think we were literally at our house in Leeds last night. We weren’t expecting this, so when we saw the Scottish Border sign, spirits were sky high! Despite being in Scotland though, we still had a pretty long way to go before we reached Stanhope. We were aware that we had a big long climb ahead of us and an epic descent down into Selkirk and the sun was getting pretty low. When the climb started, it felt moderate, but with little exaggeration here, we were probably climbing it for about an hour and a half, right at the end of our day. We managed it, I caught up to Geen and Deeley and then we all put our headlights on and absolutely rocketed down a descent - which was probably in equal length to the climb we had come down - in about five minutes. It was one of those tear-inducing kind of descents, where you feel like the tears are going to freeze to your face. Thank god for cycling glasses or ‘eyeball-windshields’ as I like to call them.
The evening
We were broken at this point. Deeley collapsed face down on the double bed, which we assumed was him claiming it for the night. Looks like me and Geen were sharing the other double bed tonight. I couldn’t complain; he’s a light-sleeper. Me? Not so much. I’m more of a sleep paralysis, wake-up-in-a-freak, spouting out random dream-state comments, kind of sleeper. We had a good set up in this room, space to safely store our bikes and there was more than enough space for activities, quality showering and gear-drying facilities. Not sure what we did for food this night, but ate like beasts and had a few beers while we watched telly to wind down as usual.
Where we stayed: The County Hotel
https://www.countyselkirk.com/
“We were as wet as we could be, we physically could not have been any wetter”
Day 8:
Selkirk > Stirling
110km/68 miles with 916 metres of climbing, over the course of 6 hours moving time
The morning
Deeley slept with his bike right next to his bed, so the moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his bike just staring him down as if to say “get yourself up mate, it’s that time again”. Breakfast wasn’t included in this place, so we sorted ourselves out with porridge, fruit and coffee sachets we had bought from the supermarket last night - enough to get you going and often a conveniently fast way to get going as you can eat and drink while you’re getting yourself ready to go.
The riding
This leg of the journey was the final stage of Deeley’s planned sections, so we were about to cycle our way through to a point where we were ⅔ of the way through the ride. We had relentless rain from the moment we stepped out of the front door today and it was cold - very cold. Cycling in the rain is okay, but when you’re shivering from the cold, your body and chest starts to struggle, so we actually had a really scatty day, making miles but stopping to get our heads together. When you have troubles such as NEEDING to get some more gear to continue in a safe manner, you don’t make many miles at all. We sought out a cycling shop, but due to Covid restrictions, we weren’t able to go in and get Geen the overshoes he required, as his feet were constantly wet and cold, which is not ideal. We eventually found a Decathlon, which wasn’t too much of a detour and we stocked up on things such as waterproof mittens, hand-warmers and better waterproof jackets.
The hand-warmers/mittens combo actually worked a treat, but as we cycled in to the night, the conditions were so bad that there was nothing any bit of kit could do to keep you dry and warm. We really started to struggle and ended up taking a route down a canal path in the absolute pitch black, our lights were just good enough to help us see, but the nervous tension of trying not to fall in the water and the shivering was just exhausting. In all honesty, we started to lose our minds a bit - probably one of the most vulnerable positions any of us had been in, as we still had 17 miles to go and our only option was to get there by cycling. We started feeling hopeful when the canal track broke off and we were thinking that we would be getting back on to a normal road. But in fact, we were actually just in a cold, dark graveyard and the truth was that we actually just had to continue cycling down the pitch black canal trail. One thing that really sparked my mood was that some of the canal paths actually had cats-eye lights built in to the ground, which was helpful. Would recommend avoiding going down canal paths on a night though if you can. You’re better off on a busy road.
We were as wet as we could be, we physically could not have been any wetter. As we attempted to re-navigate ourselves on to a more manageable road, we slipped off the canal track and on to some tarmac again, thankfully. I was out in front following Google Maps and behind me I heard the sound of a roaring car creating a tsunami, completely drowning Deeley’s entire being, followed by Geen’s hysterical laughter! The kind of laughs you only really get when you’re out on a proper adventure.
Okay, so i’m going to summarise the day here, but a few points that are worth mentioning are that after all this difficult cycling, Deeley and I both ended up getting punctures at exactly the same time and my casual footwear/sliders did their job and slide their way right off the back of my saddle-bag and were now laying on a road somewhere in the middle of nowhere. So, that marked the beginning of me living in cycling cleats for the remainder of the trip and we still had a few more days to go. We got there eventually.
The evening:
We finally got our moist bodies back to the Youth Hostel in Stirling. Absolutely disgusting day, but we just put the past few traumatic hours in the past and embraced the fact we were finally warm and dry again. We put our feet up with a Chinese, some beers and the telly on in the hostel trying to forget about what just happened. We stocked up on our breakfast for the next morning at the supermarket in Stirling.
Where we stayed: OYO Guesthouse
https://bit.ly/3rihzwb
“I had a puncture about 1.5km away from the hostel and really couldn’t be bothered to fix it”
Day 9:
Stirling > Pitlochry
92km/57 miles with 1135 metres of climbing, over the course of 5 hours moving time
The morning
So here is where the logistics of the trip changed. Our original plan was to cycle from Stirling to Aviemore, which is a mighty 190km stint, but given the intensity of yesterday, we all came to an executive decision that we would be much happier to break this down in to 2-shorter days of cycling. So, we spent more time recovering and organising accommodation for the evening at a reasonable halfway point, which was Pitlochry and rescheduled our arrival date in Aviemore for tomorrow evening. Easy to organise, thanks to Airbnb. I took advantage of the full-English breakfasts that were available in the youth hostel and we set off again, knowing we would only be riding for about 5 hours today, which was nothing compared to our previous 8-11 hour riding days.
The riding
Deeley had mapped out the first two thirds of the entire ride and I had planned the final third. Today was the first leg of my section of route…aka, the final third! It was starting to feel like we were actually beginning to get somewhat close to the finish, even though we had at least 400km to go - a promising prospect nonetheless. The beauty of reaching this part of the country is that it is where the National Cycle Route begins and it provides for safe riding and easy navigation. Although, there was a brief moment where we ended up on the A9, which in this particular part of Scotland is a really busy section of the A9. It is basically cycling on the motorway, which we would not recommend at all as it was stressful riding and definitely dangerous for quite a few miles.
We joined NCR 7 and took the whole day at our own paces and tried to avoid any mishaps. We stayed on the safe roads and took in the beautiful scenery, as we were getting into the foothills of the highlands and there were some epic roaring rivers. It was much flatter riding in this area, which was pleasing and allowed us to relax and enjoy making distance. Deeley was slightly on edge because he had plugged his tubeless tyre and had to contend with this for the remaining 400km, hoping it wouldn’t tear or burst out, leaving him with another puncture. We almost made it to the Youth Hostel in Pitlochry safe and sound. Unfortunately though, I had a puncture about 1.5km away from the hostel and really couldn’t be bothered to fix it on the side of the road, because we were so close and of course, it was pissing it down. So it was a wet, clanky and cleaty stumble back for me, which took me about 20 minutes and I met the boys at the room where they were already warm and dry. We stored our bikes in a locked shed and I planned to deal with my puncture in the morning.
The evening:
Tonight marked the debut of my first evening without sliders, so I had to walk down to the Indian takeaway barefoot, in the rain. I was getting some funny looks, but I was beyond caring what anybody thought by this point and we were all just laughing the whole time. We brought our food back to the hostel, ate hard and just got our kit drying, devices charging and sent it off to sleep for the second half of our split-day to Aviemore tomorrow.
Where we stayed: Pitlochry Youth Hostel
https://www.hostellingscotland.org.uk/hostels/pitlochry/
“The route is very pleasant as it runs through fairly large hills/mountains”
Day 10:
Pitlochry > Aviemore
91km/56 miles with 751 metres of climbing, over the course of 4.5 hours moving time
The morning
Pitlochry was a really stunning place to stay the night and would highly recommend this as a stop on your LEJOG journey. The morning gave us sunshine, but it was still brisk nonetheless. We collected our sweaty, drying clothing from the warm radiators in the eating area, which was empty because well... Covid-19. Coffee and general amenities were free, so we enjoyed some time in the sunshine and I went off to go fix my broken bike from the mess it had gotten into the night before. All fixed up and ready to set off from Pitlochry onwards to Aviemore - a place where I almost moved to a few years ago for the snow season, which never came. Alas, it was nice to be heading back there.
The riding
It was only a short amount of riding out of Pitlochry where we could confirm that we had officially penetrated the Cairngorms National Park - we were feeling very high on the fact we only had 2 days of cycling to go after this. We rejoined the Cycle Route, which runs for 90km all the way to Aviemore. The route is very pleasant as it runs through fairly large hills/mountains and the path is literally built for bikes, so there’s no traffic to worry about. We were quite alone on this track, which we expect on a sunny/non-covid occasion, would be rammed with cyclists. They have built these gateway systems to slow you down, so you don’t fly across it, as it is very smooth and rolls up and down, so if you wanted, you could cycle very fast. We all just took it easy though, as it was in fact still raining a lot, quite cold and we had been cycling for 10 days straight at this point. Thank you to Decathlon for the trusty mittens, for keeping our hands dry. After a steady 4.5 hours of cycling, following the simple signs, we reached Aviemore in really good stead - it wasn’t too late and we weren’t too tired. Aviemore is a very cool place, so we were excited we got the opportunity to spend a decent evening here and not have to go straight to bed. We parked up our bikes, ordered a pint in the sunshine and got ourselves checked in to our accommodation.
The evening
The Airbnb we were staying at was connected to a big pub/restaurant, where there were actually lots of people congregating, eating, drinking and having fun. The venue was perched right on the edge of a big terrace looking over a nice calm bed of water, where you could probably host a small festival - a part of Aviemore I hadn’t seen before, just off the main road. Our usual ritual commenced; get the bikes safe, gear on some form of drying apparatus, showered and in to our evening attire. Which for me, was the usual Rab leggings, running-shorts, softshell jacket and no shoes. We went to the lovely Italian restaurant there, just as you enter Aviemore, which makes beautiful pizza - this is probably the 6th time we’d had pizza this trip - but what a better way to carb-load than a big juicy pizza? I was a bit ashamed of myself going into the Italian as I was barefoot and was carrying a bright orange Sainsbury’s bag, so looked like a bit of a reprobate. To the point where I questioned the fact that maybe I am just a reprobate? Bed time. Tomorrow is an easy day, but it’s important to get as much sleep as you physically can get in when you’re doing back-to-back days in the saddle.
Where we stayed: The Old Bridge Bunkhouse
https://bit.ly/2YGONt2
“So every truck which powered over the bridge soaked us with some more waves”
Day 11:
Aviemore > Tain
107km/66 miles with 1042 metres of climbing, over the course of 5 hours moving time
The morning:
We enjoyed our night in Aviemore - I got the double bed and we had a kettle in the room, which is a massive pro to staying in B&Bs. We spent a few minutes deciding where we were going to head to get a proper breakfast, before properly departing towards Tain. We found a place on Google called Cycle Route 7 Cafe, which was massive and had an absolutely bob-on vegan breakfast selection. We wolfed down our food, many cups of coffee and got ourselves back out on the roads. We discussed our decision to split the last leg into 2 days. Geen said he thought he would prefer to have just smashed out that difficult day in one, rather than two, like we did - but that’s just Geen for you.
The riding
Regarding hill-climbing, the roads are pretty average up in Scotland, especially on the route we chose up towards Inverness. Yes, the roads were very busy, but we didn’t have to climb anything too severe. You could tell when we were getting close to Inverness as we did have to deal with more traffic, but we did have to come this way to get over the main bridge out the back end of Inverness. The day was very rainy, we got absolutely soaked coming over the bridge, which had casually flooded, so every truck which powered over it drenched us with big cold splashes. After you dot out of the back of Inverness, continuing your way adjacent to the A9, the riding does become nicer and you’re always next to the ocean. It did start to feel like we were very far north, because well at this point… we were. Major roads, but very quiet, so every now and then when you did end up actually on the A9 road, it wasn’t too bad, especially the more north you get. We arrived at Tain in the dark, as we got delayed by stopping in Inverness to fix up some bike issues, and we were very wet.
The evening
Tain is only a small town, but very quaintly Scottish. The place we booked was owned by a lovely woman, who was very welcoming and let us keep our bikes in one of her big rooms on the ground floor. We got ourselves showered and did our clothes-drying duties and took to the town to find a supermarket to make our own dinners, as we had our own kitchen with some decent cooking facilities. We opted for sandwiches dipped in soup and other various forms of stodge, beers and sweets from the local CO-OP. After we’d got our calories back in, we all pretty much went to bed with the television on and were out for the count. To say we’d only done 5 hours on this day, it still felt like a massive day. You’d think by this point, we would all be absolutely buzzing to finish the ride, but we had all become so accustomed to the life of bike-packing, that it just felt like any other day on the trip, where we just had to deal with the situation in front of us, to make sure we were ready for the next day, with little room to be screaming about that fact we only had one more day to go. Which was actually a big one - we had a big ride tomorrow, so getting a proper sleep tonight was very essential.
Where we stayed: Small Town House known as Blackwatch House
https://bit.ly/2MSW3PD
“We sat ourselves outside a pub on picnic tables, where we found ourselves nearly getting in a fight with some Cockney landlord”
Day 12:
Tain > John O’Groats
137km/85 miles with 1358 metres of climbing, over the course of 5.5 hours moving time
The morning:
This was quite the emotional morning as it was going to be our last day. We had become very accustomed to this routine now - but it was OUR LAST BLOODY DAY - we were so close, if you could call 137km close. Usual process, eat lots, make sure our bikes are sound and prepare for the weather ahead and set off. We made sure to be up and out really early, as it was still a long day and we were all quite depleted at this point - so we were likely going to be moving slow.
The riding:
There are two ways you can go at this point. You can either go the longer way, through the centre of Scotland and then east across the northern coast, which apparently provides for a much more scenic route through the mountains.
Or you can alternatively, go the way which we went, which was eastwards towards the coast and follow the A9 all the way up to John O’Groats. Which was pretty dull cycling as it was literally a 137km road all the way to the finish, but it was more direct. No turns, just a long rolling hilly road all the way to the finish, which wasn’t as busy as we anticipated. We had read online that this road is pretty quiet, compared to how busy the A9 is when you’re down near Inverness. Fortunately, it allowed us to get our heads down, take in the fairly gentle coastal breeze and get on with making distance.
Due to different levels of fitness in the group and no need to follow any directions other than to follow the A9, we all just cycled at our own pace, which usually resulted in Deeley leading the pack at the front, Geen matching his pace in the middle and me plodding away at the back. Our plan was to make a good 50km dent in the day before we stopped for lunch. Don’t let yourself get hungry. I’d learnt from days before, that it is handy to just have some form of stodgy snack available in your bag, like a sandwich, just in case you can’t find places to stop for food and NEED to eat. I took a break about 30km in and just wolfed down a triangular sandwich like a sock into the head of a hoover and carried on.
We reached a small coastal town, where I met the other guys and got ourselves a cup of soup, coffee and a dipping sandwich (game-changer!) and we sat ourselves outside a pub on picnic tables, where we found ourselves nearly getting in a fight with some Cockney landlord, who clearly wasn’t happy with us using his picnic tables. “ARE YOU TAKING FUCKING LIBERTIES?” he demanded. Deeley challenged the guy’s assertiveness, as his pub wasn’t even open for business, which is a solid point. Anyway, that settled and nobody got stabbed and we were on our way.
When you’re within distance and you’re starting to see road signs for John O’Groats, I’ll tell you what, that miles-to-go figure on those signs goes down VERY slowly. It sent me into a mental loop, where time felt like it slowed down. That last 20 miles, was the longest 20 miles of the whole trip. As the land starts to become more remote, you know you’re very close. You climb this fairly lengthy hill, which was really nice cycling, but my legs were probably the most tired they have ever been in their 28 years of carrying my arse around. But, when you summit this hill you can literally see John O’Groats on the other side of the hill! To see Geen and Deeley chilling at the top of the hill waiting for me, so we could all roll down it together and have this journey done with, was a sight I'll never forget! We cruised down without really pedalling and just rolled our bikes up to the finish; a truly beautiful moment. When we unclipped from our pedals at the famous landmark sign-post we were high on life, but physically wrecked - kind of like the feeling you have on the Sunday night at a 5-day music festival. We’d sent Lands End to John O’Groats and we couldn’t have been any more proud of each other and ourselves.
The evening:
We’d booked to stay at the most obvious accommodation in John O’Groats, where there isn’t really much going on, just like Lands End. But our hotel had a pub which sold food and beer and that’s all that mattered. The crazy thing about the timing was that Scotland was going into Lockdown tomorrow. So, we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the pub pleasures, if this had taken us a day longer - imagine that, not being able to celebrate in a pub after you finish such a journey. We ate a huge feast, had a dessert (we deserved it), many pints and then organised for our taxi to pick us up in the morning. We grabbed some beers to go from the pub downstairs and went to the room to get our feet up and watch some telly for the last time of the trip. We were DONE!
Where we stayed: Seaview Hotel
https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/seaview-john-o-groats.en-gb.html?aid=339530&from_pretrip=1
Conclusion
Getting back home from John O’Groats on public transport is a challenge in itself, but we managed it with a few hiccups along the way, which I won’t go in to in major detail (but you can read about this in the ‘Cost’ information at the end of this, but all I will say is “BOOK YOUR BIKES ON TO THE TRAIN”, otherwise you may find yourself in a pickle.
This trip was eye-opening - it gave all of us a new found appreciation for how beautiful the United Kingdom is. We often travel to and from nice destinations in our cars or however, but when you take the journey by bike, you see all the in-between beauty of this country with a finer eye, because you’re moving at a slower pace. The people you do it with are critical, you need a team who understand each other deeply, because this brings out a lot of the highs and lows in your mental state and managing that is all part of the challenge. You need to stay motivated and you need to believe that you can do it; having a good team is the key technique to help you get through those difficult days.
Doing this the way we did, by pre-booking all our accommodation was YES more expensive than if you wild camped the whole thing, but we felt blessed to have a bed, shower and everything else every night. When you are finishing off a 96 mile day, it’s dark and raining and then having to pitch a tent and spend the night in a sleeping bag - that’s raw and maybe something for another time, but respect to those who choose to do it that way.
Would I do this again? Maybe. Would Deeley and Geen do something like this again? Deeley 100% yes. Geen, he did say that he wasn’t going to do big bike challenges again before starting this, and he joined us on this, so I guess that answers that.
“I would do a big bike tour again. Whenever I finish a big bike trip I always say never again but then time passes and I just get the itch to do it all over again.” - Geen said, the day after his 29th birthday.
We learnt a lot along the way, something about ourselves, each other and also a bunch of tips and tricks on bike-packing for 12 days in the UK, which I have listed below.
Tips & Tricks
Here are some things we wish we’d known before setting off:
If staying in accommodation, saddle bag and frame bag is enough.
Don’t pack any non-essential things.
“If you’re not fit enough by the beginning of the trip, you will be fit enough by the time you FINISH it”, Roy Taylor.
You’re in this situation for the challenge, but also to have fun, you’re on an adventure, it’s going to be tough at times, laugh about it even when things get serious.
Your phone won’t last the full day if you’re trying to Strava your rides each day. Use a Garmin or a bike computer. Save your phone for taking loads of pictures of everything.
You spend 90% of your days on the bike and in your cycling clothes. You barely spend any time chilling about in regular clothes, so take your smallest, most lightweight casual clothes for an evening. I took a pair of running shorts, thermal leggings and a super light t-shirt, a pair of sliders and wore my cycling softshell at night. Yes, it was cold walking to places. But, you’re never out for long at all. This reduces any unnecessary extra weight, like bringing extra trousers and an extra warm jacket. It’s pointless.
We needed a bike lock a few times when storing our bikes in insecure spots at night and in certain cafes.
Set off as early as you can every day. The extra time at night is nicer than a lay-in.
Do it for a charity.
Eat a small bite or some form of food every 20 - 45 minutes to avoid bonking. Don’t ever let yourself get hungry while you’ve still got a long way ahead of you.
Set out where you’re going to stop for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch and dinner in advance. The last thing you want is no access to getting those calories back in you.
If you’re getting a train, 100% make sure you book your bikes on to the train - Trainline website doesn’t offer the option to book your bike on their website, so make sure you pay attention to sorting this out!
The hardest part of the day always seems to be the last 40km.
After PROPER rest every night, we never woke up feeling too broken to get back on the bikes.
Kit List
LOWER BODY
2 x Socks
1 x Flip Flops/Sliders
1 x Cycling Shoes
1 x Overshoes
1 x Bib shorts
1 x Leg-warmers
2 x Boxer shorts
UPPER BODY
1 x Helmet
1 x Gel-padded gloves
1 x Arm warmers
2 x Cycling jerseys
1 x Lightweight water resistant, windproof shell
1 x Softshell jacket
1 x Waterproof jacket
1 x Skull cap
1 x Cycling glasses with interchangeable sun and clear lenses
Everything else
1 x Spare chain
3 x Tyre levers
3 x Spare inner tubes
1 x Large saddle bag
1 x Large frame bag
1 x Hand pump (between the group)
1 x Head torch
Front and rear lights
1 x Warm gloves
1 x Waterproof mittens
1 x Quadlock handlebar phone mount and Waterproof case
2 x Chargers for phone and bike lights
2 x Water bottles
1 x Face mask
(Approx) 36 gels = 3 per day
1 x Toothpaste
1 x Tooth brush (saw handle in half to reduce bulk)
24 x Caffeine / Electrolyte water tablets or sachets.
1 x Small bar of soap
1 x Chamois cream
2 x Boxes of painkillers - Paramol & Ibuprofen
1 x Bike computer (Wahoo Bolt)
The cost
We weren’t keeping track of our spending too much, but this is a fairly rough approximate I can conjure up, to give you an idea of how much we spent. Bear in mind, none of this includes the cost of any cycling equipment, supplements, medication. I’ve tried to just include all the pricing for the logistical side of things.
Lift down to Cornwall: £90 in fuel + a large Dominos pizza for Dan Weatherall (our driver)
Taxi from Hayes to Lands End = £60 or £20 each
Accommodation was approx £330 - £440 each for 11 days (we stayed at home one night)
£30-40 each per day between 3 people.
£990 - £1320 in total on accommodation.
Mostly paid in advance.
Plan: Get train from Thurso - Inverness - Edinburgh
Not allowed on train from Inverness to Edinburgh with bikes
Train from Thurso to Edinburgh = £73 - FAIL - BUT REFUNDED
Change of Plan
Lift Back from Inverness: £235 for fuel and paying Dan for his time & inconvenience
£20 - £40 each approx on food/drinks each day
£240 - £480 each approx in total
£729 - 1440 for the whole group
Approximate total spend on accommodation, travel and food/drink: £2485
Individually, this was approximately: £828 each