Day 17 (and 18) - Bettyhill to John o' Groats

Final Destination

I spent the final night tossing and turning in bed, wondering what life would be like following the tour. With some luck, I finally drifted off to sleep but was soon woken by Jonathan's usual morning kettle routine.

The day started with some hilly climbs out of Bettyhill, but nothing we couldn't handle by now. The end prize was now within reach, and this numbed the pain somewhat.

The roads led us to Thurso, where some cruel members of the team planted the idea of doing an extra 12-mile detour in to my head. It was to bring us up to Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain. And so it did..

We then did some back-tracking and continued our journey towards John o'Groats, the most northerly village on the mainland. The adrenaline started kicking in and everyone was going at a fantastic speed. Barney and I managed a decent 17mph run for a good while but he left me in the dust as we got closer.

At last, we arrived at our hotel for the night and got ourselves checked in. We then made the final three quarters of a mile's journey to the official John o'Groats sign post, where Chris popped open some well-deserved bottles of champagne. Some photos later, and back to the hotel it was..

Truth be told, it was an odd feeling to realise that that was it. The end of the road - the finish line. I stood still there myself in disbelief, wondering if I'd actually done it. And I did.. we all did!

The atmosphere at the dinner table was clearly different last night. As usual, after the main course, Chris stood up and started off with his "Tomorrow, tomorrow.." that we'd grown so familiar with during his nightly briefings.

"Tomorrow.. you won't have to cycle anymore."

It rained that night. (Welcome to Scotland.) Miraculously, we'd managed to avoid any real rain throughout the entire tour - the best he's ever had in September, he says.

We woke up this morning and put our "normal people" clothes on - again, such a strange feeling after wearing lycra day-in, day-out. Our bikes and luggage were loaded up on to the coach, followed by some farewells and thanks to Chris.

As rain fell, the coach brought us through some familiar paths once again - the last being the Kessock Bridge to Inverness. Funny how different things look from inside a vehicle. (Probably why I got such a bad bout of motion-sickness)

A couple of us went back to the Velocity Cafe, mainly for the good food, but also for old time's sake.

When it was time to leave on our respective trains, we said our final goodbyes and headed off. I spent most of the train journey revisiting the thoughts of what life was going to be like now.

This time last year, I entertained the insane idea of cycling Great Britain in its entirety from its south-western point, to the north-eastern. Yesterday, this dream became reality..

The only problem with doing something so amazing, absolutely beyond-belief, is that you don't know if you'll ever get to feel the same way again..

What's next?

I'll keep chasing those dreams..

1032 miles, 19 days, 2 wheels.

More pics to follow.

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Day 16 - Tain to Bettyhill

The usual reluctance to get out of bed this morning was kept in check by my deep commitment to completing this godforsaken journey. I've grinned and bore it for the past two weeks.. what's another two days?

Unfortunately, our spirits were dampened when we had to wait the better half of an hour for our cooked breakfasts. Can't do without a full plate of breakfast in front of me now.. it's begun to grow on me! We got them eventually and were soon on our way through some desolate wastelands for the first half of the day.

We stopped for some hot drinks at the Old Crask Inn in Lairg, and then a long descent down to Altnaharra to have our packed lunch just outside a local hotel. Altnaharra currently holds the record for the coldest temperature ever in the UK at -27.2°C (which was thankfully back during a winter of the mid 90's).

The latter part of the day was much more enjoyable, with roads that were practically flat to our legs that are now akin to tree trunks. The serene ride by the River Naver finally brought us up to the final ascent to Bettyhill.

It's been one hell of a time but it's great to finally see the end within sight. The daily rides and waking up in a different every morning has been extremely wearing on the mind. We are now on the north coast of Scotland, and will make our final day's journey tomorrow to John o' Groats :)

Route:-

Part 1

Part 2

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Day 15 - Boat of Garten to Tain

The effects of cycling every day for two weeks are finally catching up with me - my lower limbs feel like lead and it's getting harder and harder to convince them to press on. In the words of Jens Voigt, all I can say to them is "Shut up, legs!" as they whimper in protest.

Our first stop of the day was in the Tomatin Village Store - as with many of the small settlements we ride through, it was the only one that supplied the village with everyday goods. We pushed on towards Inverness and finally arrived in a cafe that I've probably gone by every time I've been there - the Velocity Cafe, a charming place with a bike workshop just adjacent to it.

As we departed Inverness, we crossed the Kessock Bridge on to the Black Isle - a misnomer in the sense that it's actually a peninsula rather than an island. They didn't have bikes to travel quickly back in those days so they couldn't tell!

I needed a break from the bike later in the afternoon - I generally make do without a second cafe stop after lunch, but just wasn't really feeling it today. Perked myself up with some peppermint tea and then carried on northwards.

At this point I was riding alone but happened to bump in to the Lancashire group. Had a brilliant time trying to race up a gentle climb with Phil - probably the most fun I've had today, but it didn't last long! In all honesty, the rest of the ride (most of today, in fact) hasn't had very interesting scenery to keep me distracted - possibly part of the reason why I haven't felt really up to it, especially later on in the day. Or maybe we've just seen it all!

In the final hour to Tain, we bumped in to a fellow cyclist who was also on the cusp of completing the Land's End to John o' Groats route. He started back in June but on his fourth day (in Sheffield at the time) his knees started playing up, and this was him finishing up the rest of the journey. We rode side-by-side for a bit along with Cathy, Lindsay and Barney while chatting about our journeys so far.

The chap was doing all his riding alone so he appreciated our company - and funnily enough, so did we! I find the miles tend to go by quicker when I'm in the middle of a peloton - focused on the revolving wheel ahead with not much more than a hand's length between that and mine. One touch though.. and you're going down! So I've been told.. and I'd rather not be able to speak from experience.

It's really just the companionship that keeps me going now - I have no doubts I'd never manage to come this far on my own.. I'd be much further!!!! ;)

On a side note, it'll be great to finally see some familiar faces again this evening :)

Thanks so much guys for joining me for dinner tonight - just the boost I needed to get me through the next two days!! I'll be flying tomorrow!

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