Well it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Some time ago John and I were discussing where our next long ride was to be, the idea of riding End to End was mentioned but not , as I thought at the time,seriously. A little later, when sitting in my house, totally out of the blue, John said to my better half, "How would you feel about Mike and me doing the Lands End John 'o' Groats ride". I felt myself cringing and not sure what reply to expect, I was gobsmacked when quite casually, Kinny, my wife looked up from her sewing and replied, "Why not". That was It, I was committed. Almost immediately I began to plan and prepare for the trip, Neither of us are in the first flush of youth any longer, in fact we are both retired so naturally, we decided that considering our advancing years a leisurely pace would be the most appropriate for us and accordingly, we set aside a full four weeks to make our attempt, starting May 1st 2019. From the outset we both were in agreement that we didn't want any pressure so we decided that we would not plan any advance accommodation, instead we would carry camping gear with us and stop when and where we wanted to. After all, this isn't a competition, its a ride to be enjoyed and hopefully, with experiences to savour. Then began the planning, which route? accommodation? transport to/ from the start/finish? The list went on and on until suffice to say, finally we seem to have everything in place.
Our plans? In truth, we had none, as I mentioned above we did not want any pressure so we had no daily targets and set aside a full month in which to complete our ride. We expected to cover something in the region of 1000 miles in that time which means on average we will need to cover around 36 miles per day, which even for a pair of old farts like us is quite achievable. The only target as such was to meet our lift home at the ferry terminal in Scrabster, and even if we had missed that we had a plan 'B' which involves asking a friend to drive up from our home town of Whitby to collect us.
As I write this introduction we are ten short days from the beginning of our adventure (because to us that's exactly what it is), the bikes are sorted, tents and gear OK, and the legs, well, we will know soon enough.
UPDATE:- Six days to go and the handlebars on the bike Fractured so I have a bit of a panic on. we no longer have a bike shop in Whitby and I have been unable to source any 'butterfly bars in the area, so I have had to buy on line. hopefully they will arrive in time but meanwhile I have fit an old set of straight bars as a temporary measure
(Bars arrived & fitted 27/04/19)
Our plans? In truth, we had none, as I mentioned above we did not want any pressure so we had no daily targets and set aside a full month in which to complete our ride. We expected to cover something in the region of 1000 miles in that time which means on average we will need to cover around 36 miles per day, which even for a pair of old farts like us is quite achievable. The only target as such was to meet our lift home at the ferry terminal in Scrabster, and even if we had missed that we had a plan 'B' which involves asking a friend to drive up from our home town of Whitby to collect us.
As I write this introduction we are ten short days from the beginning of our adventure (because to us that's exactly what it is), the bikes are sorted, tents and gear OK, and the legs, well, we will know soon enough.
UPDATE:- Six days to go and the handlebars on the bike Fractured so I have a bit of a panic on. we no longer have a bike shop in Whitby and I have been unable to source any 'butterfly bars in the area, so I have had to buy on line. hopefully they will arrive in time but meanwhile I have fit an old set of straight bars as a temporary measure
(Bars arrived & fitted 27/04/19)
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