The BIG bike ride - Land's End to John O'Groats

Some of you may already know that I'm cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats from 5th to 20th of May.
  I'm cycling with a friend of mine Rob Dentry who is 14 yrs my junior and a whole heap fitter, however he currently has the scars of a paintball pellet to the bum which makes sitting on a saddle extremely painful :o)
  1000 miles of pure hell I'm sure, but it will be for charity. Before you all reach for your wallets I won't be asking for your money. What I would like you to do is to donate a bit of your time to a charity or worthwhile cause.
  You'll be able to track our progress via this blog. Please feel free to leave some words of encouragement :o)

I'm not asking for your money!!(but...Rob is!!)

Fed up with the usual "give me your money" approach to charity. An idea came to me one day of asking people to donate their time instead. I thought my idea was unique until I found a whole host of sites and organisations who do such a thing. One such organisation can be found at
  http://www.volunteering.org.uk
  You will be able to find your nearest centre. There are a large number of different ways of donating your time. So don't feel that you will be pushed into something you're not comfortable with. Alternatively you can give blood for the first time or help out at a local youth group. The options are endless. There is no time limit on when to do this. Anytime from now until whenever. Your help will always be invaluable.
  It would be fantastic if you could post a comment on the site to say what work you would like to do and how many hours you have donated so that we can keep a running total. If you prefer send an email info@donatemytime.org.uk . If everyone I know can donate even just 1hr of their time to a worthwhile cause or charity then we would have achieved a great deal.
  If you'd prefer the easy option of giving money, Rob is cycling to raise money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and you can visit his fundraising page here.
  Thanks
  Peter & Rob :o)

Day Fourteen - Lairg to Tongue (the second to last day!!)

May 19, 2009

Day 14

Lairg to Tongue
Distance 40.1 miles
Average 11.2 mph
Time 3 hours 28 minutes and 52 seconds

Our day started at 09.00 when we left Lairg heading for Tongue. It was a very very easy day today, mostly flat with just a few undulations. We took our time, poodled along and took some photos. Nothing much scenery wise apart from Heather everywhere. We went along the A328, a single track road all the way from Lairg to Tongue. The weather was mild but a bit chilly and overcast for most of the day.

We passed the 1,000 mile mark today and phoned Anne to sing the famous Proclaimers song ‘500 miles’ at the top of our voices. It was a great feeling to have cycled over 1,000 miles although it has been a very hard slog.

We’re right up on the coast now, in fact about as far North as we’re going to get as the next part of the tour is across to the East along the coast all the way to John O’Groats.

We arrived at the hostel in Tongue at 12.30. It is a nice big hostel with lots of runners staying in it and we are sharing our room with a load of motorcyclists. We took advantage of arriving early today and took an afternoon nap which we thoroughly enjoyed. The 1,000 miles and the hard work to have got that far is catching up on us!

The hostel is right on the bay looking out over the Kyle of Tongue. Strangely there is a road that goes right across the bay – it’s not a bridge just a road through the water from one side of the Kyle to the other (type “kyle of tongue” into google maps). We are surrounded by some impressive mountains.

We’ll be having an early night tonight so we can have a really early start tomorrow as we have to be at John O’Groats by 13.30 at the latest as we have to get from there to Wick to catch our train at which departs at 16.00. We’re really excited about completing the final leg of the tour and I personally can’t wait to get home for Anne’s cooking!

Thanks to everyone who has offered messages of support on the website which have really boosted our morale. Please, please, please keep them coming!!

John O’Groats here we come!!!

Well, I would cycle 500 miles and I would cycle 500 more just to be the man who cycles a 1,000 miles to fall down at your door…………

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Comments

5 Responses to “Day Fourteen - Lairg to Tongue (the second to last day!!)”

  1. Rob Dore on May 19th, 2009 10:39 am

    Absolutely cracking job so far. Good luck for the last day. Hope you enjoy it immensely and bask in your own glory when you get there. Don’t get so excited that you forget to take photos.

    Well done - very proud of you both. (still think you’re a bit mad though!)

  2. Anne on May 19th, 2009 11:45 am

    Oh my God, I can’t believe it….. You’re nearly there!!!!!

    You guys are amazing and you have done so well. You should be very proud of this achievement. I’m sure you’ll remember it for a long time to come……

    Can’t wait to see you!!
    Love you babe xx

  3. Rob Cockburn on May 19th, 2009 1:18 pm

    What a fantastic achievement! Lets hope your train’s not cancelled - though you could always cycle back!

  4. steve bragg on May 19th, 2009 1:20 pm

    Whoa! Can’t believe you’re nearly there! - may the sun and wind be behind you and all your hills now be down - go for it!

  5. Diane on May 19th, 2009 7:03 pm

    Keep it going lads. So proud of you both!!! Well done x x

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