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 Thirteen - Loch Ness to Lairg

May 18, 2009

Day 13

Loch Ness to Lairg
Distance 72.1 miles
Average 11.8 mph
Time 5 hours 51 minutes 41 seconds

We left Loch Ness still not having managed to get a glimpse of Nessie at 08.00 and after about 10 miles we picked up some food at a service station. We passed through Urquhart Bay which is where the castle is and the Loch Ness monster has been sighted here the most apparently. We then came across a really nasty hill in a place called Milton which we nicknamed ‘B*sta*d Hill’ which went along the A833. It was extremely tough and we found ourselves out of the saddles again and zig zagging up the road which we hadn’t done for a few days and we felt like we were back in Devon and Cornwall.

We then passed through Beauly and then through Dingwall and up to Alness where the land was extremely barren. It was along the B1976 where we stopped at a place called Dornoch Firth view point where we saw some spectacular views across Dornoch Firth Bay and you could see as far as Tarbat Ness lighthouse which was 18 miles away.

We joined the A836 and went through a town called Ardgay where we took the chance to take more photos! We continued along that same road and when we got to Invershin, we took a slight detour on our way to Lairg on a single track road which followed the Shin River. We enjoyed a scenic route with spectacular views of the rapids and falls which was well worth the detour. As we were making such good progress, we took our time along this route to admire the wonderful views.

It wasn’t long after that when we arrived at Lairg at 15.37 where we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast called Ambleside. It’s a very nice place and I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep and not having to share a room with lots of strangers. It is luxurious in comparison to the hostels we have been staying in.

As we got here so early, we decided to go to the local restaurant and enjoy a meal without having to rush and of course cook it ourselves!! I had Venison and Rob had Haddock and although the food was good, it was still nowhere near as good as Anne’s! You knew that was coming didn’t you???!!

We are now up to 972 miles and will pass the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow due to earlier detours we made when we went round in circles because of Rob’s poor map reading!

Thanks for all your comments and words of encouragement over the last 12 days, we have enjoyed reading them and it has certainly helped to boost our morale. Keep them coming because we will need them to boost our spirits over the final two legs of the tour!!

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Comments

5 Responses to “Day Thirteen - Loch Ness to Lairg”

  1. Anne on May 18th, 2009 11:00 am

    Hey babe, only two more days of cycling left……. Nearly there now!

    You have made us all so proud of you and we all love you and miss you. Hope you enjoyed your luxurious night in the B&B, bet the beds were more comfortable than the hostel ones!

    Can’t wait to see you on Wednesday……xx

    Love you heaps xx

  2. Simon on May 18th, 2009 12:20 pm

    Your progress has been so great I suspected that you had little motors attached to your bikes.

    When you get back you should set up a bike indoors and attach it to the mains, you’ll probably generate enough power for Anne to cook a fabulous meal.

    See ya soon ;o)

  3. Heidi Hughes and Olivia Scary Smith on May 18th, 2009 6:49 pm

    hiya, keeep up the good cycling lads< says olivia. see you soon xxxxx

  4. Lara Desroche on May 18th, 2009 8:53 pm

    I bet the bed in the B&B bed would would have been more comfortable with Anne in it…..just like the food.
    Well done…..i cant believe how many mile you are doing each day and it is pretty constant, if not faster than the beginning of the journey.
    It will be so boring when you get back in that car around and around Newbury….no B*ST*RD hills or wonderful views……but just think about Anne’s cooking….that has amused me so much….i have to read the blogs just to see it everytime. Goodluck for the final part of your journey.

  5. Alex on May 18th, 2009 9:25 pm

    Amazing job you guys are doing, it must be nice not driving, eh Peter? Still sat down though, I might add.

    Hearing about this sure puts things into perspective for me, as I’m sure it does for others. I must admit I don’t think I’ve got what it takes to do something like this but if it’s half as taxing as learning to drive with Peter, I take my hat off to you both.

    I wish you guys all the best for the remainder of your journey, keep up the good work!

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