Our final assault on the Scottish roads was upon us. It began with an awakening in the Town of Tain after a restless nights sleep! Breakfast consisted of Muesli and a full Scottish breakfast (without haggis and black pudding) before making the final preparations for our charge "over the top".
My bike had lasted well but the bottom bracket was seriously on its last legs and I was having doubts about whether it would make it. For all the non-cyclists, a broken bottom bracket makes cycling feel like pedalling through syrup. Would I actually make John O'Groats, now was the time to find out!
We set-out on the road in what was a chilly breeze and slight mist with 87 miles to go.... We were quickly over the Dornoch Firth and onto the A9 which would be our home for much of the day!
Our first stop was scheduled to be just short of Helmsdale after which there was a steady and never-ending incline, which was shrouded in the fog and made it defeatingly difficult to keep cycling, not knowing where the summit lay. Andy and I charged up the hill and then waited above the fog in a rather picturesque stopping point where the fog slowly rolled up the hill, blown by the sea-breeze.
The day wore on and we were riding the lay of the land in inclines and descents, taking in the (at times) spectacular coastal scenery!
At our second stop we met a rather nice bloke who forewarned us of the blind and treacherous corners that lay ahead.... A daunting prospect! Snacking on the same chocolate and energy bars/drinks was really taking it's toll on the morale, but the thought of being being so close to the finish drove me on through...
It was on this stint before Wick of which I reached the highest speed of the trip, hitting 43.8mph! This was great until I saw the hill the other side! This was an epic hill of monumental proportions, and half way up lay some traffic lights! It was too dangerous to cycle with the volume of traffic and so the decision was taken to walk up the hill - a wise but disappointing decision!
We hit Wick and then it was 16miles to JOG! The final final assault was upon us with one scheduled stop left... A brief stop for fuel saw us encouraging fellow cyclists as they sailed on by. We soon mounted up and were on the road again and it wasn't long before we saw the final hill - a crippling 400ft climb of a hill before a descent down to JOG. The feeling of nearly finishing was making me want to cycle faster and harder to get to the finishing post but we were to finish this together. After having the obligatory photo taken at the JOG sign, we entered the town and were on the look out for the signpost. We descended the final hill to the car park where the support crew filmed us as we arrived! My no-hands punching the air routine as we went down the hill nearly ended badly as gravity took hold and I sailed down the hill in front of the others (unintentionally!) and nearly hit a motorcyclist!
We had finished in 57hours and 57minutes covering 887miles at an average of 14.84mph! Eight and a half days of cycling had been worth it! The achievement wasn't sinking in as more relief came flooding to the forefront of my mind, but the feeling was still incredible! We had only had one puncture, a broken spoke and a broken gear cable between three of us - a magnificent achievement!
It was under the sign that we had a couple of glasses of champagne and let the world know of our success! The photos were taken, gift shop visited, post-cards written and we loaded the bikes to start the trip home.
We drove 2hours back to Alness where we stayed at a B&B run by a bloke who was originally from Devon and we finished the trip with a curry and a beer, which was most, most welcome!
I shall elaborate more in tomorrow's blog of the "review", but until then, Adios Amigos!
TK
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