Stu's big ride

After thinking and planning for about a year I was desperate just to get going. I'd decided on John o' Groats to Land's End rather than the more typical Land's End to John o' Groats, because logistically from Bristol, and solo and unsupported, it was going to be less complicated doing it that way around, even if it meant the likelihood of heading into the prevailing winds. It took me two days of train travel to get from Bristol to Thurso, with a very welcome overnight stop with my brother-in-law at his farm in the Borders. For the end of the train journey I had pre-booked two luxuries: firstly a taxi from Thurso to John o' Groats (because I was getting in at 22.20); and secondly a glamping pod at the Seaview Hotel (rather than an extra night's bivvy). I was very glad of both.  It was time to try and sleep in readiness for the grand départ . 

I've been musing a little about adventure lately, as my big bike ride draws ever closer. I'm experiencing the inevitable mixture of excitement and nervousness, but it's really the nerves that have been dominating lately. I genuinely don't know if I'm capable of doing the ride, at least not in the time I've set myself, certainly not in the overly-ambitious 7-day target. But I've also realised that it's this not really knowing that makes it an adventure.  Since I drafted that a few days ago I'm now on the train on the way to an overnight stop with my brother-in-law near Dunbar. So it's actually happening 😁

One of the things I've been very hesitant about is doing the ride on a sponsored basis. There have been two main reasons for this; firstly, it hasn't been the main motivator, and secondly it adds additional pressure.  The primary motivators have always been the  challenge and the adventure. Can I do it and can I do it on my own, solo and unsupported? I genuinely don't know the answers to these questions. I know that I can ride 200km fully loaded, and since about a week ago I know I can ride 200km, bivvy for the night, and then ride 200km home again. But what I've honestly no idea about is whether I can ride 200km a day for seven days*, which is what's required to complete the ride in a week. Certainly, a lot will have to go really well to hit the seven day target. Eight or nine days is much more likely; it will depend a lot on the weather (not least because I'm heading into the prevailing wind) and also my ability is to rest and recover each night.  ...

In 2008 I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my right hip and was told I needed a total hip replacement. I avoided the operation for 10 years (having a replacement aged 35 would probably mean it would need re-doing twice). A couple of months after the op I wondered why I hadn't had it done sooner; I was pain free and gaining more mobility every day. Both before and after the op I found cycling one of the best forms of exercise (low impact and everything kept in line), I began to wonder how far the new hip could take me...

Back in September (I wish I'd written this at the time), I did my first solo, overnight, longish ride; Okehampton and back.  I didn't have plans to win any speed prizes, just could I ride the 170km or so, figuring out the navigation, nutrition, and hydration, bivvy overnight on Dartmoor, and then still manage the return trip. From that point of view it was a success, and more importantly, thoroughly enjoyable.  Not only was it enjoyable, I learnt stuff too, mostly about route planning because I naively just popped 'Okehampton' into Kamoot and then followed it. Here are some notes to self: Check the Komoot route! B roads generally good A roads can be ok Unlisted roads generally aren't Use waypoints to break it up No towns equals difficult to find food Figure out nutrition better All in all, a useful start, just a shame I've lost a lot of fitness since then!

Up until fairly recently I've only ever been a fairly casual cyclst, nearly all my miles coming from my commute. Then a colleague, Tim (the guy in the picture below on the left) did a 7-day solo end-to-end (JOGLE) in summer 2019. I was super-impressed, not least at the understated way he got on with it, both the training and the ride itself. Going on a couple of (very short) rides with Tim after work (a lot of his training involved extending his commute) made me think (possibly foolishly) that I might be able to do it too. I was inspired. Anyone else who I had ever chatted to about it made me feel like it was out of reach, but not Tim. So, thanks 👍🏻 The guy in the middle is Ian Walker, who Tim and I went to hear talk about his world record breaking ride from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Spain (6,300 km in less than 17 days). Completely nuts, but a different kind of inspiration.  The guy on the right, that's me. 

As part of my midlife crisis, and inspired by people who have done much more impressive things, I'm going to be attempting a 7-day, solo, unsupported ride from Land's End to John o' Groats (or possibly the other way around). The plans for this summer (2020) were scuppered by COVID, but I'm still going to do it at some point before I'm 50, and I'm hoping that putting it in writing will help. There, I've said it.