Day 12 Bettyhill to John O'Groats

Well the deed is done and I've finished my LEJOG cycle ride. Currently I'm on a coach travelling down to Inverness. Today, the last day of cycling, I think I earned every penny of the sponsorship money for NAS. Again thanks to all my sponsors and if you are reading this blog and wish to contribute then visit www.justgiving.com/anton_lejog. Why do I say I've earned every penny today? Well cycling 50 miles into a 30 mph head wind with driving rain. Oh plus a few hills to ascend. After yesterdays headwind I said I'd never complain about headwinds again. I was wrong. Owing to the weather and the fact I got cold fixing a fellow cyclists puncture, I cycled fairly fast to the pub just before JOG. A midly hyperthermic Bernie, the serious racer of the group was already there, having visited Dunnet Head. The only one to do so. After a not so warming coffee we retired to a DA van to get warm. Shortly afterwards Hannah appeared then Tony (two punctures) and Steve. Since everyone was cold, instead of waiting for the rest we cycled on to JOG, had our photos taken and quickly changed into warm dry clothes. The rest of the group arrived within the next hour. Pity about the bad weather on our last day. At least the first 11 were good. Well thats it. I expect a few drinks will be consumed tonight and tomorrow we go our separate ways. Its been a great 12 days. Great cycling, new friends and well worth the effort. It also helps NAS. I'll upload my photos later in the week and send details of the site on this blog.

Day 11 Bonar Bridge to Bettyhill

I'll never complain about a headwind again after the last 12 miles of todays ride. More about that later. The day started overcast with drizzle so once again it was on with the waterproofs. However by the first hill out of Bonar Bridge the rain had stopped and before I was 'boiled in the bag' they quickly came off. Even with the wet weather and easterly wind I was feeling good today. It could be due to the fact I had finally fallen off the wagon and had one or two (or was it three) single malts last night. After the poor start I had yesterday I promised myself a drink!The landscape once past Lairg has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Rugged comes to mind: with the mountains, moorland, lochs, and pinewoods. Large swathes of pine had been cut so some parts look like a disaster zone.

Just before I arrived at the days water stop a Pine Martin ran across the road in front of me and soon disappeared into the heather. The water stop was an indoor affair at the Crask Inn. Here fresh coffee and home made cakes where served. Plus a welcoming fire. GREAT! After the stop the planned route was to turn off the A836 and take the B873. However I decided I needed to do some extra miles (I'm trying to get 1000 miles on this trip. I'm currently at 930) so I continued on to Tongue, before turning due east to Bettyhill. The northerly stretch was fine but the side wind was challenging. While I dreaded each turn into the wind. I picked up a memento of the trip - an antler. It was near the side of the road just the other side of the drainage ditch. I suppose it was better than the rubbish lining the route travelled. The amount of rubbish seen the last two weeks, even in the remote areas was disappointing.

At Tongue I saw the Atlantic (I assume it's the Atlantic to the North of Scotland) before turning east towards Bettyhill. Now the fun began. With the very strong wind directly in my face I was faced with a challenge. Keeping the bike moving forward was hard going and my low gears were required. Staying on the bike was another difficulty. This was for 12 miles - even the downhills were tough since I was being buffeted by the wind constantly and stopped going forward if I didn't pedal! The hill out of Borgie would normally be a challenge but for me it initially provided relief from the wind. Although a slow climb it was faster than when in the wind. The problem was that once at the top the full force of the wind returned :-( All in all, it was an interesting and challenging days ride. One day to go. We are planning to visit Dunnet Head - the most northerly point in mainland UK tomorrow.

Day 10 Invergarry to Bonar Bridge

When I started todays ride and was thinking what I'd post (you think a lot on a bike - some things I remember to post, others I forget and others I miss owing to the fact I'm typing it all in on a phone). Oh yes, what I considered posting this morning included statements like 'this is hell', 'why am I doing this', ' my knees hurt', 'F ing wind' etc. I found the first 20 miles bloody hard work. Until the last 10 miles, the wind was constantly in my face. During the ride along Loch Ness the wind was also cold. Since I had nothing in my legs, pedalling was an effort, I was tired and soon I was cold as well. It was only when I reached Urquhart Castle and the water stop at Drumnadrochit that I got going. Good job since the route from Drumnadrochit was the first and most significant climb of the day along the A833 through Glen Convinth towards Beauly. Even with a headwind the downhill was great. Lunch was after Dingwall near Alness on the B817. This involved another climb plus the constant headwind. Since my legs were now 'working', lunch and water stops were more grab and go with little hanging around. This meant I passed a number of fellow end to enders.The final climb was up to Struie on the B9176. Finally a tail wind at the end of the climb. The first all day. During this final climb I meet another cyclist going to Cape Wrath. He is planning on doing the Audax LEL in July with his wife on a tandem. Today was just a fun ride for him! Not sure when this post will appear since a poor signal. Also unable to access webmail to send todays photos. Sorry. Penultimate day tomorrow. Bonar Bridge to Betty Hill. Bye for now. Fingers crossed that my legs hold out.

Comment from Bob: anyone not realising the effort Anton's been putting in can see from this post that even Ironman himself is finding it tough. He's on the penultimate day today and riding through very exposed countryside - there'll be NO hiding place from the wind nor from the rain. Here is a picture showing it on a good day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28015608@N06/page7/
Come on Anton, nearly there!

Day 9 Inverary to Invergarry

Three quarters through LEJOG, 98 miles for the day. Today was hard due to the distance and head wind, but having said that, it was the most enjoyable days cycling I've had. The scenery was great. Better than yesterday, so I needed to be more selective when taking photo's. I still took too many though. I understand that a flickr site exists to hold all my photos (there is a link to this on the left - Bob).

The weather in Scotland could not be better - warm and sunny. No rain only a head wind.
We started the day with a 5 mile uphill but an easy gradient. Not a hilly route since we're mainly following the lochs up the Great Glen.
Ben Nevis was seen (and photo'ed) from several angles.

The clear weather made the views great.

Having travelled over 700 miles in 9 days, today I think I had my two nearest misses with traffic on the whole trip. Entering Fort William a lorry came so close I was forced off the road - lucky there was a parking area to swerve into! Then when leaving Fort William a campervan pulled in far too early. It makes one think since just before that last near miss I had taken a photo of a ghost bike on the other ride of the road. Tonight we are staying in a bunk house, sharing a dorm with 5 others! Tomorrow we have one hilly section, similar to Dartmoor, to look forward to. We will also be passing Loch Ness. The phone camera will be ready just in case. Bye for now. Only three more days of cycling to go. Then I can have a drink or two to celebrate. Only person in the group not to :(

Day 8 Kilmarnock to Inverary

Todays ride was one of two halves. The first was a dash to the ferry for the crossing to Dunoon. The second was a lazy ride alongside/round a couple of lochs to the hotel.Although the weather was clear and sunny. There was a biting wind most of the day: Okay when it's a tail wind, but a pain when a head wind. Also the wind direction was affected by the lay of the land.To get warm I left the start at a fast pace, with the racers of the group. In approx 90 mins we had covered the 20 plus miles to thef irst water stop. I was dropped immediately we left this stop and in going first to the wrong ferry crossing, missed the one they caught by mere seconds. :(

Once in Dunoon it was a 5 mile ride to lunch, which I made the most of. I also took time to visit the gift shop of the botanical gardens w ehad stopped at. After allowing plenty of time to digest my lunch it was soon time to cover the last 32 miles to the hotel. The views are great so I stopped frequently. Maybe I was tired and the photo stops were an excuse. However towards the end of today I was starting to feel bored with cycling. Maybe 8 days of cycling was getting to me. At least only 4 to go. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long day, both in terms of mileage and hours of cycling. One thing I've found is the sun is constantly on my left and behind. This means that my left calf is medium rare, even with plenty of sunblock. Longs tomorrow me thinks.

Bye for now

Day 7 Carlisle to Kilmarnock (at last)

Currently waiting for the ferry over the Clyde to Dundoon so a chance to post something for day 7. Yesterday I decided to have a lazy day, taking over 8 hours to cover the 100 miles cycled. Kept stopping to look at the views or take photos so a lazy day was in order. The route was fairly flat but the A76 was busy with heavy lorries passing frequently.

5 more days to go.

Day 6 Preston to Carlisle

514.7 miles covered since leaving Land's End on Tuesday, and also halfway through in terms of days left. Tomorrow we pass Gretna Green and enter Scotland. Hopefully the ride to Kilmarnock will not be too hilly. At least the weather is looking to be better. Today started with the rim of Steves rear wheel blowing. Worn and pumped too high the cause. This delayed our start. (Steve is a fellow end to ender in a photo below - sorry about my expression in it). Bernie another E2E and experienced racer also hung around, while Steves wheel was sorted. Even with Bernie not appearing to try too hard he set a fast pace. Just before the first water stop it started to rain, and shortly after met Ian with a flat. Stopping to help, Steve picked up the first 3 punctures for the day. By Kendal the heavy rain had stopped, ready for the climb up Ribs Fell. The climb was okay once you got into a comfortable gear . The problem was the desire to stop on each bend to look and photo the landscape. Once at the top the clear weather was replaced with cold driving rain. The downhill to lunch was not pleasant. I was hoping to free wheel, but instead had to pedal all the way :( From Shap the route was to Penrith where the sun finally appeared and remained all the way to Carlisle.

Day 6 photos When the weather was good lots of great scenery from Kendal to Penrith . Could have taken a lot more photos but would never got up Shap!