Melvich - John O'Groats (Saturday)
Total miles 45.17; total ascent 2198 feet; average speed 11.7mph; max speed 34.7mph; total time in saddle 3 hours 51 minutes.
So this was it. The culmination of a sixteen day journey that had taken me and Russ, a bloke I hardly knew before we started, over nearly 1100 miles. We had stayed in 15 different B&Bs/Guesthouses/hotels, all sharing a room and had not had a cross word between us (well I think I might have raised my voice a bit on day 3 after 95 miles and a destination arrival of after 10pm!) I guess we were bonded together by a common purpose and one that we were both utterly determined to achieve. I think we'd got on tremendously well actually, been incredibly supportive to each other when we needed to be, been respectful of each other's space, had a mutual respect of each other and above all a very similar sense of humour. Furthermore and let's be honest here, saddle sore arses and the need to apply arse cream at various times whilst hiding behind various bushes, walls etc sort of brings you together which ever way you look at it!
Our B&B host served up a decent breakfast of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and oatcakes and with only 45 off miles to cover we deliberately enjoyed a leisurely start.
The weather was decent, much better than we had become accustomed to in bonny Scotland, good periods of sunshine although it was inevitable that there would be some showers, although this didn't dampen our spirits.
The A836 offered up a long steady climb initially, after which we enjoyed a wonderful sweeping a fast decent into Reay, where I saw Russ pull off in front of me to stop outside the Spar. Not only did we get a few provisions, but also Russ wanted to adjust his back brakes. He'd had new blocks fitted before we started and it was interesting to see them now with only a matter of millimetres left. I guess the weight he was carrying combined with a heavier bike had taken its toll. After a moment of panic when he thought he'd snapped the cable (oh that would have been ironic, so near but a major problem with only a matter of miles to go, I started thinking about our options, me riding and completing and then going back and lending him my bike perhaps...) we were off again.
The most northerly, and not at all inspiring town of Thurso came and went with Russ coming within a couple of inches of being taken out by a four by four driver who simply didn't see him. I wondered again whether we really were going to make it unscathed...we still hadn't had a puncture between us.
I was in regular contact with Larri, who after a drive from our home by Stansted Airport in Essex had driven to Perth on Friday and was making the final push to JoG as we cycled. It was important we didn't arrive before her and we therefore took an excursion to Dunnet Head, the most northerly part of the UK to ensure she did in fact get there before us in time to ready her iphone video and camera!
Eventually we rode into JoG, Larri, bless her we there to video the event, it was so good to just see her after all this time. We had the obligatory pictures in front of the signpost and watched in semi amazement as there seemed to be a steady stream of bikes, tandems, motorbikes arriving, each at the end of their own adventure. Smiles and congratulations all round, we celebrated with a coffee and then a beer before fixing the bike rack to the BMW and Larri drove us to the Navigale House Hotel where we were finally able to properly crash out, drink beer and come to terms with what we had actually achieved.
I shall write more soon, say some really important ‘thank yous’ and post some ludicrous statistics thanks to my Garmin GPS, but for the time being I just needed to tell you all we made it. We bloody well made it! We made it a day earlier than we had anticipated and all in the entire trip had passed by relatively smoothly.
As I write this a day after our 12 hour car journey home, I almost feel a bit numb. I can't really conceive or come to terms with what we have just done. I'm back to work tomorrow and given the morass of issues that will involve from the moment I walk in, I wonder whether our trip will ever really sink in? I fear that perhaps forevermore it will seem merely like a huge dream, with only my blog ramblings to confirm that it actually happened.
All there is really to say now, it to echo what Ally had written by John O’Groats on the map she had prepared for us - PHEW !!
Finally I think I'd like to dedicate this trip to Larri. She has been so brilliantly supportive and quietly encouraging just when I needed it. She has never once been critical of what we were trying to do, although I think for a while she thought us to be mad! She has put up with my moments of stress, doubt and accompanying moodiness. And above all, she undertook the huge task of driving 750 miles on her own to see us cross the finish line, shepherd us to the hotel she had booked and arranged, and then share the driving back home again. Thank you my most gorgeous and wonderful wife x
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