LEJOG3 - Final Blog Post

The weather is bright and beautiful and I am sat on a Highland train taking me all the way down to Inverness. Then it's on to Edinburgh, Peterborough and finally, (at the end of the day) Cambridge. Probably the longest train ride I have done - outside of India. I've done some mammoth train rides there.

The overnight stay in Wick was most comfortable, for a reasonable price. I was overlooking Wick fishing harbour.

I was tired, but satisfied. It felt like 'Mission accomplished'.

Having said that, I felt a touch of loneliness, when later sat there (with chips) in Wick park on Sunday evening after completing the 3-ride epic of Land's End to John O'Groats. Loneliness is something I rarely experience. I have great friendships and social life and I am very comfortable with my own company. So this was an indicator of something.

On reflection, I think it was the anticlimax to a 4-year fundraising project which was never far from my mind in that time. It was just the realisation that it's all over now. I've completed the work.

I've done four Big Rides in that time - three of them stages of the LEJOG, and the other recent tranche of rides in Utah, Montana and Idaho. 

I'm really, really glad I did all this. It has raised a lot of funds, and I've met and ridden with great people. The rides in USA particularly, were the trip of a lifetime. I've seen beautiful places.

Also, I've been confronted by my physical limitations and demands of my aging body. For someone with my condition and age, I'm not in bad shape. Tony, the PT at YMCA has been a great help in preparing me for the rides, and helping me get back in shape from injuries sustained on the rides.

As I've said before, this the last of the Big Rides. However, I can do small ones! I ride daily, and will definitely plan weekend rides in future.

I have an idea for a long weekend cycling in Holland.

No hills in Holland! In USA recently, and on this latest ride, I've realised my hill-climbing abilities have deminished.

The arthritic knees just can't cope like they did even four years ago. My legs are strong, but the knees can easily reach seizure if I don't manage things well.

I simply need to walk up most hills now. 

When I started out, I wasn't to know what a tough task Big Rides are mentally. A bit like climbing Everest. The inner traveller and his well-being are crucial.

I've done alright there. I've always been able to appreciate the amazing scenery and enjoy the actual cycling. I've found myself being able to cope OK on the two times I ended up in hospital (in Inverness and in Panguitch, Utah).

Several times I've continued cycling when I was actually ill, and 'cycled through it'. I have been able to cope with failure, getting lost, things going wrong and injury. I haven't liked it at all, but I coped with it, I believe.

I'm too old and disabled to climb Everest or sail around the world, but if I were able to, I think I'd manage OK, mentally.

It's a reassuring thought.

Finally, I wanted to thank you, my friends, followers and donators. Without you and your support, I couldn't have done any of it.

THANK YOU!

LEJOG3 - Day 5: The Finishing Line

 

Today has been a long day. I am sitting in a chip shop in Wick, waiting for a veggie burger and chips. I am very hungry. I've expended a lot of energy today.

I have booked into my B&B and had a shower. The events of the day are sinking in.

Tomorrow, I catch the 8am train to Inverness and eventually down to Cambridge. 

I feel satisfied and happy with how it has all gone. But I would say it has been physically tougher than I thought. There's probably all sorts of factors in that.

This morning started with breakfast at 06.50 in the Castletown Hotel - quite a comfortable place with attentive staff.

I was paid up and on the road for 07.30. As ever, the wind was against me. It was 14 miles to John O'Groats - with quite a few hills, a bit of a slog. 

I could see nothing, there was a thick blanket of wet mist which turned to cold drizzle.

I cycled mile after mile with absolutely no traffic which was great. Just me and the lonely countryside. Not even many houses. Very few trees. 

By 10.15 John O'Groats was in sight. It was a surprisingly steep road down to the harbour and the famous signpost. I was really here! I'd anticipated this experience for years.

It was a big moment, actually. After several hours of solitary cycling, I was very much in my own space. But once I got to the signpost, it was like I'd joined a fairground. All sorts of weird and wonderful folk were there and hundreds more were turning up in camper vans, cars, motorbikes, hikers and of course, cyclists. 

John O'Groats is a magnet.

I had good chats with all sorts of people. An elderly Australian couple took my photo and gave me £10 towards my fundraising. I was approached by another cyclist who was very friendly. He was another Australian. A doctor researching into pain management. He was waiting for a ferry to Orkney. He bought me coffee and cake and asked me many questions about how I managed my arthritis pain.

John O'Groats was full of cafes, eateries, and tourist trinkets. Lots and lots of folk milling around and taking photos. 

After about an hour of chatting intensively with strangers, I realised it was all a bit much, so I slipped away and left them to it.

I headed out in the drizzling rain on the 17 mile road to the town of Wick, where I'm staying tonight.

After the intensity of JOG, I was now back on my own, battling the elements on a slow, folding bike. The traffic was very busy now. 

I took the coastal route - hoping to see the coast, but I couldn't. It wasnt until approaching Wick in the late afternoon that the sky begin to clear, and I could see the landscape.

It was a much harder ride with many long, winding hills. During this ride I realised something had changed since John O'Groats: I'd simply had enough. I was ready to pack up and go home. I'd done what I came here to do.

I got into Wick feeling pretty weary and depleted. I checked into the B&B (which is a guest room at the back of a pub, but perfectly adequate) and showered. Then I got some food and had a riverside walk and I revived.

I will catch up on Match of Day tonight and turn in early.

The Brompton has not let me down, though I would not attempt a long ride on it again. Though it has been great on the train, I think it is really a handy town bike.

Tomorrow, I begin the long trek home. I shall add some more reflections on these rides, and then conclude the blog.

LEJOG3 - Day 4: Forsinard to Thurso and Castletown - The absolute North Coast

After the blazing sunshine of the last three days, a change was bound to come. The fine weather couldn't last. 

However, I feel very lucky with the weather I've had. Sunny, but not too hot. I have a full set of waterproofs that I've not yet had to use.

Very unusual for Scotland.

Today is overcast and drizzly, with the inevitable morning Scotch Mist. After an excellent overnight stay at Forsinard Lodge - with their lovely, attentive staff, I headed out for the long, bleak road to Thurso, and then tonight, Castletown, where I stay. It's a three-layer day with a cold north wind. 

I am currently not feeling very well. A bit nauseous. I've drunk lots and taken electrolytes, so let's see what happens. Getting properly ill one day from John O'Groats would be very bad luck.

I have been surprised at the sheer daily effort this cycle ride is taking: the terrain, the constant north wind and keeping out of the way of the mad traffic. Even on very quiet highland roads, motorists scream around corners and zoom past quite close. You can never really relax. Also, I have to regularly get out of the way of cars on these single-track, narrow roads. Mostly, drivers are grateful and raise their hand to me.

Thankfully, I haven't had to ride long stretches of A roads today. But there have been some significant hills.

Despite challenges, I am getting there. These kinds of cycle trip reveal who you are - your strengths and weaknesses - physically and mentally. Also, you just have to take each day as it comes when you are cycling point-to-point.

I arrived at Thurso at lunchtime. It's the largest town on the Caithness Peninsula, but I found it bleak, cold and grey and pretty run-down. Also, surprisingly deserted for a Saturday.  However, it was nice to enter Caithness's version of Greggs bakery, and to be served cheese bakes and coffee by cheery young Highland women. 

I also finally got to dip my bike wheel in the North coast shoreline. I did this old End-to-End rider's tradition at Land's End also. That was in July 2021, when I first started my LEJOG.

That feels like a long time ago now, and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge of my life since then.

Back in July 2021, I was excited and inspired to do the LEJOG ride and raise money for the Bhopal/Kolkata Project and Arthritis Action.

I could not have known back then just how tough a bike ride the LEJOG is and just how many setbacks and disasters I'd be facing - not just the LEJOG ride, but the USA rides as well. 

On the positive side, the fundraising aspect has been brilliant with around £84,000 raised. Folk have been so generous. I've received big, big donations from people I hardly know. But they've been affected by my efforts. I learned many new things about myself. On LEJOG2, I had the marvelous company of Prajnakara. On the recent USA rides the marvelous company of Abhayanaga and Shuddhabha. It was worth doing the rides just for that.

I've met so many wonderful, generous strangers on these LEJOG rides.

Back in 2000, I was in a wheelchair for a short time and then on crutches for a longer time. With rheumatoid arthritis setting in, I thought my physical life was bleak. But with the right medication and self-management, my physical life has become really quite good. I'm extremely grateful for that.

As I'm inwardly moaning about having to toil up another Scottish hill, I remind myself that it's amazing I'm able to do it at all!

I'm now at Castletown, which is also bleak and a bit run-down like Thurso, but smaller.

However, it has a fascinating old heritage harbour, which was the world's largest producer of flag stones in Victorian times. I visited the Heritage Centre before checking into my hotel. My imagination was easily able to see the lives of the 500-odd quarry workers toiling away 150 years ago.

The Castletown Hotel is quite nice, with friendly, helpful staff. I had a nice macaroni cheese for dinner this evening - the only veggie item on the menu. As a vegetarian, I realise I'm spoiled for choice in Cambridge.

Tomorrow is the final riding day. Around 32 miles. It's 15 challenging miles to John O'Groats. Get my photo taken there. Then it's another 17 miles south down the West coast to my B&B in Wick.

I'll be setting out from the hotel at 07.30, to get ahead of the game and arrive at JOG for around lunchtime.

Wish me luck! This is a big day for me....

Oh yes, the nausea went by lunch time, thankfully.

LEJOG3 - Day 3: Lairg to Forsinard - Scotch Mist

This morning was very misty. 

After a good sleep, I was on the road for 08.00. I had my lights on and cars were appearing out of the mist, and then disappearing again.

It was going to be a long slog to Forsinard - 61 miles. 

I knew this when I was booking the B&Bs. 61 miles in a day is too far for me even in ideal conditions with a full-sized bike, but in hilly, windy Scotland with a Brompton - it's an impossibility.

I had been unable to find a B&B at a more reasonable distance for tonight. So.... in order to resolve this problem, this morning, I cycled to Lairg station and took a sideways local train from Lairg to Kildonan - in an Easterly direction.  

This made my ride to the Forsinard Lodge B&B only 25 miles - via a roundabout route. Much more manageable. I enjoyed the train ride, too.

Technically, I suppose that's 'cheating'.

However, as I gained no actual progress north towards John O'Groats, I don't think it matters. I have cycled just as far as I would have - just a more convenient route, accomodation wise.

Until mid-morning, it was hard to see anything much - just dense mist with the occasional patchy bits of vision. I could just about see the shoreline at Helmsdale, but not out to sea. The infamous 'Scotch Mist'. 

Eventually it cleared to reveal yet another very beautiful day in the North Highlands. 

There's a bleak beauty to the place. It's unlike anywhere I've seen. Sparse, dramatic, quiet and unchanging.

I'm expecting to get to John O'Groats by Sunday lunch time. Then it's another 14 miles to Wick.

That's where I'm staying Sunday night. The landlord sent me an email to say 'No Stag parties were allowed at the accomodation'. Hardly an issue for me!

Then I catch the 08.00 Wick train to Inverness on Monday morning - mission completed - hopefully.

Tonight, I'm staying at Forsinard Lodge, a lone Tea Room and B&B in the middle of moorland and mountain streams. There is an RSPB centre nearby. Tomorrow, it's on to Castletown near Thurso. This is the very northerly coast - the top of Britain.

I am getting close to my goal - and the end of a personal era.

I am now installed at the excellent Forsinard Lodge, in a tasteful room. My evening meal is ordered and friendly staff have said they will knock on my door when it is ready. You don't get that in a Travel Lodge. Not that I'm knocking Travel Lodges, as you know what you are getting. But.....  they are rather corporate and impersonal. For a man who has recently stayed in yurts in North America, I rather prefer the unusual and one-off.

Forsinard Lodge: An oasis amid the surrounding wilderness

LEJOG3 - Day 2: Alness to Aultnagar Lodge, Lairg - Into the mystic mist

Last night's stay at Alness was cheap but comfortable. After a long day's  cycling, it's great to have a shower waiting for you. There was a great breakfast, too.

On the road for 08.30 and from the start it was tough going. Possibly the longest continuous uphill climb I've ever done. About two and three-quarters hours of mountain roads - always going up. It seemed endless but kept going with regular rests. A deep mist descended from early morning and that reduced vision. Just me, the mist and an occasional mountain peak or forest visible. Very atmospheric.

There was nothing to do but keep going.

Eventually, around 11.30, I reached the top. The mist cleared revealing another beautiful sunny day. Then began the long descent. It was long, steep and pretty exhilarating. 

I reached the bottom of the glen and the pretty town of Ardgay. There was a cafe and a chance to sit in the sun and look across to Dornoch Firth and eat an egg roll.

A group of touring cyclists turned up and chatted. They were amazed I was doing my final leg of the LEJOG on a Brompton.

I arrived at Bonar Bridge and met some young female JOGLERs (John O'Groats to Land's End - the other way). There seems to be a real camaraderie among cyclists doing this particular route. 

Like me, so many are raising money for charity.

Arrived at Aultnagar Lodge which is a beautiful old house turned into tourist accomodation. Friendly hosts. Beautiful house, beautiful views, and very quiet. This place was built for the entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie.

Big push north tomorrow towards Forsinard. Starting to get closer to John O'Groats.

Aultnagar Lodge

LEJOG3 - Day 1: Inverness to Alness - The Big First Ride.

Cycled from Inverness to the Highland town of Alness by mid-afternoon. So far, so good. Tomorrow, it's on to Lairgs. The Brompton folding bike is so easy at B&Bs (unlike a standard bike, which often throws the landlord/landlady, even if I've notified them in advance). When folded up, it's just like a piece of luggage.

The weather is beautiful just now. I hope it lasts.

Some amazing views from the enormous Inverness bridge and later, the Moray Firth and Cromarty Firth coastlines.

I had a good stay in Inverness yesterday after the long train ride up from Cambridge. All the connections went well and there was no disruption.

Inverness is a nice city, and I had a good look round. Lots of international tourists about.

I was staying in a cheap B&B in the unfashionable part of town. Actually, it was quite good. Quiet and pleasant, the host was friendly and good a breakfast this morning. I was on the road for 9am.

The route was a mix of very beautiful and easy cycling and some more challenging stuff. Quiet a few tough hills. I had to get off and push up a few. Also, there was about 5 miles of cycling on a roaring dual-carriageway, as there was no alternative route. At least there was a cyclepath. Safe, but very noisy and unpleasant. But not as bad as a brief experience of this sort in America. That was overwhelming.

Staying in Aultnagar Lodge near Lairg tomorrow. The name sounds very Indian. The middle of nowhere, it can feel - being this far North. Let's see how tomorrow goes.

Wheeling my bike towards the hotel this afternoon, I got chatting to two men, who turned out to be reporters for a local newspaper, the Alness Times. They asked me about my trip and I told them my story. They took my photo with the bike, saying that a piece on me will appear in the next issue! They were nice guys who also donated £15 to my charity. They were very impressed that a 65-year old like me would do a LEJOG - especially solo with no back-up. To their further amazement, I told them the age record had recently been broken. In 2023 a man aged 90 years and 33 days cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats. The record for a woman is close at 82 years and 38 days, completed in 2022. They did both have good back-up. It must help a lot when someone is carrying your gear in a car and is there to encourage you and provide whatever. Even so, these are amazing achievements.

Lands End to John O'Groats (LEJOG): Final Leg - Inverness to John O'Groats

I am on a train to Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands. My feet barely touched the deck in Cambridge before I was off again for a final Big Ride. Finishing off my three-ride odyssey from Land's End to John O'Groats. Three rides over four years. Just 150 miles and then it's the end of an era.

This time I have my Brompton folding bike - much easier on the trains.

As I've said recently, this is definitely the last of my Big Rides - for fundraising or for pleasure. Just weekend rides from now on. 

The reason is my Rheumatoid Arthritis. It does require more management now as I age. Though cycling and exercise help my condition, the reality is that hills and headwinds are getting harder on my arthritic knees. Big rides are tough. You have to be fit and functional as well as good with logistics.

Arriving back in Cambridge from New York was nice. Unfortunately, there was a train strike, and my Cambridge train was standing room only. So packed that it was like a local train in Kolkata (Calcutta), but without folk riding on the roof! (this literally happens).

I'm still absorbing the American rides and general experience there. I think it has changed me somehow.

Though USA has high standards of living, it appears that most people don't have that. They work many jobs and live in trailer parks and the essentials of life are precarious.

Though I'm a UK pensioner with a modest income, I live a quality life of friends, family and spiritual community. I'm surrounded by art and creativity in Cambridge. I feel fortunate and grateful 

I've seen extensive, appalling poverty in India, of course. But because India is such a rich, family and caste-based culture, there is a support network. Perhaps it is in America, too, I didn't stay long enough to judge.

I will never forget my wonderful hosts in USA, together with the awesome landscape and fascinating animal life.

Tomorrow, I cycle north to a B&B in Alness. Currently it is raining, which I don't mind.