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POSTSCRIPT My trip wasn't the quickest Lejog in history, nor the shortest and I don't suppose it was the cheapest either. I'd just retired though and was more interested in enjoying a mechanically trouble-free ride and having a comfortable bed each night than saving a few pounds. Accordingly I bought a good quality bike and stayed in B&Bs rather than camp sites. It cost me £1425 for the bike and the extras I added to it, plus maybe £150 for cycling clothes, about £100 for the panniers, at least £50 per day for accommodation and food (times 20 = £1000), probably £250 for fuel for Trisha to drop me off and pick me up at each end, and another two nights’ accommodation and food for her and me on those occasions, say £200… So roughly £3125, or probably a bit more. Quite a bit but of course I still had the bike, clothes and panniers at the end of it and have used them again on other trips since. Was it worth it? Of course. Midway there was a moment of doubt as the daily slog seemed a bit unremitting. Maybe I should have taken a day off then but I didn’t want to waste the good weather and anyway the feelings of doubt were never likely to cause me to call the whole thing off. Once past the halfway mark there was an uplift as it felt like I’d done ‘most’ of it, and was coasting downhill to the winning post; and when you finally get to John O’ Groats it feels wonderful. A real sense of achievement. The whole country traversed. I knew I’d never see a map of the UK again without feeling a glow of pride at the fact that I’d got on my bike at one end and ridden it all the way to the other end. Great. Six months later and I still feel good whenever I think about the trip. I also raised about £500 for charity, not an awful lot but it all helps. That wasn’t why I did it though. I did it because I wanted to. Because it was there. Anything I’d do differently? Not a lot. I never had any problem finding accommodation so I still wouldn’t bother booking in advance - too tying and inflexible. Training – I was more or less fit enough for the medium-sized distances I intended doing each day without needing much in the way of pre-ride rides. True, the words 'knackered' and 'push' do seem to have wormed their way into my account a fair number of times but... what the hell, eh - I got there. Nutrition - I definitely didn't eat or drink enough on the ride and think that that contributed to a few of those 'knackered' feelings. I'd just forget to take in enough fuel for all the calories I was using up and carry on regardless or I'd find there were no cafes around when I hadn't brought anything with me to eat. I wouldn't be able to eat a large meal in the middle of a cycling day but next time I would try to take in more frequent snacks and top-ups. Saddles – fitting that broad, squashy, sprung and unstylish saddle was definitely a great decision; it made the daily relentless pounding of the buttocks much more bearable and I didn’t get any saddle sores at all. Well done Bioflex. Riding solo – well yes, it would have been nice to have had some company along the way but basically no-one I knew wanted to do it and I wasn’t sufficiently bothered to try any of the folk who advertise for fellow riders. At least on your own you have complete freedom to start and stop when you will and change plans on a whim. That said, it was nice riding with John for the last two days. Thanks Thanks to everybody out there who sponsored me for the ride, family, friends and strangers. Thanks to all those who took the time and trouble to ring or text messages of support to me along the way, it really cheered me up. And especial thanks to my wonderful wife, Trisha, for her love and support and for ferrying me all the way to Land's End and back from John O' Groats. And for an encore? There’s always another hill to climb. Alan 15.11.2010 |