Finally sorted through all the photos!

I've whittled them down to about 80 (from absolutely hundreds!) so many good ones but obviously just picked the ones that stood out to put on't web:


CLICK HERE FOR ALBUM

The boys are back in town!

Finally home after the hardest day of the entire trip - coming home from JOG! Set off at around 8am yesterday and I finally walked through my door just after 10:30pm... groan. As you can see from the post time I'm still in 'get up at 6:30 mode' but I've got a day off and going to catch up on lots of missed Formula 1 :)

Do check back again after the 21st September because we should have all the photos together by then and I'll put a link in here.

All in all the trip went very well. Much easier than last time, mostly because I was just a lot better prepared and I had Tom there with me for support.  The weather wasn't on our side most of the time but it certainly didn't seem to hinder our progress, and we did have gorgeous weather on the last day which I think made up for it all.

The times for each day were as follows:

Day 1: Gretna -> Kilmarnock

84 miles in 7h 40

Day 2: Kilmarnock -> Inveraray

80 miles in 7h

Day 3: Inveraray -> Fort William

72 miles in 7h 10

Day 4: Fort William -> Tain

97 miles in 8h

Day 5: Tain -> John O' Groats

85 miles in 8h

That's a total of 418 miles in 37h 50. Not quite a Tour De France worthy performance but what the hell!

Most of the days include around 1h 30 of stops for comfort breaks, food, ferries, traffic lights, roadworks, getting lost, getting stopped by police (eh Tom?) etc etc.

Tom and I usually set off together after breakfast but on the last couple of days I wanted to get off a little earlier so Tom met up with me en-route. On Day 4 leaving Fort William I decided to set off at 7:30 for an early start in some of the worst weather of the whole trip. Tom caught up with me later in the morning 26 miles in, and by 12:00 I'd already covered 60 miles. I think that'll go down in my books as quite an achievement!

The hardest day without any shadow of a doubt was the last - there were hills I haven't seen since we left Cornwall - quite bizarre that the biggest hills are at both extreme ends of the country. Anyway, didn't walk up any of them so can't really complain. The wind was also incredibly strong by the coast, sometimes acting as a helpful tailwind but others (and always at the worst times!) as a headwind slowing you right down to 7 or 8mph on flats.

Saw absolutely loads of people attempting a LEJOG (or JOGLE) can't believe there are so many crazy people around!

Thanks for everyone's messages and support, they were very much appreciated and I can't wait to see all the pictures of the trip when we finally pool them from the 6 cameras Tom and I had between us!

Friday 12th September

He made it there, yippee!!!

No post for yesterday as me and Rick just couldnt get a signal together on ours phones last night. However, he sent me many texts during his last day in Scotland on Thursday and the scenery looked fantastic although a little remote i.e. just hills and coast!!! Rick arrived at John O'Groats mid-late afternoon and was well and truely shattered. Rick and Tom then went out for a slap up meal in order to celebrate Ricks achievement. 

Today has been the long journey back from JOG, think he said about 8hours driving and then two hours on the train.......anyway gonna go get him so im sure he can fill us all in on the true extent of his adventure over the next few days x

Wednesday 10th September

Just thought i'd give a quick catch up on how Rick is getting on. No post for yesterday as when i got back home about 830pm Rick couldnt get any signal in the remote sticks of Scotland- I believe Rick had already gone to bed, this city boy aint used to all that fresh air and physical work!!!!

All is going very well indeed, Rick is managing to do the miles and has been arriving at his accommodation around 3pm so he gets a long evening to relax. Rick informs me that Scotland looks pretty damn beautiful and Tom is managing to take lets of photos of it too. Ricks spirits have been a little dampened today by the news he wont be able to get the beloved tegi (thats Integra to you and me!) on his way home Friday. Apparently theres some sort of bumper scratch that needs looking at first??? Anyway, will be ready for him in a week so not much longer til the white beauty arrives at no.36! 

So tommorrow is actually Ricks last cycling day and the arrival at John O'Groats and the completion of the 18 month mental challenge that has been the LEJOG! Lets hope he feels very proud of himself when he gets there cos I sure know he's worked very hard and deserves the achievement x

Tuesday 9th September

Thought I'd post this myself since we have internet access here in Fort William. What a day! Really getting tiring now, I've got a semi limp already and getting in a out of Tom's car is a real effort! The route today was very scenic but very hilly - the road out of Inverary started with a 7+ mile hill which took me about 50 minutes to negotiate! That pretty much set the pace for the whole day and it was a pretty arduous 72 miles getting here. The weather didn't help much, for the second day in a row I'm drying my gear on the heated towel rail in the bathroom!

Its awesome getting to the accommodation early each night, certainly the way forward. Yesterday in Inverary we arrived at 2:50 and today at 3:30, gives us plenty of time to chillax and prepare for the next day, and I'm getting a decent 9+ hours sleep each night which is just fantastic!

I'm sooooooo glad I bought a couple of medicinal gels with me. One's a cool gel which saves me having to find ice every day, and the other is a Neurofen gel which I can apply exactly where I need to (my knees). Its an anti inflammatory as well and so far its really keeping everything in check. What it CAN'T do though is give me new thighs which I could definitely do with right now, particularly as we've got 100 miles to cover tomorrow past Inverness and onto Tain. I'm aiming to set off at 7:30 ish tomorrow and all being well I should be arriving in Tain around 6pm.

Past half way now, definitely feeling positive today.

Monday 8th Spetember

Just got off the phone to Rick and he sounds very proud of himself since he cycled 80 miles today and was at the hotel for 3pm! The roads were pretty hilly but the new gears are helping Rick bomb up them without too much trouble. Somehow this morning Tom (in the car, with the map and the sat nav) managed to get lost off the route and Rick had to direct him until they eventually crossed paths again. It looks like they've gone into the highlands now, Rick sent me some pictures of the views he's beens cycling through today, looks very beautiful, the kind of photos the Scottish tourist board would want you to see! To finish a pretty successful day Rick ordered two main courses down the pub and went to bed early podged on a calorie overload.

Sunday 7th September

Rick and Tom reached Killmarnock at about 5pm tonight after a pretty successful first day. The weather managaed to stay on Rick's side which made the 80 miles relatively hassle free, although he can already feel the twinge of a dodgy knee! On route he passed three cyclists who were all doing the full LEJOG route, making Rick feel grateful this time he's only gotta do Scotland. Just informed me he's had a takeaway and having an early night as he's up at 6am tomorrow to catch a ferry?