Miles: 66 (plus 17 back to Wick) (949 total)
Punctures: 0
Thanks, Annette Strauss, for the marvellous breakfast and chat at Summer Place in Brora. Very nice way to start our day and a great night's sleep.
Off up the A9 for the last time, making good progress under the lowering sky and westerly wind. The odd shower causing us to stop and don our waterproofs, only to take them off again 20 minutes or so later - bit of a bore.
Out of Helmsdale, on the 3 mile drag up, we met another pair of end-to-enders. Berriedale also had a nasty climb. We all stopped at Dunbeath where a very kind lady opened the café for us. Over coffee & bacon rolls we learned that they were son & father-in-law, supported by their spouses in a caravan.
On to Wick and a final dash into Lidl for juice. Only 17 miles to go, but with the wind picking up and backing to the north, these were among the hardest of the whole trip. We sheltered under a hedge at Freswick, had another chewy bar, and contemplated the last 3. Well, the bikes weren't going to cycle themselves, so off we went.
That last hill was a b*stard, and we had to pedal downhill to the little harbour and that famous sign. 3.10pm job done; 932 miles in 10 days. Awesome.
A few pics & then into Costa for hot chocolate and food. We had bridie & beans. A bridie is about the size of a horse's knacker and is wrapped in pastry. It worked for me, but I'm glad I didn't opt for the sausage roll.
Outside, we chatted to another end-to-ender, Dave Horton, who is writing a book about what makes otherwise sane people do what we just had. I think we gave him plenty to write about. Dave also kindly made a donation to LWB.
We thought we could get the bikes on the bus back to Wick but the charming neckless troglodyte behind the wheel put us straight on that hope. So, it was time to saddle up once more and pedal back to Wick. The wind was our friend this time, and in Wick we've found a B&B right on the quayside.
We hope to get the train to Inverness tomorrow. Now it's done I realise how lucky I've been to have the time to do the ride and to have such excellent company in Nick. But now I'm really missing Jo & the girls. Hurry Thursday.
4 comments:
Well done Lester (and Nick). I'm feeling inspired.
I might even cycle into work tomorrow :-)
looking forward to seeing the pictures.
Leon
Congratulations on your achievement - we are amazed by your perseverance and of course your pain threshold. I'm sure you'll publish a much fuller account of the trip - look forward to it.
Fantastic!
Excellent effort and well done to you both: great acheivement
Top effort guys! I think you need to cycle to New York for your next adventure, simply go to Google Maps, type in Cheltenham to New York, and with the stamina you have both built up in your legs, then direction number 35 should not prove too much of a problem!!
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