Cycling UK Forum

Does anyone know if you can connect these gadgets up to a bottle dynamo or, does it have to be a hub dynamo? I've tried a few different devices to charge my mobile on tours, solar powered, battery etc and none of them worked, just a waste of money.

I'm also interested in doing this trip next year and I'd be very grateful for any information from anyone that has done this trip before. Are the Irish railways as difficult to use with a bike as they are over here? Do you have to pre book to travel with a bike or can you just turn up and get on, provided that there are spaces etc?

A 7"x5" in portrait format cost £12.00, June 09 prices, £3.00 for an extra copy same size. This is inclusive of P&P to any U.K. address. Smaller sized photographs were cheaper.

Did any of them pay to have their photographs taken at the signpost?

If you want to go via quiet roads with less traffic a good book is: LAND'S END to JOHN O'GROATS (The Great British Bike Adventure) by Phil Horsley ISBN 1 904207 26 X Cordee. I used one of the suggested routes, it keeps you off the busy roads where possible. Navigation was straight forward too with the aid of a large scale road atlas. Mark the route with a highlight pen, number them in order of use and off you go.

A cassette removal tool will be useful if you have derailleur gears to give access to replace the spokes on the freewheel side, if you have hub gears its one tool less to carry. Cornwall and Devon took their toll on my brake blocks and by the time I'd got to the halfway stage both front and rear brakes were completely worn out and required replacement. When I got to JOG the brakes still looked new, hardly any wear at all.

When I did Lejog I went via the Isle of Arran, A83/A816 to Oban, A828/A82 to Fort William, A82 to Bridge of Oich then the canal towpath to Fort Augustus. From Drumnadrochit I took the A833/Beauly/A862/Dingwall then A9/A99 to JOG. The A9 can be very busy depending on the time of day, traffic starts to thin out the closer you get to JOG. I have Shimano 105 STI levers on my bike and I started to develope a numbness in the thumb and forefinger of my right hand after about 5 days cycling, even though I was wearing gel mitts. I tried to vary my hand position as much as possible on the bars during the trip, I didn't get the feeling back until about 3 weeks after the trip.

For most people the End to End experience is a one off occasion and what could be better than a professional quality photograph taken at the posts. When I set off from Lands End I paid the photographer for a portrait and he willingly took the same photo of me with my camera too. I arrived after 18.00 hrs at John O'Groats 12 days later, phoned the number on the kiosk and the photographer came back and did the honours and also took one with my camera too. I didn't want to cycle all that way just to have my photo taken standing next to a plain white post. The photographers work for the organisation that own Lands End and John O'Groats complex, they are just trying to make a living like the rest of us.

You'll probably get a better response if you add a few more details, eg: Your age, sex, do you intend to camp, b & b, hostel, a mix of all three etc. When are you planning to do it, this year or next?

A large plastic cable tie works nicely on my bikes.

My backside was fine, used padded undershorts under my cycling shorts, perched on a Brooks B17. The only problem I had was with discomfort at times with the ball of my feet where the cleats of my spd's attatched to the shoes. It felt like a hot, burning sensation. I bought some good quality foam insoles enroute which helped but, didn't entirely eliminate the problem.

I got a lift yesterday morning from John O'Groats to Wick Station with Keiss Taxi's (Tel 01955 631444), they have cars with bike racks fitted and a trailer that will carry several bikes. The charge was £22.00 for a 05.30 pick up to catch the 06.20 train.

Proper campsites on the Western Isles are few and far between, not much in the way of wooded areas either. Camping on the beach/dunes is acceptable in areas that have public access. I camped wild on the Western Isles two years ago without any problems and I found some beautiful locations. Just the usual considerations of leave no litter etc and you'll be fine.

The tourist information office at Barra opens for the arrival of the ferry from Oban (off the ferry, turn right up the hill). They have a brochure listing all the cycle friendly accomodations for all of the Islands, you can use the list to book in advance as you plot your route each day. Not all of the accomodation on the Hebrides are cycle friendly and they will turn you away if you cold call at the door, especially if you are soaked. You would think that they would be glad of your money but, I was turned away from several places when I did the trip two years ago even though they had vacancies signs up in the window.

I have the same model of Pendle rack. I've had mine for four years and travelled thousands of trouble free miles without it moving or causing concern. You will have probably noticed that not only does it grip the tow ball it also has a cutaway on the casting to grip the stem of the towing bracket to prevent movement in any direction. I take mine off when I want to pull a trailer and I never use a torque wrench to refit it, even though I have one, I just tighten all four bolts evenly by hand. I would recommend applying some copper grease to the threads to prevent corrosion to the bolts so that they don't seize during winter due to road salt. If you think you would feel happier using a torque wrench to fix your rack to the ball you need to use a hex socket attached to the wrench and insert it into the bolt head, use your 17mm spanner to hold the nuts while you tighten with the wrench. I hope you will be as pleased with your rack as I am with mine.