Cycling UK Forum

I dont have a car or a license. Is there a service that you can buy that will transport you and your bike from your house or nearby location to and from the start and end points of this tour? I couldnt find any info on this. Everyone seems to use their own car or van.

You can get the train to thurso then bike to JOG (I don't think the bus service takes bikes). I finished at lands end and biked to Penzance to catch a train back to Inverness

http://www.johnogroatsbiketransport.co.uk Is an option

Username wrote:I dont have a car or a license. Is there a service that you can buy that will transport you and your bike from your house or nearby location to and from the start and end points of this tour? I couldnt find any info on this. Everyone seems to use their own car or van.

Here's what I did ..............

I rode JOGLE on a Raleigh Chopper plus towed a trailer, but living in Cornwall it's a long way to JOG for the start.
Because I was doing the ride for charity and I knew a chap who knew a chap who worked for a transport company, we put my bike and trailer onto a pallet and wrapped it up. This was loaded onto a lorry and relayed all the way to Wick Airport. It was planned to arrive a couple of days before I did.

I intended to fly to Wick, but I used the train instead and stayed overnight at a Wick B+B. Following morning, I was given a lift the few miles to the airport and unwrapped my pallet, connected up my trailer and cycled to JOG and then back to Wick to stay overnight again before heading south to LE.

I had contacted Far North Aviation at Wick Airport and they were happy to accept my pallet delivery, and were happy to dispose of the pallet and the wrapping.

http://www.farnorthaviation.co.uk

It was all very very very simple indeed and only needed planning.

hilloverthehill wrote:You can get the train to thurso then bike to JOG (I don't think the bus service takes bikes). I finished at lands end and biked to Penzance to catch a train back to Inverness

+1.

If you are starting from JOG then you should be able to book your bike onto the train if you book in advance. We had 2 bikes on the train from Inverness to Thurso and Wick, with no problems. There are 3 or 4 trains a day from Inverness to Thurso and Wick.

Less of an issue getting back from Penzance as there are more trains and therefore more capacity.

TrevA wrote:

hilloverthehill wrote:You can get the train to thurso then bike to JOG (I don't think the bus service takes bikes). I finished at lands end and biked to Penzance to catch a train back to Inverness

+1.

If you are starting from JOG then you should be able to book your bike onto the train if you book in advance. We had 2 bikes on the train from Inverness to Thurso and Wick, with no problems. There are 3 or 4 trains a day from Inverness to Thurso and Wick.

Less of an issue getting back from Penzance as there are more trains and therefore more capacity.

+1. Never done LEJOG but I have taken bikes by rail to both Penzance and Thurso without any problems.

I suppose a roundabout, and probably pricey, alternative from JOG would be to get the local ferry to Orkney Mainland and the overnight ferry from Kirkwall to Aberdeen. We took bikes from Kirkwall to Lerwick and Lerwick to Aberdeen that way. If the ferry still leaves Kirkwall at midnight as it used to, that could allow a later departure from the far North. The ferry carries bikes easily and has comfy cabins.

Mick F's way sounds the best, load your bike on a pallet, get his mates mate to pick it up and then drop it off at Wick airport. Make your own way there and then ride up to John O'Groats.

Username wrote: Everyone seems to use their own car or van.

I would have thought most people use the train, at least at the LE end.

horizon wrote:

Username wrote: Everyone seems to use their own car or van.

I would have thought most people use the train, at least at the LE end.

The train is a good option at JOG too. It's only 17 miles away from Wick. And if you're about to start JOGLE then 17 miles is neither here nor there.

philvantwo wrote:Mick F's way sounds the best, load your bike on a pallet, get his mates mate to pick it up and then drop it off at Wick airport. Make your own way there and then ride up to John O'Groats.

Yep.
The whole idea worked like a dream.

I had no issues about bikes on trains, very little luggage to take with me, I had no car to worry about, and no issue about having to meet the transport. I was prepared to walk from Wick town centre out to the airport - it's not actually very far - but the B+B owner insisted in driving me there.

Highly recommended, but you need to do your homework first.

I start when I on my bent trike as I leave home ....... then ..... cycle the whole way ...... then ....... get off the trike when I get back home.

I need to do that because the bent trike is not allowed on any public transport bar ferries.
So for me it's easier just to cycle to the start, do the route, cycle home.
But I've never taken a direct route the 3 times I've done it, so my minimum distance home to home is only 4,250 miles .......

philvantwo wrote:Mick F's way sounds the best, load your bike on a pallet, get his mates mate to pick it up and then drop it off at Wick airport. Make your own way there and then ride up to John O'Groats.

It sounds like a load of hassle compared to riding to the station of your choice, getting on the train, doing the ride, riding to a station at the other end and getting the train home. If like Mick F you've also got a trailer, or like Tigerbiten a cycle they won't take, or an otherwise unusual load, or are in a large group, I can see that the train option isn't possible, but for most of us it's pretty straightforward. I've only done one E2E but I've been to the Scottish Highlands many times and Penzance three times, always booked well in advance and always been cheap and trouble free.
EDIT - If you want a real treat and live somewhere it's feasible, use the Caladonian Sleeper service for one leg of the Journey.

Booking ahead certainly saves money.
I've been planning my one month in Ethiopia for ages and managed to book the first leg of my tour for a fiver!
I take the train down to Edinbugh from Inverurie.
Overnight there while my bike is boxed and then on to the airport for Turkish airlines to Addis Ababa via Istanbul.
I also booked the return last leg back from Edinburgh to Inverurie for a fiver.
Cheap tickets are released 6-8 weeks in advance.
Keep checking the Scotrail site. Easy peasey.

I would imagine the fares from any Scottish station to Wick will have the same cheap fares.
Bike goes free as well, although had to be booked at time of buying ticket.

Planning JOGLE for the summer and will probably ride back via friends places.