grand depart
Re: grand depart
Went from Thurso to dinner head jog and back to Thurso on day 1 no one knew where the visitors book was I signed one in the coffee shop but it did not seem to be the real one I waited a while expecting cyclists to be coming in and out all the time
Re: grand depart
Day 2 ride from hell 40mph headwind with gusts much stronger passed a few cyclists pushing their bikes or just seeking shelter 4 hours 20 mins to bettyhill from Thurso .was not going to make Lairg so stayed in summerhouse at crask inn I left my dhorts there can’t go back now
Got to Inverness today lumpy from bonar bridge through evanton Dingwall and north kessock
Why have so many places saying vacancies from the pavement and no vacancies on the door after you have walked up the drive
Got to Inverness today lumpy from bonar bridge through evanton Dingwall and north kessock
Why have so many places saying vacancies from the pavement and no vacancies on the door after you have walked up the drive
Re: grand depart
Ha ha just seen my earlier post auto correct was having fun with me.Make that Dunnet Head
Re: grand depart
Left my main shorts at 1st stop crask inn made it down Inverness to breamar really hard job finding a bed there next night was at the whitemoss lodge nr Dunning lovely place could have stayed longer. Stayed with friend in Edinburgh next once over the bridge the roads really deteriorated cycle paths everywhere complete with steps glass speed ramps etc. Just out of Edinburgh lovely stop at secret herb garden. Cut today short because of heat staying in Gretna
Re: grand depart
lovely landlady in Gretna, took my cycling gear into her washing machine so had nice fresh clothes to start the following day..If someone fills your water bottles for you, it does not mean the tops are going on tight. A couple of times I have had to retighten the tops, but this time I forgot, I hit a pothole, felt the bottle top hit my shoe and after a 20 minute search I failed to find it. so I have one good bottle in 6 bottle a day weather
next night kirby lonsdale, the 2 cafe stops I had planned were both closed.Next day passed the wild fires found lots of hills I could barely cycle up and had a fantastic cafe stop in Slaidburn the roads were melting deeper than I have ever seen before grit has been put down in places but my wheels do not grip it very well .B&Bs are telling me end to enders left yesterday, more coming tomorrow, but I have not seen any since Lairg.
Cotswalds have come and gone, cutting west again and flat all the way to LE
next night kirby lonsdale, the 2 cafe stops I had planned were both closed.Next day passed the wild fires found lots of hills I could barely cycle up and had a fantastic cafe stop in Slaidburn the roads were melting deeper than I have ever seen before grit has been put down in places but my wheels do not grip it very well .B&Bs are telling me end to enders left yesterday, more coming tomorrow, but I have not seen any since Lairg.
Cotswalds have come and gone, cutting west again and flat all the way to LE
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charliepolecat
- Posts: 315
- Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm
Re: grand depart
Watching your progress, althebike, it seems you are having an adventure, which is what it is all supposed to be about. 
Re: grand depart
Strange feeling, it has gone from , will this ever end, shall I throw my bike into the sea at LE to, well that was not so bad .
Scotland seemed to drag and so did the hills around Cumbria and Lancashire, but the rest of England passed in the blink of an eye. Salisbury plain is beautiful, so is Dartmoor. I avoided touching anything of a dodgy chemical nature around Glastonbury, ( well did not go too close ) Wilton is not full of carpet factories, nice stop at Princetown, friend in Saltash did a no show, First cornish pasty of the trip at Sticker .I sat in a bus shelter in Lostwithiel and a local checked to see if I was O.K. and offered to put me up for the night. I accepted a cup of tea and moved on I was sure LE was just around the corner, 50 hills later I was still sure LE is just around the corner, and eventually I was correct.Lots of easing my bottom off the saddle to ease pressure and avoid the worse of the potholes that are cunningly hidden in the shadows of trees.
Job done, thank you once again for all your help and support
Scotland seemed to drag and so did the hills around Cumbria and Lancashire, but the rest of England passed in the blink of an eye. Salisbury plain is beautiful, so is Dartmoor. I avoided touching anything of a dodgy chemical nature around Glastonbury, ( well did not go too close ) Wilton is not full of carpet factories, nice stop at Princetown, friend in Saltash did a no show, First cornish pasty of the trip at Sticker .I sat in a bus shelter in Lostwithiel and a local checked to see if I was O.K. and offered to put me up for the night. I accepted a cup of tea and moved on I was sure LE was just around the corner, 50 hills later I was still sure LE is just around the corner, and eventually I was correct.Lots of easing my bottom off the saddle to ease pressure and avoid the worse of the potholes that are cunningly hidden in the shadows of trees.
Job done, thank you once again for all your help and support
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charliepolecat
- Posts: 315
- Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm
Re: grand depart
Well done. my turn next I hope - in September if I can ever get myself to book the air ticket. 
Re: grand depart
I'd be more concerned about coming in to contact with anything dodgy in Salisbury than glastonbury!
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charliepolecat
- Posts: 315
- Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm
Re: grand depart
althebike, I didn't see any mention of where you stayed - type of accommodation, can you share?
Re: grand depart
Charliepolecat,
Good luck with your ride, I will be keen to see your progress
I stayed at a guest house in Janet street Thurso for two nights , the summerhouse at the cask inn , the hotels in Breamar were full but one hotel did a shared bunkhouse accommodation. Whitemoss lodge near Dunning, a sort of pod but spacious and cheap. I stayed with a friend in Edinburgh, a guest house in Gretna, the copper kettle in Kirby lonsdale , the mercury motel in westhoughton, the Gordon Arms hotel , don't ask me where this was, but it was about 15 miles south of Innerliethen, a strange guest house near albrighton, this had no board outside and the room looked like a grass hut, but it was fine. A guest house in Stratford upon Avon a park bench near Wilton,an Inn in Princetown , from there It was LE , Penzance and train. I had some short days , hampered by heat and hills, and 3 really long days that I would have been broken up with better planning.
Good luck with your ride, I will be keen to see your progress
I stayed at a guest house in Janet street Thurso for two nights , the summerhouse at the cask inn , the hotels in Breamar were full but one hotel did a shared bunkhouse accommodation. Whitemoss lodge near Dunning, a sort of pod but spacious and cheap. I stayed with a friend in Edinburgh, a guest house in Gretna, the copper kettle in Kirby lonsdale , the mercury motel in westhoughton, the Gordon Arms hotel , don't ask me where this was, but it was about 15 miles south of Innerliethen, a strange guest house near albrighton, this had no board outside and the room looked like a grass hut, but it was fine. A guest house in Stratford upon Avon a park bench near Wilton,an Inn in Princetown , from there It was LE , Penzance and train. I had some short days , hampered by heat and hills, and 3 really long days that I would have been broken up with better planning.
Re: grand depart
Forgetting, a b&B in Inverness
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charliepolecat
- Posts: 315
- Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm
Re: grand depart
Would I assume correctly that all these were all found on the fly, or did you plan ahead for the grass hut and others?
Re: grand depart
I pre booked the guest house in Thurso, so I could visit jog and Dunnet head and return, as the 1st days ride. For the rest of the ride, I had a list of places to stay , the idea being, that I could phone ahead and book somewhere during lunch break.
There were some flaws to this plan, I did not get much mobile connection in the highlands, some of the places on my list were no longer trading, and many of the others were fully booked.
I assumed Breamar would be easy as it is a touristy place, but it was nearly full. At Innerleithen I decided to go on to Traquair , not realising the places I had listed as Traquair were actually in Innerleithen.
From there I decided to carry on but it was a hard and long drag to the next available beds https://www.thegordonarms.com . It entailed a long climb and must have been an additional 15 miles or so.
I had intended to stay near Cosworth, the spiders web or somewhere, but that was closed for refurbishment, I passed another 5 pubs that did not do beds when someone suggested this http://www.waysidebandb.co.uk I am not sure how to get the pic from my phone to computer, but although a regular room it is surrounded by a walls made of reeds or grasses , so I was wondering where I was being led. At Stratford, I just routed to a road with lots of B&B and started knocking on doors, I stopped at Crediton, the library found me a bed for the night, I started to cross Dartmoor but it was hillier than it looked on google street view, so after a very short day, I sat in a bus stop in Princetown and an inn was just a short hop away, so in I went. So to answer your question, I did plan for most part, but did not know how far I would travel each day. The local people I spoke to on route were helpful .Tourist info centers were usually closed by the time I got anywhere.
There were some flaws to this plan, I did not get much mobile connection in the highlands, some of the places on my list were no longer trading, and many of the others were fully booked.
I assumed Breamar would be easy as it is a touristy place, but it was nearly full. At Innerleithen I decided to go on to Traquair , not realising the places I had listed as Traquair were actually in Innerleithen.
From there I decided to carry on but it was a hard and long drag to the next available beds https://www.thegordonarms.com . It entailed a long climb and must have been an additional 15 miles or so.
I had intended to stay near Cosworth, the spiders web or somewhere, but that was closed for refurbishment, I passed another 5 pubs that did not do beds when someone suggested this http://www.waysidebandb.co.uk I am not sure how to get the pic from my phone to computer, but although a regular room it is surrounded by a walls made of reeds or grasses , so I was wondering where I was being led. At Stratford, I just routed to a road with lots of B&B and started knocking on doors, I stopped at Crediton, the library found me a bed for the night, I started to cross Dartmoor but it was hillier than it looked on google street view, so after a very short day, I sat in a bus stop in Princetown and an inn was just a short hop away, so in I went. So to answer your question, I did plan for most part, but did not know how far I would travel each day. The local people I spoke to on route were helpful .Tourist info centers were usually closed by the time I got anywhere.