Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

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mcpasty
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Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by mcpasty »

Hi
Planning the JoGLE trip in more detail now and apologies for including messy title.

Looked at routes that go thru wales and some stay nearer to the M6- any benefits to either?

Live in Exeter and thinking of flying north now rather than the train at £199! but not sure of best way to get bike up there- can it be couriered to local shop does anyone know?

Finally, my folks live in edinburgh and wondered if anyone had com down this way and cut across as it would be nice to get a bit of mum's home made grub en route.

Thanks for previous help- been building up on the single speed so still a possibility.
Cheers
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Mick F
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by Mick F »

I managed to get my stuff onto a pallet and sent up by carrier to Wick Airport.
I intended to fly up to Wick from Exeter, but because of the Icelandic Volcano situation, I took the train instead.

Get in touch with a transport company, and see if they will get your bike and luggage wrapped up on a pallet. McGill Transport got mine to Wick at no cost! Ask a company nicely, and promise to mention/publicise their name, it's surprising what they'll do. I understand the cost was going to be £60 or £70.

Phone up Andrew Bruce at Far North Aviation. Very helpful chap and he'll take your pallet so it's there ready for you.
http://farnorthaviation.co.uk/

My story is on my blog:
http://jogleonachopper.blogspot.com

and specifically:
http://jogleonachopper.blogspot.com/201 ... -gone.html
Mick F. Cornwall
mcpasty
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by mcpasty »

Thanks Mick for prompt and detailed reply, i'll get onto your site now.
Cheers
mcpasty
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by mcpasty »

Ha, on a chopper- quality, !! :D
And you went via edinburgh (not the A702 though which i would have thought more friendly?)- why did you do edinburgh and not more traditional glasgow route, Mick?
It doesn't seem to have added many miles.
mc
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Mick F
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by Mick F »

Why, because in my humble opinion, the Inverness/Glasgow route is awful. Some will disagree with me, but that A82 is no fun at all. The scenery may be good, but having ridden much of the A82 before, I cannot recommend it. As I say, some will disagree with me, but at least I've done both routes and probably they haven't.

If you go to my blog and watch the videos of the route from Inverness to Pitlochry, you will see at times I went for mile after mile in complete peace and quiet with hardly seeing a vehicle. The Old A9 is bliss.
http://jogleonachopper.blogspot.com/201 ... gh-on.html
Mick F. Cornwall
chrisc
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by chrisc »

I would certainly endorse what Mick says about the old A9. Brilliant cycleway on the whole and no traffic at all to speak of. Plus gentle gradients; it parallels the railway after all !

Never ridden the A82 but driven it by car three times in the past 3 years. It is certainly no fun in a car : really twisty road in parts, with limited overtaking opportunities and people take chances ... :shock:
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WoodyWheeler
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by WoodyWheeler »

I haven't used the A9, only the A82. Personally I didn't find the A82 too bad, although I did bypass Inverness through via Muir of Ord to Drumnadrochit. And from the end of Loch Lomond I used some back roads to get me as close to the Erskine Bridge, where I made my escape, as possible. Those last two miles or so were a little hairy, mainly because I managed to time it of the Sunday afternoon drive home to Glasfow and it managed to heave it down just as I joined the A82 again! You can find my route at http://www.landsend-to-johnogroats.co.uk. There are also some photos taken on that route.

I also flew to Wick from Exeter and had my bike couriered to The Spot bike shop in Wick - http://www.thespotcycles.co.uk/. My local bike shop also runs a courier service so they were able to service the bike to make sure ti was up to the trip, box it and ship it. They are based in Saltash - http://www.certini.co.uk. I tried many courier services that were going to charge about £200 but the service I used ended up at about £25 plus a few quid for the box (can't remember exactly - and that was a couple of years ago.) Again, there is an account on the site above in the section about how to get to the start. You might also want to read the account in My End to End Day Zero though!

I took a directish route that had me skipping in and out of Wales and finally over the old Severn Bridge. Nice route but haven't ridden any alternantives to compare it with.
Riding - Monoc TC2
Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. ~ Charles M. Schulz
rualexander
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by rualexander »

In my opinion the A9 route between Inverness and Perth using the cycle path/route is a far better option than the A82 between Inverness and Glasgow.
WoodyWheeler
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by WoodyWheeler »

I am starting to plan a JOGLE with extras (Duncansby Head (furtherest NE), dunnet Head (furtherest N), Cape Wraith (NW), Point of Ardnamurchan (W), Lowestoft (E), Lizard Point (S), Lands End (SW) passing through Prickwillow (lowest) and climbing Ben Nevis -without bike) highest).

Because I am going to have to be in Fort William to climb Ben Nevis and need to be on the West side of Scotland I will again be using the A82 for part of the route. However, this time I am considering an alternative route from Fort William taking the A828 then the A819, A83 and A814. This will bring me out on the same junction on the A82 a couple of miles short of the Erskine Bridge but with, hopefully, a lot less traffic and, possibly, an even more scenic route - although Glen Coe was the highlight of my last trip and I will be bypassing that. The route is about 30 miles longerthen the A82 as well.

I was originally planning a whole round trip from Lands End and back taking in all of the above and was tempted by the A93 route over the Cairngorms on the way up, becasue it is the highest public road (you'll note my theme is the extreme points of mainland UK). It is an alternative if you decide to go via Edinburgh - it would involve a bit more climbing though!
Riding - Monoc TC2
Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. ~ Charles M. Schulz
mcpasty
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by mcpasty »

A friend of mine did the route last year with the 3 peaks climbed- pretty fit lad but did his knee in with all the climbing, so good luck. I think it’s a bit hard core for me, Woody. Thanks for additional transporting trips and I’ll be checking all these out over the week
The A9 seems a good option then, thanks all.
Will let you know of progress.
Thanks again
bigfoot
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by bigfoot »

A lot of routes follow the A49 rather than the M6. When I was planning I looked at crossing the Severn at Bristol/Chepstow and Gloucester. We settled on the latter as it is flatter, then heading SW to pick up the route of the A49. Again you are looking at river crossings as the next main choice - the Mersey is often crossed either at Runcorn, or Warrington (although the Mersey Ferry is good fun & used it on local rides).

I liked BikeHike for scoping out routes - Terrain view lets you look at the general terrain, and the OSM cycle option shows contour lines. We tried to avoid main roads, but used them if they were the only practical option- you can follow the A49 without using too much of it. It isn't a dreadful road (although the surface was rotten south of Ludlow) but it is nice to be on quiet roads at times (that said the B-roads from Gloucester up to the A49 were disappointingly busy).

From Frodsham up to the lakes ( a route I've done a few times now) we always largely shadow the A49 and avoid Wigan (who wouldn't)- although the A49 past Charnock Richard is fine.

Finally +1 for the old A9 and Edinburgh. At times disturbingly quiet (the old A9, not Edinburgh)
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by Big T »

We used an A82 route going south. We didn't find the A82 too bad at all. Didn't encounter any logging lorries north of Fort William and we found it OK over Rannoch Moor (albeit in foul weather). There's a cyclepath through Glasgow, all the way from Balloch at the south end of Loch Lomond, via Dumbarton, to Uddingston, just north of Hamilton/Motherwell (details of cyclepath on the Sustrans Scotland website).

From Hamilton you can follow the old main road going south, it's now the B7076 (all the traffic is on the new motorway so the old road is deserted). You can follow it all the way to Gretna. We also followed the A49 from Preston to Warrington. It's possible to follow it all the way to Ludlow and beyond, going south.
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by barneybear69 »

On my lejog in August I used A82 and was worried about the reports I'd read. I needn't have been, it poured down on my day between Fort william and the Black Isle ((N of Inverness) and it was a weekend - result was hardly any tourists and NO logging lorries at all - downside, had to baton down the hatches and took no photos.
Having said that I was considering south of Loch Ness if it had been a nice day although I was aware of a sharp hill at the south end.
My day on the A82 from Milton (Glasgow) up to Fort William was my favourite day ... by far!! the scenery is stunning even if you do have to climb some hills.

I'm considering taking the train to Glasgow (from Newcastle) cycle up to Fort William, then over to Inverness then back down to Edinburgh then train home next year as a 3 day jaunt as I enjoyed it so much - I'll also get to experience (on a bike) the Inverness-Edinburgh route that is praised so highly.

I'm sure I plotted alternatives whether gong via Glasgow or Edinburgh and there was only something like 5 miles difference.

If you want to checkout my route feel free at http://www.nigelend2end.co.uk

Not that I did it but you could also do one way car hire.
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Temesvar
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Re: Do i go thru wales/ via edinburgh/getting bike to wick?

Post by Temesvar »

On the point about flying up north, I found this worked well (albeit I was flying home from JOG, rather than flying there to start). I went with Flybe from Kirkwall on Orkney, taking the ferry from the mainland from Gills to get there. No reason why it shouldn't work in reverse. I think Flybe also go to Wick, but for some reason it was harder to get a useful flight from there.

As for the bike, I took mine on the plane. It has to be dismantled to some extent (front wheel off, handlebars straight, pedals turned in and tryes deflated) and packed in a bag or case - the big plastic bags sold by CTC and Wiggle for about £6 did the job nicely. You would need to put the bike back together again though, which wasn't so important for me as it was after I'd finished; you would need to make sure everything was shipshape for the start.
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