Day 21 - Saturday 18th August - John O'Groats to Glasgow by Coach
A lie in this morning and we eventually got out of our tents to a fine sunny morning. The weather was being perverse to the last. A coach was due to pick us up for the journey to Glasgow and would leave at about 10.30 a.m. We had to pack for the last time and also prepare our bikes for the journey on the van. The handle bars had to be turned sideways, the pedals had to be removed and the frame had to be wrapped in bubble wrap to protect the bikes when packed together in the van. Those people who were only going to Glasgow had to ensure that their bikes were well labelled so that they could be loaded last as the majority were returning to London. We were able to take most of the luggage in the coach but some had to go in the van when the underfloor luggage space was full.
After one last look around John O'Groats it was time to go and we filled the coach and were off - in the hot sunshine. It was interesting to drive back along the road we had cycled yesterday and to see the steep hills at Helmsdale and Berriedale and to realise what we had climbed. The coach followed the A9 through Inverness and to Aviemore where we stopped for an hour for lunch after three hours driving. Then on to Glasgow where we arrived at the hotel at about 5.30 p.m. The majority of the group were staying at the hotel and continuing towards London the next day, but I and a few others were leaving the group at Glasgow. Unfortunately the van with the bicycles on board did not make such good time as the coach and it was not due to arrive until a couple of hours later. I arranged with Alex that I would call back later in the evening for the bike.
As we left the coach the majority of the group booked in to the hotel and went to their rooms so unfortunately I was unable to say goodbyes to them as I would have wished. They were an extremely friendly bunch and it was a good group of people to ride with in the often difficult conditions.
I decided to take a taxi to the Travel Inn on the other side of Glasgow where Molly, who had driven up from Bath during the day, was waiting for me. We had dinner and then returned to the group's hotel by car to collect my bicycle at about 10.00 p.m. By this time the weather was back to normal and it was raining again.
Then on the following day - Sunday - we drove back home to Bath and the long anticipated trip was really over.
Epilogue
Writing this several months after the event has brought it all back to me and I have been able to enjoy it all over again - without the discomforts this time. It still does not seem possible that I have achieved such a journey. I have however managed to keep up the regular cycling and certainly feel fitter for it. Retirement has many advantages.
The training plan about which I had many doubts paid off in the end. Whilst I did not complete very long mileages it was well worth the effort of riding regularly day after day in the period leading up to the trip. I was well able to cope with the mileages on the trip itself and they even became quite easy towards the end.
When I first contemplated the End to End I decided that I would not want to camp but in the event it was not so bad after all and I even found it to be quite comfortable towards the end. I am very pleased however that I decided to hire a tent and have it put up at each site. I often watched others with their own tents struggling in the pouring rain which we had on so many days. It was so much easier to walk away from the tent on wet mornings and let someone else dismantle it.
We sometimes complained about the circuitous route we were taken on but it brought home how many wild and unspoilt places there still are within England and Scotland. There are also many quiet and peaceful roads and byways far from the crowds on the trunk roads and motorways if you are prepared to seek them out. We passed through many beautiful places which I would like to visit again but I am not sure that I would want to cycle the whole route again!
It was also nice to get away from the TV and newspapers for three weeks. The days seemed to merge into each other and the outside world had nothing to do with us.
And at this distance in time the rain does not seem to have been so bad. Even the showers and toilets at the rugby clubs are a distant memory. Somebody said on one of the difficult days that the whole exercise was "character building" - we must have built tremendous characters on this trip!
Thanks are due to the whole Bike Tours team for making the trip run so smoothly allowing us to concentrate on our cycling.
- Alex Badell - Courier and route marker
- Nic Jones - Mechanic
- Cody Francis, Wayne Cotteron and Brett Gilbert - Luggage and tents
- Pete Roach, Claire and Natalie - Catering crew
- Jenny and Emma - Bike Tours Office
I should like to thank my son Philip who has constructed this web page - he is the computer expert not me!
Also all family, friends and former colleagues who sponsored me for the trip and enabled me to send a substantial cheque to the National Asthma Campaign.
And most of all to Molly for driving with me to Land's End and collecting me from Glasgow and allowing me to go off on my own, enjoying myself, for three weeks.
I am John Ennor and my e-mail address is lejog2001@btinternet.com and I should be pleased to answer any questions, comments or criticisms (hopefully constructive) if you would like to e-mail me.