Day 13

Saturday 16th August 2008

Helmsdale to John o' groats. 61 miles

We woke up on the morn of the Helmsdale highland games to find the weather was set fair which was good for the people going to the games, and good for us. but with a strong East north easterly wind, which would not be good for us. As this was our last day and was intended to be relatively short we decided we would depart after breakfast the dinner we had the previous night made us all keen to try their breakfast and it did not let us down, it was quality, a fitting breakfast for our last send off. Breakfast started at 8,00, so we prepared ourselves and our bikes before breakfast, the talk at breakfast was about the climb out of Helmsdale, friends who had done Lejog before us had described it as the hardest climb on the whole journey, We fretted between our selves could this be true. and in any case what was hardest climb to date, for us? Candidates included the climb out of Drumnadrochit we had done yesterday, of course the climb out of Tavistock, up on to Dartmoor, back in day 2, or the famous Shap. Anyway we would know soon enough. We took photos outside the Bridge hotel, what a splendid time we had there. We were straight into the climb, and it looked to us as if the road had been modified to change the slope come out of Helmsdale, it was still a hard climb, but to be honest nothing to write home about. However, clearly we were not listen to what our friends were really talking not about one hill, but a series of hills that went on for about 20 miles, up and then down shape inclines. We recorded our fastest speed of the whole trip in this stretch, 46 mph, which seems very fast were you are sitting over two thin tyres, with brakes that were worn and suspect, after 900 miles and 12 days of use. following 20 miles of this we turned north to Thurso, which was 25 miles of rolling terrain with the wind behind us, this is the way cycling should be. For this stretch we averaged around 20 mph, with little effort, and what fantastic scenery. Once at Thurso we met our support team, Mairi, who doubled up as coach, Lorraine and Graham, who had come to stay with us at Helmsdale, and were keen to be there with us as we crossed the line, and Gillian, who had been with us from the start, who had from a to z been there with us to help us in any way she could to make sure we crossed the line in John o' Groats. In Thurso we had our last stop in Tesco coffee shop, and very good it was, particularly the Blueberry Muffin, So with 20 miles to go we finally set off for our destination, but just as it should this prize target of ours was not going to give its self to us easily, the last 20 miles were in to a very strong wind and this last leg was to be a good old fashion grind, at this late stage strangely it was not physical tiredness that was the issue, we knew we could finish it, but did the last few miles need to be so hard?
At about 2.15 on Saturday all 4 of us crossed the finish line together. hands held aloft together having completed our goal, Was the journey a success, well just like the Lejog you have to look at it in many different ways. Did we complete the course? Yes, Was it a success just to get fit enough consider doing the event? Yes, Did the Charities that were supported benefit? Yes, Are we individually or collectively better people for doing this? Maybe that is something we should ask you in a few months time. What I have learnt from this, is that just because it is raining hard and the wind is in your face for a section of the journey does not make the journey bad, in the afternoon the wind might change and the sun might come out, however you have to carry on cycling to give it a chance to change. That is true for Lejog, and it is true for life,
Thank you all for supporting us, particular thanks to Gillian, Phil, and Mairi, who gave the most precious thing, time. Oh and finally now that four ordinary people have done lejog what are you going to do??

After drinks we loaded the van and headed to Dalwhinnie.

Mileage : 61 Miles

Time : 4 hours 32 mins

Total : 962 Miles

Beer of the day: Nothing different

Overnight : The Inn @ Dalwhinnie