Cycling from the top of UK to the bottom, aka JOGLE. No backup. No cycling buddy. Carrying 50kg of gear. No need for the pretentiousness but I do not think you can underestimate this challenge especially given how many other cyclists I met who have done this & said doing it all yourself is obviously not just the hardest way to go about it & but incredibly difficult. North to south is according to everyone I spoke to the hardest because of the gulf wind; which I found out in Devon & Cornwall particularly. I only met one couple who did JOGLE & that's when I got to Lands End!
Part of this trip was to raise money for an animal sanctuary; but to also push my body & mind. I wanted to make myself know how fortunate we are & how much we take life's most simple things & pleasures for granted. I wanted to prove this to myself; I could only do that by pushing myself to a boundary I have never been. Doing this will let me appreciate these priveleges. Training, I always made sure to do fitness, yoga & weights 6 days out of 7 for around 8 months; something I did anyway but particularly pushed on the fitness & cardio for a lot of this. Obviously I cycled 5 or 6 days out of the week with some longer stints at the weekend. Let's go!!!
Day 1 (19th of July) - I didn't count this as day one really because it was travel day. Train from Sheffield to Doncaster (30 min). Doncaster to Edinburgh (4 hours). Edinburgh to Inverness (3hours). Inverness to Thurso (2 hours). Sandra's Hostel.
Day 2 (20th of July)- 20 mile ride to John O'Groats from Thurso. Though I actually did 80 miles due to the trip from Thurso - JOG, it was 60 miles to bed me in; I was pretty happy with that considering the treacherous hills right from the beginning of the A836 which started from Thurso after a steady ride from John O'Groats. This road climbed & climbed & climbed, until I stopped off on somewhere near Coldbackie. This road pretty much follows the north coast heading out west with the north sea on your right. Road a little while with a guy from Ayr where he was also headed. I kinda liked the riding with others. Not really because of the company but it kept me motivated to keep up & have a marker. The weather was clear and warm from the get go as well today. The sunset was So it was waking up to sheep surrounding my tent in a foggy haze somewhere in the Scottish highlands. My ride time was 11 hours probs with 2 hour rests. I aimed for later starts & later finishes; obviously as it's higher up with the later sunsets. I'd normally try stopping around 10-10:30pm especially the first 5 days.
Day 3 (21st of July) - Coldbackie to Lairg 60 - So I carried on where I left off, right along the A836. Ate like a dog today. Camped just on the edge of a woodland. I learnt more cyclists I met, that anywhere between 60-80 miles is what you should aim for.
Lairg to Dingwall
Day 4 (22nd of July) - Dingwall to somewhere on Lochness just outside of Fort Augustus- Broke my left front pannier at the very beginning of Lochness; mainly down to being a tosser & gazing at Lochness; I always wondered what the beginning looked like; anyway to be fair a bit of the metal fencing around the road stuck out & closed in & sheared off one of the clips; so it was hanging on with one instead of two. Needless to say I lost track the amount of times the pannier kept coming off for the hundreds of miles I kept it on there, I'll talk about that later. One of the best places I camped was here maybe. The rockfaces round here are immense; miles of spaghetti-like roads with trees overlooking is quite overwhelming at times. Not kidding but most of the trees had to be strapped back.
Day 5 (23rd of July) - Lochness to past Fort William. 232 - Short 5 mile into Fort Augustus for a delicious second breakfast. Got onto cycle route 6 which is around 33 miles to Fort William. Scenery was amazing but doing these routes does slow you down a lot as there's so many different terrains; which plays havoc on the road tyres; though quite early on they still had a lot of tread. There was a lot of logging going off & the big machinery vehicles made track roads through, which caused huge ruts & all sorts of hills. From what I can remember; around here the vastness veered off a bit, getting toward Fort William which wasn't the end of highlands but it definitely felt like it from there on; the landscape didn't quite match those mountains around Cairngorms & Ben Nevis, you can clearly see the snow up there even on these hot summer days. Probably the worst road up to this point was on the way to Fort William. It was a 2 hour push up a hill; which ended with a sheer drop on the other side; I was hitting 60 miles an hour & took around 5 minutes to fall back to the same level. At this point my luggage was still almost full, the weight I still think was too much as I came to find out a little later on when I got a snapped spindle of the rear. This ride saved on the water, good job as I didn't see many places around. Most of the cycling was journeying through forests, where I rode with a fella, can't remember where he was riding but he was away for a week or so, & packed very lightly, I think merely a rucksack & and tent to the underside of his toptube.
Day 6 (24th of July) - Fort William - Inverary Castle 300 -
Day 7 (25th of July) - Loch Lomand & Trossachs to Irvine. 380 - Knees started to give a lot of pain, this was the beginning of the pain starting in my right knee before the left & kept swapping & eventually both. After hours it kinda numbed itself & didn't feel it as long as I didn't change my riding style. I felt actually found it better on the saddle, as when I had to stop found myself walking like a penguin. Nevertheless cycling through Trossachs was fantastic, shortly after you got to Hunters Quay & a ferry across to the other side (McCinroy's point) over the Holy Loch. I cycled all the way down the coastline (I think it's called Firth of Clyde) past Lairgs to I This was a nice evening with it quite flat for Scotland & the cool air. I felt I progressed a lot today managing to get to Irvine (just outside Kilmarnock).
Day 8 (26th of July) - Irvine to Hagingshaw 460 - That morning I realised the cycle routes that connected all of my journey so far seemed to have disappeared here & the gps was suffering it's first problems. I'm not sure if it was the built up areas & the tiny screen on the Garmin was confusing it but to save battery from this point as I noticed the I was having to use it more to keep on track. Whereas before I followed a particular cycle route up to it's end point & joined another. Occasionally I would bring it off sleep mode just out of peace of mind to make I was on the right track. Fortunately, for a 1200 mile trip, the only places I struggled was here in Irvine & just outside Exeter later on just because apart from the A30 there was no other road to connect me back onto my route; & I found the A30 though legal to cycle on, was treacherous.
Day 9 (27th of July) - Caldbeck (Lake District) 515. There is a 40 mile road I think which runs adjecent to the motorway, which I found relatively okay to ride with my knees, this meant I found a lot of progress as I found myself definitely 2 days behind schedule. I also saw the bike technician who set up my bike on this stretch; he works for a cycling tour company in the Peak District. Had a nice rest stop at a cafe which was hard to get going with the view. This road eventually leads to some really nice rural single track roads eventually toward Greta Green. Not kidding but there is a final stretch of road going up from Gretna Green into England (Cumbria) - I felt a huge clunk on my back end but could not see the issue, except the feeling thereafter was that the bike felt harder to push, like you had something wedged in the back wheel. Either way I ploud on. After a tea break in Carlisle which felt like the biggest place I'd gone; at least the first place in England. I tried to ride as late & far as I could & I think I ended up paying for it when setting up camp in Calbeck. I found a nice place in a patch of trees. Just as the sun had long gone & light was getting deprived & camp had just been set up I stepped back breathed a sigh of content & the moment I did I could see the faint silohette of a fly or something. It turned out my left leg had quite a few wasps on it & got stung 3 times which was painful to say the least. Thankfully I could sleep off the throb & the next day all was well! Let tackle the Lakes!
Day 10 (28th of July) Caldbeck - Windermere 545 - Waterfall cafe I think. The best place I went! You know when you spotateously fall upon a gem of a place in the most unexpected of places, this was it! The breakfast was so good as you walked about the cricked old room with the backdrop of a old an watermill & little waterfall which are all over over the lakes. I almost gave my broken pannier away with the other to a local lady (cyclist) I met at the cafe who knew a local who owned a little unit nearby fixing up old stuff for charity - what a wonderful person! As it turned out Wednesdays he was closed & I felt bad leaving an old set of panniers with her; the panniers were free off the guy I bought the bike off in Derby; so I wasn't planning on keeping them for long. After sheltering under a Yew tree, it got very misty & the rain never quite resisted in between spells of sweltering sun. Probably one of the three hardest ascents of the journey was Kirkstone Pass, obviously I tackled it from Ullswater which meant I didn't have to climb "the struggle" & dropped into Ambleside. Prior to that I got off one of the best meals at Kirkstone Pass Inn. As I reached the summit, a 1100 metre climb to 1506, rain starting lashing down in a thick descending fog & wind. Wonderful hot vegan meal with a free side of chips was just what I needed. A guy I met told me of a website called Warmshowers & suggested using it. It cost £25 for a lifetime membership with no additional costs. It is bascially like airbnb but for the cycling community. I kept it in mind for sure later on especially as my power banks needed a charge & the routine of not having to set up camp was a nice change. Also, in the pub a cyclist with his son offered me to stay on his garden somewhere on a fell west of Kendal, but this was an 8 mile detour so I ended up camping at Windermere youth hostel, just because Windermere is awful for wild camping, plus it starts to get dark earlier the more south & the wetter I was getting. I found it a bit of a respite not having to scavenge for a plot, compared to the ease of Scotland. Around this point I began to get a numbing sensation in right hand which started at the base of thumb & worked it's way round. Put this down to the dropped bars & the pressure put when leaning forward or constant change of position out of comfortability. This meant I couldn't grip properly, something I still had to contend with at least a good month after I finished.
Day 11 (29th of July) - Went into a tiny village, which just so happened to have a bike repair shop. It was a great independent shop called "Mal the bike guy" & run with his other half. They were kind enough to check it out even though they were booked up for two months; citing because it's a run through for many cyclists they leave time for "emergencies." I left my bike with them & got an all day breakfast, a cookie & a tea & sat down munching & feeding the growing number of crows beside a church. The weather was quite cool & refreshing & was good to have a couple of hour rest here just to ease my knees & recoup. Walking felt strange to be honest not having to carry anything around & the constant routines of looking around the bike, seeing everything in check, opening the panniers for a handful of nuts or an isotonic gel or something or checking the water levels in the bottles on the bottom tube knowing I had to ration the water sensibly until I reached a point to refill; this was a problem in the Highlands for sure. I always made sure no matter the levels where I stopped I asked to refill the bottles. Anyway, this little rest was probably the longest break I had on the journey thus far, & it was a great place to do so just for mental side of it too because to be honest I felt energy wise great, ate very well, I was always paranoid about not having enough to eat or not drinking enough & hitting a sudden wall. Maybe that's why I packed all four panniers full. So on the pannier front, the front two had an array of different nuts & flapjack in the left, & energy gels in the right which was plenty to keep me for at least two weeks in between larger meals considering they were 15 litres each. One thing I always had to made room for was fruit. Obviously because it doesn't keep well It had a quick turnaround, to be honest I eat loads of fruit anyway & always thought in case I couldn't run into any, it was best to stock up. Needless to say a squashed banana or two was often found! The back two panniers were slightly bigger. The 20 litre bags had all the necessities for camping, tools; my rucksack carried mostly my camera, lens, & accessories & the rear rack the tent, which you can see from the pictures was a two person. I felt this was neccessary just because I knew I had to get all this luggage inside every night & doing this in a one man tent wouldn't have been a comfortable sleep. My bike on the other hand out of security latched to my tent, tying the string to tie the tent together over the bike along with two lots of bungee cord so if I felt someone trying to steal it it would cause enough struggle to wake me up. Fortunately this was never the case. I also every night put the florescent rucksack cover over the chain guard & rear dereiular to prevent rain & moisture getting in.
Anyway back to it! When I got back it turned out a spindle snapped which eventually started to buckle the wheel. They did a great job getting it back into shape & putting a spare spindle on. Mal didn't charge but instead gave the money to the sanctuary - Thanks Mal & --- ! End of the day I hit Lancashire! Queue the rain!
Day 12 (30th of July) - Cockerham 590 - I had a few days off the camera, firstly because as we all know the rain feds us up & two I wanted to get my head down. I kinda regret not documenting some things, but it turns out others do, I watched a recently guy who coicidently did the same trip as me but he walked it but he said he went a few days without any vlogging or anything. Anyway, I got onto the cycling paths along the old industrial north, but around Preston they are not the best with a lot of it overgrown; so it was hard to maintain mileage. I got into Preston. Soem of the route since it was mapped in 2018 had either altered or road works messed up the direction. For example a part of bridge was shut so had to find an altnerative route to the other side. I found a path that came to it's end when it looked to have collapsed, a huge 10 foot gap with sludgy mud & a rook flowing through. I risked it because I didn't want to turn back. I immidately regretted this as it smelt vile & with the rain and underestimated steepness of the slope I fell in but did everything to keep the bike upright; a problem I had on the journey as weight shifted to back where most of the baggage was & flung the bars round into my thigh. Because I ate everything in two front & got rid in Stone moved the remainder into the back bags, meant it got bad at times. The rubbish waterproof overshoes quickly filled so I turnaround, found a bin & threw them in. Changed my socks & allowed the rain to clean off my shoes. My already outgoing phone had finally reached it's end, so had to buy a second hand one. First thing I did was see if Warmshowers was as good as the fella in the Kirkstone Pass Inn said; besides it worked for him on Vancouver Island so let's try! Turned out a wonderful guy called Jim & his wife offered me a place to stay in Wigan. So I ploud on through the rain! Honestly this site is so good. Fellow cyclists who have been on both sides of the fence you know. Him & his wife cooked me a hot meal, cleaned my clothes, wonderful night sleep & yes I got a warm shower! Jim was aiming for a thousand miles cycling this month & was 50 short of his target & it was the last day of July, so he offered to cycle part of the route with me & as well to show me a few better places rather to my routed map on the Garmin - thank you Jim!
Day 13 (31st of July) Wigan - Stone - 711 - This was my shortest day. After all those first 9 days spent in the sun, it defintitely made up for over the next week. I think it rained almost all day for the next week. Nevertheless turned out this Warmshowers was pretty sound & I ended up staying with a great guy in Stone just north of Stafford. We had a great evening, turned out his family was away in the peaks, & he put me up at really short notice. He also cycled around 15 miles with me to. So John, thank you & for your kind donation to the sanctuary! This was the last Warmshower I did, I ended up wild camping for the remainder of the trip; which I really didn't mind because using the Warmshowers though was never far off route, always meant you had to get there around 6:00 or somewhere respectable so I lost out on the longer rides. Besides my batteries & power banks were charged so felt I was okay to Land End.
Day 14 (01st of August) - Worcester toward Gloucester passing Tewskesbury; where I ended up camping for the evening. I always remembered Tewskesbury because it was a quaint little place with crooked rooftops & had pennants lining the streets. I slept in a farm field somewhere nearby though I made sure I was up early as his farmhouse wasn't so far away. As soon as the sun rose I was up which was great as I ended up doing a 14 hour day. On this stretch, I think after yesterday, which was my slowest day, today I made up for it!! I got a long day in & hitting lots B roads mainly I nailed it down toward Gloucester; & put a good 85 mile day in, stopping between services or market towns to pick up my usual bundles of fruit. This day saw me pass through Stratford-upon haven, Cheltenham scraping the scenery of the Cotswolds.
Day 15 (02nd of August) - Gloucester - Exeter 818- Instead of heading out west & coming back over the River Severn, I opted to take the A38 all the way down to Bristol. I think this was busiest road I opted for throughout the whole journey. Albeit I got a great mileage in the leg despite the ongoing pains; which made sleeping painful at times. My legs didn't really get a proper respite till then & the throb would be bad at times. Let's crack on! It would be hard to get back on in the morning; depspite all my training & everything I did, like I said the energy and fitness was all there, what I couldn't prepare for was the longevity of the rides, the continuity of the riding gradually wears your legs down. Without any real rest it is difficult to jump on the saddle knowing the pain was still there shooting straight through the top of the knee caps. Once I got going like I said it was the same as when it first started, it numbed itself as long as you found a compromise with riding, & tried forgetting about it. I remember near here I dropped my gps after taking it off it's mount outside a shop, the only time I did drop, & it cracked. I knew my route, I wasn't really fussed because I was riding on a high, I wasn't far away!
Day 16 (03rd of August) - Exeter - Dartmoor - So as it turned out the phone I bought might as well not come with a battery; it must have lasted all but 15 minutes. The power banks were pointless either because there was a fault with the cables which I doubt because I brought numerous with Usb C & micro & none worked, I put it down to the actual input on gps device. So one evening I sat down with torch on my tent roof & paper & pencilled the rest of my directions down, major towns & signposts to look out for. Fortunately there wasn't much further to go. When I got to Exeter, instead of heading to Plymouth I chose to go the A30. I thought with the light fading let's camp which wasn't great as traffic never really let up. However this meant I got an earlier start. I chose to ditch the A30 after 5 miles as it was though legal, just awful & besides I perfered the quieter places. It was the first time I got lost. But I ended up taking lots of B-roads with lasting battery on the gps to make sure I got back on track. This led me through Dartmoor. I remember this one road a single track lane which was really nice because I saw no one for a few hours, but it was a mega climb & often found myself pushing to save on the knees. This road pretty much led me into Dartmoor, which obvious because I remember the sheep on the roads from a previous trip. Devon & Cornwall was a killer on the climbs. I remember shouting "I've conquered your hills Devon & now I'm coming for you Cornwall" once passing the Cornwall sign. I really felt this helped. You didn't have anyone else with you fire your heart & lift your morale. You were responsible for keeping your spirits alive. I would lay there every night to myself in bed one day & thank my body for it's life & strength.
Day 17 (04th of August) - Dartmoor - somewhere passed Liskeard - I spent a lot of today tackling Dartmoor. I found a lot the singles tracks hard to navigate at times as they crossed one another while having endure those hills still!
Day 18 (05 of August) - Rained in! Very few miles done today. I camped in an awful spot, it got dark & was actually contemplating a night ride. But it soon occurred to me it would mess up my body clock & sooner or later I'd have to sleep anyway! So I cut my losses but because it was around 11pm I camped where I could. It was okay location wise but I had to flatten some long grass out only to find I camped right on bumpy ground. Oh well, I didn't mind. I would find myself pack my tent down just to set up camp again a few miles down the road. I didn't count this as a ride day really! Maybe a rest afterall...
Day 19 (06th of August) - Lands End! LAST DAY! I was fired up. The rain had cleared. I knew I'd get to Lands End today. I would soon find myself cycling through Lostwithiel, St.Austell & Truro which had this amazing yoga place & stunning food. I ended up treating myself as a final meal because I was determined after yesterday's rain in to get to Lands End. Some of the roads I found myself in top gear battling the winds as I was nearing the coast. Honestly, the feeling in Penzance was truly something I cannot explain. I loved this part of the journey. Although I really enjoyed this trip & learnt a lot, it's hard to not rate those final 10 miles from Penzance to Lands End, it really isn't. This is only because you know this feet is genuinely so so hard to accomplish the way I did it. I ended up leaving a jersey in my luggage on purpose for this very moment. A fresh top, fresh socks & was going to swap the shorts for leggings but it was quite warm. There's a huge hill up from the main town, after that it's completely alone. It was sunset around this time & super clear skies so it was perfect time as it got cool. I saw a guy with less than 2 miles to go. Turned out he was from Doncaster! & was dressed what I could only describe as a wizard with his walking stick which looked something more like a staff; so I named him the Doncaster Wizard! I asked him for directions, & as he pointed his staff toward the direction of the sun it shone against his stick reflecting a beam of light which felt surreal but this final 2 miles was the best ride of the whole entire adventure. Coming over the brow into Lands End, was fantastic. I'd done it! The very top of the UK to the bottom on my own in 17 days.
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