Team Argall do Land'sendJohnO'Groats

Melvich to John O’Groats - 39 miles in 3 and 1/2 hours - finish time!

Wow. We made it! Somehow after 15 days of riding, camping and shivering, over 70 hours spent on the bikes and 1001 miles we rolled into John O’Groats and put our bikes down for the last lunch stop on the headland, right on the North East tip of Scotland. It has been the most ridiculous and amazing experience I have ever had, or more importantly, shared with anyone; let alone such amazing bunch of people as my familly. Team Argall DID Lejog and we did it BIG-what an amazing 15 days. 

We left our little campsite overlooking a beach on the North coast earlier then we had over the two weeks, somehow getting ready, packing down and rolling out at just gone nine (if only we’d done that everyday!). We knew we were around 40 miles away from John O’Groats but weren’t sure whether we would turn the distance reading over the 1000 mark; what we did know was that this day, nothing was going to stop us-not even lunch! So we decided to push through and get the whole distance done in the morning, properly relaxing on Duncansby Head-the headland just out from John O’Groats (and the real finishing point). Pushing off for the last morning we were all apprehensive but excited-hardly speaking all morning and only mentioning our destination because we had too (when you’re cycling 1000 miles there are no givens, we didn’t assume anything!). 

It became immediately apparent that the punishing coastline of day 14 had relaxed into a much more gentle rolling coastal road, the highlands truly disappeared from our backs and instead we pushed through miles and miles of deserted Scottish roads-lined with old, crumbling farm houses and the deeply dark Dounreay nuclear power plant-charicterised by the golf ball like structure that housed all the scary stuff. Along with the bone chilling wind, the dark grey clouds and the knowledge that we were a training ride’s distance away from our destination-we pumped our legs as hard as we could and span faster and faster. We felt released knowing that we didn’t have to preserve energy and dug deep to finish well, the day felt like a sprint compared to the constant marathon of the previous 14 days. We took mental notes of all the beaches and reef breaks all gently breaking with the small swell that we would one day love to return too with thick wetsuits and surfboards (we’ll take a car next time) and took joy in the extreme beauty that so characterised Scotland, bleak and remote yet jaw dropping; Scotland did nothing by halves. We took our last stops looking out at the Orkney Islands, or looking out at the Ocean, next stop the Arctic Circle and passed through the town of Thurso, the biggest for miles around and home to an amazing reef surf break that sadly needed a much bigger swell to be seen working. Slowly ‘John O’Groats’ started appearing more regularly on the road signs and we got even faster.

10 miles

9 miles

8 miles 

7 1/2 miles

7 1/4 miles….

The signs teased us until suddenly, arriving over the brow of the hill, we could see it in the distance; a little cluster of houses with a headland that no longer went East, but instead turned and started heading South-we could taste the end and so Nigel stopped us for a photo opportunity…naturally. 

We pushed on and I felt a lump in my throat. Ahead of me was the greatest Dad in the world who had led his kids safely through 1000 miles of crazy roads and even crazier drivers (don’t ask…). Behind me was my brother who I’d tackled the biggest and steepest hills of my life with, both of us breathing our lungs out and pushing that little bit extra; looking over at each other and grinning as we reached the top, and at the back was the strongest little sister you could ever meet, never, never , never giving in and showing strength that no muscle can give you. Passing us just outside of John O’Groats, our amazing support drivers (consisting of my wife and mum) cruised past whooping and cheering; I thought of our final team/family member, Becca, who had to sadly leave us for a wedding and I felt the luckiest man in the world-Team Argall is the best.

Suddenly and without warning we made the final turn left and freewheeled all the way down the hill into the final town. Cheers and tears from us and smiles from strangers, we hugged each other, patted our bikes (ask me how amazing the bicycle is, I dare you) and stood in disbelief for a long time. We’d done it, our legs could rest easy and I couldn’t hug those around me enough. We got the photo and headed out to the headland (a final hill-how cruel!) for lunch. Getting changed we went for a little walk around the headland and were treated to a load of seals, swooping birds and a couple of puffins putting on a show, their little black bodies rising and falling around the cliffs, their feet the brightest of orange. 

I’m not going to get all ‘Carpe Diem’ on you (Robin Williams does that much better) and in the world of sport there is always someone who goes faster/longer/stronger, but this I do know-sometimes you just need to head out the door and do it, that thing you’ve been longing to do, the one that captured your imagination and seems far too hard, the one you’re unprepared for and a good handful of people don’t think you’re going to make, the one that reveals not your strength but how you’re weak (I’m such an idiot some times); sometimes you’ve just got to say

“ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ!”

It’ll be the best thing you’ve ever done-trust me, I’ve got the proof if you need it.

Thank you so much for following and all your comments-you have all been very supportive and we look forward to thanking many of you in person, to those we can’t, thank you.

There’ll be some more photos and stuff to come, but for now-WAHOOOOO!

Love from Team Argall (We did it!!!). 

I sit here in my tent with, quite unbelievably, the sound of the North Sea crashing against the North coast of Scotland. Knowing that the target we’ve been aiming towards for two weeks is only 35 miles away brings a feeling of excitement tinged with sadness; that we’ve made it, yet this amazing experience will end. We brought ourselves this close with a tough but beautiful 70 miler to a little village called Melvich, just east of Thurso.

We set of from our previous arrival point at Bonnar Bridge and spent the first 20 minutes on a gentle climb into another big mountain range. By this point we were super far North and what the map called an ‘A’ road was literally single track with passing places-not that it needed much more. The landscape of vast and expansive moors stretched into the distance, only coming to an end at the start of the steep sides of the huge inclines, the tips of which were snagging the thick White clouds that filled the sky overhead. The whole day felt so remote, like we were at the edge of the world with only tree loggers, sheep and the big birds of prey soaring overhead for company. We spent the morning in blissful isolation pounding towards our lunch stop nestled between the hills in the distance-pushing on through the surprising chill and growing headwind. We passed through a village consisting of one house and one pub and finally started descending into a slightly bigger village for a magnificent lunch courtesy of the wonderful Helen and Jess (Becca we really miss you!).

After lunch we skirted round another huge, beautiful loch and started to slowly leave the huge mountains behind us to head for the coast. A moment passed as I looked behind us, down the mass of water framed by the huge hills standing guard with the highlands behind them, sending us off to the end of our journey-we all agreed at that point how much we were going to miss this.

Two more hours on the A road and we hit the Coastal road right at our first sign for John O’Groats-55 miles away! The first beach we came across was as beautiful and empty as the rest of Scotland and made it feel like we were seriously close to the end, the next sixteen miles however reminded us that 55 miles of cycling on the Scottish coast is not easy! I think we climbed and descended more then we did passing the biggest mountains!! With over 900 miles in our legs, the steep Coastal roads were punishing with hills that seemed to last forever, but we dug extra deep knowing that our beds were only a short distance away-the sign for our campsite was a relief as always.

So tomorrow we set off for the last time for a 40 mile cruise to John O’Groats-we’re so excited that we’ve almost made it and amazed at what we’ve seen so far.

Thank you all for following the journey-here’s to the last chapter!!

Rob

Greetings friends and supporters! We woke to rain this morning – good Scottish rain that makes everything really wet. This was only appropriate after two days of fabulous sunshine. We hoped for better weather later to dry things out and set off up the edge of Loch Ness. We didn’t see anything in the water which is dark and foreboding. We did however see a lot of traffic – Scotland has few roads through the mountains and you have to share them with trucks, motorbikes and lot of tourists who should be  a lot more chilled when overtaking the four-bike convoy of Team Argall… We were not sorry to head north off the A82 until we hit a mile long 16% hill but were rewarded with beautiful views of high empty moors. We stop every hour for a break but it was cold. One good thing about hills is that you know you will eventually come down and indeed we were rewarded with a brilliant fast decent into Bonar Bridge. We are now camping by the coast and everything is drying out in some sunshine.

Becca our brilliant support car driver left us today and we were really sad to say goodbye – she has driven from lands End to Inverness and looked after us so well. We have been joined however by Helen who will be taking over for what we hope will be the last couple of days – a 70 miler again to Tongue tomorrow and then we hope to John O’Groats on Saturday.

Maybe this is a good time to mention again that we are riding for both ‘Children’s Chance (the Salisbury based charity that helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in travel, sport and music opportunities) and ‘The Bridge’ – the Christian Educational charity that I (Nigel) work for. We love you to help us make ‘every mile worthwhile’ and any funds will be split between the charities. You can donate on-line by going to:

www.the-bridge.org.uk

And click on ‘donate’

We are all really, really tired now but are daring to think that the end might be in sight – or at least just over the next range of mountains. The bikes are going well – no more punctures or breakdowns but we are all sore – in a variety of places. We clicked over the 800 mile mark today so it can’t be far – we will let you know what happens tomorrow. Thank you again for all your support and interest – it means a lot to us – Bless you!

Nigel

WHAT A DAY! Scotland is ridiculously amazing and we are super blessed to of experienced it all in sun. SUN, in SCOTLAND!! Today has been a non stop day of breathtaking experiences around every corner, from the sheer expanse of the moors, to the encapsulating beauty of Glen Coe, to the dizzy heights of Ben Nevis (we only experienced it from the bottom); the views alone blew our minds before you even factored in the smooth undulating roads making for amazing riding…if you haven’t been to Scotland you have no idea what is up here!

We left our campsite nestled in the valley amongst some big hills, we have to admit, we were totally had by midges (rite of passage?), it looks like I have some horrible disease…we climbed for a couple of minutes and popped out the other side of the valley with 4 miles of descending, 4 miles of just shooting down, tucked in on the bike, with the cool morning air waking you up like no cup of coffee could, our bodies soaking in the morning sun as our eyes tried to take in the sheer beauty of the hills and valleys around us. I can not explain how unbelievably perfect each moment was.

We cruised along between valleys and started a short climb up, a short breather amongst the tourists (my advice: see scotland by bike!!) and we shot down to Glen Coe, we passed some enormous mountains I can’t remember the names of, every turn offering a new stunning view amongst natures swoops and curves, the road and us crawling along it dwarfed by the majesty of this amazing place. We started another great long descent through Glen Coe and were swallowed up by the hills either side, sheltering us through some wide, fast turns only to throw us out the other side at high speed not knowing where to look, thrilled at both the speed and the vertical walls either side of us, time and distance disappearing in a blur of highland green. Stopping for lunch at the bottom of the valley, we lay in the grass as an Osprey passed overhead.

We left Glen Coe and headed up to Fort William, the day becoming even better as both we and the wind switched direction slightly to give us a firm tail wind. Stopping briefly to attempt to take in the size of Ben Nevis (it is REALLY big) we absolutely hammered out the next 35 miles, flying alongside the big, deep and dark lochs towards Fort Augustus and our camping site right next to Loch Ness (and no we haven’t…).

It has been the best day in every sense, amazing riding, sun and an area that doesn’t deserve my limited vocabulary. It has been beautiful and humbling, everything we could have asked for and the very reason we pushed on through the wind and rain. Right now we don’t want this to end! Scotland, thanks!
Rob