Day 14: Thurso to JOHN O’GROATS

Firstly… yeeaaaghhh!!!!!!! Whooooohh!!!

Secondly, I really struggled to get out of bed this morning. I knew this wasn’t the day to sleep in and miss my transport to Inverness (I was booked on a three-hour minibus transfer at 2pm) … so I dragged myself up and headed over to breakfast at 8:30am.

No food last night aside from a bag of crisps (and three Moretti) despite a heavy day on the bike. Strangely, I didn’t feel like much breakfast either though I did have a few sausages and a couple of other bits. My legs - and body - felt tired after the last few days, but did know that I would be ok once I was on the bike…. and I was was. At last… rollin’!

Final countdown

I’d got so close to John o’Groats due to my extended rides of recent days; I was only around 25 miles away. This didn’t seem like a normal day. A slight (one-person!) party atmosphere … I was playing cheesy music when getting ready, and it spilled over to later on (see below!).

It was not yet ‘over’ - I know I am very capable of crashing a bicycle - but I knew that the excitement of getting so close would mean that riding energy would not be a problem. I also would have pushed a broken bike all 25 of those remaining miles if I had to… so the only danger now was somehow ending up with a broken me! Again, very doable.

As things worked out, it was a relatively smooth day. There were a few meaty hills, but not many. It did spit with rain though. A bit of the wet stuff was appropriate I thought, given some of the horrendous weather I’ve had on this trip.

Now I’ve got you in my siggggght!

I got ready listening to music and, slightly embarrassingly, I let my excitement get the better of me… and rode the whole way listening to music on my phone speaker. What. A. Child.

It’s the the first time that I’ve done this in the whole journey. I’m not sure what the few locals I passed on the roads would have through thought, but I think I have a reasonable idea.

Anyway, since you’re not asking, first it was Bond themed playlist. All the classics, ranging from A-ha and Duran Duran, to Adel and Tina (hence subheading). Definitely music to gleefully ride down county lanes by!

Eye of the Tiger came on shuffle at some point, but I had to skip that on the grounds of it being too cheesy. I did leave We Are The Champions by Queen on for the whole song though, in a despicable display of flakey inconsistency.

Striking distance

Every day, I’ve worked out a distance from detonation that - unscientifically - took account of the weather, how tired I was and the terrain to the destination. The number had varied from a handful of miles to a few dozen depending on how things things were… and weirdly I’ve come to call it the ‘striking distance’. It was motivational tool; a target to get to on the tough days.

All of a sudden… I was at about 15 miles from the end with few hills left… and good roads… and there it was!! Striking distance had been achieved… but for the last leg!!!! I kept looking at the distance to destination… so close… and getting closer without too much effort!!! Nearly there!

Let’s blow this thing and go home

And then… Google Maps showed me that John o’Groats was visible in the distance. Almost home!! Don’t slip on the gravel now Richard!! I rolled into John o’Groats itself… coasted down the hill… and that was it!! I hadn’t crashed… I HADN’T CRASHED!!

Yeaaahhhh!!! I shouted out loud… “COME ON!!”. The tourists who had driven over must have been pretty perplexed by this strange man punching the air and saying things out loud. However, sorry guys, given everything.… je ne regrette rien.

And that was it. My photo at the finish line was taken and I was in the cafe enjoying some nice soup… of course, with a beer. What else? It had just turned midday after all. I’m not a barbarian.

It’s hours later now - and I’ve had the bus journey to Inverness - but I still can’t believe it. I’ve seen such amazing things in the last few weeks and sometimes the end seemed so far away. I was so desperate to finish - I can’t believe I have. It’s surreal, but I’m so, so happy.

Thank you!!

This has been a truly amazing two weeks!! Some of it was hard. I was really worried after the first day in particular. I had to cut the first day a few miles short and was questioning how many more days like that I could take, especially with accumulated tiredness and muscle aches. Things got much better as the weather improved though and some of the things I’ve seen have just been amazing. It’s been fabulous!

Firstly, thanks to Jules for supporting me in doing something so silly. She’s been perfect, as ever. I’ve missed her and the kids (less so the dog) terribly and can’t wait to see them.

Also, thanks to Mum and John - for bailing me out in the Lancashire rain, but also for all the encouragement and for checking up on me daily. It was great riding along knowing they were there for me.

Thanks to Acres, Dunny and HK for the encouragement on WhatsApp, and trying (and failing) to get me to set off at a more sensible time than I ever managed. I do need my beauty sleep guys - look at me…

A special thanks to Dunny for riding with me for three days. He is a machine and great riding company. His only flaw is thinking that Estrella Garcia is anything other than a terrible lager. Nobody’s perfect.

Thanks to Curt for giving me the inspiration to ride this thing.

Finally, thanks to all my friends who took the time to follow my journey on Facebook and/or take the time to have a look on here. Knowing there were people who I think a lot of who were interested in my silly adventure made me really happy, and I enjoyed writing up my exploits knowing that a number of fine people had taken the time took a look at it. Thank you so much; it’s been a blast.

I’m writing this from the Black Isle Bar in Inverness and will have having a number of drinks in your honour as well as a rustic pizza. For you guys, nothing is good enough :)