Day 14: Carbisdale Castle to John O'Groats 103 miles
Long day but succesful. Lands End to John o Groats completed at 16:53. I had heard a range of reports about the A9 some good some bad, the majority on the negative side, so decided to ride north from Carbisdale through Liarg to Bettyshill then east along the coast to JoG. Physically it was the hardest day of the trip, though also a wonderful ride day. The road up to Bettyshill starts pretty average then provides some of the best scenerie on the trip. The final 45 miles accross to JoG was very hard with headwinds all the way. I stopped at Reay to try and take some food and fluids onboard. Had two steak pies and 2 bottles of isotonic drink with the owner a little surprised when I returned for a third steak pie. They did the job however and fueled me on to JoG and the end.
UPDATE:
Total miles for the ride(not including the 20 mile ride to Wick this morning to catch the train) was 1020.
Time on the move 95hrs and 59minutes.
Average speed overal 10.9mph.
Longest leg, day 14 103miles, with 10hours in the sadle.
2 punctures (both on the same day), lost count of the loose spokes. The
The bike has been great throughout the trip, carrying not only me but the panniers-total additional weight 18kilos. That was too much, not in so far as it made the ride harder, which it did, but in that there were many items unused which I could have bought along the way if needed. It's a lesson learnt.
It is hard not to stop when you see views like these
