Come on, let's drag our old bikes the length of the country

What next after the C2C?

Well, I fancy a weekend in Skye sometime, and also fancy a crack at the Corrieyairack, but I feel we should hit the road and evangelise the MacRetro cause nationwide...

Regular readers will be aware of my oft expressed wish to cycle from Lands End to John O Groats (and then Kirkwall). It would take about ten days, much of it on quiet roads such as the National Cycle Network, and be ideally suited to rigid steel framed workhorses with heavy panniers and stubborn old cyclists on board. Perhaps with the compromise of putting on 1" road tyres rather than 1.9s or 2.3s.

The CTC has various route plans that help, one of which is based on staying at Youth Hostels, and getting to and from the start and finish is actually reasonable in cost if you hire a car one way. I've looked into hiring a car in Aberdeen and leaving it in Penzance, and that can be done for £30 a day. I could hire a bigger car and pick up a couple of people along the way, and it would be even cheaper and the driving could be shared.

I'm floating this now, with spring 2011 in mind, probably in the window of the last week in April, first two weeks in May.

Come on, lets do it before some other lesser area shows their mettle first.

Have a think about it...

And if you want to start at John o Groats instead, it's all the same to me. You could warm up in Orkney for a couple of days, though the idea of warming up in Orkney in April neglects the fact we sometimes get snow in May.

Best to start an John O'Groats- then it's aw doonhill, ken??

My spine would rip itself free from my body and then beat me around the head until unconscious - 10 days of road work would either kill my lower back or it would kill me.

zigzag":1a3wvhmb said:

My spine would rip itself free from my body and then beat me around the head until unconscious - 10 days of road work would either kill my lower back or it would kill me.

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Just buy Velo's recumbent, and snooze your way through the journey.

I would love to and in fact spoke to gazz about it on the way to C2C2C but early next year is no good I'm afraid if theres no takers keep this one simmering for a while(probably a good while).

Just how fit are you :shock:

10 days with no rest days, are you mad and on mtb's, are you madder than mad :shock: :shock: :shock:

3 weeks with rest days is vaguely sensible and south to north gives a following wind some of the time.

When I'm super fit maybe............... ......when I'm super fit, aye right..... :roll:

velomaniac":1iios6b4 said:

Just how fit are you :shock:

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Probably far less fit than most of you guys! But I maintain that on these tours you ride yourself into fitness over the first three days, and everything gets easier after that.

I've done Edinburgh to Kirkwall before, starting from a very low level of fitness, and it was a piece of piss towards the end, churning out 80 and 100 miles on the last two days, on the same bike and tyres as I had for the C2C.

All you need to do is to eat and drink a lot. At least four pints a night on that trip.

Toured 400 miles around northern England icluding crossing the Hartside pass in the Pennines. Averaged 60 miles per day for first third, was lucky to cover thirty a day by the end. Heard similar from other riders thus although I can see your technique works for you, I do not believe it is the same for everyone. Ten days is optimistic for many, just not for you, good luck iron man

Little did you know I bought a '91' Explosif for this very trip :shock:

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