Day 20
Forsinard to John O’ Groats 51miles/1782ft ascent
We woke to a gorgeous morning. Apart from the midges it could not have been better. The first muesli for breakfast in over two weeks and first coffee of the day with milk! You could hear a pin drop too it was so quiet here.
Rachel left me to ride down the glen to Melvich on my own before heading east to Thurso and then onto the back roads heading to John O’ Groats where we had agreed to meet. There had been little change in the weather since the day before which also meant little change in the wind direction. This meant I had a very flattering tailwind for the first 15 miles before turning onto the North Coast 500 which I have to say was very pleasant and nothing like the horror stories I have heard about. Nonetheless I rode appropriately on this road and did not let my guard down for passing lorries, campervans or cars.
The views over to Orkney were clear as a bell and the sun picked out the cliffs, beaches and coastline of where we had been for a family holiday pretty much a year ago. I was surprised to see the famous golf ball shaped Dounreay nuclear power station and found a safe spot to get off the road to take some photos and think about what it had been like to work there nearly 40 years ago. I passed through Thurso without any problems although by this time I was starting to think about what the head/side winds would be like for Rachel on her mountain bike.
We met as planned near Inkstack on the National Cycle Network no. 1 route and despite turning through 180 degrees Rachel was still not rewarded with a tailwind – typical. As we approached John O’ Groats we met Alasdair the rider I have encountered the day before north of the Crask. We exchanged a handshake before he headed back to Thurso to catch his train home the next day
Rachel told me she had met another rider near John O’ Groats who had been attempting the GB Duro route. I mentioned that I thought it might have been Gary who I rode with on day 1 but thought that would have been too much of a coincidence.
Soon we were turning into the John O’ Groats hotel, shops and car park area where the free Milepost sign was. Once the photo was done the two of of found some shelter out of the sun to have our chicken sandwiches and for me a mini bottle of Proseco! As we headed to our van I recognised Gary’s bike, it was him! We both were delighted to meet one another again and swapped bikes for one last photo.
I had completed a fantastic adventure where I saw some wonderful countryside, met lovely people and had some fun adventures. Finishing it with Rachel in this way was truly the icing on the cake – Thanks.
Lands End to John O’ Groats 19 days of riding, 1177 miles and 62,255ft of ascent on a route that included parts of the National Cycle Network, the GB Duro and other sections of road, tracks and trails to raise £2618 for The Fire Fighter’s Charity.
A Teacher trying to Divide. 