Friday 12 May 2017

Almost before we began.

Almost before we begun we have our first casualty.

The reason, 'I've been offered a summer internship with a bunch of accountants in Sheffield,' not quite a direct quotation but you get the gist.

Now some may say this is a good career move i.e. having some practical work experience and others will imply it is just extending the years of drudgedy in post student working life or even closer to the knuckle that someone didn't want to face the strenuous training schedule and two weeks in the saddle.

Whichever your stance the question that needs answering is, in twenty years time would you prefer to be having a beer with your mates and talking about the two weeks you spent in the summer of 2017, fabricating someone's tax returns or auditing some humdrum set of accounts or, having a length of the country adventure with family and friends expecting the unexpected round the next bend........




Tuesday 9 May 2017

Lands End to John O'Groats - an adventure

Many people have cycled from Lands End to John O 'Groats and many more will do in the future.

This blog is about our adventure.

LEJOG as it becomes known as you become engrossed in the planning is not a formal route. Go on the internet and there are hundreds of variations from those who have begun cycling to those who wish to break records.

Our trip is more about pleasure and adventure although some records maybe set! We plan to take a total of 14 days covering 1030 miles with one rest day in the Lake District.

I'd actually joined the Lands End  to John O'Groats Official Society  in 2008 so obviously a seed was sown sometime ago but it was not until Phil Millichap and I  were discussing it that one of us said 'Yes we are going to do it' which was around Christmas 2016.

We cobbled together a plan to take our two sons, Ben and Daniel - neither of whom have passed their cycling proficiency test - after they finished their uni terms and a start date of the 21st June 2017 was set.

Ben wanted to bring his mate Jack Spuffard and Phil introduced a previous college Mark Roberts who is actually a cyclist.

Jackie, Phil's wife agreed to be 'support' although she had no idea what she was letting herself in for driving the family camper van so all looked set only for..........,.,


Phil and me eluding to be cyclists at the finish of the Dragon Ride.