So, first of all, I’d like to thank ALL OF YOU for following my journey. It was a fabulous experience and honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the first couple of weeks of my school holidays doing anything else! I have seen so much and, with mum and dad’s help, achieved a hell of a thing too!!! And it’s great sharing it with people who are genuinely interested, many of who I have never met.
So, to pick up where I left off.
I finished in John O’ Groats at about 3.30pm I think, and we made our way back to the hotel for my party.
I was given a few congratulatory gifts (nice bonus there then!!!), and after showering and changing we went down to the bar area, where me and Dion played a bit of pool.
After a while we all went through to the hotel conservatory, where a couple of tables were made up for the 19 of us celebrating my challenge. It was a great meal, and great to have so much of my family with me. It’s hard to describe how I felt. Really, really pleased with mine and dad’s physical achievement, especially as for the last week of the ride dad’s knee has been in absolute agony and he’s been popping pain killers to make sure he can get on his bike again day after day and do this ride with me. So dad, you don’t know how much this means to me, not in words anyway, but I think you know how proud I am of what we have done together, and I know that you and mum are really proud too. And mum, you really have been a star (not on a reasonably priced bike), and so, at the meal, I did what all good owners do to their Dobby’s – and I gave you a sock, to set you free together. I think you had had a bit to drink though, because you smelt it, and you of all people should know better than that!!!!
Nan and Gramp had brought up a cake with a photo of me and dad at the starting line, which was great - thankyou. And it was James' 7th birthday the day before John O' Groats, and he spent the evening/night in the car so there was a birthday celebration with pressies and cake for him too. Happy birthday James.
Then another good bit, I opened my first – and second – bottle of champagne, which both sounded like muffled gun shots and the kids loved it. Actually, I think the adults loved it too, drinking it that is.
I caved in and went to bed about 10.15 / 10.30 ish, and a few others had already gone by then, eventually leaving just dad, Darren, Paul and Peter still at the bar. I don’t think they lasted much longer than midnight themselves though!
On the Tuesday we all had breakfasts together-ish. Well, by the time I surfaced (sorry for being a stroppy teenager when you woke me at nearly 10 o’clock mum and dad) the others had finished their brekkies and were waiting around to say goodbye to me before starting their long journeys back home – once again, thank you everyone, it made the finish that much more special!
We got on the road sometime between 11 and 12 and drove down to Perth (I don’t remember much of it as I crawled back into my pit for some much needed sleep).
When we got to Perth we visited mum and dad’s friends from when we used to live up here, all those years ago, when I was born. Mum and dad chilled out for a few hours, and we had tea, then got back on the road about 9pm. We were going to camp at Dunbar with Carlie and Lorna and families, but decided we really needed to get on with more of the journey so drove instead to Stirling Services and pulled up there for the night.
Wednesday morning we set off, again, about 9am, shortly after BBC radio had phoned, and mum thought it would be funny to ‘interview’ me. So in her very un-american American accent she asked me about the ride, all sorts of really nutty questions, and it was fun to pass some of the long journey messing around like this.
Then I jumped up in the front cab with dad, and I think the realisation has started to sink in of exactly what we have achieved. And it is a ‘we’. Fine, I did only use one wheel, where as dad had a second wheel as a ‘stabliliser’, and, I did ride further than dad as I also did a lap of honour at John O’ Groats, so he will never have achieved quite as much as me (ha, ha), but we did it!!! We really did it!!
When we were about 90 miles from Gatwick we had a phone call from Auntie Carlie to say that there was an email from our local paper saying that Julie Henderson, the owner of our local pet shop, wanted to organise some kind of party for me. Because we were so close to home by now, Carlie felt it was probably best for mum to deal with it direct. Julie hadn’t realised we were coming home so quickly, but it was great that she had even wanted to do it.
When we got back we first went to see my sister Jade at work, but she had already left for the day, so carried on home, and as we came around the corner the neighbours were all there, and had put bunting and stuff all out the front to welcome us home, and clapped as we pulled up! It was really great. They were there with bottles of champagne and I got to shake one and crack it open, spraying it everywhere. And inside, Jade had decorated the house with welcome home posters and things and it was a great feeling, and fab to come home to such a welcome.
On Thursday dad spent most of the day editing photo’s and video’s. He printed off the photo’s to put in an album for everyone to browse through at leisure over the next few weeks. At the minute our computer isn’t recognising the format of a few of the video’s, including the final one of me coming into John O’ Groats, so dad’s gonna call in some favours and see if he can get it converted ok. ITV Manchester are eager to get hold of the final vid so they can finalise their programme about the lakes.
On Saturday I am going to a Circus Festival (juggling Convention) at the Hawth Theater in Crawley Down, which is the circus school I first tried a unicycle out at, and they have asked me to show my photo’s etc, so that should be good. And on Sunday mum and dad have organised a bit of a thank you party at home between 3pm and 6pm, which is open for anyone to come by and see the photos. It’s a thank you for supporting me, and following my progress, etc. For those of you who don’t know, home is 12 Woodland Drive, Crawley Down.
And incase you are wondering, yes, the school holidays now seem pretty boring! Not sure how I’m going to spend them!!!! A fair bit of time will be reminiscing these last couple of weeks I recon.
But before you all go, I want to tell you why I challenged myself to do the LEJOG.
As I said just now, I went to the circus school for a week through the summer holidays in 2006. I tried a bit of juggling, and stuff, and I noticed, in the corner, was a rusty old lonely unicycle. Me being me, I challenged myself to give it a go. And fell off! I got back on, I fell back off, but by the end of my week, I could stay on it long enough to wobble across the room. My week was up, but I hadn’t achieved what I wanted to, so top of my priorities was to get a unicycle of my own.
When at last I got my unicycle I spent most of my free time (weekends, evenings after school etc), getting better and better on it.
After a while I got a second unicycle, and then one day I saw it. The Qu-Ax 36”. It was awesome!
I begged mum and dad to get me one, promising to do anything and everything for as long as it took, but at about £550 the answer was a solid NO!
Then a thought came into my head. Dad loves a challenge, and he loves me to be that way too. So I went to dad, and said to him ‘Dad, would you get me the Qu-Ax if I were to ride from Lands End to John O’ Groats on it?’. Dad just laughed, but I know dad well enough, and it had sown the seeds enough. He then started to talk to me about it and look into it and I got my beloved Qu-Ax! Yes, it cost me a lot of commitment, but you should see the muscles on my legs!!! Wow, you can’t buy that kind of muscle dad!!! And dad, with all his training and hard work has lost a couple of stone in about 3 months, and toned up tons too. It would have cost him alot more than £550 for a personal trainer for all those hours, so all in all, it was a good buy for mum and dad too.
The local paper are doing a full spread about me next week, and I am still being congratulated in the street so it’s been well worth every inch of the training, the ride, each UPD (my falls are now UPD’s – Un Planned Dismounts), and every bit of frustration from day one at the Hawth Theater in Crawley Down.
I am now planning my next challenge in my head, and when things start to get in place about it, I’ll let you all in on it, but I have my exam year coming up and mum and dad will kill me if I don’t put the same effort and commitment into that as I did into this, so it won’t be just yet.
Final thanks to everyone who has taken an interest, followed my daily blogs, and generally supported me and the family in anyway what-so-ever. I’ve had the most amazing time, and at only 15, I recon there’s a helluva lot more of that to come!!!! Enjoy the rest of the summer, I’m sure I will,
Sam Farmer, unicyclist extraordinair!!!! (I recon I can claim that title for a day or two)!
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The Journey so far "how goes it?"
Day 15.Monday 10th August Bighouse - John O'Groats, via Thurso, Castledown 36.33 miles today, 938.64 miles in total!!!
Today was a short day from the off, so I got a bit of a lay in – although dad woke me up early coz the radio were going to talk to us at 8.45am but didn’t ring til 11.15 – so dad said they were too late and wouldn’t take the call.
We set off at 11.15, and at the start there was me, dad and Darren. It was a bit hilly, but nothing drastic, and it was enjoyable to be able to ride slowly today. We rode together to The Weigh Inn in Thurso, and there I met up with my Nan and Grandad (and Bobby), Auntie Jo and Andy, and my cousins Dion and Courteney. Also, we saw Lorna, Paul, James and Harvey, who had driven all through the night and actually got here at 6.17am – 12 hours and 2 minutes after leaving London last night. Nan and Gramp, Carlie and Bryony, and Peter were also there.
We stopped for about 30 minutes – enough time for me to scoff a bit more food, then set off again, this time with Mum, Peter Gratton and uncle Paul joining us. Again, there was a bit of hill, then when we were in Thurso town we stopped and got the passport stamped again. Then rode further on to Castletown where Lorna, Bryony and Carlie joined us. More ups and downs on the wheel, more lovely scenery, and more amazing still, every time I looked behind there were more people! It started with 2 behind me, then 5, now 8 – and still more to join!!!
A few miles before the end of the ride, a couple that we met in Lairg yesterday, Derek and Sheila Ward, had driven up to John O’ Groats, and brought their bikes up to ride in with us, so great thanks to them. So now 10 behind me!!! And then my cousin Dion joined me to RUN in the last ¼ mile, and he had to sprint as I now had the finish line in sight and wanted to BE THERE!!! At the last 1/8 of a mile my youngest cousins James 7, and Harvey 4 rode in with me too and that was fantastic. So I rode into John O’ Groats with a support crew of 13 who had all come a hell of a long way to watch me finish this challenge – so massive thanks for all your support everyone, it really did make the finish so much more fantastic!
And now, we are back at The Weigh Inn, and about to party for the night, so I will update you all again in a few days with other things. But before I go, dad had got really bored cycling behind me mile after mile, and at some stage, sadly, he COUNTED how many pedals I did in a mile, and it was 570 rotations of the wheel!!!! And now Courteney tells me that for the 938.64 miles that we covered, that was 535,025 rotations! And it took us 89 hours, 37 minutes and 39 seconds!!! So WOW, THAT’S PRETTY AMAZING WHEN I LOOK AT IT THAT WAY.
Hope you all have a good evening, I’m sure we will, and no, we won’t be up early in the morning!!! But apparently I will be on Meridian news bulletins tomorrow, in the morning I think. We are too far away to get to see it ourselves, so if any of you see it and think to record it, please do!!!!!!
Give me a few days, and I’ll let you know if it has sunk in, and also I’ll get some photos and possibly video footage uploaded too. Cheers for your interest and support.
Sam
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Day 14. Sunday 09th August Bonar Bridge - Bighouse Via Lairg, Syre, Bettyhill 72.80 miles today, 902.31 miles in total
Started off as normal at about 9am, Dobby dropped us off to Bonar Bridge, then got back to the caravan site so she could join us on the ride from Lairg. The journey was quite bland up to Lairg, where we stopped for a break and were met by a reporter, and we also met a nice Scottish couple named Derek and Sheila – who now plan to ride the last couple of miles with us! Then we set off again with mum, and it was excellent that the three of us could do some riding together again, while Darren drove the Motor Home for us. We stopped at a place called the Crask Inn, a great little pub, literally 10 miles from ANYWHERE on a supposed ‘A’ Road – which turned out to be a single track road, with loads of passing places.
A few miles later my 9 year old cousin Bryony joined us and was todays ‘star with a reasonably priced bike’, and she rode 7 miles with us.
Along the route dad saw a huge jumping salmon, and shortly after we saw a couple of beautiful stags down at the river.
Shortly after this we saw our first sign for John O’ Groats, which is now only 55 miles away!!!! Yippee!! Then we came onto the top coast road, viewing the sea at the ‘other end’ of the county – so we’ve pretty much done it – amazing!!!
This part was – and still will be tomorrow – a bit of a hilly, rolling road, and as mum wants to do alot of the ride tomorrow she jumped back in the motor home for the last couple of miles.
Pete Gratton, the guy who joined us on dad’s birthday, flew into Edinburgh with his bike taken to pieces to join us for the ride tomorrow, then hired a car and met us along the way to join in with us tomorrow. My Auntie Lorna, Uncle Paul, James and Harvey spent the weekend in London for James’ birthday, and set up to us at 6.15 this evening – so it’s going to be early hours that they get to Thurso, for the last stretch of the run.
When we got back off the ride we went and had showers then had a lovely meal at the Halladale Inn in Melvich, which is also the campsite we are staying at. It was great to sit down, knowing that tomorrow really is the end of the road for us! Wow, it’s unbelievable that we have done all this. Everything that we have seen and done this last couple of weeks is so incredible, and a great start to the summer holidays. Generally we’ve had the weather too, and now just about 37 miles to go. So i’m off to bed – again, and tomorrow is THE BIG END!!!!
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Day 13. Saturday 08th August Fort Augustus - Bonar Bridge via Drumnadrochit, Kilmorack, Dingwall, Alness 70.77 miles today, 829.51 miles in total
We got on the road today at about 8.45 as my uncle Darren was going to ride a bit of the way today too. Dad had a look at his bike and pointed out that he was a ‘star on a reasonably priced bike’ – stolen, I think, from Dad’s love of TOP GEAR!!!
The ride started all along Loch Ness, and it was such a scenic ride. The mist had started to lift so it was just hovering over the water. There was little traffic which made the road conditions perfect too, and the ride was fairly flat for the first stint. We stopped for our first break at Urquart Castle, then back on the bikes for the next 15 miles. By this time Darren had thought the riding wasn’t as bad as he had thought it might be – and I think we had lulled him into a bit of a false sense of security.
About 2 miles into this stint we arrived at the bottom of a hill from hell – which in his honour we have named Mount Darren! It was a 15% incline and really long – probably between 1 and 2 miles incline, which seemed to peak then carried on a couple of times. I came off the unicycle at one stage, landing on my feet luckily, but it was such a steep incline, and the new crank on my wheel is about 40cm shorter than my old one, so doesn’t give me any extra room to move side to side which is easier for that sort of climb, so it was really hard to get any momentum when I climbed back on it, and was really frustrating – but eventually we got up and some momentum built up again. This was our wakeup call to the HIGHLANDS.
Just before we pulled into Dingwall there was a level crossing, with no barriers or anything. As I went across the track Dad and Darren heard the blast of a train and both looked at each other, as they hadn’t seen the lights on the crossing to warn us to stop. They crossed and the lights came on literally what seemed like seconds before the train went past! That was a bit of a scary moment for them!!!!
We stopped for lunch just past Dingwall, at a place called Cromarty Firth, where there were loads of seals in the water. One big seal was just laid on a solitary small rock for the whole of our lunch break, and wouldn’t let any other seals on it. Mum and Bryony went for a walk to see them, and mum shouted over to one seal ‘come with us, there’s some salmon in my fridge’ and they swear it then followed them back!!!! (Yeah, right mum!)
After the lunch break Mum and Darren swapped roles, so after 46 miles Darren got to sit down on a comfy seat, and mum got to ride a bit of Scotland at last. Mum was riding on a bit of flat and went to ride no handed, and her wheel caught a bit of gravel which made her swerve a bit but she saved herself!!
Pretty much at the start of the ride there was a long uphill, which did go on for miles, but it wasn’t too painful, and the panoramic views when we got to the top at Dornoch Firth viewing points were out of this world.
While we were on this stretch we were caught up by a couple called Carol and Mick Ingram, who were friends of mum and dad’s from when Mick and Dad worked together on the oil rigs, back in about 1990. And just after meeting them my nan and gramp pulled into the same place, which was a surprise coz I thought we were seeing them tomorrow!
We then pulled into Bonar Bridge at about 10 past 6 and finished our riding for the day.
When we got back to the camp site Mick and Carol joined us (thanks for the sponsorship guys!), and then Nan and Gramp came over too, so in the camper van there were 10 of us!!! A swarm of midgies came and tried to eat us so we had to shut the doors and windows and it was pretty warm inside the van to say the least!!!!
Along the way today we met an incredible lady called Mary Laver (I googled her and what I read is amazing). She is also doing the Lands End to John O’ Groats – in an electric wheelchair!!!! She is 62, has severe rheumatoid arthritis, has been wheelchair bound and completely dependent on people for 22 years, and yet has the guts and determination to do this challenge. I think she has attempted it in the past too – so if at first you don’t succeed .......! We passed them first when they were at a cattle grid (there is a man cycling with her). Because her chair can’t go over the grid he was having to cycle ahead to open the gateways for her. What amazing willpower they have, and no doubt they are a big inspiration to loads of people. She was riding along in her wheelchair with a huge poppy on the back of her jacket.
The evening was finished off with a local reported coming up to find out all about the challenge, and apparently she is going to take some photo’s of me tomorrow morning as we ride through Lairg, so yet another extension to my 90 minutes!!!!!
Anyway, while I have the Wi-Fi connection I’m going to catch up with some mates on facebook, so see you all soon!
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Day 12.Friday 07th August Bridge of Orchy - Fort Augustus HIGHLANDS via Glen Coe, Fort William, Spean Bridge 74.74 miles today - 758.74 miles in total
Well, as always I had a good night sleep, but mum and dad weren’t so lucky. Apparently last the night the lovely quiet campsite was NOT quiet, and dad says that he and mum were kept awake til at least two in the morning by a typical ‘Rab C Nesbitt and Wee Mary’ and they were not happy bunnies!!!! So, not the best start to the day, but we still managed to get on the road for 9ish.
Again, there were loads of lochs, which meant that there was alot of stunning scenery, which in some place is absolutely phenomenal, and a fair bit of pretty flat riding for us. In fact, throughout the day we rode past Lochs Linnhe, Oich, Tulla, Ba, Leven Lochy, and Ness so a fair bit of water. We stopped in some of the places and took photos as the sun was shining on the water and the reflections were unbelievable.
It was really great cycling through the highlands, and seeing the mountains on one side and the lochs on the other. Most of the mountains I told dad I wanted to unicycle down, they looked really awesome!
We knew that the first set of relative supporters were catching us up today, and they were going to follow mum to the lunch stop. When mum went past I looked for their car so I could video them and didn’t see it. Dad said they had gone past but I didn’t believe him then he told me again, and said that they had been in a black van instead of the car I was looking for. It looked like a pimp mobile!
After lunch we rode up to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge – in the area of the Ben Nevis mountain range, just outside Fort William. As we went to have a photo taken with the statue somebody came up to have a photo taken with us, and then suddenly there were about 20 or 30 people around us all intrigued at what we were doing. We got back on our way and pulled in at a layby for a rest and met a great lad called Rannoch Moore, and his dad John. The spectacular thing about Rannoch is that he was fooling around on one of his unicycles!!! He’s 14 and has a collection of 11 unicycles!!! We spent about half an hour talking and mucking around on our unicycles. I let him have a go on my one, which is pretty unique and takes a bit of practise to get the hang of it, and on the second attempt Rannoch had mastered it!!! His dad was also saying that they may be able to rearrange their schedule a bit and ride in with us at John O’ Groats, which would be great.
Because of staying an extra half hour we then were running late to the meeting place, and rode into St Augustus at about 6.30.
We came back to the campsite, showered and ate, then Carlie, Darren and Bryony came over and we went through a bit of the video that we have shot so far and had a bit of a laugh.
Because of that it’s now been a late night, and I’ve got to get up early in the morning again, so I’m off to bed now. See you again tomorrow
Day 11.Thursday 06th August Hamilton - Bridge of Orchy ARGYLE via Glasgow, Dumbarton, Crianlarich - 77.34 miles today, 684 to date
77.34 miles, 684 to date
Mum dropped us off at Hamilton near the railway station where we had finished up yesterday, and walked over with us to take some photos as we set off, but realised the memory card was full. As she got back to the Motor Home there were 2 traffic wardens about to write out a ticket, so she ran over, and very dramatically begged them not to write out the ticket, explaining that she had to drop us off at exactly the spot we had finished up at the previous day, we had been going since Lands End, it was all for charity, she could prove it if they would PLEASE just not write out the ticket – and the guy said ‘I haven’t written the ticket out yet, if you get going now then you’ve saved yourself £60’, so she fluffed about with the keys and scarpered.
So, we set off from Hamilton at 9, a bit dubious of how busy the roads would be, but were surprised that the roads were pretty empty in comparison. As we got to a place called Cambuslang a police car came up alongside us at the traffic lights (while I was leaning on dad’s shoulder), they just said ‘alright boys’ then the lights changed. Dad said he’d have had a chat so they said that’s ok, then they put their blues on and followed us as a police escort for a good couple of miles so that was really cool.
It was uneventful riding through Glasgow, but I loved it because what we saw of it was so big and modern. It’s always good going through the towns because when we have to stop at the traffic lights, roundabouts etc we get alot of interest from the passers by and it’s always a boost to us.
A few miles on from Glasgow we then rode passed Loch Lomond, which took up the best part of the rest of the day. The scenery around it is just unbelievable and you really do have to see it for yourself! We stopped at Ardlui Marina and Hotel to get our proof of journey stamped, and the till lady person called Sharryn Onger filled it out for us, and when dad explained what we were doing she then gave us £10 sponsor money.
We carried on to a town called Tyndrum where a couple called Bill and Maggie Williams who asked to take photos of me then asked if they could put a photo on the front page of the paper they write for which I think is called The Wayfarer. I also had an email from a guy called Kevin Emmery, who is a freelance journalist has said that he wants to do an article on me for a cycling magazine!!!! My 90 minutes of fame seems to be extending fast!!!
When Dobby picked us up we came back to the campsite called the Pine Trees and it is really lovely looking. It’s small, pretty, and quiet. Then after the shower mum had cooked us Scrambled egg, baked beans and mash, which was really lovely. Then I just watched a bit of TV and now I’m off to bed. All in all though, it has been a great day, great scenery, again I have been singing to the countryside at the top of my voice, and loved every minute of it. Speak to you all again tomorrow.
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Day 10.Wednesday 05th August Rest Day 2
Well, the first thing I noticed this morning was that we had SUNSHINE, and then I noticed that it was 10.30am so I had had a good – much needed – sleep. Because alot of our stuff got wet yesterday we just laid it all out in the sun to dry off a bit. After breakfast me and dad decided to help Dobby with a bit of tidying up, and then headed into town to look for a Wi-Fi area. We went to an address on a google map, but unfortunately it had shut down 4 years ago!!!! However, as you have probably noticed on my journey, when something goes wrong something else comes right from it. The shop was now called ‘The Word On The Street’, a kind of Christian bookshop I guess, run by a Revd Alan Hamilton-Messer who’s a great guy. He’s a lovely, big, over-the-top kind of guy, with an earring in his ear – definitely not your stereotypical type of Reverend!!!! When we explained what we are doing he was really helpful, told us to come in and use his computer, etc, etc, and was just so hospitable. He gave us loads of helpful info and I bought a couple of books from his shop check him out on www.thestreet.org.uk
Later we went for a walk around a big lake, and did some shopping where I got a DVD to watch. Dobby and Dad are taking me out for a meal tonight, get some steaks n’ stuff inside me to set me on my way tomorrow!!! Get’s better and better!
Oh, and I nearly forgot. When we were cycling yesterday we had to stop at some traffic lights, and a couple of guys from UNITRACK MOTORCYCLES wound their windows down and passed some money out of their windows to sponsor us!!! So thank you both – sorry, I didn’t get your names.
Just thought I’d watch a bit of ‘Solaris’ before tea, and wish I hadn’t bothered. Not sure if it’s just me, but I can’t get into it! Oh well, looks like it’ll be my books tonight instead then! Dad’s doing a crossword so that means me n’ Dobby will be coming out with some ‘interesting’ answers when he gets stuck!!!!
Don’t forget to listen out for me on the radio tomorrow morning, and thanks for following my progress, it’s much appreciated by me, dad and mum.
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Day 9.Tuesday 04th August Kirkpatrick Fleming - Hamilton via Lockerbie, Moffat, Lesmahagow 76.46 miles today 606.66 miles in total (scarey amount of 6's)
As usual we set off at 9am, and it rained for the whole journey up until we stopped for lunch at about 3pm. It seemed to stop for our lunch break, then started again as we got back on the bikes and literally threw it down for about 10 minutes, then it settled for the rest of the day.
Before I carry on with todays news, there was a bit of news that I couldn’t decide whether to put in here or not, but hey, you only live once! Dad is a big fan of Billy Connolly and has watched his programmes of touring different countries, and always thought that if he ever got as far as Scotland on his bike he would want to do a Billy, and go across the border naked. So yes, he stripped off and rode across the border starkers!!!!! Thank God no-one was heading our way! Back to now though...
The road that we are going along is the old A74 and its ideal. Because it is so near to the motorway it is pretty much empty, but still a good size road so great for us. The countryside is lovely too.
We stopped when we got to Lockerbie, then detoured so that we could go to visit the remembrance centre and go past the craters, and we were shown around the place by a really nice lady.
As we carried on we met a cyclist coming the other way – and it soon became apparent that he was doing the JOGLE (John O’ Groats to Lands End). His name is George Geddes, and he is from Inverness. We asked him where he was planning on stopping, and he said he hadn’t made any plans. When asked what route he was taking he said he ‘I don’t really know, I’m winging it’! If he has to he will stay in B & B’s but is hoping to just throw his sleeping bag on the floor when he feels like stopping!! I thought he was incredible, it must be great to just take off like that and get on with it at leisure. He did look absolutely beat, with the wind blowing against him, and he said that, had he known that alot of his journey was going to be AGAINST the wind he would have travelled South and done LEJOG instead!!!! So good luck George, hope you make it ok! (Let me know mate).
The route this afternoon was kind of like moorlands. It was really peaceful with lovely scenery. Well, peaceful that is if you ignore the speakers blaring on dad’s handlebars and me singing away on the unicycle. D’you know, for all the rain, the hills, the flat lands, the sun, I think I can safely speak for both me and dad and say that we truely are enjoying every single mile of this incredible journey. I know I’m only 15, but this is going to be something that I will remember and often think of for the rest of my life. It’s unbelievable how tiring it can be, and yet you don’t want to miss a minute of it. You just really want to be a part of it, really want to achieve it and live it and do it. And when the days go like today, and you get a good speed and mileage, our spirits really are high and carefree.
And I have a new pet name for mum. As you know, I have been reading Harry Potter (which I’ve finished now), and for all of you who are fans you will know who DOBBY is. Well, mum is quite a shorty, and because the Motor Home is quite compact it’s easy to ‘bump’ into things. So mum is there, fussing around like Dobby, bumping into things like Dobby, hurting herself like Dobby, and short and elflike – like Dobby. So she is now Dobby the Motor Home Elf!!!!
We finished today’s ride at about 6.45pm and Dobby picked us up and made us a lovely curry for tea, and tomorrow I have my second rest day, so I recon I’ll treat myself to an early night tonight, and a late morning tomorrow. But, before I forget, if you get chance to tune in to BBC radio sussex on THURSDAY, (online you need www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/local_radio/ ) I am getting a call during the Neil Pringle show sometime between 8.30 and 9.00am, and then again on Monday 10th August, so if you can tune in you can hear my update in person.
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Day 8.Monday 03rd August Kendal - Kirkpatrick Fleming via Windemere, Penrith, Carlisle, Longtown 75.69 miles today, 530.20 miles so far
HALF WAY!
Wow, today was my best yet! I don’t know if it’s ‘coz we hit the half way point, actually crossed into Scotland or all of the other bits rolled up together, but it was fab!
As usual, we set off about 9am. Dad’s cycle computer wouldn’t start and was playing up so as we were on our way to Windemere we took a wrong turn and ended up adding about another 2 miles onto our journey! But the upside to that was that a lady –Nikki - saw us, who just happened to be an ITV director, waited in a layby for us to pass and handed dad her card. Dad pointed out that when in Windemere we were taking a break for about 45 minutes anyway and she asked if she could join us with her cameraman!!!! So we agreed to meet at Daryl’s Café, which for us would be our half way point!!!! Two great bits of news.
When we got to the café, Nikki was there with another lady also called Nikki, and also the cameraman Lindel (sorry for any mis-spellings). They actually did some filming and stuff of us and spent 1 and a half hours with us, buying me my beans on toast (and dad his ultra delicious breakfast) too!!! They said they were making a documentary about the lake district, called ‘The Lakes’ and wanted to put a bit about me in it too. Like I’m going to say NO!! And, our local radio station from Crawley rang for an update again too, so I’m really getting my 90 minutes of fame that we are all entitled to.
So, if we hadn’t gone the wrong way, we’d not have been seen by the ITV director, and wouldn’t have added an extra 45 minutes to our time… But it doesn’t stop there! BECAUSE we were now running 45 minutes late, when we got to the Kirkstone Pass, about 100 yards ahead of us, but at what seemed the same height as us, two Tornado Jet Fighters flew past, and the sight, speed and sound of them was awesome!!!
Today was a bit more hilly again, and one of the hills was too steep for my damaged crank and managed to throw me off the wheel again. But I envisaged it going to happen and managed to land on my feet – seems I have got wise to the thing at last!!! And another time I saw a bump and dodged it, then dad saw it and nearly came a cropper but somehow managed to stay in the saddle – because his brakes were too new!!!! Felt like a bit of Deja-vu.
As we rode down the mountains into Carlisle we rode by two kids, Callum and Keaton, who were fascinated by my unicycle. We stopped and chatted with them a bit and dad wrote the website address all up one of their arms in big letters, with a promise of naming and shaming them!!! Hi boys, cheers for your support, (good to see that you found something worth supporting, now you won’t have had to carry on supporting Liverpool and Man U)!
Then came the big one, the vision of the Scottish border! And at exactly 7.34pm we crossed the border into Scotland. Yes, we've done it, we've ridden from England, through Wales, back through England, and now into Scotland. I’d pinch myself but I’ve got enough self inflicted wounds at the minute and I don’t want to add to them. Then just 15 minutes later, after taking photo's ect at the border, there we were, at the Motor Home, finished up for the day. Wow, I’m really here, and yes, I’m only a bit further than half way, but SCOTLAND!!! WOW!!! Sorry, do I sound excited???? Or just extremely pleased with myself?
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Day 7.Sunday 02nd August Warrington - Kendal via Wigan, Chorley, Preston, Lancaster 75.68 miles today, 454.51 miles so far
Today was a good day. We set off about 9 and the first 25 miles were going through Warrington,Chorley and Wigan. It was a really nice ride, we went through the towns and there was no real traffic to get in our way. There was some lovely countryside in between and at one stage we caught up with an Ironman contest. That was really good, as we rode past the crowds who were there in support of the Ironmen, they clapped us through on our route too, which was a great boost.
Later, just before we got to Preston, we met, and were joined by a couple of cyclists called Pete and Tania. They rode with us for about 5 miles and chatted away with dad.
The rest of the ride was really nice took, the countryside was lovely as we were now coming into the lake district and there were some great views.
We finished up at Kendall at about 6pm, which was a nice and early finish for us, and had been an easy day of riding.
As always, mum picked us up and by the time we had showered there was some lovely tea waiting for us, and we watched a bit of TV. Its hard to believe that we have almost reached Scotland already, and if all goes to plan, we will be there tomorrow! So now I’m going to read a bit more of my book and chill out for the rest of the evening.
Thanks for staying interested!
Sam
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Day 6.Saturday 01st August Bishops Castle - Warrington - via Shrewsbury, Whitchurch, Weaverham 79.71 miles today 378.85 miles so far
Hi everyone
Well, things have been a bit of a mish mash since updating yesterday. I forgot to mention that when dad changed my braked pads he realised my handlebar was cracked, so we ran back to the campsite to see if they knew of a local welder. A guy called Mark at the campsite said he had welding kit but didn’t know how to use it. So dad said he’d have a go – luckily gramp has welding stuff so dad knows a bit of this and a bit of that. The finished job isn’t particularly pretty, I’m sure there’s a lot of excess weight I’m taking with me now with all that metal, but I recon I can guarantee it ain’t gonna crack through it!
Because of the panic about my handlebar dad didn’t get around to replacing his own worn brakes – as you will discover soon!
So, we met Sam Wakeling, another unicyclist who is going to do the LEJOG run later this year, at 8.45am and set off at 9 O’clock. About 20 miles into the journey I was riding pretty fast and ‘touched’ my new brakes. My others had obviously been VERY worn, as the slight touch I applied to them threw me off the bike. Dad could see that it was a decent fall/landing and that it would only be cuts and bruises – but in the meantime his brakes were non-existent and he RAN OVER MY UNICYCLE. In doing this he managed to bend the crank which is SO not ideal! Have you ever tried to track down spares for a unicycle? Mum had to ring family to look up a number for Unicycle.com. These guys are in Cleveland over 160 miles away. Another possible stockist was in Brighton! And that was about as good as it got for a 36” unicycle. Luckily, Sam Wayling had the number of a guy called Roger at Unicycle.com and we managed to get in touch with him. The downside being that the new bit won’t be with us until Tuesday, so now I have to ride in a weird way – which is OK while we are in the flatter areas of England, but not so sure about the Scottish hills – Roll on Tuesday!!
Sam rode with us for the first 60 miles, which although flat, were not overly scenic so the added company made for a more fulfilling ride. The first hour was dry, then it rained pretty continuous for a good few hours. Sam left us at a place called Tarporley, where he had to divert to Crewe to get the 6pm train back to Aberystwyth. Thanks for the company today Sam. Dad and I then did the last 20ish miles on our own. It would have been a couple of miles less today but dad took a wrong turning. Luckily we only went that way for about a mile then he turned on the GPS on his phone and saw we were heading the wrong way! Oops!!
Part way along the journey we saw our motor home pulled up by the canal. We made our way over to see what was going on, and mum was in her element opening and closing the locks for the barges to go through. It was great to see her chilling out too!
Anyway, I’m starving, dad’s in the shower, tea’s nearly ready, and I’ve got another long day on a dodgy crank tomorrow, so I’m going to relax for a bit before bed.
Thanks again for joining me on my journey, Sam
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Day 5.Friday 31st July Rest Day 1
Well, firstly, I'd like to say it was GREAT to have a lie in this morning!!! It wasn't a REAL lie in - we were up by about 10am and let's face it, during school holidays a lie in means at least midday! But, it felt like a lie in and a half!!!! We spent the day chilling out, and I would like to thank the lady at the place we ate last night for being an absolute star! Oddball was worried that we wouldn't manage a meal at all as they were closing, and he talked the lady into cooking up 3 lots of fish and chips - which is all very well, but with all the miles I'm doing, I needed a BIG OLD STEAK. So when we got there, dad explained to the lady what we were doing, and she went completely out of her way, cooked me up a magnificent steak, and sponsored me £20 too!!! So, on this journey I've met alot of fab people who don't know me what-so-ever, and yet part with hard earned cash because I'm insane enough to sit on the top of one large wheel for alot of miles!!! Thank you everyone.
So, for our chill out day, we got up late, tidied up the motorhome as mum is coming back today and it looks like something out of 'men behaving badly', went into town where we bought dad a new pair of trainers as he has worn his through, and new brake pads for both cycles as we have also worn them through! Then back to the motor home for a good old read of Harry Potter again.
I'd also like to mention Roland Collicott, a cyclist who saw me and dad on Wednesday whilst he was cycling in the other direction. Apparently when he got home he googled lands end john o' groats unicyclist and got me on his 1st hit!!!!! Hey, that makes me famous ha, ha!! And he sponsored me too. So cheers mate!
As you can see, I've managed an early update today. Tomorrow we have someone joining us who asked through this site - look forward to meeting you SAM WAKELING tomorrow. Hope you're feeling fit!!!!!!
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Day 4.Thursday 30th July Saint Arvans - Bishops Castle 73.00 miles covered total so far 299.14 miles
Well, first of all, sorry this is a bit of a late update, but our campsite has no signal what-so-ever! No phone, no internet, no communications!
So, we left off on Wednesday evening, about to go out and celebrate dad’s birthday. We had a great Indian meal, which dad’s mate Anthony treated us to – so thanks Anthony.
Due to a fairly late night, a bit more alcohol than was intended, and the fact that Friday’s a rest day, we started off at <timehour10minute0>10am. It was a pretty slow start too as we were both tired, and possibly dad was a bit ‘under-the-weather’ too. A good brisk 73 mile bike ride was just what was needed to sort that out!!!
Luckily the scenery was absolutely stunning, the land was lovely and flat and we just breezed our way through the journey. At lunch time we were met by my grandparents Jackie and Pete Good, and also by their friend Beryl and her husband who’s name is either Pete or Brian (and no, I know they don’t even sound similar so I have no idea why I can’t choose between the two, which one is right!!! Sorry Pete or Brian).
Now that we have settled into the familiarity of riding, what our stopping points are going to be, how far, etc, etc, dad treated me to be allowed speakers on the front of the bike. And as I started to flag a bit towards the end of the journey I had Greenday to listen to, sing along to (sorry, peaceful countryside, for my wailing), and give me some rhythm to keep my numb bum in the saddle and give my legs, that feel like they have taken control of me instead of the other way around, some kind of encouragement to push those pedals with determination!!!
So, once again, a great feeling of achievement as we ended the day, at about 8pm, and with my mileometer stating 299.14 (was I tempted to break the 300 mile barrier – no, that can wait til Saturday!), we were greeted by Oddball, our odd chauffer/cook/
housemaid, hurrying us along so we could be fed. So at that point, I’m starving, and I wish you a good night one and all.
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Day 3.Wednesday 29th July Bagley Green - Saint Arvans 71.35 miles covered total so far 226.14 miles
Well, what a difference a day makes!!
Due to it being such a hard day yesterday, and the fact that it is Dad’s birthday today – HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD – we treated ourselves to a lie in and started the ride at 10am. We said bye to Mum (who had to go home to work) and set off on today’s stretch.
After yesterdays mishap, let me put your minds at rest – I have mastered the art of STAYING ON the unicycle. It didn’t stop raining all day, but we had the most fantastic journey and the rain didn’t take anything away from that. We stopped at a place called the Cross Ways Inn, at Highbridge, where Jeff and the guys drinking there asked for my autograph!!! And then they treated us to our coffee’s and sponsored us. Later, on the A38 we stopped at Sam’s Baguettes (great name) where again we were given our order compliments of Sam and Michelle. We had great support and words of encouragement from total strangers and it was really exciting to see how people react to what we are doing.
When we pulled up at the agreed layby for our lunchstop, Oddball was ready for us, looking like a burger van!!! Maybe now he has found his true vocation in life.
The terrain today was so much better and we breezed through the journey and really enjoyed taking everything in. The big highlight was going across the Severn Bridge. It was totally awesome! And going under the Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol was a very close second.
The day started with cards and pressies and birthday texts for dad, and the icing on the cake was when we got to the campsite tonight at 7.15pm, my Gramp had emailed ahead of us and forwarded photos he had taken at Lands End, which were handed to us on arrival.
Our friends Anthony and Peter joined us this evening. The funny thing being that they stopped on the way up to purchase a tent (nothing like leaving it ‘til the last minute), only to arrive and find their pitch was flooded – so they can’t use it anyway!!!! That makes it 5 of us sharing the motor home tonight – God, I hope we don’t all snore.
Anyway, it’s dad’s birthday, which means we ought to go out and celebrate, so it’s off to the pub for us! Possibly another late start and finish tomorrow night then!
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Day 2.Tuesday 28th JulyLISKEARD, CORNWALL TO BAGLEY GREEN, SOMERSET 79.35 miles covered total so far 154.79 miles
Day 2 – Murder and Treachery
Well, I got on my unicycle and within 5 minutes I had taken a pretty bad fall. Dad thought I must have broken something, but I got up and shook myself down and clambered aboard again. Starting the day like that I felt that things could only get better. How wrong I was!!!! From the minute we set off from Liskeard we hit 55 miles of almost continuous hills. As we dragged ourselves up hill after hill it felt like Cornwall and Devon had it in for us! Some of the hills were up to 2 miles long, just continuous incline, totally murderous, and even getting to the top was no real let-up – the view seemed to be a clear vision of the NEXT hill we’d be tackling very rapidly!!!! And this is how it panned out for us, all the way to Exeter.
So we absolutely welcomed our rest breaks and our lunch break at 2.30, where we settled for an hours’ rest. Then back aboard the bike to continue the rest of today’s ride. And, like yesterday, the ride we had mentally planned to take about 6.5 hours of riding, actually ended up taking much longer and in all today we cycled for 8 hrs 45 minutes. We actually finished the ride itself for the day at 9pm, making it a very long 12 hour day.
The scenery today was definitely breathtaking, as was the ride, (many times we were struggling to get our breath)!!!! A much appreciated change today was when a group of 7 cyclists we had met yesterday at Lands End rode alongside us for about 30 minutes. The additional company definitely boosts morale.
When we got to the pick-up point we were met by mum and Oddball, dad’s good mate who is going to drive for us for a couple of days while mum has to go back home to work. I must admit, it felt great to take my feet off the pedals!
So, as you can tell, we are absolutely bushed today, so I’m off for a shower and tea, dad will no doubt crack open a much needed beer and drink it while having a catch up with Oddball, mum, bless her, has tea cooking and is fussing about whether we will have everything we need over the next couple of days when she won’t be here to look after us.
Look forward to what tomorrow has in store – on dad’s birthday! So goodnight y’all, and will update you again tomorrow
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Day 1. Monday 27th July Lands End - Liskeard 75.44 miles covered
Wow, what a start to the day! It was great to at last get to Lands End for the off! And to be greeted by such a big send off party was the icing on the cake! To see me, dad and mum off on our wheels were my sister Jade, and also Harvey, James, Bryony, Aiden, David, Lorna, Darren, Carlie, Nan and Gramp! A great crowd to give us a boost of a start!
We got going, after photo's n' stuff, at 9.40am and rode some tester hilly land until 2.30pm, covering 43 miles (speeding away on a high of course!!) Got to the meeting point where gramp had drove the motor home (so mum could do the first stretch with us), only to find he'd managed to lose nan who had been following behind in the car!!!! But nan wasn't letting him get away that easily and tracked him down! Then after an hour's lunch break we set off again to Liskeard - only to find those tester hills this morning were NOTHING to what Cornwall could throw at us and we rode up some real monsters.
This, along with the fact that the mileage was 75.44 miles instead of 70, added an hour onto our journey, and poor mum was in tears when we eventually turned up an hour late at our meeting place, all sorts of things crossing her mind in that hour of solitude!
But, we did discover, that the training we have done was definitely really good, and we managed to take everything in our stride, arriving home to a fantastic home cooked curry. So now, I'm going to read a couple of pages of Harry Potter - The Half Blood Prince, dad's having a beer, and mum's having a much deserved shower, then it's an early night for the lot of us, ready for another hard days ride tomorrow. So thanks for following me, and g'night all ....
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Here we go, time for the off!!!
That's it, looks easy when you write it down. I can't wait
Hi All,
The Training is over!!
So that's it...! Unbelievable the training is over and now for the BIG event. Still can't quite believe Dad and I have covered the best part of 2,000 miles in training over the last six months, it seems like only last week we were starting out on this epic adventure. Please read below for a daily update.
Thank you
Before I start the challenge I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to all those having shown and interest and helped out. There are many 'unsung hereos' out there with out whom this would have been a lot more difficult if not impossible - Thanks!
Thank you MUM
The person I would like to publicly thank is Mum (Caroline), it is little known that she has also ridden over half of the training rides with us in case something happened to Dad and a replacement support rider were needed and of course Mum will be driving the Motorhome, thank you.
Just leaving -
Loaded up the Motorhome yesterday which took an age, surprising how much stuff you need. It's 07:00 and we are just about to leave for Lands End, it should be great as there a few family and Friends meeting us there to see us off.
Join Us - Lands End - John O'Groats - or somewhere in between
Again lots have asked if they are able to join us Start, Finish or along the way - YES PLEASE!! We are planning to leave 08:00 on Monday 27th July. Our En-Route is below but if anyone would like specific details to meet up please send a mail to unicycle-lejog@hotmail.co.uk
We are also organising a 'ride in' from Thurso to John O'Groats for the final stage of the challenge, this will be on Monday 10th August passing Thurso around 12:00 - 14:00 TBC. Agaiin all are welcome, it would be great to see as many as possible riding over the finish line.
Details on Joining in or meeting up please contact us by email and we will get back to you
to get started
Well that really is it, Sam
