Go Big and Go Home - Riding home for Christmas

It’s 7:30am, I’ve ridden less than a mile, and I’ve fallen off my bike. Sprawled across the A70, with rush hour just starting, I feel Very Silly. This is the tale of my ride home for Christmas.....

All set a ready to go, (about 15 mins before crashing)

Every year I ponder how I am going to get home for Christmas. It’s about 450miles from Edinburgh to Southampton. I’ve tried driving, flying, sleeper bus, train, and even Megabus (a definite low point).

I’ve often considered cycling, but never been confident I could actually make it. This year I'm still not confident but thought I’d set off anyway and see what happened. Being a month out from the Strathpuffer I figured this would be a good time to put in some long rides.

Waaa I'm setting off, (not my best look)

Day 1: Edinburgh to Carlisle

This is where I fall off, less than a mile from my front door. I’ve set off wearing my mtb helmet (it’s easier to fix a light to it) the visor obscures my vision a bit and I’ve got my head down focused on the ride ahead. I don’t see the parked car in front of my until it’s too late. I swerve too hard to avoid it and end up landing on my shoulder. A car coming in the other direction stops “are you OK?” he enquired. “Yes yes I’m fine, just an idiot” I reply.  He drives off and I wonder if I actually am ok...

I am so embarrassed. I’d told a lot of people about this ride, that I wasn’t sure if I’d make it, but that I was pretty confident I’d get to Carlisle. I can't bail after 1 mile! My shoulder is quite sore, especially if I need to make a hand signal. But then most of day 1 is on one road – no hand signals required! I (metaphorically) shrug my shoulders, suck it up and get on with riding. From here on I keep my head up for a good view of obstacles in the road ahead. Lesson learned!

A small window of blue sky! I definitely got lucky with the weather

I stop in Abington for a quick coffee stop, I’m making OK progress if I keep this up I might get to Carlisle before dark. In Gretna I stop by ‘the sign’ for the welcome to England photo. 

Arriving in England, and puncturing in the process :-(

Unfortunately whilst hauling my bike up to the sign I get a shard in my tyre and puncture. (is the universe trying to send me a message?). Puncture fixed I get on my way arriving at my Premier Inn accommodation for the night. It’s the last Friday before Christmas and the bar is full of noisy people celebrating finishing up work for the holidays. I find the quietest corner I can and eat double portions of dinner, before turning in early.

-side note Premier Inn has a bike friendly policy, so long as your bike is clean(ish) you can bring it into the room. No need to haul a chunky padlock around.

Day 2: Carlisle to Chorley

My knees are a bit sore from not having the bike set up quite right in the early part of the previous day’s ride. I think about taking a rest day and hopping on the train, but the forecast is nice for today and the ride through the lake district should be a highlight. I’ve a scab on my shoulder from falling off, it’s still a bit stiff making hand signal, but I’m riding on the A6 all day so hand signals still largely not required…

Coffee stop in Chapter 12 coffee Rooms

I set off promising myself a coffee stop in Penrith. It takes a longer to get to Penrith than I expected, still I find a gem of a café in the centre of town. I lean my bike up and shuffle in, the manager comes over asking if that’s my bike outside. He invites me to bring it inside ‘there’s plenty of space’. How nice! The food is yummy too, Chapter 12 coffee rooms in Penrith highly recommended!

All the best trips come with 'Danger' signs!

Then I set off over the Shap summit this will be the highest point on the ride. And there’s a helpful road sign to warn me it could be rather sketchy in winter. Luckily the weather is about as mild as it’s possible to be in December, so no ice worries today. I work my way over the pass, it’s a nice steady climb and I find a good rhythm. I get to the summit and reward myself with a summit pie, the views are probably wonderful, but it’s misty and starting to spit with rain so I ride on. A nice long decent takes me into Kendal. Then onwards for another premier inn in Chorley.

Shap summit: A cheeky pie and selfie in the drizzle

Day 3 Chorley to Kidderminster

The forecast is for rainrainrain, my knees are a bit stiff, and I’m not confident about today’s route(is that enough excuses?). It seems like a good day to take a short cut on the train. 

Northern Rail - best bike facilities I've seen
More trains like this please

On the upside though my shoulder is feel mostly better. I catch the train from Chorley to Stafford, where I re-join my route for 35 miles of back roads and mucky canal paths in the rain. I arrive in Kidderminster with a bike covered in mud. Fortunately there’s a garage with a pressure wash next to the Premier Inn, a rather surprised driver offers me the last 2 mins of her wash. I gratefully accept and rinse most of the mud off before checking in.

Day 4: Kidderminster to Southampton

This is the longest day of the whole trip. I’m 135 miles from home and if I make it, this will be the furthest I’ve ever cycled in a oner. I’m fresh from yesterday’s rest and decide to set off early to make headway…

The day starts badly, I find myself on a slip road to a busy dual carriageway in the dark and mist. There is no cycle path by the side. I fruitlessly poke at my phone for about 20 mins. To avoid this bit of road I would have to cycle an extra 10 miles, which just seems too far. I tell my self to toughen up and ride it. I attached my emergency back up lights (alongside my other riding in the dark lights), and remind myself I’m wearing the worlds shiniest reflective jacket. Lit up like a Christmas tree, I pedal on. Actually it’s not so bad, being dual carriageway driver are able to use the other lane to pass me.

Dawn breaking on Gloucestershire, Sunrise makes everything better.

Pretty soon dawn comes, the mist clears, and everything feels better. I’m speeding along making good time again. I can see the Cotswolds ahead of me and I feel like I’m properly in the south of England. I enjoy a quick coffee stop in Cheltenham and then I’m climbing over the Cotswolds. It’s easier than I expected, possibly because I’ve been anticipating it. the short sharp climbs I didn’t spot when route planning are the ones I find most energy zapping.

Soon I arrive in Swindon, I’m still 60 miles from home but this is the last feasible bail point for trains. If I crash and burn  after this I’ll have to resort to summoning the parental rescue wagon and I don’t think they’ll be happy about it. I’m feeling strong I think I’ve got anther 60 miles in me, so I carry on.

Greasy spoon lunch
Check out that coronation mug

Next, I cross the North Wessex Downs AONB, I’m on a mix of back roads and gravel track, the rolling country side flies past. It looks spectacular against the setting sun. I make a mental note to come back and explore in the future.

The last big milestone is crossing the A303 (for Scottish people this road is a bit like the A9 of the South West). I check my Garmin, only 25 miles to go! For the first time I feel confident I’m going to make it. I fire up my night lights and get peddling, the last bit passes in a blur. The back roads of Hampshire are a delight to cycle on, I feel like I'm flying as I pass through Middle Wallop (that name has always made me chuckle).

I’m getting closer and closer to home, funnily I don’t recognise any of the roads, until I’m about 5 miles out. Finally, at 7:30 pm on Christmas Eve, I arrive a sweaty mess, on Mum and Dad’s door step. I’m hustled inside with just enough time to shower before dinner.

Home! Just time for a quick bike selfie before knocking on the door

What an adventure, what a way to get home for Christmas!

..............

People have asked quite a few questions about this trip, here are the answers to some of them…

Did you cycle back again? No, I got the train! One way was quite enough!

Were your parents worried? I think they expect this kind of thing from me by now, the only query mum had was how I planned to cross the A303. I was more worried they didn’t take me seriously when I told them they were the emergency standby vehicle for the final day!

Where did you stay/you didn’t camp did you: I stayed in Premier Inn’s because they are so bike friendly. I’d loved to have camped, but with no way to charge anything this would not have worked. (in fact charging was a logistical challenge anyway I carried a Garmin, phone, smartwatch, 3xfront lights, 3xbacklights, headphones and battery pack which all needed charging)

Would you do it again? Maybe, although I’d like camp it if I did it again, I’d just need to invest in a dynamo hub first! Also I’m very aware that I lucked out with the weather, I doubt I get a forecast so promising again.

Did you carry clothes to wear over the break? I had one set of clothes to wear in the evenings but I also relied on my mum and sister for clothes and shoes. Fortunately we’re all about the same size.

Did you carry all your Christmas presents? No. This is why internet shopping was invented!

I guess you put your feet up over the rest of Christmas? Nope!

Having a bash on mum's brompton,
the annual boxing day family ride, a casual 60km

The Cambrian Trial

That time when we rode over Every Single Valley in Wales…

Tough but awesome: The Cambrian Trail

With the incredible summer weather set to continue for another week we set off for North Wales. Our aim: To ride as much of the Cambrain Trail as we were able to in a week.

The only source of info we could find was on this website, including the description: “The hardest unofficial coast-to-coast off road route in Wales. This is a serious route with a substantial amount of climbing and tracks of varying surfaces. Experience of riding challenging terrain over multiple days is essential.”

It sounded... Hard.

The intended route

We never intended to actually get to the end just to ‘see how far we can get before bailing’.

The gpx files claimed over 14,000m of climbing over the route. Can't be right, I thought that's far too much...

Naive, excited and clean: Here we are at the start

With very little planning (sometimes ignorance is best) we set off from Conwy at about 5pm thinking we’d get to Llyn Cowlyd for a wild camp it was only 35km away, this turned out to be something of an overestimate, and set the standard for the next week.

Stone Circles on Day 1

We were soon on what was to be one of many many hike a bike sections, the stunning views made up for it though. This was going to be an ace way to traverse Wales.

Stunning views over N. Wales coastline

After 3 hours we’d progressed about 20km, “I’m so tired" I whimpered, "can we camp soon?”. Given how dry it’s been finding a decent water source was one of the biggest challenges of this trip. Eventually we found a running stream for a quick wash before setting up camp.

Camp 1, slightly hampered by pylons, otherwise idyllic

I was a bit worried; day 1 was supposed to be our easy day and we'd both found it quite hard going. On day 2 we were on the go for over 10 hours, and we only made 68 km! I reminded myself we never planned to actually finish the route. 

Llyn Cowlyd, getting over that horizon line was a mission of a hike-a-bike

On day 3 we set up camp in one of the best wild camp spots I’ve found. Next to a reservoir, warm enough for swimming and a short climb up to sunset views over the Snowdon Massif, lovely 😊

I bet on a normal day this is a total marsh, but on this day it was the best wild camp + swim spot

Sunset Views over Snowdon

The days turned into a rhythm of rolling through the landscape punctuated by occasional cafe stops and hike a bike, as we progressed further south.

Caroline on one of the many trail centers we  passed through

We thought this was going to be a lovely single track section, it turned into a gorse ridden nightmare!
Top tip: Try not to fall off in a gorse bush

I imagine that normally a lot of the trail would be mostly bog, but because it's been so dry, we were lucky to find most everything ride-able, it did mean it was rather hot though...

I'm afraid I did ride in just a bra again; yes I'm an embarrassment to my friends. But I'd rather be comfortable than dignified

On day 4 I woke in the middle of the night with food poisoning. yuk. Fortunately by morning it had pretty much passed. I left behind a tidy pile of vom at the campsite as we set off. We decided to have an easier day, so rather than climb over the slopes of Cader Idris we took the coast road. It turned out to be an inspired decision, as it took us through Llwyngwril. The whole village has gone crazy for Yarnbombing, including Gwril the Giant. Surreal.

Gwril the Giant - Yarntastic
Detours for the win!

One of my favourite parts was the descent off of Diffwys, this was a long gentle ridge descent. The hike up to it, though I did not enjoy.

On the Diffwys ascent: This stone is a tribute to a Lady who was still loving this  hill at 84!  "Courage Traveller" I nearly cried. Pushing 20kg or so of loaded bike is hard.

Diffwys descent we came down that ridge on the left, it was ace 😊

As the days passed we inched our way further south, always climbing or descending, Wales does not do flat. I started to believe there really was 14,000m of climb on this route. We were also making progress, it started to become possible that we might make it to Worm's Head after all!

Actually this is quite a bit further than halfway, but who doesn't love a good road sign photo!

Most of the time it was pretty easy to see where we were supposed to go, (even if the going was tough). Occasionally though the paths were so indistinct as to not really be there at all. In these moments I was glad we live in an age of GPS, I would never have believed I was in the right spot if I'd been relying solely on a map and compass.

Bushwacking through knee-deep undergrowth (one of those if you didn't laugh you'd cry moments)

We were often following Roman roads, in particular the Sarn Helen trail through mid Wales. It's pretty obvious Romans didn't travel by bike.

Sarn Helen mosaic shortly before another 500m climb

Of course it wouldn't be a full Welsh experience if we didn't get caught in at least one down pour. Day 6 was a a test of how waterproof our gear was...

Day 6: riding in the rain, at least our kit stayed dry

On our penultimate night we were just over 100km from the end. Not so far away, but we'd not even managed a 90km day yet. Still the thought of getting to the end... Surely it could be done? We fueled up and got going.

After a 6 day drought, Caroline finally finds an avocado.

Mostly though, I fueled up on these, (side note M&M's are perfect chocolate for hot weather, the sugar capsule stops the melting chocolate going everywhere)

It was really hot on the last day and I was pretty exhausted. Leaving Swansea we even bumped into some other cycle tourers.

Making friends crossing the Neath

In order to get to Worm's head in time for sunset we bypassed the final off-road section and elected to batter on through the road. It was still rather undulating...

Almost there! the very final stretch of road.

Our strategy paid off though and we rolled into Worms Head around 8:30pm in time to catch some photos before sunset.

We Made It! Incredible.
7 days, 500 km and well over 10,000m of climb.
Tired and manky, we never planned to get this far...

Caroline scouted out a fantastic cliff-side spot for our final wild camp. (not going to lie, I was too exhausted to move). Tents pitched, dinner scoffed, I hit the Zzzz's.

Final camp spot, picturesque.

Since we didn't intend to reach the end we didn't have a plan for getting home from the Gower. This meant a 30km cycle to the nearest train station (but not before cafe stops and a cheeky sea swim).

Train Time: I felt sorry for the other people in the carriage, I smelt So Bad.

It was a great trip, Still can't believe we actually made it to the end, (even if we did take a few short cuts).

I'd definitely recommend the Cambrian Trial, if you're after a challenge, but don't underestimate it!

Sunset self timer fun,
The Cambrian Trail - what a trip

The Badger Divide

5 thousand vertical meters, 4 awesome ladies, 3 hundred kilometers, 2 many cafes to count!, 1 cow panic: The Badger Divide - An excellent opportunity to break in the 'Adventure Bike'

Mountains, lochs, and winding paths - The Badger Divide - Incredible

The offical Badger Divide joins up some of the great long distance paths in Scotland, starting in Inverness and finishing in Glasgow. It's ridden as a self supported endurance race over 2 days. We planned for a slightly more leisurely 4 day adventure (not actually leisurely at all!).

Communting to work in the morning,
Note home-made frame and seatpost bags: Amazing what you can do with an Ikea shower curtain and chopping board! (I'm quite proud of these)

Thursday saw us on our train to Inverness (after considerable train stress - I hate you Scotrail). Premier inn however are much more accommodating to cyclists and happily let us store our bikes in our rooms.

Bikes in the lift at Premier inn

After pigging out on breakfast and pinching an emergency cinnamon bagel we set off for the start of the Great Glen Way.

Leaving Inverness along the Caledonian Canal

Unfortunatley in my excitement I'd left my gloves on the train the day before. Caroline however bought 3 pairs and I gratefully borrowed the 'mid layer' pair.

If you'd seen this sign you'd have stopped too!

Carrie and Louise set off about an hour ahead of us the theory being we'd catch them up, this didn't account for my penchant for a cafe. About 20km down the Great Glen Way and less than 2 hours in we spotted a sign saying 'cake'. Of course we stopped. Apparently the highest working croft in Scotland, we were warned to move to the veranda if the pig came and interfered!

Crofting cake break

The descent into Drumnadrochit was a little steeper than I was prepared for. With a high saddle, loaded bike and clipped pedals I nervously edged down the trail. In the village centre we located Carrie and Louise at another cafe, of course it would be rude not to join in!

Drumnadrochit - bonus cafe time

leaving Drumnadrochit

The following sections of the Great Glen Way involved some steep climbs. I was looking forward finding the 'viewcatcher' monument on the next section. We kept telling each other that it would be just at the top of the next hill. Of course in the end it turned out to be in the bottom of a valley. In my head we were going to stop here and spend some vanity time capturing 'the perfect selfie' unfortunately the Scottish weather had other ideas. We took some quick snaps in the rain before heading on.

Messing around at the 'view catcher' 

We once again bumped into Carrie and Louise coming in the opposite direction. After a moment of confusion it transpired that a section of the low road was closed and they were heading up for the high road. In the end we went low road anyway.

Speeding along the Great Glen Way

The sun came out again for the final section into Fort Augustus, providing many opportunities for photo especially at 'podium rock'. Day 1 (according to Strava) was almost 6 hours moving time and over 1,400m of climbing. I was very ready to reach the hostel, I can't imagine what it would be like to do this as part of the race, you'd be less than half way through day 1!

Podium Rock: self timer fun

Day 2 began with the infamous Corrieyiarack Pass. One of General Wade's military roads, rising 800m from the valley floor it joins Fort Augustus to Loch Laggan. I think we were all a bit nervous of the pass (I was anyway). Would it be ride-able by mere mortals, or would we end up pushing to the top?

Only 19km to the other side but with 800 meter straight up, feeling nervous at the beginning of the pass

Our accommodation for the next night was aptly named 'middle of nowhere B&B' they served dinner at 7pm, and there wasn't any other option for food in the valley, the race was on...

Cheeky snack break 400m up

Slow and steady was the name of the game, on the pass. We gained meter after meter, getting ever more impressive views down the valley. About half way up Caroline and I overtook Carrie and Louise. Little did we know this would be the last we'd see of them...

Heading off the top of the pass, (this picture might imply I got to the top before Caroline, which definitely was not the case!)

The higher we climbed the colder it got and the stronger the headwind. At the summit of the pass it was freezing, so rather than waiting we piled on all the layers, took a quick victory snap and headed down.

The top of Corrieyiarack Pass, feeling proud (and also cold)

By the time we reached Melgarve Bothy the sun was back out and sheltered from the wind we began to warm up a little.

Warming up on out of the wind

Unsure where Carrie and Lousie were, we decided to carry on until we found somewhere with phone reception. Of course being the Scottish Highlands, this was quite a long way. By the shores of Loch Laggan we managed to get in touch, they'd had bike troubles and had headed to the bike shop in Wolftrax, some miles off course. Unsure if the bike would be fixed in time to continue or not, this would put dinner chances at serious risk!

Melgarve bothy

Quick stop in Ardverikie Estate 

We agreed Caroline and I would carry on to the B&B, so we could ask them to hold dinner, if Carrie and Louise were to be a bit later. We crossed from valley to valley, head wind after head wind (at least it wasn't raining). It was tough going but the incredible views were worth it.

Spey Reservior

Eventually we arrived at the creepy shooting lodge in Corrour (actually we accidentally went right up the drive to the mansion; we quickly ran away worried we might be shot). In-spite of the headwinds we'd made good time, it looked like we'd arrive in time for dinner in fact we might even have time to shower first (Yes!). Feeling positive we headed around the edge of Loch Ossian, until we reached the path that would take us over to Loch Rannoch.

Lochan na h-Earba

Unfortunately this turned out to be less path and more bog. We pushed our bikes up hill through bog. Suddenly I was worried we'd overestimated. 3 hours and 20 km to dinner is very achievable if you can ride, but if we had to push all the way to Rannoch we'd be much slower.

hike-a-bike in a bog :-(

Happily after about 1km of pushing we joined up with a path call 'road to the isles' which turned out to be a very cyclable track, dinner and shower was very much back on the cards. Of course if we'd looked closer at the map we might have continued a few km down the lochside track and joined the 'road to the isles' at the very start. Tired brains don't always make good choices.

View from 'Peter's Rock'

Racing down the track we got to Bridge of Gaur in good time, and then realised our major screw up. We had no idea where the B&B was, and of course zero phone reception. We did some worried cycling around, and at the last house, still no B&B, however a nice man pointed us back to the main road where we found the nights accommodation, still with 30 mins to shower and change before dinner. Phew!

Big grins: we will arrive in time for dinner

Carrie and Louise had managed to get a message through, they had got the bike fixed but it had taken some time and they'd stop overnight in Laggan. It was a real shame not to have Carrie and Louise with us. I consoled myself by eating their extra puddings for dinner. Day 2 was over 8 hours moving time and 1800m of climbing, I was exhausted.

Day 3 Loch Rannoch shortly before the rain

Day 3 saw the weather take a turn for the miserable, the tracks from Loch Rannoch over to Glen Lyon were a mix of nice single track and atv track and more great scenery. We stopped in Bridge of Balgie for coffee and cake, after 'no cafe Saturday' we were making up for lost time. I also took the opportunity to restock my dwindling supply of jelly babies. (this cafe is where I'd previous waited 3 hours for the RAC to turn up on another trip, the lady even remembered me!)

Crossing into Glen Lyon

The weather really set in as we headed up the Lyon valley, my legs were pretty tired and I just couldn't match pace with Caroline. So in the interest of keeping warm we agreed to go at our own speeds and re group at a cafe in Killin. This was going well, I was plodding on at my own pace over the pass and down to the River Locahy, until Disaster. Cows on the road. With young calves. $&!^ !!! I considered my options. I studied my Garmin. Tere was a way around passing through the farm buildings on the left. I set off through the farm, successfully circumnavigating the danger cows, but did end up being chased by a farm dog.

Sustrans Route 7 near Strathyre

A few miles further on and the sun came out, I found Caroline waiting in a bench just outside Kilin and swapped cow-avoidance strategies, (I discovered Caroline is both braver and stupider than me). In Kilin we tucked into Cafe number 2, before heading on to Sustrans route 7 taking us to our final B&B in Callendar.

Dropping into Callendar

Day 4 saw us heading down the Rob Roy Way and then the West Highland Way to it's end point in Milngavie. Somewhere along the way to Drymen Caroline's hands went alarmingly white with the cold, and I felt a bit more guilty about borrowing her gloves :-s

Dodging walkers on the West Highland Way

After a quick warm up and lunch stop in Drymen, we headed on to down the west highland way, passing through about 101 gates and about as many hikers. Eventually we found ourselves in Milngavie, and after a tiny bit of navigation at the southern end of the west highland way. Victory photos complete we jumped on the train back to Edinburgh, what a trip!

End of West Highland Way

We eventually heard from Carrie and Louise after they'd overnighted in Glen Lyon without phone or internet signal. They had made it to Kilin together and Carrie had continued all the way to Drymen! what an effort! Huge thanks to the both of them for organising the trip, it was tough but amazing, the only downside was that we didn't manage to finish all together.

Badger Divide approximate route

Bikepacking is an incredible way of moving through the landscape, can't wait for more!

Bikepacking -  Love it.