Getting on the train north tomorrow, to ride from John ‘O Groats to Lands End. Any last minute tips for a long-distance touring novice? Doing it self-supported, so not a hotel bed in sight.

pack a full pot/tube of chamois cream

EDIT: good luck and enjoy yourself

Stay off the A9.

Don’t regret the fact you’ve planned it the wrong way around and are riding into a headwind for the most part?

Seriously; stop as often as you can and talk to people. Britain’s full of interesting folk.

Check you’ve got everything every time you leave somewhere!

leave half of what you have packed at home.
winter coat
spare shoes
warm clothes
all hefty stuff.

if you find you need something like the above, (you wont) buy it on route.

Wrong way? Starting at the top Shirley its downhill all the way to Cornwall.

Remember at some point you’ll want to stop.

Keep going.

when are you passing staffordshire? i’ll come out and cheer you on/buy you a pint.

Cheers all, I appreciate that. Off to the bike shop for the chamois cream now.

Stay off the A9.

Tat won’t be a problem, we’ve planned an extended route which takes in more than a few extra miles. We’ll be going the wrong way entirely for the A9 at the start.

Don’t regret the fact you’ve planned it the wrong way around and are riding into a headwind for the most part?

There is reasoning behind this. I’ll go into more detail as to why afterwards when I can also say if it was a good idea or not 😀

Remember at some point you’ll want to stop.

Keep going.

I’ll try to remember 😯

when are you passing staffordshire? i’ll come out and cheer you on/buy you a pint.

Theoretically 29th/30th. This is assuming the Outer Hebrides ferries line up as they do on paper though.

Unless you’re on a tight schedule, don’t focus on how many miles you’ve cycled each day. Ride until you want to stop, rather than thinking ‘I must ride 90 miles today’.

Not much good when you’re 10 days in and have only done 50 miles 🙂

Look around, enjoy, chat to strangers. Don’t try to ride up every hill if you’re fully loaded. If you’re coming through Yorkshire, don’t forget the suncream. 🙂

True! But then at least you’d know long distance riding isn’t for you.

I was serious about buying you a pint btw. I have a back garden you can pitch your tent in, if you like, you can have a shower etc at mine or if you really want to pitch wild style I can point out some areas locally where you won’t get disturbed. I live just outside Stoke.

I bet you could get across britain by begging beds from the kind folk on stw, would be an interesting challenge.

Start early — finish early.

Enjoy the scenery of this many splendored island 🙂

Having just completd the Ireland End to End doing 100 miles per day I would reinforce the chamois creme point. Apply in everytime you stop whether you think you need it or not.

The morning kms are the easiest; we found it gets more difficult after lunch so we would try to get as much done in the morning as possible. We would have coffee and cake (very important) at about 1030 or 11 and then push on until about 1400 before lunch trying to get 80 or 90kms out of the way.

Remember to look up and enjoy the scenery!!

Dogsby

I was serious about buying you a pint btw. I have a back garden you can pitch your tent in, if you like, you can have a shower etc at mine or if you really want to pitch wild style I can point out some areas locally where you won’t get disturbed. I live just outside Stoke.

Thanks Jekkyl, I really appreciate that one. My email is in my profile, drop me an email and I’ll let you know if we pass near by. We’re kind of winging the part of the route through England, based on how we feel and how much time we actually have left to complete the route.

Thanks to everyone else for the tips and advice too. Looking foreword tot his, been a life-long goal for me and been planning it for this summer since last september!

Stay off the A9.
Tat won’t be a problem, we’ve planned an extended route which takes in more than a few extra miles. We’ll be going the wrong way entirely for the A9 at the start.

A82 perfect 🙂

(No experience at all so in STW fashion here is some advice)
Make sure you have the credit card with you 🙂
If it all turns to shit with weather/body don’t underestimate the value of a good night sleep in a bed and drying everything out.
Remember when you are tired you don’t make good decisions.

No real tour experience

but all the best, ride safe and enjoy the ride.

All the best mate.

If you are coming near Wigan / Bolton / westhoughton give me a shout, E Mail in profile.

http://www.warmshowers.org

Just enjoy it, sometimes when you are trying to get the miles done or cycling into a headwind, you forget to look up and take it all in.

+1 Warmshowers.