Metrics | Daily Total | Cumulative Total |
Distance | 169.9 | 1055.7 |
Ascent | 1328 | 10004 |
Riding Time | 6h 33m 4 | 44h 33m 3 |
Calories | 2108 | 27454 |
Other Daily Stats You May Be Interested In
Average Speed: 25.9 km/h
Max Speed: 65.2 km/h
Average Power: 131 watts
Max Power: 480 watts
Average Cadence: 75 rpm
Max Heart Rate: 147 bpm
Sunrise out the hotel window, and after a bad night's sleep in a very hot hotel room, was glad to see it. But today was different to the others, not that it didn't involve cycling, there was 170km of that to come, but within an hour I would be across the Scottish border having covered England in a touch over 5 days. I am not out to set a world record, but this is the one of the toughest and longest challenges I have ever done - i did allow myself a brief moment of amazement in what I have achieved. That of course was fleeting as my head unit told me I still had 150km until I reached my destination - Edinburgh.
Today was the first day I didn't have a headwind, and if you look at my Average Speed, you can see the difference. I will say that the entire route today was a little dull, it seemed to primarily take the original road to Edinburgh, before they built a shiny motorway next to it, but what it lost in vista it made up for in speed. So before long, I was in Gretna. I don't think the Gretna Inn could have squeezed any more flowers in if they tried.
And then there was the road, long straights followed by long straights, with the occasional little village dotted around, but not a lot of life around. There was one hour when I didn't see another living soul, either walking, cycling or even in a car. It was a very lonely ride indeed.
So I rode on, working my way up towards Edinburgh and on the odd occasion, stopped to stretch, eat and look at some scenery. What is it about hay bales that I like, I'm not really sure but there is something cool about them sitting out in a field. I did stop at one little shop, one of the only ones on my route, where I was greeted by some lovely store owners who said "Did you ride here?". I felt like saying "No, I always walk around in lycra" but resisted the urge and said "Yes, looking for some fuel for the rest of my ride". "Where are you off too?" Mr storeowner said, "to Edinburgh" I replied, "I'm doing the Lands End to John O'Groats". "Wow" he said "where did you start from?". "Ummm, Lands End". He smiled and said "that makes sense". It certainly does.
Today was a big day for more than just geography, but a couple of key milestones I have had in the back of my mind since the start. So after 6 days, today I passed through the 1000km mark, and 10,000m of climbing (or one and a bit Everest's) - pretty proud of that.
Another big day tomorrow, another 170km travelling north (shocking, I know) from Edinburgh up into the Highlands....Needless to say, obviously it isn't going to be a flat journey.
Sleep now, for tomorrow I ride