I was a little too exhausted yesterday to give you some facts about LEJOG! So here you are…
- The traditional distance is 874 Miles (lol)
- Land’s End – The most extreme South Western point of Great Britain.
- John O Groats – The most extreme North Eastern point of Great Britain.
- The first recorded End-to-End walk was in 1871 and it was walked JOG-LE.
- The record for the fastest cyclist to complete LEJOG is held by Michael Broadwith who in June 2018 completed the cycle in 43 hours, 25 minutes and 13 seconds.
- The fastest woman to complete LEJOG by cycle was set in 2002 by Lynne Taylor in 52 hours, 45 minutes, and 11 seconds.
- In September 2017 James Macdonald set a record of 5 days, 18 hours and 3 minutes doing LEJOG and then JOGLE!
- The record for a runner is 9 days and 2 hours.
- Land’s End to John O Groats has also been done via swimming around the isle, paddle boarding, on a skateboard, by wheelchair, hitchhiking, public transport, and a Golfer – hitting golf balls the whole way up… for seven weeks.
Sometimes people do the strangest things to get into the Guiness book of records.
I was gonna scout out some history to John O Groats, but instead I picked up a great postcard that will save me the searching. Here ya go!
This morning the weather was looking clear so I was up and out by 7.30 to cycle 2 miles to DUNCANSBY HEAD and DUNCANSBY STACKS. And what a treat!!! The sunrise was amazing, and after a quick mile hike up to the stacks viewpoint, I managed to capture the most wonderful photographs. Who knew there was this hidden beauty all the way up the North East coast of the UK.
After the sun had risen I peddled t the signpost again, after capturing a cool photo of my bike at the top of the windy road! Luckily there were a few people there messing around taking photos, and they were more than happy to photograph me. I got the obligatory photo holding my bike up in the air. What a feeling! And the background…. blue skies! I could not have been luckier after yesterday! I was on a bit of a timer this morning as I still had a 16 mile ride to Wick. So I didn’t get to spend much time as I wanted at the end, but I managed to snap the photographs I wanted before heading to the Post Office – to send the ton of postcards I scribbled on last night! And back to the lodge for breakfast. What a feast! I’ve definitely eaten well on this trip.
I really wanted to be on the road by 10. I knew I had about a 1.5-2 hour ride. The winds were strong and they were head winds today. The sky was clear and it was warm but I was not excited for these winds. I didn’t leave till 10.30 So I knew I was pushing it on time to catch my 12.34 Train from Wick. I was gonna need to peddle this morning, and I was gonna need to peddle hard.
And I did. I made it to the train station with 11 minutes to spare. My face was on fire. My legs were on fire. I was totally shattered. What I just did in the last 2 hours felt like a normal full day on the bike. It was the hardest ride against wind I have had to do. Shit. Now I really am done on the bike.
I secure my bike to the rack on the train, and get changed outta my bike clothes and into something more comfy! Glad to be out of them!!! I luckily get a table to myself, so I set my laptop, phone and camera up. Ready to write this blog post. I start going though my camera, and I’m hooked. Hooked on seeing every photograph I took on this trip again. I was totally overwhelmed with my journey. Where I have been, what I had seen and what I had accomplished. It’s been one of my favourite adventures, It wasn’t so bad just being with me for 3 weeks 😉
Then… I kept going through the camera and the mountains of Canada starting to appear and the adventures there. I was a little saddened and missed my home there in the mountains. I cant wait to get the photographs and memories from my summer uploaded and on here! This won’t be the last blog I write. I’ll be working on getting my hikes and mountain summits on here next! And I cant wait to share those memories!
For now… It’s a 8 hour train ride down to Falkirk. I’ll be training it through a lot of the places I biked, which I’m kinda excited about. I couldn’t think of a better day to spend my last day in my 20’s. A train ride through the beautiful countryside and the coast of Scotland.
Hello 30!
“So now go do the best things in life, Take a bite of this world while you can.
Hold on to Memories – Disturbed
Make the most of the rest of your life
Make a ride of this world while you can”
