1001 Miles
Land’s End to John O’Groats is usually attempted by svelte chaps in lycra, hunched over carbon road bikes, who know how to change a tyre, how many grams of carbs they should be consuming every hour, and what 'clipping in' is.
This is not us. But travelling from the bottom left to the top right of the UK is a bucket list challenge that we rather liked the sound of.
It’s about 1000 miles, give or take. Depends how often we go the wrong way.
14 Days
Our plan is to tackle it over 14 days. That sounded perfectly reasonable when the idea was conceived, less so, now that our departure date is looming!
As we like pretty views (and more importantly don’t trust ourselves to cycle in a straight line if there are lorries around), we’re staying well away from main roads and following a quieter, prettier route.
We’ll be carrying everything we need with us, but we’ve drawn the line at camping. A hot bath, comfortable bed, and perhaps most importantly, a bar, seem fairly essential requirements.
Sleep, Eat, Repeat
It’ll be unsupported, although we have people joining us for certain days (and if we’re coming anywhere near you, please do come and have a pootle with us).
We’re averaging 115km / 72 miles a day and are likely to be in the saddle for 8 hours or so.
There will be great emphasis on refuelling and we intend to share our knowledge of the best hash browns and cake stops of Britain with you en route.
Mills
Mills started cycling properly in 2020 after a hockey pitch disaster led to couple of knee ops and a shiny new ACL, alongside a strict rehab programme.
She is utterly useless at bike mechanics and has zero inherent sense of direction but is handy with a map and insists on going first up all hills.
She concocted this plan and was delighted when Sarah thought it just as brilliant as she did (particularly as Sarah does seem to understand how the chain and gears work and is just as keen on having two breakfasts every day).
Sarah
Sarah's Dad was an avid cyclist and would have been so proud of Sarah for taking on this challenge. Sarah is riding in his memory as he sadly passed away 21 years ago. The Dougie Mac cared for him in his final days and being able to support them means so much.
Sarah hasn't always cycled but since taking it up in recent years has discovered that she's really rather fond of it. As a very busy mum of four girls, cycling is Sarah's 'me time'; she loves the sense of freedom, the speed, getting outside; she's less keen on the accidentally ingested bugs and the cavernous potholes.
Sarah is also quite fond of an Aperol Spritz and feels that, in retrospect, maybe she should have waited until the following morning before responding to Mills's ludicrous invitation to cycle from one end of the country to the other. But here we are. Onwards and upwards.
Let's Do This Together
We know how lucky we are to be able to take on this challenge and yes, we rather hope that we'll enjoy it but we do not take it on lightly and we will need your support and encouragement every step of the way.
We've chosen two charities which offer their support and encouragement to vulnerable people in our local area, Stoke-on-Trent. They give hope during the toughest times.
Give Generously
Please show your support for our ambitious endeavour by donating generously.
Hit the donate button and you'll be redirected to our Go Fund Me page. We'll split whatever we raise equally between our chosen charities.
We appreciate every penny you can spare. Your donations and your warm wishes will spur us on through those inevitably less 'fun' moments ahead.
Thank You