Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Last last blog
Sooo this is my last post I'm told by mum and dad. So thank you to all the people who have put us up or have had interviews with us. Thank you to all the people who have followed our blog even only for a few days or put comments on. Thanks to mum for letting dad drag me on this trip and thanks to dad for dragging me and its been a pleasure annoying him. We've had a great time meeting new people and going new places. Can I also remind anyone who put us up that there welcome to stay. Some of my favourite times were going in the campervan with Gabrielle and Chris and three nights in Ullapool. This is my last blog unless its some little things from dad. Bye.
Monday, 25 August 2014
Saturday, 23 August 2014
Probably last day
Today our last or maybe even second last I'm not sure we cycled 52miles from Peterhead to Edinburgh. This morning we had something special for breakfast we had something called veggie butteries they were basically just a squashed crossiant made of literally just sugar and fat stuff I have to say it wasn't the best. We didn't really stop today apart from the trains we cycled straight to Aberdeen a few light showers we arrived at 12. Then we got to the station and bought lunch which consisted of crisps each, a sandwich each, a big cup of coffee for dad and and orange juice for me. We got on and off it at Dundee for dad as he wanted to see the boat exibition discovery centre it was a rip off but we learned quite a bit and went on the ship itself dad was happy about that then we got on to another train and it took us then to Inverkiething. It was raining then but we had to cycle and in the end it stopped anyway. We came to The Forth Bridge and dad was happy crossing that and seeing the railway bridge not faraway as well that was interesting and the railway bridge looked complicated.
In the present now I'm at home after gran's funeral on Saturday I'm now continuing this from where I left off. Any way we cycled in to Edinburgh and found a reastuant for dinner on the top of a building with a nice view and dad said he had been there before when it was a different reastruant. We had an excellent dinner and met some TV sort of people called Nick and Marina, we did an interview with them and as they were meeting someone and were to busy they gave us some tickets to a stand up comedy! We went to watch it and it was quite good but near the end the guy kind of lost it and just talked but it was good. It was 10:30ish so we basically got our bike to the station bought some food and waited for the train we got on without to much fuss apart from some kind of aurgument I think dad had with the woman train person and we got moved to a different sleeper cabin. Before bed we also had a cheese board in the buffet car then we went to bed.
We got to London and the trains weren't working in Stratford or something so we cycled 8 miles back to home which felt very easy and I have to stop now to get to bed and maybe tommorow I can finish some other stuff. Bye
Stats
Bike repairs===
1 puncture ! Amazing.
1 bottom bracket on Dad's bike.
1 derailleur and bracket (Lewis bike)
Please refer to swearing incident. ...
1 bike sat-nav (rubbish bits of kit)
==========
Distance actually cycled 2000 miles (200 hours riding!)
Trains taken 5 covering distance of approx 250 miles
Distance not covered due to stopping in Edinburgh 400miles or so.
Average mileage 47 miles per day.
Total days 49
Rest days 7
Max in 1 day 87 miles
Average speed 10 mph including tea photo direction breaks.
Max speed 43 mph/68.8 kph
Steepest climb 30%
Steepest decent 40%
Slowest speed walking. climbing and beach combing!
Fastest 1 hour average 20 mph
===========
Weight lost 2kg by Dwight Lewis none
maximum cycle bag weight 9kg
water carried 3 x 750ml plus 1nos 500ml
special diet vitamins and malt loaf!
sweets eaten ...loads.
meals per day 4!
================
Most expensive b&b £75
Cheapest £50 (apart from those kindly paid for so generous others. 8 places)
48 nights:-
- 1 overnight train. plus 1 night at home!
3 hostels
2 camping
1 mobile home.
8 Warmshowers / Couch surfing hosts
17 Friends and friends of friends etc (6 of those for 2 nights ie rest days.)
8 Nights paid for by friends and family
All places offered except 8.. incredible.thank you all.
trip cut short by 11 days including 2 rest days.
=======================
Toughest cycling Devon and Cornwall.(many steep ascents and having breaking on descents)
All of the rest of UK was relatively easy.
Most fun day for Dwight Blackpool.... but so many good things hard to say.
Lewis voted best night Woolacombe.
===================
photos taken 1200 plus.
1 minute interviews. 40 plus.
==================
best animals:-. tortoise. hedgehog. seal.?? but met loads of dogs cats horses sheep cows. birds. insects/bugs
Friday, 22 August 2014
Thursday, 21 August 2014
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
second last day 47
Today we cycled 54 miles from Evanton to Longside. We had a small breakfast and we first got driven in Gillian's car to Inverness! There we took the train to Keith and got off there by 7 past 10 and saw a whisky distillery! Dad was really exited about it and really wanted a picture but in the end he never got one. So our first stop was at Turriff there dad saw the old post office museum a small one but it was open even after closing time at twelve so dad was very pleased. After a quick peek in the the woman inside recommended us a place for lunch called the square diner and it was good. I had a BIG sandwich with colselaw salad and crisps it was delicious! After lunch we cycled till we saw a village with some pretty things like bike with baskets and flowers and prams also dad made us stop to take pictures. Next we came to a cafe in a town that dad is now saying was not very nice but I don't care he had a tea and went for a poo there and that's why we stopped there. Any way we cycled on and got to a track it was another national cycle route. Oh well we thought and we continued along it for a while before getting fed up with it and cycling on the road. We got to Peterhead soon enough and wandered around looking at some boats and things before finding Carol she took us for dinner at a fish and chips then we went to a light house which is supposed to be the most easterly part of the UK. She drove us to Longside and now we are at a house who belongs to someone she knows dad and I a not actually sure whos it is. She went to a meeting and went home so me and dad ante now home alone on the coaches.
The next part of this post today is the news which is good and bad. Basically I'm afraid we're cutting the trip and I'm sorry if I'm disappointing people who read this. So tommorow we'll be in Edinburgh for the sleeper train to london as it's gran's funeral which is sad. And we won't be coming back from London so tommorow is our last day sadly but it's been fun I have to say meeting new people and seeing new places. So thank you everyone who has read or commented on the blog or put us up. Also into the present now Lin and Louis have just arrived back from a sports match. So I'm sorry for disappointing everyone but the website is always there, national geographic might do something for us and if I don't get to write tomorrow's tommorow then I'll do it the next after that I'm not sure bye.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
day 46
Today we cycled 47 miles from Wick to Evanton. We set off at 9ish I think and it rained almost straight away but it wasn't that bad. Our first stop was at a museum cafe but the museum was closed. So we had a little break there and then cycled on to Helmsdale we got there and dad got fish and chips while we waited for the train we mighy not be allowed on. We were very lucky indeed and had free bike spaces on the train so we sat down on the train and dad said the more I looked out the window the further we would go. We got off one stop earlier than we could have to get as close to our destination as possible as dad wanted to go to a museum at Invergordon. I got my own back for the train as the museum was closed hah! Also there were murial everywhere they were really good. Any way we cycled a while to our destination and well I have to cut this short as I'm really tired sorry but we had dinner with the family we're with and now Julien dad and I are basically just Chatting and this hour before bed. By.
Monday, 18 August 2014
day 45 (yester day was actually 44)
Today we cycled 47 miles from Thurso to Wick. We set off at 9 am not a bad start and our stuff was quite dry. That soon changed as we went through a few showers. The first place we were going to was Dunnet head the most northly place in Britain higher than John o' groats only a few miles a but the wind was right in our faces so that wasn't fun. We got there and its on a hill, very windy we could just stop the phone from shaking to take pictures. We sheltered there from a bit of rain and cycled back a bit with the wind behind us it was fun. John o' groats next twelve miles from Dunnet. We missed a turning at one point but still got back on track the wind was mainly on our side now until the last bit where it was in our face. John o' groats was surprisingly nicer than Lands end which had to much tourism but John o' groats was a lot better basically just a few places to eat and a shop we had lunch there. After that our stuff was drier and we cycled on to Wick but soon rain started first fine but then it was harsh and stinging with the wind so much that we had to huddle under some trees for a while, that was the second time we did that today but last time the rain didn't hurt and it didn't last that long we waited for about ten minutes in the end. We got to a bridge and dad was really exited when we saw some big pipes that he said where for gas and he was staring for a while it wasn't raining at that point but I knew it would and wanted to go. He was just staring at it for ages and the rain did get us in the end and I blame him for that it went with us all the way to Wick. At Wick we sheltered from the rain at a pharmacy we got to our b&b booked by Ling and its a really nice one but now we're going out for dinner.
Gas pipeline.
The whole area seems full of tidal wind and off shore gas installation s.
Meg a wind farm expert at John O Groats.
Sunday, 17 August 2014
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