Where to this year?

Sunday May 16th 2021

Well after the Covid-chaos of 2020, job changes and additional lock-downs in 2021 - I need to get away on the bike. With international travel still being a bit tricky and limited annual leave, I figured something UK-based was the wisest move. Whilst I'm normally happy going solo, this year the wife and my son are also up for it, so we're all heading-off together. Not only that, we're travelling as part of a larger group (not something I would normally do), but it's time to try something different yet closer to home.

Why "Land's End to John o'Groats?"

I have been following Nathan Millward on social media since I came across his bike trip from Australia to the UK on a tiny 110cc Honda 'postie bike'. Just before the last lockdown I hit 50 and with social gatherings forbidden, I was looking for something to do. I ended-up seeing a post for a day-out riding the Devon lanes with Nathan, so I signed-up and had a superb day. Shortly afterwards I was looking at what trips I could do in 2021. With all the uncertainty around foreign travel, I considered doing Scotland again. 

On Nathan's web-site www.dorothysspeedshop.com/ I spotted 'The Garbage Run' - a trip from Land's End in Cornwall up to John o'Groats at the top of Scotland, but I initially dismissed it as it seemed a bit 'pointless', particularly given that all the best stuff is up on the West coast of Scotland. Besides, I have already been to both locations. So, I started planning another run up to Scotland but this time spending more time on the West coast and visiting more of the islands. 

I then watched one of Nathan's YouTube videos where he showed some of the highlights on the Land's End to John o'Groats route. I was blown away, particularly given that many of the highlights were not in Scotland! Doing the whole trip on smaller roads, taking-in the best bits on the way, avoiding motorways and big cities - suddenly it seemed like a cool thing to do.

My wife was also interested in tagging along so I figured that I should fix-up my son's old bike and take that as it's quite comfy. I bought some pannier frames, dusted-off my panniers and got ready for a slow and steady trip. I then mentioned the trip to my son and he said that he'd be interested too - so we've all signed-up!

Which bike(s)?

I still have the Kawasaki Z1000SX which is a good sports-touring tool, but I don't have any provision for luggage, particularly as the rear seat is now occupied. My son has his Yamaha XT660X which will be carrying all of our luggage. He will be heavily loaded-up what with carrying camping gear and clothing for the three of us. His poor bike only has 48hp and hasn't been used for the last 12 months....

So how many people are going?

Not really sure, but it's looking like there may be around 20 of us in the group. I don't usually do group trips. People get lost, people break down, people travel at different speeds and people can often have different expectations on what they hope to experience. People can be difficult.

On this trip, we are given a suggested route with places to stop and the final accommodation location for each day. We are encouraged to break-up into smaller groups and can either go solo or stick together. So hopefully it won't be like my big group trips of old where you spend half the day waiting for people to catch-up who got stuck at the traffic lights.... 

A WhatsApp group has already been set-up for all the participants. We seem to be quite a diverse bunch with riders of all ages and genders and in terms of bikes we've got the lot from a 125 scooter to a 1400 hyper-sports! Everyone seems friendly, so it should be a cracking trip.

What's the plan?

Well, things have changed a little since the booking was made. Scotland isn't opening-up to group travel quite as quickly as the rest of the UK. As a result, the trip is likely to morph into "Land's End to Somewhere up North."

It's a shame not to do the original route, but to be honest I think we'll all be happy just to hit the road in any direction. The weather isn't looking promising either, but it can't possibly rain for the entire trip.....

I finish work at lunchtime on Friday 21st May, so we need to hit the road as soon as we can and just cover the distance to Land's End. With rain forecast, we'll get there on the fast roads and we can slow the pace after that. The magic mystery tour officially starts from Land's End on Saturday morning. Let's see where we end-up!