Preparations
Now, when you end to end with a back up car preparations are reasonably straight forward. You can load up the car with all sorts of clothes, food and spares for the bike. If your bike falls apart you can get a lift to the nearest experts. Your support finds you places to stay, provides endless cups of tea and even provides you with shelter to drink them in.
Alison and I realised that both of us cycling was a different proposition altogether.The first thing we needed were panniers and so for the first time I became an e bay customer and soon managed to get a fetching set of purple Karrimoors for Alison. After weeks of failed bids for a set for me and finding that many were going for nearly new prices, I discovered that Cycle Logic in Helston stocked Altura and so I treated myself to a pair of waterproof Fusions and very good they turned out to be. We also bought a set of Altura yellow rain covers for Alison's panniers and this proved to be another wise buy.
Alison would be using a Marin road bike and to enable her to carry the extra weight the mechanics at the Cycle Centre in Penzance built her a new rear wheel. Also added was a rack and a mirror to give warning of approaching coaches and juggernauts. A mirror is really a very good idea, especially if you are less than confident on the busier roads, which you cannot avoid altogether.
We both bought new clothes. My Ron Hill DXB tights proved to be excellent and Alison highly recommends her padded Altura tights to you ladies out their. Our Polaris coats performed superbly, mine now having been end to end three times. (Above Alison in modelling pose on the Forth Bridge with all her new equipment)
Neither of us is particularly technical and both prefer the old fashioned paper map. In 2007 we did not have a totally planned route and we set about planning for the 2008 marathon in the same vane. We bought a 99p AA atlas from one of those bargain bookshops and proceeded to chop out the relevant pages and mark a rough route with a flourescent marker. One of the joys of cycle touring, especially when you have no definate time limit, is changing your mind when you get to a crossroads-more of this later.
We only booked a few days accomodation- the first night, at John O Groats and on the Orkneys-the rest we found on route. We highly recommend you get hold of a list of Tourist Information Offices for England and Scotland-we found them very helpful. During this account we will give details of accomodation we recommend.
Having decided Alison would come up by train and knowing what day I was likely to get to John O Groats we had to book tickets for Alison. Many people have given accounts of problems taking their bikes -with guards refusing to accept them, especially in Scotland. We were able to avoid all this by using www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com
Don't be put off by the web address. Three months before she was due to travel we started keeping an eye on the site and when the tickets first appeared they were full price but then a week or so later they started to fall. Apparently this is how it usually works but don't leave it too late as the price goes up again as you get nearer the travelling date. We got Penzance to Edinburgh for £26 and then decided to upgrade to 1st class - for £50 Alison travelled in luxury and had free food and drinks all the way. Seperate tickets were bought for Edinburgh to Inverness and Inverness to Thurso. So that she wouldn't be rushing Alison did it over 3 days and spent a morning in Edinburgh and a morning in Inverness.
The National Express website also lets you book tickets for your bike. We booked the tickets one day and they
arrived by 1st class post the next day-for the bike and Alison- excellent service. More of Alison's journey later.