My Cycle tour (Bristol to Scotland) can I stay at yours?

[Andy Hamilton]

Stopped lurking now Andy/Shirley

Fantastic work - congrats again!! It was good to meet you at Shirley's. Looking forward to hearing (reading) more tales from your journey.

Was great to meet you too, always good to meet someone with similar ideas.

Well that was quite a journey and I am very happy to have had the chance to do it and meet such great people on the way. I was not sure if I would do it, I know I tend not to give up at things and really the ishers kept me going.

I not only got back late, but stayed up to watch the U.S. election result (I'm very Happy with the result). So not been up to much today really, I will post a bit more about my journey on the blog soon, I kept a journal for the most part in order to do so.

[wulf]

Andy - you're a star. Congratulations on completing your epic journey - and thumbs up to all the ishers whose hospitality made it possible.

Wulf

[Shirley]

Here he is at Aboyne - the final leg of his cycle trip

[ina]

And he really didn't have a single bit of bad weather in Scotland... All the photos with him show brilliant sunshine! Must be his magic influence!!!

[yerma]

Its been great watching Andy's progress on the forum, and to understand what a wonderful community you ishers are. We have been far less worried about him knowing he was being so well looked after. And well done Andy! We knew you'd stick to it (the bike ride not the saddle...). Yer Ma & Pa.

[snapdragon]

Fantastic

weel done Andy

Glad to know that you're home

well done to all the Ishers on the route too, brilliant job

[the.fee.fairy]

Congrats Andy. You are a star!

[invisiblepiper]

And he really didn't have a single bit of bad weather in Scotland... All the photos with him show brilliant sunshine! Must be his magic influence!!!

Then lets kidnap him and make him stay here! ..................we could use the decent weather!

[Stonehead]

And he really didn't have a single bit of bad weather in Scotland... All the photos with him show brilliant sunshine! Must be his magic influence!!!

More like he stuffed the sunshine in his panniers and took it away with him! I've been flat out fencing and it was lovely until Andy rocked up. Off he trundled and away went the sunshine, leaving me out in the cold, wet, foggy murk. Four hours of it in the morning, three in the afternoon. I want my sunshine back!!!!!

[Stonehead]

We have been far less worried about him knowing he was being so well looked after.

You'd have been really, really worried if you'd seen the way he was eyeing my six gallons of scrumpy.

[Andy Hamilton]

Actually I can report a nice sunny day down here, so there might be something in that. As for your Scrumpy, er no comment...

Just worked out roughly what milage I did all by bike.

I was feeling a little bit naughty as I did cheat a few times when I was really, really knackered and I got 2 trains and a few lifts. So it's confession time - One train from Bridlington to Scarborough as I had little choice as I had no where to stay due to the town being filled up with Mods (who could account for that), once again from Hartlepool to Newcastle that time was down to fatigue and 3 punctures in a day, also I did discover that you cycling through towns and cities adds on more time to your journey as they are just so fiddly, roughly an extra 1.5 hours per town so I did not want to cycle through Sunderland et al should really have taken a more inland route via york at this point.

Then I got a lift from Amble to pretty much Berwick upon Tweed and finally got picked up by Ina from Marykirk but this was just inside Aberdeenshire so I did actually cycle into Aberdeenshire as I said I would.

Ok now I have confessed and that feels better, but I don't feel so bad at all as I have just worked out the milage that I just cycled not the milage I covered but the actual distance I covered just on my bike this includes times getting lost and slight detours - 677 MILES, I cycled 677 miles

That's further than the distance by car from my house to John of Groats or roughly the distance from my house to Zurich or Leipzig (Germany).

So in short not too bad an effort me thinks.

[red]

not a bad effort at all!

well done Andy

[baldowrie]

finally got picked up by Ina from Marykirk

I think that the time you arrived and the fact the temperature was dropping dramtically will be an acceptable excuse for this, beside I don't think you had much choice. Ina had made up her mind for safety reasons.

[ina]

finally got picked up by Ina from Marykirk

I think that the time you arrived and the fact the temperature was dropping dramtically will be an acceptable excuse for this, beside I don't think you had much choice. Ina had made up her mind for safety reasons.

[ina]

finally got picked up by Ina from Marykirk

I think that the time you arrived and the fact the temperature was dropping dramtically will be an acceptable excuse for this, beside I don't think you had much choice. Ina had made up her mind for safety reasons.

And it was actually Shirley's OH who did the picking up - I just went along to show him the way, and to keep assuring him that yes, it may have seemed far more than 10 miles, but that was all it was!

Did you know that miles are twice as long in rural Scotland?