RyanF

Yeah it is possible to remove people from the group. It is also possible to lock the group so everyone has to be pre-approved - at the moment i think it is best to leave it open partly to make it easier for the transition but also to allow potential new members to have a look at club rides (etc) whereas when the group is locked this isn't possible. If lots of non members join and spamming the feed becomes an issue then can change it to a closed group.

Another uplifting bogs bunch, brilliant sunshine brilliant run. 20 riders at one point with about 15 doing the full Bhoona. Fast run into Dalry becoming a bit of a fixture now.
Hey Billy, if no one mentioned it, Charlie is on the form of his life and clearly lovin it

Thanks, thats x 3 more chaps processed today
Sans

Good day. Managed to make it past Hunterston for a 1st time!!! Legs were dubbed at the end.

Thanks to everyone today, much appreciated the wheels!!
A couple of over ambitious turns at the front put me in the red.
Hope i just about clung on and didnt hold you lads back too much.
Again thanks for the wheels, company and making a newbie feel incredibly welcome. Really really enjoyed it though and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Can't tell you all how good that was for me! Perfect pace and conditions for my first group outing in nearly 5 months

The easiest way is to log into strava and go to the upload area. Connect your Garmin Account to Strava. This will then automatically upload all Garmin Connect uploads to strava.
 
Very much enjoyed the run today.

Up early. Messed about and left 5 minute after I was supposed to meet everyone. 6 mile solo TT effort to catch up. Fortunately it was alcohol fuelled so not a problem. The subsequent 80 miles were wonderful, though i needed my bed after 60.
 
Stunning views and great company made for a great day out.
 
Wasn't happy about being force fed two large plates of food in the cafe though...

Single Arran
Majorca / France or both
Bealach na bah

ryan
 
good to read your report. i have this marked down for in 2018 as one of my rides to do.
 
campbell

Nice report, Ryan and well done. Still remember those early year Tuesday night training runs when you were flying. Expect you'll be super now!

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Tremendous effort matey!
 
How was the camping?

Well done Ryan

Nice one Ryan. Simply epic. Need that on my bucket list (with the sunshine of course).

Great stuff Ryan, you were very very lucky with weather but you deserved it

Well done Ryan! Sounds like a proper adventure!

Some going Ryan... glad you got the weather! you doing it next year?

Well done sounds like a very memorable experience!

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Short post about my 9 days supported LeJog - Threshold Ride Across Britain
Day 1  - Lands End to Okehampton 8,675ft & 107.6mi @ 15.5mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/707139918
One word sums up this leg brutal. Loads of short very steep climbs with some technical roads which meant you had to keep your wits about you. When I got back to campsite I was allocated a tent but due to the extreme exhaustion I put all my gear in the wrong tent. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to work out which tent I had put my gear in. Going too hard on this first leg did cause me to suffer on the following days. Wet roads in the morning but it stayed dry all day
Day 2 - Okehampton – Bath 6,998ft & 111.2mi @ 16.2mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/708589913
Another brutal day but thankfully the climbs were generally less severe and the roads a little less technical. I suffered on this day due to the previous days antics , developed a sore A*** from the saddle and sore knees from the climbing.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 3 – Bath-Ludlow 5,919 ft & 99.4mi @ 17.3mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/709710784
The organisers had told us this was a flat day with climbing of 3000 feet but it became apparent that they had made an error as we had hit this climbing target before lunch. This was mentally quite a hard day but fairly enjoyable as the roads where similar to those I ride at home with some tricky steep climbs.
Glorious sunshine all day
 
Day 4 – Ludlow – Haydock 3,064ft  & 108.2mi @ 19.1 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/710769349
This was supposed to be the first “rest day†so it started off fairly steady and we tried to get a group with some kind of order and run an easy chain gang but this didn’t really work as many of the riders had little experience in group riding. The roads were often single track and twisty so it was a recipe for disaster. We were passed by a fast group so I took the opportunity to become part of that, the fast riders from our group merged into the fast group and we had a pace that felt a bit between the Thursday runs and the Renfrew bunch. All was going well until I got a puncture but luckily this was only a few miles from the feed stop so I managed to get on another fast much smaller group.
Glorious sunshine all day, slower riders were soaked by an impressive electrical storm
Day 5 - Haydock to Penrith 5,374ft & 107.7mi @ 17.00 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713078743
This was a fairly hard day due to a massive head winds on the climbs and the fatigue that was setting in from the camping & cycling. It also held the highest climb of the trip Shap. Once over shap the small group of 6 I was with ramped up the pace to the campsite.
Glorious sunshine all day
 Day 6 – Penrith to Hamilton 3,386ft & 100.4mi @ 18.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/713081613
This was a relatively easy day as we all knew we had the longest day of the trip tomorrow but that didn’t stop the pace raising into the mid 20’s towards the end of the day other than the bad road surfaces this was a good day oh and it was good to be back in Scotland.
Glorious sunshine all day
Day 7 – Hamilton to Torlundy (Fort William)  6,214ft & 126.7mi @ 17.6mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/714312601
This was the longest day on the trip and it was made better as my dad decided to ride with me for this leg and thankfully gave me a wheel to draft behind for the start of the cold morning. We picked up some of the other Balfour Beatty guys at the second stop and rode with them for the majority of the ride. Amazing scenery and some good descents, one of the highlights of the trip.
Glorious sunshine with a welcome shower for a few minutes before Glencoe
 Day 8 - Fort William to Kyle of Sutherland 5,272 & 111.0 mi @ 17.9 mi/h
https://www.strava.com/activities/715544975
This day started with a climb over the south side of Lochness this I believe mixed with my now dodgey knees caused me to pull my left Achilles. Some amazing scenery was scene on this day another good day but I was in a fair amount of pain for most of it so was glad when it was over.
Glorious sunshine but starting to get cold in the mornings.
Day 9 – Kyle of Sutherland 4,744 & 104.3 mi @ 17.2 mi
https://www.strava.com/activities/716534203
The final day started at temps of one degrees but like the previous day it was set to get warm reaching a high of the mid twenties. The last day had what seemed like a lot of gradual climbs but we decided to stay together as group for the duration so it was done at a sensible pace. Seeing a large number of mechanicals and accidents on this last day made me nervous in the last third as failing at this stage would have been terrible.
Glorious sunshine freezing in the mornings.
 
All round it was a well organised event with some superb weather chucked in. The negatives of the event was being woken by Queen 5am or 5:30am from a damp tent.
 
 
 

Not my smartest week on the bike!
 
Got soaked again with no rain jacket, ran out of food and water after the Tak then 35 miles home into a head wind finished me off!
 
I'm away to shoot myself....