Cycling Around The Spare Bedroom

Although I'm a slow reader I love books. When I'm not reading fiction, I love travel books, especially those which follow someone on an adventure. I've read loads of good ones (more suggestions welcomed) but a few which stick in my mind are;

• Full Circle - by Michael Palin
• Long Way Round - by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• Long Way Down - by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• These are the days that must happen to you - by Dan Walsh

Although these were all great reads, they never left me thinking of setting off on an journey of my own. Maybe it was due the the scale of the adventures, or the commitment required, I don't know, but I was never left thinking, "I want to do that!"

Then about six months ago I read another book. It wasn't really the book which got my attention however. It was the idea. The book was "From the Mull to the Cape: A Gentle Bike Ride on the Edge of Wilderness" by Richard Guise. The book itself was good, although as I recall, the writer's sense of humour was questionable (a bit like my own probably).

It follows a cycling journey from the Southernmost tip of the Mull of Kintyre, to Cape Wrath way up at the top of Scotland. Here was an adventure of a manageable scale which wouldn't require too much commitment. I was inspired, I wanted to do it. So the very next day I did.... nothing.

Six months have past... I've done nothing. Until now. Now I'm going to do it, now I'm going to ride my bike from my front door in North Ayrshire to Cape Wrath. There's just one problem. Aside from the occasional trip out with my kids, I haven't ridden a bike seriously for about 10 years.

I used to ride a lot. Not great distances, that wasn't my thing. I preferred going up. Up hills on my Mountain Bike and then plumetting down again at crazy speeds, usually falling off in the process. But as happens, life took over, I got married, we had kids and Daddy's hobbies took a back seat. But with the big 4-0 approaching in a few years I'm starting to feel my age. I'm a bit over-weight (not much), totally unfit (I couldn't run away from a rabid dog) and I do no exercising whatsoever aside from walking to the bus stop and back.

So things are about to change. I'm going to cycle from my home (I don't like the sound of the Mull of Kintyre) to John O Groats (I don't like the sound of Cape Wrath). You heard it here.

Let the preparations begin.