Cycling Around The Spare Bedroom

So how am I going to get fit?

We'll it's October and in Scotland that means cold, wet and windy. I also work full time so any riding would need to be in the evenings or at the weekends. But I've also got 2 small children so realistically the evenings means after they're in bed asleep and by then it's dark outside.

And so the title of this tale, "Cycling Around The Spare Bedroom".

My trusty steed will need to start out as an exercise bike. I've got a nice shiny new one we bought about a year ago. It's sitting in the spare bedroom pretending to be a clothes horse.

I've also thought of a fun way to make things a little more interesting. Armed with a map of Scotland and a pin, I close my eyes. Where will it land... I open my eyes and the winner is... Portree, on the Isle of Skye. So what you're thinking, what does that have to do with an exercise bike? Well it's simple really. Each day I'm going to try to clock up miles on the exercise bike and when I stop I'll look at the map and see how much farther along my journey I've come. If I land somewhere interesting I'll see if I can find out a bit about the place. All from the comfort of my spare (we never have guests) bedroom.

So where will the journey start? Well let's see. Out with the pin again... Oban. That sounds good, not too far, both on the West coast and whatsmore I've stayed in both towns and know the roads my virtual journey will take. Imagining my trip will be easy.

Oban to Portree... 154 miles


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Of we go...

What was I thinking? Me and exercise don't mix. Yet I've done it now, I've made a pledge to get out on my bike. Not only that, I'm supposed to do go on some epic adventure. What have I done? I don't even know how far John O Groats is?

Hold on, a quick look on Google Maps tells me it's.... 317 miles, oh my goodness.... thats 510 km in new money... how am I going to do that?

Let's think, I've got to get fit, I've got to plan a route, I've got to get organised. I've already got a bike, a Saracen mountain bike, but is that a wise choice for a long journey which will probably end up being mostly on roads?

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.