Over the course of 10 days in late August , Dirty Wknd member and relatively new cyclist Olivia rode Lands End to John O'Groats - just shy of miles, including 15, metres of climbing. But I clung onto the encouragement of my new bike fam. If people who knew what they were doing thought I could do it, then maybe I could. We wound our way from the depths of hilly Cornwall, over the rolling climbs of Dartmoor, across the Shropshire plains to the lush and gothic Lake District and finally, into Scotland.
By the last day, I was so institutionalised that I said thank you to a sheep for waiting for me to pass before crossing a gravel track. The scenery was epic, and it got more beautiful and dramatic the further north we rolled. The Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands was the hardest section, but also the most beautiful. Drinking in the stunning views and flying kind of down long and swooping descents made every killer climb, and all the miles to get to that point, worth it.
We're pretty lucky on living on our little island - I'd recommend getting out there and seeing all of it! A varied route that covers all of the most beautiful areas you want to see, and includes a great mix of cycle pathways and landmarks, is really important.
Just to be clear, I can't take credit for the route, but it was stunning. I loved leaving Bristol and crossing the Severn Bridge as it felt like we were really making progress.
Eat, eat and eat again. Having experienced the downward spiral of declining body temperature, concrete legs and mental self-annihilation that comes with a crash in energy levels, I knew I had to eat lots.
