*

Some Background

I'd never really considered cycling an "End to End", even though I'd been cycle touring regularly for nearly 20 years. Apart from a few short trips when my kids were young I've always preferred cycling in France with occasional forays across its borders. I usually tour with a friend mainly in the Alps and Pyrenees and a few times around Provence. France has always seemed the perfect place for cycle touring with its quiet roads; the attitude to cycling; long, well graded mountain passes; campsites in every town; greater probability of decent weather; boulangeries and red wine.

Part of the reason for me retiring at 60 was to get some cycling in, while I was still fit enough. I do ride regularly in the West Yorkshire/Lancashire Pennines and I've continued with the annual cycle tours in France, but I wanted something a bit more epic so I justified the early retirement! I think the idea of an "End to End" first started to germinate shortly after returning from a superb tour in Provence, including two rides up Mont Ventoux. I'd been reading the detailed information on the CTC Forum about LEJOG, too, and I think some of the enthusiasm was catching. I firmed up on the idea during December.

A number of posters on the CTC forum made the point they didn’t see the "End to End" as a tour, more a personal challenge and some said that if you wanted to tour, why would you choose the UK. I guess I’d always gone along with the second point but thought the ‘challenge’ rather depended on what targets you set for yourself. I wasn’t under any time constraints so I could take it as fast (or rather slow) as I liked. I wanted to enjoy each day and not just see each as something to endure and tick off. I didn't fancy taking the shortest or quickest route and I favoured quiet scenic routes where possible. I don't always avoid busy roads, in fact I sometimes really enjoy them, but I don't like the constant roar of motor traffic. By going via my home in Haworth I would include some Pennine hills and the Dales, which would slow me down a bit, too.

For me, camping is a big part of the pleasure of cycle touring and I didn’t even consider alternatives. I enjoy the camping in itself but I also like the freedom it gives from having to decide in advance what distance to do each day and to change direction on a whim.

This Blog

I've never blogged in my life! However, when preparing for this trip, I found out lots of people do and these were both helpful and inspiring. So I thought I'd have a go.

Originally, I thought I'd do a very brief summary and perhaps add a couple of photographs for each day even though I'd taken hundreds. Once I'd got into it my 'summaries' became longer and when I started to upload photos I remembered I'd bought Photoshop Elements but had done no more than tinker with it. Initially I used it to just to make slight enhancements but (as can be seen) I soon got a wee bit carried away! It took me a while to get into my stride so, for example, I didn't work out the best way to post the photographs until the last few days.