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Ware Sunday 27th June.
It is just over 3 weeks since we finished LEJOG and at last I have got round to doing my reflections. There is something about being on the road all day not knowing what you are going to encounter nor what your destination is going to be, which encourages reflection, and something about the working routine which discourages it.
Whatever it is I know that I enjoyed putting my thoughts down, and now that I'm back to "normality" I keep putting it off. Maybe because I've been on my bike today (and had a couple of glasses of wine) I'm now up for it.
First of all - if you have any inclination to do Lejog- or whatever your equivalent might be - do it! As a great procrastinator, I had put this in the "talk about it - when I retire - it will never really happen" box. I'm so pleased that I got beyond this, and it has inspired me for future projects. Maybe when I retire!
It was particularly good to do it with Ewan. The memory will remain with me for as long as I have a memory. There were some freaky bits when we discovered that without having said anything we were having the same thoughts - once about the pattern (or lack of) of lights in the ceiling of a room in Carbisdale Castle.
In my few - and they were few - anxious moments, Ewan helped me keep things in perspective - its only a bike ride after all, if we miss a bit its hardly the end of the world.
There are different categories of people dong this trip - from the 140-mile a day athletes to the 70 day walkers, and all sorts of eccentric ways in between.
We did 17 days cycling. With the weather we had, which was hugely favourable, and without the detour into the Yorkshire Dales, we could easily have taken 2 or 3 days less. For our "leisure cycle", the schedule was just about perfect, enabling us to make the most of stopping when and where we wanted.
During the trip we saw virtually no television, heard no radio and read no newspapers. It was like inhabiting a different planet. Hugely relaxing!
We met many interesting people along the way. Whenever we asked for directions we were met with great help from people who had great stories to tell but who wanted us to go their way and had no interest in giving directions for where we wanted.
Lastly, thanks to Helen for putting up with my months of map-gazing, accommodation booking and fitness training and be there at both Ends.
The End
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