It's not easy to spot when things go right: you get in your
car and set off, it works, no problem. You probably think nothing of it. The same is true of
this tour; there is so much there that worked that the best way to appreciate it all is to
list the relevant points.
- Travel
- The bus from Edinburgh ran to time (as best it could), had enough seats, had enough
storage for the bikes and was as reasonably comfortable as could be expected.
- Hotels
- All were of good standard and (with only one exception) very easy to find at the end
- Support
- This is perhaps the most powerful plus-point of the tour; the support provided by Jimmy
Cullen was 1st class and better. Just a two examples:
- Our kit was always unloaded and ready at the hotels; in the one case where he was allowed to
check us it - the final place near Land's end - he took all our luggage to the rooms.
Carrying several lots of heavy cases over sometimes two flights of stairs is above
and beyond the call of duty.
- He always found us good cafe stops. For those who know how rare a cyclist-friendly
cafe now is, this is some feat. On at least one occasion he persuaded one to stay
open for at least another hour to accomodate cold and wet bikies.
But the main thing was we always knew he'd be there if we needed help. A great feeling on
long runs like this one.
- Route planning
- The routes were meticulously planned by Colin and the directions, especially in the
big towns, were perfect and directed us through the least inconvenient part of the urban sprawl.
It's pretty clear that someone had to ride or maybe drive the vast majority of, if not all of,
the whole route. That's some planning.