My attempt to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats in June 1999 was the result of the convergence factors - my long-standing desire to do this ride, and my acquisition of a recumbent cycle.
The End to End is the ultimate UK cycle tour, and as such has long since captivated me. Then, in a moment of drunkenness at my brother's wedding in October 1997, I confessed this driving ambition to most of my living relations. So I was compelled to do it sooner or later, or lose face. Hence, as soon as the occasion arose, I was going to have to do it.
Meanwhile, I had developed an interest in recumbent cycles. Trying one or two out became an inevitability, so one fateful day, August 24th 1998 (my birthday) to be precise, I headed down to Future Cycles in Forest Row (West Sussex) for a day's tuition and hire. I was first given a long wheelbase Vision to try, and then, once my confidence was up (after only a couple of spills) I moved on to the short wheelbase Pashley PDQ, then a quick spin on a Windcheetah, which was great fun. I headed out on a circuit around the area on the PDQ, but it really didn't grab me as the bike for me, so I did the same circuit on the Trice, which I liked better but I knew I was safe as I didn't have the space in my bike shed for one. So while I enjoyed the day, I knew that I was unlikely to buy a 'bent just yet. Until, right at the end of the day, I spotted the SWB Vision, and gave it a whirl. Now this was a bike I liked! Trouble!
I went home that night, dreaming of a new, laid back world, but did nothing further. Until January 1999, when I returned and bought myself a Short Wheelbase Under Seat Steered Full Suspension Vision VR42. Time to reshuffle those bikes in my bike shed. Mercury would need a fair amount of space in that shed. But I had plenty of time - due to teething problems at Vision's new factory, Mercury didn't actually arrive until late April.
By this time, things had moved on apace. I had resigned my job, and resolved to take some time out before looking for a new one. Time to do what? Well, ride the End to End, of course. I now had the time, and I had a new machine on order. But would it be up to the task? Would I be physically ready to do it? That remained to be seen.
Tuesday April 20th 1999 - time to pick up Mercury, at last. This took longer than anticipated, as he wasn't fully assembled when I arrived at Future Cycles, and we had a fair old struggle fitting the rack at the back - they had changed the frame geometry in the 1999 model, and this was the first rack they were fitting to one, so it was all a bit experimental. But we got there in the end, the test ride seemed fine (though it was raining, so I called it a day after about 2 laps of the car park) and I headed home, excited. The following day I took him out in Regent's Park, my first recumbent ride in London. A bit scary, as I was not yet used to the light and twitchy steering. The following day out to my parents' place near St Albans, and my first puncture. After a mere 15 miles! That was my first puncture in years, too. Not long afterwards, 45 miles to be precise, the rear wheel punctured too. I'd needed some better tyres than the flimsy Primo Comets (supposedly great in terms of rolling resistance) that came fitted with the bike. And meanwhile the rack was bending for some odd reason. Time to return to Future Cycles to have this fixed and get a first service in. I replaced the tyres with a Continental Top Touring 2000 at the front and a Panaracer Pasela at the back. Hopefully these would do the trick. Meanwhile I got more used to riding this odd machine, started developing the right muscles I said started developing, not developed, OK?), and fine tuned Mercury with clipless SPD pedals and decent lights. But time was running out before the big ride. I'd have to do some longer rides and check out his luggage capacity.
At this point I still intended to use my Yak Bob trailer in conjunction with Mercury. I planned to put my clothes in my waterproof panniers, and the camping gear in the trailer, with spare tyres strapped on top - normally I wouldn't bother with spares, but Mercury's wheels are unusual sizes, narrow 26 inch at the back and 20 inch non-BMX at the front. A recent camping trip had demonstrated to me the need for a new tent - my 6.5kg tent was simply too large and heavy, even if I could store my bike under the fly sheet. So I bought myself a smaller lightweight one, weighing just 2.4 kilos, plus a new thick Thermarest to ensure decent sleep. I bought some OS Travelmaster maps, and started planning my route while consulting the CTC's routes and various ride reports I found on the Internet.
I had not yet tried out the Mercury/Bob combination, so I gave it a go with a light load. No trouble at all, except the attention this attracted but I could live with that. So, less than a week before I was due to set off, I went for a more demanding test, with most of my intended camping gear in the trailer and various heavy objects bunged into my panniers. This made for a more tricky ride, but I believed I could get accustomed to this. Then I rode down the shallow hill on the Inner Circle in Regent's Park. Bob tried to steer me straight into a parked car. I lost all steering control and had to do an emergency stop. Hm. Take a look, shift a couple of things, try another lap. Same spot, same car, same near-catastrophe. After more tests I came to the conclusion that I'd have to ditch Bob for this endeavour, as he was incompatible with the rear suspension on Mercury - it lacked rigidity, and any pivoting action on the rear axle caused violent vibrations in the steering - not exactly my cup of tea on a fast descent!
So, back to the drawing board. I worked out that by filling my panniers beyond capacity, strapping the various bits that I still needed to the outside, and by taking my saddle bag, I could still take most of what I had intended to take, except I'd be limited to one pair of shoes for the whole trip. Oh well, so be it. A test ride with this equipment did not fill me with confidence, as Mercury felt top-heavy. But I was sure it'd be alright in the end - as it had to be! And after a few more attempts at packing the rack I figured out what needed to go where in order to maintain balance and rigidity, and I was ready to go. Just in time!
Last updated on 25 November 1999