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I'm currently encamped in Airdrie, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Yesterday I did the short walk to Scotland's lowest county top, Cairnpapple Hill, and had to pay £3 for the privilege. The hill is owned by Historic Scotland as it's one of the best known prehistoric sites on the mainland, with evidence of human activity dating back 5,500 years. Ancient Britons built a henge up there, but out of wood not stone, and it was a burial site.
Weather is unhelpful and blustery, praying it brightens up before I take on the highest mountains.
Below is the copy of an article in the Sunday Herald from July 9, 2006. (www.sundayherald.com/56638) My thanks go out to Fiona Russell for this.
Jonny Muir cycled across the Scottish border on Wednesday. Nothing remarkable in that you might think, except that by the time the 24-year-old reached Carter Bar he had been cycling for almost seven weeks, taking in the highest points in more than 50 counties in England and Wales - and will be set to tackle the highest hills and mountains in all 33 Scottish counties.
“I will have to dip back into Northumberland to tick off the last English county
at some point in the next few weeks,” said the single-minded cyclist, “but I’m sure I’ll still be on track to meet my target of cycling to the highest point of all 86 British counties in 86 days.”
Muir has spent 42 days in the saddle, cycling to and between 52 historic county tops in England and Wales. So far he has covered almost 2500 bike miles, averaging 60 miles a day. His lowest summit of 80m (263ft) was in Huntingdonshire, while the highest, Snowdon, in Caern arfon shire, was 1085m (3560ft).
In one day, he cycled more than 100 miles. In one six-day period, he cycled 350 miles to tick off seven country peaks. On three occasions, he reached three summits in one day. He has climbed on average 1.3 hills or mountains per day. And this doesn’t include the miles walked when mountain tops have been unreachable by bike.
So far, he’s worn out two wheels, two sets of brake pads, a chain, three tyres, snapped one gear cable and had five punctures. “I didn’t have a single puncture for 600 miles and then I got four in the next 50 miles. That’s typical of
the highs and lows on this trip,” said Muir, who started his journey in Cornwall on May 13, reaching the summit of Brown Willy (420m, 1378ft).
“It has been a mixture of exhaustion, agony, nightmare weather, exhilar ation and fantastic sunshine. The lowest point came in the Home Counties when driving wind and rain made cycling a chore. It was horrible for about a fortnight, getting up each day to wet kit, knowing you would be damp and cold all day.
“But there have been real highs too. Once I got to Wales the weather improved and getting to the summit of Snowdon was amazing. As I reached the top, the mist cleared to give great views of the valley.”
Muir, who left his job on a newspaper to make the trip, decided on the challenge because he wanted to do something totally different, that would push him to his limits.
“I couldn’t find any records of anyone else cycling continuously between the summits of every traditional historic county in England, Wales and Scotland, so it seemed like a good thing to do.”
The historic county boundaries are the ones from which people generally take
their local cultural identity, but which may have changed through the years to suit local government administration.
“The trip is also about proving to people that there are adventures to be had on British soil,” Muir said. “Everyone these days thinks you have to go abroad, to the Alps or somewhere, to achieve a record or to challenge yourself in the outdoors, but I’m proving you can have a great adventure in Britain.”
This is the first time Muir, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, has tested his physical - and mental - capabilities to such an extreme. “I do keep quite fit running and cycling,” he said. “But I didn’t do any specific training for this challenge. In fact, I’ve only ever ridden more than 100 miles in one day on three previous occasions. A lot of people have said I must be mad to take on such a difficult challenge but I’m really enjoying myself.
“Even when I’ve had tough days, like when I cycled 87 miles in blazing sun and ended up with sunstroke and dehydration, I still feel a huge sense of achievement.”
Muir has planned the trip himself, including the navigation, finding accomm odation
and carrying his own kit. A few friends and relatives have met up with him occasionally en route, including his dad Roger, who is partly responsible for inspiring Muir’s charity cycle.
“When I was a baby my dad had testicular cancer but he was one of the few lucky men who survived back then,” Muir said. “My trip will help to raise cash for the Orchid Cancer Appeal, which funds research into testicular and prostate cancers.”
For most of the trip, Muir has been solo cycling. The loneliness is not something that appears to bother him. “Yes, it’s sometimes difficult to be separated for long per iods from my girlfriend Fi, but she has joined me on a couple of days. Really, though, I love the freedom of being on my own. I like being able to do what I want, when I want.”
Muir expects to cycle more than 4000 miles and climb the equivalent height of seven Everests. But the hardest weeks are about to start as he heads for Scotland and Wigtownshire, with relatively low Craigairie Fell (322m, 1056ft), before moving on to Dumfriesshire, the Borders and then northwards to the Highlands. He plans
to complete the trip with Ben Nevis at 1344m (4409ft), the highest of the whole journey.
“I know Scotland is going to be extremely tough because of the distance between the summits and because of the heights involved,” said Muir.
Amazingly, the cycling addict is thinking about trying to fit in another six county summits in Northern Ireland. “It seems a shame not to do these when I can travel across to Northern Ireland from Scotland. I could then say I’d done 92 summits in 92 days.”
Clearly, Muir doesn’t lack motivation. “I am a very determined person,” he said. “If I set myself a target then I always finish it. I’d feel like I was cheating myself if I didn’t finish what I’d set out to do. So far I’m loving doing this trip.”
Let’s hope he’s not underestimated the magnitude of Scotland’s hills and mountains.
Jonny Muir’s web blog is at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/ bicycle-diaries. To sponsor him go to https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/ jonnymuir.
09 July 2006
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Roger Muir
non-member comment
Get yourself a shave!!!!!
Great pics. Love the horses and the road sign........................... John Muir Quote“Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far! ” - John Muir