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britain's best bike ride - lands end to jon o'groats. john walsh & hannah reynolds. vertebrate publishing softback. 209pp illus. £20

britains best bike ride - walsh & reynolds

the notion that there is such a thing as a best bike ride is one that has hovered in velocipedinal circles for many a long year. the apparent need to have a best of anything, however, pervades the hallowed corners not only of cycling. who is the best drummer has raged for years, even through the staged drum battles organised by promoter, norman grantz, a man who had obviously recognised this apparent human need and found a way to commercialise it.

the same goes for sporting prowess: it's why so many sports hold world championships (as if it really matters). the fallibility of such contests seems not to impinge on either the response of the fans, or indeed, the satisfaction of the crowned victor. remco evenepoel offered a fine display of what it takes to wear the rainbow bands, despite awareness that some of the acknowledged champions of the sport chose not to participate. and if we look askance at formula one motor racing, it appears that driving ability often comes to nought if your very expensive motor car doesn't perform as well as someone else's very expensive motor car. nonetheless, at season's end, someone will be crowned world champion.

based on the above evidence, you may think me to be highly suspicious of the claim of messrs. walsh and reynolds that, when time comes to chose a volume guiding you through britain's best bike ride, and that there might be a great deal of subjectivity at play. that, however, depnds on your definition of the word 'greatest'. in an empirical sense, riding from lands end to john o'groats, effectively a 1000 mile bike ride, i would imagine is justifiably the greatest bike ride anyone in the uk is likely to undertake. but as many of you will be aware, there are no end of books, blogs and youtube videos, effectively attesting to the same end result, so why go out of your way to acquire this one?

on the first sunday of august each year, we hold the 'ride of the falling rain', a 100 mile ride around the principality. the majority of ride participants undertake the distance in a single sitting, but one couple arrive on the friday and ride the distance in manageable chunks. which is pretty much the approach taken by the authors of britain's best bike ride, meaning, essentially, you can ride from land's end to john o'goats (lejog) one pedal stroke at a time. for instance, if all you could manage this year was land's end to perranporth, the the first chapter will guide you through, with no onus to go any farther till you're ready.

of course, choosing that rather facetious option would immediately remove any bragging rights, turning this best ride, into a disconnected series of pootles. recognising this to be the case, walsh and reynolds have imposed a few levels of pragmatism, by splitting the adventure into what could be viewed as more manageable undertakings. for instance, the more leisurely ranks would surely find the three week itinerary much more to their liking, featuring a rest day and rarely more than 100 kilometres on the others. if challenges are more to your liking, there's the ten day option, where rest days are abandoned as the failing of the weak-willed, and daily distances head more towards the 200km mark.

or, perhaps, the middle-way is more suitable for both your cycling abilities and holiday entitlement, once again eschewing any thoughts of a rest day, taking on distances mostly north of 100km and arriving at john o'groats in just two weeks. as reiterated on many a tv quiz show, 'the choice is yours'.

i would imagine that lejog, however you wish to ride it, will take substantial preparation, not only in terms of fitness, but booking accommodation (unless you plan to camp overnight), checking the weather - particularly northern scotland - and making sure the bike is as up for 1000 miles as are you. oddly enough, much of that is covered at the back of the book rather than in the opening pages, but perhaps that's the cunning plan; building enthusiasm for the ride, before hitting you hard with the practicalities.

there is helpful information, however, on the different regions of britain through which you might pedal, and even a breakdown of which would be seen as the best stages for climbing, stunning views, food, wild swimming (?), and castles and ruins. it is features such as these that turn this book from a singular approach, to one that might suit a wide range of cyclists. lejog might not be a bike ride that features as one of your boxes needing to be ticked, but if you live in the scottish highlands (for instance), surely here is a manual for the occasional long weekend's cycling? every stage features a comprehensive map and ride profile, along with a panel describing where to stay and eat, where to purchase necessary supplies and a recommended bike shop should you be unfortunate enough to suffer a mechanical malfeasance.

to be honest, this is such a brilliant idea, it's a wonder nobody's framed lejog in this manner previously. and obviously enough, should jogle be more to your liking, simply start from the back of the book.

monday 10 october 2022