At the end of the first day heading north to the start of the Ride-Stride-Glide challenge, Thursday night saw Neil and Alan at Penrith near the Lakes.  They managed to park the caravan with only moderate difficulty, after a journey in bright sunshine punctuated by bouts of torrential rain.  Looking forward to a pleasant evening in their warm caravan, they discovered a) the electric heater would not come on and b) the gas would not come on.  While Alan was explaining this at some length to me (Katy) and Mum, Neil discovered some extra switches in a cupboard – result: the heater at least began to work!  Life suddenly seemed better and Alan’s winebox was drained to the dregs, further improving their view of life.

Next day they discovered how to make the gas work, so the day started well.  The journey to Fort William was expected to be a relatively short one – less than 200 miles – but unfortunately a very bad accident on the road along Loch Lomond resulted in a 3-hour wait in an ever-growing queue of traffic.  Neil and Alan, like everyone else in the queue, felt grateful that they were in the tailback rather than in the ambulance.  (Word is that those involved in the accident are going to be all right).  The Ride-Stride-Glide signage on the car and caravan attracted a fair bit of attention from those in the queue, and Neil managed to collect £30 to add to the funds!

They arrived at Fort William at 7.30 pm, fervently hoping for a better day’s travel on Saturday up to Dunbeath, south of Wick, where they plan to park the caravan for three nights.  Neil notes gloomily that the worst day’s weather for the week ahead is forecast for Sunday – the day he sets out from John O’Groats. 

So that’s the situation at the last report.  I’m on holiday in genteel Cromer until Tuesday, and will be checking in then with all the news of the first Ride leg of the journey, as Neil cycles down the east coast towards Inverness, where he will meet up with his son Richard and start the Glide phase, canoeing down the Caledonian Canal.  Watch this space!