End to End

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Keep up Tony. It was Tumbleweed who said that not me 🙂
All I want to know is how people get their tandems back from JOG

Got it. Tumbleweed said it, I said surely its symmetrical, you answered
for Tumbleweed and said no it isn't. Still confused as to why you and
Tumbleweed think it isn't symmetrical. Perhaps I should go and have a
glass of nice wine instead.

Tony

excellent idea. I think I'll join you. Cheers🙂

bob watkinson said:

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Keep up Tony. It was Tumbleweed who said that not me 🙂
All I want to know is how people get their tandems back from JOG

Got it. Tumbleweed said it, I said surely its symmetrical, you answered
for Tumbleweed and said no it isn't. Still confused as to why you and
Tumbleweed think it isn't symmetrical. Perhaps I should go and have a
glass of nice wine instead.

Tony

excellent idea. I think I'll join you. Cheers🙂

I'm still confused too.
I think I'll go for the whole bottle :-)

John B

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Keep up Tony. It was Tumbleweed who said that not me 🙂
All I want to know is how people get their tandems back from JOG

Got it. Tumbleweed said it, I said surely its symmetrical, you answered
for Tumbleweed and said no it isn't. Still confused as to why you and
Tumbleweed think it isn't symmetrical. Perhaps I should go and have a
glass of nice wine instead.

Tony

Because there are many more trains going back from Penzance than
Wick/Thurso/Inverness so if you arrive a day late you will have far less of
a problem gettinga seat 'on spec'. At the JOGle end there is often only
capacity for a couple of bikes (from what I have read), so if you arent on
schedule you may have a problem, whereas you should at least be able to
start your journey on schedule! In theory at the JOG end there might not be
a train back that can take you for many days if you are a day late and
missed your booked slot.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

JohnB said:

I'm still confused too.
I think I'll go for the whole bottle :-)

Remember a bottle of wine needs to breathe. If its not breathing give
immediate mouth to mouth resuscitation

Tony

Tumbleweed said:

"Tony Raven" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Keep up Tony. It was Tumbleweed who said that not me 🙂
All I want to know is how people get their tandems back from JOG

Got it. Tumbleweed said it, I said surely its symmetrical, you answered
for Tumbleweed and said no it isn't. Still confused as to why you and
Tumbleweed think it isn't symmetrical. Perhaps I should go and have a
glass of nice wine instead.

Tony

Because there are many more trains going back from Penzance than
Wick/Thurso/Inverness so if you arrive a day late you will have far less of
a problem gettinga seat 'on spec'. At the JOGle end there is often only
capacity for a couple of bikes (from what I have read), so if you arent on
schedule you may have a problem, whereas you should at least be able to
start your journey on schedule! In theory at the JOG end there might not be
a train back that can take you for many days if you are a day late and
missed your booked slot.

At which point you may as well ride back to Inverness.

I thought the idea of riding LEJOG was becasue you liked riding and this is
an excuse to sample further the delights of the Black Isle.

...d

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:41fd1a85.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Thanks Zog. Anyone got a url or anything?

http://freespace.virgin.net/bike.bus/

ScotRail are also reputed to run a van from JOG (or maybe Thurso) down to
Inverness to carry your bike while you travel in "comfort" on the train. I
have not experienced the "service" -- but was looking carefully at it while
planning a JOGLE last summer -- which, sadly got postponed.

A tandem might strain their capabilities though.

T

Tony W said:

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:41fd1a85.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson said:

Thanks Zog. Anyone got a url or anything?

http://freespace.virgin.net/bike.bus/

ScotRail are also reputed to run a van from JOG (or maybe Thurso) down to
Inverness to carry your bike while you travel in "comfort" on the train. I
have not experienced the "service" -- but was looking carefully at it while
planning a JOGLE last summer -- which, sadly got postponed.

A tandem might strain their capabilities though.

We arrived at JoG with several days to spare before our 'train' booking
so went over to the Orkneys.
Back on the mainland we rode down to Wick where the bikes were indeed
loaded into a large transit, while we went the scenic route by train.
The driver told us he could take 12 bikes and it certainly looked as if
there would have been no problems with a tandem.
Picture of van at Wick:
http://freespace.virgin.net/jpb.design/scotrailvan.html

The van driver (who was very helpful) was waiting for us with our bikes
on Inverness station. We then wheeled them over to the Sleeper.

John B

"bob watkinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody done this on a tandem? I'd appreciate any advice on how you got
yourselves and your tandem to and from either end. Getting back to
Edinburgh from John o Groats seems particularly tricky.

Cheers Guys, Bob

Hi Bob
I did lejog on a solo so no problem with Scotrail, Wick to Glasgow. It seams
from the posts that you are going to sort out your transport for the Tandem.
A consideration whilst you are in the North is to cycle to Cape Wrath and
Dunnet Head . Then you will have completed the longest distance LEJOG , the
most westerly point CAPE WRATH and the most notherly point DUNNET HEAD of
the British main land.
When I did it Tongue YHA was open so I went Tongue - Cape Wrath - Tongue,
Tongue - JOG, JOG - Dunnet Head - Wick.

Good Luck

PK

"PK" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"bob watkinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody done this on a tandem? I'd appreciate any advice on how you got
yourselves and your tandem to and from either end. Getting back to
Edinburgh from John o Groats seems particularly tricky.

Cheers Guys, Bob

Hi Bob
I did lejog on a solo so no problem with Scotrail, Wick to Glasgow. It
seams from the posts that you are going to sort out your transport for the
Tandem.
A consideration whilst you are in the North is to cycle to Cape Wrath and
Dunnet Head . Then you will have completed the longest distance LEJOG ,
the most westerly point CAPE WRATH and the most notherly point DUNNET HEAD
of the British main land.
When I did it Tongue YHA was open so I went Tongue - Cape Wrath - Tongue,
Tongue - JOG, JOG - Dunnet Head - Wick.

Good Luck

PK

many thanks for those points PK

"JohnB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony W said:

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:41fd1a85.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

bob watkinson wrote:

> Thanks Zog. Anyone got a url or anything?
>
>
http://freespace.virgin.net/bike.bus/

ScotRail are also reputed to run a van from JOG (or maybe Thurso) down to
Inverness to carry your bike while you travel in "comfort" on the train.
I
have not experienced the "service" -- but was looking carefully at it
while
planning a JOGLE last summer -- which, sadly got postponed.

A tandem might strain their capabilities though.

We arrived at JoG with several days to spare before our 'train' booking
so went over to the Orkneys.
Back on the mainland we rode down to Wick where the bikes were indeed
loaded into a large transit, while we went the scenic route by train.
The driver told us he could take 12 bikes and it certainly looked as if
there would have been no problems with a tandem.
Picture of van at Wick:
http://freespace.virgin.net/jpb.design/scotrailvan.html

The van driver (who was very helpful) was waiting for us with our bikes
on Inverness station. We then wheeled them over to the Sleeper.

John B

thanks John

JohnB said:

We arrived at JoG with several days to spare before our 'train' booking
so went over to the Orkneys.
Back on the mainland we rode down to Wick where the bikes were indeed
loaded into a large transit, while we went the scenic route by train.

Last summer we ended up Thurso (other fork at the top of the line to
Wick) with nothing booked, but by arriving at the station as soon as it
opened the day of travel I got places confirmed for the bikes.

Quoted message said:

The driver told us he could take 12 bikes and it certainly looked as if
there would have been no problems with a tandem.

That's bigger than the van that took ours, but as there were only two
other folk with bikes on that day it's possible they run different vans
according to demand.

Quoted message said:

The van driver (who was very helpful) was waiting for us with our bikes
on Inverness station. We then wheeled them over to the Sleeper.

Much as I have grumbled about Scotrail's general cycle policy, I had no
complaints over the service we got for the bikes from Thurso down to
Inverness. Thurso station chap made sure we'd have spaces and also got
us reservations down to Aberdeen and Dundee, and the van driver did his
stuff well too.
Haven't yet had any moans from them about the 'bents on trains, which
are longer than most solo uprights.

Semi-related, we decided to take the train home from Arbroath last night
after dinner with pals, more drink then /strictly/ necessary and a
westerly meaning it would be a bit of a hack home. Get to station to
find a notice saying no trains tonight because of engineering, but a bus
service laid on. Hmmmm! Bus duly turns up, driver is of the "can-do"
variety so the 'bents get in the boot okay, and after we unload at
Dundee we wonder how we go about paying... nobody very interested, so
the ride home was a freebie! :-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

JohnB said:

We arrived at JoG with several days to spare before our 'train' booking
so went over to the Orkneys.
Back on the mainland we rode down to Wick where the bikes were indeed
loaded into a large transit, while we went the scenic route by train.

Last summer we ended up Thurso (other fork at the top of the line to Wick)
with nothing booked, but by arriving at the station as soon as it opened
the day of travel I got places confirmed for the bikes.

Quoted message said:

The driver told us he could take 12 bikes and it certainly looked as if
there would have been no problems with a tandem.

That's bigger than the van that took ours, but as there were only two
other folk with bikes on that day it's possible they run different vans
according to demand.

Quoted message said:

The van driver (who was very helpful) was waiting for us with our bikes
on Inverness station. We then wheeled them over to the Sleeper.

Much as I have grumbled about Scotrail's general cycle policy, I had no
complaints over the service we got for the bikes from Thurso down to
Inverness. Thurso station chap made sure we'd have spaces and also got us
reservations down to Aberdeen and Dundee, and the van driver did his stuff
well too.
Haven't yet had any moans from them about the 'bents on trains, which are
longer than most solo uprights.

Semi-related, we decided to take the train home from Arbroath last night
after dinner with pals, more drink then /strictly/ necessary and a
westerly meaning it would be a bit of a hack home. Get to station to find
a notice saying no trains tonight because of engineering, but a bus
service laid on. Hmmmm! Bus duly turns up, driver is of the "can-do"
variety so the 'bents get in the boot okay, and after we unload at Dundee
we wonder how we go about paying... nobody very interested, so the ride
home was a freebie! :-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Thanks for thatPete. It's a shame Scotrail can't be a little more
enlightened toward tandems as other train operators are.

bob watkinson said:

Thanks for thatPete. It's a shame Scotrail can't be a little more
enlightened toward tandems as other train operators are.

Though the problem doesn't seem so much that they're a bunch of
pig-headed tossers as they[1] simply didn't really think about cycles
that weren't Canonical Upright Solo Bicycles travelling in pairs or
alone when they specified the "facilities area" on the diesel multiple
units that constitute the majority of their fleet. This is certainly
Very Dopey, but it's not something that a simple change of policy can
dispel overnight :-(

It's a bit of game getting the 'bents on (which at least are short
wheelbase), and when I picked up the 8 Freight from Glasgow, although it
fulfils the letter of the law, it was just going to be a Total Pain to
get it on the train and round the corner as required so I took Roos'
Fiesta and the roofbars, which coped very well!

Pete.

[1] Further note that "they" are no longer the same "they" that
specified the current train fleet.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

JohnB wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The driver told us he could take 12 bikes and it certainly looked as if
there would have been no problems with a tandem.

That's bigger than the van that took ours, but as there were only two
other folk with bikes on that day it's possible they run different vans
according to demand.

Perhaps.
Due to ScotRail's complete incompetence with our booking the driver was
expecting the two of us to have six bikes with us - incredible.
He even agreed with us that Scotrail were "a Shambles".

As it was, there were our two bikes and one other.

Quoted message said:

Much as I have grumbled about Scotrail's general cycle policy, I had no
complaints over the service we got for the bikes from Thurso down to
Inverness.

That wasn't our experience. The booking was a real mess. I had to chase
and chase for the bike reservations.
The train was then over an-hour-and-a-half late to Inverness, which
meant no time for anything to eat as we had planned.
We just caught the Sleeper with just minutes to spare, only to find
there was no food on the train either.
At least there was some Traquair House Ale.

ScotRail? Pah.

John B

JohnB said:

ScotRail? Pah.

Scotrail is dead, Long Live First Scotrail!

Well, we'll ponder further on the "long live" bit according to how the
new lot do, but the franchise changed hands last year (October) so the
Scotrail you know and (don't) love is no more. The new bunch are part
of Stagecoach IIRC, but I haven't used the train much so have no idea
how they're managing thus far compared to the old.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch said:

JohnB said:

ScotRail? Pah.

Scotrail is dead, Long Live First Scotrail!

Well, we'll ponder further on the "long live" bit according to how the
new lot do, but the franchise changed hands last year (October) so the
Scotrail you know and (don't) love is no more.

Yippeee :-) Someone better then?

Quoted message said:

The new bunch are part
of Stagecoach IIRC,

[censored]. That is bad news.

SWT is Stagecoach and my buses are Stagecoach and they are the worse
bunch of ******* [1] I've ever come across.
[1] insert the worst derogatory terms you can think of.

Quoted message said:

but I haven't used the train much so have no idea
how they're managing thus far compared to the old.

if they are anything like the Stagecoach operations here they won't be
managing at all :-(

You have really made my day :-(
(I am catching a Stagecoach bus this morning and a Stagecoach SWT this
evening - both with Brommie of course)

John B

JohnB said:

SWT is Stagecoach and my buses are Stagecoach and they are the worse
bunch of ******* [1] I've ever come across.
[1] insert the worst derogatory terms you can think of.

So there's more than one Ed Dolan after all. Oh dear...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

in message <[email hidden]>, PK

(') said:

I did lejog on a solo so no problem with Scotrail, Wick to Glasgow. It
seams from the posts that you are going to sort out your transport for
the Tandem. A consideration whilst you are in the North is to cycle to
Cape Wrath and Dunnet Head . Then you will have completed the longest
distance LEJOG , the most westerly point CAPE WRATH and the most
notherly point DUNNET HEAD of the British main land.

Cape Wrath is not the most westerly point by a long way - Ardnamurchan
is.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

X-no-archive: No, I'm not *that* naive.

Peter Clinch said:

JohnB said:

SWT is Stagecoach and my buses are Stagecoach and they are the worse
bunch of ******* [1] I've ever come across.
[1] insert the worst derogatory terms you can think of.

So there's more than one Ed Dolan after all. Oh dear...

LOL

Is this Ed Dolan bloke a bus driver?

John B

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, PK

(') said:

I did lejog on a solo so no problem with Scotrail, Wick to Glasgow. It
seams from the posts that you are going to sort out your transport for
the Tandem. A consideration whilst you are in the North is to cycle to
Cape Wrath and Dunnet Head . Then you will have completed the longest
distance LEJOG , the most westerly point CAPE WRATH and the most
notherly point DUNNET HEAD of the British main land.

Cape Wrath is not the most westerly point by a long way - Ardnamurchan
is.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

X-no-archive: No, I'm not *that* naive.

Should have typed north westerly
PK