Touring With a Dynamo + USB Battery
On my new tourer, a Genesis Croix De Fer, I’ve recently installed a SON28 dynamo, Dahon Reecharge battery and IQ Cyo front light. I’ve got it working beautifully, but it wasn’t quite as simple an installation as I had hoped. Having to hook up wiring using spade terminals and crimping tools proved awkward and not as solid as I would like. So I set about using solder and bullet plugs. This is what I learnt from the experience.
LEJOG – Restrospective
Three months on since doing the trip I’ve started to really miss it. The initial week after finishing (and even the last couple of days) I was a little sick of cycling. But since then, one really begins to miss the roads, views, camaraderie and sense of adventure. The exhaustion, sometimes hunger, and weather means that you do end up missing some of the trip through not looking at what is around you. Thankfully I had my camera with me (not my SLR, but my compact), and it’ll be something I’ll always take with me as the photos help trigger memories. Given the cost (which we kept down) we’re already planning on more trips given how cheap train tickets can be. We’ll most likely be revisiting Cornwall/Devon, more of Somerset and also the Lake District.
LEJOG – Day 15 (The Journey Home)
7th August 2010 – We had finished Lands End to John O’Groats, but still had to get home. It was too much to get home in one day, so we had decided to get the train from Thurso to Aberdeen (5 hours), and then the following day taking the fast train (fewer stops) from Aberdeen to Kings Cross, taking 9 hours. As it was the weekend there wasn’t the option to take the Abeerdeen sleeper train. We also had a 1 hour cycle to Thurso. So in all it was a good decision. It also gave us the chance to go out in Aberdeen and finally have more than one or two beers with some spicy Thai food. We had a great night out watching a live (and slightly anti-English) band.
LEJOG – Day 14 (Carbisdale > John O’ Groats)
- Original Route Mapping
- Route Stats on Garmin Connect
6th August 2010 - Our final day (in terms of completing LEJOG, as we still had two further days getting home) and it was a fairly long stage at around 160km. We got up early, but Carbisdale had a coach load of Germans so we got caught in the breakfast queue (the dinner and breakfast queues were a big negative for Carbsidale and one of the reasons I prefer smaller hostels). After our delayed start I took us a slightly different route than planned along the A836. It wasn’t the most direct, but it was certainly a nice route as the roads barely had any cars on them and there was plenty to look at.
LEJOG – Day 13 (Loch Ness > Carbisdale Castle)
- Original Route Mapping
- Route Stats on Garmin Connect
5th August 2010 – Today was a typical LEJOG day in terms of distance, and was set to be a day of heavy rain. But fortunately we seemed to miss all of the rain and didn’t see a single drop. The temperature was still a fair bit lower than England, the high only being around 17C. We set off following Loch Ness up to its most northern point. The route was quite scenic, although the road often moved away from the loch to the point that you couldn’t really see much apart from trees. The roads were typically very fast, and on occasion dual carriage way, which wasn’t terrible pleasant. We passed through a few small towns, Beauly was very nice (we sat outside the old church) and walked around the ruins.