138 miles in a day from Scotland’s west coast to England’s east: a follow-up challenge for part of the group of Lanarkshire friends who raised an astonishing £15,583 for Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust on completing the LEJOG cycle of Britain. This time Robert and Stuart, together with Tam and Alan took on their longest cycle in a day.
As driver and one-man support team(!), I took the opportunity to photograph their journey. For a photographer, this was an interesting challenge in itself.
Without knowing the location, you must mentally compose a photograph in reverse as you drive. You then need to be able to pull-over safely (on trunk road sections, such stopping points are surprisingly limited). There is some calculated guesswork as you wait for the subjects to appear in the chosen location, knowing that as they round a bend or summit a hill at 12-25mph, you only have a few seconds to capture. There isn’t the luxury of waiting for the right light – you must make the best of what is there and think how you might represent it with visual impact.
Unfortunately Robert had quite a nasty accident from a tyre blowout and had to retire. Luckily, drivers in the cycling mecca of Peebles are more aware of cyclists. Rab told me (I think through gritted teeth) that he’ll be trying it again soon.
Well done to the guys. Ayr, Mauchline, Muirkirk, Douglas, Biggar, Stobo Castle, Neidpath Castle, Peebles, St Boswells, Kelso, and Berwick-upon-Tweed (map) in one day – a great effort.
