Nowhere was open so after a celebratory chocolate bar and refilling my water bottles I was keen to get going. I may of made it to John O'Groats but my cycling was not over for the day. I now had to cycle back 16 miles down the A99 to Wick. It seemed a very long way back to Wick but finally I turned off the main road in search of the railway station. I wanted to try and get home.
After my all night cycle ride I was actually two days earlier than originally planned and my train ticket was not valid until then. I spoke to the friendly station superintendent who explained that turning up at either Wick or Thurso on a bike without a pre-booked cycle space often led to people being really disappointed. It was not uncommon for people to wait days for a free cycle space on the infrequent service to Inverness. I was however very lucky as there was a space that day. But my final destination was London and again the problem is always finding one of the very few bike spaces available. The helpful lady worked hard to find spaces on available trains and came up with a plan that had me rapidly swapping trains to get to Edinburgh. From there I could get an overnight intercity service all the way to Paddington.
I had some time before the train so cycled off to a Tesco supermarket off the A99 I had noticed. I got some breakfast at the cafe and stocked up with some supplies and headed back to station to wait for my train. I had cycled 210 miles (336km) in roughly 24 hours I was due for a sit down.
The train sits at Wick for some time and the guard let me put the trailer on without dismantling it. The journey back to Inverness took us through the same beautiful scenery and every type of weather. I was glad to purchase a hot tea or two when the guard came through with the trolley. About half an hour from Inverness the train's stop at one of the small railway stations seemed to be taking a rather long time. After a while the guard came to announce that the train could go no further as a car had collided with a level crossing ahead. A replacement coach was here to take us to Inverness. My immediate thoughts were will it get me there in time to catch my connecting train and will they take my bike and trailer. Fortunately, only a few passengers had luggage so the cavernous boot swallowed the bike and trailer without difficulty. I was also assured that it would arrive as scheduled as it went directly there and wasn't picking up from any other stations.
At Inverness the coach arrived with just enough time for a toilet break before finding the platform and the train carriage with bike storage. I had to get off at Perth and change train to get to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, this involved a change of platform with only a few minutes before the train arrived. Getting the bike and trailer up and over was a challenge but I made it with a minute to spare. The rush hour train was packed and annoyingly people had put their luggage in the bike storage area. I had no choice but to put my bike up against people's suitcases and find somewhere to put my trailer bag. All this within the few seconds that the train was stopped. It was not a pleasant journey trying to balance the bike and keep out of the way. Once at Edinburgh I had a couple of hours before the sleeper train where I had a sleeper seat booked. Enough time for me to grab some food from the station retailers. The journey to Euston was uneventful. Once the bike and trailer were safely stored and I was in my seat it didn't take long before I was asleep.
Sometime around 7am the train got into Euston. Reassembling the trailer I hauled it down the length of the platform in search of the bike storage carraige. This had taken a few minutes and the guard was a little impatiently waiting to lock up. I cycled to Trafalgar Square where I stopped to get properly organised and change into my cycle shorts as discreetly as I could. Now I was ready for the cycle home. I could of got the train but I fancied a cycle!
