The bike

This blog is an account of my attempt to cycle the length of the country, from Land's End to John O'Groats. I'll be riding a 2009 model Brompton M6R-X, a slightly unconventional selection for a trip like this. The reasons for this choice are:

• I've been commuting to work by Brompton for over 10 years, and a full-size (or "cumbersome") bike now just feels slightly strange to me
• Taking a Brompton on the train (to get to Land's End and from John O'Groats) is simple, and doesn't require reserving a space on the train months in advance, only to discover on boarding that somebody's already using it...
• For B&Bs without cycle storage facilities, it's easy to fold & bag up a Brompton and take it into your room
  
• The unsuitability of my current Brompton for the hills to be encountered on the route meant that I had a great excuse to buy a gleaming new model with all the latest features ;-)
  

The new bike has Brompton's wide-range hub fitted, giving a total gear range of 302%, much more than my previous model (225%), although still not as much as a typical full-size bike. I chose the low gearing option to cope with the hills, so I don't expect to be setting any speed records during the trip! It also has much-improved brakes and multiple other minor improvements. The only change I've made since receiving it was to swap out the stock saddle for a Brooks B17 leather saddle, as it's pretty important to be comfortable when spending so much time on the bike.