Mud, Sweat & Gears: Cycling From Land's End to John O'Groats

by Ellie Bennett

As Ellie’s 50th birthday approaches and her ambitions of a steady income, a successful career and an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever, she begins to doubt she’s capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a gruelling cycle ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats, she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths, towpaths and the back roads and byways of Britain, unable to resist sampling local beers in the pubs they pass along the way.

But as the pints start to stack up faster than the miles they’re putting under their tyres, Ellie wonders if they’ll ever make it to the finishing line....

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Cycling, Sports, Adventure, Memoir, Biography

301 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2012

Reviews

[Joanne MacNevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I listened to it as I cycled along the trails, and I found it inspiring, informative, and, in parts, hilarious. Often, I found myself laughing out loud as I cycled along. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the places Ellie and Mick cycled past, and many of these bits I plan on listening to again (or maybe I will get a hard copy of the book and re-read). The descriptions of the local beers from the local pubs was wonderful, too. Who doesn't love a well-brewed local beer?

I have always wanted to go to Scotland, and Ellie's descriptions of the scenery her and Mick saw as they cycled along makes me want to go even more. Would I be able to do it on a bicycle? I have no idea, but after this book, I am giving it some serious thought.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It should really have been called Mud, Sweat and Beers. Harmless travel writing, more likely to send you off to the nearest pub than to take up long-distance cycling.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cycling aspect is almost incidental to the content: Bennett is no Josie Dew nor Bettina Selby, though she's quite upfront about it. Instead, there's rather interesting travel narrative concerning the scenery of the areas she and Mick visit, as well as notes on the historical importance of many places. And then there's the pubs, mention of each one of the many they stopped at, and exactly which beers they quaffed. Regular entries along the lines of "Wolfsbane Corner has one pub, The Curious Cretin, where we dropped in after making dinner at the campground next door. They had offerings from the craft brewers Henchman & Son, so Mick enjoyed a Saucy Sally witbier, while I tried their Leering Lout stout; we agreed that mine was the better product ...." abound; I appreciated those items, but if you feel that sounds tedious, this ain't the book for you! I did have a little bit of trouble figuring out their relationship, which is implied to be travel buddies, nothing more. Bennett's writing was great in terms of balancing the serious nonfiction geographical aspects, and the self-deprecating humor of their mishaps. I'd look forward to raeding anything else she'd write. Nicola MacKenzie's narration made a perfect fit, as though it were Bennett herself speaking directly to the reader.

[Sandi Samain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to this book I’m now contemplating going to England one day to do this ride. Loved reading about Scotland, and all the places they visited…felt like I was riding along with them.

[Emma Glaisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

great fun. Ellie is someone I'd love to join for a pint or 2 and a good bike ride. I might even be faster than her... lots of interesting background on the places they ride through and a food insight into the roller coaster of emotions that make up a long ride.

* good, not food. can't edit the Damn word.

[Earl Schlubb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was to be sure an enjoyable read, but it wasn't much more than that. I would not have been able to keep up with these two with their almost daily evening intake of at least a couple of ales! I sure like the idea ;-) but I would be a mess if I were on a long-distance bicycle trip and knocking back a few pints every night. Oh well—that itself did not detract from the story.

What did was the slovenly editing. There are far too many missing or should-have-been-inserted commas and other general bits of sloppiness. I suppose my other beef with the book is that, as a cyclist myself, I wanted to hear more about the tour, the tools, the maps, the bikes ... there was really not much in the way of bike touring nitty gritty. Admittedly, this makes my enjoyment of the book contingent upon my own needs, but it still did not blow me away. It was simply a quick and amusing read. I would love to take the same trip someday (though not with those periods of time on the main and heavily-trafficked roads).

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great humour, some interesting factual stories, nicely told. I loved the humorous stats at the end of each chapter. I just felt Ellie Bennett was sometimes hiding behind the humour. Would have liked to have seen the sincere side of her too - the light, the dark - generally a broader spectrum of emotions.

Not sure when the book was written, but hard to believe such a short time ago, they were not using Smart phones for finding accommodation, best pubs, route finding etc. How times have changed!

[Franklie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as someone very interested in making this trip and I loved the descriptions and the pace and the humor. Hated the foul language though. Would have given 5-stars had she been clever enough to leave it out.

[Stefan-Iulian Tesoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book about cycling across the UK from south to north, it's very humorous, informative and there is a lot of good quality beer drinking going on.

[Anthony Saunois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing and entertaining. It's a pub crawl on a bike. It doesn't motivate you to undertake the ride though

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good light-hearted read - makes you want to get out on your bike

[John Barclay · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of a book about an amateur end to end run of England is interesting, this book is not.

[Zanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much potential lost on excessive and tedious focus on beer, alcohol and pubs, rather than the actual experience of cycling.

[David Portas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and funny book . Brilliant. You dont have to be a cyclist to enjoy it as its more about the places they visited and the people and pubs along the way.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this journey was told from a woman’s point of view. Nice bike ride with a friend.

[John Barrie Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loads of fun. Cycling via the pub is the way.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Great inspiration for my own LEJOG.

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! A very engaging account of a LEJOG* trip. I really enjoyed it.

(*Land's End to John O'Groats)

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Hermine Biasci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This surprisingly informative and hilarious narration leads the reader to one of the most scenic and iconic routes in Great Britain. It’s not just about the cycling and the difficulties though, in fact it’s also about friendship, the well debated man-woman one, and drinking. That’s right, the journey is specifically about beer, good beer. At the end of each chapter we are presented by a summary about how many km they cycled and how many, and which one, beer they had. There is even a Beer Index at the end of the book! I think there’s something amazing and sweet about remembering each beer drank during a gruelling adventure like that. The pub crawl element of the journey adds a vitality and an unpretentious feel to the book that appeals to the travel style of many adventurer. The narration is very linear and it shows a very fluid intervals of funny and hilarious moments with more serious and emotional extracts.
What I loved about this book is that it presents the adventure of normal people who, like she explains in the first chapter, are ‘rubbish at cycling’. Yet, they embark into this fabulous journey to challenge themselves and to do something extraordinary to match all those unattained goals set in their youths. The phrase ‘seize the moment and do it anyway’ couldn’t fit more. It is a very inspiring book. Perhaps I will never cycle end to end like them but I will try my best to work on my long bucket list.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhalt

Ellies 50. Geburtstag rückt immer näher und ihre großen Pläne rücken in weite Ferne. Da kommt das Angebot eines Freundes gerade recht, mit ihm von Land's End nach John O'Groats zu fahren. Nicht mit dem Auto oder Motorrad, sondern mit dem Fahrrad. Ohne wirklich zu wissen, auf was sie sich da einlässt, stimmt Ellie zu.

Sicherlich ist es nicht die Besteigung des Mount Everest, von der Ellie geträumt hat, aber insgesamt wird sie mehr Höhenmeter gemacht und nicht weniger gelitten habe. Weder sie noch Mick waren ausreichend fit oder erfahren, aber sie haben es trotzdem geschafft. Oder vielleicht gerade deswegen, denn auch wenn nicht immer alles glatt ging, haben sie doch ihren Humor nicht verloren und immer zuerst über sich selbst gelacht (gut, manchmal auch über die anderen). Insgesamt haben sie 1500 Meilen zurückgelegt.

Ihre Geschichte sticht sicherlich nicht aus der über unzählige ähnliche Trips hervor, aber darum geht es auch nicht. Es geht darum, dass man ein Ziel auch erreichen kann, wenn alle anderen besser geeignet scheinen als man selbst. Denn: Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.

[Sharry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave Mud, Sweat and Gears three stars, but I questioned whether that was generous. As a cyclist, I normally love reading about other's cycling adventures, and I was particularly interested in reading Ellie Bennett's tale because I've been thinking of riding this route from the southern end of England to the northern end of Scotland sometime soon. But heavens, I haven't been so bored with a book in a long time.

Bennett followed the typical style of describing each section of the route. She supplemented her impressions of the hills (and more hills) with facts and stories about the history and locals of the area. Of course, her evaluation of the many pubs and beers along the way would be impossible to overlook. In fact, the pubs and beers seemed to be the main premise of the ride and the book. On the surface, it sounds as if Mud, Sweat and Gears should be readable and interesting, a good guide for one wanting to ride end to end. In reality, I couldn't wait for it to be over. The writing dragged and the story was dull. I just hope the ride itself doesn't follow suit.

[Jo Joy Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww, quite sad to have finished it too. Wish i was riding it with them. The beers 🍻 on-route might become a training regime.

[Stephen Wagstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travel books are one of my favourite types of books. I love reading about places I might never visit and having someone else do all the travelling for me. In the case of Mud Sweat and Gears this is even more relevant as I would never cycle the length of myself never mind the entire country.
I also liked this book more than most long distance ones I have read in the past as it was not carried out by super human walkers or cyclists but by people you seemed to enjoy the experience of the journey rather than just doing it in a record time.
The pub crawl element of the journey also appealed to my travel style and I was amazed to see how many different real ale breweries there seemed to be these days.
Elllies little historical and geographical insights into places where interesting and very informative.
All in all a very enjoyable read.

[Calum Beaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written, funny & very honest with regards to the emotions that Ellie went through during the course of the ride. Liked how they went the scenic route & some more after John O'Groats. Hopefully picked up a few tips for myself re long distance cycling especially keeping up the calorie intake by visiting pubs along the way.Ellie & Mick show it is not doing the run in the quickest time but enjoying the moment & if you are not enjoying the moment that you are in now another will be along shortly when you are cycling.

[Michael Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not so much a book about cycling but more an entertaining narrative of a badly planned trip from one end of the country to the other. The book also give an insight into the platonic relationship between Ellie and her friend Mick who argue, fall out and make up as much as any married couple would, except their simply good friends. The level of their inexperience vies with their sheer determination to see the trip through with a delightful surprise at the end.
A must read for any one who is or isn't a long distance cyclist.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent little book about a couple of friends cycling the Lands End to John O'Groats route. It is written in a chatty, easy read style.

Every data is a chapter in it's own right, and it has a little bunch of stats at the end of each chapter covering miles cover total mile, beers drunk and normally some other humorous anecdote.

It is amusing in parts and made me laugh out loud a few times.

A good read for those that like cycle touring books.

[Gil Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this book, but I'm the kind of person who subscribes to bike touring podcasts. I'm kind of obsessed. While this is a fun book and quite readable, I acknowledge that I fit squarely in the tiny demographic of people who would like this book.

But for those of you who like bike touring generally, and travelogues of the UK by bike specifically, then this book is for you. And we should do lunch because I'm not sure we are a very large demographic.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are plenty of similar books on cycling, and I am a sucker for other's cycling adventures. Bennett is not an expert at any of the necessary stuff: cycling, finding the way, nor is she an exceptional travel writer. She obviously enjoyed the south to north challenge, and enjoyed discovering new places and most of all, enjoys a pint. Although I must say that I eventually got bored with the pub/drink levels of detail.