LEJOG May 2023: Review of Barrett Cicerone guide book, lessons learned

[mouwser58]

LEJOG 2023: BARRETT CICERONE BOOK REVIEW AND LESSONS LEARNED

I used the third/ 2021 edition of this book for a self-guided LEJOG tour with one mate in May 2023. I found it to be quite good, and an excellent value, with a few notable exceptions. I chose this guide for its use of “quiet roads and traffic free paths”, and because the author had previously ridden the route twice and made multiple route revisions to arrive at this route. We chose the 14-day option, using hotels, no camping. We added 2 days for rest and sightseeing, so our total was 16 days.

ABOUT ME: I’m 65, have ridden in excess of 150,000 miles in 45 years of serious cycling, and have done more than 20 different extended tours during that time. Although certainly not an elite athlete, I’m 6’1” /185 lbs, and pretty fit.

KIT: I rode a Ritchey Breakaway Cross with 32mm Panaracer Pasela Protite tires, and started the trip with a 1X, 40/42 drivetrain. My bags were Topeak handlebar bag and Topeak MTX trunk bag with retractable panniers.

PROS
• Very well organized, with lots of tables, appendixes, and maps, as well as detailed descriptions of the route and points of interest. Loved the sprinkling of history throughout.
• Small enough to fit in a handlebar bag.
• Several days (“stages”) offered multiple route options, which was much appreciated.
• Came with gpx files included in the $16 price of purchase. I was able to download them all to my Wahoo computer using Ride With GPS prior to departure, which made navigation pretty seamless.
• His recommendation to “keep your bike as light as possible” should be taken seriously! Although a 7 kg max for a trip lasting 2 weeks seems a bit unrealistic, my initial load of 14 kg was far too much. I was fortunate to be able to offload about 4 kg of that gear with a friend who met us at the halfway point in Moffat—much reducing my suffering on climbs.
• His advice to be careful about your choice of group size and travel companion(s) was excellent. We chose to keep it at two people, and economized by sharing a room. It couldn’t have worked out better.

CONS
• Gearing ratio: p. 26 has a couple paragraphs about what type of rig to ride, including the following about gearing: “Fit a cassette with a 30, 32, or 34-tooth sprocket to make climbing easier”. Notably absent was any mention of chain ring size, which is obviously necessary to determine what your lowest gear ratio is (that being the ratio of crank revs/ wheel revs; lower ratio = lower gear). One need only take a brief glance at the cover photo of Mr. Barrett to determine why this might have been omitted. My bike initially had a 1X gravel setup with a 40/42 low gear (ratio .95). Which would have been ok if I was riding gentle rollers without a load. But he omitted any discussion/ warning about how steep the climbs in Cornwall and Somerset are-each day had multiple climbs > 15% gradient, and some were 20%. So I ended up pushing up many of those. After the first week, I found a bike shop that had a 34-tooth chain ring (34/42=.81), and I never had to push again. (Shout out to Anthony English of Ghyllside Cycles in Ambleside!) HUGE difference.
• Unrealistic Riding Time estimates (p. 6-7): Mr. Barrett’s superior conditioning and lifetime of outdoor pursuits may have allowed him to average 12 mph, but for less elite athletes like me, it went slower. We averaged about 10 mph on the hilly days in Cornwall and Somerset. The climbs there were steep, and because the lanes were narrow, full of potholes, and had blind curves, you couldn’t make up much of the time you lost grinding (or pushing) uphill on the descents. For example (p.7), the first five days were given estimates of 8-9 hours—it took us 10-11, including stops for photos, lunch, etc. So in order to arrive at our lodging at a reasonable time, (usually between 6 and 7 pm) we were unable to stop at many points of interest. Unfortunately, most of the lodgings we used didn’t serve breakfast until 0800, so we couldn’t get on the road until 0900. So unless you’re an elite athlete under 40, and don’t care whether you have time to stop, I’d recommend taking three weeks instead of two, or using an ebike.
• Route Fail: Day 6, Nantwich-Garstang was pretty awful. Although I understand the challenge of finding a low-traffic route that threads the needle between Manchester and Liverpool, I can’t believe this is the best option. Canal towpaths sounds like a romantic notion, but the reality is quite different. Many of these were unimproved narrow footpaths, with surfaces that would be best done on a MTB with front suspension. Even worse were the numerous towpath gates--we counted 18 on this day, with 5 of them in the last 5 miles (that last 5 miles took us an hour). And that was only half of the route, as we abandoned it out of frustration when we reached Adlington. Getting a loaded bike through them often required two people—not sure how one traveling alone could even do it. The closest I came to being injured was when a man fishing the canal nearly clocked me with the butt of his 15-foot long pole…turns out he was deaf so couldn’t hear my shouts of warning.
• Day 7: we decided to take on some climbing, and diverged from the route, riding through the Lake District and overnight in Ambleside. This added a day to the trip, and some tough climbing, but it was worth it. The next day we did 25 miles into Penrith—but be advised this route had 1500 ft of vertical in the first five miles over Kirkstone Pass, so not for the faint of heart. But it also offered the best views of the entire trip. For my money, the Lake District was the prettiest part of the ride!
• Although it meant more climbing, we opted for Stages 9A and 10A. It was lovely, so I highly recommend that option.
• P. 153 Queen Elizabeth Forest Park (Stage 10A): We ignored Mr. Barrett’s reassurance that the signage warning off road cyclists could be ignored. Instead we opted for the alternative route 10A at Mile 28 (p. 156), and really enjoyed that segment. We could see the gravel option terrain across the loch, and were glad we avoided it. We overnighted in Killin at mile 55 rather than pressing on to Pitlochry, choosing to ride the missed miles the next day instead. Leaving Killin, we diverged from the route to the north side of Loch Tay based on local advice, and that stretch of road was one of the prettiest I’ve ever ridden.
• Ignore his advice not to take any rest days. It’s not boot camp. We took two rest days in Penrith, and rented a car to tour the Lakes District and Yorkshire Dales. Our legs were grateful for the break.

 
LESSONS LEARNED
• GEARING: can’t stress enough the importance of getting this right. Aim for a lowest gear ratio of .85 or less. You might lose at the top end (I spun out at about 27 mph), but won’t miss it. It’s a tour! You can coast!
• KIT: won’t go into too much detail here. Less is more. Shoot for <10 kg. We had the good fortune of two weeks of brilliant sunshine, so we didn’t have to break out the waterproofs until the last day at JOG. And we never had a mechanical. But you might have a different experience. It rains in Britain! I should have taken two kits instead of three, and should have left out the bikepacking sleeping bag and bivvy sack (brought in case of emergency). However, I would encourage you to bring lightweight items for mechanicals (extra spokes, duct tape, spare tire/ tubes, patch kit, etc)
• ENJOY THE RIDE: this means not being over-ambitious about daily mileage, so you can make stops for coffee and points of interest. If I was going to do this again, I’d take three weeks instead of two. If limited to 14 days, I’d use an ebike.

[Cowsham]

On the bucket list -- I'll probably take a month. Would like to do it camping though.

[wirral_cyclist]

As compact doubles are 50/34 & 11-34T for 1:1 then I can't really see a point in a 1x11 for just 0.95 given the massive steps the 1x gives for a bail gear so 'high' - that must be just be a poor choice from bike maker and I don't think Richard could have foreseen that likelihood.
As the saying goes if you can get to Bristol - from whichever end, you'll finish, Cornwall is either done or you're match fit. I hated Cornwall on 48/38/26 with 11-32 (26/32 for 0.81) I can just about manage steep stuff now (Shelf say) on 30/36 (0.83) but would like lower - yes I know I should man up.

When it comes to packing for a tour discard 50% of the kit, oh and do that TWICE!

[MrsHJ]

Thanks for the review.

I’ve said this before but most people do LEJOG as a challenge at sportive rather than at touring pace. I understand why- there are lots of sporty types ticking it off their lists and people don’t have loads of holiday to devote to their hobbies if they are part of a family with other commitments. If I do it it will be at the 3 week pace which is broadly my touring pace. On the gears I have 44-32-22 and 11-34 if I remember correctly and would firmly vote for that sort of range for us less match fit types.

[Pendodave]

Always interesting to read other people's experiences of trips.

12mph seems quite brisk. I average about 10mph with coffee/ food breaks but excluding sightseeing.

As for breakfast times, I hear you! I either ask for them to leave out cereal/bread/drink facilities or negotiate a discount and stop for breakfast when it's available if I've got a long day.

[Norman H]

LEJOG 2023: BARRETT CICERONE BOOK REVIEW AND LESSONS LEARNED

We averaged about 10 mph on the hilly days in Cornwall and Somerset.

Somerset should have been a welcome respite after the hills of Devon and Cornwall. Do you have a link to your route through Somerset?

Much of the county is flat but it does have some lumpy bits. The most obvious being the Quantocks and Mendips, the Exmoor national park which extends into the west of the county, and the Cadbury Hills north of Crediton, all of which are easily avoided.

[Enigmadick]

Mr. Barrett’s superior conditioning and lifetime of outdoor pursuits may have allowed him to average 12 mph,

Nowhere in this guidebook does it suggest an average riding speed of 12mph.

The suggested time for each stage is based on two factors (a) the horizontal distance at 12mph and (b) the amount of ascent at 400 meters per hour. In my experience these are fairly reasonable figures for a reasonably fit club cyclist tackling a multi-day challenge ride.

What else can a boy do?