Cycling UK Forum

I absolutely enjoyed it! And as for the wind, it had been a strong north easterly for weeks until just a few days before I set off. But the fact remains that overall our weather travells west to east and for my trip the prevailing winds did prevail.
As for hills and mountains, with the extended route along the North and West coasts of Scotland the hardest steepest climbs were there. I had been dreading the South West given the comments in the CTC end to end pack, and then wondered what all the fuss was about; I'd say disappointed if I hadn't been gald how easy Cornwall and most of Devon was.

My thoughts on LeJoG (and a bit on cycle touring in general)

My comments are based on a journey South to North starting 16th April and ending on 4th May. I was camping, travelling solo and unsupported (all up weight about 50lbs including the bike). I also did an extended route along the West and North coasts of Scotland, (intending to visit some islands and Cape Wrath). I live in Holmfirth and so ride in the Pennines. I’m 53 and have never been cycle touring before.

 Travelling by train is stressful. Don’t expect straps, wheel supports, help, time or consistency (panniers on/panniers off).
 LeJog cannot be completed by people of average fitness, at least not the way I did it. Do some training.
 Go south to north unless you are a masochist. I travelled in several storms, at least most of which were in my favour. Pedalling downhill at 4 m.p.h. is dispiriting.
 Cornwall is not hilly; I didn’t come across a decent hill until the climb out of Monkehampton, Devon, and it’s not a monster. If you are finding Cornwall hard then you either haven’t done your route planning or haven’t trained. (Different perhaps if you have to go to specific places, e.g. a youth hostel).
 It’s not obvious how to get on the cycle track over the Avon at the M5, but once you are on it it is well signed. Not the easiest surface in places with a fully laden touring bike.
 I took the A403 at Bristol to the Seven Bridge. It was a Saturday morning and so few heavies. During the week I would choose a different route.
 Cheshire was frustrating with missing road signs, villages not named, and seemingly endless map reading.
 I don’t know why the suggested CTC routes take you miles into the Forest of Bowland. I went into Preston without difficulty on a quiet route, and out of Preston on the A6 with only one small mistake.
 I took the A685 to Tebay out of The Lakes, and had my toughest ride so far of my trip.
 After Carlisle I needed my winter cycling kit at this time of year, and still started to suffer with hypothermia on the ride from Ullapool to Durness.
 The West coast of Scotland is fantastic touring - quiet roads, and gentle gradients - until Glenfinnan on the Road to the Isles, then the undulations start and don’t stop until Melvich.
 The cycle path to Mallaig is a waste of time. Brand new, looks great and the surface is so uneven it is nigh on impossible to ride with a loaded tourer. I went back onto the road to the annoyance of drivers, and probably some risk to myself.
 Travelling on CalMac ferries is not cheap but they do look after you.
 The final 40 miles to John O’Groats is often described as boring. It isn’t but it is different to what you have been riding through.
 Do the extra miles and go to Dunnet Head. The finish should be here: wild, spectacular and unvisited.
 Campsites are not where you’d like them to be, so expect some longer (and shorter) days. I tried to average 60m/day.
 Don’t forget to stop and have a look behind you occasionally or you will miss some great views.
 If doing it for charity expect fundraising to take over your life. I struggled at times to get training miles in with charity commitments. It brings out the best in people and I had many spontaneous donations during my ride. I did it for ssafa (http://www.ssafa.org.uk) and did get comments that it was nice to see someone riding LeJoG for something other than a cancer charity – make of that what you will.
 With very few exceptions I was treated with great respect by other roads users (I was clipped by a car in Northwich). B and unclassified roads might have fewer lorries on them but the traffic often travels much faster, and they can be busy if they are a local rat run. I avoided as many A roads as possible but had no difficulties when I did choose to use them. Lorry drivers seem to be getting the message about cyclists and were, without exception, excellent.
 Farmers are happy to slow the traffic down but are not happy when it happens to them. They will pressurise you.
 Caravaners are the biggest risk. They forget the caravan is wider than the car and how long it is. They pass too close and pull back in too early. Nasty.
Hope the above helps with your trip.
Enjoy!

Interesting about tilting the angle the `wrong' way, worth a try. The charge spoon has had a couple of mentions in different saddle topics and is on my must investigate lists. Thanks for the replies. Has anyone tried cutting out the B17 where the airvents are to try and help allievate the issue?

I am on a Ridgebak World Voyage to which I added the Brooks B17. My experience is that it's great on the sit bones but I quickly start to suffer from numbness just where a man doesn't want it (I do have a slight downward slope on it to try and help with little success). The saddle that came with the bike is better in that regard but is very narrow and so uncomfortable on a long day, never mind repeated days of riding. Having forked out for one saddle and not got it right and with an unsupported camping LEJoG coming up in a couple of months I need to get this one right. I know that it's a very individual item but a couple of current suggestions would be great.

@ Horizon: Thank you for the reply, I've taken advantage of the offer that Halfords have on the Brooks saddle at the moment; I'm sure my posterior will thank me for it in time!

I'd be interested to know how anyone has got on with the Ridgeback Tour saddle. I've purchased the Ridgeback Voyage and found the saddle okay for a couple of hours, but the Cycling Active reivew of the bike did not rate the saddle over longer distances. As I am planning some longer touring trips for next year do I need to start to break a leather saddle in?