Where have all the end to enders gone?

[toontra]

For me the months of planning (with a lot of help from this forum!) make the whole experience all the more rewarding, adding to the anticipation. As has been said, the information in easily accessible to anyone with internet access.

Personally I find riding solo unsupported is the essence of this kind of challenge. Every mile is of my own design and being alone means you soak up your surroundings without the distraction of chatting away to fellow cyclists and missing some of the detail of what you are actually going through, and by the end you have done something that no-one else has, entirely under your own steam.

[Ben@Forest]

I have to agree with the idea that there's a 'wanting everything done for you' attitude now. And I'm afraid forums like this do facilitate that. How many times on this particular sub-forum do we see a new poster with Post No 1 as 'I'm doing LEJOG what do you think of my route?' And then Mike F responds - (sorry Mike).

But it is ridiculous, the answer should be get a map out, sort out your own route, stop worrying - you're not cycling across the Hindu Kush. From the OP's original question though it would be interesting to know how many people are doing it annually - I guess it must've gone up over the past four or five years.

[robgul]

I have to agree with the idea that there's a 'wanting everything done for you' attitude now. And I'm afraid forums like this do facilitate that. How many times on this particular sub-forum do we see a new poster with Post No 1 as 'I'm doing LEJOG what do you think of my route?' And then Mike F responds - (sorry Mike).

But it is ridiculous, the answer should be get a map out, sort out your own route, stop worrying - you're not cycling across the Hindu Kush. From the OP's original question though it would be interesting to know how many people are doing it annually - I guess it must've gone up over the past four or five years.

The "want it on a plate" brigade amaze me - some of the requests for help are pathetic ... not just with routes (the comments about maps etc are appropriate) ... but we also see posts like "recommend me a bicycle bell" or "I'm going on a 50 mile tour, what should I take?" God help us.

That said the organisations that supply these people have a business opportunity/demand that needs filling ...

Going back to the E2E, the amount people are prepared to pay for a "fully supported ride over 14 days" is staggering.

Rob

[wirral_cyclist]

I think that maybe that almost all E2E want it all organised and sorted for them (albeit with the trots included on one famous tour). Me (we) used several fora to get an idea for routes, then picked where to stay, and to be honest after doing something just about out of my comfort zone I want a 'luxury' experience of hotels or en suite B&B's, not bunkhouses and shared bogs and often rather odd other guests (I never did like hostels when it was all I could afford).
If I wanted to rough it I'd go the whole hog and use a tent and then not need to share facilities with anyone.

I didn't think Drumochter rough on 28/32mm tyres (and 15 stone) and a nicer overall route would be harder to find, pretty to the West undoubtably but it is midge city, and rather too busy to the East for my liking.

[Ron]

Perhaps would be End to Enders seeing posts on here from people getting stressed over planning, training and electronic routes, booking accommodation in advance, availability of transport to get home etc. etc. are deterred from undertaking the trip thinking it really is an awesome challenge beyond the scope of anyone of just average fitness and intelligence.

[Paulatic]

I follow #LEJOG & # JOGLE on Twitter. Can track their progress while doing it. At this time of year though you could come away with the impression no one does it without
1 raising money
2 writing a book
3 without doing serious training.

[Mick F]

When I did my JOGLE in 1994, I had nothing except a road atlas and an innate knowledge of the geography of the GB.

No internet, no forums, no mobile phones, no emails ....................... and no GPS.

[Ben@Forest]

When I did my JOGLE in 1994, I had nothing except a road atlas and an innate knowledge of the geography of the GB.

No internet, no forums, no mobile phones, no emails ....................... and no GPS.

And of course everyone used to do all touring like that. In 1987 and touring in France I was doored and went to hospital in an ambulance but had no real injuries beyond gravel rash. I sent my mum a postcard to say what had happened and that I was OK. On my return some weeks later I found out she'd realised I'd had an accident before receiving the postcard - the hospital had sent me an image of the x-ray (and a bill) in a big brown hospital-named envelope that arrived at home before the postcard did.

Nowadays a nineteen year-old would have put it on Instagram while still being prodded in A&E...

[sbcoombs]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum.
I am planning on a LEJOG in 2018 as a 50th present to myself. I joined the forum to get ideas and route information. Some of the posts on this topic are a bit disappointing as they take no account of an individual's situation.
I would love to go self supported and have studied the many route options and MickF's many helpful comments on routing in the south.
For me, I want the benefit of comfort on my journey. Hopefully my wife will be supporting in the camper van but if not I would probably go with an organised ride to carry my kit. I enjoy solo riding but would prefer fresh kit every day without carrying it all and want a backup plan if anything goes wrong.
This shouldn't mean I enjoy it any less as my aim is to see some of the country that I miss racing around the motorway network. Nor should it cause any concern for anyone else who may have chosen to do it differently.
I am sure, as appears to be the general case in here, that you will all offer helpful advice when I finalise my plans next year.

[Psamathe]

I thought it should be known "officially" how many people are undertaking (or completing) the ride by the numbers applying for the CTC Lejog pack (gving you a few routes, record to obtain the award/certificate, etc.. Also whatever organisation actually awards the certificates/awards/whatever for completion. Whilst not everybody who does it would apply for a CTC pack or apply for an award, I'd have thought that averaged out it would give an indication of increases or decreases in numbers (i.e. increasing or decreasing trend).

In distance hiking on PCT (in the US), the organisation managing the path publish award figured each year, so everybody can tell it's popularity.

Ian

[newbootclimbco]

Reading all the above reasons for lack of end 2 enders they are all true, I think to a certain extent people have lost a little of what this great adventure is all about. Planning the route ,accommodation etc ,etc.Doing it for yourself enjoying the ride. For my part and I have done LEJOG in 2006 and half of it in 2014. fully loaded and using hostels. The biggest drawback getting to the start and from the finish. The train service stinks and other transport is too damb hard. I'd still like to do it again tho. T.

[honesty]

Does seem to be quite a bit of snobbery showing here... surely people can do touring however they like. If anything the raise of the organised, portered, ride/walk would seem to be an indication of less serious cyclists and walkers attempting these rides and walks, which would seem to suggest a growing interest outside of the cycle touring community.

[Vorpal]

The "want it on a plate" brigade amaze me - some of the requests for help are pathetic ... not just with routes (the comments about maps etc are appropriate) ... but we also see posts like "recommend me a bicycle bell" or "I'm going on a 50 mile tour, what should I take?" God help us.

That said the organisations that supply these people have a business opportunity/demand that needs filling ...

Going back to the E2E, the amount people are prepared to pay for a "fully supported ride over 14 days" is staggering.

Rob

Some people are inexperienced and honestly aren't sure what to take on a short tour, let alone a long one. Posts like this certainly won't encourage them to ask.

Some people enjoy the planning, others don't. Some people have loads of time to do the planning, others get limited holiday time, work 50 + hours per week and try to keep up with children outside of working hours.

Give them some credit for getting out on their bikes, instead of insulting them for asking questions.

[robgul]

I thought it should be known "officially" how many people are undertaking (or completing) the ride by the numbers applying for the CTC Lejog pack (gving you a few routes, record to obtain the award/certificate, etc.. Also whatever organisation actually awards the certificates/awards/whatever for completion. Whilst not everybody who does it would apply for a CTC pack or apply for an award, I'd have thought that averaged out it would give an indication of increases or decreases in numbers (i.e. increasing or decreasing trend).

In distance hiking on PCT (in the US), the organisation managing the path publish award figured each year, so everybody can tell it's popularity.

Ian

I would question the measures suggested as a) the CTC stuff is out-of-date and hidden away, b) the two "books" for riders to sign at either end are not readily available (that's at The Land's End Hotel and The Seaview Hotel at JOG - at least last time I did it they were). Another measure may be the number of guide books sold by Cicerone

On this theme - on my website http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk I have a Route Pack that is available for a donation to make ends meets (geddit?) with running the website. Of the total number of donations (many hundreds), the percentages per year since I published it in 2011 are as follows:

2011 12%
2012 45%
2013 7%
2014 28%
2015 13%

Not sure what this shows other than wild fluctuation ?

I also have a rider calendar on the website which has seen massive variations since it started in 2009 (for the anoraks you can scroll back through the calendar or look at the list here http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk/index. ... Itemid=223 )

Rob

[rareposter]

Some people are inexperienced and honestly aren't sure what to take on a short tour, let alone a long one. Posts like this certainly won't encourage them to ask.

Some people enjoy the planning, others don't. Some people have loads of time to do the planning, others get limited holiday time, work 50 + hours per week and try to keep up with children outside of working hours.

Give them some credit for getting out on their bikes, instead of insulting them for asking questions.

I agree - it can be a bit frustrating sometimes hearing some of the questions (especially for the umpteenth time) - you should see the Deloitte RAB forum at the moment!
But equally, this is what happens when someone walks into a bike shop to buy a new bike and the knowledgeable staff take time and pride in passing on their experience, their advice. That should be the same of this forum - rather than sneering at a newcomer the more experienced rider should be able to take pride in saying "I've done this" and helping others achieve their goal.

Maybe the internet has been a double edged sword. Before it you just got on with the ride not knowing any better, now you can see all the possible dangers or can't consider a life away from wifi! Elements of what Ron said above ^^ where your own fears/worries about the ride is added to by seeing others fears and worries about the ride!