Hey all,
My friend and I are undertaking a 9 day charity LEJOG starting on the 31st Aug, ending in JOG on the 8th September. I've got a slight problem as I booked trains home on the "split ticketting" website (£££ were saved) and didn't think to book my bike on board - a rookie error, although this came from unfamiliarity as I have never had to do this on my local network, Greater Anglia.
Do you think it would be possible for me to get a bike bag delivered to somewhere in Thurso/JoG, pack it all up before hopping on the train and then just hoping that they let me on? I think Scotrail specify that bags should be no greater than 1m in dimension in any plane, yet most bags I've seen are 120cm to 130cm.
I would greatly appreciate anyone's advice - I most certainly need it right now.
TLDR: Was an idiot, didn't book bike on train, need to get it back to Norfolk from Thurso somehow.
Thanks,
Tommy
have train tickets, but not for bike
Re: Help needed!
Have you actually contacted the rail companies on the off chance that there is space for your bike? That's what I would try first. Good luck with it all!
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
I contacted them but unfortunately was only able to obtain one for the Thurso-Inverness leg.
Thank you to the moderator who cleared up the title a bit!
Thank you to the moderator who cleared up the title a bit!
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
Have you considered
http://www.johnogroatsbiketransport.co. ... iering.php
http://www.johnogroatsbiketransport.co. ... iering.php
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life
https://stcleve.wordpress.com/category/lejog/
E2E info
https://stcleve.wordpress.com/category/lejog/
E2E info
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
Try contacting the bike shop in Thurso.
A bike does more miles to the banana than a Porsche.
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
My son and I completed the LEJOG in June. We did the ride on two Airminal Joeys. Our strategy for getting home to North Lincolnshire was simple - ride from JOG to Wick, fold and bag the bikes and then take the train to Inverness, Edinburgh and so on. The bikes still had there racks attached so they were fairly bulky and awkward to handle.
As we waited in Wick station, we were joined by two young guys who had also just finished the ride, They had an even simpler idea - they just waited for the train - and then put their bikes of the train - no booking, nothing! When the train arrived in Thurso, they had to shift their bikes to make room for a couple who had actually booked their bikes on. But they were not challenged - and they completed their journey.
Looking back at our experience, we found the staff at the station and on the trains to be very helpful and accommodating. We certainly didn't get the sense that there were 'jobsworths' walking round with tape measures.
I think your strategy of getting a bag and putting it on the train makes sense. Maybe we were travelling at a quiet time in the LEJOG season, but I think you'd be very unlucky to encounter someone who was going to throw you off the train because your back was 20cm too big.
As we waited in Wick station, we were joined by two young guys who had also just finished the ride, They had an even simpler idea - they just waited for the train - and then put their bikes of the train - no booking, nothing! When the train arrived in Thurso, they had to shift their bikes to make room for a couple who had actually booked their bikes on. But they were not challenged - and they completed their journey.
Looking back at our experience, we found the staff at the station and on the trains to be very helpful and accommodating. We certainly didn't get the sense that there were 'jobsworths' walking round with tape measures.
I think your strategy of getting a bag and putting it on the train makes sense. Maybe we were travelling at a quiet time in the LEJOG season, but I think you'd be very unlucky to encounter someone who was going to throw you off the train because your back was 20cm too big.
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
There's always the Japanese approach
https://janheine.wordpress.com/2015/12/ ... in-travel/
https://janheine.wordpress.com/2015/12/ ... in-travel/
Re: have train tickets, but not for bike
Thanks for posting that Rinko link -I hadn't come across that phenomena before. I actually put some of those MKS US-B Nuevo Lipless Pedals on my Airminal for our LEJOG. They worked really well.