Want to do LEJOG for charity - wife has cancer

[ossie]

Again, thank you all for being supportive and posting your thoughts. It really does give me food for thought and I'm grateful!

At this point, I'm not planning on doing LEJOG anytime soon. As many of you have posted, and of which I agree, it's only right to be by my wife's side and of course be there for my son too.

Bang on fella.

I'm a fit 50's something and do plenty of long distance rides . The planning and prep for an 800 mile ride from Spain to the UK for example will take me months, getting the bike up together, planning the route, campsites and everything else including fitness.

My first thoughts were obviously for your wife but also for you to be by her side. Ignore everything else, drop everything and concentrate on your good lady. My wife and grown up kids worry themselves silly when I tour and do these long rides.

Best of luck, my elderly mum has the same disease (rectal cancer) and has received excellent care from the NHS, you may well be surprised.

[Jamesh]

How about a shorter day ride? How about the coast to coast if you went directly you could do it in a day or a weekend if you take a horse shoe route across more "interesting" terrain.

Or how about a group ride once covid has settled down and your wife is in the mend. Stick around and you'll find a great deal of sympathy and community here.

Cheers James

[the_journey]

Hey folks,

Just wanted to send another quick thank you for all the great feedback and ideas. I've had to step back a couple of days to focus on my wife/son (obviously) but, the idea hasn't waned

(sorry for lack of quotes)

rareposter - A ride over winter would be amazing, thank you for the offer. When do you think would be a good time, early next year, later this year? Would love to ask you some LEJOG questions. When I get a few extra minutes (maybe this weekend) I'll read up on some posts here, I bet there are a lot of great stories.

ossie - 800 mile ride from Spain to the UK sounds amazing and I'm sorry to hear about your mum having rectal cancer too. However, I'm so happy to hear she's received excellent care from the NHS and I wish her a healthy and speedy recovery!

James - Yes, that's an excellent idea! Never thought about coast to coast, thanks! I'll definitely consider that, sounds like a lot of fun! Group ride sounds very cool too.

So, whilst I'm focusing more on making sure my wife is getting all the help she needs, I'm still slowly piecing together my "kit". Money is tight so I have to watch my spending as I feel like I need a lot of stuff. I think my mtb is sound enough but, I'll probably need to replace the brake/gear cables and do a bit of tuning, if I can manage.

I already have my mtb "slick" tyres, a rear rack and panniers, inner tubes and helmet coming. I think other than the cables, maybe some brake pads, and an odometer, that's probably enough to get me going. Maybe some rain gear(?)

I plan to start small, 20-mile ride should be easy enough and not take up too much time away from the fam. I'll strive for my first ride next week when I have the basics.

Hopefully, I'll be reporting progress (e.g. longer rides) throughout the winter. Should be fun

Cheers all!

[Cowsham]

Are there any cyclists at your work or social circles? Would any of them be interested in doing a run for the cause? With some of the right people on board you could see a surprising result. Especially now when no one can get on holidays etc there are people looking for an excuse to do something like a charity run of some kind. I think a shorter route to suit beginners would entice more people to get on their bikes too.

[tomshooter]

Hi Scott,

Love the ambition but completely agree with postponing the LEJOG plan. It's a big undertaking and regularly underestimated. I've been organising LEJOG and JOGLE rides for organised groups since 2010 an am happy to share whatever resources I have with you.

I have a route on GPX that may be of use for starters?