Getting from London to LE

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
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amitgal
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Joined: 25 May 2021, 11:28am

Getting from London to LE

Post by amitgal »

I will attempt LeJoG on a vary tight schedule in july (I plan riding it in 7-8 days). I am a seasoned audax rider so riding 200-250km a day is not unusual for me. However, I'm not from the UK and I worry about logistics.
I'll take it question by question, and will appreciate any information or links to other discussion I might have missed.

first question - getting to LE.
My airplane lands at 2:00am at London Luton airport. What is the most efficient way to get to the start?
My bike will be boxed (in the past, I opened the box at the airport and rode to London), but will it be easier to keep it boxed until in Penzance?

options I looked at:
1) train from Paddington to Penzance: looks the best option if my bike can get on the train. reserving bike space failed on the GWR website - already fully booked (50 days in advance? really?) so:
a) is this likely to stay the same or is there a reasonable chance that bike spots will be freed nearer the date?
b) if the bike is boxed, I guess it is considered luggage and not treated as a bike. can a bike box be taken on board as luggage? is there a space for it? any extra cost for taking it?
c) a friend told me, that if the train is no busy, the train personnel may allow me taking the box on board. so I wonder if on average morning trains from London to Penzance are busy.

2) taking a bus:
a) so there is a morning bus to Penzance. can boxed bikes be taken in the hold of National Express busses? at what cost (if any)?

Any other options I should consider?

UPDATE: found & booked a train ticket with a bike space. will start my LeJoG on July 12 afternoon :)
Last edited by amitgal on 26 May 2021, 8:41am, edited 1 time in total.
puffin
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Joined: 15 Aug 2010, 3:29pm
Location: Bicester / Aylesbury

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by puffin »

Hi there
I think GWR only allow online bike reservations within around12 weeks of the departure date. This 12 weeks also coincides with the release of cheaper advance fares. Try doing a dummy booking of an earlier date and see if it accepts a bicycle reservation. I'm going in early June and couldn't book till April. Have a great trip!
amitgal
Posts: 2
Joined: 25 May 2021, 11:28am

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by amitgal »

I'm going on July 12, so it is approx. 7 weeks from now. but good advice to try dummy booking on earlier trains (and possibly later trains) to understand the dynamics

Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
rareposter
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Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by rareposter »

amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 10:44pm I'm going on July 12, so it is approx. 7 weeks from now. but good advice to try dummy booking on earlier trains (and possibly later trains) to understand the dynamics

Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
Usually the latter although do beware that in some cases you may find that the train you have a booked ticket for no longer has any bike spaces which leaves you in the situation of needing to amend your own ticket - often at an additional price!

It cropped up on another thread on this forum about travelling on trains.
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mjr
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Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
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Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by mjr »

rareposter wrote: 26 May 2021, 12:49pm
amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 10:44pm I'm going on July 12, so it is approx. 7 weeks from now. but good advice to try dummy booking on earlier trains (and possibly later trains) to understand the dynamics

Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
Usually the latter although do beware that in some cases you may find that the train you have a booked ticket for no longer has any bike spaces which leaves you in the situation of needing to amend your own ticket - often at an additional price!

It cropped up on another thread on this forum about travelling on trains.
It was bunk then. There is a published guarantee on the National Rail website that if you have a booked bike and there is no space for whatever reason then you can Hop On The Next Available Train, but it is a good idea to get the guard of the full train or the station helpdesk to endorse your ticket to ease that, especially at London stations with platform gates. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations ... .aspx#plan
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by Jdsk »

rareposter wrote: 26 May 2021, 12:49pm
amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 10:44pm I'm going on July 12, so it is approx. 7 weeks from now. but good advice to try dummy booking on earlier trains (and possibly later trains) to understand the dynamics

Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
Usually the latter although do beware that in some cases you may find that the train you have a booked ticket for no longer has any bike spaces which leaves you in the situation of needing to amend your own ticket - often at an additional price!

It cropped up on another thread on this forum about travelling on trains.
Advice on which booking system to use:
viewtopic.php?p=1608294#p1608294

Jonathan
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mjr
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Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
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Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by mjr »

amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 12:08pm first question - getting to LE.
My airplane lands at 2:00am at London Luton airport. What is the most efficient way to get to the start?
My bike will be boxed (in the past, I opened the box at the airport and rode to London), but will it be easier to keep it boxed until in Penzance?
Easier to ride it as you have booked a bike space from London.

Ride to Luton Airport Parkway, Thameslink in the dead of night to St Pancras with big bike symbols on the sides, ride to Paddington (turn left onto C6 southbound signposted Farringdon from the doors by the Thameslink escalators, then follow blue cycle route signs for Tottenham Court Road, then Marylebone, then Paddington which I have checked on Streetview: there is a sign missing for the right turn at the end of New Cavendish Street and there are few "straight ahead" confirmation signs but all other turns seem to have signs, but the final Paddington one on Sussex Gardens is white not blue), then GWR to Penzance, ride to Lands End.
options I looked at:
1) train from Paddington to Penzance: looks the best option if my bike can get on the train. reserving bike space failed on the GWR website - already fully booked (50 days in advance? really?) so:
a) is this likely to stay the same or is there a reasonable chance that bike spots will be freed nearer the date?
b) if the bike is boxed, I guess it is considered luggage and not treated as a bike. can a bike box be taken on board as luggage? is there a space for it? any extra cost for taking it?
c) a friend told me, that if the train is no busy, the train personnel may allow me taking the box on board. so I wonder if on average morning trains from London to Penzance are busy.
I see you got a space. Some have posted on here that GWR website bike booking is a bit broken but it works from some others like Avanti. They all sell tickets for each other which is both confusing and useful.

A boxed bike probably is too big to be regular luggage on trains but I forget the exact size limit (I think 1m max is involved) and most guards would allow it as long as it was put in a large luggage rack.

The journey planner on www.nationalrail.co.uk currently warns about busy trains because of covid.

I cannot speak about National Express but reports on here if you search are mixed.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by Jamesh »

Just a thought....

Get a length of 50mm x50mm timber the width of the bike box.

A pair of cheap wheels 50mm -100mm dia.

Screw the wheels to the timber and duck tape to the bike box bottom.

You can now wheel the bike box surround the airport terminal, train station etc.....

Dispose of with the bike box at le.

Cheers James
Blondie
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Joined: 23 May 2021, 5:11pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by Blondie »

You’ve got your booking now but distance London Lands End is approx 500km. So you could have ridden it in a couple of days.
philvantwo
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Joined: 8 Dec 2012, 6:08pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by philvantwo »

Have you applied to be on Dragons Den with this idea James?
mattheus
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Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by mattheus »

philvantwo wrote: 27 May 2021, 9:50pm Have you applied to be on Dragons Den with this idea James?
:lol:
Jdsk
Posts: 24627
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by Jdsk »

Jamesh wrote: 27 May 2021, 9:36pm Just a thought....

Get a length of 50mm x50mm timber the width of the bike box.

A pair of cheap wheels 50mm -100mm dia.

Screw the wheels to the timber and duck tape to the bike box bottom.

You can now wheel the bike box surround the airport terminal, train station etc.....

Dispose of with the bike box at le.
That's the bike sorted. How about the rider?



Waldo
Tiggertoo
Posts: 475
Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by Tiggertoo »

Amitgal:

As I see it - and as I plan - a bike box is not much bigger than a regular suitcase and my intention is to take it on the train without stating it has a bike inside. I know it is outside the size limit (36" I belive) but maybe worth the try?
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monxton
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Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by monxton »

mjr wrote: 26 May 2021, 1:37pm
rareposter wrote: 26 May 2021, 12:49pm
amitgal wrote: 25 May 2021, 10:44pm Is it possible to buy a ticket now, and reserve a bike later or is it mandatory to book the bike space when buying the ticket?
Usually the latter although do beware that in some cases you may find that the train you have a booked ticket for no longer has any bike spaces which leaves you in the situation of needing to amend your own ticket - often at an additional price!

It cropped up on another thread on this forum about travelling on trains.
It was bunk then. There is a published guarantee on the National Rail website that if you have a booked bike and there is no space for whatever reason then you can Hop On The Next Available Train, but it is a good idea to get the guard of the full train or the station helpdesk to endorse your ticket to ease that, especially at London stations with platform gates. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations ... .aspx#plan
Try reading before debunking? The situation was that they booked an advance ticket first and tried to add a bike booking later, but there were none available on the train they had booked.
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mjr
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Re: Getting from London to LE

Post by mjr »

monxton wrote: 5 Jun 2021, 4:25am Try reading before debunking? The situation was that they booked an advance ticket first and tried to add a bike booking later, but there were none available on the train they had booked.
Try reading before posting? The reply did not make clear which situation of the two it applied to, so I not unreasonably interpreted it as the last.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
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