5 day LEJOG

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
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Mick F
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Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

Excellent info guys! :D
Mick F. Cornwall
Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Jamesh »

Sounds great!

Rather you than me getting back on the bike on day 2,3,4,5

Supported I guess and in company which makes it more comparible with my 8 day ride! (That's what I'm thinking!!)

Cheers James
Mjb210
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Joined: 22 Jun 2021, 7:29pm

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mjb210 »

Thanks all for the feedback. Now back at home after finishing on Thursday.

Overall the ride went really well, the first few days were incredibly hot but bearable, particularly with some petrol station ice cream resupplies.

Day 1: 315.1km 3,795m. Tough day and finished up just south of Bristol. We left LE at just gone 5am and finished just past 7pm
Day 2: 264.4km 1,788m. We probably could have gone longer on this day but the heat through the midlands was oppressive and struggled to go more than 80km between water re-fills
Day 3: 323.9km 2,520m. Solid day on the bike and stuck to the A6 so kept a lot of momentum as we knew the roads from a previous 3 peaks cycling challenge
Day 4: 259.1km 2,043m. Favourite day by far. The A9 was surprisingly good as long sections of roadwork meant that cars were limited to 40mph and we cruised along in the newly resurfaced closed lane. We did have a fairly unpleasant long section on the A9 in the middle,then jumped on the newly resurfaced bike path for the last third. We even took the scenic route to East of A9 after Kingussie as we were enjoying it so much and had a nice tailwind
Day 5: 243.8km 2,090m. Great scenery but a bit of a headwind going up, it was nice to bump into a few other LEJOG cyclists though. Able to take our time as the weather was perfect.

For the longer days we aimed to be on the road for 5am so we could be finished by 7pm and for the shorter days we aimed for 6am

Obviously our experience was heavily shaped by the privilege of having a support van and phenomenal weather for which we were very grateful
PH
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Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
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Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by PH »

Well done, great achievement! Maybe when you've had time to reflect you might update on what, if anything, you'd have done differently.
I'm surprised you didn't struggle more with the heat! I did a couple of 100 mile rides last week and it took it out of me far more than I was expecting.
Pendodave
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Joined: 3 Jun 2020, 8:27am

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Pendodave »

Congratulations.
I also did a few (much shorter) days last week and found the weather very hard going. I'm really impressed - even with support, the miles still need to be ridden.
Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Jamesh »

Well done I can only imagine the endurance you needed to ride from 5am to 7pm!

Did you have any chafing / saddle sores? Mechanicals?

Many thanks

James
Mjb210
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Joined: 22 Jun 2021, 7:29pm

Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mjb210 »

After a week to reflect and catch up on all the work emails, a few thoughts crossed my mind of what to do differently

1. We definitely travelled on some busier roads than I would have liked. This is a necessity on the longer days however on the shorter days we perhaps could have been a bit more creative on the route planning. Riding on the quieter roads was really good fun as we could chat and enjoy the scenery a bit more so if we could have utilised a few quiet detours in flatter areas I would be happy to accept the slight time penalty

2. Saddle choice. I have suffered from saddle sores in the past particularly whilst riding in more remote tropical areas where it was often not possible to have a shower straight off the bike and put on clean bibs for the next day but I had recurring issues in the 3 months leading up to LEJOG. I stupidly never took more than 5 days off the bike to let them heal properly and decided that part of the issue was the Specialized Power saddle I was using. I took a massive gamble the week prior to LEJOG and swapped my saddle for a Shimano Stealth saddle. I did a 5 min confirmatory spin on the trainer and then took a full 7 days off the bike. I got away with it and suffered much less than my riding buddy and another 5 day LEJOGer we met on Day 1 and Day 5. This was obviously a big gamble but I did also have the luxury of taking a spare old saddle in my bag so I could swap if needed.

3. Final observation is my nutrition options were perhaps a bit limited. Usually I eat home made flapjack bars on my rides and just didn't have enough variety in the food we took along. We did do a re-stock at Tesco's along the way but something I will definitely remember for next time

Regarding mechanicals, neither of us suffered from a single issue. We both had new inner cables and chain fitted in the weeks prior and had done a few rides to bed them in. We both used brand new Vittoria Rubino tyres (25mm and 28mm) with tubes. I had the tubeless version so they were heavier than my normal GP5000s but I have used Rubinos in the past and rate them for their robustness. I run 75psi in my 25mm and weight 70kgs. We both carried two spare tubes, quick links with the larger spares in the van if needed. For lube I used a Muc Off dry lube and did a wipe down and re-lube every 120-150km. Bar tape Lizard skin 3.2mm single wrap. For safety, day time lights and I had a safety pizzetta off my saddle.

Saddle sores: Yes I definitely had hot spots but they never graduated into full saddle sores. I used Assos chamois creme liberally and regularly and Sudocrem each night and slept naked to allow maximum recovery

Now to plan the next trip...
PH
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Re: 5 day LEJOG

Post by PH »

Mjb210 wrote: 31 Jul 2021, 12:15pm After a week to reflect and catch up on all the work emails, a few thoughts crossed my mind of what to do differently
Thanks for that, interesting stuff.
Congrats again, good luck with the next one :wink:
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