Cycling UK Forum

Hi all,

I may have the time to ride JoGLE in August and was wondering if the AA road atlas and a compass would be sufficient.

Is it feasable to make it up as I go along? I have up to 4 weeks to do it so getting a bit lost is not really a problem.

Is there a map of UK campsies available?

I would apprreciate any input.

Thanks,

Finn

I used the OS Travel Map series, which I think have a little more detail than a road atlas, but I think that the road atlas + a compass would be sufficient.
I also had a more close up look at some of the towns/cities I was passing through on google maps to get an idea of how the roads worked.

I would think that with 4 weeks to do it you probably could make it up as you go along.
I only had 10 days and only really preplanned overnight stops and left the final route details to be decided either the night before or during the day.
With 4 weeks you should be able to avoid as many main roads as possible which will be great.

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/ gives a fairly comprehensive list of uk campsites which I have used previously to find sites in areas I do not know.

Have you made any decisions yet on route?

It would suggest investigating some of the National Cycle Routes - I followed large parts of routes 1,7 and 77 between John o Groats and Perth - these keep you on quiet roads and also some traffic free cycle paths. I spotted many other routes as I headed south but didn't know where they went so did not follow them.

The only issue with not preplanning/booking campsites in August may be getting somewhere to stay? It is school holiday time for Scotland and England.

Enjoy the planning, the only thing better is actually being out on the road.

Thanks rougemazza,

I shall look into the National Cyle routes.

Good point about the school hol's, I had not thought of that. I may be able to push the ride back until the last week of August and pre book campsites for the first few days. The weather looks OK in September.

The only decision regarding route is that I want to ride the west coast of Scotland. I shall rough out a route tomorrow.

Cheers.

AA road atlas at 4 miles to the inch, cut up and laminated as required for your route is certainly sufficient. 3 miles to the inch is better. Number the sheets, and get out the ones wanted for each day, the rest residing deep in your luggage.

A compass too, is good. If the sun isn't shining to tell you where it is, you can quite easily get lost in a town. The signposts are designed for cars, not for cyclists.

As for making it up as you go along, dunno. I couldn't do that. My psyche wants to know where and when to stay the night. B+B/YHA booked well in advance is the only way I would do it. Camping/roughing it, is not for me!

Good tip about laminating the maps.

I will be staying in the odd b&b and hostel too. I can't go 4 weeks without a shower and laundry

Ah, but they have showers and laundry facilities at camp sites dont they

Can you tell I'm new to this?

For weeks before our trip, I spent every evening planning our route. I went in and out of google satelite looking at every mile of road, access, geography, cyclepaths etc and eventually loaded 'The Route' into my GPS. I also went down the pound shop and bought a couple of road atlas that I chopped up, marked up and laminated to serve as back ups.

Come the day, I hardly looked at my GPS and we certainly didn't follow 'The Route' all the way. We did often look at the maps though to see where we were & what was around us. Where we were going was so ingrained on me because of the time I had spent researching, that the only decisions we made were whether to blast some A road miles or do some wiggly stuff!

What I am saying is that from my experience maps & compass will be spot on, but put some research time in beforehand so that you have a really good idea of where you are going and what the geography is around your route. The last thing you need is to turn at a junction, do a few miles and then doubt you are going the right way. Especially if you are tired, it's raining, dark etc...

Pete

Finn wrote:Thanks rougemazza,

I shall look into the National Cyle routes.

Good point about the school hol's, I had not thought of that. I may be able to push the ride back until the last week of August and pre book campsites for the first few days. The weather looks OK in September.

The only decision regarding route is that I want to ride the west coast of Scotland. I shall rough out a route tomorrow.

Cheers.

Watch out in Glasgow the NCN route signs are incomplete you can end up getting lost. If you have a OS map of Glasgow it'll help. if you choose to head for Gretna and Carlisle look for the B7078 it follows the M74 it's quiet, well made up, and no big hills and takes you to Carlisle.

Malc

Yes, it's perfectly possible to tour making it up as you go along. I almost never book accommodation in advance, and have sometimes set off without much idea where I'm going.

But that isn't the same as riding aimlessly. When I'm doing a "freestyle" tour I've usually done quite a bit of research into roads I'd like to ride and roads to avoid, so that when I'm making spur of the moment decisions, I still get a decent ride.

Not booking accommodation sometimes means having to ride further than you want to, but I've never had a significant problem and have always managed to find somewhere.

It's a nice way to tour, but clearly not for everyone. Just remember that all you're doing is riding a bike around in your own country. It's not a big deal and there's no need to mount a military style operation to accomplish it.

hey

we might pass one another as i'll be doing lejog in august as well

RobM, I have changed my plans to start in September but good luck!

Malc, thanks for the route tip. I will bear that in mind.

Cheers all.