Lejog report with a difference

[Mike G]

Hi Nige, Kate....good to hear from you. How was the mountain-biking in the highlands?

I think that in trying to destroy Preston, all you did was annoy it a bit.......and it took revenge on us, the next Lejoggers along!!! So its all your fault

Mike

[nige1560]

Hi Nige, Kate....good to hear from you. How was the mountain-biking in the highlands?

I think that in trying to destroy Preston, all you did was annoy it a bit.......and it took revenge on us, the next Lejoggers along!!! So its all your fault

Mike

Hi,
Must have pressed the wrong button!! Sorry
Mountain biking was brilliant. Missed my own Orange P7 though. Hired bikes are never the same. Did have a blast around Laggan Wolftrax - one of the best trail centres I've been to.

nige

[AlanW]

Brilliant, nothing short of brilliant, many thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed version of accounts. Its a great example as to what a trip should all be about, ie enjoying it.

I have just done LEJoG and I have also written an overview of our trip and posted it on here. Now compare the two write ups, then tell me which trip sounds the more enjoyable?

Ok, I accept that our trip over 8 days was never going to be easy, neither was the route, so it was never going be a sight seeing trip. But in all honesty, all the days rolled into one, and a couple of weeks on and I cannot seem to recall much about anywhere, apart from Clifton Suspension bridge, Forth Road Bridge and of course the Cairngorns!!

So, maybe in the future I'll do it again at a more relaxed pace and enjoy what our countryside has to offer.

Once again, great write up, thank you.

PS
We missed out Preston as went right up the centre of the UK. However, as a result did an extra 22,000 feet of climbing than you. Dare I say, but all of a sudden going via Preston sounds appealing?

[Mike G]

Thanks Alan, your comments are much appreciated. We met quite a number of end-to-enders who were on very fast schedules. Those starting out seemed to wear this as a badge of honour.........we felt quite inadequate saying that we were going to be taking 18 days for our trip, when they were saying 6 days or 8 days. However, those we met at the other end of the journey told a very different story. They were just tired and glazed over, and all of them said they wished they were doing it at our pace.

If I were to do it again, I would do the same miles-per-day in the SW, up it to around 70 between, say, Tiverton and Edinburgh, then back to 60 north of Edinburgh. That would mean about 14 or 15 days, and plenty of time off the saddle. One would still enjoy the country, and it wouldn't be just a blur of roads. Eight days is just head-down, bum-up, and nothing other than cycling.

Mike

[cranky1]

Brilliant write up of your LEJOG, Having done the trip a couple of times(without panniers) I can say that you have really captured the essence of the enterprise. The wind, the rain, the people along the way, Preston -- GREAT.

[bigfoot]

Loved the write up.

Having negotiated Preston on the Manchester- Blackpool charity ride in previous years, we got through Preston with very little problem (in fact we found Lancaster more of a problem) on our Warrington to the Lakes this summer.

This is the route we went through Preston-very easy using a Garmin, but the roads are much more intuitive riding them than they look on the map, particularly the bit around Mariners Way.

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=176655

.... and we navigated this at lunchtime on a Friday (stopping for refreshment at a pub overlooking the Quay)

Keeping off the A6 heading to Lancaster we also managed to stumble upon The Pudding House
http://www.wallingsfarm.co.uk/. Wonderful ice cream in the sun, definitely worth looking up if the weather is good.

[Captain Cruton]

What a great write up, and one that should definately inspire a few more folk who are still contemplating the LEJOG.
I especially enjoyed the enthusiasm for all the shared experiences during the journey, all subtle reminders that the journey is more important than the arrival. How true and a point that is easy to forget at times.
Great pictures too.
Well done.

[Mike G]

Too kind, fellas! I do appreciate the comments, and if it inspires one or two to have a go, then so much the better.

I'm surprised no-one has come back with "Porthtowan hill?......Pwah.....nothing. You should see xxxxxxx hill"

Mike

[Deckie]

Mike, fantastic! We did it the other way round in May in 16 days on our tandem, all our gear on a trailer. I couldn't agree more - the best way to see the country!

We live down in West Cornwall - Porthtowan Hill was one of our training routes The best ride we had up there was a bright sunny day with MASSIVE waves crashing into Porthtowan beach - the view took our breath away even more than the hill!

A very good read, thank you!

[Mike G]

Wow.........what a rig! Great little blog, Richard & Joules.......but now I know for absolute certain that I will never, ever, sit on a tandem!!!

Mike

[Deckie]

Give it a go! It's the best thing we ever did

No longer am I hanging around half a mile up the road waiting...

We do still go out on our solos - more so recently as Joules want's to start going out riding with some friends & wants to increase her confidence & learn how to use the gears to the best advantage.

[Tom Burden]

Dear Mike and Lorraine
Many congratulations, both on your blog (beautifully written) and on finishing the ride successfully. My colleague and I had the pleasure of meeting you in a tea room on the penultimate stage of your journey north. We wrote a blog which, if you are interested, you can find on:
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-en ... /tpod.html
I was very interested to read about the sporting activities of your wife and yourself. I used to play squash around four or five times a week, up until 2005 when my right medial ligament finally gave out. I also did lot of running(veterans cross country) I also played a (very low grade) amateur football for 20 years. My career finished with a double fracture of the left leg (see photo at start of my blog). My cycling partner ( a former pro footballer also broke his leg). Now it is cycling and the gym along with the occasional swim.
I fear that regular exercise is a kind of addiction, not that I would ever become addicted to riding from John O'Groats to Land's End. If I never saw the road between Tavistock and Truro again, and the hill outside Helmsdale, I would live a happy life.
Best wishes
Tom Burden (tomburden@ntlworld.com)

[Mike G]

Hi Tom.

Sorry to have missed your posting, but I've been in Africa for 4 weeks. Glad you made it, and congratulations.
Yep, I guess you are right. Exercise becomes a habit, and I know I would miss it terribly if I had to stop. I quite like being fit......

I'll have a read of your blog soon, as I've a bit to catch up on.

Cheers

Mike

[john.will.wright]

Well I'm from pretty near Preston I think you're a tad harsh, some of the nicest cycling country I've been through is just North of here.

If you happen to be passing through go a little East of the A6 just North of Preston there is a place called the "trough of bowland". Stunning. I would highly recommend it to anyone passing through.

As far as your report goes I thought it was brilliant, interesting and informative the whole way through.

[Mike G]

Thank you so much John, I appreciate your comments. I also appreciate you bouncing this up to the top of the "latest postings" list, because I've got 50p with my wife that it will get read by 2000 people!!!

Preston: I was only half only half joking. It really was as though the place was trying to kill us. We had one near miss after another, then a whole lot of abuse.....and then finally that truly ridiculous and frighteningly dangerous cycle path that dumped us on a duel carriageway, and then left us to our own devices just where a two lane slip road joined. It was quite the most frightening thing I've ever come across on a bike. I also mentioned a magnetic anomaly, but forgot to go on and explain it. I had a cheap (£2!) compass on my bars, right next to a bar bag, and normally it was OK within 5 or 10 degrees. Going through Preston, however, it was 90 degrees out.........not because we had entered the Bermuda triangle, but because of a teaspoon in my bar bag!!! Lorraine put it there after eating a yoghurt, and thus stuffed up our navigation.....

As you say, though, once you get north of Preston, everything changes. Straight into some gorgeous countryside.

Mike