LE2JOG on folding bikes

[malverncyclist]

In the department of 'you must be nuts' ...

Some friends and I who first met in 2009 when we took part in the first Folding Bike Challenge from London to Paris got together last autumn to cycle Coast to Coast. Nice one, did that, had the T shirt (literally). "what next" was the discussion over a bottle or two and an Italian meal. We settled for LE2JOG in stages (too busy to take lots of time out and we wanted to make it enjoyable ...).

So, we cycled the first stage (3 Bromptons, 3 Dahons and a Bike Friday) over 4 days the scenic route ... Got lost, abandoned NCN routes after some frustrations, took 300 miles (which included the bike ride from Penzance to Lands End Youth Hostel). Learned a few lessons (apart from NCN avoidance) which were "don't trust sat navs" , "it's all in the planning" , "some roads just disappear" (somewhere in Cornwall on the coast it disappeared into sand ...) and folding bikes can do 300 miles in 4 days and tons of climbing (and now they are all due for a serious service).

Next stage set for late September 2012 ... Bristol going north or "The road to Wiggan Pier".

Martin

[eileithyia]

Good luck for 2012 but please do not put Wiggan Pier into your satnav, you might not find it, there's only 1 x G

[malverncyclist]

do not put Wiggan Pier into your satnav, you might not find it, there's only 1 x G

Satnavs have been banised to the bottom of the panniers ... Nothing like good old paper maps, soaked in heavy rain water and 7 men huddled over the remains

[malverncyclist]

that was meant to read 'banished' ... not 'banised' ...

[Mick F]

Last time I cycled along the canal bank past Wigan pier, it was a filthy dirty disused warehouse. Perhaps 1967.
Been past it since it's been done up and turned into a tourist trap, but not to it.

[Russcoles]

I think one of the worst bits of NCN route is that bit of route 3 from the car park at lands end. Sand and sharp stones, who thought that would make a perfect surface for cycling? I recently did the Lands End to Bristol bit on my folder (a 1975 Dawes Kingpin) during those few really hot days. I took the scenic route along the coast staying at St. Just YHA, then up to Tintagel YHA via the ferry at Padstow before going inland to join the railway path at Torrington through Bideford to Barnstaple and then over the hill to Exford YHA. I had to retire at Taunton as I was developing a chest infection. I worked out routes beforehand on bikeroutetoaster which made it 75 miles a day. I took OS maps and made up the route as I went along and subsequently have put the route I actually took into bikeroutetoaster and discovered I did 90 miles and 5000ft climb per day! Sometimes its better not to have the technology working out the easy route for you, I would never have tried the route I took if I had known

[delport]

I think the wigan pier is an orwell joke,also heard it was George Formby sarcasm?
The pier is virtually invisible, the nightclub next to it is much more in your face.It's also called Wigan pier i think.

Good book though
"the road to Wigan Pier".Life was incredibly hard when that book was written.