10 day LEJOG

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
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robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

10 day LEJOG

Post by robing »

I'm not able to do my usual European tour this year so instead I am going to do LEJOG for the second time, and really looking forward to it.
I leave on Friday. I did it in 14 days as a group ride after failing it solo due to knee problems. Hopefully that's all behind me now as I've done many long tours since. But I realIse 10 days will be tough. Staying at BnBs and hostels (all booked), taking the road bike with small rear panniers only.

I'm going to be using tech for the navigation, using the excellent Wahoo Bolt with the Komoot app. I'll have my phone of course for backup. My route is LE, Okehampton, Cheddar, Leominster, Chester, Arnside (Lancaster), Tushielaw (Selkirk), Perth, Kingussie near Aviemore, Golspie, Thurso (via JOG). You can select either touring or road bike on Komoot and it adjusts the route accordingly. I've used the road bike setting. I'd be grateful for any route advice, particularly through the southwest. It looks a bit 'A30' heavy through Cornwall but does deviate south of Bodmin and then just north of Liskeard.

Other difference this time is going up eastern Scotland via Edinburgh and Aviemore for a change, fewer midges this side :D

https://www.komoot.com/tour/34686599
You may have to register with Komoot to view the route, so no worries if you don't.
Last edited by robing on 13 Jun 2018, 5:22pm, edited 1 time in total.
charliepolecat
Posts: 315
Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by charliepolecat »

My off-date is early in September and I still have yet to book anything - air flight, accommodations, rental car, etc.

I'm really behind on all of this and I suspect it is as much to do with a reluctance to make the effort to actually get to the start - what with arranging flights, packing up the bike, and so on - as to actually doing the ride itself, so good luck, hope it all works out well for you.

Charlie.
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by robing »

I booked trains, no packing up the bike! :wink: It was fairly last minute so had to get on with it.
Accommodation was all quite straightforward, half hostels and half BnBs. Feeling pretty good,
I'm fitter than when I last did it and a good stone lighter, so fingers crossed! :D
Good luck with your ride. Have you got a route planned?
charliepolecat
Posts: 315
Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by charliepolecat »

I'll do the Cicerone route - mainly because I really can't see any point looking at other routes until I've done it at least once and can comprehend the benefits of one route over another. Besides, I like the challenge of reaching a hill and going up it rather than working out before hand how to avoid it.

The other thing about booking accommodation en-route is I really don't want to commit to a particular time schedule. If I do book each night in advance I am then committed to that location, whereas I prefer the freedom to decide as the day progresses. For this reason I am very tempted to take a bivy and wild camp - although admittedly, wet weather could make that choice much more unpleasant.
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by robing »

Presumably you're doing JOGLE then and flying up to Inverness to start?
charliepolecat
Posts: 315
Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by charliepolecat »

No LEJOG. Flying into Heathrow, then renting a car for the one way drive down to Penzance. At the other end, cycling back to Inverness (or finding some other means of transport) and renting a car to drive back to Heathrow.

I had planned to take the Paddington Express from Heathrow and then the train down to Penzance but in every case the question of having space on the trains for the bike was so much of a question that I decided to forget the trains and rent a car.
charliepolecat
Posts: 315
Joined: 22 Mar 2018, 3:53pm

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by charliepolecat »

By the way, and just for a 'Gosh', I have just finished a 40 mile ride and now at 4:00 PM the temperature has just hit 100 degrees.

It is bloody hot and over the 2 1/2 hours for the ride, I lost 2 1/2 pints of fluid. At these temperatures it is impossible to take in enough fluid not to drag if not to actually bonk. I am so looking forward to cooler temperatures for my LEJOG.
althebike
Posts: 242
Joined: 10 May 2018, 12:58pm

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by althebike »

Best wishes for your ride.
I have tried a dozen trains from Kings cross on the overnight sleeper and the bike was the problem each time. So I think a phone call is on order and get the rail people to find me the space.
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by robing »

10 day lejog completed :D
It was tough but very enjoyable. I particularly liked the route up through the Scottish Borders which I hadn't been to before. Weather was good, a couple of showers in the beginning, but then dry and increasingly warm from Lancashire. Not so lucky with the wind though, pretty much against me from Chester.

Navigation with the wahoo bolt and Komoot app was flawless and didn't let me down once. Great at getting through Bristol and Edinburgh.
toontra
Posts: 1190
Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by toontra »

Good stuff!

Yes, the weather has been nice but there's also been a nagging NE wind and looks set to stay that way for a few days more (otherwise I'd have been having a stab at a 4-day). It gets to you after a while when doing straight-line routes.

Glad you found the Bolt up to the task. The long battery life and low weight are ideal for such rides. I love mine!
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: 10 day LEJOG

Post by Bonefishblues »

charliepolecat wrote:By the way, and just for a 'Gosh', I have just finished a 40 mile ride and now at 4:00 PM the temperature has just hit 100 degrees.

It is bloody hot and over the 2 1/2 hours for the ride, I lost 2 1/2 pints of fluid. At these temperatures it is impossible to take in enough fluid not to drag if not to actually bonk. I am so looking forward to cooler temperatures for my LEJOG.

Be careful indeed - I got heatstroke after a long (long) day in the W Highlands, of all places.
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