CTC Tours LEJoG Sept 2020

[Halchemy]

CTC Tours (which are part of Cycling UK) have spaces on the September 2020 LEJoG tour. The tours are aimed at those who wish to do it in comfort with a bit of luxury along the way. This tour has been run some twenty five times, so is well tested.

Dates are 4 - 23 September 2020. The itinerary, info and online booking for September are available at http://www.cyclingholidays.org

The tour uses good quality hotels, including a couple of 4 star establishments and almost all evening meals and breakfasts are included and we bus people back down to Inverness from JoG.

The tours are fully supported with a van to carry your luggage and assist you during the day. Group size is usually around 16 - 18 persons.

The route is very scenic but, as you probably know, hilly. There is no flat route from LE to JoG! To avoid going around/through Manchester we detour into the Peak District and then the Yorkshire Dales. To avoid going through Glasgow we take a route through the gap between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This, we think, makes the tour more interesting than those that plough the usual northward furrow.

Average distance per day is about 65 miles. Longest day is about 80 miles.

Included in the cost, we loan Garmin GPS units to tour members, who have found these to be the easiest way to navigate.

We have a rest day at Stirling before the Scottish Highlands and 18 days on the road, allowing a more gentle pace than the 10 or 12 day tours of some companies.

Again full details and online booking can be found at http://www.cyclingholidays.org and more detail at http://www.2cycle2.co.uk/

CTC Tours are open to members of Cycling UK and national organisations that are ECF members.

CTC Tours are part of Cycling UK, a registered charity. Our basic remit is to encourage and support people to go cycling and we've being doing that since 1878 (Cycling UK, also called the Cyclist's Touring Club or CTC, is the oldest cycling club in the world).

You do not need to be British or live in the UK to be a member, there will usually be at least one or two visitors from abroad on the ride.

Cost in 2020 is £2250 per person.

[LittleGreyCat]

Anyone done this CTC tour?
Pitched at Audax riders according to the blurb, and 65 miles per day or more.
Also majoring on scenic.

It looks good value.
Just over £100 per night can't be bad.
Wondering if a flatter route over 2-3 more days might suit.

[Cyril Haearn]

100 a night, 2k plus in total, seems a lot to me
Does the ctc make a profit on such tours?

[Shuggie]

Anyone done this CTC tour?
Pitched at Audax riders according to the blurb, and 65 miles per day or more.
Also majoring on scenic.

It looks good value.
Just over £100 per night can't be bad.
Wondering if a flatter route over 2-3 more days might suit.

I went on this year’s ride and had a fantastic time, I would strongly recommend it for all who want to do the route taking your time on mainly quiet roads with great scenery staying half board in decent hotels with your luggage being transported in a van. I believe it was great value for money.

IME if you can comfortably do a 100km Audax/sportive you can comfortably do this ride. We found that you just split the day into 3-4 sections, between the tea and cake stops [emoji6] just go at your own pace and don’t worry about the occasional walk up a steep hill as you can just take time looking at the views and take photos.

PS: make sure you include the Lizard and Dunnet Head detours just to feel smug [emoji4]

Cheers, Hugh


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels Pro

[Shuggie]

100 a night, 2k plus in total, seems a lot to me
Does the ctc make a profit on such tours?

Half board in decent 3/4* hotels supported I believe is great value and very competitive IMHO. There are many ways to skin the LEJOG cat, this is but one.

Re profit, I doubt they make much more than just covering their costs and breaking even. I also feel they could do better at advertising their great range of cycling holidays too.

PS: my only conflicts of interest are that I am a long-standing CTC/CUK member and I recently went on Chris’s LEJOG holiday.

Cheers, Hugh


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels Pro

[LittleGreyCat]

Hmmmm......comfortably do a 100km Audax/Sportive.

I've never ridden such a thing and currently don't have any ambitions to, either.
I assume that maps onto the 65 miles per day.

This is one reason my embryonic plan is to aim for 50 miles per day and do JOGLE instead of hitting the killer hills at the start of LEJOG. Also the minimum climb route down the East side.
My training should include rides of over 65 miles (up to 55 miles at the moment) but I'm not sure how that equates to a 100k Sportive.

However 2k for a fully supported ride is very tempting.

I assume the spare day at the start of the ride is to allow the support team to assess the riders and their bikes to make sure they are prepared sufficiently.

Audax bikes instead of iron bed frame tourers as well, possibly.

Bottom line: the advice is that almost anyone can ride end to end as long as they set realistic targets. This trip seems to raise the bar for minimum required fitness.

[Shuggie]

Hmmmm......comfortably do a 100km Audax/Sportive.

What I meant was a 100km/65 mile ride with some hills.

This is one reason my embryonic plan is to aim for 50 miles per day and do JOGLE instead of hitting the killer hills at the start of LEJOG. Also the minimum climb route down the East side.
My training should include rides of over 65 miles (up to 55 miles at the moment)

That’s how I got myself ready for it, I also did a number of 100km audaxes to take me up unfamiliar hills.

I assume the spare day at the start of the ride is to allow the support team to assess the riders and their bikes to make sure they are prepared sufficiently.

No, the Day 1 options are: meet Chris in Penzance and ride either directly to Redruth or go via Lands End, I did the latter. Some people met us at the hotel in Redruth due to their travel plans. Day 2 options are either ride to Lands End and back or go to the Lizard and back, I did the latter having taken in Lands End on Day 1.

You don’t have to ride in one group, we split up very quickly and self selected our riding partners based on similar speeds and stopping desires. We had roughly 3 groups but did split up into smaller groups at times, I did several sections on my own, I really enjoyed the Wanlockhead climb and descent out by myself for example. I had a friend join me for one whole day, and another had some of his cycling club meet him/us at a cafe and short part of the route. Quite a few of us met up with friends and family at various stages too.

The support team is just Chris who has been leading this holiday for quite a few years. He drives the van, provides the routes, loans preloaded Garmins (I used my own Edge 800) and sorts out all the hotels etc. You are left to choose if, where and when you stop (he advises based on his experience but we found an excellent tea & cake stop just north of Dingwall which wasn’t on his list).

Audax bikes instead of iron bed frame tourers as well, possibly.

There were a range of bikes including tourers, hybrids and audax types. Mudguards and low gears are very advisable.

Bottom line: the advice is that almost anyone can ride end to end as long as they set realistic targets. This trip seems to raise the bar for minimum required fitness.

.

A minimum level of fitness is required but it sounds as though you’re well on track to achieve that.

Happy to discuss further via PM if you wish?

Cheers, Hugh

[Halchemy]

As of 9 October we have about eight places remaining but are a bit short of single occupancy rooms. We have plenty of twins and a couple of doubles.

[Whippet]

I’ve done this before and would certainly recommend it. There may be flatter routes, but I’d imagine that they would miss a lot of the stunning scenery that you enjoy every day with this tour. While 65 miles per day with hills may seem daunting, you are never further than 20 miles from a cup of tea and cake. As for the cost, this was a once in a lifetime bucket list tour for me, so worth the expense for reasonable hotels and food.

[Darkman]

It's the holy grail, for me. Would love to do it.

Nowhere near fit and ready for it yet, though. Maybe in a couple of years...