UKC

Me and two mates did the Hadrians Cycleway ride last month over three days, and had a blast. All quite unfit so it was an effort but really enjoyed the experience

During the ride we talked about how much more effort a REALLY long ride like John O'Groats to Lands End would be and laughed it off as way beyond our ability, but I've caught up with them both over the past few days and it turns out we've all been turning the idea over in our heads.

We've started to think seriously about doing it in 2016. (We've already got plans for another ride in 2015, and we think 2016 is a reasonable time to get fit enough to do it).

All we've got at the moment is a vague outline of the course.

http://www.nepheliad.co.uk/JOGLE2016/JOGLE_2016.html

We've chopped this down into 80 mile sections purely for the sake of convenience - the next step I guess will be looking at each section of the route in detail, looking at road conditions, alternative routes around the busier bits, accommodation stops, rest day stops. Food stops, support drivers. Loads to plan, all feels a bit overwhelming at the moment and at the moment we're at the 'back of a fag packet' stage

Would be interested in any advice, feedback, stories, hints, recommended alternative routes, warnings etc.

And if anyone is interested in jumping on board, the more the merrier..

In reply to ThunderCat:

go the other way (lands end --> john o groats) unless you like head winds

and you get the worst bit over with first and leave the best bit till last

me and a friend did it in 2010 on a tandem, we took 8 days, its a great cycle and really worth doing

In reply to ThunderCat:
Agree that lejog is better for winds, and cornwall really is the hard bit so best to do first.

Stongly suggest you dont take the most direct route. Take your time planning a route on smaller roads as much as possible accepting that you will need to do a few nasty bits.

We didnt know about the glasgow cycle network that is meant to be a good route through that area so look up cycle network maps.

We found a good route that was 971 miles taking in mid wales and the lakes balahulich (sp?) and fort william which we did in 10 days.

Great experience and way to see the country.

Factor in at least a day travelling each end unless you live there, and transport back to the beginning isnt easy.

Have fun planning it

P.s. we did it in 2012 in july to be sure of weather. Turned out we had to cycle through flood water up to our hubs through 7days of yellow and orange weather warnings for rain. We still enjoyed it though

In reply to ThunderCat:

My wife did it (actually LEJOG) a couple of years ago. She followed the CTC route which has a strategy of a couple of longer days followed by a shorter day but averages around 80 miles a day. She took thirteen days.

Get a lot of riding in your legs, not just two long rides at the weekend but do something like thirty miles *every* day so you get used to being on the bike day in, day out. The third or fourth day will feel hard because you aren't used to the continued effort. As a general strategy since most accommodation doesn't open until 5pm or so you don't need to race: ride for a couple of hours, find a cafe for something to eat, ride another couple of hours, have lunch, ride to your accommodation.

Accommodation was a mixture of Youth Hostels, independent hostels and B&B. Enough people do it that you do need to book ahead. Advantages are that you know you've got somewhere to kip, disadvantage is that you have to get on your bike and get there.

She got the train down to Penzance and rode out to Land's End and back that evening as she was staying at the YHA there, this just means that you aren't starting the first day by going in the wrong direction

In reply to ThunderCat:

I did JOGLE this time last year. Being from Cornwall we decided to finish at home. We did it as a group of 15 riders, so a fairly large group. As a result, the only practical way to get us, our bikes and kit to the other end of the country was to hire a luton van and a minibus with a few mates as support drivers. We loosely followed the CTC Youth Hostel route taking 2 weeks at roughly 100km per day, mostly avoiding busy roads. Most nights we stayed in SYHA/YHA but did 2 nights at Premier Inn (Carlisle & Chester).
It was great fun, both on and off the bikes. Several guys did not have that many miles under them when we started, but careful pacing and early starts saw them complete each day. If you're not used to it, don't underestimate the gradual fatigue of riding day after day, every day.
Fueling is very important. As a large group in hostels we were able to organise ourselves on a rota system to cook and prepare food for lunch that we could take in the support van. Small groups would get by either on a similar basis or via pubs/cafes in most areas.
If you PM me your email address, I can send my GPX files for each day.
Advice - do it!
Feedback - you won't regret it. You'll probably want to do it again!
Stories - One of our drivers wrestled on the dance floor by 2 Polish prostitutes in an Inverness pub. 4 lads took a wrong turn and just kept going, even tho' it was up a forest track (on road bikes).
Hints - don't go on the pi$$ with people who are 30 years younger and expect not to suffer the next day.
Alternative routes - avoid main roads wherever practically possible.
Warnings - apart from the obvious above, none really. Get some decent rides in beforehand so you're reasonably cycle-fit and treat each day like a 50k ride in the morning and another 50k after lunch.
Personally, being away with a bunch of mates and only having to think about riding, eating, drinking, looking after the bike and having a good laugh made it one of the best 'holidays' I've had.
N

In reply to cousin nick:

Cheers Nick, I'd really appreciate that. Email address on it's way!

In reply to ThunderCat:

Did it last year and agree with all that's been said above. Do it other way unless you've a good reason not to. How hard it is depends on how long you take. we took 2 weeks which was really quite easy, especially as we had good weather. 10 days or less and it would be a different story.

On training make sure you get a lot of hills in. This mightn't be a problem where you live but I'm in London so most training rides consisted of hunting as many hills as I could find - learn to love them as it turns out we live in quite a hilly country.

We did B&Bs the whole way. Booked most but not all - certainly the ones for the weekends and the touristy places but the ones in between we booked ahead while on route. The main things you need to book are the journeys at either end - these define the time you have unless you're lucky enough to have someone pick you up.

Your route looks much the same as ours except we did the north coast of Devon. Definitely check out the Glasgow cycleway as that was our worst bit by far.

Overall, as others have said, it brilliant and you'll not regret it. It can seem a bit daunting but, really, it's not that hard either logistically or physically.

In reply to ThunderCat:

my brother in law did it in 2 weeks with maybe 3 months pretty mild training. he's slim.carried light camping gear and ate in pubs so panniers were never that heavy. used a nice comfy hybrid.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Sounds like you're more of a planner than me but here's my more 'alpine' approach for you to consider anyway

I just rode the outer hebrides and skye in a week....so, not as sustained or long as lejog but i feel i could easily have done another week.
I did it completely solo and with very little planning. I went super-light and eschewed all types of bike-attachment for gear. Everything i needed i carried in a very small backpack....came to a few kilos in total.
I stayed in hostels and carried only one set of cycling gear and one of civvys. I was easily able to wash and dry in a hostel each night.
I really enjoyed the freedom of meeting other riders and being open to suggestions of alternate routes/sidetrips etc.

I am planning to ride Valencia-Santander next year and will do pretty much the same except for:
a) more suncream!
b) i will succumb to a supersized saddle-bag to get a bit of the weigh off my back.
Actually, it wasn't my back that suffered but the extra weight down through my sitting-bones made that area a little sore after day 3.

Ok, good luck!

In reply to ThunderCat:

There's an entire forum dedicated to this route on the CTC website, information overload but it's a very useful resource.