Lejog or Jogle?

Kiwirider

Hi,
Three of us are doing the end to end ride in June next year. As I've already read hundreds of blogs obsessively I've naturally gone with the Lejog direction as seemingly 90% of riders go this direction as opposed to North-South. One of the team has rightly questioned this and I spluttered an answer as awkwardly as Sarah Palin talking about the economy (although I couldn't fall back on 'I'm a hockey mom'). Anyway, could anyone out there shed some light on the benefits and drawbacks of going in each direction?
Thanks very much!

beatsystem

Prevailing wind in summer generally south to north and in winter north to south>

chasctc

Wind is not a major factor so it's your call. The advantages of JOGLE are

1) JOG is much harder to get to/from if travelling by rail; only 4 trains per each day carrying 4 bikes. But reservations can be made up to 12 weeks in advance at:
www.nationalexpresseastcoast.co.uk.
2) the "big"hills come at the end (in Devon and Cornwall).

vernonlevy

I've done it in both directions and didn't really find one direction to be very different from the other.

Received wisdom suggests that LEJOG is more likely to benefit from prevailing winds though the reality is that headwinds only lop off a nominal amount off your cruising speed.

Devon and Cornwall did not appear to be easier at the end of JOGLE than they did at the start of LEJOG.

Both ends are disappointing places to end a long distance ride at.

mandie

Advantages of JoGLE
1) According to the map It is all down hill from John of Groats
2) as previously mentioned it is easier to organize getting your bikes to JoG by train than from there. You should know the day you plan to start, when you are going to finish isn't quite as easy to predict. There are a lot more trains leaving Penzance that take bikes than leaving Wick or Thurso.
3) Under normal circumstances the weather improves, or at least gets warmer, as you head south.

Disadvantages of JoGLE
1) more chance of a headwind, but having said that everytime I decide to ride up to Scotland from London I seem to get two days of block headwind.
2) the realization that you've done 300 odd miles and you are still quite a way from the English border can be dispiriting.

volvine

chasctc wrote Wind is not a major factor so it's your call.
utter rubbish my freind did this last year north to south 5 days (i went along as support for him) and let me tell you in the first 2 days wind was a major problem in our faces all day and pretty strong as well slowed us down no end having to peddle down hill isn't a good thing on a 800+ mile ride.
WIND IS A FACTOR AS FAR AS HOW DIFFICULT IT MAKES THIS RIDE

ronstrutt

Have a look at www.ruralrides.net and click on "Hints, tips and questions". You'll find the subject covered there.

El Gordo

vernonlevy wrote:

Both ends are disappointing places to end a long distance ride at.

That's not really fair. If you keep the tourist rubbish behind you then the views out to sea at both ends are quite spectcular.

I'll side with the camp that says wind direction is VERY important (but completely unpredictable). Pedalling hard DOWN the Pass of Drumochter at 10mph was no fun at all (and that was on LEJOG so don't believe all you hear about prevailing wind).

Kiwirider

Thanks everyone, I've come out of it more unsure than before but probably realising that it's almost 6 in one, half dozen in the other as you can't predict the weather. The transport issue may have changed my mind and swung it towards a Jogle. Cheers!