Lands End To JOG Help!

Degz

Hi Everyone,

I've just signed up and here's my first post!

My question is this.

End of June i'm going to do lands end to john o' groats, and since most of my training rides seems to have loads of dead time map reading, and deciding where i am, I thought I could probably do with a device to tell me where to go...

Anyone got any ideas of what to use and whether the route planning info is already available ?

Cheers
Degz.

White Line

A Garmin 705 would be nice. They are a bit pricey though.

CiB

I did darn here to Norf Wales recently, and fixed a laminated sheet with each days route to the bars, and carried a couple of town centre map prints in the back pocket for where I thought it might get a bit more complicated. Turns out that asking women in open top sports cars is a better way to find your way through Stafford tho.

Plot the route on bikehike.co.uk or whatever and type it up in Word, but use a bigger font than the default if you think you might need it. Laminate each day's route, make a couple of holes with a hole punch, use plastic cable ties to attach it to the bars. It's good psychologically for checking off towns & points along the route too.

BIGplumberon2wheels

Garmin 705 if you have the bucks to spend

HonestAl

My nipper .. well, 25 year old son ... did JOGLE (yep, the wrong way round) having nicked my Garmin 705 (which has the UK Topo maps installed) without any other map, and he reckoned it was fine.

johncp

garmin 305 in halfrauds for £155

amaferanga

You can get a Garmin Legend HCx for less than an Edge 305 and much less than a 705. The Legend HCx has mapping like the Edge 705, but doesn't have all the training features, which you don't need anyway for LEJOG. The Legend HCx also runs of standard AA batteries so for touring and audaxing is somewhat more convenient than an Edge that requires charging from mains (or from something like a Powermonkey).

I wouldn't even consider a non-mapping GPS for navigating something like LEJOG without maps.

sicknote

What phone do you have as you could also use that if it has Symbian software on it like the N73,N95 or N96.
You can get software that will do it and tell you where some of you nearest places to get to are.
First two will run Tom Tom which I have done myself or Garmin satnav software on all 3.

As for the batteries, you can use this or this plus Tesco's do one more that takes a single AA battery which is about £5 but cant find a link for it.

I am sure Brodit do a waterproof case for phones with a bike mount too but cant find the link :roll:
Found it [/url=http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Brands.aspx?BrandID=522]here

You can use a friends old phone and would not need a sim in it for it to work.

Good luck

volvine

a camper van with a driver who can work a sat nav is a must imo

Cheshley

HonestAl wrote:

My nipper .. well, 25 year old son ... did JOGLE (yep, the wrong way round) having nicked my Garmin 705 (which has the UK Topo maps installed) without any other map, and he reckoned it was fine.

Why is riding South considered the 'wrong' way? I have noticed that almost everyone who rides the end to end heads North but why?

Bronzie

Cheshley wrote:

Why is riding South considered the 'wrong' way? I have noticed that almost everyone who rides the end to end heads North but why?

Tailwind most of the way.

Did LEJOG in 2005 and on the day between Carlisle and Wanlockhead we had a 25mph tailwind all day - we did pass a few poor sods heading the other way doing about 9mph flat out. On the final run in, we had to turn into the wind...........it was horrendous, but we only had to do 5 miles that direction. :P

HonestAl

as bronzie says, north to south is heading into the prevailing wind for about 900 miles. Given my son also had 9 days of pretty much non stop rain too, I reckon he'll know better next time!!!

Degz

Cheers for all the replies guys.

I think the Garmin is probably out, since the cost seems to mounting up quite nicely with everything else I seem to be buying... :roll:

I can get hold of a mobile phone, which seems like a real good option.. Has anyone used one before. What are they like to program up ?

Any other tips and trips for a long bike ride whilst were at it ?

BTW i'm not a *real* cyclist, I've just started training beginning of the year for this, so i've not a clue what i'm going to face...

Cheers
Degz

CiB

Distance advice requests crop up from time to time - have a peruse through these to get a feel of what's in & what's out advice-wise.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12622742

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12622900

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12619559

Degz

Cheers Chris,

some good posts there. I'm good on the distance, and nutrition side, but the link on Nokia Sport Tracker is priceless ! Cheers.