lands end to john o'groats advice please

swissj

I'm planning on riding Lands End to John O'Groats in either the spring or summer 2010 to raise money for cerebral palsy research.

My question is (are) Lands End to John O'Groats or John O'Groats to Lands End?

I plan on doing approx 1,000 to 1,250 miles in 10 days and intend to avoid the main roads as much as poss.

Can anyone give some advice and guidance on North to South or South to North and provide me with any hints and tips for the journey.

I am an experienced rider and spend all of my riding time on the roads so what I'm really after is route advice and anything else you may think could help with my 'tour de bretagne'.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

Wooliferkins

South to North appears more common as the prevailing SW to W winds are mostly at your back. There are a plethora of routes out there, a friend of mine drew a straight line from LE to her chosen Severn avoiding turn point another from there to the narrowest point in the Liverpool Manchester conurbation and a third to JO'G. She then chose stop off points and minor roads as close to these lines as possible.

RonL

Suggest you check a 10 day forecast from the met office before you leave. Traditionally South to North is the recognised suggestion with prevailing winds behind you --- however -- I cycle a 10 mile stretch of the EAST coast and have done so as a daily commute for the last 9 years, the winds used to be more predictable but there is in recent years, a change, with winds from the North East, these can persist for three to four weeks at a time, often quite strong.

El Gordo

Wooliferkins wrote:

South to North appears more common as the prevailing SW to W winds are mostly at your back. There are a plethora of routes out there, a friend of mine drew a straight line from LE to her chosen Severn avoiding turn point another from there to the narrowest point in the Liverpool Manchester conurbation and a third to JO'G. She then chose stop off points and minor roads as close to these lines as possible.

South to North tips the wind direction odds in your favour but there is no guarantee. I was most upset to have to pedal at 10mph in bottom gear DOWN Drumochter heading North.

I also used the straight line planning method. I used an old road atlas, cut out the pages and taped them together into a long strip then drew a line from LE to the Severn Bridge, then one to Runcorn, then Carlisle and so on. I measured the line, divided it into 7, found campsites as near to each division as possible then picked out a route to join the dots. To finish I cut out the strip into a 4 inch wide bit of paper, and concertinered it into 7 pieces that I clipped onto my handlebars. Of course, if you want to take a more wiggly scenic route then draw a different straight line. Having said that, apart from Runcorn, my direct route was very scenic.

Fuji Mackers

I did the LE to JOG direction as I had heard about the prevailing wind, and it semed to blow according to plan. One other consideration is that Cornwall/Devon is extremely hilly, roads seem to go directly over the hills not around them so it is nice to get these out the way early, with fresh legs.

We also planned one shorter day and climbed Ben Nevis, which was well worth it.

Other than that it was brilliant, loved reading other cyclists tale's in the youth hostel comments books. So enjoy!

amaferanga

As others have said, you're more likely to get the prevailing winds with you if you go LE-JOG.

With regard RonL's comment - most people plan their trip way in advance so as to avoid paying the extortionate train fares if you book close to you're travel date. So it's a gamble. I did LEJOG over 5 days and had 3.5 days of rain - that is it was actually raining for 70% of my cycling time. In July!

And Ron, you're comment about believing a 10 day forecast was a joke right?

swissj

thanks all,

your guidance is brilliant, thanks again

any other hints or tips will be gratefully received

i'm in a fortunate position in that my retired parents plan on driving the route, which is great for me cos i won't have to carry hardly any kit!

and they can taste test the cake stops too

cheating?!? i think so, which is why i'm gonna cut down my days to complete

scruffyduncan

Make sure you start with 'achievable' days. Cornwall is very hilly and tough to navigate, don't over do it on your first day. Pack as little as possible, you'll feel every gramme on the hills. Chill out and enjoy the ride, you've got all day to get to the next stop. Take two sets of cycling gear, things don't always dry overnight if the weather is bad. Try to stay in places big enough to have a few (bike) shops / launderette/ restaurant at least a couple of times and schedule shorter days before those stops so you have a bit of time to sort things out and restock. The hardest thing isn't necessarily the cycling but the strain of eating so much, keeping yourself clean, finding the way, being away from home etc. Be prepared for this!

Below are some reviews of equipment we used

I've just completed an end to end ride over ten days, taking the 'scenic' (hilly route) The weather and the roads were not great and it gave various bits of equipment a good test. This is how a selection of products performed:

Continental ultra gator skins. 10/10

Both of us used these tyres. We did not have a single puncture. The weather was wet and the lanes were often muddy, we even had a couple of short stretches on unpaved roads. They are also decently grippy and not too heavy.

Planet X model B wheelset 8/10

I was slightly concerned about using these wheels as they aren't really designed for touring. I was only carrying minimal luggage, so I went with them. They have more flex than other wheels I've used (race lites and hanbuilts) but this was welcome for comfort. Despite taking knocks over rough roads the front stayed completely true and the rear ended out maybe a mm out of true. The rims started to show some wear after days of wet, dirty roads. For £100 they were a great buy.

DHB earnley waterproof 8/10

Kept the water out even in the heaviest showers. The vents allowed decent air circulation and the material had some breathability. The mesh inner kept things more comfortable inside. Not a superlight, hi tech jacket, but it does a very competent job for the money

Carradice Pendle saddlebag 9/10

Big enough for the basics of light touring. The side pockets allow you to carry tools and other stuff you want to keep separate from the main compartment. Using the bagman attachment the bag stayed steady and was a great way to carry loads on a racing bike. On one day when we had several hours of very heavy rain the bag kept things almost totally dry. A couple of items were slightly damp though, a result of constant spray from below. The bag could also do with a handle to make it easier to carry when off the bike. I was very happy with this bag.

dhb earnley bibshorts 6/10

these are fine for most riding, but the chomois is a bit thin and the quality is suspect. Both of us had issues with stitching becoming undone. I had a hard racing saddle for the trip and needed something more robust. I'll be treating myself to some more expensive shorts

Montane featherlite Gilet 8/10

an ultra lightweight gilet that is windproof and fine for light summer shower protection. Packs down to nothing. It was ideal for my purposes on this ride, but it could do with more venting in the back if I was using it to keep the wid off on higher intensity rides. The sizing is a bit on the large side.

Specialized BG pro road shoes 9/10

Comfy and very stiff. Plenty of room for wide feet and good ventilation. I've had these a while and they stand up to punishment well.

Alexa and Nike short sleeved tops. 10/10

I,ve had both these tops for 7 years and I still chose them to take on a long trip like this. Need I say more?

Selle Italia Maxflite saddle 7/10

Not that light and very hard. I've used this for long day rides with no problems, but for a multi day effort I regretted not fixing my rolls san marco, which is infinitely more comfy.

Topeak compact handlebar bag 8/10

Doesn't hold a great deal, but is handy to keep bits and pieces in and to take off and use as a bum bag. Fits securely on the bars and can be used easily with shimano gear cables. Make sure you get the waterproof cover on quick when it rains as the bag itself has no waterproofing.


Hope these are of assistance to somebody!!

DorsetWilf

I went for a JOGLE as it's generally easier to get back from Cornwall to London than from remotest Scotland. Also I wanted to finish with a swim and although the Scottish coastline is beautiful it's not as enticing as the Cornish coast.

I was generally facing into the wind but a lot of the minor roads are quite sheltered by hedgerows.

There's great advice on the CTC website/forum regarding doing an end-to-end.

Best of luck,

Will

Ain\'t no monkey

OK, the prevailing wind is more likely to be in your favour doing LEJOG but there is not a lot in it. I recently saw (on CTC forum I think) a diagram showing that when wind speed was taken into account it was even less pronounced. I did LEJOG & then back to Yorkshire and it was generally in the direction of 'the prevailing wind' but my worst headwind by far - ie the only time it was a serious issue was heading from Gretna to Glasgow, especially the last half.

I don't think (and I'm not just basing this on my personal experience) that wind direction is the major factor in deciding which way. Transport to/from end points is more important.

FatLarry

I did LEJOG over 5 days and had 3.5 days of rain - that is it was actually raining for 70% of my cycling time. In July!

Amaferanga - I'm considering doing LEJOG next year and was looking at whether I could do it over 5 days. If you read the post and get the chance - I'd be really interested to know where your stopping points were en route to help me with my planning...

amaferanga

Day one I stopped in Cheddar, day 2 was Knutsford, day 3 was Beattock (cos my mate lives there), day 4 was Aviemore and then day 5 was to JOG then 20 miles back to Thurso. My average day was about 23-24km/h average including stops (which I tried to keep to a minimum by eating on the move as much as possible), so about 12 and 1/2 hours from when I set off in the morning to arriving at my stop for the night. That meant I had loads of time to eat, sleep and recover. Worked out at a little over 1500km.

I actually found it quite easy as I was doing 300km training rides in the Peak District that were very hilly and I'd started doing some 100 - 200km rides back in February. I think the most I climbed in a day on LEJOG was just over half of my average Peaks ride (so much for Cornwall being hilly ). I did four 300km rides in training (only rode the day after on one occasion - an easy 100km) plus lots of 100km, 100mile and 200km rides.

Basically, as long as you have the time to devote to cycling (most weekends for probably a couple of months before you do it) then its very achievable.

FatLarry

That's great - cheers.