LEJOG

bigal.

Hi all,

I am 540 miles into my LEJOG attempt and felt the need to moan about one particular issue.

My days so far have been,
Lands end to Tiverton 140 miles.
Tiverton to Leominster 130 miles
Leominster to Garstang 135 miles

and today,

Garstang to Abington 142 miles.

I am obviously tired etc and also enjoying the experiance up until today when I landed back in Scotland and specifically ob the B7076 which is basically the road that run parallel to the A/M 74. This road is approx 40 miles and I have to say that whoever is responsible for the resurfacing of the road should be shot in the head.

I cannot believe that this road is supposed to be part of the Scottish cycle network which should be encouraging peolpe to tour up into Scotland by bike. The road is a disgrace and after 450 miles of averaging approx 17 - 18 mph I was brought down to 11 / 12mph due to the worst surface in the world.

This is new to me but I assume that for the tourers out there this road must have been discussed before.??

Wooliferkins

Hope you've had a good nights sleep. BUT. You appear to be doing a direct short(ish) way. Tourists would plan the route of least resistance, you appear to be upset with a designated "Cycle Route" Sorry to disappoint you but they often have F all to do with a decent cycling route an more with box ticking and venue visiting.
You are directed by your river crossings now. I would take seriously minor roads to the Kincardine bridge, Pearth, Braemar (Enjoy Spittal of Glenshie) Inverness and onward Look at your target, draw a straight line, shadow it on the smallest passable roads. Have one for me when you get there.

bexley5200

will done on your ride so far are you staying b and b good luck on the rest of the ride

bigal.

Wooliferkins- You are correct, I am doing the most direct route but that doesnt really excuse the shocking road surfaces. Considering that I have now covered the full 884 miles and am still shocked by the appauling surfaces for approx 40 miles after Carlisle going towards Abington doesnt bode to well for any visitors or tourers who might be visting Scotland for the first time. The local roads department are working on the B7076 laying a new surface as we speak but its that horrible " Throw tonnes of loose stones onto some tar" type surface which is criminal.

Anyway, I have had my moan and other than that the rest of the trip was a roaring success which I thoroughly enjoyed. Finished in 7 days covering 884 miles with 10,800 metres of climbing. Worst day was day 4 going from Garstang to Abington due to road surfaces and weather and the best day was day 5 going from Abington to Crianlarich due to nice weather and great roads up at Loch Lomond and toward Crianlarich.

bexley5200- I used Travelodge almost all the way as they are happy for the bike to be stored in your room and are hassle free although their prices have gone up a bit over the last year or so. When I got to Abington I stayed in a "Days Inn" which is like travelodge but a lot better in my opinion and was only £37 for a double room. Once finished I stayed in WIck overnight in McKays Hotel and at the start I stayed in the Lands End Hotel. All pefectly good hotels who were very helpful with any requests.

One more point that I feel is relevant. As mentioned I did the direct route which meant a lot of busy roads and I have to say that the courtesy and standard of driving in general was very good. I hate to admit it but I would also say that in England the drivers were more "Bike friendly" that the Scottish. ( I am Scottsh before I get shot for saying that)

I also had to laugh at the number of motorcyclists who get off their MOTORbikes after driving end to end and all shake hands for the great effort and the achievment they have just been through. :roll:

amaferanga

Having cycled on that road before and after it was chipped I have to agree that the chipping made it much worse. But there's no way the council would spend huge sums of money on what is pretty much a redundant road now, so chipping to extend it's life and make it look better (for motorists) was probably the only option. Cyclists are an afterthought when it comes to road surfaces.

What sort of tyres do you have on your bike? I must say that I find it hard to believe that the surface alone would reduce your speed by several mph. Maybe it just seemed much worse than it actually was after you'd been on the lovely new stretch of road from Carlisle to Gretna?[/i]

bigal.

I'm afraid I was on 50mm Carbon rims, Conti tubs and a carbon frame which definitly found every bump and blip on the road.

I still say it is a dsigraceful way to surface any road.