Just done LEJOG

gareth2134

on the 1st of july me and my friend completed LEJOG in 9 and half days.

We did on average 100 miles a day one day we did 140 we averaged with panniers and kit around 16 mph some days higher some days lower. we made the route 1000 mile instead of doing the 847 mile and took A roads out of cornwall which where just like motorways.

burned around 5000 calories a day my friend who is around 14 1/2 stone lost 12 pound so he's made up ha. I just couldn't stop eating throughout the ride so I don't think i lost to much weight but im only 11.5 stone anyway.

Was a great ride, weather was on and off but the 2ns to last day was unlike anything I have ever experianced on a bike. We crossed a bridge in scotland and the wind and rain was so strong coming over the bridge it caught the panniers on my bike and lifted my back wheel off the ground and pushed towards the road, luckily no cars was coming.

Anyone doing it I would say book everything ahead and double your routes incase you find routes blocked or roads closed off as this can send you all over the place. I left all that to my friend who did the navigation and we didn't have any issues but you can see how easy it is to end up lost or taking a wrong turn which we did a couple of times but noticed it early on.

StanwaySteve62

top work well done

keef66

Well done that man. And his mate.

Can I ask what bikes you were riding?

gareth2134

keef66 wrote:

Well done that man. And his mate.

Can I ask what bikes you were riding?

Sure, I used a Trek 4.9 madone and my friend a 4.5. we found topeak panniers that hang from seatpost so we was able to use the treks. I would recomend a Tourer knowing what I know now. 3 main things i found important
1:saddle I used the standard bontrager and it was not good my friend changed his halfway through the ride for a more comfortable one and it was well needed.

2: bibs not shorts when your on the bike for 5-7 hours a day you dont want to be having shorts restricting you so a bib is much more comfortable

3: any form of protected tyres for avoiding punctures where possible.

I used the standard that come with the bike and my friend used the Pro 3's and he sufferd more punctures I only had the 1 on the 1st day.

We come down a road in kendal both doing 35+ mph and he hit a stone or rock infront of him and nearly come off the bike handled it well to keep control, blew his tyre out though

hambones

Well done - great effort.

I have just agreed to do this with 2 work colleagues next May. One of them has only just started cycling and he wanted to set himself a tough target to aim for. He originally suggested completing in 6 days but I have persuaded him to allow 8 for it!!!

The good thing is he has told all his friends and family that he is doing it for a local hospice so he can't back out now!

gareth2134

hambones wrote:

Well done - great effort.

I have just agreed to do this with 2 work colleagues next May. One of them has only just started cycling and he wanted to set himself a tough target to aim for. He originally suggested completing in 6 days but I have persuaded him to allow 8 for it!!!

The good thing is he has told all his friends and family that he is doing it for a local hospice so he can't back out now!

HaHa brilliant, yeah a good time to do it in. We are now planning to the the RAT [ race against time] It's done in 5 days its an event done once a year think we are doing it next year now and that will be good because we wont be taking to much kit with us on this one.

It is still comfortable at 8 days the route can be shortened to 847 we did the 1000 mile instead though depends what you want to see

teulk

Me and two friends are setting off in 2 weeks time but we will be doing it over 14days so i guess that is taking it easy compared to yours

What were the roads like out of cornwall - im guessing by the sound of it you took the A30 ? Would you suggest a parallel route ?

gareth2134

teulk wrote:

Me and two friends are setting off in 2 weeks time but we will be doing it over 14days so i guess that is taking it easy compared to yours

What were the roads like out of cornwall - im guessing by the sound of it you took the A30 ? Would you suggest a parallel route ?

A30 all the way out it's just like a motorway to be honest really smooth roads to lots of speed on that day.
Don't over do it though because by the end the hills will catch up with you and can get tough. Their not that steep but but they just go on and on.
I would stick with A30 instead of doing parallel road just to get yourself out of their.

Best thing to do is make cornwall your longest day and just get out of their. We stopped at oak hampton it was a travel lodge right beside the A30 so we jumped back on the A30 the next day and it was nearly alllllllll down hill into exeter which is quite nice.

lots of ppl do the 14 day ride it's more enjoyable, no browny points for doing it earlier mate.

In cornwall you will hit a hill on the A30 called hamburger hill ha ha it has a macdonalds on the roadside which gives it, it's name but it's really long and should open your legs up for you at that point.

mroli

I would rec NOT doing the A30 out/into Cornwall - as the OP poster said - it is like a motorway in that it is dual carriageway into Cornwally for the rest of the Country. You can do a really nice route that takes you round to Penzance the scenic way, past St Michael's Mount, up to the north Coast and to launceston by Wadebridge etc. Far nicer, hills are steep, but short and much much more scenic and beautiful.

teulk

Our first day will be on a sunday so we're hoping the A30 wont be too busy - well thats the plan anyway. Our first stop is Bodmin so we may re think our route to Tiverton on the Monday as the road will have more traffic on it i guess.

gareth2134

teulk wrote:

Our first day will be on a sunday so we're hoping the A30 wont be too busy - well thats the plan anyway. Our first stop is Bodmin so we may re think our route to Tiverton on the Monday as the road will have more traffic on it i guess.

We took the A30 purposely just to get out of cornwall or it can take you much longer to get out of their after that we mixed and matched scenic with A roads all depends on timing and what your looking for.

Tiverton isn't a bad place to stop we went through tiverton and it's decent and not much hills to hit after it.

But we did oak hampton and it was so usefull because last thing you want in the morning starting off is a load of hills and we avoided it doing that and had a clear run into exeter.

You may be hit with traffic on the A30 because it's a sunday and all the trafic will be heading out of cornwall.

But in fairness theirs plenty of bike room on the A30 they have a good cycle lane.