Anyone done a LEJOG?

iclestu

I'm gonna be doing an unsupported solo LEJOG in Aug. I had posted on the Touring forum asking for a little advice on how to go about planning a route but other than a single link to a site I'd seen before all I got so far is tumbleweed...

Wondered if any of you guys had done it?

Just really looking for all the scenic routes. Not bothered if it takes 10 days or 20 (or even more) so not afraid of detours and/or hilly sections (got all the time in the world - right!). Not sure I care where I visit really - doing it for the fun of cycling and experience more than specifically not wanting to miss a certain place or tour a certain region.

I don't really know where to start with route planning. Question I asked was:

Do I draw a line on the map of mainland Britain and break it down into smaller chunks and start trying to research scenic back roads or do I just google for other ppls routes to follow/adapt? How do I find the best roads and avoid the nasties?

Any of you guys got any tips/advice/experiences to share?

raymondo60

Planning to do one next year so bought a couple of books on Amazon - both were really helpful regarding routes, daily mileages, places to stay etc - would highly recommend that before heading off unsupported!

iclestu

Raymondo60 wrote:

Planning to do one next year so bought a couple of books on Amazon - both were really helpful regarding routes, daily mileages, places to stay etc - would highly recommend that before heading off unsupported!

recommend any one in particular?

bedraggled

Get over to the CTC site - they have a forum just for LEJOG (and JOGLE)

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=22

http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk/

notsoblue

Yep, I've done an unsupported LEJOG. Did it in 15 days with an average daily mileage of ~68miles which was about right for my fitness at the time. This was our itinerary:

Penzance
Padstow
Okehampton
Lower Langford
Welsh Bicknor
Bridgnorth
Manchester
Kendal
Annan
Ayr
Inveraray
Glencoe
Inverness
Helmsdale
John O'Groats

We mostly stayed in Youth Hostels, the odd B&B and with friends & family. Youth Hostels are pretty awesome for the money, would definitely use them again. Not luxury accommodation, but after a days riding all you really want is a drying room, a hot shower, a big meal and then bed.

I'd only consider camping if you really wanted to do it in a fast time and planned to just ride and sleep.

Edit:
Cornwall is the hardest bit. Scotland is *huge*. Prettiest places were the Lake District and pretty much all of Scotland.

raymondo60

iclestu wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

Planning to do one next year so bought a couple of books on Amazon - both were really helpful regarding routes, daily mileages, places to stay etc - would highly recommend that before heading off unsupported!

recommend any one in particular?

'Lands End to John O'Groats - a Cicerone guide' by Simon Brown

Lands End to John O'Groats - the Great British Adventure' by Phil Horsley

Both contain general advice, routes, mileages, Campsites/B&Bs etc - seem to have all you need.

Santa cruzing

Have you seen blog thegibdog off of this very forum wrote? Great account and some useful info. I read it end to end and it almost had me booking time off to ride it!

iclestu

Santa cruzing wrote:

Have you seen blog thegibdog off of this very forum wrote? Great account and some useful info. I read it end to end and it almost had me booking time off to ride it!

not seen it and struggling to find it

You got a link?

pangolin

Yeah I did it solo unsupported a couple of years ago. Really good fun. Here's a post about it from back then.

pangolin wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Excellent! Do you have a link to your route, and what was your favourite part?

My route was basically this (which I found on the ctc forum). There were a few stretches where I followed smaller B roads that went the same way, but I mainly stuck to the larger ones.

A30 all the way to Exeter
Old A38 (B3181) north out of the city
A38 all the way to Worcester
A449/A442/A41 to Whitchurch
A49 to Person
A6 to Carlisle
Old A74 (B7076) to J12 M74
A70/A706/A904 to Forth Road Bridge
Old A90 (B981/B996/A922/B996/A912) to Perth
A9 all the way to Latheron
A99 to JOG

I did map it all out in Gmaps, but tried to save the route and it threw a fit. Should have split into days, but couldn't be bothered to enter it all again at that point...

WesternWay wrote:

Wow, sounds fantastic.

You /must/ have done some more serious training though surely? I do a commute of a similar length to yours and frankly some days it is a bit difficult to get back on the bike

I would love to do it one day and will keep in mind what you say about timing.

How many hours a day were you riding.

Excellent news on the lack of mechanicals.

George

In May I did London to Edinburgh. I think that averaged about 75 miles a day. Before that though I did no real training, and between then and now I did nothing extra either. I know what you mean about feeling tired some days, but I found that less of an issue touring as you're not really pushing like you do on a 20 mile a day commute.

For LEJOG my daily miles averaged just under 100. Most in a day was 115, least was 82 I think. Riding time was between 6 and 8 hours I think. Av speed at the end of the day tended to be between 13 and 16mph. Started about 8:30 and finish between 5 and 7, depending how lazy I felt at stops during the day.

Here's a post about London to Edinburgh the same year, earlier on. Might be some useful info.

pangolin wrote:

Hi All

From the 1st to the 7th May I cycled from my home in Kingston up to Edinburgh with my girlfriend. I read lots of good advice on here before I went so thought I'd post a quick review of how the trip went.

Day 1: Kingston to Tempsford, 76 miles

Grey start but it was actually a nice day. After pub lunch just wore a t-shirt for the afternoon (only time on the trip this was possible!). You know all that advice about loading up your bike and taking it for a test run well before the trip to make sure it works and isnt too heavy etc? Yes well I ignored that. Built the bike up the weekend before, the bike shop had it until thursday sorting the gears, then I put the rack on. Finished packing panniers 1am Saturday then went to bed for 9:30 start. First time I'd ever ridden it with panniers on, was actually fine though, Felt quite heavy up little hills once we got north of London though (how I'd miss those hills in the Pennines).

Finished about 6 then spent 45 minutes or so finding the b&b.

Day 2: Tempsford to Caythorpe, 83 miles

Fairly uneventful, although one of us (not me) fell in a ditch in a pretty hilarious clipless moment. Felt like a long day, particularly last 15 miles. Long straight towards the end on a largeish road which wasn't much fun. Everything was shut in the village when we arrived (pubs had stopped serving food) so the b&b owner made us toasted sandwiches, chips and apple pie for free! Also she had a closed yard to keep our bikes in. http://www.caythorpebandb.co.uk highly reccomended.

Day 3: Caythorpe to Scunthorpe, 48 miles

Short day which was lucky as 20mph headwinds made it feel like a long one. Scunthorpe doesn't win any awards for scenery, though our b&b was nice again. Allen at the Downs Guest House let us keep our bikes indoors and reduced the price (was already the cheapest of the trip) to just £30 so we could give a bit more to the charity we were fundraising for.

Day 4: Scunthorpe to Hemlsley, 83 miles

Some really nice scenery today. Very long straight road with rolling hills past Howard Castle with nice arches. Girlfriend left her camelback at the castle though which meant a 10 mile round trip for me to collect it once she realised 5 miles down the road. That was actually pretty fun as I left my panniers with her so bike felt really light. Youth hostel this time.

Day 5: Helmsley to Alston, 88 miles

Toughest day of the trip. First few miles were in the North York Moors (double crankset proved controversial as had to stand up for a lot of the steeper hills here) then a flattish bit to Barnard Castle. After that it was into the North Pennines which was really just one long 10 mile ish climb, followed by a 5 mile ish cold descent to Alston. The final few miles were great fun but the climb beforehand was very long and slow. Youth hostel again for the evening.

Day 6: Alston to Selkirk, 87 miles

Again quite a difficult day. Went through the most deserted area of the whole trip, just north of the Scottish border near Carlisle. Miles with nothing but the odd farm or timber lorry. Got to an inn at 8 but no rooms, so just had a quick dinner then did the last 12 to Selkirk nice and quick. Met a couple of guys at the inn doing LeJog who had been camping most nights.

Day 7: Selkirk to Edinburgh, 46 miles

Nice short final day!! Went across to Peebles rather than go straight up the A7 to make it better. VERY windy last 20 miles, but nearly there so it didnt feel too demoralising. Felt great to finish, went up the the castle as a good finish line. Friend who lives in Edinburgh put us up for the night and fed us loads. Train back on Saturday!

Overall it was great fun. The route was mainly the LEL 2005 route which I found on bikely, and edited a bit to go through places to stay.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/London-Edinburgh-London-2005

Kit all held up really well, no punctures even. Wondering what to do next now. LeJog might be on the cards for July.

Happy to post kit list or whatever if people are interested.

Happy to answer any questions you have.

natrix

The CTC charity route is supposed to be quite good. Don't forget your midge repellant for Scotland.

iclestu

pangolin wrote:

....

Lots of stuff

....

Happy to answer any questions you have.

- most kind!

Did you plan the route out before hand? What criteria did you use?

At first glance it seems like you went mostly 'major' routes (whilst avoiding main/busy highways)? That about right?

Anything you wish you had done differently? Any sections you traveled you'd suggest avoiding? Or vice versa - anything you'd recommend or say was unmissable?

iclestu

natrix wrote:

The CTC charity route is supposed to be quite good. Don't forget your midge repellant for Scotland.

The one in the pack they sell?

Is it all on roads?

meanredspider

I'd stay off the A9 as much as possible - especially if you're not trying to set a record. Makes me whince to see people crossing the Kessock Bridge on the dual carriageway when the cycle route 1 is right next to it.

lastant

Yep...did mine in May 2010, and have been spending this last month or so trying to work out what to do next!

Full details in my signature...

iclestu

lastant wrote:

Yep...did mine in May 2010, and have been spending this last month or so trying to work out what to do next!

Full details in my signature...

Wow - bought your book for my kindle the other day! Only read the preview so far but will get started shortly!

Santa cruzing

http://alangibsonlejog.blogspot.co.uk/

This be the one! He did however do it a little bit quick, but you may be able to break his route down a bit further..

pangolin

iclestu wrote:

- most kind!

Did you plan the route out before hand? What criteria did you use?

At first glance it seems like you went mostly 'major' routes (whilst avoiding main/busy highways)? That about right?

Anything you wish you had done differently? Any sections you traveled you'd suggest avoiding? Or vice versa - anything you'd recommend or say was unmissable?

Yep, it was fairly main routes. I was trying to do it 9 days, and succeeded in that, but if I were to do it again I would aim for something more like 2 weeks I think, to have more time to enjoy it and poke around the places on the way.

The route I think I got from the cyclechat LEJOG forum that has been mentioned here. Just a list of road names in order, that I then drew onto a map. Those pages of the map (3 or 4 miles to an inch road atlas) then went in a map holder on the handlebar bag, which worked very well.

I don't mind cycling along an A road for a while but I would agree with MRC to avoid the A9. I cycled the entire A9, and some of it was not much fun at all. Very little shoulder, really big ridges in the tarmac that were uncomfortable to cycle on (but not enough room to avoid them), that sort of thing. The scenery was excellent though!

Bits I enjoyed were:

A466 from Chepstow to Monmouth, brilliant valley scenery.
Getting the ferry over the river in Liverpool. Nice way to break the day up.
A6 from Kendal to Penrith. Most people are on the M6 so it's quite quiet. Nice big hill too (Shap Fell)
- With more time you could ignore that and go through the Lake District. Tough day though!

If going up the East coast of Scotland, take the B709 from Langholm to get over to Edinburgh. Really nice road through the middle of nowhere, very peaceful and remote. Take food and water with you.

If going up the West coast, I don't have much advice. A lot of people cycle through the Isle of Arran for a day, which I hear is good.

The only other thing is I found some of it quite lonely. I cycled for an entire day with a couple of guys doing the same thing and really enjoyed it. Might be worth finding someone to do it with. That depends on you though, some people prefer it.

iclestu

pangolin wrote:

another EPIC and v. helpful post

was thinking of tackling kirkstone pass in lake district so, if my geography recollections are right, that probably does rule out taking the a6 over the shap.

Will def look at the chepstow section you mention. Thanks for that!

Dont think that being alone will bother me. Think id prefer to 'paddle my own canoe' as it were. Im a bit of a loner by nature and really dont mind my own company.

Thanks v much for your advice, much appreciated.

Kieran_Burns

iclestu wrote:

pangolin wrote:

another EPIC and v. helpful post

was thinking of tackling kirkstone pass in lake district so, if my geography recollections are right, that probably does rule out taking the a6 over the shap.

Will def look at the chepstow section you mention. Thanks for that!

Dont think that being alone will bother me. Think id prefer to 'paddle my own canoe' as it were. Im a bit of a loner by nature and really dont mind my own company.

Thanks v much for your advice, much appreciated.

Kirkstone is a COW getting to the top of, but the number of mental cyclists I've seen going down the other side seem to suggest it's worth it

iclestu

Kieran_Burns wrote:

iclestu wrote:

pangolin wrote:

another EPIC and v. helpful post

was thinking of tackling kirkstone pass in lake district so, if my geography recollections are right, that probably does rule out taking the a6 over the shap.

Will def look at the chepstow section you mention. Thanks for that!

Dont think that being alone will bother me. Think id prefer to 'paddle my own canoe' as it were. Im a bit of a loner by nature and really dont mind my own company.

Thanks v much for your advice, much appreciated.

Kirkstone is a COW getting to the top of, but the number of mental cyclists I've seen going down the other side seem to suggest it's worth it

speaking from experience, KB? You done it?

Got all the time in the world. Ill stop for a breather as and when I need to and make sure im not stuck there late in the day. Gotta be fun, right?! :-)

any other suggestions for scenic sections that could be slotted into a lejog gratefully received!

Kieran_Burns

Walked it, driven it, never cycled it. The problem with the southern approach is that it is relentless. I have to say that it IS worth it just for the view and that descent. I've personally seen cyclists over-taking cars down there.

Marcus_C

iclestu wrote:

any other suggestions for scenic sections that could be slotted into a lejog gratefully received!

I took a detour to Arran on mine, then up to Oban, The Great Glen, Dingwall, Lairg and up Strathnaver to the North coast on mine, If you're not too bothered about time then i'd recommend it.

iclestu

Marcus_C wrote:

iclestu wrote:

any other suggestions for scenic sections that could be slotted into a lejog gratefully received!

I took a detour to Arran on mine, then up to Oban, The Great Glen, Dingwall, Lairg and up Strathnaver to the North coast on mine, If you're not too bothered about time then i'd recommend it.

yeah, got a little bit of that north coast in mind. That I am a scotsman who has never been north of the kessock bridge is something that needs to be addressed!

spen666

I did it 3 years ago

http://www.aminearlythere.blogspot.co.uk/

thegibdog

iclestu wrote:

Santa cruzing wrote:

Have you seen blog thegibdog off of this very forum wrote? Great account and some useful info. I read it end to end and it almost had me booking time off to ride it!

not seen it and struggling to find it

You got a link?

Cheers Santa cruzing, glad you enjoyed it.

iclestu in terms of planning my route I initially used Google maps to plot a rough route and then Bikehike to see how much climbing I was letting myself in for. The CTC LEJoG forum is a good source of advice re which roads to avoid, Google streetview is useful too so you can actually see what the roads are like. I just tried to avoid the A roads whenever I could (especially dual dual carriageways) although for me it was always a compromise between directness and nicer roads.

An outline of my route is here http://alangibsonlejog.blogspot.co.uk/2 ... route.html and the full details are on Strava. One scenic section I hadn't included initially but was recommended was Cheddar Gorge - glad I added it in as it was the highlight of the tour. I didn't get the best weather through Glen Coe but it was still very scenic, as was the Great Glen alongside Loch Ness.

Happy to answer any questions you have if I can.

iclestu

Thanks v. much guys - Ill have a read at those blogs.

Getting me all excited this is!

mroli

Mate - I did as part of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain - supported in 2010. https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-george-oliver-foundation/jogle-diary/131442496879055is my link. For some people, I'm sure this is a walk in the park. I tried to ride it as 9 back to back 100mile sportives, so as fast as I could. For personal reasons, I wanted to ride it alone a lot of the time - it is a lot easier to ride in a pack and draft. I found it a proper challenge - suffered from knee problems as my ITB band was pulling my kneecap out of whack and the distances were quite daunting.

However, genuinely I think it was one of the best experiences of my life. The country is beautiful - please don't stick to major a roads all the way as you'll miss some amazing things. I loved it so much that I scrapped plans to do a "foreign" challenge and did the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs book instead as I wanted to go back to places I had flown through.

My highlights were getting up Asterton Bank (the Burway), climbing Kirkstone first thing in the morning and literally flying down the other side. Riding up along the coast in the very north of Scotland seeing the sun on the water and beaches, riding alongside Windermere in the drops and getting to Cornwall where I know the riding, knowing that I was going to complete it and just getting my head down and powering as much as I could to the finish. Just writing about it makes me want to do it again.

iclestu

National Parks!

The thought occurs....

I want scenery, I am in no rush, I don't really know where to start my route planning apart from incorporating a little bit of the Lake District and the North Coast...

Then I saw this:



and think that, just looking at the map without thinking about the practicalities, I could incorporate 9 out of the UK's 15 national parks with minimal 'zig-zagging', no?

So maybe that gives me the means to break my route down into some sections now?

1. LE to Dartmoor
2. Dartmoor to Exmoor
3.Exmoor to the Brecon Beacons
4. Brecon Beacons to Peak District
5. Peak District to the Yorks Dales
6. Dales to Lake District (and Windermere/Kirkstone Pass)
7. Lake District to Northumberland
8. Northumberland to Loch Lomond & Trossachs (not fussed about Loch Lomond itself*)
9. LL to Cairngorms
10. Cairngorms to Ullapool ish
11. along the North Coast to JOG

What do you guys reckon? Know its the long way round but gotta be some nice cycling in there, surely?!

Any route suggestions for sections of these?

*I should just say that I know LL is staggeringly beautiful - that I am not fussed about it is only because I have been many times!

Kieran_Burns

If you are going to go along the North Coast of Scotland you should make a point of stopping at Dunnet Head, it's only a short detour on the last day and will get you to the most Northerly point on the mainland UK. It's a bit bleak but worth it if you're in the area.

iclestu

Kieran_Burns wrote:

If you are going to go along the North Coast of Scotland you should make a point of stopping at Dunnet Head, it's only a short detour on the last day and will get you to the most Northerly point on the mainland UK. It's a bit bleak but worth it if you're in the area.

Ahhhh but then if I do that Ill also need to take a detour to Lizard point at the beginning too, no? :?

lastant

iclestu wrote:

Ahhhh but then if I do that Ill also need to take a detour to Lizard point at the beginning too, no? :?

Yep...

Lizard's far more out of the way than Dunnet's Head, but glad I did both. Of course, you could really go for it and take in Lowestoft and whatever it is on the West too...