Monday, 25 February 2013
Winter experience
Saturday, 23 February 2013
LEJOG 2012
I've just realised I never posted our big adventure last year - Lands End to John O'Groats. Here it is. To see it with pictures go to http://www.bikeright.co.uk/news-events/blog/bikeright_lejog/
LEJOG in numbers
Countdown to the start. Jo, Liz and Glynis drove to Lands End Youth Hostel in a van with 10 bikes, 280 Nutrigrain bars and £400 worth of carb-filled food.
The others flew from Manchester to Newquay alongside a group of pensioners who polished off three Famous Grouse-and-ginger each on the 1 hour flight!
Great start. Cornwall blessed us with sunny weather as we followed a lovely route across the southern edge of the peninsula. It was really nice to see the sea, we wouldn't see it again until Scotland.
Lunch in the sun at Bike Chain Riccy’s cafe in Bissoe was not followed by a relaxing run into Ladock. Nadia stopped to replace her chain and lost the rest of the group who had missed a turning. We re-grouped with the help of mobile phones, and arrived at Woodlands Farm to initiate our daily arrival routine of bike-washing, chocolate milk and a shower.
Great day. Glowing.
Day 2 Ladock to Moretonhampstead Monday 2nd July
We left Cornwall and entered Devon. The drizzle turned out to be the persistent type: the stuff which lasts all day, varied only by heavy bursts of rain.
Morning coffee and lemon drizzle cake under dripping umbrellas at an Open Garden at Laneskin Woods. Lunch at the highest pub in Cornwall, the Cheesewring; very appropriate as we wrung out our socks.
Off towards Devon, but before too many yards Sue slipped on a corner and Heather ran into her. Both were bruised, but the main casualty was Sue’s bike. She spent the afternoon in the van finding a replacement for her bent wheel.
It was slow progress getting into Devon. We left Tavistock at 5.30pm for the two and a half hour ride across Dartmoor. We had true Hound of the Baskerville weather over the moor: low mist, very spooky, driving rain. The visibility was very poor and we had to be wary of straying sheep and ponies. We separated into smaller groups and shared out our lights to try and keep visible.
Day 3 Moretonhampstead to Bridgwater Tuesday 3rd July 58 miles, total so far 193
Theme tune: Fool on the Hill
We’ve covered one county per day:- Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Highlights so far include close-up views of hedgerows, long-distance moorland vistas and grazing Dartmoor ponies.
Porridge and pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. Retrieved dry clothes and shoes from the aga.
After four hours we had only covered 26 miles because of the ascents ...really steep... and the descents...really steep. Bad singing and bad jokes kept us going.
We had to replace three sets of brake blocks, one tyre and four inner tubes. During lunch at M & S café in Tiverton, Glynis repaired two punctures.
The afternoon was a much easier ride. We arrived at our hotel at 7pm. No time to clean the filthy bikes so early start tomorrow to clean and attend to mechanicals. Liz lost her glasses, never to be seen again.
Glowing. Tired.
Fantastic ride. Nice flat start; we ate up the miles to Avonmouth. The route was challenging to navigate with Garmin and maps and we lost considerable time debating turnings, especially finding the bike route over the Avonmouth bridge.
Fabulous ride , stunning route. 66 miles of country roads and rolling hills meant we flew though the miles and counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire. Morning coffee in Hereford Cathedral gardens where we posed by a statue of Elgar with his bike.
The ride could be re-named Lanes of Britain, as we passed Very England cottage gardens and were treated to stunning flowers all day.
We did stretches in the youth hostel garden by the river and beer at the local pub near the Long Mynd.
The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm was our lunch destination but none of us fancied trying any of the tempting flavours. Warrington Premier Inn looked welcoming at 6pm after sploshing through floods, multiple puddles, mending two punctures and coping with malfunctioning cycle computers. We survived. Character-building day.
Today was a long ride but in really beautiful conditions. We were waved off by Warrington-based BikeRight! instructors. Thanks to BikeRight! & Glow bike pals who joined us, providing moral support, help with punctures and local knowledge to guide us through Warrington, Wigan, Preston and Lancaster to Kendal.
We stopped at the Farmers Arms in Heskin for morning coffee and Scorton Barn for lunch. Nadia got her handlebars raised (to deal with shoulder pain) and a free massage from Mike, one of our BikeRight! cycling buddies. As he had once massaged Catherine Zeta Jones, Nadia felt in safe hands and good company.
Although we were travelling through many towns, the ride was really enjoyable. After Lancaster the roads again became lovely country lanes with spectacular views of the South Lakes hills. We split into two groups – scenic (back roads) and speedy (A6) for the last 12 miles. The frantic, fast and fun group of 4 raced on a hard and rough road surface opposite an organised time trial.
A day off the bikes: bike wash, changing brake blocks (the hills and rain in Devon really took their toll). Carol replaced her tyres, having dug out 3 bits of glass and found a snake bite split in the tyre – ouch! she remembers the pothole. Bodies were treated to shoulder and neck massages from cycling buddies Christine and Cat.
Day 9 Two Counties and Two Countries in One Day Monday 9th July
Theme tune: Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go
It was easier to get going after our rest day than we'd predicted. After our day off the bikes, we were apprehensive about riding again today, especially the first uphill haul to Shap. But amazingly everything still worked and no real aches or pains except for Nadia.
During the hard climb out of Kendal over Shap. Nadia’s raised handlebars resulted in ‘lady numbness’ and pain in her knees which brought tears to her eyes, but her cycling buddies were kind and urged her on. Once Pete altered her saddle it was much better.
Lunch at Plumpton - the Coral Rooms and Aquatic Centre. Instead of a swimming pool we found lots of fish and pond paraphernalia.
What a sense of achievement
Steak dinner in the Eskdale Hotel at 8.30. Great protein replacement.
550 miles done, 450 to go!
Day 10 Goodbye Galloway & Dumfries Hello Lanarkshire Tuesday 10th July
Another full day in the penetrating rain. Although we were passing through some lovely countryside we had our heads down to reach our destination.
For the first time on this trip Nadia could have swapped pedalling in the rain for something else, but it didn't last long because she loved the challenge and the fabulous group of friends.
But there is always a silver lining. The end of the day had a sauna waiting and a comfortable bed in the New Lanark Mill hotel - Egyptian cotton sheets and a bath!! It’s right next to the River Clyde which looks spectacular in full spate. It’s a World Heritage Centre site, commemorating Robert Owen’s early 19th century utopian socialist village.
DAY 11 Wot, more rain? Wednesday 11th July
Scotland persisted in being wet and increasingly beautiful.
Morning stop was in a butcher’s shop-cum-cafe. We bought 20 sausages for dinner for three quid and the butcher gave us a donation. A customer followed suit. They probably felt sorry for the ten sodden cyclists.
Fantastic day riding from Comrie Croft to Newtonmore, blessed by the weather. The scenery was breath-taking: wide flowing rivers and mile upon mile of cycle path adjacent to the roaring A9 overlooked by the Grampian Mountains.
Nadia had another disaster: a loose headset sending vibrations into her painful shoulders. During morning coffee stop at Amulree tearoom Pete tightened it the best he could while the rest of the group gorged themselves on the best of Scottish baking: scones to die for.
Dry. Bright.
50 miles, total so far 831
Short day today. After a fire in the toaster at breakfast, what a treat: a gentle 50 mile spin. Today’s ride was relaxed and sociable. A few fun sprints off the front of the otherwise tight peloton of ten. No punctures.
Day 14 Inverness to Helmsdale Saturday 14 July
71 miles, total so far 902
Then an 11 mile sprint to Helmsdale for the Speedies.
A few in the group didn't arrive at the youth hostel at Helmsdale as they’d stopped off at the pub!
Day 15 Final day John O’Groats Sunday 15 July 2012
Cycled today 52 miles
Total Lands End to John O'Groats 954
The final leg. A happy start in Helmsdale for all except Jo. Despite very low stamina, she was determined to ride - and rode she did.
Immediately we had a two-mile climb followed by the fastest descent of the trip – 47.9mph, Liz again.
14 days cycling, 20 punctures, 8 new tyres, one new wheel, 18 sets of new brake blocks. 1000's of memories. The Magnificent Seven, Liz, Jo, Lucy, Suzanne, Heather, Nadia and Carol completed 954 miles of cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats. We would like to thank the many other riders who rode part of the way with us for their support. Special mention to Sue and Jerry from Simply Cycling who rode 7 days and 12 days respectively and Simon and Glynis who joined us for the second half of the ride. A big thank you as well to our support van drivers Glynis and Pete for being fantastic.
Written in the bar celebrating .............
DAY 16 Afterglow - Monday 16th July
As if the end of the epic ride wasn’t enough of a magnificent climax, to cap it all we were treated with a rare view of fourteen Orcas (killer whales) romping in the harbour as we left John O’Groats. A fitting finale to a fabulous trip.
LANDS END TO JOHN O’GROATS JULY 2012
Seven women cyclists rode 954 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats - none had undertaken such a feat previously. Through a combination of individual determination, group encouragement and training, we achieved our goal in 15 days. As well as the physical challenge of the ride, we aimed to raise £5000 for Simply Cycling to buy an adapted bike for use by disabled cyclists and their families.Riders from BikeRight! and Team Glow completed the 954 mile bike ride, affectionately known as LEJOG or End-to-End, on 15th July 2012, supported by a team van and joined by other riders along the way. We pedalled an average 70 miles per day up hill and down dale, through sun and rain, experienced the beauty of Britain's lanes and blooming hedgerows, rolling fields, vast stretching moors, stunning coastline, historic cathedrals, town squares, burial mounds, and endured the odd main road and ghastly dual carriageway.
- 954 miles
- Maximum speed – 47.9 mph
- 20 punctures
- 1 new wheel
- 36 of brake blocks
- 8 tyres
- 2 cables
- 3 cleat repairs
- 1 headset repair
- 6 other mechanical issues
- Millions of raindrops
LEJOG people
- The magnificent seven: Jo, Liz, Lucy, Nadia, Heather, Suzanne, Carol
- Part-riders: Jerry (12 days), Sue, Glynis and Simon (7 days)
- Glow supporters: Niki, Helen, Christine and Jan (3 days)
- Van drivers: Glynis and Pete
Countdown to the start. Jo, Liz and Glynis drove to Lands End Youth Hostel in a van with 10 bikes, 280 Nutrigrain bars and £400 worth of carb-filled food.
Substantial meal polished off with apple crumble, treacle tart, celebration bubbly and lots of laughs. In bed by 9 for the big day tomorrow, hoping the wind becomes a helpful southwesterly.
Day 1 Sunday 1st July Lands End to Ladock
Dry and sunny Tailwind
62 miles completed, only 900-ish to go!!Dinner: spaghetti bolognese and chocolate brownies.
Day 2 Ladock to Moretonhampstead Monday 2nd July
73 miles today 135 completed so far....
Self-catered banana porridge and egg breakfast, and first puncture repair of the trip, before riding out with generously applied sun cream (just in case) under heavily laden dark clouds.
The ride up Dartmoor was tough but the descent to Moretonhampstead was exhilarating. As we came down off the moor the sun popped through and we were met with a fabulous rainbow.
We shared a 14-bedded room at the Sparrowhawk Backpackers hostel with 3 young German men(!!) and giggled uncontrollably when indulging Morecambe and Wise-style comedy on our side of the curtain.
Dinner: pasta, pesto and tuna with a couple of beers.
A hilly day. 8.5 hours riding.
Theme tune: Fool on the Hill
We’ve covered one county per day:- Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. Highlights so far include close-up views of hedgerows, long-distance moorland vistas and grazing Dartmoor ponies.
Porridge and pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. Retrieved dry clothes and shoes from the aga.
Today was tough, our route planned to stay off the A roads as much as possible, which meant riding up and down very narrow, very steep Devonshire hills. The morning was hard climbing and very slippery technical descending. Carol walked down a one in three but cycled up a one in four! It rained all day making the roads very slippy.
DAY 4 Two countries in one day Wednesday 4 July
70 miles, total so far 263Bridgwater to Hillersland, Gloucestershire
Happy birthday Jo.
Over the Severn Bridge to Wales, back across the Wye into England and some beautiful countryside in the Forest of Dean, where a dream awaited us: a beautiful spot at Hillersland near Symonds Yat with gardens, a clean, warm room and a hot tub.
Tea was fish and chips: a whale of a fish. Great day. Really glowing.
DAY 5 Hello Blue Sky Thursday 5th July
Brilliant sunshine, NO RAIN!
Hillersland to Bridges
66 miles Total 329
Theme tune: Here Comes the Sun
Fabulous ride
The ride could be re-named Lanes of Britain, as we passed Very England cottage gardens and were treated to stunning flowers all day.
We did stretches in the youth hostel garden by the river and beer at the local pub near the Long Mynd.
Just perfect. Nadia: “Loving this ride.”
DAY 6 Bridges, Shropshire to Warrington Friday 6th JulyWet, wet, wet.
81 miles, 410 completed so far
Theme tune: Singin’ in the Rain
Midlands to Northwest, we were rained on for ten hours nonstop, and were surprised we didn’t develop webbed feet. Such a contrast to yesterday, today was hard. We rode through Nantwich which had the heaviest rain in the country. Morning stop was at Wem town hall where we were treated to inside bike storage and the best hot chocolate. But we’d lost Carol who was out on her own somewhere. Phone reception was poor but Lucy tracked her down cycling with two guys we’d met at Lands End. Eventually she met up with the van and re-joined the group.
The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm was our lunch destination but none of us fancied trying any of the tempting flavours. Warrington Premier Inn looked welcoming at 6pm after sploshing through floods, multiple puddles, mending two punctures and coping with malfunctioning cycle computers. We survived. Character-building day.
DAY 7 Warrington to Kendal Saturday 7th July
Hello blue skies, fabulous sunny ride.
84 miles Total so far 494
We stayed at Kendal youth hostel, with dinner at the Brewery Arts Centre next door. Lovely day, so good to have the company of other riders for the day.
Glowing.
Day 8 Day of Rest or maybe not.... Sunday 8th JulyClothes wash, said bye to Sue after a storming week of riding. Beautiful afternoon: very relaxing spent with friends or family, snoozing or watching the men’s Wimbledon final.
Dry
Goodbye Cumbria, England, Hello Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. Good ride today from Kendal, through Penrith and Carlisle to Langholm.
It was easier to get going after our rest day than we'd predicted. After our day off the bikes, we were apprehensive about riding again today, especially the first uphill haul to Shap. But amazingly everything still worked and no real aches or pains except for Nadia.
Two tyre blow outs today. We think we may have bought a dodgy batch of tyres. They sure make a noise when they blow!! Lucy punctured as we left and punctured again like a car back firing in Carlisle. Heather and Nadia cycled into town to get a new tyre and lost the group. After negotiating the one way system in Carlisle most inefficiently they caught up with the group drinking lime and soda and peppermint tea at Longtown. Last stop before Scotland.
We split again: a fast train for the three speedies in to Langholm and a lovely scenic route for the other seven.
Steak dinner in the Eskdale Hotel at 8.30. Great protein replacement.
Nadia: “Glowing. To be alive. To feel strong.
To be in Scotland after starting in Cornwall and needing nothing but my bike to get here. Am so happy.”
Wet
73 miles - total so far 639
Monotonous riding: 30 miles of lumpy, bumpy roads. While the pain in Jo’s muscles seemed to jiggle away with all the bumping, as if it was a vibrating type of massage, Nadia still had aching shoulders and a painful muscle spasm behind her left knee on the up stroke.
Lockerbie truck stop provided mugs of sweet hot chocolate, slabs of marmite on toast, and reading material for Pete: Trucking News. Lunch at the Welcome Break service station at Abington: pie and chips in the middle of a hard day.
After lunch an absent moment by Heather resulted in a rogue swerve manoeuvre which brought her and Simon down. No problems and they were both up. But before Heather had clipped back in her pedal she went down again on the grass verge – just loss of concentration.
Swollen & atmospheric river Clyde - rushing and forceful, matched our mood. Legs still strong. Hoping for a dry day tomorrow.
Glowing.
Glowing.
DAY 11 Wot, more rain? Wednesday 11th July
Langholm to Comrie Croft 67 miles
The route today was spectacular, through moorland, forest, woodland, bracken, riding past wild flowers, rabbits, birds of many descriptions, and lakes as still as can be. We had a great view of the Firth of Forth from above Falkirk - felt we were really in Scotland now - and travelled through Stirling past the William Wallace Monument.
At lunchtime, in a lovely cafe at Larbert, we draped our wet gear on the radiators which were miraculously switched on.
Best stop was tea & shortbread at Sherrifmuir, high up above Dunblane, scene of a battle in 1715 which no-one could decide who'd won.
It was a hard ride for Nadia’s painful knee. Maybe the cleat screw she’d replaced wasn’t quite in the right place. She tried tiger balm, Ibuleve and Ibuprofen to lessen the pain she felt on each revolution except, bizarrely, going uphill. Luckily there was some steep climbing in the afternoon, hot in full waterproofs, but such relief from the pain. At Comrie Croft hostel near Crieff (eight girls in one room and the three boys in another), dinner was delivered by outside caterers. The lentil soup and ice cream were popular but baked aubergine didn’t go down well in some quarters. Somehow the sausages which were bought to compensate didn’t get cooked.
Glowing
705 miles ridden in total, all good.
Day 12 Goodbye Perthshire Hello Highlands Thursday 12th JulySunshine & midges
76 miles, total so far 781
Theme tune: Flower of Scotland
This was the hilliest day with fast sweeping descents through the Highlands and jaw-droppingly gorgeous scenery. For hours on end, round corner after corner, as we climbed and climbed we saw fabulous woodland, lochs, open moorland and pine forests. Some tough climbs up but we were rewarded with thrilling downhills. The fastest descender was Liz clocking 39.8 miles per hour. Just as well she had new brake blocks.
Newtonmore Hostel was well-equipped, complete with drying room, twin tub and wood-burning stove.
While Glynis worked on Jo’s gearing problems, Nadia’s headset was dismantled and reassembled by Pete and Heather. Yippee! She wouldn't be in the van the next day. The bearings had come out of the unit in the headset.
Nadia felt unwell today, in pain, weak through reduced food intake, worried about her bike, close to fainting on the bike or falling asleep and the ride was intense. Particularly drafting on a stretch of the busy A9, not for the fainthearted at anytime. She was treated with a hot water bottle, rehydration sachets, massage, Rennies and sleep.
She was only slightly glowing tonight.
76 spectacular miles.
Dry. Bright.
50 miles, total so far 831
Scrumptious cake at the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore and lunch at a village store, then we had a fabulous view of the Moray Firth as we descended into Inverness.
The earliest afternoon finish at 3pm. Jo and Lucy visited the Highland Bicycle Company in Inverness to resolve gear and pedal problems.
Blissful day. Such delight. Big glow
Dry, sunny with a few heavy showers
Day 14 flew by in a rush of Scottish sea air & captivating mountain views, riding up the coast from Inverness to Helmsdale. It was tough for some of us, but the sun shone a lot, traffic eased as we went further north and we supported each other to the finish.
We started later than planned when Lucy was found with her eighth puncture! The route took us alongside, and then onto, the A9. Coffee stop in a bakery, then we paused at the Glenmorangie Distillery and Dunrobin Castle (is this Robin Hood’s retirement home?).
Roadside refreshments were provided by our McLeader Jo’s second cousin – experienced Help for Heroes volunteer - who served hot cross buns, bananas, chocolate cake and coffee out of the back of her car.
Roadside refreshments were provided by our McLeader Jo’s second cousin – experienced Help for Heroes volunteer - who served hot cross buns, bananas, chocolate cake and coffee out of the back of her car.
The majority of the work was done. Just one last big hill. John O'Groats 52 miles to go, yippee.
Cycled today 52 miles
Total Lands End to John O'Groats 954
Immediately we had a two-mile climb followed by the fastest descent of the trip – 47.9mph, Liz again.
We re-grouped two miles above John O’Groats for the mass ride to the legendary harbour. We felt blessed and the image of the blue sky, bobbing sea and triumphant cycling pals is engraved in our collective memory. What a wonderful moment. A fantastic achievement. We had done it. We had done it.
14 days cycling, 20 punctures, 8 new tyres, one new wheel, 18 sets of new brake blocks. 1000's of memories. The Magnificent Seven, Liz, Jo, Lucy, Suzanne, Heather, Nadia and Carol completed 954 miles of cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats. We would like to thank the many other riders who rode part of the way with us for their support. Special mention to Sue and Jerry from Simply Cycling who rode 7 days and 12 days respectively and Simon and Glynis who joined us for the second half of the ride. A big thank you as well to our support van drivers Glynis and Pete for being fantastic.
Written in the bar celebrating .............
DAY 16 Afterglow - Monday 16th July
As if the end of the epic ride wasn’t enough of a magnificent climax, to cap it all we were treated with a rare view of fourteen Orcas (killer whales) romping in the harbour as we left John O’Groats. A fitting finale to a fabulous trip.
ROUTE
Day 1 Lands End to Woodland Farm, TR2 4PT Distance 52 milesDay 2 Woodland Farm, TR2 4PT to Sparrowhawk Backpackers, TQ13 8LN Distance 73 Total Distance 135
Day 3 Sparrowhawk Backpackers, TQ13 8LN to The Old Vicarage Hotel, TA6 3EQ Distance 58 Total Distance 193
Day 4 The Old Vicarage Hotel, TA6 3EQ to Hillersland B&B, GL16 7NY Distance 70 Total Distance 263
Day 5 Hillersland B&B, GL16 7NY to Bridges YH, SY5 0SP Distance 66 Total Distance 329
Day 6 Bridges YH, SY5 0SP to Warrington Premier Inn, WA2 8DB Distance 81 Total Distance 410
Day 7 Warrington Premier Inn, WA2 8DB to Kendal YH, LA9 4HE Distance 84 Total Distance 494
Day 8 REST DAY
Day 9 Kendal YH, LA9 4HE to Eskdale Hotel, DG13 0JH Distance 72 Total Distance 566
Day 10 Eskdale Hotel, DG13 0JH to New Lanark Hotel, ML11 9DB Distance 73 Total Distance 639
Day 11 New Lanark Hotel, ML11 9DB to Comrie Croft, PH7 4JZ Distance 67 Total Distance 705
Day 12 Comrie Croft, PH7 4JZ to Newtonmore Hostel, PH20 1DA Distance 76 Total Distance 781
Day 13 Newtonmore Hostel, PH20 1DA to Inverness SYH, IV2 3QB Distance 50 Total Distance 831
Day 14 Inverness SYH, IV2 3QB to Helmsdale YH, KW8 6JR Distance 71 Total Distance 902
Day 15 Helmsdale YH, KW8 6JR to Seaview Hotel, KW1 4YR Distance 52 Total Distance 954
Links for LEJOG route
o Day 8 Rest day
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