Final thoughts

With the ride 2 months behind me I feel a world away from the 2 weeks I spent on my own travelling across Britain. In some respects I miss the sense of adventure that can only really be experienced from such a trip as LEJOG, with only myself for company. However after a relaxing summer spent at my parents lounging about and enjoying the beautiful weather I must return to uni for my final year and my final few months before entering the real world of work. The total raised in the end was £1,149 which is far more than anticipated and will go towards funding the great work carried out at thorpe hall. I have also set up a website detailing my trip for future LEJOGers.

The lone traveller returns!

Well what a journey it turned out to be! I have been back now for just over a week and still don't feel quite settled back to normality to be honest. I was amazed by how quickly I got into a routine of arising in the early hours (5-6 am), cycling the first 40 or so miles before stopping for a break and a substantial meal, and then continuing for the final few miles to arrive at my camp site by 3pm at the latest. What, a few months ago, seemed like a ridiculous idea soon became the norm for me, and the 80 or so miles I cycled 6 days on the trot seem somewhat trivial. Yet I still get brief flashbacks to sections of the ride itself and how lonely and isolated they were, which help put things back in perspective and make me realise just how far 80 miles on a bike actually is.

On reflection I can safely say that I enjoyed every single bit of the trip; even cycling in the pouring rain along the scottish lochs has a certain hidden beauty woven into it which can only be truly appreciated afterwards. The highlight of the trip for me was Glen Coe which was genuinely breath taking and shall be burnt into my memory for a very long time.

On a more serious note the main reason I did this was to raise funds for Sue Ryder care, and thus far I have raised well over £1,100 which is a great achievement and I would like to thank everyone who helped me reach this amount and double my original target of £500.

Half Way There!

As I write this (says Dad) James is now in Scotland and has cycled over 500 miles. We're keeping track of his progress at home as you can see by the photo here.

I drove to Longtown yesterday to meet him - 3 miles short of the border - and treated him to one night in a B&B, with a real bed.

He seems in good spirits and is incredibly well organised; he spent almost an hour servicing his bike for the second half of the journey.

We ate in the Graham Arms last night, chatted, watched some TV, and slept well. Cooked breakfast (full English) today and James was off, later than usual, by 7:45am. Next time we meet will be the night before he finishes - we're going on ahead then to cheer him at the Finish line!

Set off 6th July, Monday morning at 8:00pm. Lands End deserted apart from three weeping women. Covered first few miles so quickly that my entourage wondered where I'd got to!

Eventually they drove by and I was alone on my first leg. My day went well (the entourage's Fiesta didn't though). Covered 65 miles - in the saddle 4.5 hrs - and pitched bivvy OK after a little difficulty.

Had nice meal in restaurant overlooking the sea at Par Sands. Early night as quite tired and aiming to set off early next day. Will twitter on and of as I cannot update this blog myself - this entry and photograph have been done by the family. Thanks to everyone who are supporting me - I know that sponsorhip is still coming in and I may even top £1000 ?!

And we're off (almost)

It has come up so fast but I feel as if I'm about ready to start this first journey of a lifetime (hopefully not the last!).

My bags are packed and I feel both mentally and physically ready for the trip, but can't wait to start and get on the road. I hope to get a website up and running on my return with a lot more detail than I can into my brief blogs, with full details of the route, kit and other bits involved in planning for the trip and the actual trip itself.

Anyhow I suppose its over and out until I return.

Oh and by the way the attached picture shows what I shall be sleeping in for the next two weeks, and trust me it is uber comfy.

Final preparation

With just under two weeks before I start I'm beginning to get butterflies in my stomach, but remain fairly confident. I have finally got all accommodation booked and all the creases ironed out in the route, however I feel I definitely haven't trained as much as I would have liked. I aim to complete a 40 mile or so ride tomorrow with all the kit to see how the bike handles, and then to get myself over to Nottingham for the weekend for an extended bike ride.

Sponsorship is going extremely well, currently standing at £447, and so I hope to hit my target of £500.

As Tom Petty once said "the waiting is the hardest part"

3 Weeks!

Yes my dears I really do only have around 3 weeks before I head off to Lands End to start this trip. I hope to complete a few training sessions after the weekend to test the kit and to get some miles into my legs, however I still suspect I've not really done enough training (hopefully the first few days will get my legs warmed up though!).

I had an interview with the local paper (Cambs Times) on Monday, which went really well. I ended up being interviewed by an old school friend, Vikki Speed, which also gave us a brief chance to catch up (The article can be found on http://tinyurl.com/n7nynt).

I should hopefully be able to provide some kit pictures in the next few weeks as well.

the day draws closer

So how have I been getting on I here you cry? (In all truth it's probably me that has been doing the metaphorical crying of late, but lets not get picky)

Well I've now booked all of the campsites, with one exception remaining in Scotland. On the gear front I have now assembled the majority of my gear, with the guys at Alpkit and Howies having been a great help with kitting me out (God knows how much I've spent but you pay for quality). I shall upload some images in the near future of the final kit list, which includes amongst other things my first goose down sleeping bag and accompanying bivvy bag.

I now have around £300 raised and aim to raise my target of £500 in the next few weeks.

Night all

latest sleeping arrangements

Well I've finally decided to use the classic tarp and bivvy setup rather than my modified bivvy tent design, this will save weight as I won't be carrying an additional pole. I just hope that the weather treats me well for my first endeavor in ultra light weight camping!

Sponsers?

Well..

Everything seems to be well underway. If you wish to show your support, please sponsor me below:

Training and kit

Well...

Just got back from Hunstanton (sea side resort) after a 74 mile round trip. This was my first extended trip of this sort and has taught me a lot. My knees are a bit sore, but apart from that I feel remarkably good! I definitely need to get my touring tyres soon as its is noticeable what effect my mtb tyres have on riding such a distance. I also have recently bought my bivvy bag and roll mat (alpkit.com) and shall be getting my sleeping bag in the next few weeks.

All seems to be going well but I'm still nervous about the trip itself, hopefully I'll be ready for it.

getting in gear!

Gutentag,

As usual it seems as if it has been a while since I wrote anything on here. This probably reflects my thoughts towards preparing for the trip - I have been drawing up kit lists, ordering additional bits and continuing with my daily cycle to work - but it seems a while since I did any 'proper' training (i.e. 40+ miles). Therefore I'm going to take advantage of the bank holiday weekend and get some extended riding done.

On the kit front I have also ordered a new lightweight roll mat from alpkit (wee airic), which I am very impressed with, and a merino polo shirt from howies which I intend to wear for the bulk of the trip. Alpkit sleeping bags should be available mid May so that will be the next bit to get.

I often find myself thinking whether I am up to this journey at all, however I feel that this is probably a fairly natural thing to ponder when completing this type of expedition. In fact it's often the most simple of life's little events that provide me with a much needed boost, such as this chap I saw pottering along on top of his penny farthing in Hyde park today. A few crazed people have completed LEJOG on a penny farthing, which fills me with hope for my trip.

To bed now.

Jimbi

So where are we at?

Well I've been home at my parents for well over a week now, taking some time out to relax and celebrate my birthday. However I've also used this time to finally get my arse in gear and sort out the rest of my LEJOG bits. I now have the maps finalised, and have found potential campsites for each night. It would still be nice to wild camp for a few nights, but at least if it goes tits up I have campsites to hand.

Looking at my proposed mileage for each day (average of about 68 miles) I'm pretty sure I'll be able to cover the distance but some of the longer days have me a little worried. Day 8 (Kirkby Lonsdale to Gretna) in particular is my longest day at 92 miles! This, I suspect, will be a rather long and tiresome day. I have however stepped up my training. Up until now the furthest I'd covered during a training session was about 20-25 miles, with my week off I have managed to complete a ride of 44 miles (Ely loop) and 48 miles (Wyton loop), and so should be well on the way to bringing my fitness levels up to where they should be.

On the equipment front I have just purchased my pannier rack which shall carry the bulk of my gear. This was an interesting experience in itself as I made the mistake of buying a rack without trying it first, only to find that my disc brakes weren't going to cooperate, and instead sat right in between the rack and the fixing point on the frame! Chaps at the bike shop were very helpful (probably thought I was a prat for not trying before I bought though) and exchanged the rack for a slightly more expensive one that seemed to do the job. (FYI "topeak disc tourer" 36 quid).

My sister got me the tarp I was after for my birthday, which weighs only 650g and will act as my house for the trip. After toying about with it in the garden for an afternoon I think I've designed a respectable shelter that should be able to accommodate me (see pics).

I have also ordered my bivvy bag (alpkit.com), which should be an interesting experience!

So I'm getting there slowly but surely and aim to do a dry run (!) with all my gear in May/June at some point to test it all and get a feel for carrying it all on the bike.

Oh, before I forget, if you know someone that would be willing to lend me a set of panniers for this trip I would greatly appreciate it, just drop me a line.

James

It's been a while!

Well it's been an awful long time since I last blogged on here, but I have got a lot done this month in preparation for the trip:

• I have drawn up maps on the OS website that follow the exact route I shall be following and provide a nice visual for those interested in the distance covered each day. The routes for each day have also been drawn onto a Driver's Atlas of Britain, and it is these that I shall use on the trip itself as my guide for each day.
• I have also began to bring together a kit list for the trip, and as I mentioned I am aiming to keep this very minimal, I will endeavor to upload the kit list in the near future.

However there is still a long way to go! I need to organise campsites for each night, and even though I plan to wild camp where possible it would still be useful to have a backup plan for each night. I also need to pick up the training significantly during the next few weeks and get some proper miles in.

Apologies for the briefness of this blog, I will provide a more in depth blog within the next few days.

the latest LEJOG bits

So the why?

The question I found asking myself was really "why not?", rather than "why?". This summer is potentially the last summer of its kind for me, a summer where I can do essentially what I want, when I want, with the only prerequisite being that I return to Uni in October. Determined not to sit at home for four months this challenge seems like the perfect reason to get outdoors and away from the hustle and bustle that is London. Don't get me wrong I love London, but often find people don't seem to take time out to look at the whole picture. Can you get a clearer picture than that given on a 1000 mile bike ride across Britain? Well there's only one way to find out!

Now for the how!

I shall be attempting this on my current bike, a hard-tail mountain bike (Kona Blast if you're interested), which although not the best vehicle to do the journey should be more than up to it after a few modifications. (i.e. Panniers, Touring tyres, bar ends etc). Accommodation is going to be in the form of a "tarp and bivvy bag", which as well as being extremely lightweight will be a new experience for me. I've always wanted to try this approach to camping but never got round to it, this trip seems like the opportune moment to try it out (although if I don't get on with it I could be in for a very uncomfortable two weeks!). I'm hoping to take the bare minimum for this trip, as I'm not the largest chap in the world and so can't physically carry a great deal and because I think less is more on this kind of trip. 

 

The journey begins..

So... where to begin?

I guess it all started about a year ago when I made the conscious decision to start biking to work, in a bid to save money for my final year at uni. Biking 5 miles to and from work (around 50 miles a week) for a few months built my fitness level up to a fairly reasonable level, and, in passing, I mentioned to my girlfriend (Maxine) that I would love to do an extended bike ride in the summer. This idea was then pushed to the back burner and all but forgotten about until Christmas, when....

Maxine bought me a book detailing a route from Lands End to John O Groats, and she agreed to assist me with planning and organising the trip. So we began discussing how I would go about it and for what reasons...

I think for my first blog this will do for tonight, but I shall continue tomorrow.

Jim