LEJOG – Lands End to John O’ Groats Cycle Challenge
" I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits the bottom". - General George Patton
On Sunday, April 9th 2011 I embarked on the famous "End to End" cycle ride, or, more commonly known as LEJOG setting off from Lands End and cycling to John O' Groats, the plan to arrive on Saturday 23rd April. The reason? Well, there are a few:
Personal challenge - I'm a novice cyclist and have not really been in the saddle seriously until a few months ago. As with all things I take on, I need an end goal and LEJOG provides me with a serious challenge to meet.
Doing it for Charity - To raise funds for Cancer Research UK. I set up a personal charity page through Just Giving, click here to take a look....
This blog is to provide any former or prospective LEJOG cyclists to provide a diary of events and a day to day log of what I encountered including flat tyres, fry-ups, lucozade, Haribos, sore backside, Runcorn, Slaidburn and other picturesque Northern landmarks...
Below is an outline of the epic venture amd how the LEJOG cycle route will be planned:
Day 1: Land's End to Fowey: 64 miles
Day 2: Fowey to Moretonhampstead: 60 miles
Day 3: Mortonhampstead to Glastonbury: 74 miles
Day 4: Glastonbury to Monmouth: 65 miles
Day 5: Monmouth to Clun: 57 miles
Day 6: Clun to Runcorn: 80 miles
Day 7: Runcorn to Slaidburn: 64 miles
Day 8: Slaidburn to Keswick: 75 miles
Day 9: Keswick to Moffat: 72 miles
Day 10: Moffat to Loch Lomond: 83 miles
Day 11: Loch Lomond to Glencoe: 66 miles
Day 12: Glencoe to Inverness: 83 miles
Day 13: Inverness to The Crask: 66 miles
Day 14: The Crask to John O' Groats: 82 miles
So it's a 14 day cycle route across the UK following as much of the national cycle networks as possible and cycling away from the major highways.
I hope you enjoy this diary of events from my LEJOG cycle and feel free to post and add comments, I will do my best to reply.
Pleased to also include my personal diary made an entry on this website - 1000 mile Charity Cycle Ride in the UK
Thanks for reading!
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you’ve found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon’s LEJOG blog
LEJOG Training Plan
To plan for my LEJOG 14 day cycle route, It was important to lay out a specially defined LEJOG training plan. Not that I was an expert in cycling, but knew that if I was to stand any chance of completing the 14 day cycle and completing the 1000 miles, a cycle training plan was needed.
The LEJOG cycle route we were to follow, organised by Peak Tours, was to follow the National Cycle networks (NCN's) of the UK, this was ideal as it meant we were to give the major A roads a cold shoulder and stay away from traffic. On the downside, following the NCN route meant lots of hills so it was essential to get a good number of miles completed in the run-up.
Our LEJOG was in April and I began to seriously train for this from January starting by cycling to work Monday - Friday which was an 8 mile round trip and then at weekends using this as a time to get in a longer cycle. I've provided a LEJOG training plan below which I hope you'll find useful that I used over 3 months
Month 1 Training:
*Monday-Friday = 8 miles a day
*Weekend - One 20 mile cycle
Total miles per week = 60 miles a week
Month 2 Training:
First 2 weeks of month 2:
*Monday - Friday = 8 miles a day
*Weekends: One 40 mile cycle
Total miles for first 2 weeks: 160 miles
Final 2 weeks of month 2:
*Monday - Friday = 8 miles a day
*Weekends: One 40 mile cycle & One 10 mile cycle over the two days
Total miles for final 2 weeks of month 2: 180 miles
Month 3 Training:
First 3 weeks:
*Monday - Friday = 8 miles a day
*Weekends: Look to increase your miles by pushing for one 40 to 60 to 80 miles each of the 3 weekends in one day. Then use the following day to complete 10-15 miles
It is important to use the weekends to fit in 2 cycles, ideally a long and shorter cycle ride so your body (and backside!) begins to adapt to the daily grind of what it yet to come. Dont worry too much about the time it takes you to complete the daily miles, it is more important you are completing the route.
Final week: Ensure you take a break before the final run-up to LEJOG. It's important you take a rest and to give your body time to adapt and recuperate. The above training put me in a great position and would definitely advise cyclists to at least get some degree of training completed as cycling through Devon and Cornwall on the first two days of LEJOG will test everyone out...
Good luck and feel free to get in touch if you need, feel free to take a look at my 14 day LEJOG diary
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 14 – Altnaharra to John O Groats
Day 14 - Altnaharra to John O Groats - 82 miles (less 6 miles!)
And so we came to the final morning of our end to end route... After 13 days of 6.30 am starts, 13 days of fry-ups, 13 days of applying ointments to eradicate saddle sore (enough said), 13 days of early morning briefs conducted very professionally by Nick and 13 days of luxury packed lunches provided by Steve we were within distance of the finishing post...it was just about completing the final 76 miles of our LEJOG cycle route, easier said than done.
Due to staying in Altnaharra the previous evening, it meant a few of us had 6 miles less to complete so we took advantage of this by taking in a full Scottish fry-up. And so began the final morning ride in what was to be the only day that it rained throughout the end to end tour.
Leaving Altnaharra we meandered through the Scottish highlands and 20 miles later, we hit the coastline and were in sight of the Atlantic Ocean as we arrived into Bettyhill, a small seaside village where we stopped for an early lunch.
It was not long after breakfast so I took this opportunity to stock up on extra supplies of chocolate and sweets and into my pockets as they were sure to come in handy as the afternoon progressed.
We had not encountered any serious hills as yet, and Nick's meticulous planning was not to let us (him?) down as we started to climb out of Bettyhill, following the coastline and onwards to the final destination, John O Groats.
Cue the rain..and wind..The Scottish weather unleashed all it could as we battled the headwinds and rain, it was as if all the foul weather had been saved up during the past 13 days and released in one swoop.
Climbing a(nother) hill
The final 30 miles seemed to last forever and it was at this point it began to dawn on me what I had actually achieved and that the weeks of training, planning and eating a (relatively) healthy diet had paid off - Would I really be coming to the end of this end to end challenge?! Just to add to my strict dietary requirements, Chris, Mark and I stopped off in the town of Thurso and decided to sample the local fare of a deep fried mars bar from a local Fish 'n' Chip shop. Energy food at its best!
A mars a day....
I would like to go on record to say that the deep fried Mars Bar was the reason those final 15 miles went past in a flash, the taste was delicious but I don't think I'd opt for another for a while...although if Mars are looking for a sponsor - email address is available through this blog.
And then the holy grail was in sight, John O Groats.. Signposts began to populate the side of the roads and it was then that you were on auto-pilot. Before arriving at John O Groats, we all decided to re-group at the village of Mey, which was around 7 miles from the end. We planned to meet up at the local pub, the Castle Arms where, soaking wet through, cups of tea and coffee were the order of the day rather than a swift pint...
We then all re-grouped and for the final time onto the saddles, and as one, made the final cycle to John O Groats finish line - we had done it! Cue the champagne corks in the wind & rain and high fives all around.....LEJOG was done
Done it..
LEJOG 2011
Amazingly, I encountered zero punctures and even more amazingly, I didn't even pump my tyres up over the course of the 14 days.
To anyone planning an end to end - Go for it, achieve a personal goal, you will not regret it. Hopefully this is the start of me achieving a few more goals and dreams and realising we all have the ability when you put your mind to it.
My journey raised money for Cancer Research and feel free to visit my sponsors page at: www.justgiving.com/swan-simon
The words of American General George Patton provide a nice summary to the cycle when he said: "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom" - It was a challenge, but I am so pleased I had the determination to achieve taking it day by day.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 13 – Inverness to Altnaharra
Day 13: Inverness - Altnaharra – 66 Miles
Bleary eyed from the previous day's LEJOG cycling, the morning saw us navigate through the city of Inverness as we followed Nick and over the Kessock bridge which is where we joined up with the national cycle network.
The cycle network continues to follow the main A9 out of Inverness and then lead us back out into countryside and quiet country lanes leading onto Conan Bridge and Dingwall. After a quick brew we began to ascend the "Struie" which provided fantastic scenery overlooking Dornoch Firth.
We continued downhill (yeah!) and entered Sutherland, the historic administrative county of Scotland.
The next unplanned stop was 5 miles later at Bonar Bridge where, after passing a couple walking their dog, the dog decided to take a fancy to Peter's tyres and began to chase us along the road...Shouts from the owner alerted us to stop and we managed to retrieve their pet from harm, our good deed done for the day. It was also another excuse to take a breather and open up another handy pack of haribos (are you looking for a sponsor?)
The afternoon cycling was to venture into the remotest parts of Scotland in the blazing heat and towards our final destination, Altnaharra. For 20 miles we encountered no traffic let alone people, a perfect time to enjoy some LEJOG cycling without interruption.
Before arriving at Altnaharra, we cycled through Crask which consists of the remotest pub in the UK, the aptly named, Crask Inn which is where most of the group would be staying. The Crask Inn boasted its own generator, boarding house and was managed by a friendly couple who provided a 3 course home cooked meal which included a hearty bowl of soup, Venison and various cheeses - you could not ask for more although I still found space for a Mars Bar and a few bags of haribos.
I was joined by my wife, Oonagh who had travelled up from Bristol and we stayed at the only B&B in the village of Altnaharra, a further 6 miles from the Crask. As Altnaharra is one of the main routes for cyclists who do LEJOG, they take bookings 8 months in advance. It was interesting to hear stories of cyclists who begin their LEJOG tour, get to Bristol train station and decide they can't continue and so have to call the Altnaharra B&B to cancel their booking!
So with one day to go, it was another early sleep
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 12 – Glencoe to Inverness
Day 12: Glencoe to Inverness – 83 Miles
Today's LEJOG was a day of punctures, punctures and more punctures - little did we know what was to arise as we set off from Glencoe YHA.
Yet another first class brief was performed by LEJOG veteran Nick, who informed us of what the day had to offer in terms of the many panoramic views and also that we would be encountering the hill of all hills - General Wade - It was enough to make a grown man cry - but enough for now...
We followed the A82 out of Glencoe and through some fantastic woodland, heading for Fort William which was to be our first stop and the stop which was to prove decisive for a number of the group as we were offered two options:
Road bike route - A faster alternative where you remain on the A82 which leads through to Spean bridge and to the summit of a hill where we planned to meet the support vehicle for a brew at the Commando Memorial
or, alternatively....
Hybrid & touring Bike route - Summed up as "Spectacular but slower route following the A380 and through stunning Scottish landscapes"
As I was on my trusty racing bike I decided to keep on the busy A82 and also, I was quickly learning that Scottish landscapes meant one thing...hills! so myself, Peter and Jim remained on the A82 but the majority took the scenic route and suffered punctures galore!....I had also learnt that if the Scottish A roads were to offer us cyclists a surface of loose chippings, broken glass and potholes, it was not going to be a good option to go via a "hybrid & touring bike" route.
So the three of us set off and met up with Steve at the Commando Memorial for a quick brew
The Memorial is dedicated to the soldiers of the Commando forces that trained within the area of Spean Bridge during World War II.
We continued along the A82 and into Fort Augustus where we stopped for lunch and met up with the Peak Tours van and Steve, which, is where we received the final brief on what was to come directly after lunch....General Wade's Military road -
We did though have two choices, either the tackle the Military road or venture on the A82, however the A82 does attract very fast moving traffic as well as haulage lorries - looking back, I would have happily gone head to head with a Volvo or Scania lorry rather than General Wade's hill...but it was too late.
So the 3 of us decided that it was the scenic LEJOG cycle route courtesy of General Wade and so we began the climb, cycling out of Fort Augustus, to quote Nick from our route guide: "You will have a very steep climb out of Fort Augustus as the road ascends 33 metres above sea level to 393 metres....however the speactular scenery and lack of heavy traffic makes this a hugely rewarding climb".....Ummmmmm
Half way up and Peter and I stopped for a (heavy) breather and took advantage of a photo opportunity whilst Jim pushed on by himself looking to put in some type of Tour De France time!
We continued and climbed to the top where we caught up with Jim, who had already radio'd in his time back to the Peak Tours van.
What goes up must come down, and we were rewarded with a fantastic descent through the villages of Whitebridge, Errogie and Torness as we joined General Wade's military hill once again. It was here the weather changed for the worse and we began to cycle into the wind and rain and it was here a barrage of expletives began to fill the Scottish air - apologies to General Wade.
And then we were finally into the city of Inverness, a full 9 hours after we left Glencoe. Scotland was proving to be hard cycling and we were all pleased to be in sight of our accomodation for the evening.
Darkness began to fall as the last of our group arrived at the B&B's we were stating at and we all met up for the evening to treat ourselves to big portions of pie and chips washed down with a few beers. It was then an early night
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 11: Loch Lomond to Glencoe
Day 11: Loch Lomond to Glencoe – 66 Miles
We all re-grouped for our morning LEJOG briefing at Loch Lomond YHA and after final adjustments to bikes and riders, we set off along the busy A82 as we followed the early morning commuter traffic. After a few miles we then joined up with a cycle route which follows the banks of Loch Lomond over a 10 mile stretch and led us through to Tarbet.
We were then back onto the busy A82 as we followed this road through Ardlui and Crianlarich where the roads began to "gently" ascend and were soon cycling into Tyndrum, where we met up with Steve and the Peak Tours van for a brief LEJOG lunch at the "Real Food Cafe" , which serves award winning Chips and a few of the group thought it was the perfect opportunity to load up on the carbs for the afternoon's riding, this is definitely a good idea for any LEJOG cyclists out there. It's perfect stop before the hills await you!
After yet another superb lunch, we were off continuing along the A82 as the road began to ascend over 5 miles and led us to the start of the Highlands, "The outdoor capital of the UK"
The Highlands proved to be one of the most scenic routes as we cycled past mountainous regions and rocky pathways. In some ways, very similar to Dartmoor. It has to be said that we were very fortunate with the weather as this can prove to be very inconsistent. After 10 miles, the road led us through to the Glencoe YHA and after arriving, was handed a parcel from reception, my wife had sent up by post a package containing home-made cookies...which I reluctantly shared with the rest of the group... 
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 10: Moffat to Loch Lomond
Day 10: Moffat to Loch Lomond – 83 Miles
Another glorious LEJOG morning met us as we all met up at the accomodation for the morning briefing where we were informed that there were 2 options we could take for today's LEJOG cycle route:
Option 1 - Hilly route - which involved an ascent of 2.5 miles where spectacular views of the of Black Hope awaited and then rejoining the national cycle network (NCN)
or
Option 2 - Flat route - retracing the route we arrived into Moffat from the previous day which eventually joins up with the NCN...
No prizes for guessing which route we decided.....the hilly route! After the democratic vote, we were off and started the climb which led us into woodland that marked the summit and then began a sharp descent. At this point, one of our group, Fenno, took the initiative to attach his camera to his cycle bars and record himself (by video) as he descended down the said hill..not sure what the top mph was but he could not be too far off breaking a record!
We then followed signs for the NCN 74 cycling through Abingdon, Coalburn and Lanark and eventually we took a break at Larkhall where we stocked up on a few snacks at the local shop and a few photo opportunities.
The morning LEJOG cycle was one of the toughest to date, mainly due to the poor surface of the roads and the ever growing number of potholes that seem to litter the Scottish roads as we ventured towards Glasgow. Time and again, we took short breaks and I was pleased to have attached a Gel seat to my saddle as my backside was really feeling the pain.
A plea to the Scottish Highways Agency: please please please sort out your road surfaces for us LEJOG cyclists!
Continuing out of Lanark on the A72, we then saw the Peak tours bus just past the the Chatelherault country park and this is where we took lunch, we were half way through the day and my legs (and backside) were really feeling the pain.
For the majority of the afternoon, it was going to be urban cycling as we headed off in one group towards the city Glasgow. I had never been to the city and was amazed at how sprawling it actually is, taking us at least a few hours to cycle through (granted, we did get lost once).
After some photos of Parkhead, Celtic's football ground, we then met up with the rest of the group along the cycle network which leads you through the city centre following the River Clyde and the "Armadillo" building and finally out into the countryside. There was enough time for John, to scale Bankie's Bike, a huge sculpture dedicated to cyclists that was situated along the cycle path
A final 20 miles lay ahead and this was mainly flat terrain passing through the outskirts of Glasgow heading towards Dumbarton and finally onto the stunning setting of Loch Lomond and the YHA
The hostel served up a fantastic 3 course meal for us comprising soup, sausage and mash and apple pie..and after a good 10 hours on the bike it was time for an early night. Today was by far the hardest to date.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 9: Keswick to Moffat
Day 9: Keswick to Moffat – 77 Miles
The Keswick YHA provided us with first class facilities allowing us to do a much needed "bulk" clothes wash and feeding us a full english LEJOG breakfast, ready for us to tackle Day 9, where we would be finally leaving England and cycling into Scotland.
The accident John endured on Day 8, had meant he was a few miles short of completing yesterday's cycle, so he was back into his saddle before the rest of us just to get those miles completed and then we all met at the Keswick war memorial, ready for the briefing from Nick.
We then set off heading towards Carlisle, following the B5299 and into Dalston where a few of us decided to take a short break and pop in for a cuppa at a local cafe. Carlisle was the the only city we would arrive at today and it required a lot of navigation to follow the ever changing network of roads as we passed Carlisle Castle, near to the ruins of Hadrian's Wall which was built by William II of England. Due to the proximity of the England/Scotland border, has endured many wars and invasions.
Soon after leaving Carlisle we had arrived at the English/Scottish border and a perfect time for photo opportunities and phone calls home to confirm that indeed, after just over 8 days solid cycling, we were about to leave England and head into Scotland..
Shortly after the border crossing, we arrived into Gretna Green and met up with Steve and the Peak Tours support vehicle for lunch, opposite Gretna Green, Old Smithy
It was then a straight road from Grena Green to our destination, Moffat following the B7076 most of the way as it passed Kirkpatrick Fleming and Lockerbie. The LEJOG route was hard work as this was a bumpy, pot hole filled road which was particuarly painful to your backside, but we were pleased to arrive in Moffat and this time, it was a Bed & Breakfast. That evening, we all met up to visit a local pub and as you do when in Scotland, sample some fine haggis.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you've found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon's LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 8: Slaidburn to Keswick
Day 8: Slaidburn to Keswick - 75 Miles
We are halfway through LEJOG! which was reason enough to celebrate..I spoke to a few cyclists who have completed LEJOG and there seemed to be a consistent message that it is best to tackle each day as it comes, however Day 8, according to the route notes, was to be"one of the hardest days of the whole adventure"...This was going to be a real test.
Mark returned to meet the rest of us at the YHA and due to the mileage to complete for the day, we decided to head off slightly earlier whilst the other part of our group (Non YHA group) tucked into their fry-up's at the nearby pub, The Hark to Bounty.
Nick's morning briefing provided us with a general overview of what the day's challenges were to be and after some group photos, and final adjustments to our bikes we set off, and straight away, began to tackle a steep ascent out of Slaidburn.
We were rewarded with stunning views after a gradual 20 minute climb, as we re-grouped at the summit to open up the first chocolate of the day, I found Mars bars to be a great way to start the day, followed by bagful of Haribos. One thing was for certain, I loved my LEJOG diet of chocolate, sweets and ice-creams, and so did the dentist...
David from the group had done some homework and had converted our LEJOG route notes onto his GPS and was happy to show anyone how many hills were coming up on the route. Personally I went in naively as I just didn't want to hear what was in store.
We ventured on and were soon to encounter another ascent lasting around 2 miles, which at the summit, was marked by a large bolder with a shallow hole, otherwise known as the Cross of Greet. Or to cyclists, otherwise known as "The Cross of Grief".
This curious bolder marked the highest point along the road from Slaidburn to Tatham Falls, which is 427 metres above sea level. It also marked the county boundary with Yorkshire's West Riding until this area became part of Lancashire.
From here, it there was a descent (hurrah!) as we followed the B6480 for Lancaster and then onto the national cycle networks which led us through Hornby, Gressingham, Burton in Kendal, Kendal and eventually the scenic Lake Windermere. We were now 20 miles from Keswick and it was time for a quick stop as we made our way around the lake.
We continued along the A591 and word went around that Grasmere, the next town along our route would be a good place to stop due its famous production of gingerbread, so we took a minor detour and headed for the famous Grasmere Gingerbread shop. Unfortunately, my gingerbread didn't make the journey home with me as I found it too tempting to resist and helped pile on the pounds.
News broke around the group that John, had fallen from his bike back at Lake Windermere which was a worry to us all. Steve and the Peak Tours van made a dash to John and rush him to the local A&E for a check-up.
We ventured on, enjoying the fantastic views of the Lake District, but at the same time hoping John was ok and that he could continue with the ride. As we began a descent, we left the busy A591 and picked up a cycle network which led you away from the busy roads and through woodland whist enjoying the scenic views of Lake Thirlmere.
Keswick, our destination for the evening, was 5 miles to go and it could not come soon enough as the sun continued to beat down on us. The final 5 miles seemed to last forever as we rejoined the A591 and the busy weekend traffic.
News broke that John, had been given the all clear and, to show true grit, he was determined to set off form where he fell from his bike! Hats off to him - a true legend!
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you’ve found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon’s LEJOG blog
LEJOG – Day 7: Runcorn to Slaidburn
Day 7: Runcorn to Slaidburn - 70 Miles
Day 7 and our LEJOG route today saw us tackle a lot of urban cycling as we encountered the delights of North West England. First off Warrington and then onto Leigh and Bolton. Cycling through the towns posed a challenge to the navigation, so it was no surprise that I decided to follow the others as they negotiated the lefts, rights, turnarounds etc.
The next sprawing metropolis, was Blackburn, I can't say I know too much about Blackburn apart from their successful football club and there wasn't much to see or do in the city, but a few of us did stop off at a bike shop to stock up on a few inner tubes and some health drinks - we were reliably informed by LEJOG veteran Nick that the route onto Slaidburn was to become a lot more scenic and that meant only one thing...more hills
And indeed it was...so before tackling the first of many it was time for an Ice cream, we stopped at what seemed a cottage and had been extended to provide an ice cream parlour and had a pleasant chat with the residents about our travels so far and what we were about to encounter on the way to Slaidburn.
On we went and on went the hills, as they led us into Slaidburn and where we stopped for the night as the YHA in the village for a well earned rest, Day 7 of LEJOG was complete!
Mark met his wife for the evening and decided to spend the night away from us and back to the luxury of his own home not too far away. I saw this as an opportunity to bundle in some of my washing into Mark's bag but was caught out!
We all met up at the local pub, the Hark to Bounty which, by a country mile, laid on the best meal we had on the whole trip.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my LEJOG Blog. I hope you’ve found it interesting and feel free to post your thoughts and comments. Once again, thank you for visiting Simon’s LEJOG blog