2 older guys planning E2E

[taximan]

My pal and I are going to attempt the E2E in May, he is 68 and I am 74 and to be honest I am feeling a little apprehensive as May 1st draws near because I have never tackled anything like this before. we cycle regularly, usually around 20-30 mile trips in hilly terrain with occasional camping weekends thrown in. we have everything in place now regarding transport to the start and from the finish and have a full month set aside for the ride. We will be camping so we will be lugging along a fair bit of weight and our intention is to Start at Lizard rather than Lands end and to finish at Dunnot Head. We are not setting ourselves any targets as to distances per day and intend to try to simply enjoy the ride. We are keeping away from main roads as much as possible and intend using lots of unclassified roads, towpaths and Sustrans routes where possible. I would welcome any comments, advice, or words of caution etc.

 

[steveindenmark]

It sounds like you have it all planned out. You will soon get into the routine of it.
Remember its a bike ride and not a challenge. Enjoy it.

 

[OldShep]

You’ll be fine, age is no barrier. I’d try to increase my milage week on week until you set off. Keep riding hilly routes living Whitby you’ve no option Though taking a month over it you’ve no rush and it should be very enjoyable.
I did it last year taking 14 days. Enjoyed it immensely but thought it would be even better to take longer over it.

 

[snorri]

E2E is simply a series of day trips made to sound difficult by a load of hype..
Just a few thoughts.......
A little pre-tour stress/ worry is normal, that soon disappears when you are actualy on the road. Don't get involved in any charity fundraising associated with the trip, I knew one LEJoGer who found the associated stress to be more of a trial than the cycling. You might want to keep your intentions to yourselves or just a small number of relatives/friends, just surprise them all when you get home. Maybe consider B&Bs/hostels/hotels at some points along the route, camping sites might not be where you would want them or difficut to find, and a proper bed can be a pleasant change after camping for a few nights. Full on camping where you prepare all meals can mean carrying a heavier load, could you afford to eat out for one meal each day? It can be quite restful sitting down on a chair whilst waiting for a meal to be served.
Avoiding daily distance targets is good, but plan to have a few rest days.
Good Luck!

 

[furball]

It's normal to be apprehensive before embarking on something that's outside your usual comfort zone. Have faith you're going about it in a sensible manner.
Although Sustrans routes avoid main roads they also often deviate unnecessarily. I hesitate to suggest you post your planned route on here. The up side is that you get good advice from people who are familiar with the roads. The down side is your route gets changed completely.
However you do it, enjoy the experience.

 

[tom73]

Enjoy it you sound like you know what you are doing. Rest when you can and don't get too hung up on miles each day. Adding in a few BandB stays along the way sounds like a good idea the though of a good rest in a warm bed can be something to to keep you going along way. Luckily you've got some one to tag along with just can't get my mate into bikes sadly.

Have fun and enjoy yourself what ever happens.

 

[taximan]

E2E is simply a series of day trips made to sound difficult by a load of hype..
Just a few thoughts.......
A little pre-tour stress/ worry is normal, that soon disappears when you are actualy on the road. Don't get involved in any charity fundraising associated with the trip, I knew one LEJoGer who found the associated stress to be more of a trial than the cycling. You might want to keep your intentions to yourselves or just a small number of relatives/friends, just surprise them all when you get home. Maybe consider B&Bs/hostels/hotels at some points along the route, camping sites might not be where you would want them or difficut to find, and a proper bed can be a pleasant change after camping for a few nights. Full on camping where you prepare all meals can mean carrying a heavier load, could you afford to eat out for one meal each day? It can be quite restful sitting down on a chair whilst waiting for a meal to be served.
Avoiding daily distance targets is good, but plan to have a few rest days.
Good Luck!

Thanks for your thoughts Snorri. All the points you mentioned are things which we have already discussed and are taking into consideration. Our funds though, are somewhat limited, (we're both pensioners) hence the camping but we are budgeting for some comforts along the way.

 

[taximan]

Thanks for your input & support folks. Watch this space for a trip report sometime in June

 

[snorri]

hence the camping but we are budgeting for some comforts along the way.

Sounds good!

 

[MikeG]

You don't say whether you have done back-to-back days of cycling yet. This is important, but you've loads of time.

The maths is this. It's 1000 miles ish from one end to the other. You've got a month......so that's 30 to 35 miles a day, approx. So by mid-April you should be riding 25 or 30 miles 2 or 3 days in a row comfortably....which isn't a big step up from what you are doing at the moment. Make sure you do some or most of your practise miles laden down with your panniers packed.

I am sure you also know that the first 100 miles are the hardest on the whole trip. There is no flat route through Devon and Cornwall! Basically if you can get to Tiverton OK you'll get to J O'G. So be prepared to take your time through the south west, and if that means just 20 miles a day, don't worry about it. There are loads of flat bits to come where you'll double your mileage without noticing.

As an aside, I'm pretty confident that if you started a Go-Fund-Me page that you'd get enough donations that you could stay in half a dozen more B&Bs than you are presently planning. Nobody can resist a couple of old farts having a go at something like this!!

 

[Milkfloat]

Personally I find the sustrans map a great resource - it tells me exactly where not to try and ride!

 

[Ajax Bay]

. . E2E in May, . . . have a full month set aside for the ride. . . . our intention is to Start at Lizard rather than Lands end and to finish at Dunnot Head. . . . We are keeping away from main roads as much as possible and intend using lots of unclassified roads, towpaths and Sustrans routes where possible. I would welcome any comments, advice, or words of caution etc.

Best of luck. Given the riding you're already doing I think you'll find that you surpass your expectations for how much you can ride each day, if you want to. You may wish to (plan to) ride longer on some days, for example where the scenery is urban (eg Runcorn to Preston, Hamilton/Glasgow/Dumbarton).
Some route framework advice: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/lejog-or-jogle-east-or-west-coast-routes.233566/
Notwithstanding your Lizard Point to Dunnet Head termini, I'd recommend you start at Land's End and finish at JoG (though yours is no less an end-to-end) to tick both boxes. LE to the Lizard (there's a YH there) is a day's ride (with your schedule) and Dunnet Head to JoG is 15 miles. Or start at the Lizard and go via LE! I found the (non YHA hostel at Trevescan excellent: http://www.landsendholidays.co.uk/
As far as off-road routes are concerned these are the south west routes I'd try to weave in (and I have cycled all these routes several times (each) on a road bike (28mm tyres):
If you go north from Hayle and along the coast road to Portreath (YH just south of Portreath in Illogan) you can take the cycle path to Scorrier.
Well worth getting up to Padstow and then taking the Camel Trail SE through Wadebridge to Bodmin (NW edge) and then turn NE up the Camel valley heading for Davidstow before going north of Bodmin Moor.
Across on the edge of Dartmoor, the Granite Way goes over the Meldon viaduct and terminates above Okehampton.
If you stay north (NE from Davidstow, though, then head towards Great Torrington and turn north onto the Tarka Trail which heads north to Bideford and round to Barnstaple - all well surfaced old railway track. It goes on up to Braunton so you can do the north Devon coast (there's a short stretch of old railway track dropping down in Ilfracombe). If you do go north of Exmoor then take the toll road down into Porlock (excellent surface and virtually no traffic (£1)).
Otherwise Exmoor offers hills after Barnstaple, if so desired. Otherwise good roads to Bampton or Tiverton.)
The Grand Western canal towpath runs from Tiverton most of the way to Wellington.
Going through Taunton you can pick up the canal tow path and minor roads (which is an NCN route) - taking you through to the pinch point called Bridgwater.
The Strawberry Line is a mostly off-road cycle path from the gap in the Mendips just N of Axbridge, and takes you all the way to Yatton. From there there's an excellent NCN link (26 then 410) to the Avon Bridge and beyond.
Once over the Avon Bridge I'd avoid the ghastly NCN route through industrial/commercial Avonmouth but head up to Blaise castle and then NW down through Hallen and back roads to the Severn Bridge.
There's a cycle path on both sides of the Severn Bridge.
Reaching well beyond the South West, if you go through Fort William and up the Great Glen then the towpath fro Corpach to Gairlochy is excellent, followed by a climb up to the Commando memorial above Spean Bridge (with Ben Nevis resplendent in the sunset (end Day 7).

I thought that the Scottish Islands were worth visiting and crossed to Arran from Ardrossan, then ferry from Lochranza (YH) to Kintyre, and then across to Mull from Oban and back onto the mainland (Fishnish/Lochaline). If I'd had another half day I'd have gone on to Tobermory (YH), across to Kilchoan and taken in Ardnamurchan Point (the most westerly point of the British mainland). Beyond my timeframe also was to head for Mallaig and the ferry to Skye.
One bit of advice which may be obvious to you is that when you choose where to stop, bear in mind that you'll want to eat. If you're carrying (the weight of) cooking stuff, fine but otherwise it's good to have somewhere (warm) to eat (heartily) close by. If that's impractical then an early evening fish and chip stop, before finishing that day's ride will fuel you for the next day (and the pints in the pub).
Given that you're riding in May, let me share this link to an authoritative paper on prevailing winds.
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wea.301
"The main conclusion to be drawn is that in
Britain, northeasterly winds are at least as
common in spring as southwesterly winds,
and in some years are considerably more so.
Furthermore those years with a low frequency
of northeasterly winds in May are slightly
more likely to precede a warmer summer
than usual."

 

[taximan]

You don't say whether you have done back-to-back days of cycling yet. This is important, but you've loads of time.

The maths is this. It's 1000 miles ish from one end to the other. You've got a month......so that's 30 to 35 miles a day, approx. So by mid-April you should be riding 25 or 30 miles 2 or 3 days in a row comfortably....which isn't a big step up from what you are doing at the moment. Make sure you do some or most of your practise miles laden down with your panniers packed.

I am sure you also know that the first 100 miles are the hardest on the whole trip. There is no flat route through Devon and Cornwall! Basically if you can get to Tiverton OK you'll get to J O'G. So be prepared to take your time through the south west, and if that means just 20 miles a day, don't worry about it. There are loads of flat bits to come where you'll double your mileage without noticing.

As an aside, I'm pretty confident that if you started a Go-Fund-Me page that you'd get enough donations that you could stay in half a dozen more B&Bs than you are presently planning. Nobody can resist a couple of old farts having a go at something like this!!

Thanks for your input Mike G. We do occasionally ride back to back as you suggest, and as for the hilly South West, I think we have a good training ground for it right on our doorsteps with the North Yorks Moors. Its a nice idea to ask for donations but I think I will pass on that.

 

[taximan]

Personally I find the sustrans map a great resource - it tells me exactly where not to try and ride!

I know what you mean about the sustrans routes, what we are doing is only using sections which run close to our general route and ignoring the meandering sections where possible.

 

[taximan]

Best of luck. Given the riding you're already doing I think you'll find that you surpass your expectations for how much you can ride each day, if you want to. You may wish to (plan to) ride longer on some days, for example where the scenery is urban (eg Runcorn to Preston, Hamilton/Glasgow/Dumbarton).
Some route framework advice: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/lejog-or-jogle-east-or-west-coast-routes.233566/
Notwithstanding your Lizard Point to Dunnet Head termini, I'd recommend you start at Land's End and finish at JoG (though yours is no less an end-to-end) to tick both boxes. LE to the Lizard (there's a YH there) is a day's ride (with your schedule) and Dunnet Head to JoG is 15 miles. Or start at the Lizard and go via LE! I found the (non YHA hostel at Trevescan excellent: http://www.landsendholidays.co.uk/
As far as off-road routes are concerned these are the south west routes I'd try to weave in (and I have cycled all these routes several times (each) on a road bike (28mm tyres):
If you go north from Hayle and along the coast road to Portreath (YH just south of Portreath in Illogan) you can take the cycle path to Scorrier.
Well worth getting up to Padstow and then taking the Camel Trail SE through Wadebridge to Bodmin (NW edge) and then turn NE up the Camel valley heading for Davidstow before going north of Bodmin Moor.
Across on the edge of Dartmoor, the Granite Way goes over the Meldon viaduct and terminates above Okehampton.
If you stay north (NE from Davidstow, though, then head towards Great Torrington and turn north onto the Tarka Trail which heads north to Bideford and round to Barnstaple - all well surfaced old railway track. It goes on up to Braunton so you can do the north Devon coast (there's a short stretch of old railway track dropping down in Ilfracombe). If you do go north of Exmoor then take the toll road down into Porlock (excellent surface and virtually no traffic (£1)).
Otherwise Exmoor offers hills after Barnstaple, if so desired. Otherwise good roads to Bampton or Tiverton.)
The Grand Western canal towpath runs from Tiverton most of the way to Wellington.
Going through Taunton you can pick up the canal tow path and minor roads (which is an NCN route) - taking you through to the pinch point called Bridgwater.
The Strawberry Line is a mostly off-road cycle path from the gap in the Mendips just N of Axbridge, and takes you all the way to Yatton. From there there's an excellent NCN link (26 then 410) to the Avon Bridge and beyond.
Once over the Avon Bridge I'd avoid the ghastly NCN route through industrial/commercial Avonmouth but head up to Blaise castle and then NW down through Hallen and back roads to the Severn Bridge.
There's a cycle path on both sides of the Severn Bridge.
Reaching well beyond the South West, if you go through Fort William and up the Great Glen then the towpath fro Corpach to Gairlochy is excellent, followed by a climb up to the Commando memorial above Spean Bridge (with Ben Nevis resplendent in the sunset (end Day 7). View attachment 449634
I thought that the Scottish Islands were worth visiting and crossed to Arran from Ardrossan, then ferry from Lochranza (YH) to Kintyre, and then across to Mull from Oban and back onto the mainland (Fishnish/Lochaline). If I'd had another half day I'd have gone on to Tobermory (YH), across to Kilchoan and taken in Ardnamurchan Point (the most westerly point of the British mainland). Beyond my timeframe also was to head for Mallaig and the ferry to Skye.
One bit of advice which may be obvious to you is that when you choose where to stop, bear in mind that you'll want to eat. If you're carrying (the weight of) cooking stuff, fine but otherwise it's good to have somewhere (warm) to eat (heartily) close by. If that's impractical then an early evening fish and chip stop, before finishing that day's ride will fuel you for the next day (and the pints in the pub).
Given that you're riding in May, let me share this link to an authoritative paper on prevailing winds.
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wea.301
"The main conclusion to be drawn is that in
Britain, northeasterly winds are at least as
common in spring as southwesterly winds,
and in some years are considerably more so.
Furthermore those years with a low frequency
of northeasterly winds in May are slightly
more likely to precede a warmer summer
than usual."

Lots to think about there Ajax Bay. Many thanks for taking the time to type it out. and providing the links which I am sure I will find useful. We have almost settled our rout and it takes in some of the sections you mentioned.