Hello All. Info on JOGLE

[michael3429]

Hello All,

Joined the site yesterday and spent around 6 hours going through alot of posts to gather infomation. But i still find myself with the same questions.

I'm an absolute virgin when doing any kind of distant cycling but i have set my mind on JOGLE in october. I'm in the Army and my squadron are doing it in July but because i am on operations at the moment i can't join them. And i'm not been selfish but it's something i want to do for myself and not for a group or charity.
I do take my daughter out on my bike(Basic mountain bike) and she sit's in her trailer and she loves it, but never really do major distance between 6-10 miles up to the airport and back

I find myself in the position all virgins are in. I don't really know where to start and i have seen on this site there are lot's of experienced riders who are happy to pass the knowledge on and help the needy(me)

The usual 10,000 questions what bike, what gear etc etc

The thing is i have set my budget to around £1000 for the whole trip this would be buying the bike and equipment. Even though i want to do it for myself i still don't know if i should do this supported or unsupported. I read alot about people carrying alot of equipment for camping etc Does that effect the type of bike i should be looking at. My friend has offered me a brand new Viking San marino 2010 for around £250 but can you sling much extra weight on these bikes
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/26051...ogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=pid26051

I don't want to break any world records or anything but i will be doing it in good time. I have a good fitness level but i will put in plenty of miles on the road before i take on the challange


Can i do it with a £1000 buget.
What bike should i be going for if doing it solo
what bike should i be going for if doing it supported
Should i do it solo or supported???


Apologies in advance for all the bone question. I know you get alot of them. But you help and advice will go along way

I don't know if this will be a one time thing or i will do lot's more after. All i know is i feel a bit empty this year and really want to achieve something personally. All the marathons are out of reach now. Which would of been last choice. What better to do than travel the length of britain on a bike...


Thanks in advance Mike

 

[Noel]

Hello Mike
First off, your last sentence is spot on - what could be better than to travel the length of Britain on a bike? I've done the trip twice unsupported since I retired and would love to do it again. Actually neither trip was the classic LEJOG route as I went a very long way round the Western Highlands the first time in 2004 and the second time in 2006 was from Dungeness to Durness, but the issues are much the same.

So, let's look at your options on a £1000 budget.
Supported, I'm sure you could do it on the Viking San Marino as your main gear would be in the support vehicle. I don't think you could hang much extra stuff on that bike though, so if you did it unsupported I think you would need to look at a different bike. You will need panniers, so I would be looking at a touring bike rather than what the Rutland ad. describes as a road racing bike.

With the San Marino, you might get a mate to go ahead to an agreed campsite and set up camp each day. You would probably be looking at at least another £200 for camping / cooking gear. Campsites are relatively cheap, but budget for £5 - £10 per night. Then you have fuel for the vehicle. Depending on your route and the MPG of the vehicle, this is something else you can work out and put into the budget. If you don't want to camp you would have to budget for B&B or hostels, but that would eat into the total, especially for two of you.

If you went unsupported you would need to look at something like £500 minimum for a new touring bike - look at the touring range from Edinburgh Bicycle for instance - but the are also usually plenty of decent secondhand tourers such as the classic Dawes Galaxy to choose from on eBay. If you travel fast enough (and so have less overnight stops) you could probably squeeze the budget to afford B&Bs or hostels. I'm an old git, so my rides take ages and would no doubt cost twice as much this way. On the other hand, if you wanted to camp unsupported you should do it for £1000 as long as you didn't spend too much in pubs each evening! Then, when you come to do your next epic ride, you will have the necessary gear already and can work to a lower budget in future.

Either way - go for it. You can definitely do it if you really want to and will treasure the memories forever. I'm definitely no expert but if you think I can be of any more help, feel free to send me a private message. Best of luck!

Noel

 

[mattlandells]

Hi Mike,

Can only recommend the trip - I did it last year and really enjoyed it.

The budgeting and kit decision part is possibly the hardest thing to organise for the trip. I'd go with Noel's advice above with regards to bikes - if you have the ability to be supported then that opens up your bike choice a little more, but for carrying luggage the touring bike really is the best choice.

I'm currently writing a series of guides and a review of a tourer if you want to take a look at http://sprocketmagazine.co.uk/?category_name=end-to-end

If there's anything else I can help with please give me a shout

Matt