JOGLE May/June over 10 Days

[trousers82]

Hello All, (First time on a forum this is all new to me..)
I am not crazy contrary to friends and family members opinion. Does anyone have any advice / recommendations or even fancy participating?
My story.... me and my friend planned to do the JOGLE at the 23rd May(Can move the date back to end of may/june) I booked both our trains after double checking he wanted to do it to which he was well keen but after plans got more serious he went quiet, I questioned his commitment, he then dropped the bomb he was no longer able to do it for various reasons i wont bore you with. I thought about this for a while and was gutted but decided this wasn't gonna stop me.

The details and plans i have already - Booked the sleeper train leaving London Euston 23/05(this is changeable) and need to do it in 10 days because of work, my route is Thurso Rail Station - John O’Groats - Helmsdale > Drumnadrochit > Oban > Glasgow > Carlisle > Preston > Bridgnorth > Bristol > Okehampton > Lands End.

How does this sound? am i crazy? can i do it on my own? any advice? any route changes? hotel/hostel recommendations... any advice is good advice.

Hope you can help.

Dan

 

[barneybear]

I did lejog in 2011 unsupported in 9 days, 1.5hrs and loved every minute.
I have a site www.nigelend2end.co.uk which might have a lot of useful hints on - if there's anything else I can help with then feel free to drop me a line.
Contributing on forums like this might get you a cycling buddy for a day or 2 (it did for me).
I registered my ride on http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk/ and was contacted by a few options of buddies.
If you have a detailed route then drop me a line and I'm more than happy to discuss its merits.
Good luck - you'll love it

 

[Andy2484]

Hi Dan,

I am doing the LEJOG Aug 10th over 7 days unsupported and also hoping to find one or two people to join me.

Some things I have considered in preparation are (apologies if you have already covered these):

Am I capable of 140 miles/day? To find this out, I have been riding regularly and last weekend did a double coast to coast (Whitehaven to Tynemouth) and back over 2 days. Legs felt pretty good and more hills than a typical day on LEJOG.

Which way? I chose lEJOG due to the probable SW wind. Nothing more soul destroying than wind and rain in your face, particularly if on a deadline and on your own.

Is my bike up to it? a full service at the bike shop confirmed this.

What if I break my bike? I have taken out rescue cover just in case I break or bend something (on the bike).

Nutrition: I intend to post gels/flapjacks to B&B's to help keep the weight down.

Clothing: good quality waterproof are great. I use a gore top/over trousers and recently rode 130 miles at a reasonable pace without overheating or getting wet.

I also use a garmin for the main nav. Just helps cut down on time spent route finding.

Good luck with your ride,

Andy.

 

[Salis]

Which way? I chose lEJOG due to the probable SW wind. Nothing more soul destroying than wind and rain in your face, particularly if on a deadline and on your own.

I have to second this. I did JOGLE a few years ago and am doing LEJOG this summer (as a friend was keen to do it and I said I'd keep him company!). South-to-North is definitely preferable, I would say. The SW prevailing winds are real - I got to Land's End last time, turned around to head back to Penzance and thought "Oh, this is suddently much easier than anything I've encountered in the past 2 weeks..."

The other reason I'd recommend S to N is the scenery and traffic. Starting at the North, I found that the scenery became steadily less dramatic and exciting the further south I got, and the roads got increasingly busy and the drivers less considerate (drivers in rural Scotland tend to be lovely). Better to have the overall experience get steadily better as you go rather than steadily deteriorate, I'd say.

 

[robgul]

As suggested above - have a look at www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk - loads of resources and even ready-to-ride routes.

... have you booked the Inverness - Thurso bike ticket? ... you MUST do this, and get a physical ticket (see Journal No 176 for my experience when I did my first E2E)

Rob

 

[wintonbina]

Hello All, (First time on a forum this is all new to me..)
I am not crazy contrary to friends and family members opinion. Does anyone have any advice / recommendations or even fancy participating?
My story.... me and my friend planned to do the JOGLE at the 23rd May(Can move the date back to end of may/june) I booked both our trains after double checking he wanted to do it to which he was well keen but after plans got more serious he went quiet, I questioned his commitment, he then dropped the bomb he was no longer able to do it for various reasons i wont bore you with. I thought about this for a while and was gutted but decided this wasn't gonna stop me.

The details and plans i have already - Booked the sleeper train leaving London Euston 23/05(this is changeable) and need to do it in 10 days because of work, my route is Thurso Rail Station - John O’Groats - Helmsdale > Drumnadrochit > Oban > Glasgow > Carlisle > Preston > Bridgnorth > Bristol > Okehampton > Lands End.

How does this sound? am i crazy? can i do it on my own? any advice? any route changes? hotel/hostel recommendations... any advice is good advice.

Hope you can help.

Dan

Hi Dan,
Its very do-able. Look at Travelodge for Carlisle, Preston, (Ludlow)Bridgenorth, Bristol & Okehampton. You could get them for £19 plus you can take your bike into the room with you! I don't know about your Scottish route, I went via Edinburgh which was grand!
Good luck and pm me if you need anymore advice.
Tony

 

[trousers82]

wow guys this is all very helpful, had a quick look at cycle end to end, awesome. I have to do it JOGLE way any other info / tips / accomodation stops or roads to miss would be amazing.

thanks again

 

[Salis]

One more tip is to consider going via Arran. Lovely!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Dan.

What's your route into Bridgnorth? I'm hoping you plan to avoid the dual carriageway sections of the A442 in Telford which is a very cycle unfriendly road.

 

[trousers82]

i'll make sure i stay off the A442 then. i was just looking at sat navs & gps any recommendations ? or apps that can be downloaded? they seem bit expensive can they be hired?

 

[berty bassett]

+1 for Arran - a really lovely place and if your coming from the north you will get the hill out the way at the beginning ferry times might muck you about but you wont see hardly any traffic and you miss Glasgow

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

i'll make sure i stay off the A442 then. i was just looking at sat navs & gps any recommendations ? or apps that can be downloaded? they seem bit expensive can they be hired?

I'm afraid GPS is still something I haven't ventured in to. However, from the links others have posted above, here are a couple of routes that have GPX files attached which you should be able to download: Link

I know they are LEJOG rather than JOGLE but should at least give some ideas to base your own route on.

 

[Andy2484]

i'll make sure i stay off the A442 then. i was just looking at sat navs & gps any recommendations ? or apps that can be downloaded? they seem bit expensive can they be hired?

You could try the Bikehub free Satnav app for the iPhone. Not too bad but a bit thirsty on the battery so you would need an external power pack.

 

[Ken8249]

hi dan,

sounds like your in the same boat as me! I started planning the Jogle with 3 friends, and one by one they all dropped out! So basically im doing the same as you and doing it solo having never done anything like it before and only started cycling properly about 6 weeks ago! im starting from john o groats on the 24th though and aiming to take 9 days, I travel up on the 23rd, stay at the seaview that night then hoping to be up and started by 7 on the 24th.

I was also debating whether to buy a sat nav but no way im spending hundreds of pounds on way, I bought a small map the other day and im going to mark the route on there and that'll do, far cheaper but no doubt I will get lost at some point!

 

[deanE]

Hi Dan, I finished my JOGLE on Friday 17 May. Started Sat 4 with 3 others but had to rest at B&B for Day 6 due to picking up a stomach bug. Couldn’t eat properly for nearly 3 days after but caught them up for last days ride so had several days on my own. Also did Dunnet Head and Lizard Point. Route was JOG, Dunnet Head, Helmsdale, Conon Bridge, Spean Bridge, Crianlarich, Glasgow, Larkhall, Gretna, Kendal, Wigan, Shrewsbury, Monmouth, Severn bridge, Wellington, Falmouth (where I live), Lizard, Lands End. I used a Garmin 200 for the route but it played up for 2-3 days and so I reverted to paper copy then. Had head wind all the way, plus rain, snow and hail. Bike was a 9 year old Sirrus hybrid. If you have done the miles during training then you will be ok.