LEJOG April 2015

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chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
Hi I'm new to CycleChat and hopeless on computers esp Forums. Never can find the right thing to click on but then...I've never been very IT savvy - or so I'm repeatedly told! Anyway.... to save me typing it all out, I have just cut and pasted the following from my profile so you can see what I'm about:

Want to do the LEJOG April 2015 over 21 days.

Looking for cycle-mates - at least one single female (no funny business - honest!) to keep room-share costs down.

(Absolutely no camping - can't be bothered pitching or carrying tent)

My P.B. for changing a tyre (back wheel of COURSE - always the back tyre, innit!) = 90 minutes or.... more likely = tantrum/sit and look helpless/passer-by cyclist takes pity blah blah ..... Therefore... speedy-puncture-repairer/bike mechanic cycle-companion also crucial.

Had raised money on JustGiving for the LEJOG2 yrs ago/ done all the training and booked accom'n but a medical issue scuppered my plans. Gutted. However, I won't be beaten!!

21-days = 50-ish miles per day (want to enjoy it - got nothing to prove!). B&B's/staying with friends along the way.

Join me??
 
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chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
Feeling a bit fed up. Joined CycleChat two days ago and haven't heard a thing from anybody - not even a welcome!! Is there anybody out there please???
 
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OP
chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
OP
OP
chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
[QUOTE 3079788, member: 30090"]You want to keep the room share costs down?

The cheapest form of accommodation is to stay at a Youth Hostel, and unless you are both sleeping in the same bed then the room costs ain't gonna change.

And am I replying to a bot I wonder?[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that. I am a seasoned YHA' er ! Problem with them is that a. they aren't that cheap anymore and b. my experience of them is that they are miles off the beaten-track, usually up a steep track - the last thing I will feel like after cycling a zillion miles during each day! But you do have a point: some of them might be more conveniently located so I will bear them in mind when planning my route nearer the time. And.... Oh - I hadn't thought about the fact that B&B's charge per person, not per room. Thanks for the tip. Is that always the case these days?? And.... what's a bot please?
 
MikeG

MikeG

Guru
Location
Suffolk
Welcome Nic.

I'd be amazed if you found someone to do the ride with via the forum. I certainly wouldn't commit to cycling with a stranger for 3 weeks. However, don't let this spoil your plans. Lejogging is wonderful and challenging, and you'll love it even if you do it by yourself.

If you are trying to save a bit of money, consider joining AirBnB, an online community of B&Bs which charge old-fashioned prices to members. Also, seriously look at the cheaper hotel chains, because some of them are much cheaper than B&B's, which is a ridiculous situation. Plan your route early, and book early. Getting back from J O'G can be difficult, so make this the starting point for your planning. Getting accommodation in Scotland can be difficult, because as you get to more remote places there are very few options, and those are booked early.

Your 50 mile daily ride is something else to discuss. I did a slow Lejog, because it was our summer holiday, and we wanted time to spend at various places, but 50 miles really isn't very hard. I would certainly suggest you stick to this through Devon and Cornwall, but after that, you'll barely see another hill before you get to Shap. Bump your mileage up to 60 and you'll save yourself a couple of nights of accommodation, and meals out. You can easily do 50 miles before lunch in most places, even at 10mph!
 
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coffeejo

coffeejo

Ælfrēd
Location
West Somerset
Would also recommend the Warm Showers Community as an option for accommodation.
 
toeknee

toeknee

Über Member
Location
Wirral
Having read the report/blog from jonny jez the other day, I am considering doing this on my 50th birthday next year, 5th May, although I will be doing it supported, like jonny using "Discovery Adventure ". If you can raise the fundraising money, then you chosen charity pay the £299 registration fee for you,. For this all food, accommodation , support included, can't ask for more than that really can you.
Anyway off to phone my charity & discovery adventure to try and organise it.. , maybe you should give this some thought chain reaction.

Tony.
 
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OP
chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
MikeG said:
Welcome Nic.

I'd be amazed if you found someone to do the ride with via the forum. I certainly wouldn't commit to cycling with a stranger for 3 weeks. However, don't let this spoil your plans. Lejogging is wonderful and challenging, and you'll love it even if you do it by yourself.

If you are trying to save a bit of money, consider joining AirBnB, an online community of B&Bs which charge old-fashioned prices to members. Also, seriously look at the cheaper hotel chains, because some of them are much cheaper than B&B's, which is a ridiculous situation. Plan your route early, and book early. Getting back from J O'G can be difficult, so make this the starting point for your planning. Getting accommodation in Scotland can be difficult, because as you get to more remote places there are very few options, and those are booked early.

Your 50 mile daily ride is something else to discuss. I did a slow Lejog, because it was our summer holiday, and we wanted time to spend at various places, but 50 miles really isn't very hard. I would certainly suggest you stick to this through Devon and Cornwall, but after that, you'll barely see another hill before you get to Shap. Bump your mileage up to 60 and you'll save yourself a couple of nights of accommodation, and meals out. You can easily do 50 miles before lunch in most places, even at 10mph!
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for all the tips! I very much appreciate them. Re; finding people to do the LEJOG with, I totally agree with you - I myself wouldn't commit to doing it with total strangers either! My intention is to find some local cycle buddies (since none in the cycle groups I (occasonally) cycle with are up for it) to get to know over a period of time, and go from there. But perhaps, as you point out, even this isn't a very realistic aspiration either. Anyway - My situation is that I had raised the money to do the LEJOG on JustGiving 2 yrs ago, paid for the accommodation (was doing it with an on-line LEJOG 'tour' group namely Peak Tours) and also had done 3,000 miles of training!. So I was all set to go when - as said on my profile - a medical issue scuppered my plans. I was absolutely gutted - esp as a few people I know (wouldn't call them 'friends' - esp after they said this.... !) but a few people I know hinted that I'd chickened-out at the last moment. Grrrrr. I'm determined to prove them wrong!!! Anyway, thanks again for the info but I do realise that Devon and Cornwall are the worst - especially because I live down this way! We often have Cornish holidays and I am always pleased with how fit I've become after a week or so's cycling down there! So my "Great Plan" (!) is to do the first 170 miles or so particularly slowly - because I don't want to wear myself out physically or morale-wise before the remainder of the ride! And then to build my mileage up after that. That is one of the reasons I want the extra time to do the whole thing - I just want flexibility - plus to stop off if I pass somewhere I want to see a bit more of (not overnight - but just for an hour here and there). . I'm thinking more like 40 miles per day at that stage - more if I feel like it. To be honest, I am a person who is actually very comfortable in my own company and therefore would in realityprefer to do it on my own given the choice! However, my other half isn't happy with that and (again if you read my profile) I'm not that happy either on account of my mechanical and tyre-changing skills!!! My other half isn't keen on the idea of me breaking down in the middle of nowhere towards the end of a day when its getting dark! That is (being 100% honest) the main reason I'm looking for cycle companions Also the room-share thing but someone else here on CC has put me right on that one by pointing out that B&B's charge by the person, not the room. I hadn't thought of that! I'm already finding CC really useful as any body I hear from gives me at least one useful tip - you being one of them - thank you! Since i didn't have to plan the last trip I intended to do, I never had to get involved much with transportation of my bike etc. I do know that this c an be tricky at each end though. The reason I'm not going with Peak Tours this time is that they don't do a 3-week tour. I found one company who does but we're talking £2,300 or thereabouts! I nearly died when I read that! Hoping I can cut some corners by planning it myself but... these things often it work out just the reverse because tour groups often get the cheap deals etc. Hmmmm..... as you can see, I am all at sea about the whole thing! However, I am not going to be beaten! I'd like to do it this September but we have a boat and I don't think my other half would be thrilled for me to be away for 3 weeks during the boating season! Twould be a tad unfriendly to say the least!! Any more hints or advice you have now that I've filled in a few of the gaps, would be very much appreciated.
 
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chainreaction-nic

chainreaction-nic

Regular
Location
Taunton Somerset
coffeejo said:
Would also recommend the Warm Showers Community as an option for accommodation.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that tip. I'm interested in this as my son does "Couch-surfing" (same sort of thing). He started off his year-out in Hong Kongdoing this and made a load of friends through it! Anyway, I tried copying and pasting the Warms showers' email address into my Contacts list but it keeps telling me "Address Invalid"?? (This was the simplest form of by-passing my spam filters. They also recommended another method but that was far too involved and complicated!.)
 
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