LEJOG Can it be enjoyable?

[GilesM]

A question I ask as many have done this and should know the truth. A friend has decided he wants to do this next year, mainly as a target to getting himself fit again, we will only have about 10 days to do it in, but we will have some motorised support, so not loaded up too much, and we plan to stay mainly in pubs, which could bring another whole load of hangover related problems. My main concerns are the amount of town/city/built up area and main road riding that is needed if a fairly direct route is taken, these are the two things that I have always disliked about cycling, and the two things I normally keep well away from. A flatter direct route probably means getting through Bristol, and then the really shite bit for cycling, Chester to north of Preston, after that all seems okay until north of Perth, the direct way is the A9, not exactly a fun days riding, are there pleasant enjoyable ways through these sections, that people have found, or is it just a boring plod, any thoughts would be welcome.

The other thing is I'll have to get a new road bike and get some long road miles in, not really a problem, and I might even join a local road club and get back into some group riding, always more fun than 80 miles by yourself, however my concern is that I may just be putting time and effort into doing something that isn't really going to be that enjoyable. Right now I spend most of my cycling time off road which really is hard to beat for pure fun. So back to the opening question, is a direct LEJOG route actually enjoyable, that's the riding I'm refering to, not the first pint of many in JOG, thinking about what you have just done.

Cheers

Giles

 

[summerdays]

Can't advise you generally - but it shouldn't take that long to get through Bristol - I can get from one side to the other usually in about an hour (maybe a bit more to clear the edges) and bits of Bristol are nice, honest.

I'm sure the Bristol folk on here could probably devise a route through here depending on whether you wanted to get through as easy as poss, as few hills as poss etc.

 

[PaulSB]

I'm hoping to do LeJog during July and will be planning a direct route. I've read your post a few times and wonder if you should ask yourself if you really want to do this? I get the impression your very unsure. As for the Chester - Preston I'm confident with a little planning one can get through the area withour using main roads and without dramatically increasing the mileage. Aside from throught the actual towns most of these roads are not desperately busy during the day.

 

[GilesM]

Can't advise you generally - but it shouldn't take that long to get through Bristol - I can get from one side to the other usually in about an hour (maybe a bit more to clear the edges) and bits of Bristol are nice, honest.

I'm sure the Bristol folk on here could probably devise a route through here depending on whether you wanted to get through as easy as poss, as few hills as poss etc.

Thanks for your thoughts, nothing against Bristol, I quite like the place, just not my ideal cycling location, a quick question, what is the Portway like for cycling along, this seems like the best way to get round Bristol and up to the old Severn Bridge.

 

[GilesM]

I've read your post a few times and wonder if you should ask yourself if you really want to do this? I get the impression your very unsure. As for the Chester - Preston I'm confident with a little planning one can get through the area withour using main roads and without dramatically increasing the mileage. Aside from throught the actual towns most of these roads are not desperately busy during the day.

You're right, if it wasn't for a good friend wanting to do it, and me being the only cyclist he knows, then I wouldn't even consider it, I'm just trying to get an idea as to whether people actually enjoy the cycling, or do it only for the sense of achievement/the mountain is there so I'll climb it reason, nothing wrong with this view, it's just that I prefer my cycling to be just for the pleasure of it these days.

As for Chester to Preston, I'll have to have a good look through some large scale maps of the area.

What do you plan to do once north of Perth?

 

[dodgy]

You can get from Chester to Liverpool (using the ferry obviously) using fairly quiet lanes, some of them completely 100% traffic free. The Wirral has lots of quiet lanes. From Liverpool to the countryside again isn't that far, and besides, it might be worth a stop for a break there - you might be pleasantly surprised.
I'm sure there was a guy on this forum who did LEJOG last year in under 5 days? Now that is pushing it!

 

[e-rider]

I'm doing the LEJOG at the end of August with 2 mates and we very much expect to enjoy every moment. It is in fact our summer holiday after all. We have planned a fairly direct route (using bikely.com) but using small roads wherever possible. It's 11 days of riding and just under 1000 miles (average of about 87-90 miles per day). We'll be un-supported so it's heavy bikes for us. We have MTBs with road touring tyres fitted and panniers. Can't wait!

 

[PaulSB]

You're right, if it wasn't for a good friend wanting to do it, and me being the only cyclist he knows, then I wouldn't even consider it, I'm just trying to get an idea as to whether people actually enjoy the cycling, or do it only for the sense of achievement/the mountain is there so I'll climb it reason, nothing wrong with this view, it's just that I prefer my cycling to be just for the pleasure of it these days.

As for Chester to Preston, I'll have to have a good look through some large scale maps of the area.

What do you plan to do once north of Perth?

At present I'm planning to go to Glasgow, out past Loch Lomond and head up to Fort William. I know the Perth - Inverness road from a few car journeys and I think it would be really miserable on a bike!

In Lancashire you might consider following the Lancashire Cycleway in parts. It's well signed and on quiet roads. It is NOT especially direct, so you would need to pick the right bits, it does have some nice riding. The northern route would probably be of most interest but beware of the hills. You can download a PDF at www.visitlancashire.com

Like you I cycle for pleasure. I shall be doing this for the achievement, the enjoyment of being alone with my bike (this is a big aspect of cycling for me) and to an extent because it's there. I expect some pain (!) but a lot of gain.

 

[summerdays]

Thanks for your thoughts, nothing against Bristol, I quite like the place, just not my ideal cycling location, a quick question, what is the Portway like for cycling along, this seems like the best way to get round Bristol and up to the old Severn Bridge.

The Portway is reasonably fast in places but nice and wide, so plenty of room for cars or lorries to overtake (and if not rush hour then not nose to tail), or if you prefer the pavement along side is designated as a cycle path for a large part of the route - it can vary in surface quality - but they repaired some of it earlier in the year and cut back the vegetation and discovered another couple of feet of cycle path. It leads to Avonmouth which isn't the most picturesque part of Bristol.

I've not cycled from Avonmouth to Pill so I can't comment on that part of the route, if you cut off before Avonmouth then you are going to have to climb a bit which ever route you take. (I'm that direction myself tomorrow... and my legs are telling me they are too tired already).

 

[GilesM]

Thanks for some more useful stuff from everyone, I'll just have to have a good look at some large scale maps and a few LEJOG websites and see what routes are possible, then really think about it. After 2 fun packed hours on my mtb at Glentress last night it's difficult for me to get excited about 6 to 8 hours on the road each day for 10 days, the thought of being really unlucky and getting a north wind is another concern.

I'd still be interested to here from people who have done LEJOG and what they really thought about the actual riding.

 

[beancounter]

The thought of being really unlucky and getting a north wind is another concern.

I'd still be interested to here from people who have done LEJOG and what they really thought about the actual riding.

I well remember the 6th day of my LEJOG with a couple of colleagues.

110miles from Gretna Green to Cardross into a hideous headwind all day, up (what was then) the A74, with 40 ton juggernauts thundering past my elbow.

It was not pleasant.

bc

 

[Kirstie]

This is indeed one of the problems that people have with lejogs. If you do it by the shortest route, you end up having to go through cities and bits of the country which are just not that picturesque.

Can you take it as an opportunity to see bits of the country that you've not seen before, for example? And funnily enough, progressing on a bike through cities is potentially much slower than staying in the lanes and avoiding them. If you use a GPS for the less obvious parts of the route you should be able to do this.

I really enjoyed the variety of scenery on lejog - perth included, as there's a good cycleway out of it that takes you through beautiful farmland to pitlochry. The A9 is unavoidable in the far north, but again, it has a reasonable cycleway alongside it all the way to Dalwhinnie. The worst bit was the drumochter pass.

The bit I didn't enjoy about lejog was how completely exhausted I was by the end. I never want to be that tired again...but even though I was tired I still enjoyed the scenery!

 

[Yellow Fang]

I did the LEJOG several years ago by myself in ten days. I didn't go the most direct route. I took a few wrong turnings and I also had to search for accommodation at the end of each day, so I ended up cycling about 1020 miles.

To be honest, I enjoyed the sense of achievement more than actually doing it. While I was doing it, it was just hours of tedium, grinding the gears, looking at the cycle computer and wondering how long it would take me to get to my next stop. I would think things like '5 miles, that's only 15 minutes if I'm doing 20mph and 25 minutes if I'm doing 12mph, so in half an hour at most I'll be there."

I think I went through Bath, which was very hilly. It was hilly through Stroud too. The section through Chester to Preston was indeed a nightmare. I ended up cycling on a busy dual carriageway during rush hour. The most interesting bit was listening how the accents changed every five miles around there. Getting around Glasgow was also quite tricky.

By the time I got to Lancashire, I really didn't want to continue, but I thought I can't turn back now. I carried on for the next six days, even though my arse was sore, and my left knee was hurting.

Scenery wise, my favourite bits were the Lake District, and much of Scotland. I especially liked the north east of Scotland. You don't get so many roads to choose from in Scotland. I went via Glencoe and Loch Ness.

Hills were a mixed blessing. I came to dread going downhill, as you nearly always had to do on approaching a town, as that meant another steep uphill the other side. OTOH hills meant nicer scenery, and the exertion climbing up them helped dispel the boredom plus you got a breather the other side.

 

[onthe_road]

I did LEJOG last year in a group of 4.
We set ourselves a 9 day target.
The idea had been brewing for a few years then we took the plunge and set a date, starting on Easter weekend.

My mother drove the support vehicle and there was a lot of tension building up as we didn't really know what we had let ourselves in for but I'm happy to say once we got spinning we had a ball and I only remember good things.
Leaving Cornwall on the A30 was one of the hardest days in the saddle I ever had, up there with the Tour of Flanders or the Paris-Roubaix.

The sea at Lands End was indescribable crashing against the rocks. There was a ferocious westerly blowing and off we went, half sailing, half cycling into it.
Then the A30 is like a roller coaster and it goes on forever.
Then we had a spot of rain, followed by heavy - and I mean heavy - hail. Then some snow. It was crazy.

When we got to Okehampton (we were aiming at 100 miles a day) all aching limbs and sat down for dinner, the portions of pasta seemed preposterously small! It was kind of funny.

Next day we still had lumpy Devon to deal with but once we were in the clear on the flatter bits heading towards Bristol we started doing some work together taking turns and saving energy. Getting through Bristol was a bit of a pig - we had to ask for directions a couple of times - but got through ok and stopped for the night.

Then we crossed the Severn dipped into Wales then out again to spend the night in Shrewsbury. All this was happening during the Easter weekend remember so it really was a nightmare finding accommodation but as we had support on the ground that went over our heads.

Day four was easily the one we cycled through built up areas the most, ending up in Lancaster but still it had its moments and after Cornwall and Devon quite frankly everything seemed easy.

Day five took us across the border to Langholm. We decided between the four of us to do a detour so we could take in Kirkstone pass - well worth it, although this could have easily been avoided.
I can't tell you how amazing it was watching the Cumbrian Mountains looming in the horizon with a thick snow cover. Over Kirkstone there were snowboarders and I lie not.

It was really a case of every day being better than the day before. Also, I'd like to point out had I been on my own it might have been boring but there was a lot of chatting going on so if you could drag another one or two along that might work for you, like it did for us.

Day six was Langholm to Edinburgh crossing the Southern Uplands with lots of gentle climbs. The drop into Edinburgh was so manic and we made a beeline to the castle. We cut our day short as we had free accommodation in town and apart from the last day, this was the only other leg we arrived to our destination in daylight.

Day seven took us to Kingussie and over the dreaded Pass of Drumocher on the equally dreaded A9 but this proved alright, even doing it at night and with all the lorry traffic. Shame we couldn't have seen it in daylight but maybe it was best that way because it was a never ending climb.

Day eight took us to Brora. As we left Inverness and saw a John O'Groats 120 miles sign morale was sky high. Then the A9, even though it was busy, provided some nice sea views, plus we were able to score some detours mentioned in other posts.

Day nine was the end and had a sting in the tail because the A9 got so hilly it was like Cornwall revisited for the morning but soon it flattened out and the miles wound down to zero.
We signed the log book and a kind of sadness kicked in because it was after all the end.

I can't recommend this ride enough. It was sold to me when I read it's a great way of discovering Britain and I was able to confirm. Everywhere we went we were received with smiles and support. A stranger bought us a round of some fine single malt - it did turn into a single malt fest towards the end!

Would I have done things differently? After we left John O'Groats, me and my mother packed the car with the bikes while the others headed back on the train.

Since we were that high up north we decided to hop over to the Orkneys then head back circling round the north west coast. We were stunned at every corner at the natural beauty. From Ullapool we started cutting inland again, then along Loch Ness were I went in for a dip and was not munched by Nessie - it was freezing cold but had to be done.

Past Glencoe on the approach to the Buachaille we saw a lonely cyclist coming over the hill in the opposite direction. It was a woman I had spoken to ten days before as we were leaving Lands End - she was on a mountain bike with two paniers. She said then she was aiming to arrive in 14 days so it looked like all was running to plan.

Then the scenery opened up into Rannoch Moor and I wished we had come that way.

Anyway, it's done now.

Good luck to you. Whatever route you choose I'm sure it will be a life changing experience. Try to get some time in the saddle. Ideally aiming for a three day stint with the same daily mileage you'll be doing on LEJOG.

 

[dodgy]

Great post onthe_road!