The Fridays Tour 2012

[Aperitif]

When you gonna buy them?

There's plenty hanging in his bike museum apparently. Rich told me...

 

[MacB]

bear in mind the starting point here..........at least one person on this ride will be carrying nothing and staying in a decent hotel every night. B+B at a push, but it had better be four star B+B. So the support will be for spares (think how clever we'll all feel if somebody pulls a spare wheel out of a van) and luggage. And evening wear. If, at any time, there's not sufficient people to make support financially viable, then you can call me Sherpa Dell

Yep, and if I was involved then it would be at least two people taking that route...how much can Dell carry?

Seriously though my interest in LeJog wouldn't be in hammering out the run in X number of days. I've even doodled with a sort of zigzag route to take in bits and pieces I want to see/visit, including relatives in Scotland. So your ideas around making it an interesting route rather than being about just getting from AtoB make sense to me. The journey, rather than start and end points, is what matters, though I accept that there's a checklist ticking aspect to LeJog. If it's just about doing X number of miles for Y number of days, then you can do that anytime via local loops.

I have nothing against hardcore tourers, camping, etc and understand the cost aspect as well, but it doesn't mean I want to be one. By the way I'd probably opt for the Carry Freedom trailer if I did.

 

[dellzeqq]

The trick is to have a really solid idea of what you want to achieve. My ideal HPCJoG would be four or five days, but Becs, User13710 and Susie will not do more than seventyfive miles a day, day in day out, and they will not do that if they are laden down. Even then, Northumberland will be a real challenge, particularly if the weather is not on our side.

So that's the plan. Starting at HPC might take us 25 miles past York on day 3, which would leave 63 miles to Corbridge on day 4 and about 65 to Lauder on day 5 - a fearsome proposition. That leaves a round 300 for the last four days.

Now, for some people that would be too undemanding, and I aniticipate receiving e-mails saying 'sorry, if I'm going to take a week of work I'm going to be looking for something a bit more mega'.

 

[StuAff]

I think the important thing when riding in a group is to be honest about one's capabilities. It's ok on modest rides (let's use the stop / start rinky tinky hurrah FNRttCs as an example) but those that need a 'bit of continuity' and mutual rythmn and so forth are made uncomfortable by any that can't keep up. For those 'in the lead' it introduces the 'umm-ing and ahh-ing' which detracts from the ride quality - in my opinion.

Stu - wouldn't it be nice to invite one of your team mates to respond on how the ride went (from 'their' point of view?) I have enjoyed sitting back and reading this thread - at long last - and I didn't realise bike riding was so complicated!
Another thing might be to do several group rides where you are always 'out there' and yet being 'held back' by riders of differing ability and endurance. Lastly, you on a bike, with 40kg of lock, cakes and copies of the CTC mag. probably weigh about as much as me - without a bike in my pocket. Just think of us poor souls, hearts-a-racing, hoping for the crest of a climb - it's hell!
And I would be the first to realise if I was screwing it up for others.

To User482: I think you write well and far too sensibly on this subject, which is why I have interjected!

Hmmm.....I got the distinct impression that they were all telling themselves that what happened was somehow nothing to do with them, or beyond their control. As if you are forced to overtake someone at a rate of knots and not ride with them for a bit, see how they are...Our ride leader (who, to his credit, did a lot of things right), replied when I said we should be riding every mile we could and not getting in a van because someone was 'slow' (i.e. not doing 20 mph rolling average!) or we were running 'late' , that 'it's not the point'. Well, as far as I'm concerned, it was exactly the point. It felt to me- and still does- that we were cheating all the people who donated and helped us along the way, cheating the cause, and doing a disservice to the many people who've ridden an E2E in the way it should.

It's not a burden for me to ride with slower people, just as I hope I'm not a burden to ride with the racing snakes and audax loons...
And as for the weight difference....you wish.....

 

[StuAff]

The trick is to have a really solid idea of what you want to achieve. My ideal HPCJoG would be four or five days, but Becs, User13710 and Susie will not do more than seventyfive miles a day, day in day out, and they will not do that if they are laden down. Even then, Northumberland will be a real challenge, particularly if the weather is not on our side.

So that's the plan. Starting at HPC might take us 25 miles past York on day 3, which would leave 63 miles to Corbridge on day 4 and about 65 to Lauder on day 5 - a fearsome proposition. That leaves a round 300 for the last four days.

Now, for some people that would be too undemanding, and I aniticipate receiving e-mails saying 'sorry, if I'm going to take a week of work I'm going to be looking for something a bit more mega'.

You've hit the nail on the head there....

 

[Becs]

The trick is to have a really solid idea of what you want to achieve. My ideal HPCJoG would be four or five days, but Becs, User13710 and Susie will not do more than seventyfive miles a day, day in day out, and they will not do that if they are laden down. Even then, Northumberland will be a real challenge, particularly if the weather is not on our side.

Oi! I'm planning to be super-svelt and super tough by then!

(Watches flying pig passing window )

 

[threebikesmcginty]

There's plenty hanging in his bike museum apparently. Rich told me...

We got away with it Teef, he didn't notice your rude comment!

 

[Aperitif]

We got away with it teef, he didn't notice your rude comment!

Only because he didn't understand it - not many do apparently, which is warming news! "Och aye the noo suitcase"

 

[Becs]

Nice idea- but I don't want a touring bike, even to borrow, and I don't see why one should be required to do this.
As for an extra 10 kg or so not making a difference...you will think otherwise after some of the climbs....

If the climb is steep enough for 10kg to make a difference chances are I'll be reaching for the ventolin and walking up it anyway! Luckily I have the world's smallest granny ring on my new tourer . . . . .

 

[martint235]

Oi! I'm planning to be super-svelter and super tougher by then!

FTFY

 

[Becs]

FTFY

 

[martint235]

Well if you're going to be like that.......

 

[StuAff]

If the climb is steep enough for 10kg to make a difference chances are I'll be reaching for the ventolin and walking up it anyway! Luckily I have the world's smallest granny ring on my new tourer . . . . .

10 kg will make a difference on any climb, let alone some of the Scottish ones (Devon & Cornwall are the worst bits of LeJOG but there's plenty of others whichever route we follow). Keep working at the mileage and the climbing and you'll get up most of them OK anyway. World's smallest granny ring? Presumably paired with a 36t on the cassette?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The trick is to have a really solid idea of what you want to achieve. My ideal HPCJoG would be four or five days, but Becs, User13710 and Susie will not do more than seventyfive miles a day, day in day out, and they will not do that if they are laden down. Even then, Northumberland will be a real challenge, particularly if the weather is not on our side.

So that's the plan. Starting at HPC might take us 25 miles past York on day 3, which would leave 63 miles to Corbridge on day 4 and about 65 to Lauder on day 5 - a fearsome proposition. That leaves a round 300 for the last four days.

Now, for some people that would be too undemanding, and I aniticipate receiving e-mails saying 'sorry, if I'm going to take a week of work I'm going to be looking for something a bit more mega'.

at which I'd sling em my panniers and say "carry this lot then, mega enough for you now?"

 

[Aperitif]