We Did It!!!!

[Cush]

Well done p90ade, I know what you mean about the old road up to Glasgow being bumpy. I had planned to do a straight JOGLE next year but come down through Edinburgh as I want to cross the Forth and Berwick bridges. Now I have decided to do Haltwhistle to L.E L.E to Dover, Dover to Haltwhistle in April useing mainly B and other minor road, then hopefully Haltwhistle to Cape Wrath to JOG to Haltwhistle via the Eastern route in September. Saves on the train fare and hassle as I live near Haltwhistle.

 

[Barbelier]

Hows the planning going?

Route pretty much finalised now, although I will do some fine tuning to try and reduce the climbing amd mileage a bit wherever possible and tidy up the waypoints for the GPS. B&Bs booked for the first 8 days and I'm having no problem with my first choice nearly always being available (benefit of travelling alone outside school holidays I guess).

Training with the panniers now and gradually increasing the weight. 2 day trip with an overnight stay with my 9 year old son this Friday/Saturday (he's really excited about his first cycle trip!) and I will fully load the panniers up for this, especiallly since the mph will be slow.

Still fine tuning the bike. Just fitted a adjustable stem and first impressions are good and the riding position definately more comfortable.

Will also change the chain rings to 44-32-22 in a couple of weeks to give me that bit of extra help to get up the bigger hills.

Only issue I have left is some pain/aching down the outside edge of my right foot. I have spent a lot of time adjusting the cleats, inserted foodbeds and tried different wedge shims, and although it is not as bad, it's still there. Might have to pay the local LBS for a cleat fitting session.

....oh yes and I still need to put in a lot more training miles and hill climbing practice in the remaining 4 weeks!

 

[robbiep]

Good luck Barbelier

It has been a while since I've been on the site and I note you were considering LEJOG, I look forward to hearing what you make of JOGLE.

We still leave Sept 1st going LEJOG, all set now, the date seems to loom over me like a big cloud! A real mixture of excitment and fear, have I done enough miles, will the weather behave itself etc etc. This weekend has been the heavy training weekend with back to back 100's with weight and ........well I feel rubbish!! V.V tired.

Best of luck with your ride, we hope to finish the 9th with 85 from Alness to finish. I hope the wind changes direction for you the moment I clip out the pedals

Best of luck.

......what time early Sept will it get dark once say past Carlisle? Any idea?

 

[jarushby]

Good luck Barbelier

It has been a while since I've been on the site and I note you were considering LEJOG, I look forward to hearing what you make of JOGLE.

We still leave Sept 1st going LEJOG, all set now, the date seems to loom over me like a big cloud! A real mixture of excitment and fear, have I done enough miles, will the weather behave itself etc etc. This weekend has been the heavy training weekend with back to back 100's with weight and ........well I feel rubbish!! V.V tired.

Best of luck with your ride, we hope to finish the 9th with 85 from Alness to finish. I hope the wind changes direction for you the moment I clip out the pedals

Best of luck.

......what time early Sept will it get dark once say past Carlisle? Any idea?

Sunset in Inverness in early September is ~8pm.

I am starting JOGLE on 9th (hopefully JOG just after 4pm after riding from Thurso). Probably see you there. I will be the solo rider on a blue trek 1200 looking very worried.

I think Gavin (Barbelier) is setting off on the Friday.

Good luck guys!!!

 

[robbiep]

Hi Jarushby - good stuff - we hope to arrive just around that time as we have to cycle on to Thurso for accommodation. You'll look worried I'll look sha**ed out and my mate will look as fresh as a daisy!!

I'm on a black specialized sirrus and my mates got a blue Dawes tourer. We're both riding with simple rack bags popped on the back, I'll say hi if able to converse!!

All the very best to you , hope it goes as smoothly as it possible can!

 

[Barbelier]

Thanks for the good wishes. Best of luck to you both Robbie and John, although with the amount of training you've both done it will be a doddle.

I catch the sleeper from Euston evening of the 9th, arriving Inverness morning of the 10th, then train from Inverness to Thurso and cycle to JOG via Dunnet Head.
So I will set of from JOG on Saturday 11th.

We still leave Sept 1st going LEJOG, all set now, the date seems to loom over me like a big cloud! A real mixture of excitment and fear, have I done enough miles, will the weather behave itself etc etc. This weekend has been the heavy training weekend with back to back 100's with weight and ........well I feel rubbish!! V.V tired.

Exactly how I feel! The closer the date comes the more anxious and excited I become!
Planning my first 100 miler trip this Saturday, even though I will average only 65-70 per day on JOGLE, partly as a confidence booster.
Mind you I did 40 miles last night when I was tired after work and it was really hard and I feel knackered today!

Mate at work who was orginally thinking about coming with me and then dropped out has suddenly decided he wants to come along.
He was going to the LBS tonight to spend £1,600 on a Galaxy Ultra + accessories! He's very welcome to join me and the company will be great. He has been out for a few training sessions with me and done up to 40 miles on an old hybrid and did okay. So he has some level of fitness. However, I 've told him he's got a heck of a lot of training to do over the next 3 weeks!

 

[robbiep]

You're mate certainly is a brave soldier! Good luck to him - the best advice I've had throughout the time on cycle chat - good saddle, assos creme, good bike set up -if you're comfortable and can ride injury free you've got a chance! Oh and regular food and water, always aim to stay ahead and NEVER fall in to a deficite - that's when the head, legs and morale goes south!!

I look forward to hearing all about it, especially how your mate got on

 

[jarushby]

Thanks for the good wishes. Best of luck to you both Robbie and John, although with the amount of training you've both done it will be a doddle.

Mate at work who was orginally thinking about coming with me and then dropped out has suddenly decided he wants to come along.
He was going to the LBS tonight to spend £1,600 on a Galaxy Ultra + accessories! He's very welcome to join me and the company will be great. He has been out for a few training sessions with me and done up to 40 miles on an old hybrid and did okay. So he has some level of fitness. However, I 've told him he's got a heck of a lot of training to do over the next 3 weeks!

Thanks for the encouraging words but I reallt dont think its going to be a doddle. . As the day approaches (only 3 weeks ) my fear levels are rising by the hour.

I am not sure whether your mate is brave or stupid!!!!. No training and on an "unknown" bike. Certainly a lot braver than me.

 

[robbiep]

Yes i can only echo John's sentiments, doddle - don't think so! John, we're going through exactly the same thoughts, the clock's ticking, just want to get cracking now to be honest....

 

[jarushby]

Yes i can only echo John's sentiments, doddle - don't think so! John, we're going through exactly the same thoughts, the clock's ticking, just want to get cracking now to be honest....

I remember having very similar thoughts before i cycled from North Wales to South Wales. Fear mounted as I approached the start day (not as intense as JOGLE though) but within the first hour of the ride the stress went and I just enjoyed the ride. I am hoping the experience is similar on JOGLE. After all, there is nothing different about the roads I will ride on during JOGLE and the ones I have been training on (they are both tarmac, have flat bits, hilly bits etc etc ). The only difference is that I will cycling ~80-100 miles every day.

Damn!!!!!, I just about convinced myself there was nothing to worry about but I am wrong, the fear is real and well founded

 

[Barbelier]

You're mate certainly is a brave soldier! Good luck to him - the best advice I've had throughout the time on cycle chat - good saddle, assos creme, good bike set up -if you're comfortable and can ride injury free you've got a chance! Oh and regular food and water, always aim to stay ahead and NEVER fall in to a deficite - that's when the head, legs and morale goes south!!

I look forward to hearing all about it, especially how your mate got on

Very sound advice and pretty much what I told him, plus get as many miles in possible before 9th September. He has ordered a Ridgeback Voyager (he really wanted the Panorama but none available in his size due the change over to the 2011 model & the smallest Galaxy was too big for him). He will buy a Brooks saddle tomorrow and aim to break in before he goes, but has a pretty good gel saddle as a fallback. I have a large tub of assos that he can have, because I never use it these days. The point about never falling behind is very valid. We will set of at 7am every day so that allows at least 12 hrs of daylight which gives plenty of spare time to cope with problems or bad weather.

My mate coming along is also good for me. One of my faults in training early on (and I still have a tendancy to do it) is to try to push myself to go faster each time and beat my mph. Now I will have to stay at his pace which will help conserve energy.

robbiep, on 18 August 2010 - 09:02:51, said:Yes i can only echo John's sentiments, doddle - don't think so! John, we're going through exactly the same thoughts, the clock's ticking, just want to get cracking now to be honest....

I wish you lot would stop going on about your pre-trip nerves, it's only making me worse!
In my logical moments I know we will be cycling in safe country on tarmac roads, where you're never too far from civilisation. I am a very cautious cyclist and will be on quiet roads for virtually the whole trip so the chances of an accident are very low. I tell myself that worse thing that can happen is that I have to stop and catch the train home.
.......but then logic doesn't always come into it and I am sure the panic attacks will get worse as the date comes nearer!

Mind you I had a big confidence booster last night on my practice run. I finally made it up the very steep hill in my village with full panniers (John knows I have never beaten this hill, which is always at the end of my ride, despite many attempts). Nearly burst a lung in the process but am well chuffed that I beat it in the end!

 

[robbiep]

Brilliant Barbelier - you gotta grind out the hills, the fun only starts when the sweat is dripping off your nose!!

Yeah i think it's really more excitement now, I'm just revved up to get going. I know exactly what you mean abount the speed of your riding, if I do the same route all i'm thinking is beating the average speed of last time, it's crazy really. One thing is that alot of my routes are out and back so i have the benefit of the wind at least somewhere, if we're ploughing north with the wind in our face for 8 hours................madness may ensue!!

Make sure you and you guy taper down at LEAST a week before and carb load - your man really is up against it. It'll be nice to have the company I'm certainly glad I'm with someone. It's going to get messy somewhere along the way and 2 heads...............

If I'm honest the only real thing that worries me is rain day after day, I simply dont find that fun whatsoever. We're going nearly the most direct route so it's going to be hairy at times.

Just one last thing when I spoke about getting behind I was talking about calories, always eat enough to keep in front, if you run low on calories/energy the dreaded 'bonk' is only round the corner!!!! Since mid April I've gone from 12st 6lb to 11st 3lb but after the ride I hope to have put weight ON! I want to eat that much along the way.......yum yum!!

 

[Ticktockmy]

I dont want to sound a wet blanket, but surly all the fuss about riding from North scotland or Lands End, is a tad over the top. After all it is only a seriies or one day rides, so the same rules that you apply to your one day rides, apply on the trip from Northern Scotland or Cornwal,it is just you carry your home with you. and crap in a different place each day.

 

[Crankarm]

I dont want to sound a wet blanket, but surly all the fuss about riding from North scotland or Lands End, is a tad over the top. After all it is only a seriies or one day rides, so the same rules that you apply to your one day rides, apply on the trip from Northern Scotland or Cornwal,it is just you carry your home with you. and crap in a different place each day.

Ever so slightly provocative one might say ...........

I am sure completing LeJog brings a lot of satisfaction and a great sense of achievement to those who manage to do so. It's not a route/tour I have done as it doesn't really appeal to me but I wouldn't take anything away from those who have completed it. It is quite an achievement in my view.

If we apply your logic to any Pro Tour such as the Giro or the TdF then these are just a series of one day rides. Just that you have to do them pretty much everyday for 3 weeks ...................... .

 

[jarushby]

I dont want to sound a wet blanket, but surly all the fuss about riding from North scotland or Lands End, is a tad over the top. After all it is only a seriies or one day rides, so the same rules that you apply to your one day rides, apply on the trip from Northern Scotland or Cornwal,it is just you carry your home with you. and crap in a different place each day.

That is what I keep telling myself. Its the same as doing a series of one day rides. The tarmac is the same as I have been riding on for years. At the end of the day a hill is a hill, if you keep the wheels turning you will get to the top. There are clearly some cyclists out there who would not consider JOGLE a challenge. Thats fine. I personally see it as a challenge. I have never undertaken a series of day rides that take me hundreds of miles from home and covers over 900miles.

I think the fact that so many people have done this ride (often raising thousands of pounds for charity) and ask for so much advise on this forum is testimony that it is more than just a few daily rides strung together. Even if the challenge is mainly psycological it represents a major achievement for many people who have done it.