4 or 5 day LEJOG

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
mnichols
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4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

I've just had a message in my inbox from a friend asking if I would be interested in doing an LEJOG

I said thanks for thinking of me, but I'd already scratched that itch, and asked which route he was planning to take and over how many days

4 or 5 days was the reply

I'm now very tempted, but haven't done anything like that before

I've just last week returned from America where I did 2300 miles in 26 days mostly unsupported. I've done around a dozen 1000 mile rides, but usually stick to around 100 miles per day which I find comfortable. My fastest century in America was a little over 4 hours on a touring bike with panniers but it was pan flat and we had no wind. I've done countless century's, but usually not further than 130, with one ride of 180 miles.

The ride would be next July

Is a 4 or 5 day LEJOG possible for me?

I'm thinking it would have to be supported

What do I need to know?
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Mick F
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

First, you need to be able to ride 200miles+ a day for four or five days.
Secondly, you need to know that you're going to have to ride on MAIN roads.
Thirdly, you need to know that each day will see you in the saddle from six in the morning until late in the evening or even midnight.
Fourthly, you need to know that it's dammed hard work.
Fifthly, you need good weather.

And lastly, you need a route ..........................

LE to Bristol on the A30 to Exeter, then A38.
Second day A38 and A49 via Worcester to Warrington or Preston.
Third day up the A49 and A6 and Old A74/A7 to the Scottish Borders or even Edinburgh.
Fourth day over the Forth Bridge and A9 to JOG.

You could halve that 4th day and stop off at Kingussie or Aviemore before heading for JOG.

Four days is complete madness. Five days is semi-madness.
Believe me, I drove the support vehicle for six riders doing it in five days. :shock:
06:00 starts, midnight finishes.
Mick F. Cornwall
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

The thing that actually concerns me most are the British hills, these are much more sapping that mountains because they are too short to get in a rythm, they're steeper than abroad (where they use switch backs more) and you can't recover your speed on the downhills because they are too short and bendy. I think it would have to be the flattist route possible

I don't mind busy, fast roads but would want to avoid traffic as it slows you down..more time in the saddle

The weather is the weather. I can't control that. I've done LEJOG in non stop rain. It was unfortunate but I did it. Is there a particular challenge that the weather could bring on a 5 day route I'm overlooking? Would a headwind make it impossible?

I've got 9 months to get my distances up, although I guess I could only really start doing the longer distances when the days get longer again - maybe push the trip back to end of August to allow for more training?

Mick - is it doable?
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Mick F
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

Doable?
Anything is doable, it just needs more effort or less effort depending on how you do it.

Traffic slowing you down is only a problem in the towns and cities.
Many towns and cities have by-passes, so you can get a move on. No all of them, so some traffic is inevitable.

LE to Exeter is easy on the A30.
Alternatives are very slow and hilly.
You need to go right through the city centre as the only by-pass these days is the M5 :lol:
Get onto the B3181 (Old A38) and then the A38 at J27 M5.

Stay on the A38 right through to Bristol. Again no by-pass.
Turn onto the A4 under the Clifton Suspension Bridge and head up past the zoo and up the hill and you can get to the A38 heading north.

Keep on the A38 through Gloucester, Tewksbury and Worcester, then main trunk roads through Kidderminster and Brignorth, then Telford to Whitchurch. There's a short cut from Hodnet to the A41 for Whitchurch rather than going on the A53 towards Market Drayton.

Head up the A49 through Warrington, Wigan, Standish, and Euxton, and then find the A6 just south of Preston.
Stay on the A6 to Carlisle, then follow the B roads alongside the M74 - this is the Old A74.

Turn off onto the A73 at Abington and Lanark and the A706 for Whitburn and Linlithgow onto the A904 and cross the Forth.

Inverkeithing and Kelty then Kinross and B996 through Glen Farg and A912 for Bridge of Earn to Perth.

Then it's A9 over the Grampians and over the Kessock Bridge at Inverness and all the way to Latheron, then A99 via Wick into JOG.

Sounds simple eh?
I could recite it in my sleep!

Good luck, but there's no way on God's Earth I would ride that route, but it's the fastest and simplest route, I can assure you.
Mick F. Cornwall
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

Thanks Mick

I'm going to commit to do the training based on a late summer ride- I train 6 days a week anyway so it will give it some focus, and I've got other tours in the meantime so its not a big upheaval

I'll set some milestone / checkpoints from spring and through early summer and if I hit these I'll give it a go

Thanks for the advice
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Mick F
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

When I drove the support vehicle, the riders had been training with 200miles rides. Some of them met up and rode together. Most of them were in their late 30s, but one chap from Yorkshire was 70. :shock: He wasn't fast and regularly dropped off the back, but he had stamina and guts in abundance and finished with the best of them. Last man in was the youngest (late 20s?), he was going through Wick when the others had finished at JOG.

Their first night was just south of Bristol - just about 200miles from LE.
Second night was Chester and third night at Moffat (Scottish Borders)
Fourth night was at Kingussie in the Highlands, and they rolled into JOG at about 10pm having left Kingussie at 5am.
They were fully supported every inch of the way, fed and watered, and generally cosseted. We even washed and checked their bikes each morning. I was knackered at the end just from the driving and concentration, and the riders took a week or more to get over it.

They stayed overnight in Thurso, then we drove them south to various railway stations and pick-up points.

Basically, you need to be able to do a 200mile ride, then get up the next morning and do another and still be ok for a further one after that. :shock:
Mick F. Cornwall
PH
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by PH »

That sounds like a great challenge, the time limit for doing it as an Audax is 4 days 20 hours and that must be done unsupported with an overall ave speed of 12kph. Tough but certainly not impossible, some detail here
http://markhbdm.wix.com/end2end

I think with your experience you'd be able to ride it without much preparation, though training will make it easier. If you haven't read it, The Long Distance Cyclists Handbook is worth getting hold off.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Long-Distan ... 0713668326
Starting off fresh and being able to get a good rest between rides will be critical, I'd want to have ridden a couple of back to back 200s in the Spring and have tapered off the month before. I'm not sure which would be tougher, this or your American tour, different of course but although I could see myself training up for something like this, the stamina for 26 days even at half the mileage would I think be harder for me to achieve.
You'll have to make your own mind up about route, main roads may well be faster but they're not necessarily much shorter. If you're looking at 5 x 200 mile days there's plenty of sub 1,000 mile options. Even if you put it into some cycle routing site like Cycle.travel it comes out less than that using plenty of tracks and just 90 miles of main road (Not that I'm suggesting you do many tracks!)
Good luck, I look forward to the updates.
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

Thanks PH and Nick

I agree it's a very different challenge to America, I think that's the appeal. I think I could have done it after America but I will inevitably lose fitness over the winter and will have to build up again in Spring.

I actually had nightmares about it the first night after being asked, but now I'm excited about challenging myself in a new way.

I like to do things that push me beyond my current limits, and what I really like is the idea of pushing up my daily distances for future tours

As the time is short I won't need to take much time off work which keeps me open for other tours next year

I did a lap of Wales last year for training, this year I think that a lap of Scotland would be a good test
Douggie954
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Douggie954 »

Thats what I love about this forum. You post a silly questions like can you do a 4/5 day Lejog and there are enough nutters who have either done it or been involved in it. Not only have they answered the question but they have planned the route, given you a training plan and told you everything else you need to know.
Having done a two week LeJog this summer I would like to say good luck and fill your boots. I look forward to following your progress.
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Mick F
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

Love it! :lol:

So nicely put.
Mick F. Cornwall
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

I've always been of the opinion that if the people that know you don't think that you're mad or that you haven't taken leave of your senses then your either haven't explained it properly or it's not worth doing :D
toontra
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by toontra »

5 days is certainly do-able by someone of moderate/good fitness. I did it last year solo unsupported (see link to my blog below) and am no Olympian by any means, but did have kind weather. As Mick says, the weather will make or break a ride like this and no matter how much planning and training you do you will be at the mercy of things totally outside your control.

4 days would be a different proposition and you would almost certainly need support, but again with a fair wind and a lot of training I certainly wouldn't discount it. Cyclists regularly cover larger consecutive daily distances than this, and not just the pros!
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

Thanks toontra. I have read the blog, it's very helpful
mnichols
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by mnichols »

Mick F wrote:Doable?
LE to Exeter is easy on the A30.
Alternatives are very slow and hilly.
You need to go right through the city centre as the only by-pass these days is the M5 :lol:
Get onto the B3181 (Old A38) and then the A38 at J27 M5.
Stay on the A38 right through to Bristol. Again no by-pass.
Turn onto the A4 under the Clifton Suspension Bridge and head up past the zoo and up the hill and you can get to the A38 heading north.
Keep on the A38 through Gloucester, Tewksbury and Worcester, then main trunk roads through Kidderminster and Brignorth, then Telford to Whitchurch. There's a short cut from Hodnet to the A41 for Whitchurch rather than going on the A53 towards Market Drayton.
Head up the A49 through Warrington, Wigan, Standish, and Euxton, and then find the A6 just south of Preston.
Stay on the A6 to Carlisle, then follow the B roads alongside the M74 - this is the Old A74.
Turn off onto the A73 at Abington and Lanark and the A706 for Whitburn and Linlithgow onto the A904 and cross the Forth.
Inverkeithing and Kelty then Kinross and B996 through Glen Farg and A912 for Bridge of Earn to Perth.
Then it's A9 over the Grampians and over the Kessock Bridge at Inverness and all the way to Latheron, then A99 via Wick into JOG.



Mick, do you know the total distance, daily distances, or have a GPX of this route?
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Mick F
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Re: 4 or 5 day LEJOG

Post by Mick F »

No, sorry.
All you need to do is follow my route and plot it on BikeHike.UK etc if you need a device to work it out.

When it was all planned for The Race Against Time in 2007, we had a meeting, and we all studied a road atlas.
The route is common sense and simple and you don't need a GPX etc, just a knowledge of the roads from one end to the other.

Head out from LE on the A30 and stay on the A30 until you reach the edge of Exeter. Keep going, and you're on the M5 :lol:

Honestly, just look at a road atlas and aim at the major A roads and head north.
Mick F. Cornwall
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