At some point last year, I decided that cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats was something that I could attempt.\u00a0\u00a0 Since then I’ve been doing lots of training rides, cycling to work as much as possible, deciding on gear and tech and plotting potential routes on maps.\u00a0 I intend to keep this blog updated as I complete the buildup and will also send updates whilst en-route.<\/p>\n
I’m raising money for the Sick Kids hospital, and you can visit my sponsorship page at http:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/andrewbirkett_lejog<\/a>.<\/p>\n I’ll be getting the train down to Penzance and then starting the ride from Lands End on May 11th.\u00a0 I’ll be doing the ride solo and unsupported (ie. carrying all my own stuff) and will be staying in B&B’s along the way.\u00a0 The total distance is over 1000 miles, passing up the west coast of England, through Glasgow and then heading north along Loch Ness towards the highlands.\u00a0 I picked the start date to avoid busy school holidays and to try to get decent cycling weather (neither too hot or too cold, fingers crossed).<\/p>\n I originally intended to do the ride on my hub-geared Courier Nexus<\/a> bike because I love hub gears, but after doing lots of longer rides I found that wind resistance is a big deal.\u00a0 So now I’ll be doing the ride on a Ridgeback Horizon<\/a> touring bike with drop handlebars.\u00a0 For navigation, I’ll have pages torn out of a road atlas, plus a GPS system<\/a> to keep me going in the right direction.<\/p>\n For training, I’ve been gradually doing longer rides.\u00a0 Last summer, I cycled to my parents place and back (~50miles).\u00a0 Then in September I cycled to my inlaws place (60miles) and then back the next day (another 60 miles).\u00a0 I try to cycle to work when life allows it (10 miles there, 10 miles back).\u00a0 I got back into training in January with a freezing cold 25 mile loop through Musselburgh, Dalkeith and Loanhead – made the mistake of not taking enough food, and underestimated the effect of getting chilled.\u00a0 Then, a few weekends later, I did a 20 ride out to Gullane with the wind behind me, followed by a painful return home against a gale.\u00a0 Last weekend, I did a 55 mile loop around via the Kincardine bridge – it was even warm and sunny at one point!\u00a0 And this weekend I’m planning a 65 mile ride.\u00a0 I seem to be averaging about 14mph over a typical 4 hour ride.<\/p>\n Training also involves getting used to eating more food than I normally do.\u00a0 Last weekend’s ride burned something like 2,500 calories and I need to keep myself fueled during the big ride.\u00a0 So I’m trying to get used to loading up with extra food.<\/p>\n