LEJOG and not getting lost

On a journey of almost 1000 miles and 13.5 days the inevitable is likely to happen where I get lost and ride in quite possibly the wrong direction. A thousand miles in the correct direction is going to be hard enough so I certainly don't want to add any unneeded miles especially if they include climbing hills.

Thankfully modern technology is all around us and I will be taking advantage of the high tech on offer with possibly a fall back on some rather low tech paper maps as a backup.

If you have read my post LEJOG - My Route you will have seen my routed plotted out on the website ridewithgps.com. This has been a great resource for route planning, allowing detailed route manipulation. All the routes for my 13.5 day LEJOG adventure have been saved online but using them direct from the website to navigate whilst riding through the British country side is just a bridge too far. Thankfully the site allows all of the saved routes to be exported in various formats to be programmed into GPS devices.

My cycle GPS computer of choice is the Garmin Edge 800 which in addition to recording ride details also has a mapping function. RWGPS can export 3 main formats compatible with the Edge 800, TCX Course, GPX Track and GPS Route. I have tested GPX track a few times and found it to be reliable on the Edge 800 and will be the likely format of choice but if I have time over the next two weeks I would like to try TCX course as it includes turn by turn directions with notification whereas GPX Track lays out a course to be followed, though from experience if you do wander of course you can use the maps and navigate back to the intended route. Guess I need to make a decision! If still undecided prior to leaving for the UK I may just export in both formats and copy onto the Edge and decide which to use once I get there. Thankfully the Edge has plenty of memory space especially with the addition of an 8GB micro SD card which is also being used to contain the maps.

Garmin offer their own maps but at $50 plus per map so it can get quite expensive, especially when you want to update. Fortunately there is a much cheaper and in my opinion equally as good an option and that is the Open Street Maps. Links to Garmin formatted maps can be found at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin/Download. The beauty of the OSM is that the maps tend to be updated on a fairly regular basis and are available at no cost. I have been using the North American maps since December and find them to be as accurate as any Garmin maps I have used. Details on how to download and use can also be found on the link above.



Now off to finish the route fine tuning so I can get them exported!

Riding in San Francisco

As you may have read in my previous post, this week is a Rest Week, as I have been attending Cisco Live in San Francisco.  San Francisco is a city seemingly full of cyclists, every time I stepped out of the hotel or conference center  I would see cyclists going about their business, whether that be commuting, shopping just simply getting from A to B as efficiently as possible.

In fact cycling is so popular that they have installed automated bike counters on some routes such as this one on Market Street.This picture was taken on Tuesday evening at approx. 6pm, the daily bike count was at 2357, what may not be clear though is that so far this year almost 300,000 cyclists have ridden past this counter.  This in my opinion is a huge number, which reflects positively on San Francisco's efforts to incorporate cycling into it transport infrastructure and the positive cycling culture of the city.

Having all this cycling going on all around me really gave me the itch to ride, so on Wednesday I took the plunge and took out a 24 hour membership to use the Bay Area Bike Share program.  Some may say the cost for a single day is relatively expensive but given the ease of use and getting around and also the cost of alternate transport such as taxi's the $9 fee is pretty reasonable.  For this I was able to get unlimited bike rentals during the 24 hour period for up to 30 minutes each. Any rental over 30 minutes do incur additional fees, the rational though is to encourage shorter trip use, say when you need to get from your hotel to the conference center as I needed to do. In downtown San Fran there are numerous bike rental pickup and drop off locations, in fact the hotel I was staying at was 1 block from a rental location and the conference center had one basically on site.

Convenient!

I made use of the bikes 3 times during the 24 hours, maybe riding a mile or so each time. Not far by my normal standard but way cheaper than taking a taxi, quicker than walking and better for me and the environment.  I would certainly recommend this as a way to move around San Francisco and will use this scheme and other similar schemes that have sprung up in other cities around the world when the opportunity presents.

Now back to the real matter in hand, training & prep for LEJOG, only 20 days away!
   

Rest Week

I am currently sat on a flight from Washington DC to San Francisco, where I am heading to attend this year's Cisco Live event. I have never been to one of these events so when my employer offered me the opportunity of attending I jumped at it.

 
Initially I did have one reservation about going to Cisco Live and that was not being able to cycle and train for my upcoming LEJOG, which is now only 25 days away. An enforced six days off the bike will feel like an eternity but the closer this week came the more I realized that it was a great way to build a rest week into my schedule without actually feeling guilty.

The last 2.5 months have been the most cycling intensive months that I recall doing, close to 1400 miles. Whilst great prep for LEJOG very tough on the body especially given the lack of riding over the winter months. So I am now giving the body a rest before the onslaught of 75+ miles and thousands of feet of climbing that await me.

 

Cap2Cap 2014 Ride Report

Last weekend was the 2014 Cap2Cap ride hosted by Virginia Capital Trail Foundation.  The event consists of rides of  multiple distances starting and finishing either in Richmond or Williamsburg.

This year was my 3rd time riding the 100 mile loop from Richmond out to Williamsburg and back.

An early departure was required to reach Richmond in plenty of time for the 7:30 am start. Setting the
alarm for 4am was a pointless exercise as I was awake at 2:40 and no matter how much I tried I could not get back to the land of nod. So after a very slow and quiet start, as I didn't want to wake everyone else in the house, I was on the road heading south before 4:30.

Despite the forecast calling for some potential showers the temperature was already 71 and the drive down was thankfully dry.

Even stopping to grab a McDonald's latte and sausage muffin (the breakfast of all century riders or so I am told) I arrived at Rockets Landing Richmond at 6:15, much earlier than I expected, so the 75 minutes I had before the ride start were more than ample to collect the ride packet, get myself and the bike ready and get to the start line.



The number of riders at the start seemed less than previous years but was still a good turn out. If I was a guessing man I would say maybe 400 started the century ride in Richmond. Whilst a few spots of rain and the gray clouds threatened the ride thankfully started dry and cool. It remained dry for almost all of my time out on the roads with the exception of a 2 minute downpour when I was at the 75 mile point. The temperature did rise into the low 80's with some sun, but all in all, it was an ideal day for cycling.

The ride heads from Richmond through Henrico and Charles counties towards the Chickahominy river and Williamsburg, passing by a number of historical sites and through lots of green countryside. Using, for the most part quiet country roads, the ride is a relaxed affair with only a couple of climbs that required serious amounts of effort. All in all a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday cycling supporting a good cause.

Route Map 

The route was just under the 100 but I was able to make it 3 digits with the before and after warm up / cool downs. According to my GPS lap times the ride itself was 98.7 miles and I had a moving average of 17.3 mph. Almost 2mph quicker than my regular pace.

Pictures from Ride

 

 

 

 

Who and Why am I Fundraising for?

As I briefly outlined in my first post I am fundraising for the Congressional Schools of Virginia's Financial Aid program to provide need based financial aid for students in the Emerging Scholars (ES) program.

I knew little about the ES program when I started talking with Congressional's development director about fundraising opportunities. All I really knew was that I wanted to give something back to the school community and possibly inspire others but was unsure precisely what.

As the ES program was explained to me it seemed to be an ideal fit as a fundraising goal.
Helping students from across the wider underserved community attend a fantastic school like Congressional, who may not otherwise have the opportunity.

I have no set dollar goal in mind, only to inspire and raise as much as possible. So any sponsorship contributions to this fundraising effort are greatly appreciated. All monies pledged will go to  Financial Aid / ES program, the full cost of the trip is at my own expense.

About Emerging Scholars

(shamelessly copied from here).

There are countless boys and girls in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area who exhibit exceptional academic and leadership potential, but who lack the financial means to attend a school where they could fully develop their capabilities. Emerging Scholars (ES) was established to identify such students, prepare them to succeed in independent schools, and help them earn admittance to, and scholarship support from, the appropriate school.  Congressional is proud to be a founding member of this excellent organization and to maintain a position on its Board of Directors.

Each year, the Emerging Scholars program enrolls a select group of rising fifth grade students who have strong family support, and who demonstrate academic talent, leadership capability, and financial need.  During a 14-month program, requiring 100 full days of attendance, ES prepares these students to be successful in an independent school environment by teaching a core academic curriculum including reading, writing, research, history, math, science, fine arts, and technology.  As a result of the program, ES students are prepared to meet the academic, social and personal issues they will face as they become part of an independent school community. Every year Congressional admits at least one ES student to 6th grade for the balance of the middle school program.  The tuition for ES students attending The Congressional Schools of Virginia is funded by private contributions, grants from foundations, and fundraising opportunities. Learn more . . . 

Training - My Plan

There have been two main factors in my personal preparation for the ride next month.

• Weight Loss
• Physical Fitness

Weight Loss

I am what is politely called in cycling circles a "Clydesdale" a 200lb + cyclist. Carrying excessive weight whether it be on my person or on the bike is never ideal when it comes to climbing hills and as you probably noticed in my last post there is definitely going to be lots of those.
In the first 2.5 days I will climb over 10000ft, now admittedly there will also be close to 10000ft of down hills but those will fly by all to quickly. Ten thousand feet of climbing is pretty darned significant so to reduce the strain on my body and the bike  I decided I must go on a diet. Starting New Year's day I set myself the goal of losing 40lbs, an average of 8lb per month. With significant will power, portion control and being calorie conscious (no fad diets for me) as well as a significant amount of cycling thrown in for good measure I met my target at the end of April a full month before I had planned. I have now extended my diet and if I can manage to lose another 5 - 10lbs I will be ecstatic. I still qualify as a Clydesdale but the hills, whilst never easy, will be slightly less taxing. 

Physical Fitness - Building the Mileage in the Legs

For me the core component of cycling is leg fitness. Being able to grind out 13.5 consecutive days of 75 miles per day is about stamina. and the only way for me to build this stamina is to amass time in the saddle peddling.

January and February this year were basically the winter from hell for a cyclist, snow, ice and freezing temperatures. These didn't stop me totally from venturing out on two wheels but did limit the mileage to an average of 80 miles per month. So thank goodness then that I also have an indoor trainer, which basically converts a regular bicycle into an exercise bike. I find the trainer to be good for spinning and logging hours in the saddle but not being able to vary the "terrain" as it were and having a pretty much constant level of excursion, along with no variation in scenery makes these trainer sessions tedious and boring.

So once March arrived and the thaw started I was able to get out as often ( 2 - 3 times per week) as weather and time permitted. I started out with regular short rides 20 - 30 miles when time was available interspersed with 15 milers. As March progressed and April approached I increased the length of the rides by 10% per week so by early April I was comfortable, once again, with rides in the mid 40's.  But one thing that worried me was being able to do long rides day after day, with little to no recovery time. So in mid April I set myself the goal of 3 rides in 3 days. These rides on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday totaled 190 miles ( 70, 69, 51). With no significant complaints from the body I am now confident  of being able to do the 13.5 days required to get to John O'Groats. I am sure the body is going to hurt but hopefully it will be bearable.

In addition to recreational rides, that are now regularly between 60 and 70 miles, I have started once again commuting to work, a 30 mile round trip, 2 days per week as my schedule allows. The main goal here is to cycle regularly with packed panniers and handlebar bag, to get used to the handing of a fully laden bike and the effort required when climbing hills. All I can say is that thank goodness I lost some weight, because when lugging a laptop, clothes and other necessities the bike must have an additional 30lbs on it and I sure feel the extra effort required.

With just over 4 weeks to the start of LEJOG, I am continuing the training & commuting rides and feel comfortable that the base fitness & stamina is there. I am sure that the first two full day in Cornwall will severely test me and make me wonder whether I should  have done more training and lost more weight. Only time will tell.

LEJOG - My Route

The Route

Land's End to John O'Groats or John O'Groats to Land's End

The first decision to be made before I could start planning the route details was whether to attempt LEJOG or JOGLE. As both ends of the journey are at roughly sea level the overall climbing would be the same in either direction so no advantage is gained, the only advantage LEJOG has over JOGLE is the prevailing wind which due to the jet stream blows from the South West. So this is the primary reason why I am doing LEJOG and not JOGLE, riding 1000 miles into a headwind whilst a challenge is not something I relish. Maybe next time I'll do JOGLE

LEJOG Route

So having decided on the direction of travel  the detailed route planning was started and it has been a lengthy monumental task taking almost 4 months with tweaking still being done to this day.
The beginning and end are obviously fixed points but there is no set route that must be followed. There are numerous guides and books available offering routes and many resources online with helpful advice but the final decision is up to personal preference.
The route for me was influenced by the following:

# of Days Available
Distance Cycled per day
Climbing per Day
Availability of suitable accommodation (not just for me but also my bike)

The number of days available was set by the vacation days I have accrued and the amount of time I can reasonably take of off work. This I figured to be 14 days.

Daily Mileage, based on the total expected mileage and days available I averaged out I would need to ride between 70 and 75 miles each and everyday. 

Climbing, Whilst keeping this to a minimum some days will have significantly more climbing than others. where possible some days the mileage ridden will be slightly longer so as to avoid significant climbs.

Suitable Accommodation for me and secure storage for the bike are not always within the average mileage I am planning to ride daily, in fact even finding towns and villages within the average mile was sometimes difficult. This all played into the planning and has required some days to be shorter and others significantly longer than average.

Day 0 - Land's End to Hayle

Day 1 - Hayle to Launceston

Day 2 - Launceston to Wellington

Day 3 - Wellington to Thornbury

 

Day 4 - Thornbury to Stourport

Day 5 - Stourport to Tarporley

Day 6 - Tarporley to Lancaster

Day 7 - Lancaster to Carlisle

Day 8 - Carlisle to Biggar

 

Day 9 - Biggar to Callander

Day 10 - Callander to Fort William

Day 11 - Fort William to Inverness

Day 12 - Inverness to Helmsdale

Day 13 - Helmsdale to John O'Groats THE END.

After reaching JOG the riding is not quite done, despite being close to 1000 miles at this point I have two more comparatively short rides, 20 miles each. I'll be off to Thurso for the celebratory evening of relaxing with a pint or two and sore muscles and the next morning riding over to Wick to pick up a rental car for 600 mile drive south to Staffordshire to visit family for a couple of days.

My Blue Ride

The most important piece of equipment when attempting a ride such as LEJOG, other than the rider is the bike.
Last year when I started seriously considering attempting LEJOG  I had two bikes. My trusty 20 year old chromoly steel Raleigh Pioneer Trail Hybrid and a  2011 Windsor Fens aluminum road bike. I could make the ride on either of these but each has disadvantages.
The Raleigh, which I completed the C&O canal ride on in 2010, is heavy (35lbs), has wide slow tires and is geared for off roading. The Fens is lightweight by comparison, tipping the scales at about 21lbs, whilst significantly lighter the drawback is it is more fragile and not ideal for ANY off road trails, tarmac is preferred the smoother the better especially with 23mm tires. Wider tires would help with off road but the largest the Fens can accommodate are 25mm wide. Based on my size and the possible terrain 28mm tires are a must.

So I drew up a list of my requirements for a suitable ride:-

Lightweight
Accommodate 28mm tires
Rugged Frame
Use road bike groupset
Suitable for primarily road use but comfortable on off road surfaces.

So after exploring the options, and not wishing to spend an arm and a leg I decided on building my ride from the frame up.

The Finished Bike

Here is the finished item.

Blue Norcross SP Cylcocross aluminum frame and carbon fiber forks
Shimano 105 Front and Rear Derailleurs
FSA Compact Double Front Chain Set (50 / 34)
Shimano 105 10 speed cassette (11-27)
Avid Shorty 4 front and rear brakes
Vuelta HD Road Wheels
Continental Gatorskin 700 x 28 Tires
Nashbar 10 Speed Brifters

Having completed the build of "Blue" late last year I have been able to ride on many of the types surfaces I expect to encounter and have experienced no issues. Plus I managed to keep the weight down to approx 24 - 25lbs. The only change planned prior to LEJOG is to swap the cassette from the 11-27 to a 12-30 Tiagra . This is to provide a little lower gearing for some of the steep climbs I know I will encounter, especially in Cornwall and Devon.

What is LeJOG? And Why am I Riding It?

What is LEJOG?

No it is not some French form of exercise, LEJOG is in fact the British Classic End to End journey from Land's End, at the south western tip of mainland England to John O'Groats, at the north eastern tip of mainland Scotland. The journey is often shortened to LEJOG when riding from Land's End north and to JOGLE when riding south.



The shortest distance for LEJOG is approx. 874 miles on major arterial roads. Most people who undertake this adventure do so by taking a route away from these major roads, using minor roads and country lanes passing through many areas of outstanding natural beauty. This allow for an endless variety of routes and mileage and in turn the time required.

My planned LEJOG route is currently set to cover 965 miles in 13.5 days, starting on the evening of June 12th and ending on the 25th. I'll be riding this journey solo, giving me the flexibility to vary my route and take in sites and attractions as I choose, the only certainty will be the final destination for the day, as all my accommodation is already booked. With this flexibility I expect the total mileage to be just north of the 1000 mile mark at journey’s end.

Why?

I have been asked by family and friends why? And as it draws closer I have also asked myself  Why?Initially this was a personal challenge, a bucket list item. Having ridden a lot in the last 4 years completing several 100 milers and the C&O canal ride from Cumberland MD to Washington DC (185 miles in 3 days), this was the next step for me, a big step up in the mileage and time.

In addition to the personal challenge I have now added a sponsorship element, to raise money for the financial aid program at the Congressional Schools of Virginia in support of the emerging scholars program. More details can be found at http://www.congressionalschools.org/barnes-bicycle-ride.html

I plan on updating this blog regularly in the run up to my LEJOG with details of the planning and training that are going into this adventure and then to blog daily during the ride to keep everyone updated with my progress.

Simon