Epic Bike Ride - Land's End to John O'Groats

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48036626153659925182011-07-08T08:59:19.205+01:00Epic Bike Ride - Land's End to John O'Groats - The BlogMike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-49087013298462847542009-07-18T12:12:00.004+01:002009-07-18T12:21:24.664+01:00Day 12 - Challenge Complete!

We started the day in the sunshine, heading out of Tongue up a steady hill. Hills would feature heavily for the first 40 miles, heading up some very steep, albeit fairly low altitude hills. With our legs fatigued, and the thought that we were within touching distance from the finishing line, the miles crawled. After Thurso, we headed slightly away from the coastal roads, aptly ending the ride to

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-91478442276040460602009-07-15T21:33:00.007+01:002009-07-15T21:45:10.747+01:00Day 11 – Inverness to Tongue – In to the Wilderness

Our penultimate day took us from Inverness and towards Tongue on the north coast of Scotland. We started by joining the A9 and quickly turned off on to some minor roads heading towards Lairg over the Bonar Bridge.Near the Falls of Shin we encountered a collie wandering along the road. John decided to ring his bell at the dog, a tactic which turned the dog in to a ravage beast. Not wanting to be

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-60432430724090836352009-07-15T21:22:00.002+01:002009-07-15T21:31:15.067+01:00Day 10 - The Fort William-Loch Ness-Inverness Express

After a nice lie-in and the latest start we’d made so far, we headed out of Fort William and toward the Lochs (Lochy and Ness). Inevitably, the A82 was busy with foreign tourists, but the traffic was tolerable and the surface good. Staying level with the lochs meant that the profile was relatively flat compared with previous days, and there were no significant ascents.The weather seemed to be

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-5844727719830253722009-07-13T21:10:00.003+01:002009-07-13T21:22:07.996+01:00Day 9 – Paisley to Fort William – Team LEJOG tear through the Highlands

Another day meant another cooked breakfast and we made sure to clear our plates as we knew that we had a long day ahead of us. The weather first thing was brilliant and, despite a few showers, this kept up for most of the day. We headed out of Paisley and towards Loch Lomond on the A82. The road surface for some of this stretch was pretty awful. It was almost like sitting on a washing machine for

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-76901260515826615282009-07-12T19:49:00.002+01:002009-07-12T19:51:57.187+01:00Day 8 - Dull and Hilly

We started the day with our first Scottish Breakfast (mmm...Haggis), and met 3 guys that were heading from John o’ Groats down to Land’s End over 13 days. They had their own custom gear, and it looked like they’d been pretty successful gaining corporate sponsorship.We set off in the wind and rain at about 9.30. The first stint on the A76 was unpleasant, but we soon headed off on some minor roads

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-5522668374606120912009-07-11T21:41:00.004+01:002009-07-13T21:23:59.016+01:00Day 7 – Chapel-Le-Dale to Dumfries – We finally make it to Scotland

Today was the longest planned day of the trip so we got up early in order to reach our destination in a decent time. We headed out of the Yorkshire Dales on some minor roads and snaked around the M6 all the way up to Carlisle, one section taking us along what must be the straightest roads in Britain. Early on in the day we met some fellow end-to-enders climbing one of the many hills that we

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-51057984097092573162009-07-11T21:29:00.006+01:002009-07-11T21:39:21.972+01:00Day 6 - The First of the Big Hills

We set off up the A34 towards Manchester. The roads were fairly busy, but we managed a pretty decent speed which allowed us to notch up the early miles quickly. Having missed our turn-off onto the minor roads, we carried on further towards Manchester on the A34. Heading through the centre of Manchester was surprisingly painless. A few roads were closed, but we managed to find the right road to

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-47305869973274127482009-07-11T21:22:00.001+01:002009-07-11T21:26:35.299+01:00Day 5 – Inkberrow to Congleton – City Slickers

Today was the longest and most difficult day of the cycle so far. We started by heading to Redditch and while there we missed our turning and ended up having to hotfoot it over a dual carriageway to get back on the right track. Once through Redditch we entered Birmingham and headed towards Walsall. After a few more wrong turns, double checking of our maps and avoiding the awful drivers of

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-35709391314188483392009-07-08T19:31:00.001+01:002009-07-08T19:37:26.893+01:00Day 4 - Flat as a Pancake

Day 4, from Bristol to Inkberrow, promised to be the easiest day of the ride. We ascended out of Bristol, and took the A38 along an unpleasant rush-hour dual carriageway. After we passed the M5 junction, the road became single carriageway, and much less stressful to ride on. The surface quality wasn’t great, but Mike led us at a decent speed for the relatively flat first 30 miles through to

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-22459265271742617322009-07-08T19:15:00.003+01:002009-07-08T19:28:28.786+01:00Day 3 - Tiverton to Bristol

Following another cooked breakfast we donned our damp shoes and helmets in preparation for what we expected to be another hilly day from Devon in to Somerset and then up to Bristol. The day started with us heading to Wellington, Taunton and then Bridgwater on the A38. The weather during this spell of our trip was pretty good despite the forecast. We risked stopping in Bridgwater for a snack and

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-21697783582182622692009-07-08T18:57:00.004+01:002009-07-08T19:38:30.142+01:00Day 2 – Devon: Satan’s County

A late breakfast and a blustery start to the day led us out of Tintagel and up to meet the A39 again. For the early miles, we largely avoided rain, but the amount of surface water on the roads suggested we’d narrowly missed some heavy showers. We entered Devon not far into the ride, and so began the hills. The inclines are steep and frequent, testing us significantly more than the shallower

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-80396824797259990212009-07-08T18:35:00.003+01:002009-07-08T19:40:09.053+01:00Day 1 - Land's End to Tintagel

The day started with our first full English breakfast of the journey. This put us in good stead for the journey ahead. We made the short four mile cycle from Crows An Wra to Lands End where we discovered that the sign post had not yet been set up. After meeting two other groups embarking on the same journey as us (it’s good to know we’re not the only insane ones!) we got our photos taken where

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-53370458548418720652009-06-21T21:32:00.003+01:002009-06-21T22:05:26.444+01:00The longest day, the longest ride

Spurred on by travelling 45 miles in under 3 hours on Saturday, I felt there was no better way to celebrate the solstice than to cycle 100 miles - 18 more miles than I've ever done before. Donning my newly purchased clothing and helmet, and armed with a Snickers, 9 Jelly Babies and some Jam Sandwiches, I hit the road as early as I could bring myself to (5.30 am!).I chose to cycle through

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-34672262860343483082009-06-09T22:02:00.007+01:002009-06-09T22:43:35.216+01:00This Weekend Mike Discovers Just How Uncomfortable Wet Cycling Shorts Are...

As it was my Birthday last weekend I treated myself to only cycling 55 miles. This meant there was to be no slacking this weekend, whatever the weather...Saturday saw me venture up towards the edge of Exmoor before turning back towards Taunton and then back home. I started by heading through Crewkerne and Chard on the A30. I continued on the A30 to Yarcombe where my arrival was greeted by a

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-8725606505541566062009-06-02T19:32:00.004+01:002009-06-02T20:10:26.584+01:00John's Dales Cycling Weekend

With the footy season over, I can dedicate the whole weekend to cycling now. I decided to combine a trip to visit my Mum and Stepdad in the Dales with a couple of days of scenic cycling.The first day I headed out to the west, through Lancaster and up the coast at Morecambe. The minor roads between Carnforth and Arnside were the most enjoyable, but the A65 into the wind on the way back was the low

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-74186020426732810172009-05-24T20:16:00.003+01:002009-05-24T22:00:06.641+01:00Mike and John's Sheffield Cycling Weekend - Day 2

After taking me over some pretty huge hills on Friday (four of which were over 400 meters high!) John promised me an easier day's cycling on Saturday...The first 20 minutes saw us going uphill(!) as we climbed out of Sheffield and headed south towards Chesterfield, skirting around the A61. After briefly admiring the crooked spire from the dual carriageway we headed east towards Mansfield where we

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-75821119924328598092009-05-24T10:15:00.006+01:002009-05-24T10:47:57.970+01:00Mike and John's Sheffield Cycling Weekend - Day 1

With us living at opposite ends of the country, there are limited opportunities for us to cycle together. I made the trip down to Yeovil at Easter so we could spend a couple of days cycling. Now it was the turn of Mike to make the trip up to Sheffield to spend Friday and Saturday cycling on a couple of routes that I had prepared.I decided we'd head out into the Peak District to get some training

lejogJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03117623657542213446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803662615365992518.post-11921522892441802562009-05-11T18:46:00.005+01:002009-05-11T20:15:25.962+01:00The Site Is Live

Hello!Welcome to mine and John's website detailing our epic bike ride from Land's End to John O' Groats.Over the coming months we plan to keep this page up-to-date with all the latest training shenanigans and musings as we prepare ourselves for our gruelling 12 day cycle. We also plan to try and keep this blog updated while out on the road.In the meantime please visit the sponsorship page for

Mike Crusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10541160012564016734noreply@blogger.com0