A week at the office - Sucessful Completion

[Hal]

One day while sitting at my desk I was wondering what else you may be able to do in five days.

Another day I was thinking that if I was going to ride Lands End to John o Groats again (last time was when I was 16, 1065miles, 16days) I would either have to do it much quicker or much slower.

Then the penny dropped.

So starting Monday morning 15th June at Lands End and planning to finish on Friday afternoon 19th June at John o Groats in time for a pint.

This is going to be a bit of a ‘planned Epic’, there is not a lot of room for things to go wrong, weather, mechanicals etc. Balancing speed vs endurance vs time on the bike is going to be key. Getting 100 miles done before lunch and then having the legs to get to the booked accommodation in time for dinner, steady 18’s, staying well fed to keep up energy levels. Will I make it? I certainly hope so but if you want to hold the sponsorship till I’ve done then that’s fine.

My route looks like being about 920miles between 160 and 210 miles per day as follows:
Monday - Lands End to Taunton – 166miles
Tuesday – Taunton to Whitchurch (nr Shrewsbury) – 172miles
Wednesday – Whitchurch to Carlisle – 172miles
Thursday - Carlisle to Ballaculish – 204miles
Friday – Ballaculish to John o Groats – 198miles

Planning:
This will be a solo ride so no hiding in the group or following wheels to shelter from the wind. All my B&B accommodation is now booked so at least for the first 3 days I have to keep to schedule. The train tickets to Penzance and the Sleeper back from Inverness are also booked. I will be travelling very light posting some bits of food and clothing on to my pre-booked accommodation. No specific support but I will be meeting a few people along the way for lunch, navigation or accommodation.

Training :
Basically I have done very little specific training, riding with Addiscombe CC on Saturday morning training groups to the café, a handful of Road Races, crit racing on Tuesday evenings at Crystal Palace, a few rides down to the coast and back, The Fred Whitton Challenge and The 3 day Tour of Wessex.

Kit:
I am going to ride my race bike with a small tool kit under the seat and a small handlebar bag for all my other stuff it weighs 12kg fully loaded so that about 4kg of tools, water and clothes.

Hal

http://www.justgiving.com/mon-fri_out_of_the_office

http://www.re-cycle.org

[-Adam-]

Oh God, not another one...

[Dombo]

Daily food intake would be of interest too.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

I'm with you on that one Hal - would love to accompany you, but can't get the time off work

Are you doing this unaccompanied? and carrying your stuff with you?

[Antloony]

Ah visiting Shrewsbury, my old home town.

Ignore the miserable sods Hal, go ride and enjoy.

[EdO]

Good luck Hal. Look forward to the write up.

What bike will you use ?

Ed.

[Marky Mark]

Hal (had clappy smiley) go for and the best of luck to you...

Marky Mark

[quote="Sean Hogan - 何祥"][quote="-Adam-"]Oh God, not another one...

[Graham O]

Good Luck and Have fun...

Guess that it will be RAAM next year then ?

[Michelle]

Cripes! That's a lot of miles. Good luck, all you need is the credit card I reckon, and a jar of instant cofee to keep pouring into your mouth.

An old boyfriend of mine did that in his teens, cycled from Newcastle to London in 48 hours, kept going by tipping granulated coffee into his gob, and slept for a few hours under a hedge. Not sure I'd recommend this style of travel though

[Andrew G]

Nice one Hal and good luck.

I plan a LEJOG myself in the next couple of years (probably 6/7 days though) so will be really interested in your progress and all the tips you'll no doubt be able to offer once you've done this.

Also interested to know how you are doing it - credit card touring style with saddlebag, or panniers and more self sufficient.

[Marky Mark]

[img]http://beaut.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/sudocrem.jpg[/img]

[Mike I]

[quote="Dombo"]Daily food intake would be of interest too.

[Toks]

Jesus Hal, you really do like riding your bike Rather you than me and all that... I hope your knee isn't gonna give you too much bother. Keep us posted and most importantly lots of luck

[Roy Green]

My old Crescent Wheelers (Essex) pal Ken Craven, a real short distance TT star of the 1960s, did it about 8 years ago. He was in his late 60s and did it in 5 days, basic-tent camping, and eating beans-out-of-the-tin style!. So should be a breaze, Hal ... Best of luck.
Roy