Saturday 3rd June 2006 (42 days to go)
I am planning to leave on the evening of Friday 14th July 2006. I have now booked tickets on the 2350 sleeper service from London Paddington with the anticipation of reaching Penzance by 0830. A short taxi ride from Penzance to Land's End will get me there around 9am. I've heard that the famous sign post is taken down overnight and not put up until 10am, so I'll probably wait around to get a picture of me with it.
Shortly after 10am I will be starting my journey. The plan is to do around 100 miles each day, therefore completing the entire trip in 9-10 days. However, the furthest I have ever cycled in a day to date is 85 miles, so to do more than that for 9-10 days running might prove to be a little ambitious - we'll have to see. The total distance is going to be around 900-1000 miles. I am not going to pre-book any accommodation as I feel this will restrict me to do a particular mileage on any given day. Some days I may feel good and want to carry on, whereas others I may want to finish early. My trip starts around a week before the school holidays, so I'm hoping that I won't have any problems with getting accommodation at the last minute. The plan is to find a local tourist information or post office near the end of each day and ask around as to what accommodation there is. I think I will prefer to stay in B&B's as opposed to Youth Hostels, as from what I've read on other peoples sites there isn't a great deal of difference in price, but the comfort/facilities are that much better in B&B's. Let me know if anyone disagrees with this!!
Still not quite sure on the plan to get back to Tunbridge Wells yet. I'll possibly get the train from Wick to Inverness and fly back from there. If anyone has any useful suggestions, please let me know!!
As with everyone who plans to do this trip, I plan to take as little as possible, only "essentials"
Luggage planned
- Waterproof trousers and top
- Spare change of clothes for the evenings
- Pump
- Puncture repair kit
- Basic tools
- Spare inner tube and tyre
- Wallet, Phone, Keys
- Cream (for those sensitive areas)
- Razor, toothbrush, shower gel and deodorant
- Sunglasses & Sun cream
- Padlock
- Digital camera
I currently cycle in to work on most days during the week (6 miles each way). In addition to this I usually go for a couple of runs each week and play football once a week too. Given this, I would consider myself reasonably fit already, so the only additional training I need to do is a few long bike rides to get myself into the groove.
I am hoping to do a couple of 50 mile bike rides (including the London to Brighton bike ride again, on Sunday 18th June 2006, and one 100 mile bike ride before I start. Perhaps a couple of 80 mile back to back rides to give me an idea of what to expect.
Thursday 22nd June 2006 (23 days to go)
Unfortunately the only 50+ mile bike ride I have done so far was the London to Brighton on Sunday - the World Cup is proving to be a severe distraction from training.
Me getting back from work a couple of days after the London to Brighton
London to Brighton also caused issues as I got a puncture in my back tyre half way through. This is my first puncture in over 1000 miles of cycling, so I'm hoping I don't have another one for at least another 1000 miles.
Felt OK the next day after the 54 mile ride, so I am feeling confident of cycling a lot more in a day. Whether I can keep that up day after day will be a totally different question!
Planning on getting out on my bike this Saturday to do another minimum 50 mile ride.
Monday 3rd July 2006 (12 days to go)
Decided that I really needed to get out for another long ride (after failing to go out on the Saturday before). Left work from Tonbridge at 5.15pm, cycled to Battle, then back to Tunbridge Wells. Total distance: 60 miles in 4 hours (average speed of 15mph). Did stop off briefly at a garage just outside Heathfield for a water refill. This is probably the sort of distance I want to be covering in a morning on the LEJOG, so gives me a deadline of setting off no later than 8am each morning if this is to be done.
Thursday 6th July 2006 (9 days to go)
Competed in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate challenge run in Battersea Park. The run itself was 3.5 miles and was good fun. In addition to the cycling I have been doing, I have also been doing a 3 mile run in my lunch break between 1-2 times a week.
Saturday 8th July 2006 (7 days to go)
Taken my bike in for a service today. Need to ensure it is going to be in top form!
Tuesday 11th July 2006 (4 days to go)
Bike picked up from the shop in Tonbridge. Puncture on the way home!! Tyre ripped, so I'll have to take it back in for a new one!
Wednesday 12th July 2006 (3 days to go)
New tyre fitted. Managed to cycle home with no further drama this time!
Thursday 13th July 2006 (2 days to go)
Oh dear! Woke up this morning with a sore throat and feeling slightly run down. This is all I need with only a couple of days to go. After work, got my bag packed for the next day and went to bed ridiculously early to get as much rest as possible.
Friday 14th July 2006 (1 day to go)
Woke up with my cold feeling fractionally better. Just before leaving work, I decided to weigh my bag to see what the weight I was going to be carrying for the duration of this trip. This weighed in at around 8kg (around 17-18lb). This was a little heavier than I was used to carrying!! After work, met up with the missus and my son to have a last dinner with them before I leave. After dropping my son off with my mum for the night, I was on the train from Tonbridge to London Charing Cross at 2124. It was on this journey where it suddenly hit me - I was really on my way to do this!! Until this point it had just been talk, but now it was very real. There were no other distractions around me and I was now focusing on the task ahead - I was taking my first steps on what was to be a very tough journey. Nerves and apprehension were also creeping in. There was a lot of money riding on this!
Decided that when I arrived at London Charing Cross that I would cycle the 3 miles or so it was to London Paddington. I had a map with me and already knew most of the route anyway. Arrived at Paddington after a leisurely stroll at around 2300. I had 50 minutes before my train was due to leave, so popped into a shop to stock up on a supply of water for the night and first thing in the morning. I was shown to where I had to put my bike and then shown to my sleeper berth. The train pulled away on time at 2350 and I guess I must have been asleep by around 0100. The time had finally come!!!.............
Luggage taken
- Waterproof trousers and top
- Lights (just in case)
- Spare tyre and inner tube
- All in one tool gadget thingy
- Chain lubricant
- Bike pump
- Puncture repair kit
- Bike lock
- Zip ties and elastic bands (just in case I needed to hold something together!!)
- Toiletries - deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor
- Plasters and Antiseptic wipes
- Sudocreme!!
- Digital camera and charger
- Mobile phone and charger
- Wallet
- Keys
- iPod
- 1 spare change of T-shirt
- 1 spare change of pants
- 1 spare change of socks
- 1 spare fleece top
- 1 pair of cycling shorts
- Sunglasses
- 2 tubes of sun cream
- Small pouch of washing powder
- 6 bananas
- 4 energy bars
- 4 isotonic energy gel pouches