And TuesdayTwirl
Dear friends. For the last 3 weeks I've been cycling 1000 miles from Land's End in Cornwall to John O'Groats in Scotland (known as LEJOG).
Some of you may remember we did this before, in 2024. I wrote a post about the experience, From Novice to LEJOG by eBike. I talk there about how the holiday is run and give various tips on training, packing, riding an ebike and more.
This time, I'm approaching it in a different way. I'm sharing my daily journal. You'll find all the highs plus, in the interests of authenticity, the lows: nausea, sore nethers, bike troubles....
Saturday 11 July
Arriving at the start of LEJOG
To Penzance. Our train from Paddington was about 15 mins late arriving. Others were less fortunate. Two trains in front overheated and ground to a halt.
Met the guides from Saddle Skedaddle, Nick and Ezy, at the station along with Helen and John from Nottingham who'd boarded our train after theirs was a victim of the heat. We met Nick and Ezy on a previous tour, the Caledonian Way. You couldn't hope for better guides.
Arrived at the Land's End Hotel at 5 ish. Bike fits were underway for those who were hiring bikes. As John and I have our own ebikes, all we needed to do was fit our pedals and mudguards. We then had a briefing and did intros. There were 13 participants, four from New Zealand, one from Australia, two Americans who live in London with the rest from the UK. Ages ranged from 40s to 70s. There were 6 women including me. One couple is on a tandem.
We were asked to voice any concerns or fears we had. Predictably it was only the women who shared any, namely: dealing with cycling an average of 50 miles every day except one, and coping with the washing and the sore nethers.
For dinner, one of many pre-orders, I had soup and a chicken Caesar salad. Lovely sunset.
Sunday 12 July
Land's End to Truro, 39 miles
We were up at 6 to watch highlights of the World Cup between England v Norway. Didn't sleep too well, very hot. I don't know why hotels provide such hefty duvets now that we have hot summers.
After a good breakfast we posed for pics at the Lands End iconic sites. The waymark sign has been commercialised and you're charged for photos but we dodged this by getting there early.
We set off, slowly at first. Somewhat surprisingly, there was an unexpected heavy shower. Otherwise it was hot and sunny.
Lovely views of St Michael's Mount at the first morning stop (Marazion). I remembered from our previous trip where there's a coffee shop.
We had delicious pasties in the first picnic lunch on the village green at Praze-an-Beedle. The route was mostly through country lanes. Yep, pretty hilly. Some real stinkers near the hotel!
Arrived at the County Hotel in Truro just after 3. John and I were first, which was normal throughout the holiday, and to be expected for ebikes. Showered and did today's washing. We've both taken 3 sets of cycling outfits and will wash them in the shower every day.
Dinner was in the hotel, which has, top marks, air con!! Unfortunately they were running a quiz. Very loud and long. I could hear it even after we'd gone to bed. I had haddock and chips.
Mon 13 July
Truro to Launceston, 53 miles.
A lot of ascent, straight off. I hate it when this happens. I get range anxiety. I kept switching the ebike's power off. I got to the lunch break with 55% so was relieved, as we'd done 33 miles. Got to our accommodation at a golf club about 4pm. Air con above the beds. Had curry of the day. We ate outside. Terrible sleep. Tossing and turning all night.
Below: lunch in the pretty village of St Tudy
Tues 14 July
Launceston to Tiverton, 54 miles
Sleep score of 1. Very tired. But we persevere. Not a very good breakfast, just boxes of cereal and/or a fry up. The mileage was the same as yesterday. today, Launceston to Tiverton. Slightly less ascent, although it didn't seem like that. Relentless number of hills before the break. My range was OK. Got to lunch break, at North Tawton, with 60%. Very good descent coming down into Tiverton. I was going so fast we lost Meg, our fellow ebiker, whose satnav device had ran out of charge.
The guides keep the iced cold drinks coming at our breaks, with plenty of chilled melon and pineapple plus electrolytes.
Reached the Hartnoll Hotel 4.30.
Dinner was outside, still hot. Beautiful gardens. Had cod with a rarebit topping. No starter or dessert in an effort to sleep better. In bed by 9.
The tandem broke down today and has been ruled out. Geoff leapt on a train to London last night to bring their own bikes down by car, returning this morning. Top effort!
Below: our team of 3 at the head of the peloton
Weds 15 July
Tiverton to Cheddar, Somerset, 61 miles
Very good breakfast (granola with berries, Eggs Benedict) though ours took a long time to arrive. We both feel dreadful. I have run out of Imodium. I continually have stomach issues, shall we say, because I feel jittery.
Longest ride so far at 61 miles. Quite hilly at the start, along mostly A roads with impatient drivers. Eventually switched to quieter roads. Bit of a boring ride today. Very hard in the afternoon as it was 29 degrees with a headwind.
When we got to Cheddar I felt quite unwell. Too much sun. John and I, and one other, are in a different hotel. We walked to the Riverside Inn for a prearranged dinner to see England v Argentina. I didn't eat, felt a bit nauseous. Resolved to eat a big breakfast. We didn't stay for the match. Woke up in the night and saw that England lost.
Thurs 16 July
Cheddar to Chepstow, 40 miles
Have a cold but feeling a bit better than yesterday. Had a good breakfast. There was another cycling group in our accommodation. A shorter and less strenuous day. After the continuous but not dreadful ascent out of Cheddar Gorge it was a pleasant route along country lanes and then skirting Bristol. Below: some of the riders in Cheddar Gorge.
We stopped for coffee at Ashton Court estate. Had a pasty at the Downs cafe. We then cycled to the last stop near the Severn Bridge. At this point, my bike and I got into the van. Unfortunately I have a fear of heights and "can't do" big suspension bridges. On eodf the group queried this and suggested I should give it a go. I had thought about wheeling the bike over, but with the head wind I wasn't sure if I would be able to manage it without a meltdown (and certainly didn't want a melt down in front of the others).
Was a long wait for the rest of the cyclists before Ezy and I could leave. Chepstow was new to us as we didn't stop there on our 2024 ride. We're in a Marston's pub with rooms and I feared the worst but it was excellent: a rail with a fan on which we could dry our clothes, plus air conditioning.
Friday 17 July
Chepstow to Hereford, 36 miles
Wasn't feeling 100 and it was very hot so bit of a struggle. I find I'm OK once I get going. Fortunately a low mileage day. Our first stop was at Tintern Abbey.
Hereford is a new one to us, last time we went to Worcester. The route to the city was via a cycle path mostly in parkland. The hotel was in the centre. I went to Hereford Cathedral right away, as I knew that if I showered and did my washing I might feel too tired. It was very beautiful with organ music playing. I was overwhelmed and burst into tears. Fortunately I was on my own. Lit a candle for Mum.
Saw the Mappa Mundi exhibition and the chained book library. Then had a wander round M&S and New Look. Bought a cream blouse. Dinner at a Thai restaurant.
Bedroom and tiny shower unbearably hot all night. Slept badly, at one point trying the floor.
Saturday 18 July
Hereford to Ironbridge, 54.5 miles
I was needing a rest day to reset so that's what I did. I rode in the van with Ezy. The cafe lunch was in Ludlow, where a big concert was taking place later at the castle, featuring The Human League, Marc Almond and others. Very difficult to park. Had quiche and salad outside a cafe. Lovely town, lots of independent shops. The afternoon break was at Much Wenlock. It was a pity to miss the entry into Ironbridge but I remembered how spectacular it was from our last trip.
Dinner was at the hotel. Caesar salad with chips. We had a good room this time, near reception and with AC!
Sunday 19 July
Ironbridge to Hartford, Cheshire, 63 miles.
Felt much better. Decent sleep and weather is good, not a heatwave. Pleasant cycling today, hills were mostly at the beginning.
Lunch at Ginger and Pickles in Nantwich. Very good. Had a refreshing oat milk drink with cinnamon and a panini.
Managed the battery well. 40% power left.
Room has sofa and big modern bathroom. World Cup final tonight. Not interested. Dinner at hotel. Had hummus and flatbreads and lemon meringue pie.
Monday 20 July
Hartford to Mellor, 50 miles
Spain won. Good. Andy Burnham became PM.
Today was a 50 mile urban ride where we skirt Manchester, Blackburn and Oldham. Weather was good. Didn't seem as bad as last time. My battery was playing up, wouldn't stay locked in its compartment. We stopped for coffee at same layby as last time, near a village. I used the community hall's loo again. We had lunch 8 miles from Mellor at a pretty pub. Prawn sandwich and chips, not great. Room in new annexe at the Millstone pub. Lots of downtime for a change. Had tuna Nicoise salad. No dessert. I definitely sleep better if I don't have late evening sugar.
Tuesday 21 July
Hartford to Kirkby Lonsdale, 44.4 miles
Cloudy start, arm warmers required. Over 5000 ft of ascent as we set off down quiet roads and country lanes. It was mostly long and undulating that didn't seem steep but is incredibly tough on the ebike. Felt frustrated that it, and I couldn't get any momentum. The long and winding climb across the Yorkshire National Park needed turbo.
Had picnic at top. Then rode down to Greater Bentham, stopping at The Big Stone. I missed a photo opp at this one!
Stopped for a hot choc in a high street cafe as we needed to kill time. Staying in lovely pub, The Sun Inn. Given fresh milk for drinks and home made biscuits. Kirkby Lonsdale is a pretty little town. Chose a place for dinner (Red Dragon). Ordered gammon but none left so had to have burger. Not great.
A word about the nethers. Cyclists all complain about problems in the bottom department, no matter how much training they've done, or how comfortable their saddle is. The constant pressure, on often poorly surfaced roads, becomes very painful. I had my normal gel saddle; my bib shorts are all padded, and I had a chamois cream which is costly but gets the best reviews, plus Sudocream. But the problem persisted until the last week.
My advice is to ignore all those who tell you to slather on lots of chamois cream. In my experience, it makes it worse. I also had better results from applying Savlon before bed than using Sudocream. And, shock horror, things greatly improved when I wore a pair of soft knickers under my bib shorts (a practice generally condemned by cyclists). Occasionally I was able to get into a loo at lunchtime and reapply Savlon, which helped.
That's it for now - join me for part 2, nearing the end of Cumbria and crossing over to Scotland where we saw the most memorable scenery. Plus: John's motivation speech hits a bum note; my handlebars collapse, and I am forced to consider if my experience has changed me.
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