Author Topic: LeJog (Read 3916 times)

Charlie Polecat · « **on:** 15 January, 2018, 05:13:42 pm »

I just thought I'd ask, is anyone else planning to ride the LeJog this year?

dim · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 January, 2018, 08:12:05 pm »

I might do it this year....

it's one of the rides that I really want to do, but I will most probably do it solo, and as quick as I can ....

I need to ride some long Audax rides first and get proper fit .... I will first build up to try and do the Flatlands Audax then see how that goes

(at this stage, I'm not even sure if I can ride that far)....

the furthest that I have cycled in a day is 217km and I'm not sure if I could do this sort of distance daily for several days

if that goes well, I might try next years PBP

Charlie Polecat · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 January, 2018, 01:58:35 pm »

I think it's worth putting two 200K's back to back to test the waters for an event such as LeJog. It is one thing to ride a 200K and wake up the next morning with the usual aches and pains and stiffness then have to get back on the bike and do it all over again - for 8 to 10 days. Much worse also if you are camping and will be looking for a less than muddy field that night.

Tomsk · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 January, 2018, 05:45:37 pm »

Back in the day, I used a little Audax campaign [long before I attempted an SR, PBP etc] as 'training' for LEJOG. As with long/back-to-back Audaxes, what multi-day, long distance touring teaches you, is the need to pace yourself. Under-performing is the key.

hellymedic · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 January, 2018, 08:19:11 pm »

I see little merit in trying to LEJoG quickly.

There's so much of Britain to see if you take an interesting route.

Why rush? You're unlikely to repeat the ride and going home leaving almost everything interesting unseen because you wanted to pedal quickly devalues the trip of a lifetime to a long drag of pounding potentially boring roads.

dim · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 January, 2018, 10:10:49 pm »

Quote from: hellymedic on 16 January, 2018, 08:19:11 pm

I see little merit in trying to LEJoG quickly.

There's so much of Britain to see if you take an interesting route.

Why rush? You're unlikely to repeat the ride and going home leaving almost everything interesting unseen because you wanted to pedal quickly devalues the trip of a lifetime to a long drag of pounding potentially boring roads.

I know ....

it's something that I need to sort out ... every ride that I do is a race ... even on my daily commutes ... I check the wind forecast and try and get a PB on Strava

If i do LEJOG, I know that I will try and ride it as fast as I possibly can ... but that's just me ... I've always been this way, and when I was younger, I used to do triathlons ... full speed from the start

even on Sportive rides (I've only done one and that was at full speed )

I'm hoping to do the next PBP and if I do qualify, the ride will be as fast as I can

I'm going to ride the next Spring Dash Audax in March .... I know it's not a race, but I'm going to try and win it

I doubt that I will ever change

Charlie Polecat · « **Reply #6 on:** 16 January, 2018, 11:24:01 pm »

Quote from: hellymedic on 16 January, 2018, 08:19:11 pm

I see little merit in trying to LEJoG quickly.

There's so much of Britain to see if you take an interesting route.

Why rush? You're unlikely to repeat the ride and going home leaving almost everything interesting unseen because you wanted to pedal quickly devalues the trip of a lifetime to a long drag of pounding potentially boring roads.

I recall in the Prado one year passing from one room to another and coming across a Goya and audibly grousing: "Not another bloody Goya".

One can ride at any speed and become inured to the scenery such that another castle, another cute inn, another cathedral, another, ...... well you get the meaning until the sights become just more eye candy and one's appetite for another historic building or visual scenery palls and getting the ride over becomes the imperative.

Building on Dim's comment, I do find that once a ride or hike or whatever it is gets under way I become impatient to have it completed and over with and of necessity I plan for that. No matter that I may commence a journey with the intent of taking it all in and recording it as if I was writing some nonsense on Facebook - I don't, but it usually doesn't take long before I am driving on anxious to find something else.

Some have a great attention spans and can comfortably meander through life taking pleasure in the minutia (stopping and smelling the roses at every turn), but that is not my metier. There is no proper way to ride LeJog, and fortunately, there is room for all of us.

Polar Bear · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 January, 2018, 07:05:00 am »

Britain boasts far greater variety. Turner, Constable, Gainsborough, Hockney, ...

Having cycled the majority of counties in Great Britain including a fair number of the Scottish islands I can assure you that the regional variations in landscape, architecture, language and dialect, history and culture ensure that the gallery is anything but repetitive.

Charlie Polecat · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 January, 2018, 01:59:00 pm »

Quote

Britain boasts far greater variety. Turner, Constable, Gainsborough, Hockney, ...

I find it amusing on forums when after one makes an innocuous comment there is always someone who comes along and says: "My dog is bigger than your dog".

Kim · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 January, 2018, 02:01:51 pm »

The related argument is that if you want to see Britain, unless you take a very circuitous route, LEJOG isn't actually the best way to do it. Its main appeal is that it's the ride that everyone has heard of.

Charlie Polecat · « **Reply #10 on:** 17 January, 2018, 02:52:19 pm »

That's true, LeJog is the highway for the end to end route but it is a corridor for a particular endeavour.

And there is no 'right' way to see Britain or any other country and I would suggest it is impossible to actually 'see' Britain no matter the means. It is axiomatic to posit that each of us sees what we see through our own innate historic and psychological experiences so that what I see and take in will be different from any other at the time we are seeing whatever it is we are seeing - an that.

Anyway, enough of that existential rubbish (a little knowledge and all that) and back to the subject.

I have travelled fairly wildly - but not as much as some - and for all the countries I have visited I will say that none come any where near close to Britain for such an enormous variety of scenery, fauna, flora, history and downright weird and peculiar people.

So, if riding LeJog give those doing it a taste of Britain - no matter a narrow corridor of it - then kudos to them and the hope they will come back and take the time to smell the roses, sniff the strange smells in busy shops, pay good money to support our wonderful cathedrals and tell everyone else to stay away because it really is getting a little too crowded and far too expensive particularly in London on a weekend.

That's it. TTFN.

Under the arches · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 January, 2018, 09:30:22 am »

That is a great post. I will be planning one on 5years time.

Plenty of time for some training

Alex B · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 April, 2018, 10:20:36 am »

Yup, riding a LEJOG in a couple of weeks, as part of a team of four Flatlanders from around Cambridge.

Self-supported, but since there are firm dates we have to be back for, it's to a pre-planned schedule with a pre-planned route and pre-booked trains & accommodation (surprising how much was already taken even back in January!).

Aim is for a fairly relaxed pace (12.5 days total) and pleasant scenery with some interesting twists. Route is here:

https://ridewithgps.com/events/41611-lejog-2018

And now I'm off to Yorkshire for the weekend in preparation, to remind myself what a "hill" looks - and feels - like ...

psyclist · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 April, 2018, 10:39:10 am »

Quote from: Alex B on 19 April, 2018, 10:20:36 am

Route is here:

https://ridewithgps.com/events/41611-lejog-2018

That looks superb. A comfortable distance each day, and on most days there seems to be just one significant climb.

TigaSefi · « **Reply #14 on:** 19 April, 2018, 03:46:19 pm »

My 2p: Bollocks to Strava! Pick the best route for this challenge and know you’ve done it in the best way possible! Will still look vastly more impressive than anything else on strava.

Alex B · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 August, 2018, 08:39:06 am »

Quote from: psyclist on 19 April, 2018, 10:39:10 am

That looks superb. A comfortable distance each day, and on most days there seems to be just one significant climb.

And it was! (ride report here). It helped that the tour coincided with the first warm weather of the year - a real treat after the hard winter. What also worked really well was having a "feature" on most days (a nice climb e.g.) rather than taking a more direct route.

mattc · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 August, 2018, 10:07:29 am »

Can people ride LEJOG too fast to enjoy it? Mike Hall said something relevant:

"
I also wish to counter the premise that one cannot enjoy intensely one’s surroundings adequately whilst expending ones self. Indeed I’ll go further and assert that the effort of climbing a mountain or crossing a continent serves only to enhance its delights and majesty in a manner no leisurely wanderings can approach.
"

stolen from the longer, more eloquent version at http://tinat.cymru/tinat/

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #17 on:** 19 August, 2018, 10:11:56 am »

There are plenty of brevets where I've wanted to spend more time enjoying the scene or situation but have been unable to do so because of time pressures. I wouldn't describe enjoying something 'adequately' as a wonderful thing. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing IMHO but YMMV.

Alex B · « **Reply #18 on:** 19 August, 2018, 05:00:50 pm »

Quote from: mattc on 19 August, 2018, 10:07:29 am

Can people ride LEJOG too fast to enjoy it? Mike Hall said ...

A "fast" LEJOG can be achieved by taking the main roads, like Kristof Allegaert just did. It's a way to experience some of the worst roads for riding in the UK (e.g. A30 in the SW, and A9 near the end).

Mike Hall was obviously an extraordinarily talented cyclist and because of that his experience doesn't generalize well to more ordinary folk. Personally I think riding oneself into a state of extreme sleep deprivation in an attempt to cover maximum distance is not a good way to do a timed event, let alone a tour! And I'm not sure #beMoreMike is necessarily a great message.

As a regular audaxer, I found around 130km/day worked great for "touring" LEJOG - with plenty of time for impromptu photo/pub stops. As a practicality, when staying at B&Bs breakfast is often served quite late (8am say), so if you want that (and I do) it's hard to get on the road early.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #19 on:** 19 August, 2018, 06:04:35 pm »

That does look a good route - not dissimilar to ours at times. We took 20 days and most days were near on 100k. We had 3 very light days in the middle.

mattc · « **Reply #20 on:** 20 August, 2018, 06:28:26 pm »

WOAH!

Quote from: Alex B on 19 August, 2018, 05:00:50 pm

Quote from: mattc on 19 August, 2018, 10:07:29 am
Can people ride LEJOG too fast to enjoy it? Mike Hall said ...

A "fast" LEJOG can be achieved by taking the main roads, like Kristof Allegaert just did. It's a way to experience some of the worst roads for riding in the UK (e.g. A30 in the SW, and A9 near the end).

Mike Hall was obviously an extraordinarily talented cyclist and because of that his experience doesn't generalize well to more ordinary folk. Personally I think riding oneself into a state of extreme sleep deprivation in an attempt to cover maximum distance is not a good way to do a timed event, let alone a tour! And I'm not sure #beMoreMike is necessarily a great message.

As a regular audaxer, I found around 130km/day worked great for "touring" LEJOG - with plenty of time for impromptu photo/pub stops. As a practicality, when staying at B&Bs breakfast is often served quite late (8am say), so if you want that (and I do) it's hard to get on the road early.

It would be relevant to read my actual post before commenting on things that weren't in there!

I didn't mention riding into sleep-deprivation.
I didn't mention A-roads at all costs. In fact I'd agree that boring roads make boring tours. (Have you looked at the routes Mike created? Or the route of his first Ultra win? Or his preferred roads/routes round Wales?)
I certainly didn't reference "#beMoreMike"!

For clarity, here's Mike comment of relevance:

"
I also wish to counter the premise that one cannot enjoy intensely one’s surroundings adequately whilst expending ones self. Indeed I’ll go further and assert that the effort of climbing a mountain or crossing a continent serves only to enhance its delights and majesty in a manner no leisurely wanderings can approach.
"