LEJOG (End to End) Day 1 - Cornwall into Devon

LEJOG Leg 1 - Land's End to Sourton Cross (Okehampton)

We arose on the Wednesday morning eager to get going, the weather was cool (not cold) and it looked like there had been quite a bit of rain in the night, but things were drying out.  There looked to be a fair breeze, but thankfully whilst not the Westerly we'd been hoping for it seemed to be North Westerly.  This mean we'd have it on our tails and left shoulders.

The Famous LAND END Sign

Our night (before) in St Just had consisted of the most expensive fish and chip dinner ever, followed by a couple of beers in the pub attached to our accommodation (The Commercial Hotel - www.commercial-hotel.co.uk).  The Hotel was good and we just psyched ourselves up for the (very) long ride ahead.  We also got connected on Facebook, as we planned to use our Social Media accounts to keep friends, colleagues and loved ones up to date about our journey.  It had been somewhat of an afterthought, but we both had set up sponsorship web pages so that we could hopefully raise a little bit of money, for our respective charities, along the way.

The Bikes (mine on the left) Looked Ready to go Too

We’d both slept OK and had been suitably fed (with full cooked breakfast) prior to leaving The Commercial.  We packed everything we’d needed for the previous evening into our pannier bags, checked the tyre pressures etc. and embarked on the first short leg to the official start line.  The journey was about 6 miles from St Just to Land’s End and surprisingly the bike with luggage seemed much more responsive and manageable to me compared with the night before.  Hopefully this meant that it was going to be easier than I’d been slightly worrying about the previous evening.




It was pretty quiet in the area and the tourist attraction side of Land's End hadn't really got going at that time in the morning.  There were a few locals around, who appeared to be working on a roof and that was about it.  On the downside there was nobody around to help us with the photography (thankfully modern digital cameras have timers on them for self portraits), but on the plus side there wasn’t anybody around to charge us for anything related to our visit.

Ash Ready to Leave Land's End - Only 874 Miles to go

Paul and His Trusty Steed Before the Off

A Quick Self Portrait on The Timer with Camera on the Rocks

We rode away from the sign and into the main tourist area of Land’s End had a quick look around and another brief stop for picture taking and then we were on our way properly.  The sun was shining and we were feeling pretty optimistic about the journey ahead.  We got on our way properly at 09:23 am on Wednesday 11/04/2012.

The Tourist Stuff at Land's End (Penn-An-Wlas)

Ash Posing Before Leaving Lands End

Our plan for the first day’s riding was to stay to the main routes in Cornwall.  Whilst there was an opportunity to take in some nice scenery by moving off the beaten track we were worried about potentially dragging the journey out by traversing heavy and undulating roads whilst we were just feeling our way with the heavy bikes with luggage.  This meant that we’d mainly be on the A30 for most of the day.  The A30 turned out to be a pretty well maintained, smoothed surfaced road.  However, on the downside, it became progressively busier as we travelled further East.  Whilst there wasn’t a cycle path there was an area on the outside of the white line marking the edge of the road that could be ridden on.  I avoided doing this most of the time for fear of the debris on this part on this part of the tarmac, whilst Paul used it more often than not.  I was a bit wary as, whilst we were both using decent Winter tyres, neither of us had anything wider or heavier duty than we’d have normally been sporting at that time of year.

Views of the Cornish Countryside from the A30

Paul Pulling into the Lay-by to Meet Me 

As far as the riding was concerned, we’d come to an agreement that we’d ride at our own pace and ensure that we had regular meet ups.  We’d done a similar thing on a Sportive ride we did the previous Autumn and this seemed to work out OK.  Sometimes it is very hard work riding at somebody else’s pace (either slower or faster than you’d want to be going) even it is only 1 mph different.  It also meant that whilst we rode together quite often, we were very rarely drafting (i.e. riding in each other’s slipstream to save some energy).  I think we both felt that this was cheating a bit and that it would meant that we weren’t riding under ‘our own steam’.

Pleasant Skies above the A30

The riding in the gutter approach proved to be a problem on the first leg for Paul.  He punctured within the early part of the ride.  However, he was convinced that he’s hit a reflector embedded in the tarmac when moving from the road to the edge of the tarmac rather than hitting a stone or any other debris.  We had spare tubes a plenty, so doing a quick change (even on the rear wheel) wasn’t a problem.  What was a problem was the fact that both our bike pumps couldn’t deliver enough pressure.  This was especially worrying when we had the extra weight of the back end.  We tried with both Paul’s and my pump and got as much air into the tyre as we could, but it couldn’t have been much more than 60 psi (our tyres would normally be inflated to circa 100psi).  We soldiered on and aimed for Bodmin to take a lunch stop and see if we could acquire a new pump, or at least borrow one to get Paul’s tyre back up to pressure.  The frustrating thing was that one of Paul’s stolen bikes had a pump on it than was more than up to the job.

Saint Petroc Parish Church - Bodmin

We rode into Bodmin past the Saint Petroc Parish Church and had a look around for a bike shop.  We found a mountain bike sales and hire place (Bodmin Bikes - www.bodminbikes.co.uk) and the guy there was very helpful, but unfortunately he‘d nothing to attain the pressures we needed.  We found a little café on a pedestrianised street and had another fairly substantial meal, even though a very large breakfast had been consumed not too many hours earlier.  We were conscious that we were going to be burning a lot of calories pedalling all that distance with the extra weight and we were sure we didn’t want our bodies to run out of fuel.

Substantial Lunch - Even After a Big Breakfast!

Paul Leaving Bodmin Heading for Halfords

We had a relatively leisurely meal and pondered our options for the journey to the nights accommodation and a likely place to get more air into Paul’s rear tyre.  We got on our way and headed to a Halfords at the edge of the town.  Paul also seemed to experiencing some trouble with the screws on his cleats at this point and as he was using the two screw SPD cleats (as opposed to the three I had on my Look ones), so loosing a screw was going to pose a problem.  Neither of us had thought to bring any spare screws, something that I would always ensure I had on any future long distance bike rides I embark on.  Whilst the man at Halfords didn’t sell SPD pedals, he was more accommodating and he managed to fix Paul up with a new screw and some more air in the tyre.

Windswept Trees by the A30 in Cornwall

We continued our journey onwards towards Devon.  The roads were still very good and noticeably better than those of Lancashire and the North West of England.  After many miles of riding already, we hadn’t seen a single pothole.  The rest of the days riding was pleasant, but relatively uneventful.  The weather stayed fair and we saw quite a bit of sunshine.

Paul Updating Our Followers on Facebook

On arrival at the signs denoting the border between the two counties (Cornwall and Devon) we started a ritual that would remain for the rest of the journey, or at least when passing into new counties that weren’t too near home and overly familiar.  The novelty also wore off a bit when we got into the second week!  We would stop for a small break, take a few snapshots, Tweet them and/or upload them to Facebook.  Again, for those interested back at home they could see were we had travelled to in real-time.  I pondered that this was something that only riders making the journey in recent years would have been able to do.  We got a few ’Likes’ & ’Retweets’ and then we were bake on the road again.

Ash at the Devon Border Control

We got to the end of the day’s journey well before nightfall, we’d been on the road for about nine hours in total and had been riding for just over six hours.  We had a brief stop on the run in to Sourton Cross, the location of the Travelodge we were aiming for, which was just South of Oakhampton.  The approach was very straight forward, it was a motel just off the A30, so there weren’t any problems finding it.  A had a bit of a wander round after we’d checked in and freshened up.  There wasn’t to much around a I was trying to figure out where we could eat later that evening that would be within reasonable walking distance.

Views from the Travelodge Car Park

We’d travelled about ninety five miles on the first leg of our LEJOG, but taking into consideration the six we’d done in the morning before the start, this was our first hundred mile ride with luggage and we’d got through it!  We made a few phone calls to people back at home and eventually headed across the A30 to a pub for an evening meal.  It was a crisp clear night and we ended up refuelling at the Prewley Moor Arms (www.prewleymoorarms.co.uk).  The pub and meal were both pleasant, but perhaps a little expensive for a couple of low-budget travellers like ourselves!  I can recommend the Isotonic Sport drinks on offer there.  I partook in the consumption of a couple of pints of the ‘Jail Ale’.  It was just the tonic after a long day in the saddle.

Sunset Seen from the Motel

Maybe not quite Lucozade but the Local Beer 'Jail Ale' is Recommended

One day down with a few minor worries but no major concerns and we both seemed to be feeling fit.  Paul had felt a few twinges from his back, but nothing to feel too bothered about.  Our legs felt OK, bbut how they would be the following morning was another question altogether.  The next leg of the journey was going to be a very long one.  Relatively speaking we were going well out of our way to go and visit my cousin and it was going to be not only the longest ride we'd done with the extra weight, it was going to be the longest distance either of us had ridden in one day before.

LEJOG (End to End) Before the Ride - Preparation

Preparing for Paul’s and Ash’s LEJOG Challenge

Unfortunately, only a few days before the ride Paul had his bikes stolen from outside where he lives and this left him without anything to ride.  Time was very short for sorting out an alternative and it seemed unlikely that the stolen bikes would be retrieved in time, if at all.  The only bit of luck he had was that he’d previously passed on an older bike to one of our club mates, and he was still refurbishing it to sell.  Paul took the decision to abort the sale and get the bike back.  It seemed less risky to be doing a long distance bike ride on a bike he’d owned and ridden before, compared to having to borrow or purchase one with an unfamiliar set-up.  Paul had already been experiencing a bit of back pain on the run up to April, so we were worried about anything that would exacerbate the situation.

Last Minute Fixes

The weekend leading up to our Land’s End to John O’Groats was the final chance for any preparation.  We’d been using the bikes we were going to be taking most of the time, so putting things like the pannier racks on was left to the last minute.  They weren’t something I particularly wanted to be carrying around for any longer than really necessary.  I was going to be using my everyday training bike for the LEJOG, so the panniers weren’t being added until the eleventh hour.  This was perhaps a little bit risky, as it wouldn’t give me much chance for testing or becoming accustomed to the extra weight and different balance.  My bike didn’t have any lugs on the frame or forks that would normally be used for clamping on things like mudguards or pannier racks, so I had to improvise with ‘P’ clips.

Most of my new equipment for the ride hade been purchased from various sellers on Ebay.  I was taking the view that pannier set up was only going to be for the End to End ride and I’d be removing it on my return.  This meant that I was trying to strike a balance between something that would last the duration without giving me any problems and something that would be expensive and last for a long time.  I took the view that as long as the pannier rack was stable I shouldn’t need to spend a lot of money for something that needed to be sufficient for only about two weeks and a thousand miles.

The only slight problem with my approach was that I didn’t really have any time for tweaking the set up.  I fixed the pannier rack to the bike and this seemed stable.  Although, with the ‘P’ clip attachments, I didn’t have much room for manoeuvre as far as it position was concerned.  I’d opted for the cheaper end of the market and purchased a set of Twin Pannier Bags that were fixed together and draped over the rack.  I think I’d only paid about ten pounds for them.  They certainly seemed durable enough and I was happy with them, but weren’t watertight.  The real downside was that I discovered that my heel clipped the bottom corner of them, due to the very square design.

I didn’t have too much time and a solution needed to be found.  I couldn’t ride that distance with my heels clipping the pannier bags on every pedal stroke.  The conclusion was that I needed to lift the bags up and possibly back a little bit without moving the rack.  I am a bit of a hoarder, so I ended up rummaging through everything I’d accumulated in my garage over a couple of decades and came up with a rectangular plastic window box (for flowers or plants) that was near enough the same width and length as the top of the rack.  I commenced drilling holes in the bottom of the box to allow me to attach it to the rack with cable ties.  Once attached, I had a quick test and the extra three or four inches in height was enough to lift the front corners of the bags away from my heels.  The only problem was that I had now covered the spring loaded clamp, so had now way of holding down the flap that joined the left and right bags.  I bit more rummaging in the garage and I came up with a short bungee rope that would hopefully do the job.  It was all a bit ‘(William) Heath Robinson’, but it did the job.  By good fortune rather than good design, I ended up with some extra storage space and the bungee rope that acted as a nice place to clip my gloves when I was taking out my phone, wallet or camera.

Ash's LEJOG Bike with Pannier Rack and Window Box

A Closer View of the Window Box Attachment

Booking our LEJOG Transport and Accommodation

We’d decided to make the popular South to North journey and had taken a view that we’d only plan and commit to the first half of the route that would take us back to our home town (city) of Preston and a night in our own homes.  We’d been fortunate enough to get a couple of invites to stay with friends and family on the way.  This meant a slight adjustment to the route (travelling further East than normal) that would mean we wouldn’t be passing near or through Bristol.

Our plan was to pick up a hire car the day before the ride, load the bikes in and drive it (one way) to the nearest place to Land’s End that the car hire company had an branch.  This turned out to be Penzance.  We’d accepted that there wasn’t much available in Land’s End itself in April, as far as accommodation was concerned, so we booked a night in a hotel at St. Just a few miles away from the start.  This meant that we’d need to ride from the car hire office to the hotel the night before and from the hotel to Land’s End on the day prior to officially starting the End to End ride.

Our plan was as follows:

• Leg 1 - Land's End to Sourton Cross (Okehampton) - 11/04/2012
• Leg 2 - Sourton Cross (Devon) to (Royal) Wootton Bassett - 12/04/2012
• Leg 3 - Royal Wootton Bassett to Ladywood (Birmingham) - 13/04/2012
• Leg 4 - Ladywood (Birmingham, West Midlands) to Walton le Dale (Preston) - 14/04/2012
• Leg 5 - Preston to somewhere near the border of Scotland [RVCRC A Ride] - 15/04/2012 

Before the Official LEJOG Ride

We’d decided to make the journey unsupported, which meant that we had to carry everything we needed in our pannier bags.  However, we were not camping (yeah!), so we didn’t need to pack a tent, sleeping bag, etc.  I got everything together and the rough weight of kit came to about 18 lbs (pounds).  Considering that there was a bit of weight in the pannier rack itself and my bike normally came in at about 21 lbs (pounds), this meant that are bikes with kit were approximately twice as heavy as they normally were when we rode them.

Ash's Pannier Bags and Full Kit for the LEJOG Ride

The ride from the car hire company Penzance branch to the hotel on the night before our LEJOG challenge was a bit of an eye opener and a slight concern.  Stupidly I’d practised riding the bike with the rack and the pannier bags attached, but they hadn’t previously been packed with any of my kit in.  I found the eight mile journey quite difficult and felt like the bike was swinging about all over the place when I stood up out of the saddle to climb some of the Cornish hills.  I was more than a bit concerned as the day after we needed to cover more than ten times this distance!


Anyway, it was too late to change anything now.  I would just need to get used to things!