Day 1

Set off from Lands End at 8.30, got to Looe via Fowey ferry at about five. Stats are 75 miles, average 11 mph. Lots of hills! Todays going a bit better. I’ll update next when I can.

1st Campsite!

Ready!!

Train to Penzance at 9.55am tommorow, pretty nervous now!! It’s a 9 hour ride! Crazy, that would take 7 days on a bike though!

Everythings sorted, just need to charge batteries!

Touring bikes

Check out this website, some of these bikes are amazing!

http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/image/89839551

Bike fully loaded

This blog is now featured on the ultimate list of links of people doing Lands End to John o Groats (or the other way round)

Here is the link;

http://www.pewseys.co.uk/lejog_trip_links.htm

1 week to go!!!

I’ve now finished my final year exams and I am making the final preparations for my ride which is a week today. I’ve had another look at the route and made some minor changes, and as a general guide I want to be doing 70 miles a day as a minimum, with the total distance being 904 miles, with 13 days to do it.

I went for a ride today around the peaks with the bike fully loaded. I only did about 30 miles, but my average speed was 13 mph, which makes me a little bit more confident, as the areas that I cycled were quite hilly in places(A57, Hathersage and Ringinglow). The bike felt stable and I think that the addition of slightly fatter tyres and cleated pedals have contributed significantly to the feel of the ride.

In this respect, I will be riding about 8 hours straight a day, and I hope to see my average around 10 mph. I have some leeway in what I’m doing because I’m camping, although I have a train booked at the end. I cant be too lazy,  I will have to try not to stop until I reach my daily target.

In terms of general training, I havent gone over the top, but I feel that my training for the half marathon I did about 6 weeks ago gives me some base level of fitness. In terms of the longest ride I’ve ever done, I’ve cycled from Sheffield to Market Harborough, which is about 75 miles. But that was just one day. Ill  be doing that 13 times over!

Heres a link to the full route in google maps

View Larger Map

Gear

I’m pretty much ready now. Trains are booked. Have a good idea of the route and where I’m camping (one night of wild camping on Dartmoor, one mile away from Dartmoor Prison during the first night should be interesting). I have a bike, the panniers, a bar bag, seat cover (makes seat softer), new ‘intermediate’ tyres(in-between road tires and MTB tyres, so slick but fat, makes bike easy to handle with all the weight), bike stand, gloves, cycling glasses, spd pedals and shoes, jersey and shorts, old school mobile (nokia 3410) and cd player (as well as a walkman, vital for MW 5live and the world cup!), netbook and dongle, colour print out of route, tent, sleeping bag, air mat, new brake pads, cycle computer, knee support, two water bottle holders, tools, bike repair stuff, pump, sponsorship material like tshirt and leaflets, two front lights and a back light, 500g of energy powder and lots of AA batteries/ chargers. There is one thing im missing though: a bike bib!:

http://www.nice2tri.com/Gallery/Product/Craft/193564-1999Product.jpg

Hello!

Hi all! This blog will allow everybody to see where I am during my Lands End to John O’ Groats trip, which begins on Thursday 10th June and will hopefully end on Wednesday 23rd June. I’m doing it alone and unaided, and hope to travel about 100 miles a day.

I am hoping to raise money for the Meningitis Trust. My niece, Amber, has just recovered from meningitis and by doing this event I will try and raise as much money as possible for an organisation that helps people effected by meningitis. She is doing well now, but I would like to raise awareness of the disease which can be fatal. The Meningitis Trust has provided me with leaflets which I hope to give to the variety of people that I will meet on my journey.

More information can be found on the Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=120373111323252&ref=ts

And any donations can be made to:

http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-Duckworth0

Thank you all for looking!