Lands End to John O'Groats 2017

It has been a while since I have taken on a challenge and written about it, so given that a ride from Lands End to John O'Groats will be 9 days and nearly 1000 miles, I think this qualifies for a write up

Starting on 10th June, myself and 5 other media mamils (middle aged men in lycra) will be riding from the most southerly point in mainland Britain to the most northerly point. Our route will pass up through Cornwall, Devon, follow the Welsh border, bisect the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District, across the Scottish Borders through the Great Glen before finally reaching John O'Groats. 

Joining me will be other media luminaries (?!!) Robin O’Neill, Simon Willis, Azon Howie, Graham Wells and Cormac Loughran. 

All 5 are very strong riders. As such I have been training hard through the winter/spring, spending lots of time on my turbo trainer at home or cycling to and from work (about 50 miles each way). In total this year I have racked up 4000+ miles, lost 1½ stone and 15% BMI, for just one purpose - to not slow the group down too much! I am now fitter than I ever have been on a bike, so even though it is a long way, I am really looking forward to it.

Our route is predictably long and hilly.  

Day	Date	Route - Provisional	Miles	Climbing (metres)
1	10th June	Land's End – Okehampton	107.6	2,363
2	11th June	Okehampton to Bath	107.8	2,151
3	12th June	Bath To Ludlow -	102.1	1,887
4	13th June	Ludlow to Haydock	109.6	1,059
5	14th June	Haydock to Penrith	102	1,524
6	15th June	Penrith to Hamilton	104.5	1,175
7	16th June	Hamilton to Fort William	128.8	2,208
8	17th June	Fort William to Bonar Bridge	110.4	1,699
9	18th June	Bonar Bridge to John O'Groats	113.8	1,831
Total			986.6	15,895

All the logistics are sorted. We know the route, where we are staying and we will have someone supporting us every day. Hopefully, all we will need to do is eat, sleep and peddle. 


I will commit to writing an update each day here. Also every ride will be recorded on my Strava page here; https://www.strava.com/athletes/1566301

This will of course be fun and a great physical test, but because I choose to do these silly things I wouldn't normally ask for any charitable donation. However the team is raising money for 3 very worthwhile charities - Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Welsh Children's Air Ambulance and the children's ward at Ysbyty Gwynedd (North Wales). Recently one of our riders needed the support from all 3 of these charities after his newborn son experienced complications. If you would like to donate then we have set up a fundraising page. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/lejog2017media


Thank you, and please keep your fingers crossed for sunny days, a strong tail wind and a chafe free trip!

A few pics from training this year.