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Lands End to John O'Groats....one hit.... Lands End to John O'Groats....one hit....
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  #1  
Old 26 Feb 2011
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Lands End to John O'Groats....one hit....
I'm doing a Lands End to John O'Jocks trip for charity in July...One hit.


Any tips from you mileage monsters on food/drinking/pissing etc etc

Cheers
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  #2  
Old 26 Feb 2011
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Good luck
Hi Si,

Good on ya. Which charity are you supporting?

I did it solo last April in aid of Riders for Health. Left Land's End at 3pm and got to John O'Groats 19 hrs and 45 mins later.

Would definitely recommend making the most of the thru-the-night hours to beat the middle section from Lancashire to Perth.

Suggested service area stops: Exeter, Frankley, Tebay, Hamilton, Perth, Inverness. Bear in the mind that the further north you go, the less service area facilities you'll find open during the night. Hamilton was closed when I got there and Perth was limited. Apart from Wick town centre, there's nothing north of Inverness.

The motorway runs out at Inverness and you'll find the last 120 miles to JOG much slower going.

Also be aware that July is a peak month for the mighty Scottish midge, which will do its best to eat you alive whenever you take your lid off - especially at night.

Good luck with it.

Iain.
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  #3  
Old 27 Feb 2011
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Help for Heroes is the Charity.

We're staying off the motorway as much as possible. no idea how long it will take:confused1:
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Old 27 Feb 2011
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Avoiding Motorways
Great cause.

Avoiding the motorways will certainly make it a much less boring ride, but realistically I doubt you'll be able to do the distance "in one hit" as you said in your first post. Your average speed could easily be half (or even less) what you'd be able to maintain on the motorways.
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Old 27 Feb 2011
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I did barcelona - calais in one ride, once. it took, I think 13 hours; above the speed limit and on peage most of the way. I think barcelona - calais is about 900 miles, so a little less than LeJoG. Check the cyclist websites for LeJoG, as they all do it non-motorway. the cyclists reckon for about 950 miles on the main A roads.

on a ride like that the worst thing you can do is waste time at fuel stops. get fuel, pay and go. don't stop for drinks, as it takes time and the forces a toilet stop later. you can eat when you're finished. the main thing is to keep moving.

your biggest problem will likely be tiredness. this sounds like an epic that you are not used to. motorbikes are unforgiving if you drift off to sleep, or your brain slows and makes the wrong decision. so get some practice in...
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Old 27 Feb 2011
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Now I couldn't possibly condone this, but I had been ill in Morocco, and dosed up on immodium. Soon as I was able I headed north, and rode 469, 440 and 828 miles on three consecutive days.

On the long day, I stopped only for fuel. I threw back an espresso and a snickers every other stop which I ate as I walked back from the kiosk. Didn't need the loo all day. Took me 13 hours to get from Madrid to the channel, but of course that was on good foreign toll roads.

If you haven't already, then get yourself an ipod or better still a radio, which you can attach to the handlebars. I have a wee digital one from Asda which will run for 8 hours on two AAA batteries, and being digital will hold a good signal just about anywhere these days.

Good luck!
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