Hub velo adventures - LEJOG
Hub Velo member Pippa had an epic adventure from Lands End to John O’Groats. She documented her adventure below…
Staring out the train window, grey skies, rain showers, you wouldn’t have thought it was late May. Checking the weather forecast for the coming days didn’t do much to boost morale either.
My brother and I, on route to Penzance to start our Lands End to John O Groats effort. 1,000 miles in 10 days. Both are keen cyclists, but this would be our longest, multiday ride to date. We packed light; a bivvy bag, mat and lightweight (read very thin) sleeping bag each, I carried a tarpaulin in case it rained, then one set of off the bike clothes, flip-flops and a toothbrush. My luxury item was my kindle. Wahoo borrowed from a work colleague, bike bags borrowed from HV CC friendlies, shoe covers from my sister and my HV cycle cap!
Day 0 getting to the start – 22km
When we alighted at Penzance, we were greeted by a window of blue sky, so we started cycling along the pier to meet an old university friend for coffee. We made a great start by cycling up the main street the wrong way after I missed a turn (the wahoo took a minute to get used to), and some lovely driver yelled “Morons!” Off to a fantastic start we thought.
After coffee, we set off to Land’s End via Lidl. Nipping into the shop, my brothers only request, ‘moist breakfast bars, nothing too dry’. In my defence, the oat bars kind of looked ok. They really weren’t, and alongside the shortbread and cashew nuts, nothing much was moist. Leaving Lidl, I started having trouble switching to my big cog. When we got to the campsite, a lovely handyman provided electrical tape and a pair of pliers for us to have a go at fixing it.
It seemed like the wire had slipped, so we tightened, tested and all seemed well! Then we headed off to the pub, carb loading in earnest!
We were so lucky that the weather was not as wet as was forecast and although the sky was grey, it remained dry. First night bivvying, we pitched up as close to the campsite hedge as possible for some protection from the wind. Semi set-up the tarp over handlebars as rain was imminent. Neither of us had a great sleep whilst hiding under the loose, wet tarp flapping in our faces. Thankfully, the temperature was pleasantly warm.
Day 1, Lands End to Okehampton - 176km
8am start. Fortunately, it was not wet, and the sun looked like it was trying to come out from behind the clouds. We quickly dressed (using the hand drier on the sleeping bag and bivvy before packing up) and scoffed down some lovely dry biscuit bars for breakfast!
We returned through Penzance past St Michaels Mount. The sun was making everything so much more appealing than yesterday.
The Wahoo was a joy to use. Much better than the one handed, phone-check-while-moving that I am used to.
We agreed Cornish pasties were a must by 10.30am, which set us up for a good 4 ½ hour ride. Our first day’s route took us through a funny kind of countryside with two short stints on gravel type roads that made us both very nervous for our tyres. At 100km in, we stopped for a pub lunch and over-ordered, which made it very hard work getting back in the saddle.
We crossed into Devon and hit the hills. My cog problem came back, which was very frustrating. I figured out a short-term workaround to pull on the derailer cable hard, whilst changing to my big cog, which seemed to help. Although, I have since been told this is a sure-fire way to snap the cable. We were basking in glorious sunshine for the afternoon-to-evening ride through beautiful scenery albeit it was tough work.
We headed to Okehampton youth hostel for the night, which is at the top of a hill. After over 2,000m of climbing, this seemed a terribly unfair way to end the first day! Shower, stretching, bike tampering, sunny evening, takeaway pizza, co-op shop, campsite. All in that order. The campsite was more a soggy green bog, so we pushed together a collection of picnic tables, and slept on the benches. Clear sky proved our sleeping bags were not warm enough.
Day 2 to Bristol – 176km
Knowing the weather was going to be crap, we started earlier on day two. To say I woke up at 6am would be generous, but that’s when I got out of my cold cocoon into the slightly colder, clear morning.
We made our way to a garage stop around 50km into day two for hot chocolate and chocolate croissants, which was a welcome relief before the forecasted deluge. It poured!
The hills were steep - my cog problem was persisting – which made riding more brutal and demoralising. A quick Greggs stop for lunch lifted our mood before we pedalled onto Cheddar Gorge. At the top, coming down to Bridgeyate, we had the wind at our backs, but the rain persisted on driving into our faces. The last 10km was very challenging, and we arrived at a friend’s house filthy and soaked to the bone. It felt amazing to be dry, and warm, and to sleep properly was heaven. We washed all the kit, and headed to the pub for an unnecessarily large roast!
Day 3 to Hereford – 94km
The sun teased us once again as we set off at 7.15am, but it only took 10 minutes for the rain to return. It continued to follow us for the next 2 hours. The crossing over Severn Bridge was windy and grey, and we encountered many large, red ‘Road Closed’ signs as we pressed on. The alternative route around looked very long. My brother was all for chancing it. Luckily, he was proven right, as our bikes could get through (much to my great relief) and we had a lovely, car-free section of smooth tarmac down to Tintern where we had a wonderful pit stop with Wendy, the mum of a close friend, in front of the abbey. Flapjacks, dark chocolate, hot tea, and the most incredible sticky ginger cake.
A keen cyclist herself, Wendy had called ahead to her local bike shop in Hereford to ask them to have a look at my cog issue. 40km onto Hereford, it was very wet, and now we had some hail to deal with. It was lovely scenery if a little soggy.
We went straight to the bike shop (via Greggs!). I required a hefty gear tune, but the amazing bike mechanic was so helpful and kind. No payment required. Only a request for a special delivery of cake – they were out of this world - from Wendy.
Fortunately, tonight was another home stopover: Full kit wash, shower, and clean the bike. A short day of riding left us feeling refreshed. We were both keen for a homecooked meal after several pub trips, so we made a batch of pasta, and apple strudel with cream for afters. As well as stockpiling masses of toast and butter, muffins, little cheese pies, and a few chocolate tea cakes.
Day 4 to Wigan – 208km
Sun. Proper sun! It was glorious. Laden with food, we headed off at 7am on the route I had made from Strava. A horrible A-road, which was very busy with morning traffic, caused us to deviate. The detour was very hilly, but much more pleasant, and created a much-needed stop for oil (had to make do with WD-40), as the bikes were a bit too clean from their wash. We arrived in Shrewsbury for lunch. Today’s menu was a bagel with hummus and nachos. One of the many perks of doing this with a sibling is that everything is shared without question. Although as my brother always loves to say, coming from a big family, you must eat quick to get a fair share.
During the afternoon, we had to deviate from the route again to avoid a busy dual carriageway. We made another late afternoon stop for a cheese and onion pasty, a cheese and coleslaw sandwich, and a flapjack.
Our plan was to push onto Wigan and find a pub, then a spot to wild camp. Crossing the Mersey in blazing sunshine was wonderful. So much better than the Severn Bridge crossing the day before.
At 200km we found a rather grubby looking country pub near Skelmersdale. Looks were deceiving. The inside was fully booked and so homely. Happily, we sat outside by our bikes and ate delicious plates of curry, lasagne, chips, garlic bread and drank beer. Making our way to a green space (as seen on google maps) labelled ‘country park’ via the co-op for dessert, we pitched our bivvies under the full moon. As with Okehampton, the clear sky meant it was a very cold night’s sleep, and slightly damp with a 10–20-minute rain shower at 2am.
Day 5 to Bowness – 122km
We found the days when we were bivvying, it was very easy to get out of bed. Usually warmer to move than sit still. It was a very dewy start to the day, so packing up feeling very wet was made easier by the promise of a real bed that night.
45 minutes into our ride, we found a coffee place for a ‘burm roll.’ Apparently, this is a northern term for breakfast. Cracking on, blessed with more sunshine, we made another detour to a gravel road that took us a quiet way to Lancaster for coffee, hot chocolate, and another Greggs. If you hadn’t guessed by now, warm, vegan sausage rolls are my thing!
We were happy to have multiple stops today, as we were in no real rush, and felt relaxed enough to take time where we could. There were some lovely small roads crossing into Cumbria with so much wild garlic lining the roads!
We headed to my Great Aunts house in Bowness for cake, tea, a wash, and a proper clean. The bike needed some more oil, but that could wait a bit with lasagne, raspberries, meringues and cream, and a game of cards on the night’s menu.
Day 6 to Glasgow – 230km
We started at 6am, as we were hoping to get to Glasgow by 7pm.
Lake Windermere was covered by cloud, but above the hills, we had pure sun. Straight out of Bowness over Kirkstone Pass, we had decided the night before not to attempt the Struggles (the steepest hill in the lakes), which is where Strava wanted to send us. It was very slow going and our average speed was looking dreadful. However, coming out of the lakes we had a lovely quick bit of riding, properly slipstreaming for over an hour with an average speed of over 30km/h brought us back on time.
Clocking past 80km, we made our way to Carlisle where we stopped to restock at Lidl. It was my brother’s turn to pick the snacks. He crushed it – Nutri-Grains are so much better than oat bars! We found a greasy kitchen where my brother ordered a full breakfast whilst I decided on an egg roll.
His came with fried bread, which made me envious, so I went in for seconds and ordered beans on fried bread. This feed prepared us for the next 5+ hours onto Gretna and crossing in Scotland where my brother was born and both of us grew up, so it really felt like coming home. Three hours riding on a B road with a grim surface that snakes alongside the motorway made for very hard work on the legs and wrists.
After a very quick roadside pee stop, I discovered I lost my Hub Velo cycling cap. Terribly sad, and feeling guilty as there was enough rubbish at the side of the road already, at 5pm we stopped just short of Glasgow to load up with some more food: Crisps, falafel wrap, bread roll and for the first and only time on the trip, a 2.5 litre bottle of water.
We possibly hit the worst section of road on the whole trip coming into Glasgow. A 2-mile section of dual carriageway with fast cars and poor visibility made for uncomfortable riding. Finally, we arrived in the city centre at a friend’s house after a few wrong twists and turns. Frustratingly, our friend wasn’t in, so we passed the time with a doorstop Tennant’s (the only beer you can drink when you have been out of the motherland for a long time), whilst letting our feet breathe in the warm air, and a little sun. Within the hour, our friends came back with pizza and beer and were greeted with a big cheer. Now, we commenced the usual process of a body wash (a full day in the sun was showing on our pink shoulders), clothes wash and charging every electrical device possible, before our second supper consisting of mounds of pesto pasta with broccoli, finished off with rocky road cake. No alarm set for the morning!
Day 7 to Pitlochry – 162km
We treated ourselves to a well-earned lay in and chilled start to the day before we set off to Pitlochry after a bowl of porridge and blueberries. Feeling recharged and happy to be back in dry kit, we made several unplanned detours due to road closures in our exit from Glasgow that included a lovely canal path. I am still unsure if it was a good idea or not, but we looked at the profile for the day seven last night, which showed 3 big hills. Riding to the foot of the first was very much like riding to Brighton. You just see a climbing wall and can’t really see how you will get to the top.
The climbing was slow and steady, helping by considerate drivers on quiet roads. It was lovely scenery. At midday, we found a little farm shop by chance. Even though we were only two hours in, we decided a second breakfast was in order. 1 x Haggis and bean roll for my brother. 1 x bean, egg and tattie scone roll for me. We washed those down with a latte and hot chocolate… and two scones with jam and cream. We set off again with the intention to complete the rest of the day in one stint. The sunshine was following us as we carved through the amazing rolling hills. A photograph just wouldn’t capture the depth and scale of the landscape.
We made a quick pit stop for ice cream stop in Crieff and continued our way to Pitlochry along some dodgy road surfaces with huge potholes, big bushes, and a lot of signs warning for red squirrels. The second and third hills of the day were nothing unreal to report on, but the amazing decent into Aberfeldy is worth a shout out. It felt like we were on the home straight, but there was still 10km to go to Pitlochry, and I could feel it in my legs. Eventually we made it. Crossing a lovely bridge into the town centre, we stopped at the first food place we saw. The waiting staff were surprised as were refuelled on two rounds of good before heading to The Co-Op for pudding and to grab breakfast for the morning.
Wild camping is allowed in Scotland, so it felt a lot less uneasy then our Skelmersdale stop. At Faskally, a carpark with a public loo just north of Pitlochry, we were greeted by a big sign saying no in car camping. Fortunately, we were in bivvy’s, so we weren’t excluded.
The two of us pitched up at the side of the carpark on a lovely bed of mossy forest floor under the trees. Sadly, this carpark was the Friday night hotspot for Pitlochry youth, so our hopes for a solid rest was interrupted by cars coming in and out all night…. But we slept.
Day 8 to Inverness – 150km
I was not in any great rush to get up today because for the first (and last) time on the whole trip, it was warm! So, we had breakfast in bed scoffing down three hot cross buns in under a minute. The moss carpet and the overhead pines combined to make a lovely spot for the night aside from the local boy racers.
Day 8: I had made an error on my Strava. The route planned was using the global heatmap, which turned out to be a mountain bike trail. Luckily my brother knows Scotland more than I do, and he knew not to follow Strava. The A9 cycle route is much nicer than it sounds, even lovely new tarmac in places. Other bits were gravelly. Again, very thankful our tyres held… and there was snow on the mountains! We made it to Dalwhinnie for a breakfast roll and coffee. By mid-morning the sun had burnt through the clouds on our way to Aviemore where we stopped for Macaroni cheese pie and Iron Bru for lunch. You can’t really get any more Scottish!
A mate had cycled from Inverness to greet us on the way down. The sun hid behind the clouds for the afternoon as we meandered through the countryside sandwiched by a section of windfarms. We were met by a big fluffy cat after our final long downhill into the city where another round of macaroni cheese (never too much) and birthday cake finished us off for the day! I remember getting into bed with terrible tan lines, and very tired legs.
Day 9 to Strathy – 183km
As we were coming back to Inverness once we had finished, we jettisoned some things we didn’t think we would need. So off went the tarpaulin, an extra pair of cycling socks, an extra pair of shorts, and the waterproof.
The weather forecast promised another glorious day, but we woke up to thick cloud. Cycling out of Inverness, we headed for the bridge over the River Forth, but the cycle lane was closed.
We lifted our bikes over and cycled along the road whilst being slightly worried about the fog and fast cars. However, the faff of turning around and finding another route was too much to consider at this stage. We safely turned off onto the Black Isle up to Culbokie for a quick cuppa with an old friend.
Coming off the Black Isle and up the first (and only) real hill of the day, we peaked out of the cloud and into the most glorious sunshine. Overtaken by about 37 motorbikes in convoy, I couldn’t help but think everyone else is also doing LEJOG. Stopped in Lairg for a delicious 3 course lunch at a lovely café, we knew from our North Coast 500 cycle in 2019 to be prepared to not find food this evening and intended to make do with cereal bars.
Above Lairg, the landscape changed to a barren desert like vibe. With a huge construction site halfway to Altnaharra, there was lovely sections of smooth road, but also some fast traffic. It is all single track, so no hairy overtaking, but we faced some terrible motorbike drivers coming the other way. So, we made the turn off at Altnaharra, winding up and down some lovely roads until we hit the north coast where we quickly found a pub and ate again. The sun was shining, and the beach was looking amazing. We treated ourselves to another cold Tennant’s. It was just a slow hour’s ride to get to a lovely lighthouse and a good camping beach with a public loo. This was the most stunning place we camped at, but it was also the worst sleep. The slight hill meant everything kept sliding, specifally me, off my mat and into the bottom of the bivvy, ‘resting’ on the cold hard ground.
Day 10 to Jog - 66km (+ 33km back to Thurso)
The final day! I had Scottish ceilidh music blasting in ear, and the sun was shining. Just 30km to Thurso for breakfast, then 30km into a headwind to finish.
It was slightly demoralising as we knew, even when we reached John O’Groats, we would have to turn around and come back the same way. But never mind, at last we made it. We almost fell apart but didn’t.
We celebrated with a mini bottle of prosecco, two large bottles of beer, some crisps, a scone apiece and loaded fries. We made it!
It wasn’t the overwhelming sense of accomplishment I expected. Just pride, a sore bum, and achy feet. Once we’d finished celebrating, we got back on the bikes to cycle 30km back to Thurso to start the long journey home to London.
In numbers
5 nights bivvying
5 nights at friends
6 showers
1 plastic bottle of water
3 Gregg’s stops
14 flys
7 Hot chocolates
14 Flat whites
1 fly tipper/1 lost hat
4 large bags of gummy strawberries
17 beers
1 temporary support vehicle
Too many chips
1 Bike shop trip
2 pairs of burnt shoulders
4 chocolate eclairs
1 birthday
57 cereal bars
7 carer’s/cheerleaders
