Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

I was fortunate to have another cycling partner for the first 25 miles out of Gloucester today. Tim joined me fresh from his own LEJOG challenge, which he and his brother very impressively did in just 5 days. Needless to say he isn’t too shabby on a bike so we made quick progress on mostly main roads. After Tim said goodbye, I made my way into Stratford, which was particularly busy with tourists hoping to see the town just as Shakespeare knew it. I met Katy and the girls for lunch – it was great to see them and, on a sorter day, it was a chance to enjoy a longer lunch.

Today wasn’t all plain sailing though. Garmin continued to surprise with their definition of routes ‘suitable for road cyclists’. Probably 20% of today was on dedicated cycle path. Mostly it was fine but in some places it was practically impassible. This, coupled with seemingly endless gates and steps at the beginning and end of each segment, really added too much time to the day. Navigation was tricky too – I spent half an hour in a frankly scary corner of Coventry looking for the one access point to the canal towpath. The difficult terrain took its toll on the bike resulting in my first ‘mechanical’. The constant jolting caused the rear mudguard to shear. A quick dash to the shops for some heavy duty tape soon fixed it, but it is hassle I can do without!

Garmin: this is not ‘suitable for road cycling’!

Tape fixes anything!

So, two lessons today: Be careful about what cycle paths you choose to use and carry some ‘fix anything’ tape with you!

Tomorrow – Eyam.

Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

I left the Youth Hostel at Street fairly early, but I still managed to run straight into rural Somerset’s rush hour. A transiting dairy herd had entirely blocked the narrow country lane I was on. Two young cows stopped just by me and started ‘head sparring’ like two rutting stags. It was entertaining at first, until one decided the handlebars of my bike looked ripe for a challenge. Disaster was averted by quickly turning the bars side on in submission; I was happy to let this cow have the moral victory.

Once going again I very quickly made it to the bottom of Ebbor Gorge in the Mendips. Last night in the Youth Hostel cyclists of all ages delighted in telling me their horror stories about getting up Ebbor Gorge. In the end it wasn’t actually that bad. I stopped at Wookey Hole to catch my breath, then engaged the granny gear and spun up the 200m climb in one very slow go. Apparently the view from the top is spectacular, but the weather had closed in by then so I cracked on through the persistent drizzle..

Not long after dropping out of the Mendips I tackled Bristol. Cycling in cities that you don’t know is never fun, but in this case the extensive and largely dedicated cycle paths that cross the city made it pretty easy. The national cycle network is much improved in recent years and route 3 and 4 (I think) through Bristol are great examples of how good they can be.

I stopped for lunch just north of the M4. I met up with Dan, an old friend from Sheffield days. After a long morning it was just the morale boost I needed (especially as it was his shout!) – thanks Dan!

The day finished with a valuable lesson in route planning. I followed the cycleway along the canal north to Gloucester Quays. What the maps didn’t say was that this cycleway is pretty rough and certainly not roadbike territory. On my tourer I was just about OK but I now feel like I’ve spent a day flying in a Chinook trough a hail storm. Beer will fix that…

Tomorrow – Nuneaton.

Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

So many people told me that the first two days are really brutal that I decided to give myself a half day (42 miles) on day three. I was glad of it, as it meant I was able to have a relaxed breakfast at the B&B before bottom met saddle.

Today was different in other ways too. The weather was cooler and breezier (headwind – but I promised not to complain about it!) Perhaps because of this, combined with it being the first working day after a long weekend, there was a more urgent and less tolerant atmosphere on the roads; abuse from car drivers was back to normal levels!

The terrain was different too. More substantial roads, shallower hills and much less wild countryside. Perhaps it was just because of the contrast with previous days but Taunton felt like a sprawling metropolis!

I arrived at the Youth Hostel in Street (just outside Glastonbury) around 1:30 pm. The building is exactly like Youth Hostels I remember from, well, my Youth. A hostel since 1931 it is a ramshackle and basic construction that is reminiscent of a dilapidated ski chalet. It is the kind of place where some windows don’t close because there is ivy growing through them, and to me it is all the more charming for it. Apparently it is to be refurbished at the end of the summer. You can’t stop progress.

Tomorrow I will cross up and over the Mendip Hills. Just for fun here’s a challenge. Using just the profile below, try to spot the Mendips.

Ouch!

Tomorrow – Gloucester.

Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

I woke up feeling somewhat fresher than I expected, which is just as well as today’s 70 miles were particularly hard won. Leaving Tintagel Youth Hostel (where all the tables are disappointingly square) I was faced with a 250 metre climb in the first 3 miles. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. Even when Cornwall gave way to Devon and the landscape became a little less rugged the relentless undulation continued.

It was hot too. I’ll never complain about a blue sky day, but I did spend the day desperately hoping that the 5 year old Australian sunscreen that I selected from our ‘collection’ based solely on the size of packaging would still be effective. Of course Australians struggle to comprehend why anyone would buy sunscreen and not use it for 5 years so shelf life is probably not a priority for them. I think I’ll be buying some after sun this evening…

I cycled a whole county! Now I just need to find an ‘r’.

The heat made it particularly important to get eating and hydration right. I certainly got through plenty of water and was glad that I went for the 3 bottle set up on the bike. My planned lunch stop was in Okehampton, so I was disappointed to find practically everything there closed! I don’t know much about Okehampton but I guess it isn’t too concerned with attracting tourists on a Bank Holiday Monday.

As the heat took its toll I got progressively slower, mostly because I had to keep stopping to take breaks in the shade! I was in no rush though, and after a leisurely last 10 miles I arrived in Tiverton.

Tomorrow – Glastonbury.

Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

At very long last it is time to start this nonsense. I left Penzance in high spirits and Cornish drizzle to cycle the 10 miles to Land’s End. Arriving just before 9am I quickly dispensed with all the obligatory signpost photos and then cycled round to the car park to meet Nic and Antony; friends of mine who happened to be in the area on holiday. They very kindly offered to cycle the first 35 miles or so with me and their support was very welcome. It really makes a big difference cycling with company. I’m beginning to realise the (mostly) solo nature of this trip might be the biggest challenge.

The first half of the day was a little bitty as the route zigzagged through Penzance, Hayle and Camborne. Whilst this kept us on quieter roads and away from the dreaded A30 it did mean there was never a long enough section to get into a decent rhythm. The afternoon was quite different though. After lunch the route changed to long sections and the going was much quicker.

The final section into Tintagel was hard going. The Cornish version of ‘flat’ is downhill followed by the same amount of uphill. It simply hasn’t occurred to them that there might be a more efficient way. Just as my legs were at their most heavy I hit the longest and biggest hill of the day. I nearly stopped at several pubs, but I resisted (for now) and finally made it to Tintagel Youth Hostel, a very welcome sight perched spectacularly on high cliffs overlooking the Atlantic.

Tomorrow – Tiverton.

Sponsor me – choose either (or both!) charities below:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

Getting to the start is no mean feat. After 10 hours on a train I’m in serious danger of getting saddle sore before getting on the bike! The day started with a full Orr family farewell at York station before boarding the 0745hrs direct train to Penzance. Or so I thought. It transpired that due to ‘schedule changes’ the train actually terminated in Plymouth, some 2 hours from Penzance. This in itself wasn’t a problem as there are frequent trains between Plymouth and Penzance, but of course my bike booking wasn’t valid on any connecting train. All worked out in the end though, thanks to some fast talking and fast moving! Travelling by rail in the UK never fails to sprinkle some spice on any adventure.

I arrived at Penzance just as the first thunder storm of the day began its deluge. A rather resigned and soggy mile took me to the Youth Hostel on the outskirts of town, and it seems perfectly pleasant as Youth Hostels go.

Tomorrow I will tackle the (roughly) 80 miles to Tintagel. Hopefully the (just over) 1000 miles of training will have prepared me well enough – and let’s face it, if I struggle on day 1 the next few weeks are going to be very tricky indeed!

Penzance seems to be in something of celebratory state this evening; there is much fancy dress and staggering as you might expect on a bank holiday weekend Saturday. In my own way I’m going to join the party by taking myself to the Pirate Inn (where else) and ordering a beer and whatever on the menu has the most carbs.

What to pack when cycling the length of the country? Over the last few days I’ve been trying to refine my kit list to minimise weight whilst also (hopefully) ensuring I have everything I need. As I am cycling solo and unsupported I need to fit everything into my two rear Ortlieb panniers. I could have opted for more load carrying options on the bike, but I decided that limiting myself would force a degree of discipline; I dare say if I had front panniers too the coffee maker might have made the cut! Because I am staying at Youth Hostels and B&Bs I don’t need to worry about carrying any camping kit, which also helps with the minimalist approach.

The photo above is pretty much the final version. At the end I’ll update this post with a view of how close I was to getting it right!

· Cycling Kit – I packed 3 sets. I will be able to access laundry facilities en route so I should be able to recycle (pun intended). I have a huge degree of confidence in the British weather so I will be wearing cycling shorts exclusively and I only have one long sleeved cycling top. I also only have a very light waterproof. I have pretty much accepted that if it rains I will be getting wet. Finally, my cycling shoes (SPDs) are the only shoes I am taking. A pair for the evening would have been a nice luxury, but shoes are just too bulky.

· Non-cycling clothing – I have a pair of trousers (that transform to shorts), 3 t-shirts and a fleece. That’s about it!

· Bike maintenance – Perhaps a gamble, but again I have erred on minimalism. I have two spare inner tubes, which seems enough to start with given I had no punctures in 1000 miles of training. Clearly I have jinxed it now so I fully expect to have a double puncture within sight of Land’s End…. I also have a quick link and chain tool so I can fix simple broken chains. Other than that, if it can’t be fixed with a multi-tool then I will be walking to the nearest pub!

· Food and drink – I will have 3 bottles on the bike with the option of a further one in a pannier, which I’ll fill if I’m cycling a long stint. For hydration I’ll dedicate one of the bottles to SIS electrolyte, which is a ratio that seemed to work in training. I’ll be buying food as I go, but I intend to have plenty of emergency Wine Gums and Mars Bars with me at all times. Things get slow and painful when you suddenly need sugar and it is 10 miles to the nearest shop.

· Medical – Factor 30 and Chamois cream. I’ll try not to get them mixed up. I’m not taking anything more substantial on the basis that if I’m not well enough to cycle to a chemist then I probably shouldn’t be cycling at all.

· Gadgets – My Garmin 800 has the route programmed in. I would be literally lost without it. For photos and videos I’ll be using a GoPro with handlebar mount. For entertainment I have my Kindle. Frustratingly, none of these devices use the same charging cable!

With only 5 weeks remaining before the ‘grand depart’ on my LEJOG attempt this is a good time to reflect on my preparations.

Training: The seemingly eternal winter coupled with a particularly busy work schedule delayed the start of my training effort by a couple of weeks. I didn’t really get going until the middle of February, and even then most rides were a fairly dark and cold experience. The improving weather and longer days have brought the fun back and in the last couple of weeks I have started ramping up the miles to an average of 100 per week. From the outset I have attempted to train at a sustainable pace (10-12 mph including stops) and at full weight including loaded panniers. This has meant adopting a different mindset and a style of riding that is all about efficiency; it doesn’t matter how quickly you get to the top of the hill but it does matter how much energy you preserve getting there. As I start to do longer rides my main concern is being able to ride significant distance day after day. Having done multi-day endurance events before (albeit not on a bike) I am heartened by how quickly physical exertion becomes ‘normal business’ for the body. I’m hoping that happens to me pretty soon after the start of LEJOG!

So with just over 500 miles on the clock I’m a little behind where I hoped to be but overall not too far off the pace.

The Bike: Back in January I bought a new Ridgeback Panorama touring bike. In short, I’m delighted with it. It does exactly what it is supposed to. It is at its best fully loaded and gliding along at a stately pace. It is comfortable, smooth and unexciting – perfect for touring! The big gear range is invaluable and I have made it up some pretty chunky inclines even with maximum weight. With Schwalbe Marathon tyres fitted as standard, I have gone off road with confidence (or at least more confidence than I have in my navigation, which was probably the reason I was off road in the first place…) And the disc brakes are excellent; without doubt they saved me on a particularly steep country lane – or more accurately they saved the bumper of the car in front of me! Special mention needs to go to the Ortlieb Classic panniers which are genuinely waterproof and carry everything I need (rear panniers only) whilst being ridiculously easy to clip on and remove.

Fundraising: I am riding to raise money for the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. I have set up JustGiving pages, which can be accessed here:

• Give to the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund Here
• Give to the Gurkha Welfare Trust Here

This is the first I have advertised these pages, but I plan pushing them quite hard over the next few weeks. Consider this a pre-warning of the pestering to come! In all seriousness, I would be hugely grateful for any contribution in sponsorship you can make. Every penny of the money raised will go to the two life changing charities mentioned above.

And finally, if you want to ride any sections of the route with me, or if you just want to say hello en route, please get in contact and we can arrange it.

Now back to the training……

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

I’ve spent some time over the last few weeks planning my route for this summer’s cycling adventure. I’m not out to break any records so I’m aiming for a relatively modest 80 miles a day. Equally I have no intention of playing ‘dodge the juggernaut’ so the route I designed makes use of smaller roads and the occasional cycle path. Whilst this will mean more miles it will give me a chance to enjoy being in the countryside rather than just seeing it flash by over the top of an A-road crash barrier. I wanted to personalise the route too, so I will visit places where I have lived and worked, the town where I grew up and I’ll have a stop at home where I have allowed myself a sneaky rest day!

Having decided I wanted to average around 80 miles a day I used the Garmin Connect route planner to design a detailed plan for each day, bouncing Youth Hostel to Youth Hostel along the master route. The application is really easy to use and it is tailored for the cyclist, maximising use of national cycle routes and minimising time on main roads. I’ll then upload these to my trusty Garmin 800 so in theory I shouldn’t have to worry about navigation when in the saddle! I’ve used this method when training in unfamiliar areas and it works well – although I’ll definitely need a spare battery!

Below is an outline of the final version. If anyone fancies coming along for a ride on any of the days then you are more than welcome – just drop me a message and I’ll give you RV times and a more detailed route for the day. Likewise if you want to say ‘hi’ as I pass by then that would be appreciated too. Frankly I’d welcome the excuse to stop for a few minutes!

Follow me on Twitter @davidrorr for regular LEJOG updates.

Every cyclist knows that the number of bikes they need can be determined by the formula ‘n+1’ where ‘n’ is the number of bikes currently owned. It is therefore entirely unthinkable that I might tackle cycling the length of the country without a new steed to take the strain. After all, an expedition of that magnitude requires a touring bike and nothing in the garage quite fits the bill. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I set about doing some pretty extensive research guided by two simple principles: buy British (because of the strong touring heritage) and buy from a local, independent bike shop. It didn’t take much research to determine that my principles were somewhat flawed. I discovered that all but bespoke high-end bikes are manufactured in a small number of very large, multi-brand Far East factories so the closest you get to ‘buying British’ is to buy a bike designed in the UK (much as the iPhone is proudly designed in California). I also made the painful discovery that independent local bike shops aren’t necessarily better. I went to several and was generally treated fairly poorly by people who reverted to the Internet to answer my questions. They also invariably had nothing in stock to actually show me and they were unable to offer much in the way of discount or finance options. It was with a feeling of distinct unseemliness that I found myself in Evans Cycles….

When it came to researching the bike I learned a lot very quickly. I found the best source of information was cycle forums and independent bike reviews. I discovered that weight is far less important than when buying a traditional road bike; after all, the plan is to strap panniers on so what is the point of saving 700g on the frame? In the world of bike buying this is a really liberating realisation. It means that there is no need to worry about all that carbon nonsense, which in turn means that a fairly high spec bike is much more affordable than a true road bike equivalent. And there is the added advantage that steel makes for a much more comfortable frame. I then set about finding a bike with as many of the classic touring features as possible within budget (max £1500). Ultimately I settled on the Ridgeback Panorama. It offered everything I needed: comfortable geometry, big gears (for getting up hills with weight), big disc brakes (for getting down hills with weight), resilient components and a rear pannier rack. I had chosen my weapon!

After the disappointment of the independent bike shops my experience at Evans Cycles in Cheltenham couldn’t have been more different. A very friendly and extremely knowledgeable assistant called Craig spent literally hours with me going through the finer details of the bike to confirm my choice was right. Evans also offered a finance option – interest free for 2 years (although I did have to buy some much needed accessories to get the total price up to £2000 to take full advantage of the deal!) It isn’t how I expected it would happen but I can’t recommend Evans Cycles highly enough.

So I’m now the proud owner of a touring bike. There can be no excuses now – I better get training!