LEJOG Summary

Hello again to all you blog fans out there!

While we embark on our 12 hour drive in Boris back home, we thought we’d put together a summary blog. We’d like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who followed and supported us on this adventure, whether that be supportive/motivational texts and videos, donations or hosting us along the trip. I can’t believe that at the time of writing this the blog has had almost 2,000 views over the duration of the trip!

We are delighted to say that including GiftAid and match funding, we are at a fundraising total of £6,121.00, which is so much more than we were ever hoping to raise thanks to you all!

Before jumping into our summary of the trip, we have spent the last few days resting and eating with family and friends while we work from home in Scotland, of which I have shared a few photos below.

Now that it’s all sunk in a bit, we wanted to summarise the trip by doing a Q&A with ourselves. So here goes…

The golden question that everyone has asked us so far is ‘Is LEJOG what you expected it to be?’

Answer: It was both easier and harder. Easier because we couldn’t get over how much our legs adapted to the back to back days of cycling. Each day, as soon as we had pedalled a km or so, our legs kicked back into action. Also the incredible and unexpected support and following that we had from everyone made the challenge easier.

Harder because of the weather. We knew we wouldn’t have 14 days of blue skies and sunshine, but we didn’t expect the amount of rain, wind, hail and thunder that we experienced. We underestimated how much support we would need in Scotland (mainly due to the awful weather and remote nature). We also didn’t consider all of the other logistical things that we had to do and think about each evening when tired after a long day of cycling before the next day. There was a lot less time each day than expected both during the day when cycling (to take in the locations and surrounds and stop for food) and in the evenings to chill out. Beth also experienced other ailments like hives and allergic reactions that we hadn’t expected/planned for. But overall, it was a pretty awesome adventure and these things all gave us more stories to tell and brought us closer (surprisingly)!

Question: What was your favourite part of the trip?

Answer: Exploring new places and the scenery at various locations during the trip. Highlights include Dartmoor, Cheddar Gorge, The Lake district, The Highlands. Also the opportunity to spend a lot of quality time together, which had been lacking recently due to busy lives. This lead to some meaningful and memorable chats while on the bike.

Question: What was the most surprising location?

Answer: Cheddar Gorge – we didn’t know much about it before.

Question: What was your favourite day?

Harry Answer: The Lakes – because the sun finally came out at one of our key/favourite locations (having experienced it in the rain for our minimoon). Then having fish and chips looking over Derwent Water in the evening.

Beth Answer: The penultimate day – for a number of reasons. The scenery and wildlife was beautiful and it was our last long cycle of the trip so we knew if we got through that we just had one easier day left to complete. Therefore the pressure was off and I just really enjoyed the day of cycling and it started sinking in what we had done.

Question: What was your favourite photo?

Answer: There are too many to choose from! But a few favourites:

Question: What was your favourite accommodation (excluding hosts)?

Answer: We would actually recommend all the ones we stayed at (get in touch if you want any of the details), but our favourite was probably Fox Cottage in Moffat.

Question: Would you do anything differently?

Answer: Having two potential planned routes through Scotland to choose nearer the time based on weather. Pack warmer layers for Scotland (although we may have just been unlucky).

Question: What was your favourite food stop?

Answer: We didn’t do as many as we hoped considering this is one of the main things we love about cycling, especially as the cycle distances got longer and we got into more remote areas. We found if we stopped for too long it was harder to get going again.

Harry’s favourite food stop: Pure Vegan Cafe in Lancaster because it was spontaneous, we didn’t know it existed but the food was delicious and nutritious.

Beth’s favourite food stop: On the rabbit run, Bridgnorth, because this was also a spontaneous find and the BEST fish finger sandwich and chips I’ve ever had! Also loved Manna’s House in Newent – just how friendly they were.

Question: Did you gain anything unexpected from the trip?

Answer: Improved geography!

Question: What advice/tips would you give to anyone considering doing LEJOG?

Answer: We would definitely recommend doing LEJOG (especially if you can get luckier than us with the weather). With a bit of training, we feel anyone could do LEJOG because as long as you fuel, rest and use appropriate levels of chamois cream, your body does adapt and you do get fitter (we actually noticed this)!

We would recommend getting out early each day, as we found it mentally much easier if we had completed at least half of the cycling by lunch time, so we didn’t feel as rushed in the afternoon, considering everything we had to do each evening (charge phones and sat navs, shower, buy food, cook food, eat food, wash up, wash clothes, write blog, pack bags, and still try and get an early night for a good recovery sleep).

Communicate with each other – if you need a break or you may be hungry at different times and need to make sure you stay fueled to avoid the dreaded bonks.

Embrace the nature wees! It means you are less likely to be afraid to drink too much (so you stay well hydrated) and are more comfortable!

Write a blog – it’s amazing how many people care and follow and it’s a great way to store your memories and look back on.

Get your bikes serviced before the trip, and if you can, half way up (thanks James Boot)!

Our saddle (Rhino) and handlebar (Camel chops) bags were awesome – thanks to Tina and Callum and Fran!

Pack light – you need less than you may think and won’t care about your appearance in the slightest.

Despite slightly more effort, we found eating in more preferable over eating out so that we could be in control of what we ate and the portions – you need a lot of food and you need to eat whenever you’re hungry!

Thank you again for all the incredible support! …What’s next? Who knows!

Over and out for now!