Background, how we got here…

So, today is the day! I am driving by car to England. Parking my car in Reading and taking an overnight train down to Penzance in Cornwall to start my journey tomorrow morning.

It has been a frantic couple of weeks leading up to today, but I think I have done (most) of the preparations that were required! Well that is to say: I think my bike and gear are ok, but from a training perspective I am woefully underprepared! 🙈

Ever since leaving London for Switzerland in 2010 I have been wanting to do this trip. Having lived in the UK for 7 years or so, it is only after you leave that you realise how little of this wonderful country I have actually seen… then one day I read an article about a woman completing this journey in less than 50 hours!! (Non-stop!) and that is when the idea was born…

A couple of years ago I started planning this trip but then due to various reasons I had to postpone it. This spring the idea surfaced again, but work, skiing and loads of other stuff kept pushing my training plan further out. Then last month we spontaneously jumped in the car for a long weekend in Tuscany with the kids and some good friends. This meant swapping a kids weekend and as a result this month there is a 3 week period where the kids are not with me, so a “natural” window opened to execute my long held plan….

I frantically started preparing my bike (my dad’s Koga Miyata Randonneur from the ‘90s, for those of you interested in that sort of thing) and my gear and I also managed to \240squeezed in a couple of training runs. These actually felt ok, and so I think I have a fair chance of actually completing the trip 😅

I will take it easy with the daily mileage and the speed, and hopefully pick up some more fitness on the way… 🤓

No ID, no idea!

I left Lachen around 8 this morning and \240 drove by car to Calais. There into the channel tunnel train and then I’d drive up to Reading.

In Reading I’ve booked a car park where I can leave the car and from there I will take the sleeper train to Penzance.

Well at least that was the plan…

Arriving at the British Border control in Calais, proudlyI present my Dutch ID card. Travelling light I had opted to leave my passport at home and take my ID card with me instead… that is 3 grams of weight easily saved!! 🤓 Or so I though…

After taking my ID card, the border control agent smiles and asks me: “where is you passport then?” \240

I smile at him and smugly say: “at home! You know, this is much lighter and I am cycling LEJOG, so I really need to keep my packing weight down…!”

Then it’s his turn to smile smugly… “you know we are not accepting these anymore since 1st October 2021! You can now only enter with a passport!”

Last night was all plain sailing. I met up with dear friends for dinner in Windsor. Parked the car in the Reading station car park. Picked up my train tickets and then had an hours sleep in the car.

The sleeper train left at 00:51 and arrived in Penzance at 8 this morning. The train is actually great! It is after all the Great Western Railway!! 😂 no seriously it is a lot better than the German one last year! Clean modern cabin, of course super small but bed was ok too!

I am now sitting on a Costa Coffee terrace having breakfast and waiting for the post office to open.

As you can see on the picture below I have big silver bullet on the back of my bike. It is a backpack with some clothes for when I get up to Scotland. It will probably be cold and I would really like a pair of shoes and a warm sweater for the journey down. Of course that is all dead weight that I don’t want to be carrying around with me for 1500km. So I am sending it poste restante to the post office in John o’Groats. They will keep it for me so I can pick it up when I arrive.

After my shopping trip I will cycle to Land’s End (and back!) and then on to St Agnes.

After sending off my package and getting water bottles (water included for free! 🤓) it was time to start pedalling. It would be about an hour to get out to Land’s End, \240the official LEJOG starting point.

From Land’ End I had took the same road back to Penzance. (Apparently there are not many roads that lead the the end of the land..)

First stop: the First Inn in England!

Before I knew it, I was back in Penzance (think I may have had the wind in my back!)

Immediately after Penzance my route turns north, I cut across the narrowest part of Cornwall towards the northern coast.

I am caught up by Tim, a lovely older man on a road bike. We get to chatting and he cycles up with me to Hayle, where he lives.

I don’t know if it was the fact that I had Tim’s company but it took no time at all to cross over to the northern coast. Hayle lies on a massive estuary that has the typical west coast massive height difference between low and high tide. All around there are boats lying in the mud and no water to in sight! (Sorry, no pictures)

In the centre of Hayle I say goodbye to Tim and stop for a lovely Cornish Pasty for lunch. (If you are not familiar, filled with potatoes, steak, gravy and herbs).

After lunch I only have 30km left to my first overnight stop: St Agnes.

My route takes me across the (very hilly) countryside. A steep climb every \2402-3 km follows by a steep decent. The climbs get \240my heart rate up to levels, I was hoping to avoid on my first day, but I grind my teeth and keep going.

On the final stretch I do get some Google shenanigans again:

There is not much In the way of an actual beach, but the beautiful colours of the ocean and the steep cliffs make for gorgeous scenery.

The sea is pretty rough…

Tomorrow it is time to start riding in a straight line.

Today started perfect. Waking up to the views of the sea in St Agnes. A quick breakfast and then off we go. 08:20 I hit the road. It was going to be a tough day…

The route for today was 108km but a lot of height difference: 1200m uphill!

The roads were gorgeous all day. Little single lane country roads almost all the way.

They meander through the fields and connect the tiniest of villages.

The next part of my trip took me up the Canel path. Sorry no camels, just the river Camel!

I stopped off at a little shack for lunch: the Snails’s Pace Cafe. \240It is run by two ladies who obviously care dearly about the environment. (I was glad I came by bike instead of a car 😅)

Water management is also important to them, so they installed a compost toilet. If you don’t have one yet, here is a summary of why you should get one:

After lunch I head to cross over Bodmin Moor. Again a lot of uphill but less steep now. At the top ancient drystone walls marking the fields. Wasn’t really expecting to see this scenery here. Felt more like the North! (But the weather is better😉)

I didn’t write much about it, but today was pretty tough: I set off at 08:20 and arrived at my hotel 16:45. With three breaks, in total about an hour, that is nearly 8 hours of cycling. I don’t think it was the distance but especially the many many steep climbs. They really drag down your average speed and cost a lot of effort. Legs are pretty sore now!

Tomorrow I have a similar distance to travel, but less height to cover. I will try to adjust my route and instead of the squiggly country lanes try to keep to B-roads. That should avoid all the steep climbs and allow for better progress. (I hope! 😅)

Tomorrow’s destination is Taunton. As you can see, I’m getting to the end of the south western peninsula and the day after tomorrow I should be able to cross the river Severn and head into Wales!

The end…

Today got off to a great start, beautiful weather and a gorgeous route!