Alison cycles LEJOG: August 2013

I'd had a trial run of packing my panniers (and cycling fully laden) a few weeks earlier, so had already made a few decisions about items I didn't need - such as more than one pair of trousers - and those I did - such as matches to light the stove.

I was still alarmed to see how much stuff had accumulated in the spare bedroom as, over a week or two, I'd been putting things in there ready. Would it all fit into the panniers, or would I have to further reduce non-essential items?

I've photographed and listed everything I've packed on the 'What' page of this blog. If you're a detail freak or preparing for a similar trip this might be of interest. If you're not, it'll only be of marginal interest.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by how easily everything fitted in. It was a bit like the Intelligence round of the Krypton Factor, finding exactly the right combination and orientation of items to make best use of pannier space, but it all went in. Right now, I couldn't tell you which pannier has my flip flops in (might want to air my feet over a lunch stop without unpacking everything first), but I'm sure I'll get a system going as the trip progresses.

The best part was the food. I'm attempting to complete this trip on a tight budget; that's partly why I'm camping and using youth hostels. I knew that if I ate all my meals in cafes, pubs, and restaurants the budget would get blown very quickly, so had to cater for myself as much as possible. Whilst I'm only staying in the UK, and will be travelling through many town and city centres, I don't want to have to keep finding suitable shops with secure bike parking in order to buy supplies (and worry about the security of my panniers whilst in the shop). So, I bought a whole month's supply of instant porridge pots (they only require boiling water so much easier than making 'proper' porridge, even though it's an expensive option), enough cereal bars for me to eat half a bar every hour I'm cycling, and dry pasta and boil-in-the-bag rice for the first 2 weeks of the trip. Once these were all divided down into weekly packages, I was able to pack a week's-worth into the front panniers.

This is good. The food I'd bought was, in the main, light. I'd found on my tester trip to the Isle of Wight that the front panniers were too heavy, making the bike unstable and difficult to steer at slow speeds. Since I can only actually travel at slow speeds with all the panniers on, this was an issue. Porrigde pots, cereal bars, and pasta are light, if bulky, so I will always know where my I can access dry porridge in a hurry or emergency.

Planning and preparing for a big independent trip can, sometimes, be more fun than the trip itself. I hope this isn't the case for my End to End cycle adventure. Even if it is, I've had a great time getting ready for the longest cycle challenge I've attempted to date.

It all started a year ago, when I did the Coast to Coast with Saddle Skedaddle as a supported trip. That was to test whether I was just too old to attempt this kind of thing. 3 days of long cycling days. My legs were a bit sore in the mornings, and I was glad to get off the saddle at the end of each day, but I proved to myself that I could, indeed, still do this kind of thing.

Having decided that I'd spend my 50th birthday cycling Land's End to John O'Groats, I set about gradually buying all the kit I'd need for a solo unsupported and low budget long distance cycle ride. The bike came first. It's a significant birthday, so I went for the best and had a hand-built, made to measure Roberts touring bike made in the autumn of 2012. I enjoyed the whole process, from being meticulously measured up by Mr Chas Roberts himself, to taking it out for it's first ride. Having only ever had second-hand bikes to that point, riding a bike that actually fitted me (perfectly) was pure joy. Unfortunately, it's also meant that I now look for a new bike as my first option, rather than second hand.

Once I had the bike, I had to get a full set of panniers. Ortlieb seemed the best, so that's what I went for. A lightweight Hilleberg tent completed my basic equipment, as I already had a lightweight sleeping bag, Thermarest sleeping mat, and Trangia cooking stove.

I tested everything out early August with a trip to the Isle of Wight. Cycling there and back with fully laden bike taught me a lot about expected average speeds (10mph) and wobble-factor when exiting junctions on hills. I didn't get off to push up any of the island's hills though, and even a 70 mile day's cycling didn't tire me out.

I'd been gradually increasing my cycling distances in the preceding months, culminating in a 100k ride in July. As a British Cycling Breeze ride leader, I planned the route for this ride and led a group of fellow women cyclists on it. By the end of July I was taking myself out for the kind of long and hilly training rides that I used to think only 'real' cyclists went on. Hm... Perhaps I'm turning into a real cyclist?

Planning my route for September's trip had several iterations. I decided fairly early on that I'd do it using Sustrans' National Cycle Network and take a month to complete. Some would say that's foolish, as the anticipated route, according to Sustrans, is 1,200 miles - that's 300 longer than many people take. However, I'm going to take more time than most, and don't want to have to cycle over 100 miles a day in order to finish my challenge; I want to be able to stop a while in towns I may never visit again, be leisurely about my morning starts if needed, and feel I can look around at the scenery rather than just focus on the stretch of tarmac directly ahead of me.

I'm planning on averaging 50 miles a day, with variations to take account of campsite and YHA hostel locations. That helped me plot each day's journey for the first two weeks, when I'll be carrying all my luggage. After that, I may be able to cover more ground since my brother and his partner will be supporting me with my campervan so the bike will be light, I'll be even fitter and stronger, and I'll have left the hills of Cornwall well behind me.

Here's a few photos to give a flavour of my preparation and planning process.