Evocation
Thou fairest Muse, true blogger of all ages
I am but scribe who type your words on pages
Homer, Steinbeck, Van Munoz you have blessed
Their stories with your artful words expressed.
Adventures on my bike that must be told
Endeavors foolish masquerade as bold
Of self-inflicted hardships for your laughter
The type 2 fun not while but only after
Rando’s travails are stories to rejoice
Their foolish deeds when fools like me give voice
No greater joy than share with friends the smiles
To read my tale of riding senseless miles.
Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) is a 1400km grand randonnee organized by Audax UK through Burnley CC. While not as well known in the rando world as London-Edinburgh-London (LEL), LEJOG has been in the pantheon of British endurance challenges since 1871 when 2 brothers, John and Robert Naylor, completed their journey.
LEJOG’s home page sums up the journey most succinctly:
… is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain – a long-standing route from the southwestern tip to the north-eastern tip of the UK; from Cornwall through the Cotswold; Wales; the Scottish Lowlands, and finishing off in the Scottish Highlands – a windswept land of glacial lakes and an economy of trees. A succession of different terrains, architecture, and history.
Unlike other iconic grand randonnées such as PBP and LEL that are out and back courses, LEJOG is an extended point-to-point trek. This unique feature, while giving riders the opportunity to see the whole expanse of the British Isles, also creates logistical challenges, especially for those participants who are coming from abroad.
The lead organizer was Andy Corless of Burnley CC: a stocky man with short, cropped hair and a square jawline. He spoke with a Lancastrian accent broader than his shoulders, on those rare occasions when he did speak. He looked more like a rugby scrum half than a cyclist, which made him an ideal randonneur. His piercing eyes displayed that fierce taciturn tenacity to get shit done, a necessary quality to carry out this endeavor. LEJOG was his baby.
We were allotted 116 hours and 40 minutes to finish. There were 4 overnight controls that provided air mattresses or beds, if available, as well as food, though we were allowed to make our own lodging arrangements. The organizers would support only 2 bag drops (1 bag at the 2nd overnight control at mile 366 and the 3rd control in Kirkburn in the Scottish Lowlands at mile 550).
In late 2023 when Michael and I were discussing rando goals for 2024, I mentioned that I registered for LEJOG. Not long after our exchanges, he texted me that he too had registered. It seemed to have that right mix of Homeric adventure sprinkled with good bits of Quixotic ambitions. On paper the decision to take part was just stupid enough to become a great story to recount after completion.
We began planning in earnest. We worked out our schedule to stay at hotels by pushing further each night than places Andy had arranged for overnight controls. Not knowing how they would be staffed and the quality of food on offer, we settled on quality sleep at the hotels and good food at restaurants along the way as our recipe for success. The goal was to finish in 110 hours: not overly ambitious and leaving enough buffer to account for unforeseen delays. We were really looking forward to notching another grand randonnee on our randonneur to-do list.
