LEJOG failure I'm afraid

Pales into insignificance compared to the horrors of the other accidents, but I'm afraid that in very heavy rain and winds in Cornwall I crashed out on a slippery road and bruised my ribs and leg. Also suffered some knee problems which I now managed to get xrayed..

Not wanting to let the guy who I was cycling with continue on his own, I got the train back to the midlands and picked up a car and backed him up all the way to JOG where he / we finished on Sunday afternoon. We had some horrendous weather all the way, and encountered the tail end of the US hurricane in Dumfries and Galloway, whereupon the ferries to Arran were cancelled and we diverted up through Glasgow.

I was of course gutted that I didnt get to carry on, but maybe another time.

Much respect to anyone who did LEJOG over the last two weeks. It was an absolute endurance test to say the least.

Hope your injuries heal quickly and good luck next time!

At least you helped your mate out to the end. Well done . Hey i guess you have had a true 'heads up' on what it involves! Hope you make a good recovery and best of luck with it when you try again.

What a nightmare, so sorry you didn't get to ride, but high fives for supporting your buddy..
Hope you get well soon & have aanother go when the waether's a tad warmer

Sorry to hear of your mishap and disappointment, Mitz. Bloody good effort to drive the support vehicle, though. At least you know the way now.

Hope you manage to do it when you're fit and healthy.

Sorry to hear your news but there is always next year. I did a 200km cycle this year in Ireland. The one thing that kept me going was the cooment for an experienced rider- 'he had never met a hill he could not walk up' - You can do LEHOG - it just a matter of when and sticking with your mate whilst he completed it speaks volumes Well done

Mitz - you did a LEJOG though not by using your preferred choice of transport.

I'm sure that one of the forumers here got to within a day's ride from Land's End then fell off and was injured enought to need hospital treatment. I think he then went home without finishing the ride and returned at a later date for the last leg.

Yes, it was all a reality check to be honest. There were times when without support Paul would have been .. well .. challenged. He has a total of iirc 9 punctures and one split tyre and we were running around getting new tubes (and at one point a gear cable) in the middle of nowhere. At one time we were cycling down the A30 into Exeter at 9 at night in the dark on the left side of the roadside white line and due to not being able to see well he ran over glass. Add to that riding over the moors in Scotland where there was no where to get food .. we were driving ahead to get sandwiches and stuff and going back again to him!

In Chester Paul managed to lock his bike to a railing and then lost the key so we were using all kinds of tools to cut it off so he could continue. Right under a CCTV camera, but no arrests were made




If anyone is wondering how much support costs .... my credit card is at just under £1500 after that 15 days, the majority of it being fuel, food, b&b & hotels. In Bonar Bridge we found it difficult to find anywhere to stay and ended up driving about 23 miles down a one track road to a loch side Hotel .. and then of course back the following morning. Accommodation in Northern Scotland was difficult.

Thanks for your comments ..... I'm getting over it!

At JOG the sign was not up, and a sign was there saying that due to unforseen circumstances it was not available .... bloody great I thought for all those people who were finishing

It started off so well





And this is what you do when you've cycled over 1000 miles and have a sore bum




And its good bye from the support team until next time

Great pics; Thats just typical about the sign.....

At least your spirit is good so dust yourself down & plan for the next challenge!!!!!

Tony