http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/
I think this will be on my cycling bucket list but not at that price.
£1600?!
I'm doing the LEL in a fortnight. Same distance (1400km), costs £200 as a semi-supported audax. And it'll take 4 days hopefully.
I did LeJog with a Marie Curie group a couple of years ago. Minimum donation was £2,250 of which around half was the "cost" of supporting it. That included hotels and hostels, food, backup van, physios, signing etc. There were 25 in our group. I imagine it could be cheaper (per head) for a larger group.
Out of interest did you pay for any of that yourself or did people who thought they were donating money to the charity end up funding your holiday?I did LeJog with a Marie Curie group a couple of years ago. Minimum donation was £2,250 of which around half was the "cost" of supporting it.
I organised everything myself (staying in B&Bs and YHAs) and asked for donations to MacMillan. I reckon more money goes tot he charity that way.
[quote=zilog6128 ]Out of interest did you pay for any of that yourself or did people who thought they were donating money to the charity end up funding your holiday?
I paid [i]the whole lot [/i](£2,250) out of my own money and then had folk give me money over and above that.
Good going Ransos, how much do you reckon it cost for travel to and from end/beginning and accomodation?
See, that sounds like a lot, but, if it's being done by 'normal' people, who can do 50miles a day for 18 days, then it's <£100 day, which doesnt buy much hotel.
Even going for it in 4 days carying just a credit card you'd need
4x hotels ~£240
4x evening meals £100
4x lunches £40
4x mid morning coffee/snacks £20
4x mid afternoon coffee/snacks £20
4x breakfast £40
2 train tickets ~£300?
I would want hotel accommodation every night for £1600
£10 breakfast
£25 evening meal
You must eat in posh pubs and cafes
[quote=thisisnotaspoon ]See, that sounds like a lot, but, if it's being done by 'normal' people, who can do 50miles a day for 18 days, then it's <£100 day, which doesnt buy much hotel.
Mine was a 10 day trip @ 100 miles per day and there were some [i]very[/i] ordinary people on that ride, including two older ladies (and I mean older than me) on quite low-spec hybrids. They weren't seasoned cyclists either.
pub meals are £5 to £15 ! in most pubs I go to
For 3 courses?
You must eat in posh pubs and cafes
Depends, if you were doing it in 4 days
a) wouldn't have time to do a calories/£ analysis of every restaurant in town
b) would probably be eating 2 meals
I'm picturing tinas rucking up and saying 'well I'm not doing it if there's no mid afternoon coffee/snacks, to hell with Cancer research'
Good going Ransos, how much do you reckon it cost for travel to and from end/beginning and accomodation?
It was a while ago, but at a guess:
Train from Bristol to Penzance ~ £25.
12 nights' accommodation average say £15-20/ night - mix of B&B and hostels, two people sharing really keeps the cost down. Bunkhouses in Scotland usually cheap and clean.
Minibus from JOG to Inverness - can't remember, it wasn't much
Sleeper to London - £75 (got a bargain fare)
London - Bristol ~£25.
Plus all your food. That can add up if you're eating in the pub and sinking a few beers each night, as we were! If you're trying to keep the cost down say £15/ day.
Looking at that, £500 is the bare minimum unless you're camping, and/ or you're going to ride a lot faster than we did.
Good stuff! Just checking. You didn't make that clear in your original post at all. 😆I paid the whole lot (£2,250) out of my own money and then had folk give me money over and above that.
I'm picturing tinas rucking up and saying 'well I'm not doing it if there's no mid afternoon coffee/snacks, to hell with Cancer research'
Dam straight, the only reason I've not turned pro is I heard they don't stop the TDF for coffee at those Chateaux they show on the TV! I bet they do lovely cake.
[quote=ransos ]
Plus all your food. That can add up if you're eating in the pub and sinking a few beers each night, as we were! If you're trying to keep the cost down say £15/ day.
I reckon you'd struggle to get enough food (and drink) in you for £15 a day. Mind you, some of the folk that I cycled with were probably spending that on painkillers 🙂
when it was being drunk discussed a few weeks back we were thinking 6 days @140 miles ish per day, self supported i.e. wild camp / bivi with maybe 1 hotel in the middle.
would be annoyed if, having all the kit (bike and camping stuff), the bill came to more than £400
[quote=scandalous ]when it was being drunk discussed a few weeks back we were thinking 6 days @140 miles ish per day, self supported i.e. wild camp / bivi with maybe 1 hotel in the middle.
would be annoyed if, having all the kit (bike and camping stuff), the bill came to more than £400
Have you factored in getting to/from the start and end points?
I reckon you'd struggle to get enough food (and drink) in you for £15 a day. Mind you, some of the folk that I cycled with were probably spending that on painkillers
I reckon it's doable as you can cook your own in YHAs. But I certainly spent a lot more than that - it's supposed to be fun, and there's nothing better than a good meal and a couple of pints after a full day's cycling.
For a comparison - I'm doing a two week tour, maybe upto 18 days if the weather is on my side. My budget for that is around £10-15/day. It's amazing how little it can cost you if you're slumming it.
Pubs I go to dont do 3 courses! Thats for special occasions only probably wearing a tie !!!
If I were to do it then it'd be B&B and hostels all the way. I've done 3/4 day charity rides and it's beats all knowing you've got a bed and a hot shower at the end of every day. If it's raining there'd be nothing so dispiriting as having to pitch your tent in the rain after cycling all day. Also, I've often found that if you are doing it for charity the B&B owners will wave all or part of the cost.
[quote=Edric 64 ]Pubs I go to dont do 3 courses! Thats for special occasions only probably wearing a tie !!!
🙂 My point is that you'll be so hungry you'll need 3 courses!
I reckon he cheapest way to get home if there are a few of you is buy an old estate car up there before you leave from Cornwall .Drive it home and flog it again .If it breaks down the AA is your friend
I know what you mean .I had a weird look the night before the national 12 hr when asked chips or new spuds ,both was the answer and 2 desserts followed that!!
My point is that you'll be so hungry you'll need 3 courses!
What you need there is an Audax Picnic (TM)
If I were to do it then it'd be B&B and hostels all the way. I've done 3/4 day charity rides and it's beats all knowing you've got a bed and a hot shower at the end of every day.
Yup. I've done a fair bit of touring over the years, and the last thing I would want to do after a tiring day is pitch a tent in the rain. Plus it's a load of extra weight to carry.
Shower of soft tarts...
where are you riding glutpon? & when?
Depends how you look at it, I'd see the challange in riding it quickly, which means long hours in the saddle, good sleep and a minimum of faffing.
Say 250miles/14 hours, 8 hours sleep, leaving 2 hours to eat and find a bed. I'd not see a challenge in riding it in 10 days and spending half that time cooking pot noodles ona trangia and searching for bivi spots.
Wild camping is feasible in scotland but in England not so much. Plus for me the amount of bedding I'd want to carry to make sure I got a decent nights sleep would mean I wouldn't be able to get very far on a bike. I am very envious of people who can fall asleep on those thin camping mats because bikepacking is something I would love to do.
In defence of the RAB...
They do [b]everything[/b] for you.
Route signage, feed stations, breakfast & dinner (as much as you can eat, full cooked breakfast, the works), mechanical support, luggage transfer, tent pitching and de-pitching, they supply laundry service, showers, toilets, charging points for phone/GPS.
You don't need to spend anything for the 9 days that you're doing it.
All you need to do is ride your bike. It's like doing 9 Sportives in 9 days.
Downsides:
you're working to someone else's schedule - you HAVE to reach the end point, there's no bailing half way and sorting a B&B if the weather is shit one day, likewise if you're feeling good/have a tailwind, you can't just keep going.
sleeping in tents isn't for everyone but they're decent enough.
riding with 700 others of wildly varying ability (although once out on the road, you tend to form your own little groups and it's pretty quiet).
No choice over the route - you follow the arrows, you can't wander off into a little village or decide to take that road instead.
Depends though - it's always oversubscribed, there are plenty of cash-rich, time-poor people who don't have the time/inclination/confidence to do their own planning and navigation and logistics or who want to do it but can't find any mates who are interested. They don't want to do it alone so this is a way of getting some company.
Depends how you look at it, I'd see the challange in riding it quickly, which means long hours in the saddle, good sleep and a minimum of faffing.
Whereas I'd rather take my time on quieter, less direct roads and enjoy the countryside. Each to their own!
I think we're on the same page ransos, wanna do it again? but.... there's no way the wife would let me have 2 weeks away cycling. 😡
The RAB seems very well organised, they pitched up in the field next to me this year, spent 3 days putting up the marquees, very well marked out, and very professional.
for what you get I think it's a bit of a deal really.
I think we're on the same page ransos, wanna do it again? but.... there's no way the wife would let me have 2 weeks away cycling.
Yes, I do, but it's not going to be any time soon. 2 year old daughter and a baby on the way, plus I dragged them to the French Alps last week so I could ride La Marmotte. I suspect my good will is exhausted for the forseeable!
I reckon I could persuade them for my 40th...only five years to go!
£1,600 [i]and[/i] I get to sleep in a tent? I'd love to see a breakdown of how much of the cost is going to British Paralympics, especially as they have some corporate sponsorship going on too
2013 Event Suppliers:
adidas
Bath Rugby
Halfords
Map My Tracks
Mondel?z International
Powerade
Virgin Money Giving
Volvo
Whole Earth
It's amazing how little it can cost you if you're slumming it.
Or, it's amazing how much of the fun can be squeezed out of it if you try hard enough...
I'd love to see a breakdown of how much of the cost is going to British Paralympics
Have you tried asking them?
Incidentally, does anyone know of any other support companies who do the big one? I'd love to have a go sometime and doing it supported would be more attractive than wild camping.
[quote=edlong ]I'd love to see a breakdown of how much of the cost is going to British Paralympics
Have you tried asking them?
If I was considering doing it, I certainly would.
Sorry boys and girls, I just don't get it.
There's trains from/to the start and finish (well near enough as you'll have a bicycle with you for the last bits).
There's all classes of accommodation all the way along the route from camping in a hedge to 5* s**** mansions.
There's loads and loads of material on the various routes for background and planning.
We don't live in Outer Mongolia or some such and it's reasonably civilised all the way up (or down if you really must).
Why go organised?
JFDI
Simply because it'd be easier. I would quite prepared to do all the research and booking but if a company had done all that and the cost was not very much more than I'd spend then it would be very attractive. Espicially if it means I could cycle without a backpack or panniers. But I do get your point, we don't live in outer mongolia.
I reckon by bivvying or using hostels I could get by with a saddle bag and bar bag for kit
But bivvying for 9 days would be a bit, errrr, shit wouldn't it.
Certainly staying in accommodation (rather than camping), a saddle bag/bar bag combo would be enough (for me at least).
I do lots of cycle touring - usually solo.However I enjoyed being part of a larger group, chatting before, during and after each days ride. It took a bit of getting used to not having planned it all myself but it was quite liberating not needing to think about when and where to stop, eat etc. It's certainly encouraged me to try another organized tour in future, though that one might be nearer Mongolia too.
I would only bivvy if I couldnt find anywhere cheap to stay
I youth hostelled, ate in Lidl and took the train, I think it still cost about £800 in 2006, call it £1k today and I spent hours organising it. It's not really a bad price tbh.
I enjoyed the freedom of picking a route though, we met some friends, did a corner of Wales and ticked off more interesting river crossings like chain ferries and little harbour taxis.
Edric 64 - Member
I reckon by bivvying or using hostels I could get by with a saddle bag and bar bag
Yep, I do it loads. Did an 11 day unsupported scenic Lejog using this method. Just back from another 9 day lightweight tour on and off road. So much B&B accommodation to chose from as well
if you use a recumbent, you could kip in it as well.... 😯
don't think andy wilkinson's record is in peril-- fwiw, i will do it some day, nice and relaxed, fully flexible, with tent n tings, but at my pace, on quiet roads....
where are you riding glupton? & when?
Depending on the weather and the notion I have for visiting certain parts of the country I'll be heading from Edinburgh to Campbeltown, Oban, Iona, Ardnamurchan, Mallaig, maybe into Knoydart (for a two day hike a bike if the weather suits) or through Skye if the weather doesn't, Kyleakin, Applecross, Torridon, Fisherfield to climb a munro or two, Ullapool, Sandwood Bay, Tongue, then head back down to Inverness, and back to Edinburgh via the Cairngorms and the Fife coast.
Or, it's amazing how much of the fun can be squeezed out of it if you try hard enough...
There's absolutely no link between fun had and money spent. Fun is losing yourself in a ride, stopping wherever takes your fancy, following your nose and exploring this wonderful country that we have.
bang on glupton-- them bread heads always equate money with everyting-- the cost of all , but the value of nowt !
don't think andy wilkinson's record is in peril-- fwiw, i
You mean Gethin Butler, 44 hours 4 minutes. Insane.
wilko holds the record--on a kingcycle-- 41 plus hrs !!
So he did. Wonder why the RRA don't recognise it?
no idea --because its a recumbent ?
It's surprisingly easy to do the LeJog without much planning. I bought an atlas and used the big map to work out roughly where to stop, then hotels.com to book things in the vicinity, and finally Google Maps on walk mode to route map it and get distances. Navigation was by iPhone, food was chosen by necessity. 40 miles after breakfast, stop for second breakfast, then lunch after another twenty or so, and finally bash out the remainder of the day with perhaps a stop for more food. I reckon £20 a day for food not counting breakfast, making use of supermarkets and cafes along the way, and £25 each for B&B if two of you, at the most. Cheapest was £32 between two in an Ibis near Preston, most expensive £65.
We got the train from Edinburgh to Penzance for £67, as I booked the tickets exactly 12 weeks out from our departure. All in, about £500 plus beer, over ten days.
Bread head! LOL 🙂
Surely there must be something between living in a glupton sized bush and the standards enjoyed by the Sultan of Brunei??
When touring, my default is camping, usually on sites if available. This is mainly to get a good shower at the end of each day and to be able to keep kit clean. Missing either for more than a couple of days will have a detrimental effect on the undercarriage.
Failing that, anything goes depending on what is available/how I'm feeling and the weather. IME everything/anything from a mad womens floor up to a 5* hotel. Committing to camping gets a bit wearing after the 3rd day of rain and everything is piss wet through.
Enjoy your trip however you do it.
Bread head <s****> 🙂
@alasdair How much did [i]you[/i] spend on mid afternoon coffee/snacks?
I'm taking a good tent with me, know the country like the back of my hand and therefore the best wild camping spots. I also like swimming in rivers and lochs, so I'll be clean enough as will my kit. I know where there are some really good mussel beds, I'm good at fishing...
It'll be an adventure.
did it with my best mate on bromptons over 8 days (well 7.5), took a 3 litre saddle bag + 10 front bag and stopped at reasonable priced BBs + food/water stops along the way (pubs/shops and peopel in gardens for water). No need for support and def not £1600!
Your tent will keep you nice and dry when you're cycling all day in the rain. LOL.
Enjoy yourself [s]catweazel[/s] glupton.
@rootes. Did you do the ~800 mile route. That's some going on Brommies.
I love riding in the rain. There's nothing better than riding in that big fat heavy rain that you get now and again.
I'll certainly enjoy myself - cheers.
Back on track. One of the big attractions of touring is the freedom to do as you wish. Direction, length of day, where to stay, where to eat etc. All this is taken away if you go on one of these organised rides.
I could understand it if you were passing through bandit country and were worried about the natives eating you but LeJog? C'mon, get a bit of spirit and get on with it.
as much as i love bike packing i have to admit threshold sports (they also do the ride across britain) did a great job when we did the london revolution. really all we had to do was turn up ride, get off bike pick you bag up shower massage eat drink and sleep - no thought required which was a luxury compared to my usual events.
lovely break from the norm - can't say i'd want to do such a mammoth event like lejog that way as i like to feel i've earned it properly, but maybe when i'm a bit older and more delicate i will appreciate stuff like that more often 🙂
I could understand it if you were passing through bandit country and were worried about the natives eating you but LeJog? C'mon, get a bit of spirit and get on with it.
A lot of the people doing LEJOG through Ride Across Britain weren't "cyclists" in the sense that STW would recognise. They weren't kit freaks or club riders averaging 300 miles a week.
They were normal everyday people who happened to own bikes - commuters, people who'd got into it by doing an event like the London Triathlon, corporate folk who wanted a challenge. Some of the people who turned up at Land's End had never ridden more than 20 miles in one go. Some of them had given their secretary/PA £5000 and said "get me a bike and all the kit, here's my sizes" hence the absurdly high proportion of top-end Boardman bikes there - the PA had said "where sells bikes - Halfords obviously". Some of the people there barely knew one end of a bike from the other and to be honest they'd never have made it without the route arrows, the mechanical support from Halfords, the medical support/massage on offer and the ride leaders/chaperones.
That's who it's aimed at.
And in those terms, it's pretty reasonable value for money.
And if you're wondering why I did it - I was one of the ride leaders. 🙂
Tell you the best part of it. When we left LE, it was a disparate group of individuals, most of whom knew nothing about the finer points of road riding - drafting, teamwork etc.
7 days later, I brought a group into Fort William across Rannoch Moor in the rain and the wind after a 135-mile day and there was a team working there. Through and off, 30 riders, no egos, everyone helping everyone else. THAT was cool - proper highlight of the ride for me. At the start of that week, none of them would have managed 135 miles.
At the risk of sounding corny, it's not really about touring, seeing the sights etc, it's about finding & challenging yourself. And yes, that message, combined with the "inspirational music" (think Eye of the Tiger, We Can Be Heroes etc) being blasted out across the campsite every morning at 5am really wore thin after a while...
I love riding in the rain. There's nothing better than riding in that big fat heavy rain that you get now and again.
There is. Riding in the dry.
@crazy-legs. Fair enough. My responses were really aimed at the typical keen cyclist rather than the corporate bore trying the latest organised challenge. I don't mean to denigrate what they achieved but it's a world away from the sort of stuff we write about on here. Maybe 'we' are more inclined to rough it a bit and take a few risks but perhaps we're more conditioned to doing this.
Having written this, sadly it was a couple of corporates that were flattened on the A30 a couple of weeks ago wasn't it? I'm not sure what that says apart from however you do it, there's still an element of risk/reward and you still have to push the pedals and sit on the bike.
I like the faff, freedom and routine that comes with multi day touring and that's why an organised ride is anathema to me. I won't even ride sportives (however I have been eyeing up audaxes as they might just pass the test...).
boblo-- was referring to the corporate types(bread heads)--surely you not that sensitive 😉
the whole point of touring is adventure, from the planning/anticipation to the actual doing, others will have different takes, but whatever you do , it must be enjoyable, even sometimes retrospectively !
@rudebwoy. Not sensitive at all, just thought It was funny in a Neil from the Young Ones sort of way 🙂
100% agreed on your summary.