Cycling LEJOG in the Spare Room

Earlier in the week I read an article over on the Berghaus website written by The Next Challenge, encouraging people to have a micro adventure in January. The three suggestions were swim the channel, climb Everest or cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Cycle LEJOG you say? Hmmm.

I tweeted the article and then pretty much instantly disregarded the inspiration I felt inside and went back to what I was doing previously. January is very busy for me, not least because a week of it will be spent in Finland on our winter holiday, but also I’m tired, and the weather is so grotty (wet and windy) my push bike is stuck in the garage and I’m relegated to the exercise bike in the spare room. Not only that, but a couple of years ago I challenged myself to travel 2,012 km in 2012 (approx. 1,250 miles) and that took 51 weeks, although admittedly for the first five months I was really only walking as I was training to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge and London MoonWalk within a week. Walking takes longer…!

But even after sleeping the idea was stuck in my mind. I went back and re-read some of my previous challenge-type blog posts and actually at the bottom of that 2,012 in 2012 one I’d suggested walking the equivalent of LEJOG. That settled it; I am going to find a way to cycle LEJOG – in my spare room.

[My “starting point” – Land’s End]

According to the article (and we’re using approximates here), Land’s End to John O’Groats is 900 miles if you take the direct cycling route (unlike our motorcycle trip a few years ago when we did 2,500 or so!). To do it in one month that would be in excess of 32 miles per day. I’m not an actual adventurer (shame) and I don’t have several hours each day to spend cycling (I’m not sure if that is a shame or not!), so I am not giving myself a schedule or time limit of one month, but will simply try to do it as soon as I can. If I say I started at the beginning of the year I have already clocked up 57.6 miles on that grey thing in the corner – only 842.4 to go.

With any luck the weather will improve soon and I will be able to do some real miles outside on the commute and at the weekends – it’s nine miles each day to work which would definitely eat into the distance. Whatever happens I will log every mile I do on a bike (whether moving or that thing in the spare room) using runkeeper, the tracking app I’ve always used.

So, my at-home micro adventure for January 2014 (and February and March and beyond, until it is finished), inspired by The Next Challenge, will be to cycle LEJOG – in at home. I’m so serious I’ve even created a badge… look out for it on the right hand side with updates on how I’m doing.

Are you having an at-home micro adventure this year?