So how hard is 1,500km cycling in 7 days?

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Wouldn’t it be great to cycle Lands End to John O’Groats sometime someone suggested  on one of our Fietsclub Sunday outings. That’s about 1,500km (915 miles) with at least 18,000 metres (58,000 feet) of climbing - about twice the height of Everest! Who would be foolish enough to take that challenge on! It seems Andy Hoggarth, John Grindley and David Heneghan are! As if it’s not tough enough it has to be completed in 7 days!

The daily schedule for Andy, David and John’s challenge from Lands End to John O’Groats makes me tired writing it never mind cycling it.  Each day will begin no later than 7 am for breakfast with cycling beginning at 8. Stops for food will add up to 2 hours to each day so a 10 hour cycling day finishes around 8pm before getting ready to do it all again the next day!

Day 1: 161km and 2,743 metres climbing (100 miles and 9,000 feet). Never mind the distance that’s one-third of the way up Everest on the first day. As it’s lots of climbing the expectation is 24km per hour cycling (I’m not sure about that!) which means just under 7 hours cycling before finishing in Okehampton.



Day 2: Clearly day 1 will not be hard enough so day 2 is 185km and another 2,743 metres climbing (115 miles and 9,000 feet). That’s two-thirds of Everest by day 2. Another hilly day so another 7.5 or 8 hours cycling before finishing somewhere north of Bristol. 

Day 3: They say the more consecutive days cycled the stronger the cycling legs get. I hope so as day 3 is 233km with a relatively modest 2,133 metres climbed (145 miles and 7,000 feet). By now we will be just 1,200 metres short of completing Everest having cycled a total of 579km. Close to 10 hours cycling today before finishing around Sandbach. If that’s a pub beside that monument I will be resting there!



Remember we are doing all this for 2 great causes and need your help to raise as much money as possible. You can donate here either to Aspergillosis or to the Balerno High School Tanzania Project (or both if you’re feeling very generous). 

 Day 4: The middle day of the cycle. Of course I have assumed weather that helps as opposed to the typical British 4 seasons in a day! Day 4 is, apparently an “easy” 193 km and 2,438 metres climbing (120 miles and 8,000 feet). We’re well on the way back down Everest at this stage! Day 4 finishes in Borrowdale Wood in Cumbria. By now we will have cycled 770km and climbed 10,000 metres (that’s 480 miles and 33,000 feet!). If we are still fit and well at this stage we will be looking forward to returning to Scotland on day 5.



Day 5: Day 5 brings us back to Scotland and home to Edinburgh where we will have a well earned rest in our own homes. Today is “just” 237km and 2,118 metres climbing (147 miles and 6,949 feet). The finish will be in Rosyth to shorten the last two days! Rumour has it there may be a few beverages waiting in the Grey Horse.



Day 6: The penultimate day. A brutal day into the Scottish Highlands. The longest day of the challenge with 254 km and 3,627 metres climbing (158 miles and 11,900 feet). I feel tired writing it! This has the feel of a day that could be over 13 hours assuming the wind is our friend! We should be somewhere around Inverness tonight.

Day 7: No doubt we will be energised that the end is in sight though this is not an easy day to finish with. The final day is virtually a sprint! at 210km and the first day under 2,000 metres - 1,919m (130 miles and 6,297 feet).



In total we will cycle just under 1,500km and climb just under 18,000 metres (915 miles and over 58,000 feet). That’s more than 2 Everests and time for a well earned break from the bike. Andy, David and John are about to find out just how hard cycling 1,500km is in 7 days in July.

We hope you will follow us through the blogs and more importantly remember we are doing all this for 2 great causes and need your help to raise as much money as possible. You can donate here either to Aspergillosis or to the Balerno High School Tanzania Project (or both if you’re feeling very generous)

Comments

  1. Unknown28 May 2019 at 08:13

    Good luck guys! This is a challenging project, but a great thing!

    ReplyDelete

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