LEJOG Blog 5: Only six weeks to go
END to End companion Hamish Telfer has been on the phone to tell me he’s been out checking some sections of the route. Hamish lives in Sedbergh, at the foot of the lovely Howgills, and we hope to spend a night at his place en route. We Scots will do anything to avoid paying for another B&B. We plan to stop overnight here in Newtonmore later on too.
Incidentally, poor old Hamish is now on about his fifth saddle, desperately trying to find one that won’t have him walking like John Wayne. On our last bike ride together he spent much of the time out of the saddle - I thought he was trying to sprint away from me all the time but he was just trying to avoid sitting down. His arse was on fire!
Hamish reckons he’s managed to find a route out of Sedbergh that doesn’t involve enormous hill climbs and if that’s the case I’ll be delighted as we have a couple of really big days in the Scottish Borders to follow. Orginallly we had been tempted into heading for Edinburgh then swerving west towards Stirling, then Killin and Loch Earn but after my Perth to Inverness ride the other day I think we might stay further east. Looks like Edinburgh to Perth as an ‘easy’ day then Perth to Newtonmore followed by Newtonmore to Dingwall via Invermess, a route I know like the back of my hand now.
With only six weeks to go I’m getting my kit organised. I’ve told you about the bike, the workhorse tourer that I hope will carry me valiantly from one end of the country to the other. It’s currently in the workshop getting a slightly shorter handlebar stem fitted. After my problems with tingly fingers many of you were kind enough to respond and advise me to check my riding position. I did that, and the result is a shorter stem. But I discovered something else. I normally wear one of these all singing and dancing wristwatches that tell you altitude readings, compass readings, your star signs and all that stuff and it has a pretty large face. I noticed that when I cycle my wrist is slightly cocked and the watch presses into a nerve in my wrist. I’ve stopped wearing the watch when cycling and guess what? No tingly fingers. Result! And the shorter handlebar stem will give me a much more comfortable riding position.
As far as clothing is concerned I’m delighted to say that I’m getting a lot of help from the folk at the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. I’ll be using one of their waterproof jackets and waterproof trousers, bib shorts, a windproof jacket and some bits and pieces like arm and leg warmers.
I know I’m relatively new to cycling but what a great idea arm and leg warmers are. Shaped tubes of windproof fabric that you wear with short sleeved jerseys or cycling shorts. I’m so delighted with their performance I probably won’t take any big tights with me, just slip on the leg warmers when the temperatures drop. Why don’t we have something like that for hiking? I guess zip-off pants are the closest.
I wanted to tell you a little about the waterproof jacket from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative, because that’s the item of gear I’ve been using most and I suspect it might be the item of gear I use most on the trip itself!
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative has half a dozen stores, in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. And an excellent website at www.edinburghbicycle.com. Their ‘own brand’ kit goes under the name of Revolution, and I love the solidarity feel to some of the markings on the kit. And the Red Star badging appeals to my left-wing instincts… but enough! What of the jacket?
The Revolution Leader Waterproof Jacket is made from 2.5 layer, 4-way stretch Hydrovent, a fabric that I wasn’t too familiar with. It has a full-length waterproof zip with a substantial backing flap, drawcord adjusters round the neck and lower hem, a map-sized rear pocket with a water-resistant zip and some subtle but effective reflective stripes. The garment comes in black only. Cool, huh?
What I like most about this jacket, and I’ve worn it now in some pretty foul weather of rain, wind and even sleet showers, is the weight. Or lack of it! It only weighs 248 g, and it packs up into a tiny net bag, which takes up virtually no space in your pannier.
The jacket is fairly athletically cut, that is to say there isn’t a lot of loose material flapping around, and it even makes my slightly more mature shape (although less rotund that I was two months ago) look faintly athletic. But it’s the 4-way stretch that is really impressive. I can honestly say you don’t even notice you’re wearing a waterproof jacket with the Revolution Leader. It really does stretch and doesn’t constrict freedom of movement in the slightest. I’ve noticed the sleeves are intentionally long (and have thumb loops which I don’t tend to use) and cover up that gap at the top of your cycling mitts.
After a dozen or so outings, with at least 80% of those outings having been in the rain, the water is still beading and rolling off the fabric. I haven’t come across any real internal condensation yet and have not felt stifled inside it, even in the warmer spring-like weather of the last few days. So, at the moment anyway, the Revolution Leader is doing everything the manufacturer claims – it’s keeping me dry and I’m not ‘boiling in the bag’. I intend to take this jacket on the trip and I’d keep you informed as to how it continues to perform. It costs £139.99.
Meanwhile, have a look at the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative website at www.edinburghbicycle.com. It’s pretty impressive. Oh, and EVERY Revolution garment comes with a 24-month guarantee against manufacturing defects. That can’t be bad, can it? Oh, and some good news. I think Hamish has found the saddle of his dreams. At least he hasn’t mentioned saddles or sore arses in his last couple of phone calls…