#cyclcross

Back and forth from polo, cyclocrossing across the downs or haulin’ some cargo through town. If you live and ride in Brighton you’ve probably seen Jamie rolling across the city. He rides everything and he rides everyday, whatever and wherever. He’s a rad guy to know and he’s done some amazing stuff, including riding unsupported from John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE).

His eleven day ride was mostly done solo and all of it was unsupported, so we decided to ask him some questions to get an idea of what it feels like to ride the kind of distances where the day is four hours shorter in the place you finished than the place you left and what climbing nearly twice the height of Everest is like.

What about riding JOGLE attracted you to it?

Cycle touring combines all the good stuff for me, riding bikes, camping, and visiting new places, and JOGLE was a route that meant I could do a lot of the good stuff.

Most people would only attempt this as part of an organised ride, what prompted you to do this unsupported, did you feel there was more you could discover by relying only on yourself?

Part of my decision to ride JOGLE was definitely to see what I could achieve on my own, I wanted to challenge and push myself. Also I enjoyed geeking out about routes, and equipment. You learn more about the thing that you are doing when you put the time and effort into the research. Not having to fit to anyone else’s schedule was also a big factor when deciding to do it on my own, having the freedom to change up my route if needed, to stop at all the places I wanted, and to eat, sleep, rest when I wanted was really important.

I mentioned a bit about the distances in the intro but to be clear, the ride is over 1,600km with around 15,000 meters of climbing. You also did a large portion of this solo so how did you prepare for the distance and knowing that you would be spending a lot of time alone on the road?

I started training about 5 months before, I didn’t really have a set routine, I just increased my normal weekend rides, I tried to hit at least 120km one day of the weekend, and did a few overnighters, riding around 120 km camping and riding home the next day. I am quite a solitary person, so riding long distances on my own comes quite naturally, but having an mp3 player handy is always a nice comfort.

You must have had some hard days in the saddle, what kept you from wanting to jack it in when it got tough?

The first day was the hardest, I started later than planned and I was riding into a headwind and rain all day, I had planned to hit 120km, but only managed 95km. I camped in the garden of a Pub in the highlands in a tiny village, and doubted myself, had I done enough training? Was my daily distance target to high? But the next day I woke up and the sun was shining, I ate my porridge, rode 180km through some amazing scenery, from then on everyday seemed easier than the first, and the next 9 days were some of the best days I have spent on a bike.

You passed some spectacular country but what was the most memorable part of the journey?

The UK sometimes gets a bit of a bad rap, lots of people think they need to go abroad for a memorable holiday, but the UK really has some amazing places to visit. There wasn’t a boring day in the saddle, but riding through Scotland was the highlight for me, riding alongside Loch Ness, through Glencoe and skirting round Ben Nevis were all things I won't soon forget.

From talking to you about this a couple of times I know that you love your Specialized Awol, tell us a bit about the set up for JOGLE

I pretty much rode it stock, that bike is great straight of the box in my opinion. I did upgrade the wheels and tyres though, mainly because I wanted a dynamo set up. Not having to worry about batteries and having the ability to charge my phone and Ipod whilst riding was pretty sweet.

Travelling light is key when you’ve got those sorts of climbs and distances to cover each day so I guess space for luxuries was tight but what item could you not have traveled without?

Coffee, I had a mini grinder, an Aeropress and enough beans for a cup a day. Coffee and cycling are best buds, and having a good cup in the morning after waking up in a tent with nothing to do but ride for the next 10-12 hours is damn fine.

If you had to give one piece of advice for anyone planning a long solo expedition what would it be?

Don’t rush, and have fun. Being able to even think about going cycle touring is a privilege so enjoy it. Take your time planning, make sure your route is right, and you have the right equipment. You don’t need lots of expensive stuff, but you do need to trust that things that you have work and will keep you going.

...and finally... what’s next

Wessex Cyclocross League Round 13

  Wessex Cyclocross League Round 13

  Graham Robins

  Wessex Cyclocross League Round 13 Sunday 28th December 2014

  Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles) set the early pace in the latest round and by the second lap he had started to establish a lead which he held onto until the end finishing nearly two minutes clear of second place rider and team mate Matt Macdonald. The 34year old rider from…

Another Greg Addo video, this time on PVD. GoPro/spectator intercutting really nails down the feel of the big northeastern fields. Definitely brought back some memories, including the trip to the pit.