CYCLING LEJOG / JOGLE

The LEJOG cycle ride is the grand daddy of all cycling challenges in the UK, starting at Land's End in Cornwall (the extreme southwestward point in mainland Britain) and ending at John o'Groats in northern Scotland - very close to the most northerly point of mainland Britain.

Thousands of like-minded cyclists complete this iconic bike ride each year. From speed challenges in as few as 5 days, to the more leisurely trips that are done for the sheer enjoyment of exploring the UK, anyone who can ride a bike can manage this world famous end-to-end cycle ride. You don't have to be superfit to do it either - I certainly wasn't!

Many people ride it as part of a charity challenge to raise money for a cause they're passionate about, whilst for others it's a bucket list item to complete. Some people also choose to cycle it from north to south instead; this is often referred to as 'JOGLE' (ie, John o'Groats to Land's End).

Seahouses, Northumberland

The shortest LEJOG route possible by bike - avoiding motorways - is around 900 miles, whilst avoiding major roads brings this up to over 950 miles. Once you factor in any detours or deviations, such as to your accommodation each night or to avoid the worst hills, then most people ending up riding around 1000 miles on their challenge.

There is no "official" path and people take all sorts of routes; when I rode it I went via Leeds (my home city) cycling 1,060 miles in total, although most people tend to stay west of the Pennines and thread up between Liverpool and Manchester.

All sorts of different bikes have been used to ride LEJOG or JOGLE over the years, from recumbents to tandem bikes, from fixed gears to mountain bikes, and even from unicycles to penny farthings! The challenge isn't just limited to bikes either - hundreds of people each year choose to walk or run the route, many drive or motorbike it, and some people even use several modes of transport including kayaks! Remarkably it has even been swum a few times too, most recently in October 2022.