LEJOG on an XP-X

[Colin]

Hi All,
A while ago, I mentioned that I was going to be attempting the "end to end" of the UK from Lands End to John O'Groats on my XP-X.

Warm up runs of London to Paris and Lincoln to London were successfully conducted in Sept 2009 and June 2010.

The only down side of the XP-X was it's limited top pedalling speed (22mph) with a 44T/11T gear ratio.
I tried a 52/42/32 Triple road crank-set but the suspension fouled it.

So, instead, I fitted Mavic 700c CycloCross rims with Hope Disc hubs and 28mm Conti Ultra Gatorskin tyres which just cleared the frame.
Of course, a conversion to disc brakes was also required, so a genuine x56HH Hammerhead was fitted.
The Vector II suspension fork was replaced with a Carbon Look Fournalles.
Avid BB7 Brakes fitted both ends.
Top pedalling speed was now a more respectable 29mph.

Everything was completely stripped and anything worn, replaced.


So, on 20th September, I cycled the 9 miles from Penzance to Lands End for the start.
And on 4th October, I arrived in John O'Groats!

Highlights:
•   958 miles in 14 Days with a total of 83hrs in the saddle.
•   13508 Meters of ascent, (That’s over 8 miles straight UP!)
•   20 Counties…………..Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Dumfries, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire, Argyll & Bute, Stirling, Highlands, Inverness, Ross & Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness.
•   Visited Wiveliscombe - the birthplace of my guru – Keith Floyd!
•   We crossed the Mersey on the Ferry with Gerry & the Pacemakers playing the song………...
•   The 426M climb over Shap on the A6.
•   The 30 mile long ascent from sea level to 348M through Glen Coe in a gale (fortunately behind or to one side!)
•   The infamous 150M to virtually Zero to 150M of Berriedale on the A9.
•   Cycling along the shores of Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and the Great Glen.
•   47.2 MPH out of Glen Coe on road slicks in the wet!
•   Realising that we had all brought the same Black & Orange Karrimor top and finally all wearing it on the last day!
•   Seeing the Scottish Isles with just 6 miles to go.

The Old Bike.......
...........served me very well, with just a couple of problems which surfaced despite my complete rebuild of it in August.

Before we even crossed the start/finish line at Lands End, I managed to rip a gear cable housing stop out!
I managed to limp it to the first overnight stop with only 6 gears and did a Bodge repair there which lasted me until day 13!
I finally got the right part in Bristol, which only got fitted in Sutherland in glorious Scottish sunshine whilst supping an excellent pint of Scottish Beer!

Next, on day 2, the RPM Power Pro Bottom Bracket started creaking and making nasty grinding noises, I’d fitted it as part of the rebuild, but I couldn’t find a place that a) had the right part and b) had the time to fit it; before we got to the Wirral on Day 6, where “a very nice man” sorted it on a Sunday afternoon. (Chain Reaction has just refunded me for the faulty item!)

I think the bike was reasonably reliable, after all, 958 miles is pretty much a years worth of normal riding for me! And No punctures!

The Old Body………..
……….held up pretty well, I hadn’t trained as much as I should have done, but I managed a 12mph average across the two weeks which met my target and got me where I was going in a reasonable time each day, whilst enjoying the scenery, people and places I encountered along the way.

Stupidly, on the first day, after sitting still for 5hrs on the train to Penzance, I immediately commenced pedalling hard up and down the nasty short hills between there and Lands End, which resulted in a muscle seizure in my right calf and a nice bit of bruising for a few days.

My left Knee held up pretty well after my Lake District adventure.
http://s764.photobucket.com/albums/xx290/colintheduck/Lakes%20MTB%20-%20Sep%202010/?action=view&current=11092010569.jpg/
The wound in my left leg unfortunately opened up on about day 2 so some remedial first aid and some tubigrip sorted it out, but I think I must have favoured it, as by about day 7 my right knee began aching and swelling quite a bit, but as Lance said “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” And Ibuprofen works wonders! Anyway a support bandage bought in Kendal Morrison’s seemed to do the trick and got me up Shap and through the next week! (Maybe I’ll go for pink Knee warmers next time rather than tatty white bandages…..)

No saddle sores, thanks to Sudocrem, Padded shorts and a Body Geometry saddle!

Piccies………..
Here’s my Photo Diary

http://s764.photobucket.com/albums/xx290/colintheduck/LEJOG%202010/?albumview=slideshow

Cheers!
Colin S

[w2zero]

Thanks for the great journal and pictures.   Best I've ever done was 150 on a one day ride, then 200 in two days from Seattle to Portland.  Did a 33 mile island ride with 2675 feet of climb on my fixie with an 80" gear back when I had legs and lungs.    The slide show pics are outstanding shots of the country.  Love to do that before I bite the big one.

Your saddle position is amazing.

[craiga]

Colin,
Outstanding & well done!
Fantastic photo slide show, thanks for posting that. I'd have been a bit worried with the white bikes though.

I've done a lot on my XP-X this Summer in France, the Country where the cars give way to the bikes.

How much weight did you shed?

Craig

[Spokes]

Well done Colin!
Great photo's and a great ride! That XPX of yours really has done you proud.

Chris

[orange]

fantastic - just out of interest you needn't have converted to disc as you can buy Mavic brake adapters that look like brake boosters and cost around £30. I have some on an MTb frame I converted to 700c for commuting.

[Colin]

Thanks Guys!

Yep, that saddle angle looks loony doesn't it? but it suits me! No numbness and no saddle sores!

only 2kg lost, due to High5 Energy drinks and Gels, numerous pints of England and Scotland's finest ales and copious pasta and steak intake!

Yep, I considered the Mavic adaptors, but they cost £24 each and weigh 145g each.
I had Magura HS-11's on the XP-X as OEM so the conversion to discs actually resulted in a lowering in overall weight.
The Magura levers didn't integrate very well with Shimano M740 shifters.
Could've gone to XT Vbrakes, but at more cost.
The BB-7's cost me just £43 each brand new from CRC, so I felt the money was better spent on them.
The stopping power is excellent with great modulation and no wear on the rims!

Thanks to Jeff Hop for the Wheels!

The flags worked wonders, most road users were excellent, with a just a couple of d1ckheads along the way!
St George's cross all of the way, Kernow Cross for the first county and then the Saltire in Jockland.

I actually bought an 857 frame during the summer, to use as the mount for the ride, with the theory that I could fit the 52/42/32 Triple to it, but in the end I didn't collect it until last weekend and I was glad that I used the XP-X as it's been with me since new and the 22T x 30T lowest gear came in handy on those steep climbs!

Best of all was that the XP-X weighed in at just 12.5Kg and I couldn't find a reasonably priced tourer to match that!
and the suspension was a major blessing on our crappy roads!
I even off-roaded it a few times!
Luggage weighed in at 14Kg plus my 95Kg!

Col.

[Skinnyboy]

outstanding effort Col squire!

I miss my old country even more now, for all its social evils it still is a beautiful country.  Glad to see them still blasting out Gerry Marsden on the Ferries for the tourists haha!

[mootsguy]

Brilliant Colin and did you not enjoy the Look fork?

[Tel]

Well done Colin you clearly had a good time on the ride, the photos were a pleasure to view as well, the only problem is Mrs Tel wants to do the same but from JOG to LE so if it happens I`ll be on my XPX, which bike she`ll chose is anyones guess.
 Cheers, Tel.