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  • Steve Bachrach

LEJOG

A long-held dream, a long-distance trip Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 30, 2022
    Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

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    August 28, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The time is fast approaching when I set off to fulfil a long-held dream. A long distance solo journey. What else for a cyclist than End to End?

    Tuesday morning I head off to catch the 0710 from Bath and arrive in Penzance at lunchtime (if I can get a bike space on the train). The British train system and bikes just do not work well.

    Slightly nervous but willing.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    The beginning

    August 30, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Early start to catch the train from Bath. Said bye to Amanda at 0530.

    Left in twilight and watched the sun rising as I passed Wellow church where Aileen and Tyler got married.

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    1

    Dawlish by the sea then Penzance

    August 30, 2022 in England ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The sun is shining and my nerves are settling.

    Reaching Penzance after hearing names of places I'll be riding through. Sun is still shining and sea is blue. Just like The Med....except those swimmers in the lido by the beach look quite chilly.

    I found real Dutch liquorice at about 10 times the price I paid last week. Also had to lunch on Cornish pasty. Rather yummy.

    St Michael's Mount in the background. I'll be going past tomorrow on my way to St Austell.

    I found Lamorna Cove down a steep wooded valley. With a steep hill back but worth it. Nothing like as steep as the hill out of Mousehole (which is tiny by the way). Used what my friend Nick calls my 'granny gears' up the 18% slope. Then to the north coast and Sennen Cove. Another coast to coast achieved but this one was only 9 miles!

    Visited the tack-fest called Land's End - only £7.50 to park there and get your candy floss. Might visit again when the sun is setting. Cheap skates don't pay £10 for a photo by the signpost!    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Day 2 breakfast in Penzance

    August 31, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A good night's sleep in a cosy sleeping bag while the wind howled.

    Broke camp when the sun came up and back into Penzance for a Lidl breakfast of vegetable pizza and tomatoes.

    Lots of old and new Cornish crosses about.

    Startled a wren in a hedge. It sat there and stared me in the eye whilst shouting at me to leave it alone....btw I was not in the hedge, just resting.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    1

    Arsenic, the Daleks and hills

    August 31, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Those seemed to be the main themes for the day. Away from the coast via Hayle. 3 miles of golden sands with horrendous traffic going through the town. Mostly avoided by the cycle route. They are clearly prepared for all events...as evidenced by the mortar on display. Away from the traffic the estuary is really peaceful.

    I thought The Daleks were figments of Dr Who's imagination until rounding a corner I found one pointing at me. Twas necessary to put on a burst of speed at that point.

    Then into mining country. You can sense the scale by the waste and the ruins. The last time I passed the tailing lagoons in the picture they were full. A drought appears to be under way. And this is where ARSENIC appears. In the waste and the water. The Cornish arsenic was renowned for its purity. I wonder how many unwanted relatives were treated to it in their tea.

    Did I say hills? Didn't notice any. Kept my eyes tight shut all the way and used artificial intelligence to guide the bike. If you can't see them they're not there. Same with Daleks.

    And so, by chain ferry to another hill and campsite for the night.

    Another 55 miles done.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    A 68 mile bottom bracket epic

    September 1, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    I was thinking that one of the things that I love about riding my bike is that is silent. Hang on, what's that noise? It's getting worse. A hideous squeaking breaking the silence. Message my friend Nick for .moral support and advice. More of that later.

    Cows staring as I pass. No hills for 10 miles. I'm getting suspicious. Cornwall doesn't do flat. Except the Camel Trail. Nice. However I climbed onto Bodmin Moor via some hills. Arrived in Launcestin via more hills. Beautiful steam.train but no time to ride.

    3pm. Launceston Cycle s closes at 5 so a detour up a really steep hill. What a wonderful shop. Free flapjack for customers. And a bottom bracket that fits. 1hr later with a few other adjustments made I'm back on the road. £34 in all.

    Only another 15 miles (appparently all uphill) to Lydford to one of the best campsites ever. Wardens greet me warmly. If you need anything just ring the bell.

    In the meantime I crossed the River Tamar into Devon. One county ticked off . Many more to come.

    68 miles with 5006.6 feet of ascent (yes, going up hills). Let's do it all again tomorrow.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Contrasts

    September 2, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A day of contrasts. Quiet, slow roads. Busy 60mph roads. A lot of cycling parallel to thunderous A30. A long way along The Granite Way. Incidentally Manda and I cycled on the Granite Way on our first ever multi-day trip...the start of our cycle touring!

    Fast downhill and very slow uphills. If anyone can lend me some spare quads please let me know!

    A day of resolve (I will make it to the end) and near defeat about 40 miles in with a good half mile of over 15%. For comparison the hill up to Wellow church is 14%.

    Thunderstorm and hot sun.

    Industrial Exeter and tranquil green river spaces.

    Provision. Fantastic succulent Chelsea bun provided one of my 5 a day. Then spotted a house with Jehovah Jireh on a stone by the door. What a great statement. God my provider on the foundation stone of the converted chapel. And 5 minutes up the road the second of my 5 a day. Punnets of huge plums by the roadside. 3rd, 4th and 5th will have to come from the Soreen Malt Loaf

    Fresh milkshake from a family shop with honesty box.

    Finally a totally off-grid campsite with , rhea emus, ostrich , goats, sheep, chickens etc.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Rest a while

    September 4, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A rest day. So good to see Manda. And Theo came home to say hello as well.

    Met my first compatriot LEJOGer on the long hill out of Okehampton. We chatted and shared experiences for a few miles before parting ways.

    One feature of the journey so far is kindness and encouragement from strangers. Fellow campers saying 'Well done', 'That will be quite an achievement', 'If you want a hot drink just come over' and lots of similar comments. Stopping and chatting with other cyclists I've met (though not the Lycra clad, high intensity, only interested in me types).

    Yesterday was free food day. Homer Simpson would have loved it. Free apples, free blackberries. But no banana milk in Tesco for breakfast. I will defo be boycotting that one in Axminster from now on.

    I've done the journey between Axminster and home 3 times this summer and enjoyed the familiarity. The long flat roads round Huish Episcopi and The Levels. The first sight of Glasto Tor made my heart leap. Nearly home now.

    How do places get their names? Went through Sea yesterday . Then there was the signpost to Knave Go By in Devon. What's that all about? And I passed the street called 'Little John's Cross Hill' . What was he so cross about? The fact that there was a hill? I spent ages amusing myself having flights of fancy about Little John s crossness.

    260 miles done. Only 900 to go.

    Leaving on Monday will be hard. For both of us.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    In search of treasure

    September 5, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Found this old mappe drawn on an ancient piece of birch bark parchment. It confirms that there is treasure at the spot to which I am headed. Hope no one gets there before me. Hope the map is accurate and not a fake. Hope the spot where its buried is marked by a lone pine tree and a bottle of rum. So full of hopes.Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Warmley with friend

    September 5, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Three Amigos to accompany me for the first 20 miles of my trip today then treat me to beans on toast at Warmley Cafe. Thanks friends.

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Old friend

    September 5, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Stopped in on Ed and Sue in Cambridge. Old friends from Canoeing days. V brief visit but couldn't miss them out!

    Just after I left a rainbow appeared. First one of the trip.

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Happy day. Sad ending.

    September 5, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The lads left Clevedon Rd at 1000ish. Had a merry ride to Warmley Cafe for lunch, waited for the rain to stop and parted company. The three wended their way back. I wended my way on. Cyclepath to Yate takes you past the old coal mine at Brandy Bottom Pit. Two halves of a winding wheel and a nice info board. I just can't pass one without reading it!

    Rain, nice patriotic flag, River Severn, Oldbury Nuclear Power Station, rainbows, past Slimbridge, through Cambridge and on to Stonehouse. Nice chips and cheese for tea.

    Sadly Manda heard that our friends Penny and Ken (Manda has known Penny since school) started JoGLE this week but Ken was involved in an horrific accident and is in intensive care in Aberdeen. Manda and I are praying for them and invite you to join us. A sad end to the day.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Its the M5 again!

    September 6, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Crossed the M5 numerous times yesterday and here it is to greet me just after breakfast (with oat milk on my cereals)

    Noisy, smelly beast that it is

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    River, canals and that M5!

    September 6, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Dry day. Hooray.

    Rode near the M5 for much of the journey today. But started the day with the River Severn. The ancient Britons called it The Severn Sea. It was more gentle today as I rode through the flood plain.

    To the Sharpness Canal which was once the largest ship canal in the world. Followed it all the way into Gloucester city centre. Lovely green route through the city and past Telford's Bridge which sank 25cm in the centre after the scaffolding was taken down. You can see it as you look along it.

    Where I met my new mate and fellow end to ender Martin. Rather loaded up! And like me he wasn't sure he'd make it out of Devon! We spend each other on til parting at lunchtime. Soreen courtesy of Theo.

    After lunch another new mate to have a selfie with the through Worcester along another canal!

    Travelling through the counties you can see the architecture changing. Loved the old crooked farmhouse with not a straight line in sight.

    And Grandad magnet fishing in the canal with his two boys. So excited with the old bullet and the other scrap they had pulled out.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    1

    Defeated. But not completely down.

    September 7, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Some journey stats..
    Number of bike hating dogs....2
    Number of motorways visited....5
    Number of frightening
    Number of thunderstorms endured......1
    Number of rivers crossed today....7
    Number of hills on this journey ....18, 345
    Number of hills ridden up....18, 344
    Number of butterfly and moth species recorded in Wyre Forrst....1140
    Number seen by me today.....0

    So, the owner said 'She hates bikes'. So I said 'I hate your dog but I'm not barking at it', but only in my inner voice.

    Oh that one hill was on a bridleway, steeply uphill and rough with plenty of mud. Traction lost. Ended up shoving the bike up. Defeated resignation. Now I know what Bozza must feel like. But, just like him I will carry on to the end.

    Day started with an Italian made wooden bicycle, circa 1945. A thing of great beauty and only 6 in the world left.

    Then Wyre Forest. Beautifully empty of butterflies. Full of Saxon signposts. And trees.

    Severn Valley Railway at Arley where you can buy a 2 week family holiday on The Norfolk Broads for £45. And buy a holiday season ticket for your bicycle for 5s 3d. Bargains.

    A lot of time alongside the Severn, squeezing through bike traps and noting the railway carriages in the front garden. Could I squeeze one in at 29? Or would if spill over to 27, 25, 23, 21 and 19? Must check our budget.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    2

    Lunch at The Swan With Two Nicks

    September 8, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    50 miles by 1pm. Time for lunch. Look what I found whilst looking for a bench to sit on. A pub that's open!

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Vehicle of choice

    September 8, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Found this little vehicle whilst passing the Imperial War Museum North. Apparently they are very popular in parts of Moss Side. I remember driving through there once by accident and being terrified that the car would break down. Probably overthinking it!

    Cheshire Plain is indeed plain apart from the rich houses. Plenty of canals of immense proportions today. The size of the locks makes me realise how diddy the ones in Bath are.

    Came round a bend in the River Weaver I happened on Cheshire's Salt Mine. A million tons a year is extracted. Just huge amounts. It used to be transported on the river but all goes by road now. Wow.

    Passed by Media City on Salford Quays and saw lots of Blue Peter badges!

    I am amazed at how one minute you can be in a heavily urban area and the next gentle countryside again. Still a few chimneys left in Bury.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    2

    Up into the hills

    September 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Out through those dark mills and cobbled streets of Lancashire mill towns. How many millions of granite sets must have been shaped to pave those streets and alleys. Move just off the main roads and there they are under a shallow layer of tarmac.

    More canal and old railway paths and then out into the countryside. The Forest of Bowland was a royal hunting forest in the Middle Ages. It also has some high passes one of which is called the Trough of Bowland. A long, long, long hill with a really steep bit at the top. Average gradient 6%. Same as hill up to Clandown from Radstock. But about 2 miles long. I made it without dying.

    Reach the top and the whole of Morecambe Bay appears. You can see Barrow in Furness and Blackpool.

    I've paddled a canoe and watched salmon leaping just upstream from the bridge on the River Lune where the rainbow appeared. And terrified myself paddling on the rapids at Halton by Lancaster Uni.

    Then joy....Carnforth station is where the station scenes in Brief Encouter was filmed in 1945. Nice meal there.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    1

    Lakes, Dales and River crossings

    September 10, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    An easy start to the day in the sunshine with the Bay of Morecambe on my left. Past huge quarries and estuary. Beautiful. Then heading off to Kendal..yes, its hilly but who cares anyway. Especially all those people jauntily riding past on their e-bikes. Not a single one was willing to let me have a go. Mean-spirited I call it.🙁

    More canals. Didn't know there were any in the Lakes! On past Kendal of mint cake fame.

    Then under an old viaduct. How did they move those huge blocks of stone. They'd certainly hurt if Old Burt Tintwistle dropped one on your toe. And into the first river of the day. Nice bit of safe paddling in the shallows.

    Reckon I did the steepest hill of the ride here. Judging by what I experienced in Devon last year ( a 30% incline) and the fact that I had to stop it must have been about 25%. Over the top I conversed with a dog Walker. That last one was steep I said. They're all steep she said. Good point, well made!

    Had lunch near Shap overlooking the M6 with a robin singing to me.

    Up yet another hill into The Yorkshire Dales (apparently) though I did seem to be in Cumbria still. The hills are still big but seem gentler, more rolling.

    Appleby, my destination, only 2 1/2 miles and I see a sign to The Rutter Falls. Enquiring of two ladies eating sandwiches whether the diversion is worth it the answer came back that they were indeed spectacular. OK, it's only 300 yes so off I go. Warning, Ford. Look for bicycle alternative. None. Inspect the ford on approach. Max 3 inches deep. No problem. Nice and slow, into the water, go for a swim. The wildlife photographer on the other side was laughing so much that it was all she could do to ask if I was ok. Wounded pride, sprained Baby Small on right hand, clothing burn on right hip. Yes. OK. Apparently I was not the first she had observed that afternoon. Previous one was a motorcyclist. BONUS point though for spotting a red squirrel running down the road as we talked. THAT FORD IS LETHAL....UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GO NEAR IT ON TWO WHEELS. And the waterfall was pathetic. Life lesson learned.... don't believe old ladies eating lunch near a junction.

    Fish and chips for tea in Appleby whilst watching the cricket. How genteely British is that?    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Manshed

    September 11, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Went to 'the shed this morning to get my bike out.

    Shed jealousy overwhelmed me. You name it it was in there!

    But I had to be on my way leaving paradise behind!

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Two heads are better than one

    September 11, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Some more stats for you!

    Since leaving home on Monday after my rest day I have ridden 437 miles, climbed 20531 ft and fallen in one river.

    The reluctant rider left Appleby this morning. Appleby is on the River Eden and hosts a yearly horse fair. It also happens to be a river that my friends Ed and Sue and I have regularly paddled on in the past. I must admit I capsized a couple of times on rapids and the broken weir at Armathwaite. Habitually falling in rivers. That's me. Followed the river up to Carlisle and beyond passing Armathwaite on the way.

    There is a park in Carlisle that was owned by a certain anti-slaver called George Head Head. I wonder if his heads were matching hats?

    Then awa over the border into Scotland at Gretna. When you see me next ask me to tell you how Amanda and I secretly eloped only to find that the blacksmith had hit his hand with a hammer and couldn't marry us after all. It's a long and vaguely interesting story. But ends well.

    Through Ecclefechan with not a solitary tart to be seen. Disappointing, though it is Sunday. Into Lockerbie where I shall wear my cycle helmet just in case the sky falls on my head.

    Glasgee tomorrow. Och the noo and hoots mon.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler

    Rest Day 2

    September 12, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Second rest day was mostly spent reading in Waterstones in Glasgow. What a perfect way to relax.

    Best book was Eat and Run by an ultra- distance runner. Mixture of Tales and vegan recipes.

    Well educated graffiti in Glasgow as well. The legacy of COP 22?

    Wandering through Hamilton on my return I found a shop selling smoke bombs. Just what every well ordered household needs.

    Hamilton is a rough place with a famous footie team ( Academicals) and a racecourse. But not much else. Apart from the memorial plaque to a battle fought there in 1650. The plaque doesn't mention it but the result was Scotland making a surprise attack on the English resulting in a score of England 1, Scotlznd 0.    Read more

  • Steve BachrachLEJOGTraveler
    2

    Serendipity. Or pre-ordination?

    September 12, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    30 miles into the day and looking for lunch I turned off into a village and found a cafe guarded by a chicken. One other bike. What a fab place. 24 day aged steak (too expensive), ham and pea soup (perfect).

    Sat down to chat with cyclist who decided to do LEJOG on the spur of the moment. Where do you come from' I ask. 'Near a place called Chewton Mendip' he says. Wow, only 10 miles from me. Name of Drew. We chatted and he said 'You seem like a nice chap. Let me tell you about my wife'. He told me the story of their 52 yrs together before she died earlier this year. Very sad. He talked about his cycling adventures and achievements then said he belonged to Somer Valley CC! 'Do you know Eugene and Sally?' I asked. Yes. Mutual acquaintances!

    On parting we looked at the handmade wooden mud guards on his bike. The front one has a seal figurine on. His nickname for his wife was 'my seal'. Even longer story.... I suggested I would pray for him during his grieving whist I rode and he really appreciated the offer.

    Chance meeting? Or pre-ordained?

    I'll let you do the philosophy while I smile at the memory.    Read more

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