Page 55 - RADC 2020

SPORT & AT
DPHC LEJOG Cycle 2019 Capt O Jest
At the end of September 2019, I had the privilege of completing the DPHC Land’s End to John O’Groats (LEJOG) cycle.
This challenge involved crossing the length of England and Scotland between two extremities in the Southwest and Northeast. The traditional distance by road is 874 miles.
I first heard about LEJOG as a child on my annual family camping holiday to Cornwall. My love of cycling started with commuting by bike to school and since then I have continued to travel on two wheels where possible. As a result, cycling LEJOG has been on my ‘bucket list’ of things I have always wanted to do and so when I heard about this opportunity, I quickly signed up and started training in April.
My training consisted of 2-3 Wattbike sessions in the gym and 1-2 road rides per week, averaging about 600 miles per month between April and September. According to my Garmin data, I spent 92.5 hours on the Wattbike, covering 2,105 miles, and 77.5 hours on the road, covering 1,331 miles and
Day 1: Team Capt Neil Gilbert, QARANC, Maj Simon Newiss, RAMC, Capt Oliver Jest, RADC, WO1 Martin Jackson, RAMC, Miss Alice Judd (civilian Physiotherapist), Maj Sarah Raitt, RAMC, Mr. Will Rice (civilian Mental Health Nurse), Brig Charlie Beardmore, Late RAMC.
53,923 feet of elevation gain. Combined this was 170 hours of training and 3,436 miles (just under 4 x the LEJOG distance). The training paid off and when I started LEJOG
I was the most comfortable I had ever been on my bike and my legs were as ready as ever. My preparation meant that I was able to really enjoy the journey each day instead of suffering through the miles due to a lack of training. It also put me in a position where I could help the rest of the team by spending lots of time at the front of the group, providing drafting for those behind.
The team cycling LEJOG was a mixture of various professions including DPHC HQ staff, a GP, a physiotherapist, nurses and myself as the only dentist. We had
a support team driving two combi-vans which carried our kit, food and water for re- supply on route, transported us to and from accommodation each day, and conducted other support tasks as required. Any bike repair and maintenance was carried out by ourselves or by cycling shops as needed.
Some were lucky not to have any major issues with their bikes the entire journey, others were plagued with punctures. I was somewhere in the middle with three punctures but also two broken spokes.
After analysing the data from my Garmin, the average day on LEJOG looked something like this: 80 miles, 4,180 feet of ascent, moving time 5hrs 27, elapsed time 7hrs 31, speed 15mph. My average heart rate was 118 bpm. The following is a brief summary of each day.
Day 1
In typical British weather fashion, our grand departure was extremely wet, which was a shame, because Cornwall is truly picturesque in nicer weather. A day of endless climbs and descents.
Day 2
To Exeter. Most elevation in a day, 5,548 feet despite the shortest distance ridden in a day of only 53 miles. My maximum heart rate for
RADC BULLETIN 2020 53