#JOGLE PT2 Which route to take?

12th May 2020. Just back from my early morning bike ride. That was salutary. A very strong northerly on a beautiful bright morning. Ryde's lovely fine golden sand being blown off the beach and sculpted on the other side of the Esplanade!

Step 1 - you have decided to have a go at the end to end.

Step 2 - you next have to decide whether to start at Lands End and finish at John O Groats (LEJOG) or start in Scotland (JOGLE).

I read somewhere the classic is LEJOG but I am not sure why. It is clear it is a matter of personal choice and the same distance and elevation!

My personal inclination is JOGLE. Why? I live in the south - so psychologically better to be cycling home and of course we southerners go up north and they come down south - so surely down hill from Scotland - ha !

There are some objective reasons that might weight your choice and I have taken into account :

• The prevailing wind is south westerly - and this is a reason some argue LEJOG makes more sense - prevailing wind on your back. However many have pointed out the prevailing wind does not always blow - ha! As I was reminded this morning cycling into a cold stiff northerly is hard going - and a light warm south -westerly breeze would be little hardship. My conclusion - wind direction not a warranted factor particularly and even if it is personally I would prefer sun in my face going south rather than on my back all day.
• It seems pretty much unanimously agreed by anyone that has done the route the hardest part is Devon and Cornwall because of the sharp and frequent hills. Some argue it is better to get it out of the way first rather than being demoralised at the end. Others argue when if you start in Scotland by the time you get to Devon you will be in the groove and at your cycling fittest. Again it is swings and roundabouts I think.
• For me the clincher is logistics. It is much harder for me to get to / back from the north of Scotland and apparently there is very little at John O Groats. (not that there is much at Lands End itself !). I do not want to arrive in the middle of nowhere at the end of a very long and hard trek to then be faced with an arduous and complex journey home. It makes sense to me to finish in Cornwall which compared to Scotland is relatively on my doorstep!

So that is the first decision made - it is JOGLE for me. Start in John O Groats - cycle downhill from Scotland - sun on my face and wind on my back - lol!