Lands End to John O'Groats Cycle Guide

"I can't help but agree with the other 2 star review for this book. I'm only in the planning stages of my LEJOG trip at the moment, but find it difficult to gain a great deal of direction from this book. As already stated, its small (which is fine) and has some truly awful photos that do more to detriment the book than enhance it.

The advice at the start of the book is aimed towards the complete novice, and seems to be an too little detail to really be helpful. For example, there's a section on publicity and sponsorship that fails to answer my most basic questions - when, where and how to gain corporate sponsorship. The directions seem as though they would be helpful, but I can't help but think a quick printout from Google Maps would be vastly more indicative of the route. There is no route map in the book.

Overall, I can only recommend this book to those with no experience who expect to complete the feat with little or no planning. Those as meticulous as myself when it comes to planning will find the book mostly redundant. Using the internet and cycling forums will provide much more helpful information, and will allow you to form your own custom route. Save your money."
~ Written on 2008-08-16

"
This book is a good dependable guide and has been written by someone who has obviously set out to help other people complete it. That alone deserves respect. To write a review such as "Boingey John" did whilst simultaneously admitting to never having ridden it is quite frankly ridiculous.
Had "Boingey John" actually ridden the route he would have:
A. Discovered that the book is very good and worth every penny.
B. Had more chance of being hit by a truck.

Have I made myself clear?
"
~ Written on 2008-08-02

"Obviously the first reviewer of this book had not cycled the course. How can someone review this book without having cycled the route. One needs a concise and non bulky book when doing this challenge. I did this cycle in July 2007 and found the book to be the perfect partner. The author wrote the book from direct experience and did not do the journey to beat any records.
I found this book and all its contents to be very precise and plenty of detail. The top tips were excellent and bed and breakfasts on route were spaced out correctly for distance and the safety tips were good advice for everyone. The route text in large print helped immensley. Highly recommended."
~ Written on 2007-12-28

"Previous review I assume is by a non cyclist. As someone who has followed this book and its route to the letter and completed the ride, this is the best guide that there is. It covers all the important points without any superfluous details, you can follow every mile and should you find a complicated section along the route - just refer to the book and it will in a sentence put you exactly on track. The best book for those seriously intending to tackle this journey."
~ Written on 2007-12-12

"The first thing that struck me when this book arrived was how small it is. More of a booklet than a book really. The price probably reflects the section of colour photos, although to be honest the book is probably better off without them as they are very bad. Of course, compactness can be a good thing in a book of this kind - easily slipped into a pocket and not too much extra weight or bulk to carry. But that only counts if the contents are good. I haven't tried following the route directions so I can't really comment on them (which is why I've given the book the benefit of the doubt and given it two stars instead of just one). But the rest of the book doesn't inspire much confidence. The author is clearly a bit of a novice cyclist so most of his advice is of pretty limited value. In fact some of it is so bad its hilarious! I quite liked the way the author arrogantly assumes that you're unlikely to do the route quicker than him - despite the fact that his time was a day longer than the record set for doing it on a penny farthing over a hundred years ago! To be fair his time isn't bad for a badly equipped novice on a sit-up-and-beg bike and that, for me, is the most useful part of the book. There are other books out there with much better advice about routes, equipment, training etc. But this book has given me a bigger psychological boost than any of the others for the simple reason that if the author can ride from Land's End to John O'Groats then so can I!"
~ Written on 2007-09-20