John O'Groats to Land's End - Completed

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 13:36

I've decided that I am definitely going to drive from John O'Groats to Land's End.

The aim is to do it as quickly as possible, but legally. I will have at least one passenger, but I will be the only driver.

I'm JoGLEing rather than LEJoGging as I don't fancy doing 200+ miles of A roads at the end (I'd rather get them over with early).

I don't know when I will be doing it, but it will be before September as I want to take advantage of daylight and weather.

I will get a timed shop receipt at the start and finish, and at six other points on the route. I'll also be tracked by my Amaryllo tracker (which can be used to show speed, time and location).

Just for fun, I invite you to guess the time it will take me.

I offer the prize of a genuine BMW locking wheel nut cap (SW17MM) to the person who guesses the closest time. Prize to be shared in the event of a tie

.

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 13:53

14 hours? I guess a lot depends on traffic.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 14:58

Hi Pingu

Are we to inlcude your stops in our calculation or is it purely driving time?

You should let us know your timing and we can come and give you a series of cheery waves along the route.

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 16:45

Time includes stops, and it will be in a standard BMW 330 (with a 5 litre jerry can which will be refilled if used). There are strict rules to be obeyed!

Although I intend to be 100% legal when I do this, I don't really want to say when it will be, as I don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention.

"How long have you been driving for, Sir?", etc.

There is an organised trip on 1 - 2 August and they have been warned by Cumbria police that they may be checked. They didn't say what they would be checking for.

Lizzy · Post by **Lizzy** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 19:09

Good luck, I did a very long trip back from Scotland when I bought my Z3 about 6 weeks ago, I live about 40 miles from Lands End.

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Sun 19 Jul, 2009 20:49

Lizzy, I'll reply to your PM about rules here...

1. No laws are to be broken. So no speeding - but 60 on a de-restricted road is allowed

. Driving whilst excessively tired is careless (and could be classed as dangerous). As is drinking, or eating, whilst driving. These must all be done at the stops if required to do so.

2. Passengers are encouraged for navigation and to ensure safety, but are not mandatory.

3. Navigation aids, such as sat nav are allowed. Speed camera alerts should be turned off. Snoopers are not allowed as they should not be required.

4. This is a solo-drive event, so no driver changes are allowed.

5. Only standard (or slightly modified) cars are allowed. Turning your 1.4 Nissan Cherry into a carbon-fibre bodied 5 litre monster is for another event.

6. No modified fuel tanks. Any spare fuel carried must be refilled before the clock stops at Land's End. Spare fuel should only be used in an emergency and is limited to 5 litres.

7. You must stop at least 6 times on the journey, and these stops must be validated for time and date. The easiest way to do this is fuel or food receipts. The 6 stops should be evenly spread throughout the journey.

8. A shop receipt with date and time should be obtained at the start and finish.

9. There is no requirement for the car to have any fuel in it at the end, except for the spare jerry can.

10. The rules are only broken if you are caught.

I only added the last one, because it's how I've always played

. And they're my rules anyway

.

Ian_C · Post by **Ian_C** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 11:23

I think you'll complete the run in 16 hrs and 15 mins.

Good luck Pingu!

321bhp · Post by **321bhp** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 13:46

15 hours and 34 minutes ,good luck to you

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 15:57

18hrs 25 mins

calbens · Post by **calbens** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 20:25

I just think your mad !

But not to be a spoil sport I'll say.............................17hrs 38mins

Post by **Robert T** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 20:41

19hrs 59mins. I'm banking on the traffic.

Seriously, I hope you enjoy it. Maybe you should go out and buy a zed for the occasion.

Cheers R.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 21:58

16hrs 05

Good luck

dario · Post by **dario** » Mon 20 Jul, 2009 22:35

is there a catagorie which i can put my money on....

gets pi**ed off in 1 hour, looses his way and gives up!

yjays my bet.

Dario

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 07:05

dario wrote:is there a catagorie which i can put my money on....

gets pi**ed off in 1 hour, looses his way and gives up!

yjays my bet.

Dario

You bad Man Dario

CollyB · Post by **CollyB** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 16:19

18 hrs 15 mins....back of the net

Look forward to receiving your nuts.

Poo just realised its one cap only. Oh well, Good Luck with your excellent adventure.

NickDale · Post by **NickDale** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 16:28

i'd say 16.47, good luck and enjoy will be fun!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 17:27

The picture so far....

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 20:33

I fear that Dario may win

.

Especially if I get stuck behind a caravan or a tractor.

CollyB · Post by **CollyB** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 21:02

I might've missed something here, but why can't you do it at night?

No caravanists or tractorists. Perhaps a bit "whoaa" on the twiddly bits north of the border, but at least you can gun it down the M6/M5.

Titan · Post by **Titan** » Tue 21 Jul, 2009 21:49

17 hours 6 mins

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Wed 22 Jul, 2009 00:58

CollyB wrote:I might've missed something here, but why can't you do it at night? No caravanists or tractorists. Perhaps a bit "whoaa" on the twiddly bits north of the border, but at least you can gun it down the M6/M5.

Why not, indeed - that has been my plan since the start. Though, I won't be gunning it. I want to do it legally. I'd be a fool to say otherwise. If I did do it a second time, but somehow faster, I wouldn't post the time on the interweb.

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 20:22

I'm on my way oop north to do this mad fool thing.

My sleep patterns are almost set for the night run on Friday night

.

At the moment I am south of Glasgow at mater and pater's and will leave to go to JOG tomorrow morning (leaving here at around 0400). I plan to sleep during the day and to be ready to leave at around 5pm.

I was going to twitter, but it will just add to the chaos. (I'm on my own, as my son thought that his girlfriend was a bigger attraction than being in a car with me for 12+ hours

.

Post by **Robert T** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 20:32

Good luck, pingu. Hope all goes well.

Your son is probably right.

Cheers R.

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 20:56

pingu wrote:I'm on my own, as my son thought that his girlfriend was a bigger attraction than being in a car with me for 12+ hours .

Kids today, they don't know they're born!

Canman · Post by **Canman** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 20:58

not sure which way your going but i'll give you a wave if you go anywhere near Rotherham. good luck and i think 15.46

keep those eyes open

unclemart · Post by **unclemart** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 21:55

Good Luck with the trip

- 14hrs 27mins

badboyblue · Post by **badboyblue** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 21:59

My guess 16 hrs 39mins - There's a cafe on the 591 just outside Windermere that reckons it's halfway between the two - proper greasy spoon joint.
Good luck and enjoy - why not use the Z though???

Post by **Robert T** » Thu 03 Sep, 2009 22:16

badboyblue wrote:There's a cafe on the 591 just outside Windermere that reckons it's halfway between the two - proper greasy spoon joint.

I'm pretty sure that pingu knows where that is, as I remember a photo of his car parked outside it from a while back.

For those that don't know it, there is a pic here - it is currently for sale.

Cheers R.

tetchmeister · Post by **tetchmeister** » Fri 04 Sep, 2009 14:34

Dead on 15 hours driving, plus what ever you need for stoppage.

Lizzy · Post by **Lizzy** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 11:44

My guess is 17 hours and 12 minutes

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 18:29

Well - I did it.

As you might expect, none of you guessed the exact time. In fact, ALL of your guesses were too long, so as Spokey guessed the shortest, he wins. You can have your prize when I next see you!!

It took nearly two minutes to find the finish line at Land's End, and I only found it by accident. (There isn't an official start line at John o'Groats - if there is, I never found it)

My timings were...

By my watch - 16:48 to 06:35 (13hrs 47mins)
By GPS - 16:47:23 to 06:38:23 (13hrs 51mins)
By video - 16:46:51 to 06:37:04 (13hrs 50mins 13secs)

The most accurate would be the video, but I'll take 13:51 any day

.

I made six stops for a total of 50 minutes.

That makes 13 hours of driving. As the conditions and traffic were about as good as they could be, I don't think you could get less than 12 hours driving without being very stupid with speed. I used cruise control and it allowed me to go faster than the trafic around me without risking a ticket. They would slow down and speed up to keep up with me. A Cayenne was tugged by the rozzers at Drumochter Pass because he was slowing down then speeding up (boy, did I laugh

). I had two long stretches of roadworks (A80 and M5). Both were clear and I maintained the speed limits through them, but the difference between 70mph for 15 miles and 40mph for 15 miles is nearly 10 minutes.

The 50 minutes of breaks

could be cut down to 30 minutes if you can control your bladder and bowels

I did a 50 litre fill up in 5 minutes, so that should be the longest you need to stop. The shortest stop only needs to be 2 to 3 minutes. I did a stop in less than 4 minutes (with a passenger, this could have been less than 2 minutes).

I think that it could be done in less than 13 hours with a passenger and PERFECT conditions and traffic - but it won't be done by me

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 19:06

Congratulations!

Giles · Post by **Giles** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 19:08

Well done!

unclemart · Post by **unclemart** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 19:54

Well done

What was the actual mileage btw ?
My autoroute actuallly stated 13hrs and 43 min with a 15 min break every 3 hrs and a distance of 839.1 miles - but I inflated that figure slighty for my guess doh

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 20:37

Congratulations and very well done

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 21:41

Ummmmmm missed this thread, was going to say 16hrs 47mins

Well done.

Tim.

muppet · Post by **muppet** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 21:42

Good effort that man.. top down all the way?

Post by **Robert T** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 22:04

Well done, Pingu. Is there a prize for most wrong too?

The big question is, did you enjoy it?

Cheers R.

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Sun 06 Sep, 2009 23:47

Robert T wrote:Is there a prize for most wrong too? .

No, but I like your thinking.

Actual mileage was 852.

Yes I enjoyed it. But I like these sort of marathons more than sprints.

Would I do it again? - only if someone else pays!! It cost around £370.

Top up all the way. The weather was occasional rain and I didn't want to make unscheduled stops.

whiteminks · Post by **whiteminks** » Mon 07 Sep, 2009 13:09

Well done Pings!

I hope you had some good driving music on to keep you awake?