After a trip to the Olympic Velodrome a couple of weeks ago, it highlighted to us how big 2012 is going to be (and how good we are at cycling!). After the inspiration of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games this summer our riders will be pumped up and ready to win a medal for themselves.

Whilst training continues, we are aware that rider focus is turning to logistics. How do I get to Land’s End? Do I need accommodation? How can I transport my bike? Our job is to alleviate the unknown to our riders, so below are some important logistical updates.

Free overnight, dinner, bed and breakfast at Land’s End

Some good news – wishing to reduce any unnecessary stress and nervousness to our riders, we are going to put on an extra base camp in Land’s End. This will be metres from the start and they’ll be able to stay overnight with us in camping accommodation – no need to worry about booking alternative accommodation in the Land’s End area for Friday night. Riders will need to be at the Land’s End base camp on Friday 7th September for registration (2pm – 7pm) where they can chill out, get their bike ready, stock up on last minute calories with a hot dinner and be briefed by the Deloitte RAB team (7pm) about the adventure ahead.

John O’Groats transfer information

When riders arrive in Kyle of Sutherland on Saturday night, they’ll only have c.100 miles to go – time to celebrate! The next day, when they arrive in John O’Groats there will not be a base camp (this is following our experience from the last two years, riders like to head off to a warm bath and comfy bed), so after a big pat on the back and a celebration, there are a few options open to our riders:

• Head home with family and friends under their own steam
• Hop on a Deloitte RAB shuttle bus to Wick or Inverness on Sunday pm/ evening
• Hop on a Deloitte RAB shuttle bus back to the Kyle of Sutherland camp, camp overnight and take a shuttle to Inverness on Monday morning.

Base Camps

After site visits across the UK, we are in a position to finalise the base camps for this year’s event. We will be under bricks and mortar at Bath, in the university’s accommodation, and living up the festival atmosphere camping in stunning green field base camps or at racecourses for the remainder of the journey. Full base camp information will be shared in due course on the Rider Hub (we’ll keep these details secure for our riders) so they’ll be able to make friends and family aware of their itinerary.

Transport

Getting themselves and their bike to and from the start and finish is rider responsibility, but we want to lend a helping hand, so we have been working hard to find some cost effective, hassle free options.

Rider Transport

Full timetable, costs and booking instructions to follow in a couple of weeks:

• A rider shuttle service from southern hubs to Land’s End base camp on Friday 7th September – potentially to the following hubs: Bristol, Exeter, Newquay and Penzance.
• A rider shuttle service to northern hubs from JOG finish line on Sunday 16th September – potentially to the following hubs: Wick and Inverness.
• A rider shuttle service from Kyle of Sutherland camp to Inverness on the morning of Monday 17th September.
• Please note bikes will not be permitted on these services.

Bike Transport

We will be providing a service where riders will be able to drop off their bike at one of our regional drop off points on Saturday 1st September and it will be safely transported to Land’s End. At the end of Deloitte RAB, riders can pack it up, leave it with us and we’ll transport it back to the regional hub for pick up on Saturday 22nd September.

Lots more logistics to follow, but I think that is enough to digest for now.

Happy, safe cycling!

Deloitte RAB Logistics Team