Power

 Power


Having access to a phone for maps, communication and deciding whether you’re lost or not is pretty important on a trip like this.  We dismantled the Sustrans LEJOG book and clipped the day’s map pages to our hotel reservation for that day.  (Little thing, but the book is too bulky (and heavy) to carry around with you all day and why carry the whole thing if you’re not going to use it for several weeks?)  The maps from the book were good, but we needed help for if a sign was missing or if there was a detour, which in our experience does happen - that’s what our phones were for.


We also used apps to record our day, Komoot in our case.  Bluetooth apps are huge battery hogs and the last thing you want is to be in the Highlands of Scotland or even just outside a town and have no power for an emergency call because your app cycling has drained your battery.  (Mind you, be aware, you may have no mobile signal / cell service at all in many places!)


After trying a variety of options, we settled on a mandatory nightly charge of both our phones and two (fairly) light weight power bricks.  We each had a dual usb UK plug for the outlet in the room, the charging cables for our phones, the power bricks and our bike lights.  Bike lights and power bricks went on charge as we unpacked.  Phones went on charge after the evening out and after all photos were taken for the day, mandatory before going to sleep.


We also had a mandatory power check as we packed up our gear in the morning.  Every so often a power outlet will not work, in the UK will not be on, and it’s better to know what amount of power you have before you set off.  Keep in mind, that just because you’ve charged the spare power brick, they don’t necessarily stay charged - rotate every day.


I’m passionate about power not just because of navigation, but also I don’t want to miss a single photograph from the day!

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