Folding Bikes - Looking for R20 or similar riders for end2end of UK ride.

Here in the UK, the ultimate long ride is from Lands end (most south western point of England) to John O' Groats (north eastern point of Scotland). Its a distance of 837 miles by the shortest route. I am considering giving it a go on my modified 1975 Dawes Kingpin. Would anyone be interested in joining me on other similar bikes (R20's etc)?
I was thinking of trying to do it over 2 weeks sometime in 2012.

I can barely last a 1/2 hr on my R20 right now so going cross country would surely kill me besides being on the wrong side of the Great Pond.

The R20 gets kind of heavy for me, especially if I'm fighting the wind but I'd gladly be a cheerleader.

I can hold out little paper cups of water along the route and hold up signs saying "Folders Rule".

It would definitely be an excuse to visit Merrie Olde England. Anything to avoid my annual family gathering where the topics of conversation are: who died and who's gonna die.

Hope you get some willing souls for this. Sounds like fun.

Yeah, Sybil looks great but those of us that went for more heavy modifications removed large amounts of heavy steel and replaced it with lighter Aluminium and alloys. It makes a big difference. I also joined a 'normal' bike club and have been doing some 40+ mile rides about twice a week for a few weeks now. When I started cycling about 6 months ago I was knackered after a mile of two. I reackon another year and I'll be ready for the big one. The reason I'm trying to find people to do it with now is so that there is time to get bikes and riders in shape.
In the mean time I'm planning to go to the monthly Origami ride next month. These rides are usually quite some distance away so I don't tend to go very often. Last time was just after I started cycling and it almost killed me. The March ride is in Windsor and I'm thinking of cycling there with a couple of stops on the way :D

Oh good grief, I just reviewed my post and the first few sentances of my post aren't there. I sound like a mad woman. I edited the post so it would make more sense.

Thanks for the encouraging words Russ. I thought it was just me not being able to handle the weight of the bike after a while.

It definitely makes sense to lighten the bike besides doing some heavier modifications for this type of ride.

Right now my Sybil is a very short-range commuter bike so she's earning her keep at least.

However, depending on usage and money available, I can see lighter wheels and a 5 to 8 speed hub in Sybil's future.

Good luck on your upcoming Windsor ride. Take pics, if you can.


"RUSSCOLES11 ROCKS"

Its a shame you can't get hold of a Dawes Kingpin, they start lighter and are easier to modify. I recomend building up the distances travelled by bike. I have lost 4 inches on my waist and feel great :)
I saw a post on another forum which was a list of reasons to cycle. The thread started with environmental reasons, health reasons etc. Halfway through the second page someone had put: 'SO I CAN EAT MORE CHOCOLATE!!!!!'
I like that reason best :D

Looks like I got a potential cycling buddy from the raleightwenty.webs.com forums. This may actually happen! :)
Also trying to talk someone from the local CTC group into building a R20 or Kingpin for this. Better get that cheerleader outfit ready Sunny :D
A few more people wouldn't go amiss though, must be someone out there up for the challenge?