South Downs Way

robbiemagic
robbiemagic Posts: 132
edited September 2008 in MTB rides
I was thinking of riding say 40 miles of the SDW this saturday morning / afternoon, doing 20 miles then riding back the way i came. Any suggestions on a good part to ride? I read about a good website which has loads of info on the SDW but forgot what it is, does anyone know??! I know its the SDW night ride this saturday but i cant make it and am gutted!! :)
"Second place is the first loser"
Orange Five SE
Orange P7 one

Comments

  • andyturner28
    andyturner28 Posts: 1,225
    Where are you starting from? If i were you i would start off in Winchester, ride till you can ride no more then get the train home. The whole route from Winchester to Staining(SP) is very good fun, with lots of really steep climbs followed by very fast rocky downhills, with a good mix of fireroad and singletrack in between. After Staining it gets rediculousely steep, with some of the climbs lasting for 30 or 40 mins, but it was still really good fun :D There is a lot of singletrack off of the main SDW trail but as we were doing the whole route we didn't have time to find it. Sorry, my sense of direction is useless so i am not much help recommending particular areas. Head over to the XC in Kent thread, the other guy's i did it with, Russalf, Pitpony and Impished have all got links to their pictures in thire sig's and i have some in mine, and Russ will be a lot more help finding you a route as he logged the whole ride on his GPS.

    This is probably the thread you were looking for www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... highlight=
    SketchyMTB MTB rides in the South EastIMB_SIGNATURE%28GIF%29_468PX-2.gif
  • robbiemagic
    robbiemagic Posts: 132
    Yeah i probably would start off from Winchester, i would prefer to ride it with others though i reckon. I did ride some of it about 10 years ago. Does anyone fancy riding it anytime soon??
    "Second place is the first loser"
    Orange Five SE
    Orange P7 one
  • pittpony
    pittpony Posts: 1,057
    As i remember it the first 10-15 miles are fairly unexciting riding with a few roads and a lot of paths across fields but after that it gets really good. I'd be thinking about the QE country park as a start point to do a trip from if you have a car and aren't doing hte whole thing. Getting a train back is a sound idea but i think its quite tricky with the way the lines run.
    Giant Trance & XTC Composite
    South East MTB
  • biggstevie
    biggstevie Posts: 112
    If you start from qe park you could get the train to peterfield it's about a 10min ride at the most.
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/ ... CF5579.jpg

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/ ... CF5577.jpg
  • beski
    beski Posts: 542
    This books quite good, it shows local loops aswell as the SDW...

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/South-Downs-Nat ... 092&sr=8-2
    Giant Defy 4 2014
    GT Avalanche Expert 2006
    Specialized Hardrock 1989

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