London to Land's End

tazharuddin

Hi,

I am planning to do my first road tour from London to Land's End but I have little bit of problem in the planning of the trip. It should be around 10 day trip starting from 9th June until 19th roughly around 10 days. I would prefer to stay in the accomodation/hostel rather than camping, but i have to decide on the route first before booking any accomodation.

how do i decide which route is the best ? I had a look online, roughly the idea was to use severn & thames, west country way and cornish way. I hope anyone that has experienced the ride would give me advice/suggestion on the route.

With regard to equipment, i was planning to buy this panniers. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/deuter-rack-pack-uni-panniers/. will this suffice ? I have read that most bike tourists would suggest buying Ortlieb but they are over my budget.

And for the pannier rack, I am also looking for the one that cost around 30 pounds. Buying over the wiggle would suffice right ? Do you have any advice on which 1 that i would look for.

Thanks

mididoctors

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2433322

did this in 4 days a few yrs back..its approx. a few detours (eg: avebury and greenham common)

if doing it again I would avoid Grt torrington > Langtree route and go Bideford>>bradworthy instead.

If you are B and B ing it a large saddle bag should suffice?

tazharuddin

thanks for the reply and route. Would you suggest booking the accomodation prior to the trip or book it on the spot ? I afraid that i would be too attached to the schedule if i book it ahead of schedule.

With regard to the saddle bag, you mean of this kind ? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-sqr-slim-bag-including-sqr-bracket/ or this one http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-nelson-longflap-saddle-bag/

mididoctors

tazharuddin wrote:

thanks for the reply and route. Would you suggest booking the accomodation prior to the trip or book it on the spot ? I afraid that i would be too attached to the schedule if i book it ahead of schedule.

With regard to the saddle bag, you mean of this kind ? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-sqr-slim-bag-including-sqr-bracket/ or this one http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-nelson-longflap-saddle-bag/

work out what you need to take.....

then half it

seriously take next to nothing is my advice especially if camping is not your thing.

when I tour B&B I use this



http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ortlieb-classic-medium-saddle-bag/ you may prefer the size up large

I cheat slightly by having my wet weather gear rolled up and toe-strapped to handle bar

the loaded bike looks like this in action

tazharuddin

Im quite suprise actually that you just need that saddle bag! what did you fill it up with ?

I am planning to bring with me
- puncture and patch kit
- a pair of shoes
- pump
- a rain jacket
- a tee shirt and
- 1 pants
- 1 toiletries

i think a a saddle bag would not be enough to fit all these stuff. right ?


Also if you still remember, where did you make a stop during your trip ? Because if possible i would like to visit nearby local attractions.

Thanks for all your suggestions. it really helps

mididoctors

spare shoes seems a luxury

there are some dandy spd touring/trainers that can go dual purpose... I took a pretty stiff carbon soled pair which are not ideal to walk in to be honest but I manage.

I crammed in spare lycra shorts t-shirt thin trousers razor tooth brush trainer liners..tools and puncture repair stuffed into seat post and handlebars including spare link for chain... second water bottle can act as extra space as well if you are not travelling in a hot climate

as for route I think you should choose where you want to stop. as long as you know where you want to end up that night I guess.

I/we stopped at marlbourgh/watchet/great torrington/friends house near st just(a long long day) but you could stop anywhere....

the day out of watchet was over dunkery beacon which is a tad stiff for some.. you could steer round exmoor a bit and go taunton or somesuch


there is loads of options. basic rule of thumb with no tent touring is know where you are sleeping that night and have it reserved. its a rule you can break on occassion.... generally you need spare miles in your legs if you try and wing it and blag the first hotel B&B you see

neilrobins

For last years end to end, solo, no support but using BB/hostels used bar bag, rolled stuff bag and a camel back (with bladder removed) for valuables. The rolled stuff bag was 100% dry and used for clothes and maps. The bar bag was spare food/tyre and tools and a pair of lightweight shoes and wash kit. Could have reduced kit a little more but needed a couple of luxuries for the 10 days. I booked all accommodation in advance, I preferred the knowledge if a definite warm bed after 100 miles but that's personal choice. I did book many months in advance which was lucky as I only just squeezed into a few places and missed my first choice on a couple.

tazharuddin

been busy with exams and stuff. so i just bought the large Ortlieb saddle bag and trying to fit in everything that i want to bring together with me. I have also bough front pannier bag just in case if i need more space. Now I am in the midst of looking for a place to stay overnight. I have been emailing bike tourist in warm showers and some willingly offered me space to stay.

One thing I am worried is that i did not have any garmin/gps with me. is maps on the android phone enough ? I was thinking of buying a proper map. Are the Sustran maps good ?