Circumnavigating Britain

fixcef

Hi guys,

I'm a student just finishing studies and I've got a three month gap this summer mid May- start September> I've also got pretty limited funds (obviously). I naturally fancy doing something on the bike, particularly as it's cheap. As I've got time to kill I figured I might as well try and do the coastline or thereabouts; if I don't stick perfectly to it I won't be too upset. With that much time to kill my main limitation is probably going to be money, but I reckon I can scrape together about a grand for the whole holiday and kit. I'm aware that the coastline by road is well over 4000 miles but I'm happy to be doing 60 a day average. As I'm leaving studenty-ness behind I'm thinking of this as my last chance to do something amazing but loooooong before I retire!

All I've got in terms of touring stuff at the moment is a 2013 road bike without racks or eyelets for them and all the usual road bike gear. Plus a sleeping bag. I figure to keep costs as low as possible I'll need to be doing a lot of camping, which obviously means weight. I'm 24 and would say I was much fitter than average. I do quite a lot of riding at the moment (about 60-70 miles a week) and have been up Box Hill and Leith Hill repeatedly without any problems, even at the end of 40 mile rides. Longest ride I've done is about 70 hilly miles with quite a lot of weight on me which was ok.

I've got a few questions and would love some help:

1) My bike's a compact so no granny gear. Is this a deal breaker? Would I be better off on a borrowed aluminium commuter that cost £160 new but came with a granny gear? Bearing in mind how much weight I'll have to carry? I'm kind of hoping it's doable

2) Any tips on camping? How easy is it to find sites? How much are sites going to be in summer season?

3) Bike tent - any recommendations?

4) Any moneysaving tips? Particularly in terms of what to spend my limited budget on - best to spend on racks/bags/ tents etc. I imagine there's a thread somewhere on here about it but it might have been buried under everyone's flashy euro-adventures...

Sorry this is such a monster post, I'd love to hear how anyone else who's done this found it!

Thanks for the help guys

random man

First thing to do, if you haven't already, is read One Man and His Bike by Mike Carter - apart from being very funny it will give you all the information you need for this trip.

I'd suggest trading your bike in for a tourer that will be able to withstand the rigours of continual touring and to give a comfortable ride.
Campsites in summer will vary in price depending on location but also consider hostels where possible. Carry plenty of food and water.

Good luck, it'll be a good trip if you avoid busy roads and towns.

fixcef

Thanks for the reply, ha yea I read it a couple of months ago - great isn't it. I've had it in the back of my mind ever since, hence why I thought of this.

Problem with the trade idea (while a helpful suggestion) is that my bike's only about six months old so I'll lose a lot of value. And I love it! I'll put you down as a vote for borrowing a cheap (and heavy...) Decathlon commuter my brother's been hiding in the garage. If I can do it on my roadie though I'd much rather - components are much higher spec and as a whole it's much much lighter. More worried about the gearing than anything else!

marcusjb

If you are stuck with the road bike, with compact gearing, then cut your cloth to suit. Travel super light.

Bivi bag, super light sleeping bag, 1 change of clothes.

Wild camp and keep the costs down.

fixcef

Hi Marcus, thanks for the advice - I was thinking similar things. I'd rather keep the bike I love and spend some money on a tent. Happy to camp and go wild as much as possible - or parasite on friends!

Anyone have any experience of using racks on bikes without eyelets? I've heard you can get plastic lugs that sit on the forks and do a similar job but not sure whether they can take a few kg?

Thanks for the help guys, all useful - please keep it coming!

rank_amateur

Another excellent book which may be of use - Postcards From The Edge of Britain, by Peter Mann.

arthur_scrimshaw

check out the Caradice website, they do loads of different saddlebags and the fittings you need, you could also go for a bar bag?

mercia_man

Carradice camper longflap saddlebag with Bagman support plus a bar bag would give you just about enough carrying capacity for ultra lightweight camping and you wouldn't have the hassle of trying to fit a rack. Space would really be at a premium, though. Spa Cycles is a good place to buy Carradice stuff from.

You can fit a rack such as a Blackburn with P-shaped plastic-coated clips that go round seat and chainstays. You can then fit panniers giving more luggage capacity than a saddlebag.

Sites are pretty easy to find. From memory, there's a good website called something like UK Campsites which lists pretty well everything. Expect to pay £10 a night for bike and small tent at most sites. Wild camping can be a good option, particularly in the more remote parts of Scotland.

Wild Country and Vango both do good budget cycle camping tents for £100 to £120. For example, the Wild Country Zephyros 1.

slowbike

Last summer I met a guy who was just completing his around Britain trip - amazing, wish I'd thought of that ...

He was camping wild most of the time and choosing luxury stays when he needed to. He had a tourer, but I recon you could do it with your road bike if you kept loads down. You can get p-clips to mount a rack, but careful because it will mark your frame. You can also get axle mounts that may be better.
Another thought would be to tow a light-weight trailer - keeps the weight off the bike and if it's built right it could provide you with a bed for the night ..... ie it can be your tent too!

rodgers73

Yes, get an axle mounted rack and you'll be able to carry plenty then. If you're securing the rack on the seat stays with P-clips be sure to wrap some duck tape around the part they clip to to avoid paintwork damage.

I bought some Basil panniers for about £20 from Wiggle and put my gear into thick plastic rubble bags from Tesco to keep it all waterproof. Very effective and a lot cheaper than the expensive waterproof German panniers.

Don't worry about the compact groupset - you'll be fine. The worst hills are inland!

fixcef

Amazing, all really helpful - thanks guys.

Mercia Man and AS - thanks for the details, I checked out the Caradice website and their stuff looks amazing. Sadly I think it'll be a bit out of my budget at the moment but I'll bear it in mind when I want to get some decent gear!

Slowbike & Rodgers - any chance you could post a link to an axle mounted rack or give me some names to check out? I'm entirely new to the exciting world of racks but that's sounding like the best option. Might be a bit of hassle to sort it all out and fit it, but I'm aiming to do around 4000 miles over a few months so it'll probably be worth it the effort! Those Basil panniers look fine and I'm happy to double bag. Very pleased to hear that the compact won't be a dealbreaker....

thanks as always for all the comments

I considered a trailer but am worried about wind etc plus they're pretty pricey and I've heard they can damage your frame if you're using them for long distances. Similarly, put off trying to do it all with a saddlebag because of their sway etc and because once you've bought the bag and the support it's already looking the same cost as a rack.

tango_down

Sounds like a great trip planned! Don't be so fast to discount saddle bags: if well-designed and well-packed there shouldn't be any sway. I did the Transcontinental Race (London - Istanbul) last year and about two thirds of the field were using the Revelate Designs Viscacha. Expensive, but they'll last forever and I find that I now use mine all the time for carrying an extra jacket, food etc when out training.

I packed pretty light, but the combination of a seat bag and a drybag bungee corded to my aero bars gave plenty of room for ten days worth of kit, camping every night.

One of the other competitors, Mikko, has created a gallery of peoples' bikes at the start line. Might be useful to give you an idea of the ways that folks loaded up their road bikes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkpaa/sets ... 175482150/

If I were in your position I'd go with the nice road bike over the crap Decathlon every time. Compact is plenty!

fixcef

Hi tango_down, thanks for the input. Someone else pointed me towards the saddlebag/bar bag bikepacking option and I do think it looks really interesting. I think I'm going to assemble everything I need and the try and work out from that whether I can get away without racks; I would certainly be keen to avoid their weight!

That photo gallery is amazing. It's borderline pornography. I imagine the race must have been fantastic...

Cheers!

tango_down

You're right, lots of shiny bikes to drool over...

Sounds like you're approaching things sensibly. I have a kit list up here if it's of any help: http://pointlessexertion.com/gear/

cycladelic

You're going to be on the road for over 2 months - probably over three. What is your total budget?

I would struggle to survive on less than a tenner a day.

A second-hand carradice saddlebag on eBay would likely cost you about 30-odd quid...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/carradice-low ... 1c3b53e20f

fixcef

Hi Cycladelic. Yea I've never done a tour before so I don't really know to be honest! was hoping to spend about 150 on kit and around 750 for the tour itself. Already got a tent sorted so need to get a lightweight sleeping bag, mat, camping kit and storage out of that Was planning on alternating nights camping and wild camping (and staying wih friends when possible) and doing all food myself or buying it in shops. So no (or limited) eating out costs and not much money for excursions.

Does that sound realistic? I'd love some budget advice - like I said, I'm doing this without any experience. Any breakdown on where your money goes on tours would be great. And thanks for the carradice point, definitely learning to love eBay!

Cheers.

cycladelic

I think a week or so of roughing it is OK, but you will soon crave creature comforts, like a nice comfy bed or just mixing with others in a hostel-type place. These things cost money. My ability at being careful with dosh isn't very good -- but you're no doubt much younger than me, so won't need pampering as much.

My suggestion is to jot down what you anticipate spending each day: breakfast, drinks, snacks etc. Accommodation is the biggest budget-buster. What if it rains and rains: camping isn't much fun then. Have you thought about joining Warm Showers?

fixcef

Yea definitely going to join Warm Showers - been pointed out before and sounds great. I take your point on camping but I guess that's part of doing a long tour; you just have to cope with the weather. I quite want to get a sense of doing something completely different to normal out of this and if I'm in B&Bs all the time I think it'll just feel like a prolonged holiday rather than something completely different . I imagine that after a week or so I'll be craving a decent bed and a roof but I'm hoping that after another week or two I'll be used to it! Useful input though.

I guess a rough budget would go:
breakfast: bread and jam or spread less than 50p
lunch: multiple sandwiches £4
dinner: sausages/bacon, noodles/couscous/pasta etc £5
camping: alternate nights camp/wild camp so cost per night £5

so i guess I'd be budgeting £15 a day minimum for about 75 days = guesstimate cost £1125. I'll obviously go over that some days but would hope to save money by spending at least 10 days of the tour at friends' houses on the route and through things like Warm Showers so would hope it would level about there. Does that look reasonable? I know it's pretty frugal but I've got five years of student frugality running through my blood!

Thanks

random man

Don't underestimate how much food you'll need! Save money on accommodation but don't scrimp on calories, you'll get through plenty. It doesn't need to be expensive but you will want variety and it needs to be slow release energy food.
Budget for a hearty breakfast every day to stop you spending so much on snacks. Instead of jam sandwiches for breakfast, take some to keep fuelled up along the way.

marcusjb

Don't forget that your bike needs feeding as well.

4000 miles of touring will probably go through a chain at minimum. If you've got new, sensible touring rubber, you should be fine for that distance. Brake blocks can wear pretty quickly when touring (with the extra weight).

Just make sure you've got a bit of budget to deal with feeding the (iron) horse as well as yourself.

mea00csf

My opinion would be that the budget sounds too tight. But i still wouldn't let that put you off, just go as far as you can. Plans change, but you'll still enjoy it.

I'd second all those people who said go as light as possible. I usually tour offroad on a mountain bike so am used to riding with panniers swaying all over the place, but the couple of times i used panniers with my road bike, i found it very twitchy and quite scary on downhills. To get the braking power i had to be on the drops (due to the extra weight) but that made the bike feel even more twitchy! Again, I'd just go for it though. Keep your packing as light as possible, and you'll soon get used to how it feels, even if you don't like it. I'd get a bar bag, they very handy for putting valuables like cash/camera etc.

I've been using a Wild Country Duolite Tourer for quite a while, and they are good tents at reasonable prices, particularly if you shop around. They're the budget brand of TerraNova and they know a thing or two about tents! I've got a snugpak sleeping bag and, again, for the price they seem to be good quality. Also, for the budget they seem to be good on pack size and weight.

So, I don't think your budget is enough and the bike is not ideal, BUT, just go for it! Plan as you go, if your plans change, who cares, just enjoy it.

mercia_man

A good idea is to visit a whole food shop and stock up with dried fruit like apricots, figs and raisins, nuts and seeds. A couple of handfuls of this mix makes a great supplement to your jam sandwich for breakfast. This mix is also a good fuel to eat as you are riding along.

Buy porridge oats and mix up with some chopped fresh fruit and the above dried fruit and nuts mix, and serve with milk or soya milk, which keeps longer than cow's milk. That makes a really filling meal. It's what I lived on morning and evening when I ran out of money in the south of France after leaving school and had to hitch home, wild camping all the way.

Carry pasta or couscous, onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic etc and you will always have a nutritious and filling meal in the evenings for little money.

I know you are doing it on a really tight budget, but I would personally spend a bit extra for quality panniers or saddlebag like Carradice or Ortlieb. The worst purchase I ever made was to buy a pair of Ortlieb lookalike panniers from Halfords which fell part within a couple of days because the backplate mountings were so weak. If you do get cheaper, non-waterproof panniers, make sure all your clothes and sleeping bag are wrapped up in plastic bags.

Camping wild and Warm Showers are a good way to keep costs down on accommodation. I always find washing and drying clothes are my biggest headache when the weather is bad. I carry a length of cord, some clothes pegs and hand washing liquid decanted into a small plastic bottle. I try to set up camp by 4 pm to give me enough time to wash out my clothes and give them at least a chance of drying. On quiet campsites, you can sometimes rig up a washing line under cover in the toilet block or even borrow someone's undercover space next to an unoccupied static caravan. And you can lash your clothes to the top of your panniers or saddlebag to dry as you ride along. Washing your shorts every day, or at least every couple of days if it's raining, is vitally important to prevent saddle sores on multi-day tours.

Look up the Alpkit website for good quality and cheap camping stuff like head torches, cooking gear, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, storage bags etc. They provide a fast and efficient service and their stuff is generally much cheaper than shops like Millets or Cotswold.

I think you could just about do it on a budget of £20 a day.

marcusjb

mea00csf wrote:

So, I don't think your budget is enough and the bike is not ideal, BUT, just go for it! Plan as you go, if your plans change, who cares, just enjoy it.

Indeed. You're young - so just do it.

The trips I did when I was young with no money still bring me back many happy memories 20 odd years later.

Nowadays, with reasonable financial security, there's an element of adventure removed from touring!

fixcef

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the comments - obviously quite a lot of thought going into them!

I'm quite aware that it's not a perfect setup/budget but yea, I'm going with the same mentality as you suggest - what's the worst that can happen! Got to be one of the benefits of touring in the UK too.

Tent sorted - 2kg last season mountain hardware one man for £80. Snugpack looks good and I'll bear the dried fruits and nuts idea in mind - if budget gets tight I'm going to be happier pumping money into food and skipping on campsites than going hungry! I'll bear the decent kit advice in mind too - if I go down the saddlebag route I can always put the money from racks into decent bags.

Very excited. Even if I die in parts I'm sure the good will blow the bad out of the water. Thanks as always for tips and comments

mercia_man

Enjoy yourself. When my wife and I gave up our jobs and did the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in 1991, we saw Spanish cyclists who were doing the same trip on cheapo road bikes with too high gearing, carrying all their luggage in bin liners lashed to carriers attached with P clips. You don't need fancy equipment to have a great time.

fixcef

Ha, hoping to be slightly more prepared than that! Good to know it's doable though. Was just thinking about general kit weight and am a bit worries about wheel buckles and so on so I've guessed what my stuff's going to be weighing and came up with this -
Tent 2kg
Bag and mat 2kg
Cycling and wet weather clothes 1.5kg
Normal clothes 1kg
Tools, inners and camping stuff 2kg
Food and water 2kg
Panniers, bags and racks 3kg

So that would be a total weight of about 13kg plus me (75kg). Reckon the bike can take it? I'm sure I've seen fatboys trundling round London carrying more on their thighs alone!

Cheers

mercia_man

My load for cycle camping comes to 13-15 kg and that's with ultra-light (expensive) kit including 1.1kg Terra Nova tent and 700g Alpkit sleeping bag so I think your estimated 13kg is a bit low. But you can keep weight as low as possible by only carrying essential food and stocking up just before you set up camp in the afternoon.

You are right to be a bit concerned about whether your bike can take it. Road bike wheels are not designed for carrying a big load and there is a chance of spokes breaking. Heavily dished rear wheels are the most at risk - and with all your load concentrated at the rear, the strain on them will be even higher. Ideally, you would have hand built touring wheels but your budget is too low.

But you are light and the total weight of you and luggage will still be less than a heavy rider on his own. Plenty of people do tour on road bike wheels. Some suffer broken spokes, some don't. Take a spoke key, practise tensioning your wheels beforehand and make a point of regularly checking your spokes on tour so that you are confident at tightening up loose spokes and getting rid of any wobbles in the rim.

Your front wheel will almost certainly last the trip. If your back wheel collapses, you can always buy a new one from a cycle shop so it won't be the end of the world.

fixcef

Hi Mercia Man,

Thanks for the weight input - guess I'd better guestimate myself up to about 17 kg then. Think it's probably going to be worth begging my LBS for some wheel maintenance lessons or looking about online for some heavy duty 2nd hand rims. I'm quite happy for the whole tour to be done in a "see what happens and react" sort of way - it's all I can afford and I'm not keen to give up before I start!

Cheers.

unixnerd

If you're after a good, cheap tourer that comes with all the bits look at Edinburgh Bicycle's own brand Country with or without disc brakes. Disc version is worth the extra. Base version is on sale for 379 right now, that's just crazy for such a good bike:
!http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-country-traveller-13?bct=browse/revolution-products/revolution-bikes

I've done about 12k miles on mine with no issues. Comes with a really good rear rack and mountings for a front one.

ugo.santalucia

This is what I do... I fit a rack that goes through the quick release skewer like the Blackburn expedition one disc... then I fit the top using a seatpost collar with mounts, like the one you can probably just about see in the photo



This arrangement has no drawbacks or compromises and you can carry as much load as with a standard rack. I suggest you steer clear of seatpost clamped rear racks... they are awful and can only take very little load.

Then you need a solid rear wheel with 36 spokes and a tyre which is up to the job...

fixcef

Hi guys,

Thanks for the bike recommendation unixnerd, it does look like a good option and I've heard it's a good deal at £500 so £379 is a bit silly. Still out of my price range though sadly! Ugo that looks like exactly what I'm going to try and do...only with my pre-existing wheels...no money to replace them! Thanks for the reassurance that axle mounts and seatposts collars will work though.

Cheers guys,

Charlie