South Downs Double for H&IoWAA in 19:35:38!

thomasmorris

I wish I had known how important real food was to me. This is quite a personal thing though, and as you're stopping in Winchester you should have time to get a proper meal in.

Just generally for the South Downs Way there were a few things that I kind of really already knew, but were emphasized in my attempts.

1) Know the route; maybe have a GPS device with it loaded. I've ridden it lots, and it is well signed. However, when you're travelling at speed or in the dark it's very easy yo miss a turn. I never went off route more than a few meters, but had to slow or stop a few times to get my bearing.

2) 200 miles is a long way, but really on a well maintained bike you shouldn't have much go wrong bar punctures, so you can pack light if you're hoping for a fast time. However, if your objective is just to complete the route then your packing in terms of spare should maybe be a little more risk adverse... brake pads, spare cable, tyre boot etc.

3) Weather is critical. More so than other area there is a large difference in how well the tracks will run in the wet versus the dry. In the dry the South Downs bakes hard and is very quick rolling. Go in the wet and it turn to a sticky chalky gloop which will make the whole thing a quite unpleasant. If you have flexibility on when you can do your trip, use it.

Above all, it's a fantastic experience and beautiful place. No matter how tough it feel you can just remember how lucky you are to be out on your bike.

Twelly

thomasmorris wrote:

No matter how tough it feel you can just remember how lucky you are to be out on your bike.

Good advice for everyone that.