2012-04-14 Sat - London to Brighton off-road (29er day out)

What I will do, before the ride... is reccy the first 20 miles of it beyond Hampton Court to see how it fares, whether it's easily navigable, and what kind of terrain they've put the route through.

I'm not intending to do the whole ride before the ride... just enough to get an idea of whether the route can be trusted and appears suitable.

I've ridden the section from Richmond through to Brooklands (it's part of my off road commute when I'm feeling brave and it's not wet). All towpath, easy riding suitable for almost any bike. I got lost in Weybridge the first time through where you change from the Thames to the canal. That change is a bit fiddly and I'm not sure how much GPS will help too much so I'd recommend you have a close look at the map first (or recce). Not the biggest deal in the world if you run the roads for a mile or so to get back to the canal.