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Woke up with the dawn chorus about 05.30 and after a quick porridge I was back on the road - I'd been warm enough in the night but it was very cold riding, but the weather was beautifully clear. The roads were completely empty at that time on a Saturday but my legs weren't too responsive, nevertheless headed north through Wokingham in good spirits before some more gravel over Brunel's racetrack.
On the home stretch now and just remained to cross the Thames at Hambleden Lock then up the Hambleden valley to home, dodging the roadies who were coming out of hibernation by this time. I was home by 09.30 with a bag of hot cross buns from the farm shop to placate the family. 27 miles today for a total of 118 over the two days.
The bike was faultless, I'd recently replaced the groupset from Tiagra 9 speed & Spyres to Ultegra 11 speed hydraulic and the difference was massive, the Ultegra was a revelation. Schwalbe g-ones also very good on both road & gravel, I was running them tubed but no punctures at all. As stated above I was pleased by my fitness, took it steady on day one and was tired on day two but overall very happy. Next target - the Ridgeway. Thanks for reading!
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So set off from Hastings about 10.30 am once I had bundled the family into the car and bid them a fond farewell. I was pleased with how well everything packed up, given I hadn't done a test run, with the exception of my ridiculous karrimat - light enough but looked a bit foolish hanging out the back like a giant yellow sail. Decent inflatable mat on the shopping list for next time.
I wanted to cover a lot of the distance on day one as I needed to be back home before lunch on day 2 so I bashed the A-roads out of Hastings before finding a nice B-road into Lewes where I scoffed down a mini-pizza, doughnut & flat white for lunch, with a nice riverside spot to sit & watch the world go by.
Back out on the road I was pleased with how fit I felt, 27 miles already under the belt on a loaded bike and I felt fine. The bike didn't seem much heavier or unwieldy when pedalling either. 15 miles or so more of B-roads and I arived at the Downs Link trail. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of this but my best hopes were realised as what ensued was 25 miles of beautiful quiet, flat #UKGravel that took me past some nice retro train infrastructure before spitting me out on the Wey towpath, which in turn led to the gritty urban heart of Guidlford
70 or so miles in now and I wasn't felling quite so fresh, so back on the A-roads to the woods around Crowthorne and a discreet bivi spot (but not before picking up a couple of cans from the last petrol station). 1 freeze-dried curry and the aforesaid cans and I was tucked up snug in my bivi by 21.30. 91 miles for the day which was my longest ride for about 10 years, very pleased.
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Nice daily driver here - parked at my station every day
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Planning my first bikepacking escapade on Fri / Sat 12 / 13 April - I'm on holiday with the family near Hastings the week prior and I'll be cycling home to the High Wycombe environs. About 120 miles over 2 days I reckon, my target is to break the back of it on day 1 and bivi somwehere in the woods around Swinley - I grew up just down the road in Finchampstead so I know plenty of quiet spots. Bike will be Arkose, road-focused due to the distance. Been a while since I did anything more than 50 miles in a day so might be a challenge, although I cycle commute every day.
I've bought the cheapo Planet-X bundle of seat pack, handlebar pack and smallish framepack, I have some OK kit from when I used to do a lot of mountain walking & bivvying so should be OK on that front. Sleeping will be a decathlon thermarest, mid-weight down bag & Terra Nova Jupiter hooped bivi. Really looking forward to it. Will look to post a trip report here.
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Better pics
1 spare set sintered pads included
Proce drop £50
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Currently fully built:
Arkose
Graham Weigh 531 road
Orbea MTB
Genesis geared commuter
Kona Paddy Wagon single speed commuterFrame Only:
On-one 853 Inbred (must build this for the summer)
98ish vintage Stumpjumper (vague plans to build drop bar MTB/monster cross)Son: B-twin MTB
Daughter: B-Twin hybrid
Wife: Rockhopper (never ridden) -
1.hoefla - womens L, zip, PAID
2.Nahguavkire, L, PAID
3.So_Gewürzt_it_hurtz, L, pullover, PAID
4.doubleodavey, male M, pullover PAID.
5.uber_gruber, male, M, Zip up, PAID
6.Lardy M=male M Pullover PAID
7.Booter, male, M, pullover, PAID
8.BeerByBike, Male, Large, Pullover, PAID.
9 greeno, male, medium, zip up, PAID
10.el_presidente, male, XL, pullover, PAID
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I just hooked my leg over the top tube! but it was far from ideal haha