South Downs way
Discussion
First off thanks to all that replied with good and excellent advice, I ended up doing it this weekend gone over the two days in probably some of the better weather conditions of dry but not stupidly hot either. Both me and my mate did it on weigher hardtails which as a blessing and a curse as neither of us had any mechanicals, but still had to push on a few occasions to get up the steepest climbs. For me dropping the front ring size worked great for me and doubt I would have got up any more climbs/any quicker getting up the climb with an even smaller one as i would of been spinning out more on the flatter rolling areas of the route. Having a dropper post was also really useful for changing seating position and moving around the pressure on the undercarriage area.
Saturday started off with an early morning start and a train into London, a quick cross city site seeing tour before jumping on the train at Waterloo to get out to Winchester. We left town centre around 9:30ish in the end which in reflection, I defiantly think we should of spent the night in the area to leave earlier in the morning but it wasn't an option for us. I think some of the sign posting isn't partially clear or stand out at times but that's why we had a gamin with up to confirm the direction to go in. As others have said the sights are stunning when at the peaks of the hills but was surprised by the amount of time spent in the first 40 miles in shrub land/hedge lined rows.
Quick stop at Queen Elizabeth Park for a shot of lunch and water refill at around 12:30ish before continuing. Again, although the weather wasn't supper hot i think i could of planned the water tap stops a bit better, but with them not being partially well sign posted or highlighted as you went past, I didn't ride with minimum water/go without (1 bottle on the frame with iso tabs and 2litres at the most in just water in backpack. You could have easily not taken much food either but stopping at each cafe would have added a lot more time to the day (especial if they were bizzy with customer). Most of this mid-section (25–45-mile area) seemed to go quite quickly with more rolling hills and flatter sections so seamed to cover ground quite nicely without a care in the world until we started to look at the map and the light dropping. Now we had both packed lights for such an issue but had hoped to not really require them till the last descending hill/climb out to the YHA. In the end we had to start using on the descent down to Washington on the A24 around 1900. With the YHA closing the kitchen at 20:00 we called ahead a pre ordered some food (a very wise decision from us) which they were more than happy to do so for us. That last hour of riding in the dark with very tired legs, empty stomachs, wind picking up and no views to encourage you on was very testing. On the final climb up, we could see the red lights of a radio mast in the distance but unable to determine the distance it was away from us. We evenly rolled in at after 20:15 straight to the kitchen for food and a beer, sitting in silence as we ate, I was shattered and not in a great way. All in all, i think we covered closer to 70 miles and 7000ft.
The next morning even with a bad night’s sleep and not enough dinner food we set off with quiet fresh legs, this part of the leg is defiantly more of what I think the SDW is about with open grass rolling fields and a lot more bizzy with families out walking their dogs and larger groups of ramblers. Most of it is wider allowing for easier over taking other than a few sections that would struggle to get past two abreast. The weather staid nice for us the whole of the day and with less milage and elevation to cover it was a lot more leisurely ride, the ride up around Swanbough Hill being a high light for the views as you crest around 180 of the valley. We got chatting with a few other riders that all seemed to live in the area and was just doing sections of the SDW rather than groups of people that were doing the route itself which was a surprise as I thought it would have been more popular. We ended up stopping at YHA at Southese for some more food before heading onwards – defiantly getting more difficult to start again after a rest. The Climb out of Long man of Wilmington was defiantly one of the steeper hills but I also enjoyed it (must have been delirious) with the smoother surface but big views appearing out of nowhere. It was the final climb out that was probably one of the worst with it being quite rough. The roll down into Eastbourne was the perfect finish to the ride with the sun still out blazing away, we made a b-line for the nearest pub on the beach front for a pint and fish & chips. The misses was even kind enough to come and pick us up to save use mucking around with trains and rail replacement bus services.
Would I do it again? Not in a hurry, though the though of doing again in a day does seem like a stupid idea that I would fancy doing if I trained for it (as I said at the start of the thread, I only just decided to do it the previous weekend). With the misses sister now living up in Scotland the thought of the HighLands way from Glasgow to Fort William does seem even more appearing as the next challenge. The winch and plumet is a very different experience to my normal winch and plumet of Surry hills or peak district big rides – these are the same slow up but the decent are general technical and interesting verses the (don’t want to say it) boring downs so may be not worth the effort.
Did I take the wrong bike? Probably, xc hardtail with dropper would be my choice going forward though I did appreciate the comfort of the bigger tyres and lack of issues that you may have got with a lighter gravel bike. Defiantly wanted a handlebar set up with more positions though (bar ends spring to mind).
Once again thanks for the advice all, will post up some photos late on.
Saturday started off with an early morning start and a train into London, a quick cross city site seeing tour before jumping on the train at Waterloo to get out to Winchester. We left town centre around 9:30ish in the end which in reflection, I defiantly think we should of spent the night in the area to leave earlier in the morning but it wasn't an option for us. I think some of the sign posting isn't partially clear or stand out at times but that's why we had a gamin with up to confirm the direction to go in. As others have said the sights are stunning when at the peaks of the hills but was surprised by the amount of time spent in the first 40 miles in shrub land/hedge lined rows.
Quick stop at Queen Elizabeth Park for a shot of lunch and water refill at around 12:30ish before continuing. Again, although the weather wasn't supper hot i think i could of planned the water tap stops a bit better, but with them not being partially well sign posted or highlighted as you went past, I didn't ride with minimum water/go without (1 bottle on the frame with iso tabs and 2litres at the most in just water in backpack. You could have easily not taken much food either but stopping at each cafe would have added a lot more time to the day (especial if they were bizzy with customer). Most of this mid-section (25–45-mile area) seemed to go quite quickly with more rolling hills and flatter sections so seamed to cover ground quite nicely without a care in the world until we started to look at the map and the light dropping. Now we had both packed lights for such an issue but had hoped to not really require them till the last descending hill/climb out to the YHA. In the end we had to start using on the descent down to Washington on the A24 around 1900. With the YHA closing the kitchen at 20:00 we called ahead a pre ordered some food (a very wise decision from us) which they were more than happy to do so for us. That last hour of riding in the dark with very tired legs, empty stomachs, wind picking up and no views to encourage you on was very testing. On the final climb up, we could see the red lights of a radio mast in the distance but unable to determine the distance it was away from us. We evenly rolled in at after 20:15 straight to the kitchen for food and a beer, sitting in silence as we ate, I was shattered and not in a great way. All in all, i think we covered closer to 70 miles and 7000ft.
The next morning even with a bad night’s sleep and not enough dinner food we set off with quiet fresh legs, this part of the leg is defiantly more of what I think the SDW is about with open grass rolling fields and a lot more bizzy with families out walking their dogs and larger groups of ramblers. Most of it is wider allowing for easier over taking other than a few sections that would struggle to get past two abreast. The weather staid nice for us the whole of the day and with less milage and elevation to cover it was a lot more leisurely ride, the ride up around Swanbough Hill being a high light for the views as you crest around 180 of the valley. We got chatting with a few other riders that all seemed to live in the area and was just doing sections of the SDW rather than groups of people that were doing the route itself which was a surprise as I thought it would have been more popular. We ended up stopping at YHA at Southese for some more food before heading onwards – defiantly getting more difficult to start again after a rest. The Climb out of Long man of Wilmington was defiantly one of the steeper hills but I also enjoyed it (must have been delirious) with the smoother surface but big views appearing out of nowhere. It was the final climb out that was probably one of the worst with it being quite rough. The roll down into Eastbourne was the perfect finish to the ride with the sun still out blazing away, we made a b-line for the nearest pub on the beach front for a pint and fish & chips. The misses was even kind enough to come and pick us up to save use mucking around with trains and rail replacement bus services.
Would I do it again? Not in a hurry, though the though of doing again in a day does seem like a stupid idea that I would fancy doing if I trained for it (as I said at the start of the thread, I only just decided to do it the previous weekend). With the misses sister now living up in Scotland the thought of the HighLands way from Glasgow to Fort William does seem even more appearing as the next challenge. The winch and plumet is a very different experience to my normal winch and plumet of Surry hills or peak district big rides – these are the same slow up but the decent are general technical and interesting verses the (don’t want to say it) boring downs so may be not worth the effort.
Did I take the wrong bike? Probably, xc hardtail with dropper would be my choice going forward though I did appreciate the comfort of the bigger tyres and lack of issues that you may have got with a lighter gravel bike. Defiantly wanted a handlebar set up with more positions though (bar ends spring to mind).
Once again thanks for the advice all, will post up some photos late on.
Good write up! When I did it in a day, I think we were picked up at 5 am in Steyning, so probably leaving Winchester by 7 am. So long ago I can't remember! Haven't forgotten it took me 13.5 hrs though.
One part of your write up really struck home, about riding in the dark with no views. I can just about do 60-90 minutes on the Downs in the dark, but that is enough. You get a kind of tunnel vision, just staring at the spot on the ground where your lights hit...
One part of your write up really struck home, about riding in the dark with no views. I can just about do 60-90 minutes on the Downs in the dark, but that is enough. You get a kind of tunnel vision, just staring at the spot on the ground where your lights hit...
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/wYUrLPzo.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/Sk7boqxD" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/Sk7boqxD.jpg)
Nice write up, and your experience sounds similar to mine in some ways!
I did it in 1 day for a charity bike ride about 10 years ago on my trusty Boardman alu hardtail which performed great. I thought training on the Ridgeway, that i regularly ride would be enough, but it is a pretty relentless day of fun steep descents, then I think about a 15 major climbs up from the steep river valleys that cut across the chalk downs, 200m straight up a chalky track or path. They don't get easier either as you go from Winchester to Eastbourne either. Two of the steepest, longest climbs are in the last quarter of the route. Looking at the Strava map, gradients on the climbs are commonly over 10-15%, and sometimes well into the 20%s.
We did it in the summer, so very dry, and quick rolling. but I'd hate to do it in the wet. Doing it over 2 days would be a good challenge. I think 1 day, for those with reasonable fitness is a hard push.
Good point about water, when we went the water stops worked, my more experienced friend took a small 500ml bottle and filled up at the 4 or 5 points along the way. Stupidly I took a full 4 litre water bladder, (plus other gear like spare tyres, food, tools etc), definitely over packed and sufferred accordingly!
I think taking a break and doing it over 2 days is a good idea, you can try and enjoy it more then! Scenery is great, you get to see the sea once you get near Brighton, and you think it's nearly over, but it seems to take an absolute age to get from Devil's Dyke to Eastbourne. I have to say I've not had a great desire to do it again!
Edited by prand on Wednesday 11th October 09:13
Edited by prand on Wednesday 11th October 09:14
Daveyraveygravey said:
Good write up! When I did it in a day, I think we were picked up at 5 am in Steyning, so probably leaving Winchester by 7 am. So long ago I can't remember! Haven't forgotten it took me 13.5 hrs though.
One part of your write up really struck home, about riding in the dark with no views. I can just about do 60-90 minutes on the Downs in the dark, but that is enough. You get a kind of tunnel vision, just staring at the spot on the ground where your lights hit...
I do a bit of night time riding through out the winter months but its either in the woods (until the weather gets that bad that its's not worth recking the trails) or urban/road miles. Completely agree with the tunnel vision feel of being up on the hills, the only thing that kept me entertained was going past a pig farm in the dark with them all squealing at us as we rode past.One part of your write up really struck home, about riding in the dark with no views. I can just about do 60-90 minutes on the Downs in the dark, but that is enough. You get a kind of tunnel vision, just staring at the spot on the ground where your lights hit...
ukbabz said:
Nice ride Matt, I think I might have passed you on the Sunday as I was riding around there this weekend. We stayed at the Southease YHA which was pretty terrible for the road noise. Sounded like we were sleeping on the roadside.
Which bike was you on?As i said we stopped at Southease for a spot of lunch, you might of had to deal with a bit of road noise while we had to deal with the most of the YHA booked out by a school trip . Southease also looked like a more lovely place to stay as Trueleigh defiantly hasn't had much investment in the site for a number of year - a bit more than just run down and dirty in places - staff were very good though.
mattvanders said:
ukbabz said:
Nice ride Matt, I think I might have passed you on the Sunday as I was riding around there this weekend. We stayed at the Southease YHA which was pretty terrible for the road noise. Sounded like we were sleeping on the roadside.
Which bike was you on?As i said we stopped at Southease for a spot of lunch, you might of had to deal with a bit of road noise while we had to deal with the most of the YHA booked out by a school trip . Southease also looked like a more lovely place to stay as Trueleigh defiantly hasn't had much investment in the site for a number of year - a bit more than just run down and dirty in places - staff were very good though.
The trails were really good nick and fast, loads of folks out and about. I did see a lot of scouts (or similar) doing a hike over the w/e so maybe it was to do with them.
Top riding around there and look forward to getting back next summer
I did the first half W to E in March 2018. During The Beast from the East snowstorm. We ran out of energy, light, body heat and patience. My mates rear shock valve started to leak, so we attached a shock pump (PPPPPP) in a more permanent fashion with zipties. Even fully kitted out with neoprene overshoes, it took almost a month for the feeling to come back to my toes.
100% would recommend. To someone I dislike.
Probably best in the dry. Pics look wicked. Same mate did a oner last year. In June, funnily enough.
100% would recommend. To someone I dislike.
Probably best in the dry. Pics look wicked. Same mate did a oner last year. In June, funnily enough.
Edited by Smitters on Monday 13th November 21:04
Must be over 20 times I've done it now. first 4 over 2 days and in a day since then, although as I live on the route I've never done it full end to end 
.not done it the last couple of years as the time has gone by. IT's a beautiful route, well signposted all the way, lots of places to stop or jump off if necessary. It's tough on a gravel/cx bike as you get little time off due to the nature of most of the surface. So do it on my 27.5 hardtail now as it's the best option for me. last time I did it in 2021 I had a big handlebar bag for spares and food and this really helped as opposed to having a small camelbak on all day.
Earliest i've done it is late April and latest late September. Done it on the hottest day of the year a few years back which wasn't too pleasant once the sun had come up, but ride parts of it most of the year, from October it can get hideous with either mud or wet chalk.
Still the toughest day on a bike I generally do in the year and I still enjoy doing it, despite that last 15 miles being a bugger (generally ride from home to Eastbourne) and those miles approaching eastbourne are definitely hardest. Would always recommend west to east though due to the generally prevailing wind.
.not done it the last couple of years as the time has gone by. IT's a beautiful route, well signposted all the way, lots of places to stop or jump off if necessary. It's tough on a gravel/cx bike as you get little time off due to the nature of most of the surface. So do it on my 27.5 hardtail now as it's the best option for me. last time I did it in 2021 I had a big handlebar bag for spares and food and this really helped as opposed to having a small camelbak on all day. Earliest i've done it is late April and latest late September. Done it on the hottest day of the year a few years back which wasn't too pleasant once the sun had come up, but ride parts of it most of the year, from October it can get hideous with either mud or wet chalk.
Still the toughest day on a bike I generally do in the year and I still enjoy doing it, despite that last 15 miles being a bugger (generally ride from home to Eastbourne) and those miles approaching eastbourne are definitely hardest. Would always recommend west to east though due to the generally prevailing wind.
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