Planning a Cycle Ride
Discussion
Good Morning All,
I am planning (my first) group cycle across the south coast from Broadstairs in Kent to Lands End for next year and am after some advice from more experienced cyclists on PH regarding the planning for the ride.
There will probably be between 5 and 10 of us on the ride and envisage carry all tents and other equipment. We are planning to start training now though general fitness levels are fairly good with a view to completing the ride over 4-5 days.
I will probably be looking to purchase a new bike as I am currently riding a Raleigh M-Trax (18 years old!) with road tyres on, so I am looking at cross over/urban bikes rather than full touring bikes.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
I am planning (my first) group cycle across the south coast from Broadstairs in Kent to Lands End for next year and am after some advice from more experienced cyclists on PH regarding the planning for the ride.
There will probably be between 5 and 10 of us on the ride and envisage carry all tents and other equipment. We are planning to start training now though general fitness levels are fairly good with a view to completing the ride over 4-5 days.
I will probably be looking to purchase a new bike as I am currently riding a Raleigh M-Trax (18 years old!) with road tyres on, so I am looking at cross over/urban bikes rather than full touring bikes.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
I'd recommend having a support vehicle being driven by a friend or famiy member, or take in turns to drive every 50 miles or so. You can carry spare parts, wheels/tyres, clothes, tools, tents, etc, so you needn't worry about overloading the bikes with all that kit.
It's also useful for an emegency, e.g. if one of you runs out of steam they can sit in the car for a while and recharge your batteries.
It's also useful for an emegency, e.g. if one of you runs out of steam they can sit in the car for a while and recharge your batteries.
Thanks for the Replies,
I had been trying to avoid the complication of a support vehicle and would like to avoid if possible as it could detract from the ethos of the ride, however as the group as a whole will be largely novice road riders perhaps it would be prudent to give this further consideration.
I had been trying to avoid the complication of a support vehicle and would like to avoid if possible as it could detract from the ethos of the ride, however as the group as a whole will be largely novice road riders perhaps it would be prudent to give this further consideration.
Doug Shep said:
Thanks for the Replies,
I had been trying to avoid the complication of a support vehicle and would like to avoid if possible as it could detract from the ethos of the ride, however as the group as a whole will be largely novice road riders perhaps it would be prudent to give this further consideration.
If you pick a route that has decent "abandon"/"emergency" links such as train stations then a support vehicle should not be necessary. OF course, everyone doing it needs to understand that if something goes wrong then it'll be slightly more onerous than just jumping in the back of a car. IMO that adds to the adventure.I had been trying to avoid the complication of a support vehicle and would like to avoid if possible as it could detract from the ethos of the ride, however as the group as a whole will be largely novice road riders perhaps it would be prudent to give this further consideration.
Any Route would be as coastal as possible so given the built up nature of the South we would never really be far from civilization and the unsupported element is appealing.
Overall it appears to be about 350miles and it would be a good ride to undertake on a build up to Lands End to John O'Groats the following year.
Overall it appears to be about 350miles and it would be a good ride to undertake on a build up to Lands End to John O'Groats the following year.
Support vehicles and back up's are not really touring are they, and don't even mention so called celebs who do a big ride between them one at a time while the others sit in the back of a luxury bus moaning, wimps !!
Just load your bike up to the max with panniers front and rear including all the food you need for the week, use a map and find all the campsites on route and just stop when you've hit the max each day. It's all part of the adventure,
Martyn........Old heavy Kona MTB with knobbly tyres complimenting dodgy knee
Just load your bike up to the max with panniers front and rear including all the food you need for the week, use a map and find all the campsites on route and just stop when you've hit the max each day. It's all part of the adventure,
Martyn........Old heavy Kona MTB with knobbly tyres complimenting dodgy knee
Martyn-123 said:
Support vehicles and back up's are not really touring are they, and don't even mention so called celebs who do a big ride between them one at a time while the others sit in the back of a luxury bus moaning, wimps !!
Just load your bike up to the max with panniers front and rear including all the food you need for the week, use a map and find all the campsites on route and just stop when you've hit the max each day. It's all part of the adventure,
Martyn........Old heavy Kona MTB with knobbly tyres complimenting dodgy knee
You don't see the Schlecks and Conty lugging all that paraphernalia around Just load your bike up to the max with panniers front and rear including all the food you need for the week, use a map and find all the campsites on route and just stop when you've hit the max each day. It's all part of the adventure,
Martyn........Old heavy Kona MTB with knobbly tyres complimenting dodgy knee
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