1 way 100Miles - Train out from Reading or Didcot Ride back
1 way 100Miles - Train out from Reading or Didcot Ride back
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Discussion

Herman Toothrot

Original Poster:

6,702 posts

227 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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Got Monday off and want to do 100mile road ride or 60mile MTB, for a change I'd like to go somewhere new. I can hop on the train at Didcot or Reading easily enough, so train out from either where would you go to then ride home, being between Reading and Didcot. Bath Spa looks a good option, under an hour out on the train. Southampton was another choice but longer to get too. I've done Chippenham back on the Ridgeway before in the MTB really enjoyed it but would prefer somewhere new.

Celtic Dragon

3,352 posts

264 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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For an MTB, how about 1/2 of this or all of it if you think you're fast?

http://ridgewaydouble.net

TwistingMyMelon

6,507 posts

234 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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Watch your back at Reading station, some scrote tried to steal my bike, whilst I was sat outside with it waiting for a mate to come off the train from Reading!

trashbat

6,305 posts

182 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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Winchester for the South Downs Way? There's a station half way (~50mi) at Amberley, don't know where the line goes.

Herman Toothrot

Original Poster:

6,702 posts

227 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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Ridgeway - Done the one half in one go already Chippenham to Goring, other half from Goring is where I ride normally, it'd only get a bit new once past Princess Risborough.

Matt Sketch

162 posts

163 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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+1 for the South Downs Way although as you are in the Didcot / Reading area, getting back from Eastbourne might be a bit of a hassle.

Have you done the e Swan Way, it's 66 miles, so spot on your 60 mile mtb target



Edited by Matt Sketch on Thursday 28th May 14:56

mikees

2,890 posts

201 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
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If you come thru Rizzy I'll join you for a section Steve.

Herman Toothrot

Original Poster:

6,702 posts

227 months

Friday 29th May 2015
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Liking the South Downs Way but that'll have to be another day as more logistics required with getting to the start and finish. Presently train to Bath Spa is favourite as so easy to get to on the train. If I do a more local MtB out the Ridgeway I'll give you a shout Mikees :-)

yellowjack

18,434 posts

195 months

Friday 29th May 2015
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Ooh!

This has got me thinking. So I used the Googlemaps routeplanner feature, and after quite a bit of 'jiggling' and modifying the route as much as Google will allow, I have discovered that my mother's house is exactly 200 miles from mine ('twas further than that at first, but I tweeked the route to be a bit more 'direct').

Now all I have to do is persuade myself that 200 miles in a day is doable (I'm thinking somewhere between 14 and 18 hours?) and then work on the wife to see if she'll even consider the idea. I'm not in her 'good books' right now, as yesterday I went out "for a couple of hours on the bike, dear". Nearly 7 (elapsed time) hours, and 85 miles later, I arrived back to a frown and a "your baked potato is in the oven - and has been for more than two hours".

richardxjr

7,561 posts

239 months

Friday 29th May 2015
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YJ, your missus should be out working so you can do these all day monster rides on shiny new stuff smile

(And have tea on the table when you get back)

/dreamworld yeah I know.



OP Head South, and west a bit, then come home with a nice stong tail wind on Monday smile

Marcellus

7,204 posts

248 months

Sunday 7th June 2015
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I know i'm late to this topic but i was just going to add to watch the wind direction!

Mrs M was working about 100miles due south of home so last Friday i decided to see how long it would take me to get there with a cut off time of 6hours, seemed easy enough.

But the wind was blowing North at 15 gusting 20kts in the morning and 20 gusting 25kts in the afternoon.


Herman Toothrot

Original Poster:

6,702 posts

227 months

Sunday 7th June 2015
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In the end last week I chucked the bike in the car and went to Cwmcarn instead and ride all the XC trails that were open and the original DH track.

Tomorrow I plan on train to Bath and ride back on road.

MadDad

3,835 posts

290 months

Sunday 7th June 2015
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Herman Toothrot said:
In the end last week I chucked the bike in the car and went to Cwmcarn instead and ride all the XC trails that were open and the original DH track.

Tomorrow I plan on train to Bath and ride back on road.
That's a nice ride, I have done it a couple of times in both direction. Toughest bit is the few miles out of Bath - all uphill!, then more or less all downhill all the way back (apart from a small section just outside Malborough). A4 beyond Newbury isn't nice so I have dropped South and cris-crossed the country roads back to Binfield.

Herman Toothrot

Original Poster:

6,702 posts

227 months

Monday 8th June 2015
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Didn't make the route a 100miles, ended up 137km too much neck ache and a headwind the whole way ~13knots. Bath to home, did the Kennet & Avon Canal path out of Bath, not recommended on a road bike with 110psi properly, un-comfortable start to the ride but did rescue a stranded cyclist who'd run out of patches after 3 punctures so good job for him I choose that way.

https://www.strava.com/activities/321145875