Work takes me that way next week and, given some intervening dry weather I wonder if conditions might improve enough for an SDW in a day attempt starting in Winchester.

Bike – light HT with triple
Tyres – TBC I have choice of Nobby Nics or Rons both tubeless.
Clothing – forecast 5-13C so bib shorts over bib 3/4, short sleeve top, arm warmers, lightweight windproof gilet, decent gloves.

Will be carrying everything in bottle cages, saddle pack and jersey but might get a small frame bag to supplement.

Food – 6xgel, 6xchewy bars, 2x peanut butter rolls, pack jelly babies 2x bannanas.
Electrolyte – enough to make up a further 4xbottles
Spares – 2x power links, lever, 2x tubes, repair kit, multitool with working chain tool, zip ties, tyre boot, frame mounted pump.
Others – mobile including local taxi firms (defeatist), ibuprofen, paper map, garmin 800 with course, CAR KEYS, emergency cash.

Plan is to drop bike, toothbrush and food etc at B&B , drive to Eastbourne (where best to park securely overnight?) dump car change into gash clothes, train back to Winchester. Next day put gash clothes and toothbrush into SAE for B&B to post and do ride starting at first light remembering CAR KEYS!

Any tips/obvious admin mistake spotting would be welcome. Re fitness it would be most climbing I’ve done so plan on slow and steady potentialy walking stuff that is stupidly steep. If it’s muddy/still bad conditions I don’t wan’t to try as failure will be costly (wasted train fares, B&B and taxi etc)

Have a peek here for my blog/info..

Good luck, won’t be too bad if the sun stays out, but not as easy as mid summer!!

DrP

6xgel, 6xchewy bars, 2x peanut butter rolls, pack jelly babies 2x bannanas

I don’t know how much, you eat, how fit you are etc. but i’d be eating more for a 12 hour ride.

It was very dry yesterday between Bramber and Amberley, agree you prob want more food.

You can park right at the [new] Eastbourne start/finish in Upper Dukes Drive. It’s a safe area.

Probably best not to do it in a howling easterly (which is not common, but it is a NE right now)

the [new] Eastbourne start/finish in Upper Dukes Drive

We popped out there before and thought we were meant to finish at Paradise Drive. V confusing when you’ve been following SDW signs all day with little thought to navigation. This explains things!

OP – Good luck. I’ll be doing this a bit later in the year once I’ve got some more miles in.

You’ll burn over 8,000 calories iirc. Perhaps have a proper lunch halfway at Amberley (anywhere else will mean a detour and extra climb)

Big pasta dinner the night before, huge porridge in the morning, etc, bring lights.

ETA: Harveys Map of the SDW. Waterstones stock it amongst others.

Currently it’s pretty dry on the tops, and rolling fairly fast. In the lower bits however, there’s little change from the past 3 months, it’s a mudbath.

prognosis…….

ride 1 mile of fast and dry, you’l encounter about 300m of ankle-deep sticky slimey bog.

IMHO better to start at Eastbourne. If you can of course. It’s only psychological, but i wouldn’t save the big climbs to the end. Dispense with them early, and ‘enjoy’ the more undulating terrain near Winchester.

I’ve only done it in two days tho’, so an expert i’m not.

Thanks re the food. ^ sounds like a non starter from that.

Wind is forecast to be from Winchester – obviously may change.

I would pack some flattened Sorreen malt loaf as well,and some Jelly Babies and a load of Cashews . The salt will help with any cramping problems you might encounter.
Rode some miles on Sat doing the Wiggle rough ride and the sections we were on were almost bone dry ( Kithurst hill)

Bibs over bibs, how on earth will you pee 🙂

Won’t comment on food, fitness etc. as I’ll assume you know what you need for 120 odd miles of pretty tough climbing, but as I am near (ish) the Winchester end and on similar terrain, it’s a mud bath here. 16 miles in 2 hours yesterday (avoiding roads, but including a fair bit of proper surfaced tracks, byways etc.). Same conditions as lardman has pointed out, dry on top, but wheel depth in the valleys.

Personally I’d give it a month or two to dry up a bit 🙂

Make sure you get an up to date gpx track, give it a good close up look all the way along the route on the ‘puter, make sure it’s reliable. The route’s changed a bit, and it’s very annoying to be led astray, faffing with extra maps/phones etc and losing time and miles when you really don’t want to.

While you’re sat inside, warm, dry with a tea or a beer, it’s well worth spending half an hour or more on, comparing your gpx track with the most up to date cycling route on the south downs website http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/south-downs-way

I’d hope that would show the most up to date route. Anyone else?

All the trails are drying out nicely so should be fine – but be careful on the shaded chalky descents as the off camber bits may still be a bit slick. I did (most of) the SD last summer… it rained that morning and one of our party had a big crash just after Bignor Hill (at 50.909900, -0.595250)

My route notes from Cocking – counting down the climbs… ascent in metres, climb to summit in km, and the rough distance in miles from Winchester. Tap locations at the bottom… the one at Botolphs is easy to miss as it’s tucked in the bushes on your right as you near the end of a descent… you don’t need to carry too much water as there are plenty of taps.

Take money, see if the cafe at saddlescombe will be open (in the farmyard. Ride steady from the start. I don’t mind the big climbs at the end, most of them are ‘stick it in the granny and endure’ rather than completely knackering. Have fun!

yeah, as per bart. one 750ml bottle will do, guzzle while you’re at the tap then fill up. Frees up the other cage for bits if you want.

Possibly one of the toughest things I did last year.

http://www.strava.com/activities/74221511/embed/eb9e945ff64b01a6a40ca97fdb324abdeb6caf02

It is an amazing ride though! The hills at the end are monstrous.