Similar to what intheborders had to say. A group of.mates and I did it 'organised' just to make the logistics easier.
When I did it, it was windy at times (headwind - went Winchester to Eastbourne over 2 days). It was also wet underfoot all the time and at various points either rained, or drizzled, or were basically in the clouds. The wet made the chalk very very greasy and the flint in it chops you up nicely if you come off due to zero grip. The 3-pedal-strokes forward, 2-back nature of the wet chalk. It was a bleedin hard day out because of the conditions.
Defo go tubeless ! The number of punctures I saw was unreal. Also take spare brake pads or make sure you're on new ones, if it's wet.
Pick a still day or tailwind and make sure it's dry, and it'll be much better.
I'm glad we did it.
But whilst I'm much fitter these days, I can't (be arsed) doing thst again. I'd rather go do a big day in the Peaks or Lakes.
That makes sense, the two taps I tried on the same ride were Botolphs and Washington!
Yep but both means cocking then truliegh yha which isnt too bad a stretch
Although cardiac hill is in the way and the god awfull climb up to the yha.
Tyre wise, i have used ikon and Aspen from maxxis, both fine. Or Racing Ralph but there isca myriad of types now so pick carefully.
Must be ust though.
I have sliced a tyre that needed a boot internally amd aborted as it was a long cut.
On the draggy grass out of southease you will wish you had the lightest, fastest rolling tyres in the world.
So an additional question - don't think i've seen it earlier in the thread - I'm planning on SDW In-a-day later in the summer too. Should I swap my 32T chainring for a 30T chainring to help out on those later climbs towards Eastbourne?
reason not to: its a bit dull
reason to: because you want to
the winchester end is a much nicer ride.
take as fast a rolling tyre as possible
Chainring. No.
28 instead 🙂
And who dissed the brewery?! 4 pints of hand drawn Long Man APA for ten pounds. Wash yer mouth out!
I've done it a few times and there has been loads of good solid advice here - my pointers would be 1) Go with the wind. 2) Go tubeless with decent tyres (Vittoria Mezcal's are my choice cos of the flints) 3) Eat early and eat often - it helps if you focus your snacks towards protein and let the carbs take care of themselves. 4) Go out as slow as you dare, the amount of elevation gain in the two halves of the route are similar but you get less respite between the ups n the downs so it feels harder.
I'm planning to do 10 singles through this summer cos I can't guarantee to be able to travel abroad and the downs are a brilliant place to have a staycation ride; the scenery and the light changes all the time and you can feast on the views all the way to take your mind off the climbs; remember that they are only 10 -15 mins of up, then you get a reward of a down!
Thanks again to all that have passed on their advice and experiences, can’t wait to get started on it now!
Starting to plan the ride and I THINK I have most things covered from where to stay at the beginning and end to food and prep for climbs
As with most things there is a but....
Feeling confident with my bike, gear, spares etc etc and the people started mentioning tyres, starting to get a tad worried that my staple choice (Dampf and Mary) won’t be good enough, not being one to ever shun good advice I’m starting to consider changing tyres....can anyone recommend me a set that I could use that won’t set me back £100 a pair?!
Budget for this particular escapade is dwindling very fast and I’m questioning whether to do it or not now because I’m (for the first time ever) doubting my tyres
Once again, any advice is massively appreciated
I'd agree with the need-for-speed tyres. Changed to commuter tyres to do the L2B off-road, it does make a difference. Have been looking at tyres as am planning SDW24 too. My riding buddy is riding Nobby Nics, but is looking at a racing ralph and a racing ray (different front and back), and i will put Spesh FastTraks back on. Look at Merlin as they have some great offers on the Racing Rs at the moment, and you should come in under £50 for both (29")
@susepic Thankyou for the recommendation, I had a look on the merlin website and found these that would come in at under £50 (less sealant) as I have 27.5 wheels, would these be the same ones you were recommending or have I gone awry somewhere?
https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-racing-ray-addix-speedgrip-folding-tyre-275-123049.html
@donslow that's the ones. I've used rocket rons in the past and they've been excellent. I'm sure that others have used brands like Maxxis and Vittorio, but Schwalbe always a reliable choice. I am using Spesh FastTrax on my XC as these were fitted standard when i bought it last summer - they'd be another option if you can find them at a good price.
Those Schwalbes are actually reasonably priced, I've kind of got used to Maxxis priced tyres.😟
I'll be using Minion SS and DHF on the SDW attempt this year. Mainly as I already have them.
Did this a few years ago and ride parts of the SDW regularly. I did it with the BHF even though my reason for doing the ride was a different charity. Your entry fee still gives something back and you get the benefit of the support along the way.
There were two things I got wrong, one that I couldn't control and one I could. The first was the weather, jeez it was hot. By mile 65 I was ready to quit but after hitting a support station I got myself together in the shade and carried on. The bit I could control was arse lube and sunscreen, dear god the chaffing was bad, I still can feel the hot water on my raw arse during the showers days after the event. DO NOT FORGET YOUR BUM BUTTER.
Fitness wise I did it off 75 miles max road distance and a few 50 milers on the SDW but I was pretty slow, about 14hrs in total including stops, with the long one when I thought I was going to die of heat stroke
Cheers guys, looks like I’ll be getting some of those ordered as soon as...
Will be also ordering some tyre boots just in case, any recommendations or are they all pretty much a case of same as?!
And where others have stated punctures being an issue, I rode the whole thing without one puncture using slime tubes, maybe I got very lucky
John was that 2017? I did the BHF that year and had weird sunburn blisters on my arms for days afterwards. It really was properly hot.
@Johnjn2000 bum butter...check! A few others have mentioned that so it’s definitely on my list ha ha
I’m looking to do the ride towards the end of may, so British weather being British weather, it SHOULDNT be too warm but who knows...
being ginger and fair skinned, sun cream is always on the list ha ha
Ah yeah it was 2016 for me too. Must have drunk my own body weight in water that day, was glad for the BHF pit-stops.
