KAW – just how ‘off road’ is it? I.e. will 100km a day be tough?

Sounds like quite an adventure!

A friend did it last year and came away with a similar assessment, that it would be much more fun and easier going with less weight especially given you’re not often very far from civilisation on the route in case you did need to divert off for supplies or help.

I think with weight, I’d not take the Abus bordo as we didn’t end up using it, ditch the shaver, and possibly not bother with the stove and pan, but it was nice to have a brew before setting off.  We looked at staying in pubs etc, but the cost was getting silly. With food, beer, camping, fuel and two nights in a travel lodge, it was about £1,300 between the three of us.  Evenings were in a restaurant, so £30-£40 each for 2-3 courses.

Bike clothing was just right, two pairs of base and top, as we got wet. Unfortunately nothing really dried out. Could maybe have ditched some ‘day clothes’ but the dampness meant we used stuff.

Interesting to read as it really goes to show how ground conditions impact the route; I knows we’ve had rain but its sounds like its suffered more than Id expect given its still been fairly mild.

I did it for the first time at the end of July this year (on my short travel full suspension 29er with Reckon Race tyres); fully dried out at that point and, if anything, too hot as temps were approaching 30degs. Did it over 2 days, clockwise, starting and ending in Farnham which worked out a good choice as the first day got a lot of the hillier Hindhead/SDW section out the way for the longer but flatter second day. Only issue with that was that the last bit from Reading back to Farnham was a bit dull with lots of road. I travelled light as possible staying at the Amesbury Travelodge….short walk into Amesbury for supplies and pubs/restaurants plus it was nice to see Stonehenge with minimal crowds given it was still early when I got to the fence line.

I really enjoyed it; I’ve done a lot of the first day route before through to Winchester so knew what to expect but I loved the second day with the Salisbury Plains and Ridgeway sections with their big 360deg views. Might not do the whole route again for a while but I could see myself getting the train to Reading and then cycling the route back to Salisbury or vice versa

We started and finished at Amesbury Travel lodge. Was expecting it to be a bit of a holiday, hence the 4 days camping, but the weight and slippy conditions made it hard work on a CX bike. Road sections were fast though !