If anybody wants a gps track, I have the track from my SDWx4. I’m not that good on tech, but I know I can see it loaded back into Basecamp.
How I publish it here, I have no idea.
I did Warnford, and all the funny tracks at the side of any tarmac.

If you are still on course on Saturday, I’ll watch ouut for you….. I’m doing it as a single this time. Best bits are from the top of Cocking Down to the Arun river and at the top of Firle as you know you are nearly done by then.

The climb on the tarmac up to the YHA is the dullest bit – remember to look northwards to pass the time, though if 10 hours is your goal and you are not sure of the way, there won’t be much time to look up from the gps!

Its awesome up there (and free!)

+1 for Jungle, they do stand by their products.

Oops, hadn’t spottted that thread.
I’ll be quiet and watch it unfold on Bikepacking and Mtbcast.
And go and ride the Banff-Eureka part in September.

Ops, broken link. Check out tour divide in Google for loads of stunning Rocky Mountain pics and 150 riders battling their way over them.

I’d ride it.
Just as it is.
It built to do a job – it will do it well.
It wouldn’t be my choice for another SDW DD, but for go anywhere riding, you are infront of me!

Enjoy it.

an anchovie-alike kit got me back on the trail inside two minutes during my SDWx4 a couple of weeks back.

Ride a double?

Just the one puncture. I think my SPOT was a little slow to get in the game early on.

Oh, my gps turned itself off 35 times (all on bumpy downhill sections)…. I think it missed a couple of miles overall as I didn’t always notice it straight away. It is a Garmin Etrex Legend and about 5 years old. I had wedgied the battery terminals as they say in the ‘fix’ but it still randomly turned itself off.

It took an hour to get the track in order using Basecamp; if anybody wants the file, I’ll find out how to publish it (assistance welcome here)

and there are a bunch of piccies on the South Downs Mountain Bike club page on FB

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.842143619206654&type=1

I was sat at home yesterday waiting for a new fridge, so I finished my blog with a summary of the ride!

https://southdownswaydoubledouble.wordpress.com/

and take a peek at the ‘mission accomplished’ tab.

I’m off to do some downhilling and catching a van to the top.

I’m about to get my 9th season pass for Fernie…. you can get the cost of the pass down to approx $15 a day if you work at it. The earlybird pass is on sale till the end of June.
If you go for the winter, you will want to stay for the summer.

The locals live other peoples holidays.

Fernie is an amazingly beautiful place, the terrain is among the hardest in the world, and they really don’t care too much about grooming the runs; you just take whats there. And then go for a beer. Or two.

Chexk out some of the tri-bars made by USE (Exposure Lights), they do some amazing stuff as well as lights!

Skis got used on all ‘hard packed smooth’ trails and the tiny bits of flat such as the top of Cocking and Heyshott down. There are loads of little places to get on them for a minute or two at a time and they can even get used on gentle ups such as the long concrete drive near the A27.

Would not consider doing anything like this again without them as you can hide from the wind and get in a higher gear and grab a mile or hour for free when on them.

Strangely there are no pics of me on them as I would always be on the brakes slowing for a pitstop when I saw the crew.

Well, the weather held and we got it done. 400 SDW miles in 55 hours. Happy bunny. And now a full happy bunny, having spent the last few days catching up on food.

I just finished SDW x4 (55 hours) and wore the same pair of mavic sprint bib shorts with a good jollop of udder cream applied before I drove to Winchester. Never took them off, never got a sore, never been sponsored by Mavic, though that may change!

I just got to read the whole thread in detail (and with a clear head) and realised that piccie had already been posted – oops.

Having all you can eat curry in the pub with the whole crew tonight!

This may not add much to the debate, but I took a protein shake every 20 miles during my SDW double double (and loads of High5 4:1) and really my muscles are in good shape.
I could tell when I was in protein deficit during training as my quads would complain if I slept face down at night.

Well, I am staggered at how many wonderful comments have been written about a ride on the downs.
Thanks to all folks who gave up their time over the weeekend to feed and water me, to take piccies, to clap and laugh at me, the companies who helped with equipment, and of course the ‘good weather pixies’ who allowed it to happen this time.

I could do a Richard Sterry and write a book, but he was there first and set the bar, so please read his and just add another chapter at the end.

I will take a few days off and hope to see you all at the Barley Mow for as much curry as you can eat on Wednesday evening.

Thanks again, I’m going back to bed.

Hmm, where did all this dampness come from. It may be a little slidey coming out of Winchester tomorrow…. to take my mind off it, I’m mixing 16 litres of High5 ready for the first two legs.

Thanks Ben – you do own some clever pixies.

This pulls together for easy access my scanty blog, this forum, the tracker and the South Downs Mountain Bike Club.

http://sportgeek.uk/rob/

Thanks all for the gate offfers! Its all in the timing.
I had to go with the bank hols as I’m relying on vollies having time to commit to helping and can’t really do this as a last minute exercise.

I was all set to go last August bank hols, but then hurricane Bertha blew in!

Starting at Winchester on Saturday 0600.

I’m on a 2010 SC Tallboy. Jungle and Santa Cruz have been awesome with looking after me and the bike. Plastic wheels from Strada, build with a dynamo (not using it on this event); they were build for XC and have held up brilliantly. 4 Diablo lights from Exposure. Small Block 8’s from Kenda – I’m down to my last set, but one pair did Banff to Mexico without a puncture, so they should love this terrain.
I’ve got two saddles (on Thompson Materpiece posts), the first should see me through three legs and is a Prologo bone edge iron triathlon saddle with modifications, the spare is a Specialised with a nice long groove (can’t remember the name and it’s boxed up ready to go)
Home-modded tribars, ergon grips and gps mount.
I use XT/XTR as its so simple to work on if the need arrises.

The arse saver is udder cream.

There seem to be so few rules for this event that I borrowed some from the SDWx2 team.
I am doing it with a pit crew who will carry equipment, but the gates are one thing that can save loads of time – I think its 30+ seconds for a gate if a pal holds it open and you don’t have to slow at all.

Thats 45 minutes each leg;3 hours off just like that!

I have the choice of doing the latest routes (loads of new signs going up now it is a National Park) and have opted for the ‘classic’ route which is Warnford based rather than Exton.

The self supported thing is an alpine style attack where you tape gels to your bike and stop at the taps for water.
This will be hard enough doing it with a crew.

I’ve done Touur Divide and .the self supported ethos and am ploughing my own furrow on this one.
Thanks for asking.

There is an underground event this weekend, only one entrant so far…. South Downs Way Double Double. Come out and watch, come out and ride a bit – just bring food, Red bull and machsticks. Approx 50 hours in the saddle and 40,000 feet of climbing.

Free to enter too.

Ollybus, its just that. Start at Winchester, ride to the other end, ride back to the start and repeat. 400 mile mountain bike picnic. What better way to spend the weekend?

Can it please be fully dry by the bank holiday weekend as I’m riding it four times.

If anybody feels like being a blue dot junkie over the next bank holiday, paste this link, grab a pack of bikkies and watch. Better still, grab your bike and come and find me.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0gEppCB0bKu3eM1WtLx5spZzUQoo0vFCL

It will only be live for the duration of the event and for 24 hours afterwards.

Rob

TiRed, sorry for delay…. been riding.
I rode down on some plastic wheels built by Strada (with a dynamo hub). They gave me a set of Spotted Cat tyres which are great on the road and dry hardpack. In the wet, I couldn’t manage them.

The plastic whels are awesome and will be on the Tallboy for the x4 along with a set of SB8’s.

I swapped onto some old ali wheels and some tubeless Bronsons for the week in Morzine.

Blimey – I didn’t expect to see so much interest in a photo.

It is a real pic – no greenscreen or socks;one of our club members took it last Monday whan we were riding from Liphook. I was in the middle of a 75 miler and had started at 0700 that morning, hence the legwarmers.

The skis give me 1mph every time I get on them and are a handy place to hang the tent – the sleeping bag is usually hanging out behind the seatpost.

No panniers.

The bike is my way of getting things done – last summer I rode it down to Morzine, did the Passport du Soleil and had a great week riding the lifts and Morzine trails with my South Downs mountain bike club friends.
I had just ridden up to the Lakes (met Steve Makin on the way)and then done Garburn pass, Walner scar and messed about in Grizedale woods and TC. We also popped into Cannock Chase and whizzed round that on the way home.

Santa Crux Tallboy – just over 5 years old and an awesome machine that I have fettled to suit me. I appreciate it may not suit all tastes, just have fun riding whatever takes your fancy!

Never been a roadie – I just took up biking because I heard about the Trans Rockies and fancied doing it, and then heard about the Tour Divide whilst thumbing a lift out of Fairbanks – fancied doing that too.

Bib shorts over the shirt because if you are out riding all day, at some point you will need to do an impression of a bear and, do I need to spell it out?

The SDWx4 may be the daftest idea yet, but somebody has to get it done.

I’ll be carrying a SPOT, so you can track me, and if anybody feels the urge to come and keep me company they will be most welcome if they bring ice cream in the day and hot soup at night(though I must do the gates myself).

Thanks for the interest – it is a piccie i am proud of.

South Downs Mountain Bike club meet at Walderton on Wednesday evenings, Charlton on Fridays and have Sunday rides from other selected start points. We are happy to have new folks to share a pint with after a ride.

I’m about to do the South Downs Way Double Double on a 100mm travel Tallboy with plastic wheels – I just rode it from Portsmouth to the Lakes and then around the Grizedale and surrounding trails for three days. It is light, comfortable and reliable. I’m not sponsored by SC. Its simply a mighty fine, capable and versatile machine.

I know Ergon grips are primarily for endurance riders, but take a look at the cork grips – they offer a huge support area for the palm and fitted at the correct angle will stop wrist issues too. I use them on every ride (inc Banff to Mexico) except when I go to Morzine for a week and need to hang on tight over the breaking-bumps!

SC offer all the tools for doing it properly. A slide hammer system went out before the Ark even got off the drawing board (though it still is a functional method if you like hitting things)

http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/shop/tag/tallboy-mk1-2012-2013/44

Hope this works with a Bronson

You can make your own tool from a threaded bar and a few mins on a lathe.

How about adding some Ergon cork grips to cut out all vibration?

I’ve had the Northwave Celcius boots, added neoprene overshoes, purchased merino wool socks.

Still got cold.

I suffered through the past two winters, some days this combination wouldn’t even permit a couple of hours in the garage on the trainer.

Purchased 45Nrth Wolvhammers and can do 8+ hours out on the trails in single figures and freezing temps.

Its the best money I’ve ever spent on cycling (and that includes the plastic Tallboy)

Thanks – it was the Miracle!

There was a thread a couple of weeks back with a link to a carbon fattie made in China, but not the Light Bicycle one. Can anybody remember it and repost please?

I hope the Tallboy is the right choice for the SDW…. I’m using mine to do a double double over one of the May bank holidays.