Hi all, anyone here done the above? I am doing it this Saturday 10th June with a couple of friends. Started off as something for fun but then decided somebody other than the makers of Savlon and Asso bottom cream should benefit, hence raising money for Demelza House.
Should any of you kind souls wish to donate to this excellent cause, I have a page
http://www.justgiving.com/dominicbarnes
which also has an action piccy of me at Gorrick May Day weekend.
Some of you may remember me from an excellent club ride one Saturday last August when I turned up on a full susser mtb with slicks, bouncing along in the group ably led by the ever-patient Tim. You'll be glad to know I now have one of those road type machines so hope to join you all again soon, and not hold you up quite so much!
South Downs Way in a Day
18 posts
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South Downs Way in a Day
by Dombo » Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:34 pm
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by Alex P » Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:10 pm
Its all up hill and down hill with very little flat in-between - I think about 10,000 to 15,000 feet of climbing in all and 100+ miles. 
My suggestions are start as early as you can in the daylight, take as much food as you can - powerbars etc (unless you have a support vehicle) and a map as I got completely lost around the Queen Elizabeth Park on the A31 and wasted at least an hour when the "South Downs Way" signs dried up.
Don't forget tools! - tubes, puncture kits, tyre patch, chain splitter, spare disk pads - unless they are very new.
Good luck and have a great time - and we want to hear all about it with pictures afterwards.......
My suggestions are start as early as you can in the daylight, take as much food as you can - powerbars etc (unless you have a support vehicle) and a map as I got completely lost around the Queen Elizabeth Park on the A31 and wasted at least an hour when the "South Downs Way" signs dried up.
Don't forget tools! - tubes, puncture kits, tyre patch, chain splitter, spare disk pads - unless they are very new.
Good luck and have a great time - and we want to hear all about it with pictures afterwards.......
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by Dr Frigo » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:33 pm
I think it was Rory who did it a good while back and had posted a great report about it, but some of the old data on this forum has been lost and I cannot find the thread.
Good luck anyhow, sounds like a long day in the saddle.
Ps: why only 2 laps out of 5 at the Gorrick ?
Good luck anyhow, sounds like a long day in the saddle.
Ps: why only 2 laps out of 5 at the Gorrick ?
- Dr Frigo
South Downs Way Completed
by Dombo » Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:21 pm
Well we did it, I and three friends set out on Saturday to ride the length of the South Downs Way, 100 miles of hilly bridleway from Winchester to Eastbourne, over 10,000 vertical feet of climbing, just under 12 hours in the saddle. Iniitally for fun, I decided to raise money for Demelza House:
http://www.demelzahouse.org
http://www.justgiving.com/dominicbarnes
Saturday morning we set off at 4.30 am after a massive breakfast of pasta, tuna, eggs, muesli and banana shakes, into a brisk headwind that was to rise steadily throughout the day.
Breaking the journey into 25 mile chunks helped psychologically and the first milestone was reached in under 3 hours, ending with a white-knuckle 43 mph grass descent of Butser Hill.
This proved to be the high point of the day, the lows (there were many) beginning at the halfway mark food stop when we were passed by a platoon of Gurkhas on a training run. Our pathetic inability to catch them until the trail turned downhill was a harbinger of things to come.
Long savage climbs followed by downhill stretches that were too short and bumpy to recover our strength, or of such gentle slope that we had to keep pedalling into the wind, quickly sapped our strength.
My dreams of effortlessly dancing up the hills like Lance Armstrong faded into the grim reality of plodding like Neil while puffing like Louis.
Food and water stops became more frequent as the heat and wind took their toll and our psychological milestones reduced to 10 mile blocks, a big figure change now being a cause for celebration: 60s slowly became 70s and we knew once we got to 80 then another 10 miles would take us to the final home run stretch.
Lewes was reached around the 75 mile point and the start of several unbelievably steep climbs, eyes screwed tight against the sun's glare off baking hot flinty chalk, the hills shielding us now from the cooling effect of the headwind.
Finally, with two climbs to go Eastbourne hove into view and 90 minutes later we made the final descent into that popular seaside resort, reaching the station at 7:45 pm, over 15 hours after leaving Winchester. Average riding speed, excluding stops, just above 8mph.
http://www.demelzahouse.org
http://www.justgiving.com/dominicbarnes
Saturday morning we set off at 4.30 am after a massive breakfast of pasta, tuna, eggs, muesli and banana shakes, into a brisk headwind that was to rise steadily throughout the day.
Breaking the journey into 25 mile chunks helped psychologically and the first milestone was reached in under 3 hours, ending with a white-knuckle 43 mph grass descent of Butser Hill.
This proved to be the high point of the day, the lows (there were many) beginning at the halfway mark food stop when we were passed by a platoon of Gurkhas on a training run. Our pathetic inability to catch them until the trail turned downhill was a harbinger of things to come.
Long savage climbs followed by downhill stretches that were too short and bumpy to recover our strength, or of such gentle slope that we had to keep pedalling into the wind, quickly sapped our strength.
My dreams of effortlessly dancing up the hills like Lance Armstrong faded into the grim reality of plodding like Neil while puffing like Louis.
Food and water stops became more frequent as the heat and wind took their toll and our psychological milestones reduced to 10 mile blocks, a big figure change now being a cause for celebration: 60s slowly became 70s and we knew once we got to 80 then another 10 miles would take us to the final home run stretch.
Lewes was reached around the 75 mile point and the start of several unbelievably steep climbs, eyes screwed tight against the sun's glare off baking hot flinty chalk, the hills shielding us now from the cooling effect of the headwind.
Finally, with two climbs to go Eastbourne hove into view and 90 minutes later we made the final descent into that popular seaside resort, reaching the station at 7:45 pm, over 15 hours after leaving Winchester. Average riding speed, excluding stops, just above 8mph.
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by Toks » Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:53 pm
[quote]My dreams of effortlessly dancing up the hills like Lance Armstrong faded into the grim reality of plodding like Neil while puffing like Louis.
Excellent account! Damn you must of been sore on sunday morning- Toks
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by Elliot M » Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:38 am
[quote="Toks"][quote]My dreams of effortlessly dancing up the hills like Lance Armstrong faded into the grim reality of plodding like Neil while puffing like Louis.
Excellent account! Damn you must of been sore on sunday morning
Classic line!- Elliot M
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