* Interesting ancient Iron Age trade/economic route along chalk ridge with villages nestled between the hills, some off the route proper if want to extend trip or do accomodation, roman and iron age remains along route, one roman villa is down a long descent which means coming back up to rejoin route, I havent had the courage to visit it yet! It is a popular hiking route but only walking is allowed on a short section along the sea at the Eastbourne end, the cycling route diverts more inland there to protect the chalky cliffs from man made erosion.
* Typically people go from Winchester to Eastbourne direction due to common Westerly winds, I have done this route twice from Eastbourne to Winchester direction (I was attempting to compare my new equipment), first time I was lucky with the wind direction but this time I was fighting against the wind a lot of the time.
* It is a great route to test the limits of your equipment and strength/endurance, long enough to be multi-day but not too long at 100 miles if run into issues, train station at half way mark too. Plenty of water stops and signposts mean you wont be in trouble if hit problems with wide variety of terrain types (apart from sand) and climbing to test endurance/bike weight. I have seen GCN and others on YouTube do this in 1 day on normal gravel bikes so I guess if you are not carrying too much it helps with your overall speed.
* Flint and chalk sections probably most technical, Flint and large water erosion in the chalk make for a bumpy ride when going downhill at speed. Flint obviously poses puncture risk, I had no issue with my thick skinned tubeless tyres, my previous lightweight tubless tyres had a big thorn puncture that only revealed itself when it was pulled out of the tyre by a surprised bike shop worker at the end of the ride!
* Like the first time, I did this again in 3.5 days, very leisurely when you look at the average speed and total amount of time riding but the Eastbourne end is pretty tough with hill climbing on a fully laden bike and I am not used to that, however I had planned to do it in 2 days. Bike was lighter than the previous trip and I was covering greater distance in the time and doing less bike-a-hike up steep sections, however I was cutting my trip shorter each day, arriving at the same camp site spots as before much earlier due to saddle sore (pain rather than infected skin).
* Ride disrupting sore bottom came from relying on only the wider tyres on what can be a pretty bumby ride, my previous (later stolen) bike had Redshift seatpost and stem, although I dont think lacking the suspension stem this time was an issue here), a brief stop to allow wrists to recover from long braking bumpy sections was sufficient there. I also previously had a Brooks Cambium saddle which has much more give in its hammock design than the lightweight 3D printed saddle I took this time round. I might try again with the Brooks instead of 3D printed saddle. I was wearing Endura Pro SL padded bibs, I like them as I struggle with numbness if the padding is too thick for long periods of time. Route is probably at limit of full rigid bike but plenty have done this on drop bar gravel bikes but for me I probably need more suspension for more comfort/less fatigue.
* Camp sites were all along the route, literally on the route, I think all were summer season only, first night camp was a typical mix of campervan and tents, but others were tent only.
Night 1 – House Dean campsite [https://www.housedean.co.uk/](https://www.housedean.co.uk/) popular (just off main A road) campsite at a farm, small snack shop and decent shower block.
Night 2 – Foxleigh Barn Campsite in Amberly [https://www.avsshop.co.uk/foxleigh-barn](https://www.avsshop.co.uk/foxleigh-barn) nice large garden campsite run by a couple, nice showers with kitchen facilities, Indian takeway delivery from village also good pub walking distance and another good pub in the village a short cycle ride away.
Night 3 – The Sustainability Centre [https://www.sustainability-centre.org/camping.html](https://www.sustainability-centre.org/camping.html) (advisable to book ahead but I didnt both times I stayed here, clever solar shower and compost toilet), no food options after centre closes, fire pit
Larger more commerical campsites probably all year round are further off route and would add a significant there and back journey time!
* Food I took gas camp stove and dried meals for Breakfast and Dinner for 3 days more for the experience of it than necessity, although the ridge itself is pretty devoid of shops/cafes, they are scattered along the route, farm cafes, caravan cafes, YHAs etc. So keeping myself feeling fuelled/glucosed up wasnt an issue, but the electrolytes in my water and chocolate bars I carried were good for the psychological boosts going up the steep sections..
6 Comments
Looks fun! How was the rigid Silk Road for this route? Most descriptions recommend suspension.
# South Downs Way
https://preview.redd.it/v7d85shrrr3d1.png?width=2161&format=png&auto=webp&s=4a8f76c2883665505bccaadf5f943ef47f3dca57
* Interesting ancient Iron Age trade/economic route along chalk ridge with villages nestled between the hills, some off the route proper if want to extend trip or do accomodation, roman and iron age remains along route, one roman villa is down a long descent which means coming back up to rejoin route, I havent had the courage to visit it yet! It is a popular hiking route but only walking is allowed on a short section along the sea at the Eastbourne end, the cycling route diverts more inland there to protect the chalky cliffs from man made erosion.
* Typically people go from Winchester to Eastbourne direction due to common Westerly winds, I have done this route twice from Eastbourne to Winchester direction (I was attempting to compare my new equipment), first time I was lucky with the wind direction but this time I was fighting against the wind a lot of the time.
* It is a great route to test the limits of your equipment and strength/endurance, long enough to be multi-day but not too long at 100 miles if run into issues, train station at half way mark too. Plenty of water stops and signposts mean you wont be in trouble if hit problems with wide variety of terrain types (apart from sand) and climbing to test endurance/bike weight. I have seen GCN and others on YouTube do this in 1 day on normal gravel bikes so I guess if you are not carrying too much it helps with your overall speed.
* Flint and chalk sections probably most technical, Flint and large water erosion in the chalk make for a bumpy ride when going downhill at speed. Flint obviously poses puncture risk, I had no issue with my thick skinned tubeless tyres, my previous lightweight tubless tyres had a big thorn puncture that only revealed itself when it was pulled out of the tyre by a surprised bike shop worker at the end of the ride!
* Like the first time, I did this again in 3.5 days, very leisurely when you look at the average speed and total amount of time riding but the Eastbourne end is pretty tough with hill climbing on a fully laden bike and I am not used to that, however I had planned to do it in 2 days. Bike was lighter than the previous trip and I was covering greater distance in the time and doing less bike-a-hike up steep sections, however I was cutting my trip shorter each day, arriving at the same camp site spots as before much earlier due to saddle sore (pain rather than infected skin).
* Ride disrupting sore bottom came from relying on only the wider tyres on what can be a pretty bumby ride, my previous (later stolen) bike had Redshift seatpost and stem, although I dont think lacking the suspension stem this time was an issue here), a brief stop to allow wrists to recover from long braking bumpy sections was sufficient there. I also previously had a Brooks Cambium saddle which has much more give in its hammock design than the lightweight 3D printed saddle I took this time round. I might try again with the Brooks instead of 3D printed saddle. I was wearing Endura Pro SL padded bibs, I like them as I struggle with numbness if the padding is too thick for long periods of time. Route is probably at limit of full rigid bike but plenty have done this on drop bar gravel bikes but for me I probably need more suspension for more comfort/less fatigue.
* Camp sites were all along the route, literally on the route, I think all were summer season only, first night camp was a typical mix of campervan and tents, but others were tent only.
Night 1 – House Dean campsite [https://www.housedean.co.uk/](https://www.housedean.co.uk/) popular (just off main A road) campsite at a farm, small snack shop and decent shower block.
Night 2 – Foxleigh Barn Campsite in Amberly [https://www.avsshop.co.uk/foxleigh-barn](https://www.avsshop.co.uk/foxleigh-barn) nice large garden campsite run by a couple, nice showers with kitchen facilities, Indian takeway delivery from village also good pub walking distance and another good pub in the village a short cycle ride away.
Night 3 – The Sustainability Centre [https://www.sustainability-centre.org/camping.html](https://www.sustainability-centre.org/camping.html) (advisable to book ahead but I didnt both times I stayed here, clever solar shower and compost toilet), no food options after centre closes, fire pit
Larger more commerical campsites probably all year round are further off route and would add a significant there and back journey time!
* Food I took gas camp stove and dried meals for Breakfast and Dinner for 3 days more for the experience of it than necessity, although the ridge itself is pretty devoid of shops/cafes, they are scattered along the route, farm cafes, caravan cafes, YHAs etc. So keeping myself feeling fuelled/glucosed up wasnt an issue, but the electrolytes in my water and chocolate bars I carried were good for the psychological boosts going up the steep sections..
**Day One Route**
https://preview.redd.it/17jit26e0s3d1.png?width=3815&format=png&auto=webp&s=a7d3ab076d78ba78d1a9137cad12dc5698bf5085
23.34 mi Distance
6:59:59 Time
3.3 mph Avg Speed
979 m Total Ascent
**Day Two Route**
https://preview.redd.it/p0efesvn0s3d1.png?width=3001&format=png&auto=webp&s=eca91aea9839c7796c96dba1a6e8a4c6d6b0179e
29.85 mi Distance
8:14:32 Time
3.6 mph Avg Speed
1,060 mTotal Ascent
**Day Three Route**
https://preview.redd.it/lzof0y721s3d1.png?width=3005&format=png&auto=webp&s=82965ed5d53b2469bd6b69cc4d3aa117fdb3a50e
30.09 mi Distance
7:24:23 Time
4.1 mph Avg Speed
1,214 m Total Ascent
**Day Four Finish**
https://preview.redd.it/7usdx7kf1s3d1.png?width=3831&format=png&auto=webp&s=4114602f9b8d1ff1febda5fa37280be4182701ce
23.20 mi Distance
4:23:51 Time
5.3 mph Avg Speed
541 m Total Ascent