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Planning some summer riding and I fancy doing a circuit of London in one day - I'm guessing it will be a 200 to 250km day.
Has anyone done this, and would they be willing to share a Garmin file? And was it a good ride?
I have a memory of someone perhaps posting about having done this here before?
Singletrack did an article about this a few years back. It took 2-3 days I think..
Which way around?
Done it five times and am planning to ride it every month this year - on track so far, although I've been pretty slow recently. And you don't have to ride it fixed 😉
Anti-clockwise:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1334900370
Clockwise:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1414362613
It's 225 km from Staines to Staines (or my house to my house). I load the route onto a Garmin 200 for breadcrumb directions, although I don't need them now. Anticlockwise feels easier, but the top is rather built up. The BIG issue is that the crossing is closed from 9-10:30 AM, which has meant some waits when I've arrived later (8 min late on one occasion).
Plan on 9 hours of riding. You'll need to eat plenty - six gels, a malt loaf and an energy bar last week.
There's an off-road route called the smoke ring. I have the book but haven't done it yet
BTW If anyone fancies joining me, just send a PM. It's not a bad day out. Leave Staines at 07:00 to avoid the waiting at Dartford (or 05:00 if you want your afternoon)
Tired, that's some going.
If I download those files, presumably I can edit them to build a route to your route? I'm in east zone 1...
Yes, if loaded as a route on a Garmin, you can join it anywhere. East Zone 1, I'd probably head for Epping and take it from there, Probably go clockwise, but it's not a big deal, just time to arrive at the crossing when they are not closed!
Crossing timings here:
- 3am to 9am
- 10:30am to 2pm
- 3pm to 9pm
- 10:30pm to 2am
I sat in the Dartford reception for an hour trying to stay warn on New Year's Eve. Last week I left later and it's 20 km further around the top, so arrived at Thurock at 11:30 and no wait.
Crossing timings here:
- 3am to 9am
- 10:30am to 2pm
- 3pm to 9pm
- 10:30pm to 2am
Those are quite weird timings! 🙂
So are you asking about the road route?
I can't see the appeal in riding it on road but the off road route I can.
The off road route is just under 320km which I've done twice now.
I can't remember how long the first attempt took me which I did one summer a few years back. My second attempt took less than 21 hours but that was in the depths of winter.
It is the smoke ring but after the first ride I modified the route slightly. Nothing major, just a few tweaks.
There's surprisingly few places en route to get supplies. You have to deviate slightly. The big supply stop, for me at least, is Potters Bar services. There's timings for the boat and to access a park that need to be considered.
Could be good to do as a summer group ride if anyone's up for it?
Then of course the debate would be where best to start. For me that would be about convenience but it's probably the most difficult section to end at.
Raggatip - I would love to do both road and off-road. Just really want some big epic days to look forward to, not that far from home. Loading bikes into the car and driving out of town is such a ballache at times.