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Six of us rode the SDW this weekend over two days .... and absolutely loved it.
As a group we have ridden a lot of trail centres around the UK on numerous occasions so fancied a change for a weekend away .... and i must say the slight sense of adventure and point 2 point nature of the ride was refreshing !!
What other point to point routes can you recommend ? Ideally no more than 1/2 nights as carrying kit becomes an issue and ideally doable on a train from London.
Thanks
The Sandstone Way in Northumberland (120 miles), train station close (< 1Km) at either end.
Trans Cambrian ITT (100 miles), again train station at either end.
Edit: should say that since these are both some distance from the wilderness of London that you might consider travelling up on the Friday night.
Head up Thetford way and do the Peddars way double? It's only 50 miles each way and flat. Can also pop to High lodge for the trail centre of you fancy. There's a campsite right on the Peddars Way at Thorpe Forest.
The Ridgeway or possible the Ridgeway double. Not far from London and would probably make a decent 2 day ride.
A couple of 1 day trips for you to consider...
1/ Start at London Bridge station, ride east to Cutty Sark, then follow sustrans routes and quiet roads to Brighton (get train back) .
https://www.strava.com/activities/194766135
2/ A bit shorter and much flatter. Train to Luton Airport, then ride back to London via sustrans routes
https://www.strava.com/activities/344629229
These may seem tame, compared to SDW, but are great fun and doable by less able riders
Out of interest, where did you stop over in the SDW ride? presuming you went from Winchester to BTN?
I've done the Ridgeway all the way to Lyme Regis, it's a nice route but not in the same way the SDW is. I took 3 days on the CXer and carried all my gear with me but stayed in two very nice Farm House BnBs. Rode back from Lyme to Axminster then caught the train back on the last day.
It's worth the ride, lovely route.
Yes Winchester to Eastbourne ...
We stayed in the YHA at Truleigh hill... about 60miles into the 100 mile route.
Would recommend it but definitely book dinner in advance, Some poor guys turned up at 8pm to be told no more dinner and there is nothing else around it !
http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/truleigh-hill
What next?
Nothing.
You've won MTB.
Some poor guys turned up at 8pm to be told no more dinner and there is nothing else around it !
What about pudding?
how about a trip around/across the Isle of Wight?
From truleigh to the dyke is about 2 miles ish, which brings you to a pub.
Yes, thats exactly where i was planning to stop. DId it balance the distance/hills/tiredness well across both days?
I think you're always within 3-4 miles of a boozer on the sdw!
Steyning is at the bottom of the hill and there's a few eateries/pubs there.
140km loop which is the Shipwrights Way from Bentley nr Farnham to QECP - SDW to Winchester and Oxdrove / Bridleways / Basingstoke Canal/lanes back to start is a nice day ride ideal for a CX bike. Shipwrights Way isn't yet signposted from Borden to Liss so you need to work-out a route.
From Guildford you can ride the Downslink to the coast or pick up the SDW in either direction - I combined this with the above to Winchester to create a 225km loop.
I'm training for a SDW double so will be riding to Eastbourne and back this weekend!
Further away, Braunton 150 is a recently established loop around Exmoor.
Also check out the Bearbones forum.
If you're all in the south, how about a hope over the channel? Peds with a bike ferry ticket is pennies.
140km loop which is the Shipwrights Way from Bentley nr Farnham to QECP - SDW to Winchester and Oxdrove / Bridleways / Basingstoke Canal/lanes back to start is a nice day ride ideal for a CX bike. Shipwrights Way isn't yet signposted from Borden to Liss so you need to work-out a route.From Guildford you can ride the Downslink to the coast or pick up the SDW in either direction - I combined this with the above to Winchester to create a 225km loop.
They sound like pretty good routes there, do you have any GPX's for them you'd be willing to share?
NDW from Woldingham (near East Croydon) > St Marthas Hill nr Guildford > Downslink > Shoreham-by-Sea > SDW to Eastbourne. Either direction would be good, best hills around Eastbourne end, close by Friston Forest and Lullington Heath is worth exploring too.
I would say the mileage split either side felt about right, nice to get to the hostel knowing the next day would be slightly shorter (Plus getting the train home etc) Day one climbs are shorter and sharper. Day two climbs are bigger and longer.. but less of them !!
Day 1 Got a bit lost at one point so prob an extra 8km & 125m https://www.strava.com/activities/598367243
Day 2 https://www.strava.com/activities/599362545
notmyrealname sent you an email - enjoy!
Fantastic, thanks for the routes 🙂