Anyone done this? I'm bikepacking it in couple of weeks with my adult son and daughter and a couple of mates. So 5 of us on a mix of mountain and gravel bikes. We are doing it over a (hopefully) leisurely 4 days, so we can do a bit of swimming, cafe stops, the odd pint and a bit of an explore.
Any tips from those who've done it would be welcome! 🙂
never heard of it, but looks like/sounds like a great route, lovely part of the world
I'd never heard of it either, my daughter suggested it. We had the time set aside and were originally looking at Traws Eyri, but for various reasons, group preference and logistical we settled on this one. Hoping for dry weather, reports are mostly good unless it's wet, when it can apparently be a bit of a quagmire in places.
I did this last year and it was brilliant. One of my favourite rides ever in the South East.
The only downside, and a fairly major one, was a part called "Nettle Alley". The route creators seem to have included this as a kind of "rite-of-passage", but in last year's heavily wet and overgrown conditions it was absolutely miserable. And easily avoided too.
Thanks! We'll keep an eye out for that and maybe divert. Or at least don some long pants and sleeves.
Some local knowledge, including a nettle alley diversion:
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/bike-forum/new-forest-conditions/
Thanks, I hadn't seen that thread. Some really useful info 👍
So, our trip went ahead finishing yesterday. Just me and the 'kids' (37 & 35), in the end. 2 gravel bikes and 1 mtb. It was awesome. My first proper bikepacking trip. It was tough at times, my fledgling gravel bike skills were very much tested in places.
I occasionally wished I'd brought a mountain bike when hurtling down a steep rocky chute on an overloaded bike fighting for grip on flint and chalk. At other times though, the Camino was the perfect tool for the job. On balance I think a gravel bike was the best choice for me.
Not a part of the country I know and we were all blown away by the scenery, especially in the Purbecks but also Cranbourne Chase and the New Forest. Nettle alley wasn't as bad as advertised. We had thunderstorms, torrential rain and blazing sun.
2 punctures and a broken front mech (daughters Temple). Too many ticks (on all of us). Lots of lessons learned about kit and packing for future trips.
Perfect father's day long weekend spent with my kids. I'm still buzzing from it and thinking about the next one.
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Looks great! Planning to do this same route later in the summer and have been slightly dreading how overgrown some bits might be.
Has your daughter got 650b wheels on the Temple? I have 700's on mine at the moment with semi-slicks as a sort of road bike but tempted by some chunkier 650's for some gravel duties. I wasn't sure about clearance as it doesn't seem to sell with 650's at all or list anything "official".
Has your daughter got 650b wheels on the Temple?
700c with Panaracer Gravel Kings. I'm not sure, but from memory I don't think there's a lot of clearance for 650bs. Both she and my son on Maxxis Minions had punctures. I thought I'd got away with it but just giving my bike some post trip TLC and noticed a piece of flint in the front tyre, surrounded by a bit of dried sealant. Stan's saved the day!
My son's puncture was also flint induced. I'd say fairly chunky tyres would be a good idea. My Goodyear connectors were also pretty rubbish for grip, but not helped by being pumped up a lot higher than normal because of the extra weight.
Perfect weather for the Isle of Purbeck. Easy to fall in love with it in those conditions.
Has your daughter got 650b wheels on the Temple?
700c with Panaracer Gravel Kings. I'm not sure, but from memory I don't think there's a lot of clearance for 650bs.
I did wonder that from looking at the shape of the chainstays, there's not really any extra clearance in the right place but I think perhaps the tanwalls make the wheel/tyre diameter look smaller and the tyres wider as a result!
