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As the title says really, up for anything. 50+ miles ideally. Multi-day epics are a possibility. Gravel or mtb but minimal road content.
Hit me with choices!
AFter just getting back from a weekend in the Basque region of Spain, my interest in doing the Camino has been reignited - purely for the cheap wine and amazing Pinxos!
Check out the racing collectives crossduro series
thanks for the recommendations, I've joined the strava racing collective. Looks interesting 🙂
Lots in the highlands. Stuff I know is mainly what would now be called "gravel" examples are Contin to Ullapool - almost all off-road, all pretty easy bar one climb its about 55 miles. Bein a ghlo circuit is 35 miles and very nice with a remote feel and again mainly easy riding.
I have done other routes in similar style. Got my eye on a route Kinloch rannoch / laggan / dalwhinnie / glen Garry which is a 70 odd miloe circuit - a bit of road onthat and a bit of a9 cyclepath. Plenty of routes around that area
Transcambrian, did over 3 days, but would be good to do over 2.
Welsh Coast 2 Coast (various route options. Did Caernarfon to Cardiff bay, but would probably choose to start at Conwy next time and spend more time traversing Snowdonia at the beginning).
Re the route suggested by tjagain from Kinloch Rannoch. I did it on a gravel bike a couple of months ago, starting from Laggan, clockwise. Well worth doing. I made it 77.5 miles, but that did include a detour to the cafe at Corrour Station.
Peddars Way, 50 miles each way, can do both in a day. Interest levels are improved by having a close look at the map and researching the prehistoric/historic features along the way and stopping to have a look.
South Downs Way.
Did the Devon coast to coast earlier this year. About 100 miles. Loved it. To be fair about 30% is on (mostly very quiet) roads though.
These are not personal recommendations, but here is a list of off road routes that might take your fancy
www.selfsupporteduk.net
I've done The STW and trancambrian way, both with add ons over a few days so I could turn them into bikepacking trips, both highly recommended. I will be doing the same with some of the other routes.
I have loved bikepacking the trans cambrian way and the traverse de massif Voseges this summer. Very different but both superb off road multi day adventures
The Sandstone Way in the North-East is a relatively new 120 mile route and looks interesting. It's on our list to do, but got bumped by a long mixed-surface route this summer, but it's definitely on the shortlist for 2019!
Would be interested to hear from anyone who has ridden this.
The Sandstone Way in the North-East is a relatively new 120 mile route and looks interesting. It’s on our list to do, but got bumped by a long mixed-surface route this summer, but it’s definitely on the shortlist for 2019!
Would be interested to hear from anyone who has ridden this.
I've done it a dozen or so times with groups..... what would you like to know!! Its a classic old-school MTB touring route with a mixture of surfaces, some great views and country hospitality. It does have some significant tarmac sections though. Ask away!
We did the Sandstone Way a couple of years ago - pretty much what @smashit says.
For gravel type riding have a look at the Wild About Argyll Trail, it was set up to be gravel friendly. There's lots of loops in it so you can cut bits out should you so desire. We did about half of it in one long day and two shorter (but still significant) days.
The outer loop of the Cairngorms Loop is borderline gravel/MTB. There's a few versions about, one is in the Vertebrate guide - Scotland, The Wild Trails. There's a circuit of Ben Wyvis that I've not done but seen reports on - virtually all off-road.
I’ve done it a dozen or so times with groups….. what would you like to know!! Its a classic old-school MTB touring route with a mixture of surfaces, some great views and country hospitality. It does have some significant tarmac sections though. Ask away!
Thanks!
Do you think it would be better suited to gravel bikes than MTBs, given the tarmac sections which ain't no fun on knobbly tyres? How many days have you ridden it over? Is it one that can be knocked out in a couple of hard days?
bike packing.com is a brilliant source of routes and ideas
Do you think it would be better suited to gravel bikes than MTBs, given the tarmac sections which ain’t no fun on knobbly tyres? How many days have you ridden it over? Is it one that can be knocked out in a couple of hard days?
I've done 2 long days (2x90km ish), but mostly 3 solid days. One day is for masochists on cross bikes. You can chop a few bits out if you need to.
Light 29er is ideal. While not gnarly the off road is pretty bumpy and hard work on a rigid bike! Depends if you are carrying gear too or using a luggage transfer. In my opinion you want proper offroad tyres.
+1 Sandstone Way
alternatively, Lhasa-Kathmandu...
+1 Sandstone Way
alternatively, Lhasa-Kathmandu…
That escalated quickly!
My wife and I did the Sandstone Way over a bank holiday weekend - parked up at Berwick station, train to Hexham then a short afternoon/evening to bivy. Full day on the Sunday to another bivy then a long morning back to Berwick. Just about 48hrs for the round trip. http://bobwightman.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-sandstone-way.html
We weren't rushing - we had two sit down meals for example - plus we'd no map for the first half as it hadn't arrived in time and the signage S-N is/was subtle at best.
I suppose it also depends on what you consider long days as to what's suitable for you.
I did a route a year or so ago, more or less self-made. Trans-Lancs. Started in Rochdale, up onto Rooley Moor Road and then it used bits of Mary Townley Loop, Trans Pennine Trail various bridleways and another old drove road (Salter Fell) to take me right acorss the county of Lancashire. Finished at Arnside on the shore of Morecambe Bay, just in Cumbria. The latter third used a lot of roads actually, I did the ride on my CX bike., it would have been really annoying to do that on an MTB.
For me it was just a way of doing a nice all-day ride with something a bit different - Lancashire changing from the mill towns and industry of the southern end up through the livestock farming in the middle and to the more touristy bits up by the coast. Really enjoyable.
I've got a similar route in mind across the Lake District starting down in Barrow and finishing at Gretna Green to go right across Cumbria. I like ways of adding a "story" to the ride.
Markus Stitz has some great routes (incl Wild About Argyll) and Capital Trail
Grande Traversees in France?
Full version of this https://www.la-gtmc.com/ is 1380km, but shorter sections would be good. Right through the Massif Centrale