340 mile trip... help needed please

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bazzaffc

New Member
im doing a 340 mile cycle ride at the end of october. ive got a decent bike and the training is going well. there are a couple of problems i need help with.
A. how do i plot the route. we're using road bikes so canals and the like are out of the question. it'll probably be "A" roads as much as possible. ive looked on Sustrans website which doesnt do that long a trip. (the trip is west london to carlisle). should i plot seperate routes, one for each of the 4 days. the daily mileage will hopefully be 100, 100, 80,60. where would i find help in doing this?

B. what are the best supplements to take, drinks, bars etc.

by the way i am a complete novice for this sort of distance. only really a social cyclist.

thanks for taking time to read this.
 

blazed

220lb+
bazzaffc said:
im doing a 340 mile cycle ride at the end of october. ive got a decent bike and the training is going well. there are a couple of problems i need help with.
A. how do i plot the route. we're using road bikes so canals and the like are out of the question. it'll probably be "A" roads as much as possible. ive looked on Sustrans website which doesnt do that long a trip. (the trip is west london to carlisle). should i plot seperate routes, one for each of the 4 days. the daily mileage will hopefully be 100, 100, 80,60. where would i find help in doing this?

B. what are the best supplements to take, drinks, bars etc.

by the way i am a complete novice for this sort of distance. only really a social cyclist.

thanks for taking time to read this.

A garmin edge 605 and then get the UK & Ireland map on the SD card will be all you need for directions.
 

blazed

220lb+
£249.99 in Halfords by the way, i literally just bought one two hours ago. You have to get the maps elsewhere though, handtec.co.uk is a good website for that.
 

roadjunkie

New Member
Location
Chester
Will this be a supported trip or are you carrying all your gear and staying in youth hostels? Just thinking for supplements etc, id be looking for a good mix of wholesome 'real' food - sandwiches, banana cake etc, then maybe some carb powder drinks e.g. by SIS. Could also carry some energy gels - can get all your supplements from LBS or Tesco etc..
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Personally, I wouldn't use A roads, I'd stick to B's and C's. I'd do what I do for any tour - get the OS landranger maps for the area you need (there'll be a few, you might be able to borrow from the library), and work a route out on that - I expect you can then plot it on a satnav type thing (I don't have one, I prefer paper). You might be able to plot a route through the OS website, but the small panels they show make it hard to see the bigger picture.
In fact, a motoring road atlas will give you a better overall picture, and you can work down from that. It's not so hard - know what general direction you need to go each day, and look for the roads that take you that way.
 

Garz

Squat Member
Location
Down
If your lucky to have a modern mobile handset with gps then look into getting that functioning as a sat-nav instead of investing in a dedicated unit. One of the main reasons I upgraded the phone myself lately was its capable of doing this, doubles up on journeys as a call if in trouble and a route finder (Also saves space)!
 

Sam Kennedy

New Member
Location
Newcastle
+1 for bikehike.co.uk
 

simon_brooke

New Member
Location
Auchencairn
roadjunkie said:
Will this be a supported trip or are you carrying all your gear and staying in youth hostels? Just thinking for supplements etc, id be looking for a good mix of wholesome 'real' food - sandwiches, banana cake etc, then maybe some carb powder drinks e.g. by SIS. Could also carry some energy gels - can get all your supplements from LBS or Tesco etc..

A drink mix which replenishes your blood salts is important, otherwise you risk cramp. I've used both 'Go' and 'PowerBar' brands, and both work for me. The flavour isn't wonderful, but you get used to it. Apart from that, you want slow burn carbohydrates - cereal bars to carry with you on the bike, pasta or similar in the evenings, porridge or similar in the mornings. Gels really work in emergency but they are VILE, and the sudden energy hit is quite short lived so unless you get something like a cereal bar down as well you're soon going to feel worse.

Garz said:
If your lucky to have a modern mobile handset with gps then look into getting that functioning as a sat-nav instead of investing in a dedicated unit. One of the main reasons I upgraded the phone myself lately was its capable of doing this, doubles up on journeys as a call if in trouble and a route finder (Also saves space)!

Don't rely on an electronic solution, batteries do die. I made this mistake on a long ride this summer. Electroincs are great but a paper backup is important.
 

jay clock

Massive member
Location
Hampshire UK
You need to do lots of training. Just regular rides getting longer bit by bit. Do at least one 100 mile ride and at least two days of back to back rides of about 50 miles.

Agreed, avoid the A roads. Having said that in some places the old A road has been by passed by a motorway, and the old road is then a very wide 2 laner with little traffic. But that is rare.

I use a package called Tracklogs which is essentially a modern take on "highlighter pen on the 1:50k OS map". You can then print custom maps for the whole trip.
 

RedBike

New Member
Location
Beside the road
I like Bike hike the best bit it seems to throw a wobbler now and then on extremely long routes. Try Bike route toaster if you're only going via road.

I would be very carefull just using 'A' roads. It's very easy to end up on roads that are less than desirable such as duel caridgeways, or just simply narrow and fast.

I would look at stringing together a few of the sustrans routes where-ever possible. You'll probably add on several extra miles but at least the rotue will be enjoyable.
For example I know the Pennine cycleway goes from staffordshire all the way to south Scotland and is pretty traffic free.
 

Amanda P

Legendary Member
A roads may be quick, but you won't enjoy using them.

For route finding, I'd back up the earlier suggestions. Borrow or buy OS 1:50,000 maps (pink covers) to choose the detailed route.

Then buy a road atlas from a pound shop or publishers' clearance place. Mark your route on with a highlighter pen. Then take the book apart and throw away the pages you don't need. On the road, put the sheet you're using in the mapcase on your handlebar bag, or put it in a ziploc bag and stick in in your jersey pocket.

If you're a real hardcore weight-watcher, you can throw away each page when you've cycled off it.

This will cost you about £2 (£1 if you already own, or can borrow, a highlighter pen. £0 if you already own an old road atlas).

You won't need to spend hours surfing the net, you don't need any gadgets, and you won't need to change the batteries. If you get lost, you'll be able to find your way back onto the route. If you decide to change your route while you're out on the, road, you can easily look at the maps to see how to do it. You will be able to point at the map when asking directions, and the person giving you directions may be able to point at things on the map too.

On the other hand, if you're a gadget freak, this suggestion has the distinct disadvantage, that it doesn't require you to buy any gadgets.
 
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