figbat
Slippery scientist
- Location
- South Oxfordshire, UK
In June last year three friends and I completed the King Alfred’s Way and thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided to find a new route for this year and settled on the North Downs Way. Six of us signed up for it but one had to withdraw when they qualified for the Hyrox World Championships on the same weekend we were planning.
Logistically it was more difficult than last year - where the KAW is a loop (that happens to pass by our village), the NDW needed us to transport ourselves and bikes to a starting place. We had decided we’d ride from Dover to our village in South Oxfordshire so booked 2 vans on a one-way hire basis and three hotels along the route.
I also faced a personal challenge. In December I prolapsed a disc and was off my feet for a while; 6 weeks off work and 3 months off the bike. Just when I should have been ramping up distance and fitness I was laid up losing fitness and gaining weight. I faced the real possibility that I would not be ready for the ride. The stats looked daunting. I knew I could do the distance as it is slightly shorter than the KAW but day 2 included 5,700 ft of climbing, more than I had ever done in a day. To say I was worried would be an understatement.
Eventually plans came together, hotels were booked, vans were booked and from April I was hitting the local trails as hard as I could (under guidance from a physiotherapist). I was still carrying more weight than I’d like but the legs and lungs started recovering and I believed I was going to be OK (although day 2 still daunted me).
Further challenge came a few days before departure as I made a final training ride. Using a bridlepath that was heavily overgrown, the derailleur became clogged with grass, seized, rotated about the cassette, snagging a spoke on the way and tearing itself out of the mech hanger. A phone call home yielded a support car to come and get me and then lay the task of getting the bike fixed in time for the impending ride. Luckily I had a spare derailleur on hand and a new hanger came quickly, so it was soon back up and running.
Then departure day came - Thursday morning, 06:30 loading bikes into vans and making the 3.5 hr journey to Dover. The weather gods were clearly happy as it was bright, dry and mild.
On arrival in Dover we dropped the vans quickly and gathered ourselves for «le grand depart». One thing we don’t have in South Oxfordshire is gulls and one of our party naively left his backpack on the floor with the top open. Next thing I know another of our group is running across the car park shouting “OI!!”. The gull was not to be deterred though and was last seen fighting for altitude with a large banana in its beak. Once we’d stopped laughing we had a picture taken by a passer by and then we’re off - riding home.
Of course one thing about Dover is that it’s at sea level, and the North Downs Way are not. First order of the day was a steep road climb out of Dover, past the castle. At the castle car park a school group were assembled ready, I assume, for a visit. As we huffed and puffed past they gave us a round of applause like we’d topped the Col du Tourmalet. It put us in good spirits!
Shortly after this we headed offroad and joined the start of the North Downs Way proper, making our way out of Dover and across the south Kent countryside. Riding was good, the weather was perfect and the scenes were lovely. In the pretty village of Patrixbourne, with oast houses and cottages and a gently rippling ford we came across a guy walking along the road playing a piccolo - it couldn't have been more quintessentially English country village!
Having never been there, Canterbury was a nice looking place as we cycled right through the centre of it all, perhaps worth a return visit one day. Lunch was taken at The White Horse in Chilham; sat in the glorious sunshine eating wholesome sandwiches washed down by a couple of pints of beer it was easy to forget what lay ahead.
Later that day I had an unfortunate clipless moment at a stop and went crashing down on my right side - no damage done to bike or rider, other than a few bruises and a sore ego. We rolled into Thurnham in the late afternoon in good spirits and ready for a rest and some food. The Black Horse Inn provided both, being a fantastic pub with a lot of history, plus a decent number of rooms in a separate collection of chalet-type buildings. Day 1 done, but day 2 was next...
46 miles, 3,386 ft, 6:39 elapsed time.
Day 2 dawned much like day 1 - clear blue skies with the promise of another dry day. The breakfast at the pub was fantastic and set us up for The Big One. Day 2, the day I had been fearing since first seeing the route. And it didn't disappoint.
I struggle to recall many details from the day, other than it seemed to be a never-ending, relentless series of climbs followed by descents. As we transited Kent and then entered the Surrey it was just climb after climb. Each on their own was generally manageable but with day 1 already in our legs, each climb took more out of us. That said, we got our heads down and winched up almost all of them - a couple of times we were off and pushing due to the impossible slope.
We were aiming for lunch at the Cock Inn in Ide Hill but had underestimated how long it would take to get there. In the end we arrived 10 minutes before they stopped serving food, which was very welcome although given the amount of carbs I had been downing along the route I was not really that hungry. A cold pint of OJ and lemonade hit the spot though. From here we had around 20 miles left but we'd broken the back of the climbing.
A bit later in the day I heard something tinkling in my rear wheel spokes and stopped to investigate - I discovered a broken spoke, broken at the hub end and still retained by the nipple. I taped it securely out of the way and carried on - the wheel remained true so I prayed the rest would hold.
We finally rolled into our hotel in Reigate after nearly 10 hours. The hotel was a bit of something and nothing but it was such a relief to get there. The hotel were preparing for a wedding the next day and had no food or drinking options, so we took a taxi into Reigate and enjoyed an Asian meal at The Banana Tree. In truth we sat a bit like shell-shocked zombies and inhaled our food. Day 2 was done.
51 miles, 5,676 ft, 9:56 elapsed time
Day 3 was something of a recovery ride - less than 40 miles and only 2,800 ft of climbing. First things first though, another glorious start to the day both in terms of the weather but also breakfast taken at the Junction 8 kiosk at Reigate Hill. It was surprisingly busy at just after 8am with walkers, cyclists and an outdoor fitness class happening nearby.
With breakfast rolls consumed we're on our way again. And just like on days 1 and 2, day 3 starts with an immediate climb. Then we had a ride around (but not over) Box Hill which set the scene for another day of rolling hills but far less extreme than yesterday. Well, that is until we reach a climb called "Land rover". We had spotted this during planning - it shows up as a 35% climb in the woods beyond Dorking. When we arrive at the turn for this climb we are, at first, uncertain there's even a trail to follow. We decide 'in for a penny, in for a pound', dismount and push through the undergrowth. There is a path but it's seriously overgrown, clearly not heavily used and we discover why. It is very steep, very narrow and the going is difficult. We come across a downed tree which requires us to lift our laden bikes over it but by now we're committed so push on (literally). The undergrowth does abate but the slope doesn't and it's a real workout on the calves. Part way up, buried in the undergrowth we discover what appears to be a completely stripped vehicle chassis - the assumption is that it must have been a Land Rover, hence the name of the track. How it got there we can't fathom! As with all climbs though, it does eventually level out and we remount.
Today sees some tempers getting frayed, undoubtedly through fatigue, and frustration about a couple of wrong turns. Shortly after a little tiff one of the group is still stewing on it as we tackle a tricky descent. It's a narrow gully with a washed-out surface covered in loose rocks, and pretty steep. I go first and make it to the bottom where I stop and wait for everyone else. They are a long time arriving though and when they do appear the guy who was in a bit of a huff has clearly had an off. They are still cycling but there are signs of ground contact. We stop and clean him up - it appears to be nothing more than scratches and contusions and he's lucid. He admits that he wasn't concentrating. After a break for us all to recover and rest we continue.
Later in the day we are taking a short break by a river - I need to move my bike to allow some people past and as I drag the bike sideways the rear wheel catches the ground and I hear a 'ping'. There goes another spoke. Once again this is taped up and the wheel still remains true but I'm now getting worried that the whole thing could unravel so call ahead to a bike shop in Farnham, about 15 miles away and our target destination. They say they probably have the spokes but don't have any workshop time available. I decide to go there anyway to at least pick up some spokes and try to sort it out myself (luckily the hub uses straight-pull spokes meaning they can be changed easily). We finish the day's ride at the Premier Inn where I unload all the luggage and ride to Hoops cycles. The workshop technician comes out to measure the spokes and then decides (to my effusive gratefulness) he can squeeze the job in. 45 minutes later the spokes are done, wheel trued and tubeless tyre reseated and sealed. Many thanks to Hoops Farnham for allowing me to finish the ride.
The evening is spent firstly consuming some great steaks at Heaven's Kitchen and then pub crawling around Farnham. Nothing too mad though and we're back in our rooms by midnight.
39 miles, 2,825 ft, 6:56 elapsed time
Day 4 is going home day. We have now finished the North Downs way and the route home from Farnham is essentially following the King Alfred's Way, but backwards. Two of us are using cycling computers to guide the way - one a Garmin and mine a Wahoo. We had disagreed a few times over which way to go and the Wahoo had almost always been right. Today, not long into the ride we had another disagreement on direction but decided to follow my Wahoo. What we were expecting to do is retrace the KAW route that some of us had ridden the previous year but for some reason the Waho had recalculated the route and we ended up taking a different way. This involved riding across military training zones followed by a long stretch riding alongside the Basingstoke canal. These were fast and easy miles although not the most interesting. Eventually the route rejoined the KAW and those of us who'd done it before were back on familiar ground.
If I'm honest, today felt like just 'going home'. There was not much to be excited about in terms of the route as it included the biggest amount of roads, albeit quiet, back lanes, and the traverse of Reading. We encountered a couple of groups doing the King Alfred's Way and had brief chats with them - there is something of a camaraderie between people who are doing or have done the same rides. Lunch today was a perfunctory stop in a small precinct in Caversham to down a sausage roll and prepare for the final miles before home. This meant riding alongside the Thames and using a stretch I am very familiar with as it forms part of my commute home when I ride to work. It includes the infamous Hartley Steps which are pretty much unrideable when going east (as per KAW) but going west they are a thrilling drop-in and mark the start of a lovely stretch of singletrack through the woods, with the river to your left.
After crossing the river at Goring and Streatley all that's left is the long climb up the Ridgeway onto trails that we all know very well as we're now within sniffing distance of home. At 16:30 we roll up to our local pub and the ride is done.
56 miles, 2,336 ft, 6:49 elapsed time
I have to admit that I was quite proud of myself for doing this ride. Having had the back injury and faced the prospect of not going at all, and having nearly 3 months of riding time wiped out, I was in two minds about going and held the idea of bailing out along the route as a possibility. However, with the support of my mates, the help of my physio and the application of something some might call "training", I made it. Six months earlier I had been flat on my back barely able to walk across a room and here I was, at the end of a tough but enjoyable challenge. We had all survived intact, there wasn't a single puncture between us with my spokes being the only mechanical issue. A couple of tumbles (and a few teddies thrown out of prams) along the way but nothing ride-stopping and we finished in good spirits and remain mates. We've already started mulling ideas for next year, and one possibility is colossal!
192 miles, 14,223 ft, 30:20 elapsed time.
Logistically it was more difficult than last year - where the KAW is a loop (that happens to pass by our village), the NDW needed us to transport ourselves and bikes to a starting place. We had decided we’d ride from Dover to our village in South Oxfordshire so booked 2 vans on a one-way hire basis and three hotels along the route.
I also faced a personal challenge. In December I prolapsed a disc and was off my feet for a while; 6 weeks off work and 3 months off the bike. Just when I should have been ramping up distance and fitness I was laid up losing fitness and gaining weight. I faced the real possibility that I would not be ready for the ride. The stats looked daunting. I knew I could do the distance as it is slightly shorter than the KAW but day 2 included 5,700 ft of climbing, more than I had ever done in a day. To say I was worried would be an understatement.
Eventually plans came together, hotels were booked, vans were booked and from April I was hitting the local trails as hard as I could (under guidance from a physiotherapist). I was still carrying more weight than I’d like but the legs and lungs started recovering and I believed I was going to be OK (although day 2 still daunted me).
Further challenge came a few days before departure as I made a final training ride. Using a bridlepath that was heavily overgrown, the derailleur became clogged with grass, seized, rotated about the cassette, snagging a spoke on the way and tearing itself out of the mech hanger. A phone call home yielded a support car to come and get me and then lay the task of getting the bike fixed in time for the impending ride. Luckily I had a spare derailleur on hand and a new hanger came quickly, so it was soon back up and running.
Then departure day came - Thursday morning, 06:30 loading bikes into vans and making the 3.5 hr journey to Dover. The weather gods were clearly happy as it was bright, dry and mild.
On arrival in Dover we dropped the vans quickly and gathered ourselves for «le grand depart». One thing we don’t have in South Oxfordshire is gulls and one of our party naively left his backpack on the floor with the top open. Next thing I know another of our group is running across the car park shouting “OI!!”. The gull was not to be deterred though and was last seen fighting for altitude with a large banana in its beak. Once we’d stopped laughing we had a picture taken by a passer by and then we’re off - riding home.
Of course one thing about Dover is that it’s at sea level, and the North Downs Way are not. First order of the day was a steep road climb out of Dover, past the castle. At the castle car park a school group were assembled ready, I assume, for a visit. As we huffed and puffed past they gave us a round of applause like we’d topped the Col du Tourmalet. It put us in good spirits!
Shortly after this we headed offroad and joined the start of the North Downs Way proper, making our way out of Dover and across the south Kent countryside. Riding was good, the weather was perfect and the scenes were lovely. In the pretty village of Patrixbourne, with oast houses and cottages and a gently rippling ford we came across a guy walking along the road playing a piccolo - it couldn't have been more quintessentially English country village!
Having never been there, Canterbury was a nice looking place as we cycled right through the centre of it all, perhaps worth a return visit one day. Lunch was taken at The White Horse in Chilham; sat in the glorious sunshine eating wholesome sandwiches washed down by a couple of pints of beer it was easy to forget what lay ahead.
Later that day I had an unfortunate clipless moment at a stop and went crashing down on my right side - no damage done to bike or rider, other than a few bruises and a sore ego. We rolled into Thurnham in the late afternoon in good spirits and ready for a rest and some food. The Black Horse Inn provided both, being a fantastic pub with a lot of history, plus a decent number of rooms in a separate collection of chalet-type buildings. Day 1 done, but day 2 was next...
46 miles, 3,386 ft, 6:39 elapsed time.
Day 2 dawned much like day 1 - clear blue skies with the promise of another dry day. The breakfast at the pub was fantastic and set us up for The Big One. Day 2, the day I had been fearing since first seeing the route. And it didn't disappoint.
I struggle to recall many details from the day, other than it seemed to be a never-ending, relentless series of climbs followed by descents. As we transited Kent and then entered the Surrey it was just climb after climb. Each on their own was generally manageable but with day 1 already in our legs, each climb took more out of us. That said, we got our heads down and winched up almost all of them - a couple of times we were off and pushing due to the impossible slope.
We were aiming for lunch at the Cock Inn in Ide Hill but had underestimated how long it would take to get there. In the end we arrived 10 minutes before they stopped serving food, which was very welcome although given the amount of carbs I had been downing along the route I was not really that hungry. A cold pint of OJ and lemonade hit the spot though. From here we had around 20 miles left but we'd broken the back of the climbing.
A bit later in the day I heard something tinkling in my rear wheel spokes and stopped to investigate - I discovered a broken spoke, broken at the hub end and still retained by the nipple. I taped it securely out of the way and carried on - the wheel remained true so I prayed the rest would hold.
We finally rolled into our hotel in Reigate after nearly 10 hours. The hotel was a bit of something and nothing but it was such a relief to get there. The hotel were preparing for a wedding the next day and had no food or drinking options, so we took a taxi into Reigate and enjoyed an Asian meal at The Banana Tree. In truth we sat a bit like shell-shocked zombies and inhaled our food. Day 2 was done.
51 miles, 5,676 ft, 9:56 elapsed time
Day 3 was something of a recovery ride - less than 40 miles and only 2,800 ft of climbing. First things first though, another glorious start to the day both in terms of the weather but also breakfast taken at the Junction 8 kiosk at Reigate Hill. It was surprisingly busy at just after 8am with walkers, cyclists and an outdoor fitness class happening nearby.
With breakfast rolls consumed we're on our way again. And just like on days 1 and 2, day 3 starts with an immediate climb. Then we had a ride around (but not over) Box Hill which set the scene for another day of rolling hills but far less extreme than yesterday. Well, that is until we reach a climb called "Land rover". We had spotted this during planning - it shows up as a 35% climb in the woods beyond Dorking. When we arrive at the turn for this climb we are, at first, uncertain there's even a trail to follow. We decide 'in for a penny, in for a pound', dismount and push through the undergrowth. There is a path but it's seriously overgrown, clearly not heavily used and we discover why. It is very steep, very narrow and the going is difficult. We come across a downed tree which requires us to lift our laden bikes over it but by now we're committed so push on (literally). The undergrowth does abate but the slope doesn't and it's a real workout on the calves. Part way up, buried in the undergrowth we discover what appears to be a completely stripped vehicle chassis - the assumption is that it must have been a Land Rover, hence the name of the track. How it got there we can't fathom! As with all climbs though, it does eventually level out and we remount.
Today sees some tempers getting frayed, undoubtedly through fatigue, and frustration about a couple of wrong turns. Shortly after a little tiff one of the group is still stewing on it as we tackle a tricky descent. It's a narrow gully with a washed-out surface covered in loose rocks, and pretty steep. I go first and make it to the bottom where I stop and wait for everyone else. They are a long time arriving though and when they do appear the guy who was in a bit of a huff has clearly had an off. They are still cycling but there are signs of ground contact. We stop and clean him up - it appears to be nothing more than scratches and contusions and he's lucid. He admits that he wasn't concentrating. After a break for us all to recover and rest we continue.
Later in the day we are taking a short break by a river - I need to move my bike to allow some people past and as I drag the bike sideways the rear wheel catches the ground and I hear a 'ping'. There goes another spoke. Once again this is taped up and the wheel still remains true but I'm now getting worried that the whole thing could unravel so call ahead to a bike shop in Farnham, about 15 miles away and our target destination. They say they probably have the spokes but don't have any workshop time available. I decide to go there anyway to at least pick up some spokes and try to sort it out myself (luckily the hub uses straight-pull spokes meaning they can be changed easily). We finish the day's ride at the Premier Inn where I unload all the luggage and ride to Hoops cycles. The workshop technician comes out to measure the spokes and then decides (to my effusive gratefulness) he can squeeze the job in. 45 minutes later the spokes are done, wheel trued and tubeless tyre reseated and sealed. Many thanks to Hoops Farnham for allowing me to finish the ride.
The evening is spent firstly consuming some great steaks at Heaven's Kitchen and then pub crawling around Farnham. Nothing too mad though and we're back in our rooms by midnight.
39 miles, 2,825 ft, 6:56 elapsed time
Day 4 is going home day. We have now finished the North Downs way and the route home from Farnham is essentially following the King Alfred's Way, but backwards. Two of us are using cycling computers to guide the way - one a Garmin and mine a Wahoo. We had disagreed a few times over which way to go and the Wahoo had almost always been right. Today, not long into the ride we had another disagreement on direction but decided to follow my Wahoo. What we were expecting to do is retrace the KAW route that some of us had ridden the previous year but for some reason the Waho had recalculated the route and we ended up taking a different way. This involved riding across military training zones followed by a long stretch riding alongside the Basingstoke canal. These were fast and easy miles although not the most interesting. Eventually the route rejoined the KAW and those of us who'd done it before were back on familiar ground.
If I'm honest, today felt like just 'going home'. There was not much to be excited about in terms of the route as it included the biggest amount of roads, albeit quiet, back lanes, and the traverse of Reading. We encountered a couple of groups doing the King Alfred's Way and had brief chats with them - there is something of a camaraderie between people who are doing or have done the same rides. Lunch today was a perfunctory stop in a small precinct in Caversham to down a sausage roll and prepare for the final miles before home. This meant riding alongside the Thames and using a stretch I am very familiar with as it forms part of my commute home when I ride to work. It includes the infamous Hartley Steps which are pretty much unrideable when going east (as per KAW) but going west they are a thrilling drop-in and mark the start of a lovely stretch of singletrack through the woods, with the river to your left.
After crossing the river at Goring and Streatley all that's left is the long climb up the Ridgeway onto trails that we all know very well as we're now within sniffing distance of home. At 16:30 we roll up to our local pub and the ride is done.
56 miles, 2,336 ft, 6:49 elapsed time
I have to admit that I was quite proud of myself for doing this ride. Having had the back injury and faced the prospect of not going at all, and having nearly 3 months of riding time wiped out, I was in two minds about going and held the idea of bailing out along the route as a possibility. However, with the support of my mates, the help of my physio and the application of something some might call "training", I made it. Six months earlier I had been flat on my back barely able to walk across a room and here I was, at the end of a tough but enjoyable challenge. We had all survived intact, there wasn't a single puncture between us with my spokes being the only mechanical issue. A couple of tumbles (and a few teddies thrown out of prams) along the way but nothing ride-stopping and we finished in good spirits and remain mates. We've already started mulling ideas for next year, and one possibility is colossal!
192 miles, 14,223 ft, 30:20 elapsed time.
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