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Epilogue

Posted by Glen at 11:02pm on 01.05.09 | 1 comment

So we made it, 360 miles. Overall the trip was excellent, and while it was very amateur at times there were no major disasters (except Greg losing all the important documents about where we were staying and return travel arrangements). The enthusiastic few who arranged to join us couldn’t make it – Andy’s knee is on the fritz and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time to meet Ben (though this probably saved us the embarrassment of being both slow and lost in the presence of someone who is an expert in being fast and not lost). Thanks go to Colly for being on the end of the phone to sort shit out when needed and to Greg’s mate Gilly for meeting us for a couple of drinks in the West End (and we really needed it that night).

Plans for future trips are hatching so there’ll be more opportunities for an en-masse ride. In fact why not join Erskine Design at the 50 mile Great Notts bike ride?

We built this site because that’s what we do and because we thought someone else might learn something from our trip – this is basically it.

1. Pace. Find a pace early on that all riders can achieve for a long period and stick to it. On a ninety mile ride you’ll achieve sweet FA by going as fast as possible for the first 30 – you can recover easily from being out of breath but once your muscles are overworked they won’t really get any better. You are only as fast as your last man.

1.1 Train. I knew that having not cycled much for a while (read) it would be tough but I should have been in better cycling condition, if I was then the trip would have been better for the both of us.

2. Travel light (I found my bike was a bit too bulky and heavy to be fun to ride) but don’t sacrifice the stuff you need to save weight. Greg used the smallest lightest sleeping bag he could find but he froze his ass off and had to change it on day 2.

3. Practice unpacking, pitching your tent and repacking again. By the second or third time we packed we were like a well oiled machine but early on we were ridiculous, and it was annoying.

4. Hunger is very depressing. Take as much food as you can carry and never miss an opportunity to eat.

5. If you are not a seasoned camper make it easy for yourself and take a stove and the basic utensils required to cook.

6. If you have to keep stopping to look at maps and work out where you are it will really add time to your trip. Plan routes carefully before you leave… and don’t leave them behind by accident.

7. A rest day to clean your bike, eat, attend to cuts and bruises (Greg fell in a ditch, I kept catching my legs on my chainring and pedals, we looked like we had been mauled at one point) and just rest your legs will do you every bit of good. Our schedule was quite relentless, it would have been nice to have a rest day.

8. Whoever said “a dodgy workman blames his tools” was a twat. Good quality, reliable, clever, lightweight equipment will make your journey easier and more enjoyable especially if the weather is inclement. Get your equipment on recommendation from someone who has used it, learn to use it properly and get the best you can afford.

That’s about it really. I think we’d both like to do something similar again in the not too distant future and we’ll likely put another open invite here, so watch this space.

Thanks to everyone that sent emails I’m about to send a thanks reply now, it’s nice to hear other people are enthusiastic about something you are doing but I suppose cycling is a bit like that.

Also, if you are planning something similar or perhaps charitable let us know via the email address and we’ll try to make mention of it here.

Cheers – and thanks for reading.

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