King Alfred's Way Resources by Rough Ride Guide - A great way of presenting all the useful accommodation, shops and food options available overlaid onto the route. This will be a great planning tool when it comes to organising my accommodation for the ride. In short a brilliant resource collated by the folks at Rough Ride Guide definitely worth looking at their website as well which is also full of useful information not just about this particular route..
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Ok, so the goal is in place, we just need a plan to execute it successfully:
The route mapping is very easy as Cycling UK provide a free downloadable route guide and a GPX file as well. I have always normally taken physical OS maps on my adventures from the front door, but this would prove to be impracticable for the number that i would have to carry to cover the 350 km's of the route. So is it really using a GPS application on my phone or a more dedicated solution? Research will be required on this one.
Kit overview well that is just a matter of going through what I have and what I need to add to carry the larger amount of clothing and supplies I intend to be carrying on the route. Accommodation, I think that will come down to how fit I am prior to organizing the dates for the ride, as currently I really don't have much cycle fitness. So the goal for 2023 is to do the King Alfred's Way a 350km off-road cycling route in three to four days. I'll be using my Cube Sting short travel full suspension bike as the King Alfred's Way includes a varied mix of terrain and road surfaces to contend with. It includes the Ridge Way and parts of the South Downs Way, as well as the closer to home Clarendon Way. Previous experience has shown that a gravel bike would be an option, but due to the nature of the often rutted flinty trails comfort will what I am looking for on the long days in the saddle which the Cube Sting will ably provide.
As I'll be doing this an extended bike tour, I'll need to source some additional luggage for food and supplies for the duration of the ride. I normally ride with a small rucsac which normally covers this duty, but will be forgoing on this trip due to the need for addition clothing etc. (Obviously this is in Southern England so apart from the parts that traverse the Salisbury Plain and the Ridge Way, I won't be too far from civilization.) In fact due to the limited options for bike-packing in England I'll be using hotel or pub accommodation for the trip. I also plan to cycle from my front door, so will be looking to cycle south down the Test Way and hit the King Alfred's Way as it traverses the Clarendon Way at Houghton. Cycling over the last couple of years has really taken a back seat in regards my attention. This has been a combination of work and other activities taking precedence. In 2022 we concentrated on walking fitness, as we undertook the Naomi House Clarendon Way Walk for a very worthy local charity. The Clarendon Way is a walk between the two cathedral cities of Winchester and Salisbury and is reported to be 24 miles in length, our GPS on the day showed closer to 27 miles. It provided to be a great physical challenge, which we got us out everyday on the run up to and after the event. So no real focus on bicycling apart from using the bike to shop locally on.
So plans for 2023 are to repeat the Clarendon Way in the opposite direction walking Salisbury to Winchester. On top of that will the something else which I intend to do from the door, but will require a little more organisation..... |
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January 2023
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