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Someone on Twitter told me about this thing, so it's on my todo list. In fact I've literally just now been planning a ride out to it. Unfortunately it's ~70k of mostly road to get to the start and probably even more to get back which seems like a lot of road riding for a 140k trail.
What sleep kit did you take?
What gear were you running on that bike? EDIT: 66"
Rode the Ridgeway last weekend. Started on Friday Evening from North London and got to the start at Ivinghoe, then rode until Wendover and slept near the Boer War Monument. Then rode almost all the way to Avebury on Saturday, "enjoying" the brutal headwinds after Goring (where the trail really sits on a high and exposed ridge). Then I realised it was still too early to camp and I wasn't fancying waiting around for hours, so I started on the plan for the next day's riding, heading South East towards Old Winchester Hill on the South Downs. There was still a few off-road sections but it was mostly tarmac (and with a tailwind!), including one super nice super long descent through Hampshire along the river Swift. 10+ miles of tailwind, downhill tarmac in the end of afternoon sun was just what I needed! I slept in a small wood tucked between two fields near Whitchurch.
The following day is less interesting; I started riding back towards London, but a combination of badly needing a poo and a sore knee enticed me to getting the train from Overton. I sat on the empty train clutching my bottle of hand sanitizer, then walked through the surreal empty Waterloo Station, and rode home through empty London.