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Unfortuantely there's no way out of Eastbourne without a horrible long climb which I wasn't at all in the mood for.
Given Eastbourne is so shit, I'm kind of surprised how hard it is to get out of it.
Or maybe not.
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Photos look great i was running on the downs for a couple of hours yesterday and the weather was perfect
Howard
Retro_Bastard
@ad441
Coincidentally I rode the whole SDW over the weekend, wearing some tasteful #gravelspecific shorts. Was good. Mostly. As many people have suggested it's much more comfortable on a hardtail. But I don't have a working hardtail so did it on an overloaded gravel bike instead, taking enough food for the whole ride in order not to have to go off route. I've failed twice previously - many years ago when it rained non-stop and after crashing numerous times on slippery chalk decided it was wise to abandon. Then I tried again shortly after and broke my seatclamp and abandoned.
This time conditions were more or less perfect - the ground's rock hard which is a bit more painful, but easier than thick mud. Weather was as good as could be hoped for - slight headwind (which is unusual for West>East), but dry and sunny without being too warm.
Had a tedious Friday of angry chidcare, in the middle of which my rear tyre exploded off the rim covering my hallway in all my remaining sealant and buckling the wheel in the process (requiring a last minute rush to Balfes to buy more sealant). WIth this sort of resolved I woke up early Saturday and got a train to Winchester which arrived at 8.30. First 50km or so seemed really easy and I contemplated trying to do the whole thing in one go. Then it ceased being easy and realised this would be awful. Plus I wanted to get over my fear of solo bivvying. Having grown up near the South Downs I find the scenery less exciting than Wales, Scotland, etc. But having not got beyond Kent much in the last year it was a big improvement. After a long day of opening gates (I never want to see another gate again) I camped somewere above Fulking having done about 100km and was very glad of having a warm sleeping bag as soon as the sun went down.
With only 50km-ish to go on Sunday I assumed I was in for an easy day, but I struggled with fatigue for the first few hours. My dad intercepted me at Firle Beacon and bought me a double espresso which instantly solved everything (I reluctantly turned down his offer to lend me his e-mtb for the rest of the ride). Made it to Eastbourne by lunchtime, had some slightly disappointing fish and chips, then decided to cycle back to my parents in Lewes to have a shower and get the train from there. Unfortuantely there's no way out of Eastbourne without a horrible long climb which I wasn't at all in the mood for. Then took one of my favourite 'gravel' tracks, the Firle old coach road. However it was really busy with Sunday walkers which made it less fun. Or possibly I was just tired.
Anyway this is a terrible write up. To summarise - I did just short of 200km over the weekend, I had almost no mechanical issues - one rear puncture that looked like it wouldn't seal, but then did. Then nearly ripped valve core out putting more air in, but managed not to. Also my front thru-axle worked loose a couple of times which could have been disastrous. But wasn't.
I'm pretty tired today but surprised I don't feel worse considering.
I can't imagine how awful it is to do the whole thing in bad weather or doing there and back. I'd be tempted to try and do the whole thing in one go, but with a light hardtail and with minimal bagagge..
Anyway, I haven't made an overlong video but did take some photos.
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