Walking

Ooh, ta. I'll have a look. Can usually manage around 4okm in a day, weather and pub stops permitting.

That sounds like an interesting challenge, though Southwark is pretty big, so that might take a while. Mainly a bit flat, though, so I'm not sure how long the interest levels will stay high.

You're welcome 👍

I get that, just throwing in the outlier option.

Got my 30 day rolling average up to 750k steps and somehow not got a blister, assuming it's the heat, very annoying

This is great info. We've been doing the North Downs Way in sections and have just finished the Surrey stretch. Realised the more we get into Kent were probably going to have to stay over because of how long the trains take (I'm originally from Sheppey and I can get to Leeds quicker than there from London!)

The main difference between trail and walking shoes,I think will be that trail shoes have lugs on the sole for traction and lower weight.
Trail can also have high stacked midsole ( relatively new thing) for extra cushioning.
The lugs can be different in length, pattern and generally the best soles are Vibram rubber.
Some trail shoes have very specific uses ( fells , mountains,very sticky mud,) and some are designed/used for Ultra distances.

Anyone got any good routes doable in a day? Happy to travel to and from start and end points. Maybe up for overnight stays on a good end-to-end route too.

The Essex Way is a belter, easily walkable in stages although you might need to walk a few miles at the end of a couple of legs to get back to a train station.

https://www.tripreporter.co.uk/walking-the-essex-way/

Nice one. Will check that out.

https://www.vanguardway.org.uk/

I've done that one. Well, most of it. Had to stop halfway through the section seven as my daughter's shoes were killing her and we'd had enough of the at-times impassable mud. Will finish it off later in the year. It's a cracking walk, though. But if I were doing it again, I'd want to do it when there hasn't been a lot of recent rain because some sections are literally a mudbath through brambles.

That sounds like an interesting challenge, though Southwark is pretty big, so that might take a while.

Definitely a long term project.

Mainly a bit flat, though, so I'm not sure how long the interest levels will stay high.

You'd be surprised! So much to discover, and you really get to know your surroundings in a way that walking from A to B doesn't let you.

How do you go about planning and recording this?

I have been doing a vaguely similar thing around walthamstow and leyton, but kind of randomly rather than systematically. I just head off and look for streets I've not been down.

Use CityStrides (https://citystrides.com/) to record. Pulls data from Strava or one of the others, so you need to record your walks on there (I keep my walks private).

But I walk about in largely the same way. Just off in a direction. Eventually I ended up having to hunt down specific roads, but that was a bit of an entertaining enough task on its own. Gives your walk a bit of a goal.

In about 2 and half years I've managed to complete Islington and the City. Over 50% of Camden and Hackney as well. Got bits of other boroughs I've picked up on longer walks.

I'll be the first to admit it's fucking nerdy.

Thanks - I'll check it out.

What's a shank in a shoe? I've heard of approach shoes. I think bikepacking were talking about them as a decent alternative for touring shoes and/oe maybe fiveten made some.

I ended up grabbing my old Brooks running shoes and using them this weekend. No grip but it was mostly flat stuff anyway. They're at least 20 years old and the sole came off so some shoe goo is needed before next weekend. Less drama compared to my FiveTens but we didn't walk as far so not quite an accurate comparison.

I’ve walked some fair distances in my stability trail runners (Asics Gel Trabuco). This year we did the coast of IOW ~ 80 miles in four days and only had the big toe blister beginning to form but didn’t go full blown. My walking boots weigh a ton and tbh unless I think there’s a chance I’m going to roll an ankle, I keep coming back to the weight saving of trainers.
Also I get terrible heat rash with walking boots.

It’s a metal or sometimes thick plastic stiffener in the sole, I think they only run 3/4 the way along the sole from the back. I guessing trainers don’t have one or they are not as stiff as you can bend them right over.

Not read this but it looks like they are important to footwear
https://sneakerspeculation.com/2020/01/02/importance-of-shank-plates/

I used my approach shoes on my Brompton flat pedals because they were stiff, ride in proper shoes Time spd/Look all other times so wanted a stiff shoe to pedal not a trainer.

Good link. So it's basically a stiffener/support to stop the midfoot collapsing in raised midfoot shoes. I've also heard of rock plates which I assume are kind of similar plate to stop sharp stuff impacting the bottom of the foot. I'm just tile bagging on foot at the moment so doing 10-20k walks on mostly footpaths, roads and bridleways. But if I'm off the bike for longer I'll probably be looking towards some proper hiking to stop myself going insane.

I've got Shimano and FiveTen for flat pedals.

You won't even be able to use that shoe for riding a 100-mile TT now.

That's a Half Ironman shoe. Geddit, half, oh I crack me up. Try the fish.

This looks great
https://lakelandway.uk/lakeland-way-ultra/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEjHUtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHa7Ex0VOGPdZ2Kq4DGsKfgr3FNNeWEy-LXasBfGu2Ynxv1-3k2Ka7aF-jQ_aem_wm7eWeOhsa12H6G9Ps1QMA

Houston we have a problem.

So, I'd say the functional lifespan of the glue in Brooks shoes is somewhere less than 20 years... :D

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Let's face it, you're just too fast.