Old-school touring; London to Plymouth on a single speed

Sorry if this is a bit self indulgent and tl:dr, but hopefully you'll find it interesting. Failing that, perhaps you'll enjoy the idea of me finding 70 miles a day hard work.

For a few years I’ve wanted to go to the British Fireworks Championships in Plymouth. Last summer as I got back into cycling I thought it might make for a fun ride for this year. Instead I arranged to go this year as a short holiday with my then girlfriend. A couple of weeks ago we broke up, so I was left with holiday booked off at work, train tickets to Plymouth and back purchased, but no one to go with. It was time to go back to plan A.

Despite the short notice I managed to get the important stuff sorted. My cheap front wheel had snapped a spoke on the dun run, for the fourth time in year. A quick call to some nice northern chap at Spa Cycles soon had a new wheel built up with an N72 dynohub and proper touring rims. Some brinkmanship on my part got me a smartphone to use as a navigation device, arriving the day I left. A couple of jerseys and shorts packed into one pannier, and tools in the other and I was ready to go at 1200 on Saturday 13th.

I’d decided to stay in YHAs along the way. From a practical perspective they had some obvious benefits – very cheap, geared towards solo travellers and with good bike storage. They also appealed because my first independent foreign holiday at age 18 had involved a lot of cheap hostels, so they hold a nostalgic appeal, and I know that being around fellow lone wanderers gives you plenty of people receptive to chatting nonsense all evening after a long day on the road.

The date of the fireworks, on Tuesday 16th gave me 4 days to get to Plymouth, giving me about 70 miles a day, were it equally split. Of course the locations of YHAs forced me to a more uneven schedule. The route I ended up with was;

• Day 1, Sidcup to Hindhead, via Croydon, Epsom and Guilford
  
• Day 2, Hindhead to Salisbury, via Winchester
  
• Day 3 Salisbury to Beer, via Yeovil and Axminster
  

• Day 4, Beer to Plymouth via Exeter and Dartmoor

  When I put these routes into bikehike to try and finesse them, day 3 left me rather scared; 75 miles and almost 6000 ft of ascent. This wasn’t obviously a good idea on a 72” loaded tourer, given that I’m a few stone overweight, and am still recovering from a rather nasty accident last winter. I put this to the back of my mind, and figured I could probably just tough it out regardless, especially given 12 hours to cover the distance.

So off I set, gradually going from my daily commute into Bromley, to slightly less familiar territory in the depths of suburban southwest London. By the time I stopped for lunch in Leather head I was in high spirits having made good time. I stopped again a few miles down the road in Guilford to buy supplies for supper, and on leaving came up against a hill I recognised from the last time I was in this part of the world with DJ et al. The Mount, a 400 ft climb in half a mile. It was time to start pushing. When I got to the top, I realised cyclestreets, for that had been my navigation app of choice, was directing me down a bridleway. At first this wasn’t too much of a problem, and my 25mm Marathon Pluses handled the occasional rocks and dirt without too much trouble. However, a few miles down the road, I came across the other thing I remember from that last ride in Surrey.

This hadn’t been easy going on 2.35 knobblies. On the bike I had today, it was a 2 mile push. Turning back might have seemed the more sensible option, but unfortunately from where I was it was a huge back-track to avoid having to ride the A3. Eventually the surface changed; into gravel.

This was actually rideable in parts albeit slowly. Whilst I was only a couple of miles from the hostel at this point, it was about 19h30 and I was starting to lose the light, something I hadn’t really prepared for, so you can Imagine I was pretty damn glad to finally find the hostel, hidden away at the bottom of the Devil’s punchbowl. At the moment I arrived, I met another rider, coming from the opposite direction on an even less suitable bike – a carbon racer on 23s, so at least I wasn’t the only imbecile. Rather knackered, I was now faced with cooking dinner, and being woken at 05h00 by my roommate who was marshalling the Olympic test ride the following morning.

No sooner had I left the hostel on the morning of day two, after a breakfast of flapjacks, than I realised that the previous day’s route had been… suboptimal. Here was the scary A3 I’d pushed my bike through sand to avoid.

Hindhead, of course, that’s where they built a big fuckoff tunnel to route the A3 through. The old A3 had now become a minor road, leading only to Hinhead YHA and used by almost no one. A few miles down the road and cyclestreets had routed me onto another bridleway. Clearly having failed to learn my lesson, I carried on regardless. This time there wasn’t sand. Instead there was mud. I soon learnt that mudguards are a dramatic misnomer. Rather than guarding against the mud, they just get gummed up with it. Before long I was no longer able to push my bike, but instead had to carry it. The elderly woman walking her dog looked rather bemused, as I informed her I might have brought the wrong equipment for the route.

Once I was out of the woods, and had remove my wheels to clean the mud out, I was badly behind schedule. The following 20 miles proceeded to be hillier, and more navigationally challenging than I’d have liked. Before long it was noon, and I was still 20 miles from Winchester, my lunchtime target. It was time to divert to the big roads. I rode the remaining distance along the A31, which gradually transformed from a busy single carriageway road, to a busy three lane dual carriageway – ie a motorway in all but name. Eventually I made it to Winchester, already rather more tired than I ought to have been. I decided that the best thing to recover my strength would be a long, big lunch with a couple of pints.

This was a mistake. Having taken about 2 hours over lunch, and figuring that 3 hours would be long enough to cover the remaining 25 miles to Salisbury, I set off at around 15h30. Straight out of the city, and with pork pie and chicken uneasily digesting in my belly, I was faced with another significant climb. Within 3 miles it became clear I’d made a major error I stopped at a nearby picnic spot, and all but fell asleep on the table. By the time I’d recovered it was almost five. A check of my route revealed that the 22 miles I had left to cover didn’t get any less hilly. It was time to divert to the main roads again.

This time however, I wasn’t just faced with lorries charging past me at 70. I was also increasingly mentally and physically exhausted. Although I’d done rides this long before, I’d never done them on consecutive days, and they’d mostly been fairly flat. I was variously overtaken by some women on tourers carrying camping gear, and a local drunk on a mountain bike. I finally arrived in Salisbury YHA at about 19h30, only to find all the other residents to be groups of foreign tourists visiting Stonehenge, who had no interest in talking to me. Supper, beer and bed followed in quick succession.

The following day it was clear that another 70 mile ride, and an even hillier one at that, was out of the question. I diverted to Salisbury cathedral, and did the tour of the tower.

Well worthwhile by the way. We were led around by a chap who had previously been responsible for making sure it didn’t fall down, so knew lots of delicious trivia. The train cut the ride to beer from 75 miles to 10, although it did still feature a 20% push. Beer YHA was much more friendly, the staff even made suggestions for beer pairings for supper, and I got a whole quid off for arriving by bike

As I started on day four, the idea of riding over Dartmoor had already been discounted. I replanned a route which would enable me to bail out by train if required, and so it was. Getting to Exeter was easy enough, but after lunch there I was once again pushing up a hill. This time it was about a mile at 15%

By Newton Abbot at 17h00 it was clear that discretion was the better part of valour, and I got the train again. My arrival in Plymouth wasn’t quite as triumphant as I’d hoped, but I’d still managed 200ish miles and 10,000ft or so of ascent, on 72”, whilst weighing 18 stone. I won’t bore you with the details of the fireworks except to say that if you’re a pyro like me it’s bloody excellent, and that the best viewing position is on Madeira Road, near as you can to the inner breakwater.

So what have we learnt from this trip, and what can you learn from my mistakes. First and foremost, singlespeeds aren’t touring bikes, even if they have mudguards and racks and a B17. If I’d been riding geared I’d have had a much more pleasant time, since I wouldn’t have had to push (much) and more importantly because I could have stuck to the smaller roads, which I had to avoid due to their perpetual undulation. The other major lesson is, that you shouldn’t plan touring distances on what you think you just about ought to manage as I did. Touring isn’t supposed to be an endurance exercise, and furthermore if you misjudge what you’re capable of you’ll end up unhappy, and on a train.

More minor lessons would include “don’t eat too much before riding”, “check you can wash clothes where you’re staying” and “check what type of surface / climb your route planner is sending you down”. If you’re thinking about touring though, don’t let my silliness put you off. I won’t. I’m already planning my geared tourer build, and looking at where to go next year.

plymouth fireworks are fun. been there every year since i was about 3. good times

You're riding with 72"?? jesus, that's a lots on a loaded touring bicycle!

kudos for making it though, but I guarantee you, you'd find it easier if your gear inches is smaller than 72".

thanks for sharing your trip! it's always easier to see how you should've done it or which way you should've gone in hindsight... but one person's toil is another's knowledge,(or research). Nice call on visiting Salisbury cathdedral too! I think being able to change your plans to adapt to the situation at hand is the most useful trait ever. Touring is awesome, but it's true, if you try to do too much/too hard, it's no fun.

I'm gonna look into going to those fireworks next year!

Good work, Tom. I admire your dedication to using beer as an energy drink! And a two hour lunch whilst touring is utterly heroic!

I think a two hour lunch whilst touring is about right. Your choice of gear, though heroic , was wrong

A great ride none the less.

The longer you been off the bike, the more awkward it is to get started again, at least that what it's like to me.

^I agree. I seize up if I sit for too long, and I struggle to stomach a proper meal while riding. I work better grazing - cereal bars, small sandwiches, cake, etc... The most I'll do is a tea stop - half an hour at most.
I do love a 72" gear though. High for touring with a lot of kit, but brilliant for mile eating on lighter excursions.

Well done Tom. A very good read of what seems like a thoroughly memorable trip. I reckon next year on a "proper tourer" and with the extra experience under your belt, will make for an even better trip.

72"/hills/mud/gravel/panniers = chappeau

Good write-up, splendid stuff.

Thanks for sharing. :-D

Respect, did London to Brighton fixed on 66" and failed to top Ditchling Beacon, but everything else was easily manageable and enjoyable. Think often the problem is that we take to much kit, and the wrong kit. If you got that right and the gearing a little less courageous, it could have been even more enjoyable. I know of a guy who does stuff like London Edinburgh London single speed....inspiring or just bonkers, can't decide. When I ride geared bikes I'm often going up and down between just two or three cogs, on a fixed I settle to the knowledge that that is not available and get on with it. I was struck by the fact that when I'm asked, "Why fixed?" I am at a loss to aid in their understanding. It was like when Louis Armstrong was asked, "Mr. Armsrtrong, what is Jazz?" "Lady, if you ask the question, you're not going to understand the answer".

nice work, the best place for single speed touring is belgium, did a couple of hundred miles there with a mate last october and it was great, carrying a tent in yer messenger bag isn't fun though :$