London to Devon ride

Ouch 316 miles!
in a normal weekend?

YouTube - Harden Up Australia Chopper Read Ronnie Johns

well the plan is to go absolutely bear minimum. allen keys, inner tubes, cycling stuff (wash and wear in B&Bs), toothbrush and camera.

there will be a bunch of other people driving down on the saturday (we will leave thursday) and they can bring a bag of stuff. including clean clothes after some serious sweating...

on the SPD thing. Anyone know who stocks large size SPD shoes (I am 12.5 and want to try them on first)

excited, but scared

• yep, I was going to say that but figured it sounded slightly soft. ***A reward pack is ace; favourite chocolate bar/chilled can of your preferred booze/a kiss from a beautiful lady/man (delete as appropriate) and a brand new pair of socks.
  
  

You'll feel like a million bucks.***

Thats soft!

Ok, scrub that. Have a bowl of HTFU gravel for tea, a bed of a blanket on a stone floor and the charred remains of your return train tickets waiting for you?

Bump, sounds like you've got everything in order. Full steam ahead.

B*llocks, I neglected to drop in a wink after that cheeky remark Shins. Sorry. You're first on the recruitment list for the little ride I've got planned...

Duh, just been out riding thinking about your trip Bump, and we've all totally forgotten advice about riding efficiently in a group.

If you take turns on the front, learn to draft, use hand signals as well as shouting whats going on when you're leading, you can get up a good load of momentum and blast along. Head out to Richmond Park for a few laps and concentrate on keeping a steady pace and communicating. Hope this helps also

• Specialized shoes go up to 48 I think (12.5+?), and are reliable, good value, easy to come by etc.
  

Thanks for all the tips. Now I just have to get fit...

Duh, just been out riding thinking about your trip Bump, and we've all totally forgotten advice about riding efficiently in a group.

If you take turns on the front, learn to draft, use hand signals as well as shouting whats going on when you're leading, you can get up a good load of momentum and blast along. Head out to Richmond Park for a few laps and concentrate on keeping a steady pace and communicating. Hope this helps also

• Specialized shoes go up to 48 I think (12.5+?), and are reliable, good value, easy to come by etc.
  
  

+1 to getting used to riding in pairs. We got this going on about mile 16 outta london.

Doing shifts every so often really gets the pace up/rest time.

And its not a race, so be prepared to slow down to bring the pack together. Understanding each others capabilities is key.

Well done boys! Had the pleasure of riding in Exeter to Winkleigh over xmas and have to say those hills werent much fun on a 70 gearing and a headwind.

what was your route... i guess it musta been in the 30miler mark?

People would have to be willing to take time off work to do such a race, but I'd be up for it.

I'd be in, sounds wicked !

The Great Race 09 will happen - London to Exeter, some time in May/June.

I'm in.

A couple of days ago I went out for a 2h ride. Exeter, Moretonhampstead, Drewsteignton, Cheriton Bishop and back to Exeter on the old A30.

It is seriously hilly where ever you go in Devon. It took 1h to ride the first 11 miles. Less than 0.5 mile of it was flat.

Still a beautiful place to ride on or off road.

http://www.dartmoorclassic.co.uk/

I was thinking about riding to Ashburton in Dartmoor for a mate's birthday. It's 332k from Ealing which is a bit far for the day so I might train part way.

I'd be using it as training and probably use the TT bike. Any opinions on routes? How bumpy are the A roads down there?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Winchester&daddr=Ashburton,+Devon&hl=en&sll=51.013755,-1.994019&sspn=2.13921,5.817261&geocode=FTscCwMdQgLs_yljdPmNUgV0SDGh7ahmXYakZw%3BFTzPAgMdHcLG_ylL-tx4DQJtSDEMmNrtuTsD_Q&oq=winchester&t=p&dirflg=ht&doflg=ptk&mra=ls&z=9

I wouldn't ride down the A303, it's bumpy, and lots of single file traffic, driving fast as fuck, and nowhere for you to ride.