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I am really tempted to ride from Bletchley to the Henge, giving the ride to Bletchley a miss. Such lovely country to ride, pretty much all the way. If I did this Oliver I could perhaps ask my Mum if we could drop by (near Bletchley) so you/plagiarist/whoever could drink tea, eat, shower, nap whatever, before going to the Henge.
I have a wedding party in Suffolk to be at that day. But I'm considering not going to that. Hard to break it to the Mrs.
hmmmm
That would be fab. Bletchley to Stonehenge looks like a really nice route. Just starting to think about putting a route together. Let us know when you know more!
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any brighton people up for brighton to london then to the stones....? might dust off my geared bike as i hardly use it and makes me feel a bit bad for not riding it enough...
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wow would be good to meet fellow riders near the site and do the last mile 2 miles in a large convoy ( insert airhorn noise here )
i am sure the logistics would be difficult but with these new fangled mobile phone things we might just do it brighton group / london geared group / london fixed group and the bletchley massive
i think it might just work ! -
'ello 'ello. Nice one Dicki. I'm totally up for giving this one a crack again this year, definately one of the highlights in my summer calendar. My somewhat dewy-eyed report from last year is here if you want to get more of a feel from me of what the ride involves..
http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/rolling-to-the-stones-2008-report
I've done this the last three years (made it every time!) and we've met up at Speakers Corner at 8:30 for a 9 o' clock set-off. When you leave at 9 o' clock there is a fairly big challenge element in getting to the stones for the sunrise so unless you're super-confident and feeling on proper strong form I honestly wouldn't recommend joining this group if you're on a fixie. That's not to say it can't be done, Ephraim did it on a single-speed last year but I know for certain he was pretty glad of that freewheel when it came to some of the fairly lengthy downhill parts you come across. Anyway, BMMF aside, I would just recommend leaving a bit earlier if you really fancied doing it on your multi-coloured Hoxton clown bike (slap me on the left side please, the right side is red-raw) just to give your legs a chance to de-cramp if neccesary and to factor in breaks for coffee/punctures etc.
It's a proper goodie though and a wicked experience and looks like there's gonna be a couple of groups going so there should be something for everyone. The traditional route goes something like this - Speakers Corner, Hammersmith, A315 to Chiswick, Kew, Bedfont, then A30 for the most part through Staines, Camberley, Basingstoke, Andover, Amesbury/Durrington and a last dash for a couple of miles on the A303. Hare Hare..
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yes please!!
This ride sounds grand, i quite like the whole idea of riding through the night to get there in time for sunrise.
Im definately keen for this.
Time to start a list of who's in?
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i'm well up for this ride.
would the route be something like this below?i'd like to ride it fixed and if there was a group headed down i'm there, pretty sure it would take a bit longer, few more breaks but a hell of a good trip.
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link to the english heritage soltice site.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.13734
has sunrise as just before 5AM. -
Got to get my thinking cap on about this^! I'd rather ride this journey than all along the A30 all bleeding night.
Sounds like a script for a horror movie. :)
I have friends in Devizes who have said they might assist logistically, e.g. if we wanted to crash after Stonehenge and get back later. They wouldn't be able to put up that many people, though--I have to ask. I think it's about 15-16 miles from Stonehenge to Devizes, although there's no trains from Devizes, grrr, and the A360 isn't the greatest ride, so may not be a particularly helpful option to have. It might be easier to ride back to Salisbury or Andover to catch a train, come to think of it.
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This should prove to be a decent route for you. It's not the easiest way over the Ridgeway but it doesn't divert you excessively and should be fairly easy to navigate at night. Not much in services between Wantage and Pewsey mind.
If you're looking for trains to the north, there is the service from Pewsey that goes straight into Reading or I can take you through Avebury back to Swindon. I'll even serve up some lunch and a lawn to have a nap on. -
Sounds like a script for a horror movie. :)
I have friends in Devizes who have said they might assist logistically, e.g. if we wanted to crash after Stonehenge and get back later. They wouldn't be able to put up that many people, though--I have to ask. I think it's about 15-16 miles from Stonehenge to Devizes, although there's no trains from Devizes, grrr, and the A360 isn't the greatest ride, so may not be a particularly helpful option to have. It might be easier to ride back to Salisbury or Andover to catch a train, come to think of it.
The A360 goes past my Mums house. Its not a bad ride along it to Devises. The main problem is that people drive so god damn fast along it (I should know, I used to drive bloody fast along it). I am trying to think og another way.
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The A360 goes past my Mums house. Its not a bad ride along it to Devizes. The main problem is that people drive so god damn fast along it (I should know, I used to drive bloody fast along it).
That's what I mean! A lot of these roads were built along excellent alignments, but the big problem today is that the fashion for using carriages is causing some people to get carried away. Oh, for the days when the use of carriages was reserved for the nobility. :)
I am trying to think of another way.
There doesn't seem to be an easy one--owing to the Downs, the A360 is really the only way there that's fairly direct.
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There is a route either side of Salisbury Plane. There is a nice back road through Netheravon that will miss a lot of the busy roads.
[ame]http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/303696[/ame
[/ame]
24 miles though and a bit out of the way. I do know a very direct roat across the plane but that is on tracks rather than roads.
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Pop back to Amesbury, up through Figheldean and Fittleton to Upavon and then over though Beechingstoke and Etchilhampton would be the way to go.
Ive done that section of the A360 on an audax before and it's not that bad. Fast, but there are good lines of sight and a fair amount of space. Depends on how tired you are.
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Pop back to Amesbury, up through Figheldean and Fittleton to Upavon and then over though Beechingstoke and Etchilhampton would be the way to go.
Ive done that section of the A360 on an audax before and it's not that bad. Fast, but there are good lines of sight and a fair amount of space. Depends on how tired you are.
See route about.
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To be fair though. I will be stopping in Shrewton so dont need to get to Devizes.
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Too slow.
My offer of a roll past Avebury and into Swindon for the fast train home stands for anyone interested.
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we don't have to follow the a roads
from outskirts of london to 10 miles from stonehenge i was sure we were on beautiful country roadsbut then again it was 2 am so i guess even the m25 would seem like a quiet country road
the only real challenge is the last 10 miles or so where we do end up on the side of a dual carriage way with trucks bombing past at 70 mph ( not fun )
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TSK, thanks again for the excellent advice. When you offer Stonehenge to Swindon, do you mean by car or by bike?
I'm not 100% sure what I'll be doing yet that day, but if I'm not going to Devizes, either option, i.e. taking the train from Pewsey to Reading, and from there to Oxford, or taking the train from Swindon to Oxford, sounds like a good idea.
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Rolling to the Stones 2009
Posted by
@dicki
id like to come along to this, but are people going to be offened if i do it geared? ive just got a new geared bike and my fixed is in a right state and needs work.
if neccessary i know a guy with a farm not far away from the henge (10~miles) we can camp in for the night.