London-Gibraltar 09

[iLB]

HI all,

Two friends and I are in the middle of planning a charity cycle ride from London to Gibraltar in the summer of 2009. By then we'll be 18 and will have finished our last year of school. The ride is to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and this thread is just to ask for any helpful tips on long distance cycling, regarding training, equipment, nutrition and the like.

We have secured a 20% discount on equipment from the bike shop Cycles UK (www.cyclesuk.com) and we are raising money through our website www.justgiving.com/londongibraltar09, look forward to any advice/ support you can give us.

 

[xilios]

Hi, you can find some tips on our page below. There are many other journals you can check out for tips at www.crazyguyonabike.com.
Don't worry about training too much you will get into shape while on tour. Make sure you have enough sugar intake in the morning to help get you going, eat plenty of pasta and always carry a red bull in the panniers, for those unexpected long days and difficult hills at the end of the day :-)
Good luck, you'll have a great time.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

looks like you are riding pretty much the same route I did in august down to the med...it's an easy ride mostly

 

[Tony]

What bikes and kit you're using would be a good start.

 

[iLB]

We are going to be riding specialized allez sport 09's, and we are putting the money we saved on not having the elite to buying spd pedals and carbon fibre soled specialized spd shoes. Picking them up tommorow incidentally, early present from father christmas.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

A commendable effort, but one question:

Have you ever been to Gibraltar?

It's a hole.

 

[iLB]

no i haven't lol, is it really that bad?

 

[Anthony]

I cycled from Portsmouth to Gibraltar this year but by a different route (I hugged the west coast of france and went through the middle of spein). You shouldn't need much training, france is relatively flat and therefore acts as training for spain, which is alot hillier, hotter and generally harder. Nutrition wise, I would echo comments already made, but make sure you have plenty of water, especially in spain.

I don't know if your route is set in stone, but I would recommend going throught the centre of Spain. It is alot less touristy, more remote and you get to see more of the 'real' spain.

I actually quite liked Gibraltar. Though if I spent more than a day there I probably would get bored quickly. I especially like the fact that after over 1000miles of cycling through france and spain I was greeted by a sign that said Winston Curchill Avenue!

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

no i haven't lol, is it really that bad?

It's a bit like Benidorm with Squaddies.

Scratch that, Bendorm is far nicer.

A little bit of Morecombe in Spain. With squaddies and Brits-on-the-piss.

 

[Tony]

We are going to be riding specialized allez sport 09's, and we are putting the money we saved on not having the elite to buying spd pedals and carbon fibre soled specialized spd shoes. Picking them up tommorow incidentally, early present from father christmas.

The Allez sport is a nice bike, but I would definitely take the triple for that ride (like mine). Are you being supported? Otherwise, the luggage question is going to be interesting. New Allezs I have seen have two braze ons/bolts on the seat stays which can take a rack, but load will be limited on such a light frame. You will also suffer a lot on such small tyres (23s). The wheelset is strong, but spokes are unusual compared to mtb or classical tourer wheels, so if they break you may have difficulty replacing them, and they are under such tension that your wheel will pringle almost immediately so that the bike can't even be pushed.
There are reasons people ride tourers!
With all of that, I am assuming you will have a support vehicle.....

 

[iLB]

With all of that, I am assuming you will have a support vehicle.....[/quote]

Yes we do have at least one landrover coming with us, and we are looking at securing another. We will only be carrying the essentials (water, P repair kit, tubes, pump, some food etc) the rest is of the tents and stuff like that will be brought in the landy. We have actually got the double versions of the sport, never mind eh? we young nd fit so shldnt be too bad...

Please donate to our website www.justgiving.com/londongibraltar09 and if you are interested, or know someone who might be, in driving/providing a second support vehicle then please PM me. We have also had musings between the three of us about organising a mass ride out of London down to the coast on the first day to raise more money and heighten the media profile, does anyone think this would be feasible?

 

[Yellow7]

London to Gibralta info.

Hi Guys.

What sort of mileage you guys planning on?
I have rode across France to Barcelona (then Majorca by ferry) three time now, last year doing Milton Keynes to Majorca & this summer rode Route 66 in the U.S.

I strongly recommend the IGN maps, http://www.themapcentre.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_IGN_Top_100_56.html
these are printed by IGN (French map company) so there spot on correct & the scale is 1:100 000 so no detail is missed of. Click on the View the grid... above the price to select what map numbers you require as per your route.

As with the route you have plotted I'd disagree with what 'Anthony' says about France being flat, looks like your going near "Clermont Ferrand" in the Auvergne mountain range as I done last year (most direct route from Calais) the maps will detail all this info though. If you install Autoroute you can plot your entire trip (takes time) & plot each proposed daily ride. I could then send you my mapped routes.

The roads in France are really well marked, each road sign has a smaller yellow sign perched on top saying what the road number is, guarantee you won't get lost, but take a compass as back-up to clarify things should you go off-track!

Looks like you skirting the East side of the Pyrenees, is this to avoid the climbs? I feel the Pyrenees was the best part of the trip, really awesome scenery, lovely idyllic towns surrounded by mountains....absolute tops! Highest peak was 1915 metres, you wouldn't regret the hard work, a real sense of achievement, if you want details let me know. (remember, what goes up, comes dowwwwwwwnn!)

Food. I just eat standard meals, also plenty of fruit as I ride, plums, bananas, grapes, also 'nut n choc chip' as good for energy. You'll pass Aldi & Lidl stores so no hassle re-stocking on tucka.
Spares:
As the roads in France put ours to shame I'd just take one spare tube (in my total 2600 miles of French cycling I've never had a puncture, mind you, I use the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, most tourers use these, there extra thick on the top, 26 * 1.75 size.
If your cables at present are in good nic then one spare brake cable & gear cable between you should be sufficient.
Full cyclist tool kit.
Make sure your spokes are not over tensioned, a touring bike puts more stress on them & my first tour I had eyelets pull through the rims, this was on a set of new Mavics from Evans bikes but I'd 'blame' who-ever built the wheel for over tightening the eyelets.
Collins French - English dictionary, unless any of you speak the lingo!

Clothes:

Use nylon T-shirts & shorts, NOT cotton. Nylon wicks the sweat away & dries whilst on you, unlike cotton that stays damp & can then causes muscles to start aching, Blacks outdoor shop is good for clothing.
Waterproofs, though it may be summer I always carry waterproof jacket, trousers & over-shoes. I steer clear of 'cycling' waterproof jackets as they never had a hood & always end up losing the 'waterproof' ability, I bought a 'Mountain Gear' jacket this year, cost a packet but does what is say on the tin.
Small first-aid kit just in-case.

If your panniers are not waterproof take re-sealable clear bags, to keep clothes (& maps) dry. To save space I use a T-towel instead of a hand towel, you'll be surprised how your panniers fill up.
I carry three 1 litre water bottles, usually water, tango & coke.
MP3 player
Passport (cycling out of London this is easy to over see!)

If you need more info keep me posted.
Mark.

 

[maurice]

Hi, just to add I did a Dieppe to Nice tour on my Allez (triple), loaded and it held up fine!

Report - http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=16996

 

[iLB]

*bump*

nice and close to the trip now!! any more advice guys?
we leave on June 28th by the way.

 

[arallsopp]

As of 19:39 (UK), Andy has 'Just walked like three miles to a petrol station from the camp site to get food should have used bikes dam'
There are also rumblings that Mr Legg might have snaps of the team with 'random tourists'...

My guess, they made it to Newhaven, and were escorted down by Dellzeqq.
Ferry crossing tomorrow am, then South...