London to Lands End

[Diz]

Hi,

I hope I am in the right place. A friend and I have decided to ride from London to Lands End raising money for Macmillan in memory of his late Father. I have already organised that our Civvies will be sent direct to the hotel. I was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations on any bags we can attach to the bike that will be enough literally for a charger, T-Shirt, Shorts, Flip Flops and Toothbrush. I have seen several on Wiggle but don't want to get something too heavy or indeed find that we will need to use rucksacks. If anyone has any bags that would do the trick I would be greatly appreciative!

 

[Brains]

It sounds like you are going fast and light.
Check the LEJoG routes out of Cornwall,
Do NOT use the A30 in Cornwall, it is a motorway in all but name

I'd also second Carradice saddlebags

 

[Diz]

Thank you! I will look.at that. I had already seen that the A30 is a bit dangerous so we will be going down the coast instead of over Bodmin. we are tackling Dartmoor though. We will be riding London to Eastleigh on day one, Eastleigh to Lyme Regis, then onto a pub just outside Launceston before heading down to LE on the 4th day. we want to go as light as possible to avoid having to ride with a rucksack.

 

[Debutant]

Hi,

I hope I am in the right place. A friend and I have decided to ride from London to Lands End raising money for Macmillan in memory of his late Father. I have already organised that our Civvies will be sent direct to the hotel. I was wondering if anyone had any reccomendations on any bags we can attach to the bike that will be enough literally for a charger, T-Shirt, Shorts, Flip Flops and Toothbrush. I have seen several on Wiggle but don't want to get something too heavy or indeed find that we will need to use rucksacks. If anyone has any bags that would do the trick I would be greatly appreciative!

Hi Diz. My 17 year old son is doing the same ride as you in August for the Brain Cancer Charity with three mates. Two of their fathers are dying of brain tumours. We are just trying to map a route. How did you decide on yours? They want to take 5 days, and I want them to stay off busy roads. They are completely inexperienced cyclists, but young and fit.
I have looked at Google Maps, crashed around on MapMy Ride for a frustrating hour or so, and tried to pry the British Heart Foundation route out them. Do you have any advice? I don't want to spend hours looking at altitude graphs. Am after an off-the-shelf solution.

 

[jefmcg]

Hi Diz. My 17 year old son is doing the same ride as you in August for the Brain Cancer Charity with three mates. Two of their fathers are dying of brain tumours. We are just trying to map a route. How did you decide on yours? They want to take 5 days, and I want them to stay off busy roads. They are completely inexperienced cyclists, but young and fit.
I have looked at Google Maps, crashed around on MapMy Ride for a frustrating hour or so, and tried to pry the British Heart Foundation route out them. Do you have any advice? I don't want to spend hours looking at altitude graphs. Am after an off-the-shelf solution.

I came here to make sure the tourers saw your request. Looks like you are ahead of me. Good luck to your son and his mates.

Edit: as a starting point, here is a ride I did (Audax) from a little north of London to Exeter. And this is Strava's suggest route from Exeter to Cornwall. Strava's routes are based on their data of which roads cyclists actually use, so it's probably a decentish route, but their route planning is still in beta, probably for a good reason.

 

[Debutant]

I came here to make sure the tourers saw your request. Looks like you are ahead of me. Good luck to your son and his mates.

Edit: as a starting point, here is a ride I did (Audax) from a little north of London to Exeter. And this is Strava's suggest route from Exeter to Cornwall. Strava's routes are based on their data of which roads cyclists actually use, so it's probably a decentish route, but their route planning is still in beta, probably for a good reason.

Thank you so much for the tips. Can you set Strava to look for bike friendly roads, shortest distances etc.. or do you just take what it gives. Google Maps (for bicycles) seemed to send you on very busy roads, and I am trying to work out which websites can be trusted to 'think bike'. The bottom line is I am trying to avoid spending hours mapping this out with Ordnance Survey maps! What was your experience on the route to Exeter? What sort of roads were you on?

 

[Diz]

Hi Diz. My 17 year old son is doing the same ride as you in August for the Brain Cancer Charity with three mates. Two of their fathers are dying of brain tumours. We are just trying to map a route. How did you decide on yours? They want to take 5 days, and I want them to stay off busy roads. They are completely inexperienced cyclists, but young and fit.
I have looked at Google Maps, crashed around on MapMy Ride for a frustrating hour or so, and tried to pry the British Heart Foundation route out them. Do you have any advice? I don't want to spend hours looking at altitude graphs. Am after an off-the-shelf solution.

I have just used Strava and trying to stick to as many B roads as possible. I am just in the final stages of finishing up. We are avoiding the A30 as it looks far too busy. I try to avoid routing on Garmin on routes I do not know as have been directed down tracks not suitable for a road bike in the past. Good luck to them and if they haven't ridden much then ensure they get as comfortable Bib shorts as possible. When doing a multi day ride you cannot compromise on the ass!

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Google Maps (for bicycles) seemed to send you on very busy roads, and I am trying to work out which websites can be trusted to 'think bike'. The bottom line is I am trying to avoid spending hours mapping this out with Ordnance Survey maps!

Absolutely biased because it's my own site, but http://cycle.travel/map should keep you off busy roads, and if it does something you don't like then you can grouch at me here.

 

[Ajax Bay]

wondering if anyone had any reccomendations on any bags we can attach to the bike that will be enough literally for a charger, T-Shirt, Shorts, Flip Flops and Toothbrush

Besides that short list you may want to add the normal bike stuff (pump, spare tube(s), levers, multi tool etc etc). I recommend you try to carry very little in the rear pockets of your cycling tops - if you have a bag, carry the stuff in there. Work out the list of stuff; put it together, estimate its volume and that will allow you to select the right bag. Many use one in the Carradice range but Alpkit is worth looking at too, a 'fore/aft' rather than 'crossways' style.

we will be going down the coast instead of over Bodmin. we are tackling Dartmoor though. We will be riding London to Eastleigh on day one, Eastleigh to Lyme Regis, then onto a pub just outside Launceston before heading down to LE on the 4th day.

here is a ride I did (Audax) from a little north of London to Exeter.

@jefmcg has offered you part of @Ian H 's Buzzard Audax route which is well proven (600 there and back).
Given that you plan to go down to Eastney, I would head across the New Forest to Poole, cross on the Sandbanks ferry and then I've sketched on Ride with GPS this route for you. I have ridden all these roads, much of it several times (including some on a LEJOG - the opposite way, of course).
Studland, Isle of Purbeck (Corfe Castle), Weymouth, Abbotsbury (hill!), Bridport, Lyme Regis, A3052, Sidford, Exeter, over Dartmoor, Tavistock, Launceston, Egloskerry, Davidstow, (onto B3314) through Delabole, back to A39 and over Wadebridge, west through Newquay, A3075, Redruth, B3297, B3280, Penzance, Land's End
You can stay off the A39 'The Atlantic Highway' altogether if you want by taking the Rock-Padstow ferry (foot).
Please 'own' the route yourself and check it carefully.

My 17 year old son is doing the same ride as you in August for the Brain Cancer Charity with three mates. Two of their fathers are dying of brain tumours. We are just trying to map a route.

Hope the link above helps.
@robgul is the end-to-end expert and the routes on his site are obviously well worth adapting, depending on the type of roads you want to ride and how fast/far you wish to cycle per day.

 

[Diz]

Thank you very much! I will certainly look at all of that.