My first Coast to Coast

[Mrs Brown!]

Hello Everyone, i am quite new to this forum and a fairly new cycler, i have done the Great North Bike Ride and the Cyclone and bits inbetween and i am loving it. I am 40 next year and my goal is to do the coast to coast at the end of August. I am doing it with 2 friends and we are in the planning stages, the training has begun but i am after some advice from people who have done it. Can anyone help? on the following please

• We are planning to do it over 3 days? should we book in advance? and can anyone recommend nice places to stay?
• What is the best type of bike to do it on?
• How much training should i be doing? we are doing it in 6 weeks?
• Any other advice on what i should do, take, plan would be really appreciated

many thanks for your help, very excited
Nic

 

[vernon]

Three days is a decent pace and should not challenge you too much.

I'd try to make sure that your baike has low enough gears i.e. the biggest sprocket at the back should have 32 or more teeth the smallest sprocket at the front should be 22-28 teeth. The number of gears doesn't really matter too much as long as you've got low gears.

The bikes could be mountain bikes/hybrids or tourers. Road/racing bikes are useable but they tend not to have mounting points for racks and the gearing is a bit to high meaning that you might have to get off and push on some of the hillier bits.

There's a good C2C web site here it will answer a lot of your questions.

 

[Soltydog]

Hi
Good luck with the tour. I'm sure it wont be your last
I'd recommend booking as a lot of the places you pass through are only small villages with not that much accomodation available. You dont want to arrive at your destination to find there is nowhere to stay & then have to ride on for another 10 miles or more.
Check out the c2c website for loads of advice & tips

 

[Mrs Brown!]

Thank you for the replys i will check out the C2C website , lots of planning to do

 

[Lee-p]

Good luck and keep us updated on how things are proggresing.........im doing the C2C next year with a company called Chain-Events

 

[theloafer]

hi mrs brown

have done this twice now its a great ride you will find loads of helpfull ppl on this site too http://c2c.freeforums.org/

larry

 

[PK99]

Hello Everyone, i am quite new to this forum and a fairly new cycler, i have done the Great North Bike Ride and the Cyclone and bits inbetween and i am loving it. I am 40 next year and my goal is to do the coast to coast at the end of August. I am doing it with 2 friends and we are in the planning stages, the training has begun but i am after some advice from people who have done it. Can anyone help? on the following please

1. We are planning to do it over 3 days? should we book in advance? and can anyone recommend nice places to stay?
2. What is the best type of bike to do it on?
3. How much training should i be doing? we are doing it in 6 weeks?
4. Any other advice on what i should do, take, plan would be really appreciated

many thanks for your help, very excited
Nic

1. book in advance!

2. if you want to follow the sustrans route, don't use your precious road bike. MTB not necessary unless doing the alternate off road options. I'd happily do it on my Tricross (used slicked mtb previously, the weight was a drag)

3. depends on how fit you are now. when i did it i was a twice a week 20 miles cyclist. it was tough but ok

4. set off early each day, take it steady.