NC500 solo, how many panniers??

[Clydesider]

I'm planning on doing my first bicycle tour around the NC500 route, should take 7 days apparently...my question is do I need a front rack as well as a rear one?

Any advice on what to take would be good too!

 

[raleighnut]

Tent or Hostel/Hotel?

 

[Milkfloat]

Full length toothbrush or cut in half?

 

[snorri]

Buy food when you see a shop, don't wait until hungry then hope to see a shop round the next bend.
Have you cycled seventy miles a day for seven consecutive days before? Considering the terrain you will encounter it might be quite tiring for a first tour.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I think the 500 are very hilly, with not many shops/accommodation on the route.
Plus the weather is bound to be atrocious.
Are you fit, healthy, have a good knowledge of your bike, could you fix a breakdown?
Why not do a mini tour first, preferably on a hilly route, countryside but with bailout option, it would give you some ideas.

 

[hoopdriver]

That's a big ask for a first tour. As was asked above, do you plan to camp or stay in B&Bs/hostels? That will make a big difference in the amount of gear you will require - and the weight you will have to carry over those hills. If this is your first tour I think I would stay in hostels etc, lighten the load and make things a bit easier on yourself.

If camping is the only affordable option go as light as you can.

As has been noted above shops can be few and far between and you will want to carry food rather than wait/hope to find it when you happen to be hungry.

Even camping, I don't think you will require front panniers on a seven-day trip. Bringing them will only tempt you into carrying more gear than you really need, or will be happy carrying.

 

[Jimidh]

A group of us are doing it over 5 days in September but we are taking one of these bad boys and a driver along with us.

Should get all our gear in there .

 

[steveindenmark]

If I were riding the NC500. I would have a transcontinental setup and would not be taking any panniers. I would be taking my carbon road bike and not my touring bike.

To do it in the way you are suggesting, especially for your first tour. Its hugely ambitious.

 

[HelenD123]

I'd say that's way too ambitious for a first tour. A friend and I set off from Garve (west of Inverness) and cycled the route up to Durness in 7 days plus a couple of days off. That makes it about half the route. We could have got a bit further most days but wanted time to stop and see the sights. The route is very hilly, although we did find the hills more manageable than those back home in Yorkshire. Plus we were only carrying a light load as our husbands were acting as support vehicle. It's a beautiful route so why rush it. I'd also say that we looked at doing the second half but don't fancy the roads down the east coast. We're going to go back and cycle across to John O'Groats then make up our route from there, potentially heading to the Orkneys.

I think if you have compact camping gear or are not camping you would get away with just rear panniers. Heed the advice to stock up on food when you have the chance. I'd recommend carrying enough at all times to last you 24 hours.

 

[Clydesider]

Tent or Hostel/Hotel?

Tent all the way!

 

[Low Gear Guy]

Tent all the way!

The tent will probably be the bulkiest and heaviest item. Are you using a bivi style tent or a more conventional backpacking tent?

 

[Clydesider]

Thanks for the advice guys, I might be a little ambitious but I live near Inverness and I wont be in a rush to do it in 7 days or even the whole 500 miles, the route I plan on using misses out the east coast A9, I would use the National cycle network route to go south, as for my bike maintenance skills yes well I know how to fix a puncture but thats about it, I've never had to change a wheel spoke in my life nor a chain link but knowing how to do it wouldnt hurt i suppose.

 

[Clydesider]

The tent will probably be the bulkiest and heaviest item. Are you using a bivi style tent or a more conventional backpacking tent?

I've got an ultralight BigAgnes fly creek UL2 which is under 1kg I think. I would use a bivi but fear I'd be eaten alive by midgies!

 

[Low Gear Guy]

You should be able to manage with rear panniers with the tent on the top of the rack. Possibly a bar bag on the front also.

Front panniers are only for those that like to carry lots of gear or crossing continents.

 

[hoopdriver]

Exactly.

I used front panniers on a nine-month odyssey through the Australian outback - but then I needed the extra space far carrying water bottles since some of those desert stretches wee 400 miles between towns. Otherwise I never bother with front panniers.