First full day on the Old Chalk Way. A nice bivy near Evershot then a lot of up and down to get to Carne Abbas where I took possibly the worst photo ever of the giant Then lots more up and down to Blandford Forum before about 20km of easy flat riding before the climb up to Shaftesbury culminating in Gold Hill AKA the Hovis Hill which I managed to clean

Lunch then nice lanes before one bitch of a hill(walked!) led 20km of fast slightly downhill farm gravel tracks along the escarpment edge. Met Faustas off the forum just near the end of this and had a chat.

Some nice climbing up onto Salisbury Plain, past Stonehenge. The range is live firing this weekend so diverted eastwards and am now sat in a pub before finding a bivy spot for the night.

8hr gravel bash today, in the warm (hot!) sun. Wanted to do a lot of hours of hard pedaling for some knee destruction testing. Right one fine, left one was aching a bit for a while but settled down for the last couple of hours.


Gravel-tastic on the Braes of Doune Trail

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Sat May 10, 2025 9:05 pm … lot of hours of hard pedaling for some knee destruction testing

Meanwhile I was aiming for 8+ hours at zone 1/2.

I suspect I was mostly in zone 2 thanks to my spinny gear, with excursions into zone 3 and 4 on the climbs. The joy of singlespeed....

whitestone wrote: ↑Sat May 10, 2025 6:19 pm First full day on the Old Chalk Way.

Are you planning on doing the whole shebang up the Icknield Way and then Pedders Way to Holme next the Sea...? If so, just note that Suffolk Council have shut some of the byways it uses, see https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-and-tr ... ion-orders

Icklingham BY6 BY7 BY8 BY11
Elveden BY1
Barnham BY1 BY2 BY5 BY6 BY8
West Stow BY6

Closed to all traffic due to risk to public safety.

19 January 2025 to 9 Feb 2027

Which is a bit of a bugger, as that was the easy way to get to High Lodge for a rag around the trails. Having said that, someone I follow on Strava posted a ride where they went up and down them, so the closures don't seem to be stopping everyone. There's an easy enough diversion I can point you to if necessary...

It was a beautiful warm day, so took the opportunity to head out for some acclimatisation training for my upcoming Scotland trip. 30 miles around trails and back roads with a mammoth 771ft of climbing. That should do it.

Start of a weekend of riding with successful train connections and an excellent ride from Salisbury to Blandford. Old Shaftesbury drove track was a highlight, and as above, had the pleasure of meeting Bob and having a chat. First time I've met a forumite out in the wild!

Rest of the ride was beautiful and some really nice trails, and quite lumpy all in with 550m ascent in 32 miles. Some easier riding today out to the purbecks.

whitestone wrote: ↑Sat May 10, 2025 6:19 pm Gold Hill AKA the Hovis Hill which I managed to clean

Did you "go up the hill as fast as you come down"?

Got time for a Reg digression?

Here you go, minutely analysed syllable by syllable...

https://graylightfoot.co.uk/2023/10/04/ ... ovis-ad-2/

And who indeed was Old Ma Peggotty?

Boab wrote: ↑Sat May 10, 2025 10:51 pm

whitestone wrote: ↑Sat May 10, 2025 6:19 pm First full day on the Old Chalk Way.

Are you planning on doing the whole shebang up the Icknield Way and then Pedders Way to Holme next the Sea...? If so, just note that Suffolk Council have shut some of the byways it uses, see https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-and-tr ... ion-orders

Icklingham BY6 BY7 BY8 BY11
Elveden BY1
Barnham BY1 BY2 BY5 BY6 BY8
West Stow BY6

Closed to all traffic due to risk to public safety.

19 January 2025 to 9 Feb 2027

Which is a bit of a bugger, as that was the easy way to get to High Lodge for a rag around the trails. Having said that, someone I follow on Strava posted a ride where they went up and down them, so the closures don't seem to be stopping everyone. There's an easy enough diversion I can point you to if necessary...

That were the plan. Currently at Chinnor nr Princes Risborough drying out some rather sore feet. Today has been really hot- not my cup of tea