Considering a two day loop of the IOW in April. I haven’t got much experience of bikepacking and so was considering a campsite rather than a sneaky bivvy.

Day 1
Hovercraft to Ryde. Anti-clockwise then to Shanklin, Niton. Stop at campsite (Grange Farm, Brightstone).

Day 2
Brightstone to needles, Yarmouth, Cowes and back to Ryde for the hover returning to Portsmouth.

I’ve got some ideas from the Chalk Ridge Extreme route but was wondering if anyone had any GPS routes that they would recommend. Hoping that I can stitch something good together. Thanks :)

I've ridden every bridleway and road on the Island so I'm sure I can help

How much riding do you want to do each day? Distance? Climbing? Off Road? On road? Passing the best pubs and cafes for lunch//dinner/breakfast? Passing shops for supplies? Seeing the sights? Coastal or inland?

You should be able to get some ideas from these

https://www.strava.com/activities/1828416706
https://www.strava.com/activities/1508792077

Oh, and I've not used the hovercraft but I think they they put the bikes in the outside storage bins, I wouldn't want my bike and kit to travel in them. The catamaran is better or if you aren't in a rush the car ferry from Portsmoth to Fishbourne is best, only takes 40 mins but has food and drink on board to fuel up for the hills when you get here

Perfect, thanks for the help. I'll get the Wightlink then as it sounds like a safer bet for the bike. It is in-fact easier from the train station anyway and so win win.

Those routes look good. I'll try and copy some of the sections out of them. Ideally I would want to be doing about 80km per day as I want to take my time, take a bunch of photos and not just whizz past everything in a blur. No real preference with regards to costal vs inland as long as it passes something interesting or there is a nice view. Anything that is a must see then I'll route past it.

Having a shop early in the morning and also a cafe around lunch would be good but totally flexible as I'll try and pack a bit myself :)

I’ve done a bit of road and off-road on the island. There’s plenty of choice and ir’s all very pleasant so you don’t need to be too stressed about planning the perfect route in advance - just go with the flow. Do try to get down to the south west corner, though. It’s proper lush.

@sean_iow, just come back from a two day bikepacking trip on the IoW, we used your Strava as the basis for a 65 mile route. So this is a thank you from us; we had amazing weather and your route had some proper gems

Don't stray off the path and DO NOT talk to the locals

Blah wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 11:54 am @sean_iow, just come back from a two day bikepacking trip on the IoW, we used your Strava as the basis for a 65 mile route. So this is a thank you from us; we had amazing weather and your route had some proper gems

That's ok, when the weather's good the riding is great, not so much fun mid winter in the rain and the mud

In Reverse wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 2:39 pm Don't stray off the path and DO NOT talk to the locals

sean_iow wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 9:16 pm

In Reverse wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 2:39 pm Don't stray off the path and DO NOT talk to the locals

Happy World Goth Day mate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Goth_Day

How cool is that By coincidence I've been listening to Fields of the Nephilim today on leg 1 of my drive up to Tyndrum

sean_iow wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 9:15 pm That's ok, when the weather's good the riding is great, not so much fun mid winter in the rain and the mud

Yeah, it looked like the limestone can turn into gear eating sludge too