SD300 ITT
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 2:11 pm
I could have posted this in the Downs300 ITT thread or the Straight Outta Door but rather than clog them up with my ramblings I thought I'd post it on it's own.
I had planned to have a crack at a SDW Double under 24hr this year but decided instead to ride Jim Barrow's SD300. I've done the double before (over 3 days from home so 270 miles in total) so the SD300 would have some new trails in it. I didn't want the cost and hassle of taking a car to the mainland so decided I'd ride to the start. This would also mean I could use the Fastcat from Ryde pier and a bit of careful route planning meant I could also use the Hayling Island Ferry thus ticking off two more ferries from the list of those on the south coast I've taken my bike on
Just after arriving at Portsmouth
Hayling Island Ferry. I wouldn't be able to come back this way as the Victorious Festival would be on at Southsea and the roads between the Hayling ferry and the Portsmouth Harbour would be shut but I'd work around that later.
Glorious weather for the ride down. My Open Source mapping shows a line/track across the harbor at this point running parallel to the road bridge. I knew there was nothing there but rode to the start to see, it's the route of the old railway bridge with just the restored signal left.
I stopped at the Garage across the road for lunch, the TD racers favorite of subway, I asked for the foot long to be wrapped in 2 halves
After what seemed like endless flat roads I arrived at the nearest campsite I could find to the start of the SD300. The plan being to stay there for the night, leave the tent/sleeping bag etc. behind and ride the route with minimal of kit. Depending on when I finished and how tired I was I could either stay another night or pack up and ride home. When I say 'campsite' don't think of 100s of tents with a disco and facilities... this was the view from my tent
and here are the facilities
That is a shower on the outside of the toilets and there is a sign above the basin saying not to run the washing up water when the shower is on. They are both fed from the shower unit so running the tap makes the shower go cold
The toilets are mixed sex with just 3 cubicles and 2 sinks. Luckily none of the other campers came in when I was applying sun cream and chamois cream in the morning 
My accommodation was the Deschutes, it's light enough to carry and quite spacious and looks enough like a tent and has enough privacy to use on a campsite without too many strange looks. When I've used my tarp in the past people would raise their eyebrows on the way past
More use of my mini tripod and bluetooth remote for the phone camera although I do need to come up with more imaginative shots. Note I'm in full 'bikepacker' mode, close fitting gravel spec baggies, check shirt, cap I draw the line at the mug dangle though.
The next morning the bike was packed with food, waterproofs (I knew I wouldn't need them but just in case) and an emergency bivi bag plus some other odds and ends. All the rest of the stuff including my casual clothes were left behind.
Hopefully it would still all be there on my return. I then rode the 11 miles to the start, well I thought I did but the gpx from the campsite to the start didn't actually finish at Adventure Quest bike shop, there was a slight panic when I loaded up the route and it didn't show on the screen. It turns out the shop is on the north edge of town about a mile from where I was. Once at the shop I got one of the staff to take a picture of me and explained what I was up to. I'm not sure they believed me when I said I hoped to ride 300km and be back in 24 hours.
At 10:11 am I set off in the sun. It was already 27 degrees so making sure I found the taps on my crib sheet would be important. The route follows sections of the SDW then peels of for a loops down the side and back up. As the route crosses itself several times and also uses some sections of track twice in opposite directions I had to split the gpx into 4 so as to only have a single line on the screen at any one time. For anyone else devising an ITT route it would be best for us eTrex uses that don't get turn by turn directions if the routes are a single loop with no cross-overs etc as we just have a line on the screen to follow.
I went past the picnic table at Pyecome Golf Course, the last time I was here was 10pm on a cold November evening when I stopped to make a brew to try and warm up, better conditions today
I stopped at the Sainsbury's petrol station for lunch at Newhaven at about 14:00 and sat in the car park eating sandwiches and a discounted muller rice as it had a short date which isn't an issue of you eat it immediately, I had my ti spoon with me ready for such a treat
The next target was the 24hr garage just off the route at Pyecombe. I made this by 19:30 so just right for dinner. A hot cheese and ham toastie I wanted a Ginsters slice to take away as well but as it's an M and S food outlet I had to settle for some 'best sausage rolls' which I repacked into a ziplock bag so they would fit in my frame bag.
I knew that water could be an issue as after the tap at mile 90 there were no more opportunities until mile 158 at Arundel. I would pass a couple of pubs before then but they would likely be shut when I went by. I had brought my myog fold up rucksack and a 2 litre bladder so at the tap I filled this, my 2 x 500ml bottles and had a big drink. Hopefully with it being cooler once the sun went down and having drunk plenty during the day I'd be ok. The night went ok, the legs were getting a bit tired as the climbing was endless but I was still moving. Up to about the first third of the ride I was on target for a sub 24hr but as the hills kept coming I had slipped behind this. I stopped to brush my teeth at about 2am, don't know why I thought I should but it was memorable as it's the first time I've done so without getting of the bike. I did stop and put my feet down. My toothbrush and paste were in my top-tube bag so next time if I remember on road section I think I could do it without stopping
Once the sun came up at 5 ish i started to pickup the pace again. There are some very steep climbs towards the end which I pushed to save energy and even with gears I think I'd push them as it's probably just as fast as a 50t cog and more energy efficient. Still great conditions for riding with hardly and wind.
I made it to the cafe at Witeways for 11am for a bacon and egg butty. This is 170 miles in so just the last 20 or so from here. These still took me another 3 hours so I got back to the bike shop at 13:44 That's 27 hr 33 minutes for 192 miles and 22200 ft of climbing according to strava.
The shop owner was more enthusiastic upon my return and wanted a picture for his FB page. That's a new outright and ss record for the route and hopefully it will encourage some others to head out and have a crack at it. For those not wanting to ride non-stop it would make a great 2 or 3 day day trip as there's loads of spots for a bivi and that way you could also time it to have lunch/dinner at one of the many cafes/pubs on route.
The shop owner asked where I was off to next? The pub to celebrate? No I said, I'm going to ride home... to the Isle of Wight, so it was 16 miles back to the campsite (I got lost in Worthing and had to find my way though the streets to where my gpx was) , pack up the kit and put it back on the bike then back to Portsmouth for the ferry. I missed the 20:20 ferry by minutes so time for some more food. The bikes just go through the normal waiting room...
There's over 400km of dirt, cow poo, sheep poo and assorted road grime on there. Good job it had been dry or it would be making a right mess. Once on the Island there was one last big climb over the downs and then only the 16% climb up the hill to Newchurch before I was home. By this time I'd been on the go for 37 hours. I made it up without pushing. This last road climb often comes at the end of a big ride and I have to say out loud "I've never had to get off and push before and I see no reason to start today"
In total, from getting up on Thursday morning to arriving home Friday night I rode 260 miles (so just under 420km) which is a new PB I do need a comfier saddle and also my palms were very sore, or maybe riding for this time is bound to hurt regardless?
If anyone wants a copy of the tap/shop info I used then PM me and I'll send you my crib sheet. The distances aren't spot on but close enough.
I had planned to have a crack at a SDW Double under 24hr this year but decided instead to ride Jim Barrow's SD300. I've done the double before (over 3 days from home so 270 miles in total) so the SD300 would have some new trails in it. I didn't want the cost and hassle of taking a car to the mainland so decided I'd ride to the start. This would also mean I could use the Fastcat from Ryde pier and a bit of careful route planning meant I could also use the Hayling Island Ferry thus ticking off two more ferries from the list of those on the south coast I've taken my bike on
Just after arriving at Portsmouth
Hayling Island Ferry. I wouldn't be able to come back this way as the Victorious Festival would be on at Southsea and the roads between the Hayling ferry and the Portsmouth Harbour would be shut but I'd work around that later.
Glorious weather for the ride down. My Open Source mapping shows a line/track across the harbor at this point running parallel to the road bridge. I knew there was nothing there but rode to the start to see, it's the route of the old railway bridge with just the restored signal left.
I stopped at the Garage across the road for lunch, the TD racers favorite of subway, I asked for the foot long to be wrapped in 2 halves
After what seemed like endless flat roads I arrived at the nearest campsite I could find to the start of the SD300. The plan being to stay there for the night, leave the tent/sleeping bag etc. behind and ride the route with minimal of kit. Depending on when I finished and how tired I was I could either stay another night or pack up and ride home. When I say 'campsite' don't think of 100s of tents with a disco and facilities... this was the view from my tent
and here are the facilities
That is a shower on the outside of the toilets and there is a sign above the basin saying not to run the washing up water when the shower is on. They are both fed from the shower unit so running the tap makes the shower go cold
The toilets are mixed sex with just 3 cubicles and 2 sinks. Luckily none of the other campers came in when I was applying sun cream and chamois cream in the morning My accommodation was the Deschutes, it's light enough to carry and quite spacious and looks enough like a tent and has enough privacy to use on a campsite without too many strange looks. When I've used my tarp in the past people would raise their eyebrows on the way past
More use of my mini tripod and bluetooth remote for the phone camera although I do need to come up with more imaginative shots. Note I'm in full 'bikepacker' mode, close fitting gravel spec baggies, check shirt, cap
I draw the line at the mug dangle though.The next morning the bike was packed with food, waterproofs (I knew I wouldn't need them but just in case) and an emergency bivi bag plus some other odds and ends. All the rest of the stuff including my casual clothes were left behind.
Hopefully it would still all be there on my return. I then rode the 11 miles to the start, well I thought I did but the gpx from the campsite to the start didn't actually finish at Adventure Quest bike shop, there was a slight panic when I loaded up the route and it didn't show on the screen. It turns out the shop is on the north edge of town about a mile from where I was. Once at the shop I got one of the staff to take a picture of me and explained what I was up to. I'm not sure they believed me when I said I hoped to ride 300km and be back in 24 hours.
At 10:11 am I set off in the sun. It was already 27 degrees so making sure I found the taps on my crib sheet would be important. The route follows sections of the SDW then peels of for a loops down the side and back up. As the route crosses itself several times and also uses some sections of track twice in opposite directions I had to split the gpx into 4 so as to only have a single line on the screen at any one time. For anyone else devising an ITT route it would be best for us eTrex uses that don't get turn by turn directions if the routes are a single loop with no cross-overs etc as we just have a line on the screen to follow.
I went past the picnic table at Pyecome Golf Course, the last time I was here was 10pm on a cold November evening when I stopped to make a brew to try and warm up, better conditions today
I stopped at the Sainsbury's petrol station for lunch at Newhaven at about 14:00 and sat in the car park eating sandwiches and a discounted muller rice as it had a short date which isn't an issue of you eat it immediately, I had my ti spoon with me ready for such a treat
The next target was the 24hr garage just off the route at Pyecombe. I made this by 19:30 so just right for dinner. A hot cheese and ham toastie I wanted a Ginsters slice to take away as well but as it's an M and S food outlet I had to settle for some 'best sausage rolls' which I repacked into a ziplock bag so they would fit in my frame bag.I knew that water could be an issue as after the tap at mile 90 there were no more opportunities until mile 158 at Arundel. I would pass a couple of pubs before then but they would likely be shut when I went by. I had brought my myog fold up rucksack and a 2 litre bladder so at the tap I filled this, my 2 x 500ml bottles and had a big drink. Hopefully with it being cooler once the sun went down and having drunk plenty during the day I'd be ok. The night went ok, the legs were getting a bit tired as the climbing was endless but I was still moving. Up to about the first third of the ride I was on target for a sub 24hr but as the hills kept coming I had slipped behind this. I stopped to brush my teeth at about 2am, don't know why I thought I should but it was memorable as it's the first time I've done so without getting of the bike. I did stop and put my feet down. My toothbrush and paste were in my top-tube bag so next time if I remember on road section I think I could do it without stopping
Once the sun came up at 5 ish i started to pickup the pace again. There are some very steep climbs towards the end which I pushed to save energy and even with gears I think I'd push them as it's probably just as fast as a 50t cog and more energy efficient. Still great conditions for riding with hardly and wind.
I made it to the cafe at Witeways for 11am for a bacon and egg butty. This is 170 miles in so just the last 20 or so from here. These still took me another 3 hours so I got back to the bike shop at 13:44
That's 27 hr 33 minutes for 192 miles and 22200 ft of climbing according to strava.The shop owner was more enthusiastic upon my return and wanted a picture for his FB page. That's a new outright and ss record for the route and hopefully it will encourage some others to head out and have a crack at it. For those not wanting to ride non-stop it would make a great 2 or 3 day day trip as there's loads of spots for a bivi and that way you could also time it to have lunch/dinner at one of the many cafes/pubs on route.
The shop owner asked where I was off to next? The pub to celebrate? No I said, I'm going to ride home... to the Isle of Wight, so it was 16 miles back to the campsite (I got lost in Worthing and had to find my way though the streets to where my gpx was) , pack up the kit and put it back on the bike then back to Portsmouth for the ferry. I missed the 20:20 ferry by minutes so time for some more food. The bikes just go through the normal waiting room...
There's over 400km of dirt, cow poo, sheep poo and assorted road grime on there. Good job it had been dry or it would be making a right mess. Once on the Island there was one last big climb over the downs and then only the 16% climb up the hill to Newchurch before I was home. By this time I'd been on the go for 37 hours. I made it up without pushing. This last road climb often comes at the end of a big ride and I have to say out loud "I've never had to get off and push before and I see no reason to start today"
In total, from getting up on Thursday morning to arriving home Friday night I rode 260 miles (so just under 420km) which is a new PB
I do need a comfier saddle and also my palms were very sore, or maybe riding for this time is bound to hurt regardless?If anyone wants a copy of the tap/shop info I used then PM me and I'll send you my crib sheet. The distances aren't spot on but close enough.
I did think about sleeping to get August's Bam in but as I didn't I ended up sleeping on a garage floor the following weekend 
My local area.