Mr S, our esteemed organiser, has already published a link to Porkers GPX files and larger format route sheets - see page 8 of this thread for details, link is:-
http://www.wessexsr.talktalk.net/Porkers2013.html
I suggest we look at those files first!
Shawn and i did a route check of the first 230km on Saturday and there's a couple of tweaks required to the GPX of the Wellington>Corscombe stage.
I can report that the new route is more different than I thought and is (as ever) beautifully crafted: Shawn has chosen roads that are just as quiet but are generally wider, better surfaced, and easier to navigate for the Wellington/Corscombe stage, and the Corscombe>Winterborne Whitchurch stage too.
They have quite a lot more climbing than the perm route, as does the stage north from Winterborne Whitechurch (which we didn't do at the weekend), although the trip up/down/over the top of salisbury plain is gone and there is a short respite along the Wylie Valley before heading south across the familiar (steep) valleys.
...so there's more ascent, but it'll be easier to ride in groups, and the descending isn't as tricky. It's a challenge!
Our track (with detour to Taunton Deane) is
http://app.strava.com/activities/49878698Effort was required to get ahead of minimum speed all the way from Beaminster to our exit from the route beyond Corscombe - so if you know you're not fast on the hills, and might want rest in the night, then it'd make sense to stick with a bunch to Portland to build up a buffer, and limit time spent at Portland Bill and Beaminster (beyond taking on enough food to sustain you).
...see you at the Corscombe control (which is on the hill, not at the bottom) sometime between midnight and 4am.
andrew.
