Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => On The Road => Topic started by: andrewc on 28 August, 2020, 06:40:09 pm
-
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/aug/28/like-cycling-through-history-220-mile-king-alfreds-way-launched
-
Subscribe
-
You don’t have to subscribe.
-
Oh dear, you need a gravel bike, that's me out then.
Oddly I always though Winchester was further west, that explains some story lines in the Last Kingdom
-
Oh dear, you need a gravel bike, that's me out then.
Not necessarily: https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/what-bike-best-king-alfreds-way-and-other-questions
-
that was a very tongue in cheek response to the Graun article, I should have said :P
-
The Graun article, apart from the Alfred route, was talking about "new routes" ..... isn't that what Sustrans is about (well, sort of)? - ah, that would be too much joined up thinking :hand:
-
I've ridden some sections of the off road stuff on this (without having ridden the whole route) on my Audax bike and on my race bike - especially during lock down when wanting to link up routes. If the conditions are dry (which they should be June - September unless you get heavy rain like we just have) then most of it would be doable with sturdy tyres. Winter - I'd want waders and a snorkel.
-
A youtube guide from a cycling archaeologist in three parts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne4LbLl0qM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXrbavBTxd8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZIcQAq79EQ
-
Presumably there’ll be some signage else what have they really done?
-
As I understand it, it's a bit like the TET (Trans European Trail) for trail bikes - put together a set of routes, which can be used to travel across the country on known good lanes etc. (they are apparently trying to like the southern ones to the northern ones, so you can ride the full length from Cornwall or the home counties up to Scotland). So you can download the GPX, modify it to suite, and use it as the basis of exploring an area you don't know. There is a guide book for this, but not sure it really needs signs going up.
Certainly TET is a living thing - the route can be constantly tweaked depending upon what the linesmen in each area know, so you download the current version before starting out.
I've ridden parts of TET and discovered areas I'd never ridden, I'll probably ride parts of this in a similar vein - likely with MrsH.
It's also good publicity - mainstream coverage of the sort of things you can do, encouraging riders who hadn't considered it to do more and have adventures.
-
https://www.pannier.cc/journal/wessex-wanderings-bikepacking-king-alfreds-way/
Pretty pictures.
-
I live not far from the eastern edge of the route - close enough that if I go for a short walk I'll cross the route. Since the launch I've noticed a marked increase in the number of riders crossing the Basingstoke canal at Zephon bridge (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=48852.msg2593859#msg2593859) on bikes with anything-but-a-rack luggage (and a few with racks).