Sand and Gravel

[willpom gwraudax]

Planning a 1000km+ ride for the distant future. It could involve a short section on a well made coastal gravel path and a 500m walk across a sand bar. Would this put off or would you go hell yeah!?

[JulianP]

Hell Yeah !

[postie]

Sounds fine to me.

[Rod Marton]

Certainly wouldn't put me off - in fact rather the opposite.

Long ago I organised a 600 with a short stretch of bridleway and a rather longer bit (3 miles) of grotty Sustrans route - only problem I had was with a tricyclist for whom I had to produce an alternative route to bypass the Sustrans bit. Everyone else was fine with it. So I think it's quite acceptable.

[JonB]

It would put me off , I hate riding a road bike on gravel but I appreciate I'm very much in the minority on this sort of thing, the main thing is that it should be included in the ride description and shouldn't come as a surprise.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I enjoy riding a road bike on dirt but walking 500m during a 1000km brevet. No thanks.

[rob]

I enjoy riding a road bike on dirt but walking 500m during a 1000km brevet. No thanks.

I think I walked a bit more than 500m on my 1000k last year.

[markldn]

I don't understand how riding across sandy paths is possible.  It always kicked up and covered my transmission in sand.  It was the bane of my last long distance tour.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

If I'm going for a bike ride, I definitely prefer riding my bike, particularly with brevet time limits. If I'm roughstuffing, I don't want brevet time limits.

[L CC]

Spurn Head 400 doesn't go to Spurn Head any more. Is that because of the sand?

I'd be OK with coastal path, but sand isn't good for chains. I don't really want to walk (that far in one go) on a timed bike ride.

[willpom gwraudax]

I don't understand how riding across sandy paths is possible.  It always kicked up and covered my transmission in sand.  It was the bane of my last long distance tour.

Never said anything about riding across a sandy path....

A 'gravel' - more firm surface with stones 900m, and walking across a sand bar 500m.

Obviously it would be an advisory route and there is a road option round it just a little longer and a bit hillier.

[Lee Killestein]

Planning a 1000km+ ride for the distant future. It could involve a short section on a well made coastal gravel path and a 500m walk across a sand bar. Would this put off or would you go hell yeah!?

Gravel, sand bars? Sounds very interesting. It wouldn't bother me on a 200, even less so on a 1000. Good to know in advance though.

[Deano]

It wouldn't put me off, though the walk sounds a bit long.

I've got a similar dilemma for a distant plan (but without any walking). My instinct is to go with it, but point out the alternatives.

[grams]

Absolutely fine.

As long as there aren't shitloads of hills.

[willpom gwraudax]

Absolutely fine.

As long as there aren't shitloads of hills.

Erm.... not on that section.... 

[whosatthewheel]

It should take about 7 minutes to walk 500 m...

I struggle to think how that is going to make a difference over a 75 hour period...

For comparison, I don't think a puncture can be fixed in 7 minutes...

[mattc]

I'd be OK with coastal path, but sand isn't good for chains. I don't really want to walk (that far in one go) on a timed bike ride.

I'm kinda thinking the same ... but it wouldn't be a certain deal-breaker. Certainly worth knowing about before we enter (see: TINAT rides, which were great but not for everyone!)

fboab: how long d'ya think the Big Gravel path was in Belgium 2016?

My other concern is that a "sand bar" sounds like it might be coastal. And quite exposed. And thus even in UK "summer" there is a chance of quite severe WEATHER. (TBFair, Will has mentioned an alternative, which presumably would be a bail-out option in case of WEATHER.)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

whosatthewheel, walking hurts, riding doesn't. Consequentially I don't like walking when I can avoid it e.g. I tend not to ride fixed on routes that I know will require walking. There are plenty of 1000km brevets and I'll tend to ride the ones that let me ride, rather than walk. The OP asked whether requiring walking would put people off. That would tend to put me off but not invariably so.

[L CC]

fboab: how long d'ya think the Big Gravel path was in Belgium 2016?

Longer than 500m, further than I wanted to walk, and crucially- NOT ON THE ROUTE 

(I just checked- into the woods at 669km and back on tarmac at 672km)

[JonJo]

Spurn Head 400 doesn't go to Spurn Head any more. Is that because of the sand?

Possibly. Since the road washed away there are no plans to reinstate it and Spurn Point can now only be reached at certain states of the tide. Could be tricky planning your arrival time, especially if it were on a 1000km ride.

[andyoxon]

Ok, as long as the sand bar isn't akin to Bristol channel mud bank... 

[quixoticgeek]

You have my interest. If the start has a good B&B, and it's run as a BRM in 2020, I'm interested.

J

[Diesel]

Fine for me. Might make the route more interesting, like the Strawberry line on the Moonrakers. As long as entrants were aware I don't see a problem.

[Phil W]

Rideable gravel is ok if I know about in advance and how much.  Sand bank sounds like a nightmare of clogging up the cleats and getting sand into the drive train and disc brakes etc. My 100 km event had just over 40km of gravel last year and had minimum and max speeds to match.

[Ben T]

I think it would put me off. If it was 50m maybe but 500m, no.
Still better to be pointed out in advance than just find it on route.

What is a sand "bar"? Never heard that term.
If it is a thin layer of sand on tarmac underneath some people may try to ride it but fall off, if it was that I'd put something very strongly to the effect that you shouldn't try and ride it.