Downs 300 ITT

[dlovett]

Hello,

I am just trying to find out what interest there would be from you guys to do a new ITT that we are planning down South.

Called the Downs 300, it will be 300km of mostly off road riding (90+%) on the South Downs national park and the North Downs. The basic route has been done and is in the process of local testing and tweeking. It's designed to be a 'fast' ride, rather climbing ride. Climbing will be approx 4500m.

I guess you say it is of an XC nature and It will feature the SDW, some of the classic Big Dog track at Stanmer, Stenyning's climbs and descents, a blast through QE Park and some classic Surrey Hills trails.

We are aiming to have it ready for this winter as generally it's not too cold and snowy down here.

Let me know your thoughts.

Duncan

[Richard G]

Cycling... in winter? What madness is this?!?

[dlovett]

We don't have sheep to keep us warm over winter down South, unlike you Welshies!

[ianfitz]

Hello,

I am just trying to find out what interest there would be from you guys to do a new ITT that we are planning down South.

Called the Downs 300, it will be 300km of mostly off road riding (90+%) on the South Downs national park and the North Downs. The basic route has been done and is in the process of local testing and tweeking. It's designed to be a 'fast' ride, rather climbing ride. Climbing will be approx 4500m.

I guess you say it is of an XC nature and It will feature the SDW, some of the classic Big Dog track at Stanmer, Stenyning's climbs and descents, a blast through QE Park and some classic Surrey Hills trails.

We are aiming to have it ready for this winter as generally it's not too cold and snowy down here.

Let me know your thoughts.

Duncan

What! The chance to ride bikes a long way. It'll never catch on...







Seriously though, I've never ridden down south so the chance to have a look would be good. Especially if its a winter friendly route.

[whitestone]

Would be interesting. Are you thinking of a group start? If so what time of year?

I'm slightly ahead of Ian (for once) here as I attempted the Braunton 150 earlier this year

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Definitely interested, but my recollection of the SDW in winter is very greasy, and churned up by horses.

[mat_swan]

I'll be interested to the route you've come up with. I'd mooted a couple that started out in my head as super one day loops and got bigger, but never quite got the routes to stick.

One looping one way or another from the north downs, round through the surrey hills, hindhead, south downs and along then back up through the ashdown forest, over the greensand ridge around limpsfield chart and back along the north downs. I couldn't figure out how to make the ashdown area anything other than a road slog though.

The other was more ambitious and involved something like north downs, guildford, down the west side of surrey to hindhead, over the south downs to portsmouth, ferry to IoW, cross IoW, ferry back to New Forest, ride up to Winchester, along SdW and then maybe downs link to Surrey hills, possibly with box hill to finish (you know, because it's supposed to be iconic and all that). I liked the ferries as they introduced artificial cutoffs but the New Forest leg looked dull. Scenic, but road and dull. I recced the leg down to Portsmouth last summer in the middle of that horrific week at the end of August and despite arriving in Havant nearly turning blue from several hours soaking wet as the night drew in I thought it could be a goer.


So, short answer, yes, would love to see the route, can help if you want some extra north downs tracks scouting out!

[dlovett]

Once the route is finalised we will publish it and see if we can sort out a group start.

Generally the SDW is a hard pack surface on the sections we are using as we are trying to avoid the sections that do get a bit churned up over winter. The South Downs are quite Chalky and North Downs/Surrey Hills are more of a sandy base, We live and ride round here and want to ensure that it is actually all rideable.

Sadly there aren't many mountains but there will be some 200-300m (vertical) climbs that are technical. Unfortunately there aren't fields of tussocks or swamps.

[dlovett]

If you know the area, starting from the SE it's Stanmer, to Steyning, to Whiteways, to QEP via SDW/Monarchs and Bridle Paths. Then NE towards Hazemere and the Devil's Punch Bowl area. East ish through the Surrey Hills towards Peaslake and then SE towards downslink and SDW.

We are just trying to add something me more off road bits through the Surrey Hills and add in a section to replace some of the downs link with bridlepath and country lanes.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I think you've missed a trick with the name - surely, 'Down, down, deeper 'an down'

[Ray Young]

I think you've missed a trick with the name - surely, 'Down, down, deeper 'an down'

Hopefully it'll be more varied than they are!

[Charliecres]

Very interested, as it's my back yard. Glad to hear you'll be breaking up the Downs Link, it's terminal.

[Charliecres]

On the names front, these all seem appropriate:
Downs and out
Downs and dirty
Southern Discomfort

I'll get my Barbour

[Richard G]

Southern Discomfort

Ha, I like that one.

[SRS]

I rode a route that last December on the CX that included the Nirvana Killer loop in the Surrey Hills and a lot of it was a sodden mud bath. I then did 200k of the Smoke Ring route in March on the CX bike and the Surrey Hills section was again absolutely soaking wet. I'm sure it would have been quite a different experience if it had been dry.

[mat_swan]

Sounds interesring- my only quibble with that would be that the surrey hills may be sandy but the north downs certainly aren't!

If you'd like some more miles in the north downs I can help with trails as far east as sevenoaks, or if you want to come up through Guildford to the north downs before going back down through the surrey hills.

Or if you just need someone to go and test ride bits!

[sean_iow]

I'm very interested, it will be the closest ITT to me by some distance, close enough to be the motivation to ride my first

Sean

[Sussex Paul]

I'd definitely be interested, sounds like the route could come right past my front door. If you need any help getting from the South Harting area up to Haslemere, punchbowl and beyond, give me a shout, it's a regular route.

[Will]

I would love to give this a go either as a group start or ITT, i live in Brighton so it looks as though that coincides with the start at Stanmer.

Well done for all the work so far on the route.

As a mini thread hijack some of you might be based near to me so does anyone here want to join me on the first South coast winter Bivi 10th 11!th December ? Check the 'anyone playing out' thread :)

Will

[jameso]

The other was more ambitious and involved something like north downs, guildford, down the west side of surrey to hindhead, over the south downs to portsmouth, ferry to IoW, cross IoW, ferry back to New Forest, ride up to Winchester, along SdW and then maybe downs link to Surrey hills

No hijack intended but I'd be interested in the GPXs of that Mat, if you were ok with sharing them. I could send you some stuff I'd mapped out in return, between the Chilterns and the NF and the Purbecks using byways over Wiltshire and S of the Ridgeway. Was hoping to have a few days worth of UK riding ready for a week's good weather and a time-off opportunity sometime. Put them together and it'd be a big loop.

Downs route would be interesting as a 'best of' the area ride.

[dlovett]

Thanks for all the feedback, I'll keep everybody posted.

d

[mat_swan]

No hijack intended but I'd be interested in the GPXs of that Mat, if you were ok with sharing them. I could send you some stuff I'd mapped out in return, between the Chilterns and the NF and the Purbecks using byways over Wiltshire and S of the Ridgeway. Was hoping to have a few days worth of UK riding ready for a week's good weather and a time-off opportunity sometime. Put them together and it'd be a big loop.

I mooted a couple of routes, including a monster that went all the way from the IoW along to the purbecks and back looping through salisbury way but I don't know the area north of the coast other than what I've done on the dorset gravel dash so had no idea if it would work. I'll see what I actually got round to plotting and if I have a gpx you're welcome to it. It'd be interesting to compare notes and see if we can hammer something out!

[Mariner]

Good luck with this. I had to bail on my SDW ride this week after getting caught out on the decent from Harting Down. I didn’t realise that I was actually riding direct on chalk rather than hardpack. A bank of mist had rolled across to create a damp greasy long downhill that just led to the scene of the accident.

[Javi]

Never done the SDW but I live in the south and I'm interested, too.

I had in mind something like riding the Ridgeway and linking it to the South Downs way and then...?

[dlovett]

Well it's coming along nicely, currently at 313km and 4100-4500m depending upon who you believe. Test riding of the route is starting this weekend and a semi final route should be complete soon.

One of the problems with down south, is the amount of privately owned land and as a result there are a couple of place where it's use a foot path or a major detour.

What are people's thought on a route that would have some small sections that would require the riders to officially walk bits?