Crispin’s
Guide to Stirling Cycling – Round Britain
Bike:
1993 Trek 520 Touring Bike –
Chromoly steel- touring bike
adapted for heavy touring. By the time
I set out, this bike has covered 12,000 miles in two years.
As supplied this bike is a
light-weight/ fast touring bike with a rock-solid frame. Everything was original kit, with the
exception of the following:
Chainset:
Shimano Deore LX
24/36/40 chainrings, Regina
Freewheel (12-32t). Sachs chain.
The idea was to give a range
of low gears. This worked, but even
lower gears would not have done any harm.
Wheels:
Front: Phil Wood hub, 36x 13g spokes, Mavic rim.
Rear: Phil Wood Freewheel hub, 36x 13g spokes,
Mavic rim.
The wheels were handbuilt by
Rodi in Ernies Bike shop, Wooster, Ohio and had done 5,000 miles before the
start of the trip. The rear wheel
lasted half way round before I had to get the drive-side spokes replaced by
Cycleology in Aberystwyth. Both sets of
wheels needed to be fully rebuilt at the end of the trip because of worn rims.
Tyres: Continental Top Touring (700x37c)
The front tyre lasted the entire trip and is still in use on my commuting bike (having spent 4 years hanging up in my shed),
The rear tyre last 3000
miles before splitting on the side-wall near Belfast. The replacement Continental Town & County lasted until it
split in Ay (1000 miles). The
replacement Michelin World Tour lasted to Thurso (1000 miles) where it was worn
through to the Kevlar belt. The final
leg was completed on Continental 32c Top Touring tyre.
Punctures: I carried two spare inner-tubes.
Apart from losing two tubes when the rear tyres split, my only other
problem was a damaged valve.
Front rack – ESGE aluminium. Rear rack: Trek own-brand. Pedals: Campagnola OR touring pedals with toe-clips and straps.
Mudguards: ESGE
Saddle: Brooks B17 narrow leather
saddle. This saddle is as comfortable
as can be on a long tour - I would never use anything else.
Lights: Soubitez bottom-bracket dynamo and lights. Never used them but good to know they were
there as a back-up.
LED- safety lights (front and rear). Useful for fog and heavy rain.
Bags: Carradice Super-C front
and rear panniers. I am still using these.
Freemans Countryman handlebar bag. Cheap and cheerful and a real pain to remove from the bike. I now use a Carradice Super-C bar bag.
Saddle-pack for carrying
tools.
Camping Gear:
- Northface
Starlight Extreme 2-man tent - I am too big for a one-man tent and the extra
room was a necessity rather than a luxury.
The tent was carried
strapped across the rear rack, wrapped in a cheap PVC ground sheet.
-
Northface
Blue Kazoo down- sleeping bag. Rated
to minus 5oC and it need to be!
I struggled with the bag getting damp with condensation from the tent,
but this never became a major problem.
-
Cotton
sleeping bag. This was used in Youth
Hostels and to protect the sleeping bag.
I would now use a pertex sheet-sleeping bag.
- Thermarest three-quarter
length sleeping mat.
- Coleman Apex-II
stove. Extremely temperamental but that
could have been because I ran it on 2-star petrol. Also used an MSR cookset,
Victorinox Cadet Swiss army knife, cheap eating irons and plastic bowls.
Clothing:
|
What I took: |
What I would take now: |
|
Eager Sports polyurethane-coated nylon rain jacket
(waterproof but not very breathable) |
Freestyle Extreme Goretex jacket |
|
|
Gamex windproof jacket |
|
Sprayway polyurethane-coated pertex rain pants |
Same again, but maybe the Freestyle brand |
|
Goretex socks |
Same again (I am still using the same socks six
years on) |
|
Trek fleecey bobble hat |
Same again, but something a bit less felty |
|
Cotton cycle cap |
Same again |
|
Cotton sun hat |
Same again |
|
Padded cycle gloves (Trek) |
Same again |
|
Polypropylene full-finger gloves |
Gore Windstopper gloves (good in the rain) |
|
Sidi leather touring shoes |
Shimano SPD touring shoes and pedals |
|
Cheap sport sandals (these split mid-tour) |
Teva sport sandals |
|
Padded cycle shorts (x2) |
Same again |
|
Ron Hill Trackster tracksuit bottoms |
Endura multi-tights |
|
Assos lycra/polypropylene long-sleeve cycle jersey |
Same again |
|
Sub-zero level 1 thermal tops (x2), |
Same again – I am still using on a daily-basis the
tops I bought in 1990! |
|
Coolmax T-shirt |
Same again, but x2 (maybe long-sleeve) |
|
Cotton T-shirt |
Do you know how long cotton takes to dry? |
|
Cotton sweatshirt |
Polartec fleece or similar |
|
Cotton underpants (x3) |
Same again, but in Coolmax |
|
Coolmax socks (x3 pairs) |
Same again |
Toothpaste, tooth brush, bar
of soap, Mountain Suds soap for hair, clothes and washing dishes; sun-block;
Vaseline and Savlon for chafing and pimples.
Activity towel cut down to
reduce bulk.
I used 1:250,000 OS
Routemaster maps. Buying the ones I needed
as I went along and mailing home those that became surplus to
requirements. In Ireland I used a
Michelin touring road map – not ideal for the back roads but good enough.
The route:
I set out with the intention
of cycling on the coast road round Britain.
By day two I realised that was a crazy idea and wandered where my fancy
took me, heading inland to see sights and to visit youth hostels. I then realised how busy the coast roads on
the south coast and started heading inland to find quiet, untrafficked
roads.
Timing:
In retrospect the trip was
timed to perfection. I set out on April
2nd 1995 and returned home on August 2nd. April is chilly but not too cold, while in
August the campsites are full and finding accommodation becomes difficult.
Peter Mann has written the
definitive book on cycling round Britain.
Recounting his story of his 10-month 1995 ride round Britain on a
Moulton, his book will tell you everything you need to know. I met Peter at Helmsdale Youth Hostel and we
spent an excellent evening swapping tales – he even mentions it in his book!
(Postcards From The Edge Of
Britain, by Peter Mann. Country Books
ISBN: 1 898941 40 8).
For details on how to
purchase this book, check Peter’s website at www.petermann-online.co.uk. Buy it now!
Crispin Bennett © 2001
Crispin’s
Guide to Stirling Cycling – Round Britain