right so im planning on leaving liverpool on the 19th then riding to manchester to meet matt and were goin to ride from manchester to london anyone ever done this? anyone know of any routes?
im thinking of usein the canal paths and carryin a tent
Nice one Chickin, sounds like an adventure. If I was doing this run I'd try and take in some of Wales on the way down but if you're stopping off in Manc that would go out the window I suppose.
You be looking for a place to crash? Let us know and we can get you sorted out..
fFucking hell, you must be a madman. If you really are going to ride all that way, then I'd bloody well take a tent, don't just think about it. Shitloads of food and tools and tubes too. And maps, obviously. And waterproof stuff. Canal paths are a bit slow, and if you get mugged, it might be harder to find help... and your assailant might push you in. That's what worries me about riding on canal paths anyway. I hope you're going to use gears too...
i wouldn't take to many tools just a couple of spare tubes and a hand pump that'll get em to proper pressure (i'd reccomend a zefel, mentioned on another thread somewhere). otherwise u'll just get weighed down by things u probablly wont use. if something bad happens theres not alot u can do about it on the roadside so there aint to much point in worryin bout stuff like that. maybe not even a tent, try and find a youth hostel or sumthin, i just rode from here to barnsley and i was carryin a bit too much (had to have four days of clothes for someones birthday), it really takes its toll when u begin to get tired. as for food i'd just take some energy bars to give u a boost when u need it and stop at a town when ur feelin peckish. i'd also highly reccomend gears esp if ur ridin back aswell.
hey chicken - I was gonna do that one day -I got all the maps. There are loads of Pubs doing B & B on the canal - it's the only way to go. And here's an idea: no bag, no panniers - just a nice big carradice. An don't use the fuckin' fixie, you mad cnut!
nar im usein the fixie my only other bike is a dirt jump bike and fook that for long distance the reason im ridin is coz im skint and im just gonna get a tarpaling and cans of tuna and beans i think and some cheap tesco caffine drink and wank on all the hobos i find
fair play to ya though geeza, i have chickened out of london's calling but i might go just to see this crazy liverpudlian arrive after riding 250+ miles of canals on a fixie...
tuna and beans...mostly protein...I'd get some carbs in there too!
Canal towpaths = good....might be slow surface but usually a pretty straight route and by definition flat....no cars, red lights, junctions....so probably safer than the roads if anything! see if you can get advance knowledge though as some towpaths have very bad surfaces and occasionally they disapppear altogether.
should be able to pitch up in remote locations, away from car parks and after dark..no problem...people who walk along canals radiate out from carparks or places where they can park cars and rarely go more than a mile before turning round and they certainly don't walk far after dark so anywhere between these zones will be very quiet at night....
Good luck Chickin sounds like a hobo adventure. Winston you seem to have a little too much info on quiet,dark canals. I hear they are a good place for Dogging?
Well, I attempted this same journey, albeit in reverse, 3 years ago.
There were a mulititude of mistakes made, the biggest two being taking the sustrance trails and buying a bike trailer for our tent and stuff. I think the trailor would have been ace if the trails didn't take us in so many unusual directions and up so many grass hill sides. After the trip was over some one mentioned to me about food in tetra packs (foil packages, like cans but light and flat) and I think I actually slapped my head and said doh.
Needless to say, we did a bit over 200 miles but only made it to birmingham, then took a train the rest of the way ( we were on a time limit).