Cycling UK Forum

I'm on my way back on the train after spending 3 days on the WKW. I'm glad I turned up with a hardtail and not a gravel bike what with the muddiness of some of the trails after a wet summer.

It was demanding, as much due to the navigation as the riding, although the riding is in places more technical than the Ridgeway and The South Downs Way and not to be sniffed at. This was the first time I had ever mounted a phone to a bike and I soon found out that the OS app with GPX,.although a pleasure to follow, destroys the battery, so for much of it I was stopping and starting to navigate, including compass use on the moors. I know there are cycle computers out there but I'm still not fully at ease being taken round by technology.

By the third day at Redruth it became clear that I wasn't going to complete the lot so I turned round on the miners trails and rode pretty direct for Marazion.

I had a bivvy bag/tarp and stove for a bit of breakfast no more (plenty of.pub/cafe stops) and wildcamped each night and there were some stunning dawns and dusks, including this morning at Boat Cove looking out to St Michaels Mount. I found that the Coast Path and the National Trust land gives ample opportunities.

The comments on this thread really make sense to me now I've tried riding it. On balance I am thankful to Cycling UK for putting it together, but must admit the figure of 8 isn't to my taste as I love the idea of a 'way' not a loop and generally do bikes on the train/plane/boat wherever I start/finish (loved the Helford ferry crossing).

A too blasé attitude in preparing for the trip meant I didn't heed the warning about the barbed wire and high gate at Kennack Sands! Dispirited and unsure that there wouldn't be more of the same further up the cliff, I went right back and round on the road.

Doing this in high season was not a critical factor - for miles and miles on the inland off road segments I didn't see a soul.

Thanks, they look good - still pretty cheap with postage so am considering ordering.

Any recommendations for a robust mudguard that can withstand offroad touring, fitted on a cross bike?

Doing the Via de Plata in Spain last summer I ended up ripping off my SKS mudguards - all the bumps on the offroad sections just kept knocking them into the tyres.

But this summer I'm set to do camino del norte on the northern coast, and with the greater possibility of rain, thought that maybe some kind of protection is a good thing.

Mountain guard clip on style?

Thanks

Helpful reading. The Picos sound as if they can get pretty cold even in summer and since i am crossing them from Santander to join up with the via de Plata further south, I think I'll take a lightweight tent and more than a summer weight sleeping bag.

I arrive in Santander on aug 5 with the intention of heading over the Picos and then to Seville on the Via De Plata.
Are there enough refugios on the VDP route not to need a tent?

Thanks