Search found 139 matches

by F70100
23 May 2020, 10:05am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Camping & Caravanning Club: Priority for cyclists/walkers?
Replies: 11
Views: 965

Re: Camping & Caravanning Club: Priority for cyclists/walkers?

I seem to recall someone on here saying that the Club sites, in particular, were meant be able to save a little space to accommodate late arriving walkers and cyclists even if the sites were officially at full capacity.


That has been the policy of the CCC. Any roadmap to getting back to normal though may well mean that sites open without the facilities blocks being available. That is easy to deal with for caravan and motorhome owners. Those using camper vans without onboard facilities, and tent campers, may well only be accommodated if they arrive with a portapotty and toilet tent...

I suspect that cycle tourers and backpackers may have some further time to wait before we can use campsites :?

My understanding is that all CCC campsites are generally operated under a franchise arrangement. Their Certificated Site network (i.e. the small capacity ones that can operate without having to have obtained planning permission to be a campsite) are all privately owned. Not all have facilities (essentially a loo) to accept tent campers.
by F70100
4 May 2020, 8:33am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Suggestions & tips for biking in UK
Replies: 14
Views: 1053

Re: Suggestions & tips for biking in UK

I would suggest Suffolk & Norfolk.
by F70100
13 Oct 2019, 6:04pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: Tenting/Camping LEJOG
Replies: 56
Views: 7278

Re: Tenting/Camping LEJOG

mattsccm wrote:Much better that way. I remember a visit to Maine in the early 90's when English pubs were trendy over there. You could buy beer by the pint in handled glasses. Bar staff were not happy when I pointed out that a fifth of the pint was missing. All very amicable though.


I guess that saying a fifth is missing is better than saying you need a quarter more... :wink:
by F70100
16 Sep 2019, 7:08pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Avenue Verte campsites
Replies: 2
Views: 1509

Re: Avenue Verte campsites

Some of the best campsites I’ve been to are naturist 8)
by F70100
5 Sep 2019, 6:37pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: DSLR Compact Camera or Phone? Belgium c50km/day
Replies: 61
Views: 4638

Re: DSLR Compact Camera or Phone? Belgium c50km/day

The “which camera” question can only be answered if you can say what creative choices you wish to have when taking an image.

Do you want to be able to control focal length, aperture, shutter speed and iso? How you answer that dictates what you take.
by F70100
25 Jun 2019, 10:18pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cycling in the Lake District
Replies: 36
Views: 4487

Re: Cycling in the Lake District

Rod Goodfellow wrote:"We went to the Pencil Museum on Honeymoon and really enjoyed it...!" Which?

Lead in your pencil?


:wink:
by F70100
25 Jun 2019, 7:55am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cycling in the Lake District
Replies: 36
Views: 4487

Re: Cycling in the Lake District

philvantwo wrote:I've been to Keswick 3 times on walking holidays and I certainly wouldn't recommend taking a bike unless you've got a low geared bike and enjoy climbing hills.The pencil museum is a waste of money so don't bother with that.


Lake District roads are too busy for me to enjoy cycling, but might be ok for early morning rides

We went to the Pencil Museum on Honeymoon and really enjoyed it...!
by F70100
8 Jun 2019, 12:02am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Bicycle versus motorbike luggage capacity?
Replies: 35
Views: 3238

Re: Bicycle versus motorbike luggage capacity?

My motorbike has 2 panniers of 20 litres each and a top box of 45 litres. More importantly, the manufacturer specifies 10kgs maximum for the panniers and 15kgs maximum for the top box. Having the top box fitted (even if empty) invokes a manufacturer recommended maximum speed of 120mph to maintain stability (relevant on the autobahn...)

The maximum permitted maximum weight is 495kgs, and the bike alone is about 225kgs. If you have 35 kgs in the luggage, and a rider weight of 100 kgs, you can carry another 135 kgs if you can find somewhere to secure it :D
by F70100
28 May 2019, 11:32am
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: 2019 JOGLE route advice
Replies: 13
Views: 3710

Re: 2019 JOGLE route advice

rgtuit wrote:
Not sure where I've gone wrong there... which route planner do folks prefer? I'm leaning towards Komoot, but that's only because it makes the route shorter and flatter!


Personally, I prefer ridewithgps.com

Another way round the A82 and Glasgow is the big bypass via Arran. Route details are in the video (https://youtu.be/pX8igF4rX-U) description; day 7 through to day 11.
by F70100
28 Feb 2019, 4:08pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: LEJOG: would I enjoy it?
Replies: 31
Views: 7614

Re: LEJOG: would I enjoy it?

londoncommuter0000 wrote:
Tigerbiten wrote:
londoncommuter0000 wrote:
I'd love to do it. But I am 51 and all too aware that there are a limited number of summers left to me.

How many days are you thinking of taking to do the route ??
3 weeks works out to be roughly 50 miles per day.
But the more back roads you use, the longer and more lumpy the route tends to be.

Also are you thinking of camping or credit card touring.
Using a credit card to book rooms makes it easier to cover a good daily distance but at roughly 4x the cost.
If you are going to camp then try to stick to camping unless the weathers very bad.
Otherwise it's not worth carrying the extra weight.

My method of route finding is to link together sections of Sustrans routes that are going in my direction.
Once the Sustrans route starts to go somewhere silly then abandon it and aim for the next section.
By going somewhere silly I mean the likes of .....
..... using three sides of a square ....
... cut across a grass field ......
..... go up and down stairs ......
...... to avoid a short section of main road.
But as long as you've a good sat nav that you can plot your route into, then route finding can be fairly painless.

Luck ............. :D


I'd probably do 45-50 miles a day.

But my comment was more in the vein of : that would be that year's annual leave blitzed.

If I'm lucky and if whatever deity is real shines upon me, I have 30 summers left. 1/30 of that to do a trip where I would not see my wife, and where she'd either be sitting at home or else doing her own solo holiday that year, isn't feasible.

It's a pity, I know. I'm missing out on what would be an epic jaunt. And I do not presume to judge anyone who chooses to do it. Respect to them.

This easter, we're cycling from Dunkirk to Bruges. And then next year, we're cycling from Bergen to Trondheim.

The year after that, we want to explore Japan by bike.

Happy days.



I wanted to do a Jogle; my wife, who doesn't cycle anyway, didn't want to miss the adventure so we used our small motorhome as accommodation - she drove campsite to campsite whilst I cycled. Might your wife drive a hired campervan/motorhome and do her own thing whilst you pedal?

Mrs F70100 hammered her National Trust Annual Membership card during the trip - I think she had a visit to something just about every day.

My route details (by no means a quick or short route) are in the video description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX8igF4rX-U&t=7s
by F70100
6 Feb 2019, 8:42pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Bike and cyclist transfer from Saint-Malo to Nantes
Replies: 13
Views: 2151

Re: Bike and cyclist transfer from Saint-Malo to Nantes

Would a one day, one-way car hire do the job?
by F70100
4 Jan 2019, 3:24pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: UK camping without a reservation
Replies: 24
Views: 2869

Re: UK camping without a reservation

It takes a bit of finding, and the wording actually renders the clause effectively worthless, but the following is extracted from the Camping & Caravanning Club "UK Club Site Policies";

2.5 - Backpackers wherever possible will be accommodated – please advise us at the time of booking. A backpacker is defined as a camper who arrives on site by foot, bicycle or canoe, but not in any form of motorised vehicle.
by F70100
13 Dec 2018, 3:53pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: Lejog
Replies: 9
Views: 5228

Re: Lejog

I did a Jogle this year using exactly the sort of numbers you're thinking about; I did 1160 miles over 22 days, which averages at 52 miles per day.

Whilst you do need to get on your bike and ride in preparation, I found this trip was more of a mental than physical challenge. At the risk of sounding like I've swallowed the premium athlete's word book, I found that just taking one day at a time, staying in the moment blah blah blah made it more than do-able.

Have fun!
by F70100
6 Dec 2018, 3:56pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: JOGLE, actually.
Replies: 4
Views: 5218

Re: JOGLE, actually.

althebike wrote:I enjoyed that, thank you for sharing


teamonster wrote:Scotland looked fantastic - you might have inspired me to try and give this a go next year. Cheers for sharing


puffin wrote:Great video, thanks for sharing.


Very welcome.
by F70100
1 Dec 2018, 5:40pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: JOGLE, actually.
Replies: 4
Views: 5218

JOGLE, actually.

I've finally got round to editing and uploading the footage I shot whilst riding my Jogle in August/September.

I must admit that although I felt I should get the camera out more often, I also just wanted to enjoy the trip primarily just as a cycle trip. Maybe I'll shoot more footage next time I do it...

Carriage of gear wasn't such a big deal; I was supported by my wife driving our motorhome from one night-stop to the next. Top Bird she is! I only had to carry gear appropriate to each day.

In any case, I shot the movie stuff on a Chinese GoPro copy (a Gitup Git 2. Yes, really!). I had 5 batteries but 1 each day was enough. The 64gb card was just under half full at the end, still with about 2hrs 30 mins recording time left.

The finished ( I say that, it's a bit rough & ready) article is below. Links to each days route are in the description.

[youtube]pX8igF4rX-U[/youtube]

Day 1 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/26838194

Day 2 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/26911973

Day 3 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/26911971

Day 4 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/26942586

Day 5 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27052853

Day 6 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27052852

Day 7 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27096962

Day 8 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27189511 & https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27189394

Day 9 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27189393

Day 10 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27221720

Day 11 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27412735

Day 12 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27412727

Day 13 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27412726

Day 14 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27413305

Day 15 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893566

Day 16 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893559

Day 17 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893560

Day 18 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893546

Day 19 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893543

Day 20 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893537

Day 21 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893684

Day 22 - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27893532