The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Jdsk
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The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Jdsk »

"Be one of the first to learn about Cycling UK’s newest long-distance cycle route, the Rebellion Way.

"Follow in the chariot tracks of the trailblazing warrior queen Boudicca on this 228-mile (364km) bikepacking trail around Norfolk.

"Sign up for all the latest updates today to be the first to receive the route when it is revealed at the beginning of October. You could also be in with a chance of winning some great bikepacking gear from Restrap."


https://www.cyclinguk.org/webform/rebel ... first-know

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mjr
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by mjr »

I noticed yesterday that one of the old droves near an Iceni site had been cleared to a decent width. I wonder if that's related.

Nevertheless, the mention of bikepacking makes me think this will be another off road route, not a normal touring route.
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MrsHJ
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by MrsHJ »

Is there a link somewhere that summarises some of these UK routes? (I assume there is, I just spend most of my time touring outside of the country). I’d be up for some of these couple of hundred miles routes as a short break. I know I can make my own but it’s the ideas of where has some great quiet roads and trails that I quite like.

On the other comment about regular touring, presumably on a road bike I agree that it’s now a thing that some fixed routes are at least partially unpaved. I became a convert in the states where the trails were amazing (but not without challenges) and the roads varied from gorgeous quiet country roads to mega highways with no hard shoulder. One thing I’ve observed is that fewer roads are paved in some other countries (eg Italy based on my recent trip) so even if I’m on road it might be unpaved. I’ve concluded that I prefer quiet gravel to busy highways although I don’t want to be on gravel all the time so I’ve gradually sorted my bike(s) set up so I have one that does gravel well and one that does it ok. YMMV but I try to get the best out of all worlds (except mountain biking single track - requires too much concentration for my type of ambling).
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Chris Jeggo
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Chris Jeggo »

mjr wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 12:08am Nevertheless, the mention of bikepacking makes me think this will be another off road route, not a normal touring route.
Yes, it's yet another CUK touring route with too little on tarmac. Is bikepacking the cycling equivalent of backpacking? It clearly means carrying luggage for a multi-day ride. I don't want the effort of propelling my loaded touring bike along the soft, grassy verge of a wheat field or rattling my luggage over a stony field track (as in the Rebellion Way photos). I want my wheels to roll easily over a smooth, hard surface.

Close to 99% of my riding is done on quiet roads, whether on day rides or longer tours, and whether with my local CUK Member Group (MG) or otherwise. These 'bikepacking' routes are not what we normal tourists want. CUK seems to have lost touch with its touring members and MGs. CUK National Office is slap bang in the centre of my local MG area but it is extremely rare for a member of the staff to put in an appearance at any of our rides or other events. That has not always been the case. Chris and Helen Juden used to lead rides and tours for us (and have been sorely missed since they moved to the Peak district), but they were not the only ones.

I have a copy of 'The CTC Route Guide to Cycling in Britain and Ireland' by Christa Gausden and Nick Crane (Penguin 1981). It describes a network of quiet road segments which can be strung together to create tours or long distance through routes. It is less idiosyncratic and gappy than the Sustrans NCN. CUK should be updating, extending and putting online that network. It should be encouraging cyclists on to the roads, not off them.
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gaz
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by gaz »

Chris Jeggo wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 10:00amCUK should be updating, extending and putting online that network. It should be encouraging cyclists on to the roads, not off them.
There is an all but forgotten member resource, the CTC maps website. It has so far escaped both the rebranding and the threat of being switched off completely, however as it has not been kept up to date the search functions and much of the online mapping no longer function.
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Nearholmer
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Nearholmer »

CTC should be encouraging cycling, full stop, and from what I can see it does.

A lot of people, myself included, thoroughly enjoy off-tarmac cycling of the kind that ‘bikepackers’ adhere too and it seems bizarre to criticise CTC for catering to “rough stuff touring” as well as “smooth stuff touring”, and if you look at those old films of “touring competitions” in days of yore, it isn’t as if off-tarmac cycling is a new idea.
Last edited by Nearholmer on 16 Jul 2022, 11:06am, edited 1 time in total.
Jdsk
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Jdsk »

Nearholmer wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 10:41am It should be encouraging cycling, full stop, and from what I can see it does.

A lot of people, myself included, thoroughly enjoy off-tarmac cycling of the kind that ‘bikepackers’ adhere too and it seems bizarre to criticise CTC for catering to “rough stuff touring” as well as “smooth stuff touring”, and if you look at those old films of “touring competitions” in days of yore, it isn’t as if off-tarmac cycling is a new idea.
Yes.

I can't see any reason for setting one type of cycling against another.

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Chris Jeggo
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Chris Jeggo »

I didn't mean CUK should not be encouraging off-road riding at all; I could have worded that sentence better. It's just that all the new CUK bikepacking routes are more off-road than on-road, whereas in general more cycling is on roads and dedicated, hard surfaced cycle routes rather than bridleways, which are primarily for feet and hooves. CUK should be promoting a more balanced selection of touring routes.
simonhill
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by simonhill »

What these so called new touring routes need is decent affordable accommodation. This will encourage, or rather won't discourage, people to tour.

With more and more campsites going upmarket and many of the old tap and a field ones closing, even camping isn't always a cheap option - unless wild, which many don't like.
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Aikon »

The King Alfred Way encouraged me to start paying membership, the Rebellion Way will be ridden before the year is out, I’m not generally interested in road cycling, preferring either full on MTB, or light trails & quiet roads I can enjoy on a road bike with suitable 40mm tyres.
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MrsHJ
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by MrsHJ »

simonhill wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 11:16am What these so called new touring routes need is decent affordable accommodation. This will encourage, or rather won't discourage, people to tour.

With more and more campsites going upmarket and many of the old tap and a field ones closing, even camping isn't always a cheap option - unless wild, which many don't like.
Yes agreed, some of the newer routes are potentially getting younger bike packers out on their bikes and they need youth hostels, camping (by which I mean traditional) and bunk houses and I think quite a lot of us older folks appreciate that sort of accommodation too. I haven’t explored these routes in more detail but I know that the Devon coast to coast has some of this type of accommodation option. That possible lack was quite interesting/concerning when looking at that recent request for teens to tour the cantii way.
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Bsteel »

Chris Jeggo wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 10:00am I have a copy of 'The CTC Route Guide to Cycling in Britain and Ireland' by Christa Gausden and Nick Crane (Penguin 1981). It describes a network of quiet road segments which can be strung together to create tours or long distance through routes. It is less idiosyncratic and gappy than the Sustrans NCN. CUK should be updating, extending and putting online that network. It should be encouraging cyclists on to the roads, not off them.
Personally I think that there are more resources available for planning routes on tarmac that will help to identify what to expect from a road segment before it's ridden. In my experience off-road routes tend to be a lot more variable, conditions change and rights of access, correctly or incorrectly, may have changed. Hopefully, these routes will allow travel with a higher level of confidence of the conditions to expect.
Which isn't saying that off-road should be the only focus but it does seem to fill a gap at the moment.
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by Nearholmer »

Couldn’t agree more about accommodation. I’m no longer as young as I was, and want neither the expense and booking ages ahead of B&B, nor the wildness of wild camping, so would love to see more simple, very basic accommodation. The YHA seems to have largely given up on small wayside places, and nobody much seems to think there is a commercial
opportunity in it. My bro is big pals with a farmer near the SDW, so I shall get him to float the idea.
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MrsHJ
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by MrsHJ »

Bsteel wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 12:09pm
Personally I think that there are more resources available for planning routes on tarmac that will help to identify what to expect from a road segment before it's ridden. In my experience off-road routes tend to be a lot more variable, conditions change and rights of access, correctly or incorrectly, may have changed. Hopefully, these routes will allow travel with a higher level of confidence of the conditions to expect.
Which isn't saying that off-road should be the only focus but it does seem to fill a gap at the moment.
Yes, this. It’s how do you know something good to ride is out there, how do you join it up to the local road network etc. Because some of the better off road sections can be amazing but totally inaccessible/unknown if you’re not local. I agree I like uk cycling to offer a range of routes and these new ones have some good potential for me as someone who historically had a fairly hard core road touring approach. Edit: interesting to see Andy’s review of the King Alfred route on the cantii thread- doesn’t sound in great condition.

This is why I’m doing the Ruta de la plata with large chunks of the off road route- I just wouldn’t know what to look for without both the route being signed and semi organised and also someone having written a guide so I know which bits I’ll be able to manage and which bits I’ll do on the road alternative. Add on the Spanish route map with accommodation info and I’m sorted for next spring.
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mjr
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Re: The Rebellion Way (Norfolk)

Post by mjr »

MrsHJ wrote: 16 Jul 2022, 12:30pm This is why I’m doing the Ruta de la plata with large chunks of the off road route- I just wouldn’t know what to look for without both the route being signed and semi organised and also someone having written a guide so I know which bits I’ll be able to manage and which bits I’ll do on the road alternative. Add on the Spanish route map with accommodation info and I’m sorted for next spring.
Which touches on my other criticism of recent Cycling UK routes: they're unsigned and so unknown to most people who aren't specifically looking for them.
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