The West Kernow Way is an off-road bikepacking route, devised by Cycling UK and historian / cycling journalist Guy Kesteven, connecting many of Cornwall’s landmarks and trails. 

It officially starts in the town of Penzance and the route takes you on what is effectively a figure-of-eight loop around western peninsula of Cornwall. The route include diversions to the Minack Theatre and Land’s End and The Lizard Point. Other points of interest include Cape Cornwall, The Loe and the mining trails around Redruth. The route ends in Marazion in front of St Michael’s Mount, before a pancake flat 3km trundle back to Penzance. 

Having completed the King Alfred’s Way last year, I caught the bikepacking bug hard. Cycling UK announced the route in Autumn 2021 and seeing as September worked well for last year’s trip, I aimed to complete this route at a similar time. 

I was originally going to ride the West Kernow Way with my friends, Rob and Charlie, who I rode the King Alfred’s Way with last year. However, that dwindled down to just myself and Rob nearer the start. 

The West Kernow Way is a 236km route with 4,000m of elevation. Having learnt last year that 80 / 90 mile days were rather difficult to adhere to in the daylight, we decided to ride the route in three days so we could also enjoy the sights that Cornwall has to offer. 

Day 1 would see us ride approximately 60 miles from Penzane to Porthleven, with stops to explore both The Minack Theatre and Land’s End. 

Day 2 would be a shorter but equally hilly 45 mile day from Porthleven to Falmouth. Falmouth isn’t on the official route but B&B’s can be few and far between in Cornwall and that was where we happened to find one. This would mean an additional 5 mile downhill diversion from the village of Longdowns. 

After a 5 mile ride back up to Longdowns, Day 3 was to be a 50 mile jaunt to the end of the route in Marazion. 

The Bike

I once again used a gravel bike for this trip and Cycling UK recommend the route as suitable for both gravel and mountain bikes. My Niner RLT 9 RDO with a Campagnolo Ekar groupset made for an excellent companion on the King Alfred’s Way last year and I had planned to ride it again for this route. 

However, I was commissioned to test and review a Berria Belador Allroad for BikeRadar. The Belador Allroad is the first gravel bike from the Spanish brand and it has a much racier agenda than my Niner. It most notably features a pivot at the seatstay junction called the ‘Active Flex Concept’ that delivers 26mm of movement. The bike features a SRAM Rival eTap AXS XPLR electronic groupset, carbon Zipp 303S wheels and a fully integrated front end. 

Although it’s a gravel race bike, Berria says it’s suitable for bikepacking, so what better way to test that claim than to take it bikepacking? 

I’d ridden around 400km on the Berria, prior to the West Kernow Way and had a good idea of how it handled. I was a little apprehensive as my initial impression was that it wasn’t the most comfortable, nor particularly composed over seriously technical terrain. 

As for how it performed, you can read my full review over on BikeRadar. 

Although I used bikepacking bags from Miss Grape last year, I was lucky enough to receive some Apidura bags from the brands’ Expedition series. I used the Expedition Handlebar Pack in a 9-litre volume, 4.5-litre compact-fit Frame Pack and the Expedition Saddle Pack in 14-litres. They all performed close to faultlessly. 

One mistake I had made was forgetting my preferred Rapha Explore Powerweave shoes at my parents home in Berkshire the last time I headed back for an extended weekend. This meant I had to ride in a pair of Fizik Vento Ferox shoes, which I had tested for BikeRadar and didn’t particularly get on with. 

Rob also rode a gravel bike and his also happened to be new. Earlier in the Summer, he placed an order for a Reilly Gradient and it had arrived a couple of weeks prior to this event. The Gradient features a titanium frame and offers a significantly more relaxed geometry over the Berria and is designed for bikepacking. The spec includes a SRAM Force eTap AXS XPLR electronic groupset with Miche wheels and Continental Terra Trail tyres. 

Preparation 

I’ve been on particularly good form this year, having moved to Bristol back in April for work. I’ve been riding largely the same distances as the last couple of years but I’ve also had to commute to the office three times a week, which is 8km each way. It may not seem like a lot but it all adds up. The riding around Bristol is far more undulating than Berkshire, where you can choose to ride a pan-flat route or head into the Chilterns or Surrey Hills which are typically shorter and steeper than the Cotswolds, Mendips or Wales. 

My tactic for the King Alfred’s Way paid off last year and so I replicated it again this year. I don’t have a problem with riding these distances off-road but it’s a different story when you’re riding this on consecutive days. This meant I got some weekends in of three to four consecutive long rides and started to taper down a couple of weeks prior to the event. I’d also been fortunate to ride a Canyon Endurace in Sardinia back in July, which helped with training for the elevation. 

On the afternoon before our first day of riding, I met Rob at Bristol Temple Meads station and after cycling back to my flat, we embarked on the 200 mile journey down to Cornwall. The journey ended up being rather eventful as Rob had taken the wrong train at one stage earlier and we had set off later than expected at around 5pm. This meant we inevitably got stuck in some pretty grim motorway traffic pretty much instantly on joining the M5 after the Almondsbury Interchange. 

We’d booked a hostel in Penzance for the first night that allowed check-in until 10pm and the traffic jam put a fairly significant dent into our journey. We realised after passing through Exeter that it was going to be tight timing and save for a nature break and a swift and economical meal at a McDonald’s, I had to put pedal to the metal on the accelerator of my Ford KA, which is rather shy above 60mph. 

Luckily, we just made it to the hostel in time and after getting my bikepacking bags packed for the morning, I attempted to hit the hay. Hostels really aren’t my bag but this was the bargain of the trip at £30. The next two nights were fortunately to be at B&B’s.  

Luckily, the room that could sleep eight wasn’t at full capacity and we just had two others to share the room with. Still, it was pretty ferociously hot and opening the window didn’t really achieve anything so I didn’t have a particularly good night sleep. 

Day 1 

It felt surreal that this day I’d been training for a while had finally arrived. After a rather hearty breakfast at the hostel (although not as substantial as Rob’s cereal, followed by full English, then toast and pastries!), we got everything packed. 

We thought we’d try our luck by seeing if we could leave the car at the hostel for the three days but that plan expectedly failed. Luckily, I had spotted on a West Kernow Way Facebook group that I am part of that you could park at Sainsbury’s in Penzance via the YourParkingSpace app for just over a tenner. 

We made the short journey to Sainsbury’s, parked the car and got the bikes ready to go. Between us, we’d taken three pumps – I had a Silca Tattico mini-pump and a larger Lezyne digital mini track pump, whereas Rob had something in between size-wise. We decided that as we were both riding relatively new tyres and Rob had tubeless bacon strips, should the worst happen, that I’d carry the small Silca pump. 

Onto the bike and straightaway, a bus gave me some ‘encouragement’ as I turned out of the supermarket car park, clearly unhappy that his journey would be inconvenienced by 30 seconds. After about a kilometre, we arrived in the centre of Penzance which is the official start of the route. Rob and I made sure to take a photograph at the start overlooking the picturesque beach. 

The route was reasonably flat through Penzance as it straddled the paved coastline and about 5km in just before reaching Mousehole, I noticed Rob only had one bottle on his bike, having left the other in the car. Rather than turn back and retrieve it, Rob decided that if we came across a bike shop, he’d buy one. Despite Rob only having one large bottle, we had roughly the same amount of water as the Berria’s bottle cage clearance with the Apidura frame pack was pretty wanting, so I had two small 500ml bottles. 

Riding through the charming town of Mousehole, Rob briefly stopped at a bakery to see if he could buy a plastic bottle of water to carry but to no avail. The hill out of Mousehole was pretty disgusting, although at least it was paved. This was followed by an equally steep and twisty descent into Lamorna. 

We’d reached our first off-road section of the day, which was a brief but picturesque climb through the trees up to a road. A reasonably undulating but steady 10km or so followed and we reached out first route diversion of the day to the Minack Theatre. The diversion saw a fairly long descent and then a short, sharp climb to the car park. 

We were welcomed by the mesmerising views of Porthcurno beach, one of the top rated beaches in the UK. After a photo opportunity, we explored the Minack Theatre, a spectacular open air theatre perched on the cliffs overlooking Porthcurno beach. After an explore and brief sit-down to watch part of a rehearsal, we had a quick coffee and then got back on the bikes as it was already midday and we’d ridden 20km. 

Rob suggested the prospect of lunch at Land’s End but that was only going to be roughly 32km in to a 96km day, so we agreed we’d try and eat at around the half-way mark. 

The route to Land’s End was virtually all on the road, bar one muddy trail where I got to put the Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres to the test on my Berria. It wouldn’t be unexpected to report that grip wasn’t ideal. 

We reached the route diversion for Land’s End as we met the A30 and turned onto it. After a kilometre or so of road, the route takes you on The Cornish Way trail, a gravel track which was glorious, with arresting vistas of Sennen Cove. It’s definitely up there with the highlights of the trip. 

Now at the farthest point of the UK, a brief wander around Land’s End revealed the iconic signpost now required payment if you wanted a photo taken in front of it. There is now a kiosk next to the sign where a photographer captures an image of you and can then send you hard copies or a downloadable file. We thought “Screw it,” and I took an image of the sign in between customers walking up to it and we then had a short stop for ice-cream. 

We followed the magnificent Cornish Way back to the A30 and decided we’d try and get a solid couple of hours riding in to make up some of the distance before stopping for lunch. 

Almost instantly after we set off, Rob’s rear tyre looked on the low side and we stopped to inflate it – this would go on to become a running theme of the trip. Rob was running Continental Terra Trail tyres and had set them up tubeless. Neither of us could find any problems with the tyre or the tubeless valve. 

It was largely more of the same in terms of terrain – lumpy road until around 42km. A few minutes before the gravel arrived, I had remarked it was disappointing there had only been a stingy portion so far. I certainly got what I asked for. 

We were faced with a viciously steep ascent on loose rock, where it could have been very easy to lose momentum if you picked the wrong line. 

This was then followed by an equally loose descent that we had to carefully pick our way down. The surface mellowed for a kilometre or so and we had another fairly rocky climb followed by another technical descent where the SRAM brakes got called into action. Additional spice featured with two walkers walking up the opposite way and whenever you’re trying to negotiate a technical descent where the slightest wrong choice could go wrong, you don’t want to embarrass yourself! 

The descent featured stunning views of Cape Cornwall and once we reached the bottom, we had a brief explore and photo opportunity. We then reached a road climb that would lead us to the town of St Just where I passed a cyclist on a carbon framed road bike sans luggage, who wasn’t particularly impressed I’d gone past with bags galore and wide 700 x 38mm tyres!

It wasn’t long before we arrived on off-road terrain again as the route hugs the coastline before turning inland at Trewellard. The terrain here was ideal for a gravel bike – relatively fine gravel with some grass and meadowland thrown in, another highlight of the day. 

After a while though, this turned into some seriously technical singletrack with some interesting gate designs thrown in for good measure. The paths were very narrow with frequent galleys and sharp rocks that could rip your tyres if you rode at the wrong angle. Whilst this section was fun, it was very slow-going and would probably be more suited to a hardtail mountain bike.

At one point, Rob looked like he was going to stack it as he came in rather hot on a brief drop that had a sharp rock next to it which he tried to avoid. Shortly after, I experienced a slow-motion fall where I took the wrong angle on a path and only hurt my pride briefly. It took us a good hour to ride what was 12km or so but it just shows the contrast in terrain the West Kernow Way can offer – the first 40km on the road may be fairly easy going but then you can get quite literally bogged down in singletrack and make slow progress. 

This extended singletrack section finished with a pretty epic but tricky descent that had some metal barriers every 100m or so for good measure! I was feeling both ready for some food and I was getting in quite a desperate state to refill my bottles once we hit the road. As is typical for this type of ride, there was bugger-all around and it didn’t look like we were going to find civilisation until we’d reach the town of St Erth. 

A little later than expected, we’d reached the A30 at Canonstown and thought there must be a shop or pub here but alas, nada! A brief look at the map revealed we weren’t too far from the picturesque town of Lelant but it would be a 4-5km diversion. Fortunately, I then struck gold as I spotted a service station on the map about a mile down the road and we thought this would be our best shot. 

We stocked up on water and I had an enormous Cornish pasty and full sugar Coke, while Rob had a sandwich and brought some cherry glazed cakes. We had a cake each and normally, it would have been sickly sweet but this was just the ticket for now. 

Refuelled and refreshed, we rode back up the A30 to pick the route up again which was predominantly small, leaf-stricken roads for a couple of kilometres. We experienced a slight GPX route faux-pas where our navigation wanted us to head through someone’s driveway and after a brief moment of research, we worked out there was a trail that circled the property to avoid this error. 

As the route continued to be a mixture of mud-stricken roads and even muddier trails, I was pretty tired and the expected service station stop renounce hadn’t kicked in. One tough climb was particularly boggy and I’d somehow managed to get a stone in my shoe. I had to perform acrobatics to carefully take my shoe off, extract the stone and put it back on without my foot meeting sloppy mud.  

The route continued to be annoyingly undulating and after a pleasant heather-infested section atop a hill, we reached a rather interesting gate with a sign indicating the trail was to become a footpath. Rob suggested turning back but I stubbornly wanted to continue the route and if it meant a brief walk for a footpath past a farmer’s property, so be it. 

Once we’d walked through, we were greeted by the breathtaking view of Porthleven and we knew we were only but a descent away. The descent into Porthleven was excellent and went on for a long time and we reached the picturesque town and located our sleeping quarters for the night. 

Porthleven is an ideal place to split the route as the second half of Day 1’s route was fairly difficult and consistently up-down. Performance-wise, I hadn’t had the best of days as I found the 30km or so a real trudge in places and the service station stop hadn’t really been of benefit, other than to hydrate. 60 miles may not seem a lot but in these conditions, it’s more than enough. 

Rob and I had a beer at The Harbour Inn on the harbour to celebrate our efforts and then ate a disappointingly small and overpriced ‘large’ fish and chips at The Ship Inn – whilst the pub was rammed and had character, I’d recommend heading elsewhere if you’re after a meal. 

Total distance: 96.7km

Total elevation: 1,603m 

Day 2 

After a rejuvenating eight hour’s sleep, Rob and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at The Harbour Inn and set off just after 10am. Today was to be a shorter 45 miles to Longdowns, followed by five or so miles to our B&B in Falmouth but with equal elevation to yesterday. With 60 miles and 1,600m of climbing in the legs from yesterday, it’d be safe to say the legs didn’t feel particularly fresh. Rain was also forecast until around 1pm, although as we started to get the bikes ready for the day, there was some coastal mist. I decided it was best just to stick my waterproof on straightaway. 

We headed out via Porthleven’s harbour and after a short 60m road climb, we were greeted by our first off-road section of the day. The route overlooks the coastline and after a relatively steep descent, you get a glimpse of The Loe. 

The Loe is Cornwall’s largest freshwater lake, separated by the sea via a picturesque beach. After some picture-taking, we diverted off the route to have a further explore and Rob suggested the idea of skipping the beach to avoid unnecessarily ruining the bike’s drivetrains. 

The route around The Loe was fabulous, the lake cutting an imposing presence – it’s a slice of heaven for walkers or cyclists who are lucky enough to live in this area. After cycling past the National Trust cafe and reaching the other side of the lake, we discovered the diversion would add more mileage than it was worth, so we decided to head back up again and cross the beach. At this point, it started to rain. 

That’s just what we did and after trundling back up the climb to where we made our diversion, we descended down to the beach. The beach wasn’t rideable so we got off and walked and I took the opportunity to get my ‘money shot’ photo of the Berria, to insert it into my BikeRadar review where I mention I took it bikepacking. It took a couple of goes to get it and involved strategic placement of pebbles but the end result was pretty good. 

As we neared the other side of the beach, it really started to rain at this point and Rob donned his waterproof gear. An off-road climb led us to the road, which would take us to Mullion. The road was briefly interrupted by a short yet upsetting, sandy and rutted climb through a gold course. 

The route took to the trails once again after we passed through the village, and it was more of the same rutted gravel with a beautiful heather-infested backdrop. There was one particularly rocky climb that was technically a footpath that necessitated walking and we then passed over a footbridge before being rewarded with spectacular views of Kynance Cove. 

After a brief stint on the road, we found ourselves passing through Lizard’s village centre. We  diverted off the road to check out the Lizard Point before heading back for a bite to eat. The Lizard Point was another stunning attraction with its domineering lighthouse and the view of freight ships in the distance. By this point the rain had also more or less stopped.

We rode back into the village and enjoyed a pasty and ice cream. With all the stopping and starting, it had taken us the best part of four hours to ride a little over 30km and with another 50km or so, we agreed to try and get a couple of hours in before stopping again. Looking at the prescribed route, potential places to stop looked few and far between so we thought if we happened to ride past a cafe or pub, we’d just stop then. 

I found the next 25 miles or so to be a real slog and the route is virtually all road. It’s fairly flat-going until you reach the town of Coverack and I felt on decent form, taking a few long turns on the front to try and make up some of the distance. 

The road descent into Coverack was particularly steep and technical and after a brief stop to check out the viewpoint, we started to make our way out of the town. A 4×4 driver (surprisingly not an Audi or BMW!) was stopped blocking the road for all other traffic, so we carefully negotiated ourselves past the offending vehicle. 

We quickly saw an unpleasant sign warning of a steep uphill gradient and we winched our way up the unpleasant climb to the top. 

The gradients would prove to never be quite as steep as the climb out of Coverack as we began to traverse our way around the Helford River. Although it was all road-based, this section was quite tedious and up-down. 

We pushed on until we reached Gweek, where we stopped for a coffee and cake. Rob also brought a Kernow cake, which looked the size of a brick, as an additional fuel reserve should we need it. Although the coffee wasn’t the best quality, a coffee and cake came in at £2.50 – bargain of the ride! 

The climb out of Gweek was another unpleasantly steep one and after 25 miles or so of road, I thanked the Cycling UK gods for introducing a brief gravel track. We also got to cross a ford, which is always fun. After a short stretch of road, we then found ourselves on an excellent wooded section.

Our fun was briefly interrupted by an impassable bridge and Rob decided to circle back whereas I crossed the stream running underneath and surprise, surprise, managed to stick one of my shoes in the water. 

After a muddy climb, we reached the village of Constantine where Rob stopped at a shop to buy some water and we then carried on towards Longdowns. I was quite ready to call it a day at this point and the last couple of climbs up to Longdowns were far from my best moments. 

I looked at my Garmin once we had reached the end of today’s route and saw we were 180m up high. This was going to be a fun climb in the morning! The descent into Penryn was long and steep and after passing through an industrial park and the town centre, we arrived in Falmouth. Rob’s Hammerhead chucked another unpleasant climb at us, which we later discovered proved unnecessary. 

We then started to look for the Jacob’s Ladder Inn, which would be our B&B for the night. A work colleague of mine who studied at Falmouth warned me the B&B had this name for a reason and the ‘ladder’ would be a long set of steps. He wasn’t wrong and when we saw the steps we’d have to scale, we decided to carry on riding up the road and take the long way around, up yet another climb, to reach our destination. 

We reached the B&B and after a well-needed shower, it transpired the hotel had stopped serving food. After a quick WhatsApp message for food recommendations in Falmouth to my work colleague, we headed to The Gurkha for excellent Nepalese cuisine that was far more substantial than the disappointing fish and chips the night before. We washed it down with a beer at the Beerwulf, a pub in a book shop setting which was rather cool and the only pub I’ve ever been to where the predominantly student demographic had brought in their own takeaways and were allowed to eat them on the premises. 

Day 2 was expectedly tough and the highlights were certainly the first 30km up to the Lizard Point. The 25 mile road drag was tedious though. 

Although we rode around the Helford river, if it’s open and running and you can spare the cash, I’d recommend taking the ferry diversion Cycling UK offers at Helford. You’re really not missing much riding around the river and your legs will thank you for it, although your wallet might complain a little. I was reading on a West Kernow Way Facebook group that the ferryman charges around £20 per passenger per crossing, which is rather a lot! 

Total distance: 86.4km

Total elevation: 1,582m 

Day 3

After a decent sleep but not as restorative as the night before, we got the bikes ready before breakfast and sat down to eat just after 8am. I didn’t feel quite at 100% and felt as if I had the beginnings of a cold coming but this could equally have been the result of two full-on days. 

We needed to finish the route and be back at Bristol Temple Meads station for before 8pm as Rob had a train to catch. Taking into account how long the first two days had taken us and estimating a five hour journey back with stops, we had our work cut out! Rob suggested editing the route down but this isn’t in the spirit of bikepacking and I was confident we could get it done. 

The ride up the hill to Longdowns made for a particularly depressing start, my legs refusing to spring into action. Once we hit the official route, after a handful of lanes, we hit the first extended off-road section of the day through grass and mud. My legs still refused to wake up, although Rob inversely was on fine form.

However, this soon changed as unluckily for Rob, last night’s Nepalese came back to haunt him. I rolled on and finally started to find a bit of form. When Rob caught up, we passed a rather picturesque reservoir before hitting the lanes again, which remained undulating in true Cornish fashion. 

This then turned into a heather-infested off-road trail and after a bit of a dicy 180 degree turn almost back on ourselves, we hit the Mining Trails. This is a 37.5 mile network of trails that span the towns of Redruth and Camborne and are also popular with walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers.  

This was a real highlight of the day and I’d love to revisit this section to explore it in further detail. 

The route predominantly sticks to these trails up to Portreath, with a few faster roads thrown in for added variety. Although only 40km in and feeling strong, Portreath seemed like the sensible place to stop for lunch, given there didn’t seem to be a great number of larger villages or towns until the end. 

We quickly found a bakery and we both had a steaming hot pasty each – this may have been the pasty of the trip for me and the beef was excellent quality.

The route out of Portreath was tranquil and after passing through a modern estate, we quickly hit the mining trails again. Annoyingly, my form seemed to have disappeared again and I was back to square one, really struggling in places. I can only think this was down to the sizeable lunch. 

We passed the picturesque Carn Brea and the off-road sections started to become more rugged, yet still undulating as we left the Camborne area. I was really running on fumes and getting quite frustrated with myself. I’d eaten and drunk a fair amount and had kept topping myself up, so there should be no reason for this lack of performance. 

This carried on for a couple of hours or so and I then miraculously found some form again. At one point heading through a village, we passed two other rides on hybrid bikes, embarking on the West Kernow Way. They would prove to be the only riders we would come across on the whole trip, compared to the many cyclists I came across every day on the King Alfred’s Way. 

This part of the route generally felt more jurassic in landscape and I knew we couldn’t be too far away from the finish once the Angarrack railway viaduct came into sight. 

We rode down a particularly hairy descent which I remember feeling relieved I didn’t have to climb on the way down and we crossed a footbridge over a river. The route advised us to head straight across but this wasn’t an option. 

After a few minutes of finding our bearings, we followed the path in either direction but this would lead away from the route. This was a rare GPX routing faux pas from Cycling UK and we crossed back over the footbridge and up the bastard climb. Rob routed us on the road through St Erth, where a closed road looked like it may put pay to the day but the builders kindly let us through. 

Ten or so kilometres added to the route, we found ourselves back on course and heading for the finish at Marazion. The last 5km felt noticeably flatter and we reached the end at Marazion, with the view of St Michael’s Mount in the distance. 

After some obligatory photography, we rode the couple of kilometres back to the Sainsbury’s car park in Penzance and made our journey homeward bound. And if you were wondering, we made it back to Bristol Temple Meads station in good time. 

Day 3 was a noticeably flatter but perhaps the most varied route of the three days, with no annoying extended road sections to deal with. My performance was strange and I haven’t suffered on the bike as I did in places here in many a year. I’d love to head back and explore more of this beautiful area and the Mining Trails were easily the highlight of the day.  

Total distance: 93.7km

Total elevation: 1,384m

West Kernow Way Reflection

The West Kernow Way proved an excellent bikepacking trip and the route mostly delivers on its picturesque settings and landmarks. There’s certainly a lot more road than King Alfred’s Way though, which I didn’t expect, and this is why a gravel bike with wide clearances makes for the best option as it’ll be hard-going on a mountain bike. This is especially true of the numerous gates or obstacles to negotiate, where the extra weight of a mountain bike would be a hindrance.

The highlight of the trip was probably riding around The Loe on Day 2, despite it not being as large an attraction as other landmarks on the trip. 

Choosing to ride the route in three days was the perfect decision, as bar the last day, we got to explore the surroundings at our own pace and truly appreciate the sights it has to offer. You could do it in two days if you missed the various stops the route takes you on but you’d be in for an unpleasantly undulating mid-section. 

Despite my poor performance at times this time around, I found the King Alfred’s Way a more challenging route. The hardest climb of the West Kernow Way is undoubtedly the rocky ascent on the first day at the beginning of the Cape Cornwall off-road section after Land’s End. There’s a good three or four climbs that are more challenging on the King Alfred’s Way but what saps your energy on this bikepacking route is the sheer undulation. 

Penzance makes for a good start to the route as you’ll have the flattest day at the end, and there’s good amenities for picking up supplies and car parking. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time and I’m looking forward to planning my next adventure. 

It felt rather alien yet bittersweet boarding an aeroplane abroad, after the coronavirus pandemic marked a two year period of not venturing away from UK soil. Back in late April, I ventured to northern Portugal for two weeks. I’d previously visited mainland Portugal once before, mainly sticking to the Algarve nearest the Spanish border and I’ve also travelled to the island of Madeira.

The first week of my Portuguese sojourn was spent exploring the beautiful, historic city of Porto and its surrounding area, as well as a trip to see a friend towards Leiria in the centre of the country. The second week was to be spent in the mountains to the east of Porto and cycling, of course, was on the agenda. Portugal may not hold quite the allure of cycling compared to France, Spain or Italy but as I came to discover, it is a hidden gem for cycling. 

I stayed in the picturesque Mondim de Basto, a town at the epicentre of the cities of Amarante, Vila Real and Fafe. The town is domineered by the Nossa Senhora de Graça Sanctuary, a church at the top of its mountain. It is located close to the River Tâmega, a tributary of the more well-known Douro river, and lies in a valley at around a 160m elevation. The town is surrounded by mountains in every direction that hover around the 1,100m mark so it’s a great location for getting some hill training in. That elevation is about standard for Northern Portugal, with most of the mountains hovering under the 1,500m mark. If you want to ride in hillier terrain, the city of Covilhã and the Serra de Estrela national park would be your best bet, which peaks at around 2,000m and sees snow during the colder periods of the year.

I rented a Trek Émonda SL5 Disc 2022 for four days and got three memorable rides in, choosing to spend a day exploring in each direction of the town towards the major cities. I had to take a rest day between days 1 and 2, for reasons which will shortly become evident, and so didn’t head to the North West of the town.

Day 1 – Vila Real 

Distance: 91km
Elevation: 2,103m 

The plan for the first day was a ride to the city of Vila Real and looping back to Mondim de Basto. I’d woken up not feeling brilliant with a sore throat and a headache but partially put it down to having a fair amount of excellent Portuguese beer over the past couple of days. I took a paracetamol after a hearty breakfast and headed out. 

The temperature was a warm 23 degrees and it was pretty humid. The first 30km of the ride was a climb up to the Alvão Nature Park that sits at 1,100m. The climb was generally picturesque but pretty unpleasant at the start as it averaged a seven percent with some steeper sections which then levelled off. 

Almost immediately into the climb, I suffered a sharp cramp to my right thigh. I went through a period of suffering with cramps when cycling, particularly towards the end of a longer ride and it would tend to be on a climb. I’ve since made some changes and it hasn’t been a problem for around two years but as you’ll go onto read, this ride more than made up for it! 

I wasn’t sure if I had cramped due to a poor position on a new bike, the fact I was testing some new Assos shorts for work which offer a more compressive fit or that I wasn’t feeling 100 percent. I pulled into a cafe in the small village of Bilhó around 15km up the climb to rest it a bit and see if that would help. I briefly considered turning back and aborting the ride but I have a very stubborn mindset and wanted to get my money’s worth out of the bike, as well as taking advantage of the warm weather as the rest of the week wasn’t forecast to be quite as balmy. 

After the stop, I continued up the arduous climb, passing through several small villages and a serene woodland setting. Unfortunately, resting the cramp didn’t help and I had to make a stop every 2-3 kilometres or so as the shooting pain felt pretty horrific. The final third of the climb was fairly fierce in places with gradients around 13 percent but the beautiful view at the top of the natural park was worth the effort. If I’d had more time to spend in the area, I’d love to have tried some walking up here. 

The descent to the city of Villa Real was 10km to just under 400m and was a fairly typical European-style descent, packed with hairpins. An aspect that would become a theme on future rides is that the Portuguese seem to relish having cobbled sections on the main road through villages or town centres. Some of these can rather sketchy on a road bike, even with 700x28mm tyres, which is heightened when descending. Some added spice was added to this particular descent with the inclusion of some steep cobbled hairpins.

Vila Real was a reasonable city with an attractive centre but I found it to be a little soulless in its suburbs. After a lunch stop, it was onto the second major climb of the day which was roughly 20km up to 900m. This climb wasn’t as scenic as the first and the roads were much quieter and the surfaces not quite as smooth. 

Unfortunately, the cramp continued to play up and I had to make regular stops to rest it, including a drink stop at the village of Campeã, its small centre a vibrant hub for the locals. I was in a pretty foul mood all the way up until I reached the top of the climb and there were a few moments where I questioned my life choices! 

My bad mood instantly vanished as I crested the top of the climb and was welcomed by the most majestic of views, which more than made up for the low points of the day. I was now to enjoy a circa 30km gradual descent back to Mondim de Basto and I think it instantly became my favourite descent I have ever ridden. The views just kept on coming, each topping the last. The road was perfectly surfaced with no cobbled sections and the turns were gradual and could be seen in advance, so I barely had to touch the brakes. The cramp mysteriously suddenly vanished too!

There was a brief climb of around 100m after the initial 12km and the road then headed down again back to the centre of Mondim de Basto. Today was character-building but the final descent more than made up for the first 60km of punishment. 

Day 2 – Amarante

Distance: 79km
Elevation: 1,004m 

Today was to be an easier ride with less than half of the elevation after I didn’t feel brilliant on Day 1 and the sore throat had not abated, despite having a rest day too. 

Heading the opposite way out of Mondim de Basto to Day 1 was breathtaking crossing the River Tâmega and shortly afterwards, my Garmin prompted me to turn right up what looked to be a gravel track which then joined a buttery smooth disused railway line, the Ecopista da Linha do Tâmega, or in English, the Tâmega line. 

I have a particular fondness for exploring disused railways and in the UK, I’m fortunate to have lived within riding distance of both the Phoenix Trail that links the towns of Princes Risborough and Thame in Buckinghamshire and the Downs Link, which links Guildford to Shoreham-on-Sea. I now live in Bristol, which is surrounded by various paths, most notably the Bristol to Bath railway line which I use to commute to work on three days a week. 

However, the Tâmega line blows everything I’ve ever ridden in the UK out of the water and then some. The views were terrific as the path skirts along the river, through a variety of terrain from lush green vistas to backdrops reminiscent of Monument Valley. There are various old train stations along the route, which have been lovingly maintained with gorgeous architecture. You just couldn’t ask for more and I’d never have discovered this path without the presence of a bike. I got to enjoy the path for 30km down to the city of Amarante. 

Amarante itself is a wonderful city with beautiful architecture and a grand cathedral, its imposing yet graceful presence felt across the city. The River Tâmega flows through the city and there’s a tranquil path to walk alongside the river bank. 

After a drink in the centre, the second half of the ride was to climb up to 600m, passing through the town of Lixa and then reaching Castelo de Arnoia before descending back to Mondim de Basto. 

The route took me along the main road out of Amaranate, which was nothing special as it started to gently wind up in gradient, before turning onto a quieter main road to tackle the rest of the climb. One highlight was passing a closed night club that was humorously named ‘Sin City’. 

The climb wasn’t particularly scenic but the town of Lixa was pleasant enough and in keeping with other nearby towns, it featured a cobbled surface through its centre. The roads were quieter after Lixa and more scenic as the climb made its way through a couple of peaceful small villages, which were shaded by woodland. 

Castelo de Arnoia was another highlight with a quaint castle domineering the village and some chocolate-box cafes, so I took the opportunity to make a stop. 

The descent back to Mondim de Basto was another breathtaking one and similar to Day 1, the turns were visible and gradual so braking could be kept to a minimum. I passed through Celorico de Basto towards the end of the descent, another pretty town which the Tâmega Line passes through in its outskirts, before passing back over the river into Mondim de Basto. 

Day 3 – Fafe

Distance: 74km
Elevation: 1,273m

This was my final day with the bike and unfortunately, my cold was now full-blown. On any other day, I’d have kept away from the bike but given I had already skipped a day between the first two days, I was determined to get my money’s worth out of the rental. 

The original plan was to head to the city of Fafe and slightly further afield up to a lake further north called the ‘Praia Fluvial de Albufeira de Queimadela’. However, I tweaked the route as I wanted to ride the rest of the Tâmega line and as I felt less than ideal, I didn’t want to overdo it. Rain was also forecast from lunchtime, which I was keen to avoid. 74km and circa 1,300m of elevation is not an insignificant amount on a normal training day, let alone when you’re feeling under the weather. 

After crossing the River Tâmega, I took the same gravelly path right up to the disused railway and headed in the opposite direction towards Arco de Baúlhe, where it finishes. The railway path was just as glorious heading north as it was south to Amarante yesterday. The first five miles or so were gently uphill before a descent down the rest of the path. The path is slightly more shaded heading northbound and there are even several houses gardens that sit next to the path. In keeping with the section of the path I had ridden yesterday, this section was similarly blissful. 

Arco de Baúlhe, the end of the Tâmega Line, was a highlight with a staggeringly beautiful train station that is an attraction in itself, with a section of train track at its terminus, adorned with older unused trains that seemed in good condition. 

At the end of the line, I headed out via the train station into the town centre, which was also rather pleasant with a selection of cafes but as rain was forecast, I chose to carry on. I was now to start the first climb of the day, a 17km affair which would rise to 700m before dropping back down to 500m and then heading back up to 650m before descending to the city of Fafe. 

The climb wasn’t particularly scenic as it was on a main road in its early sections and I took the climb very easy and kept hydrated to keep my cold under control. The 200m descent after the peak was a particular highlight as it swept through some shrouded woodland. The 12km descent into Fafe was good fun, with a now customary cobbled section through a village towards the bottom. It was at this point of the ride it started to rain, so I headed for a drink in the city centre. 

Fafe is a fairly well-kept city with a pleasant centre, although Amarante is far and away my pick of the cities that Mondim de Basto is sandwiched between. It drizzled throughout my stop but luckily, the rain calmed down as I left to ride the final section of the ride. This was to be another climb up of 10km up to 750m before a 19km descent back to Mondim de Basto. 

In keeping with the first climb of the day, it wasn’t particular scenic until its later sections which featured more greenery. The descent, on the other hand, was wonderful. It was fast and flowy but like other descents, with turns easy to anticipate. The descent passed through the village of Gandarela de Basto which left a quaint impression and then snaked under the A7 motorway. The second half of the descent was in keeping with the first back to Mondim de Basto and luckily, I had managed to mostly avoid the rain throughout the ride, although it was still forecast to bucket down for the rest of the day. 

Whilst I didn’t feel great and riding with a cold is always to be advised against, I’m glad I rode today. This ride wasn’t as scenic as the first two but getting to ride the rest of the railway path and the final descent made it more than worth it. 

Summary

Cycling isn’t as prominent a sport in northern Portugal as it is in other European destinations. Other than a handful of small groups that I spotted throughout my stay, the sport doesn’t seem to have taken off in this region of Portugal.

That’s also reflected in the bike rental options in this region and after a fair amount of research, I found a grand total of two rental companies, both of which were based in Porto, that offered carbon road bikes to rent. I had originally factored in driving to Porto and back to pick them up but luckily, the company I went with dropped off and picked up the bike for a fee. 

Bicycle rental pricing is quite punchy in Northern Portugal – I paid €200 for four days and then an additional fee for drop-off and pick-up. I would typically pay around the €130 – 150 mark for an equivalent bike for the same duration in Italy, for example.

The drivers aren’t as accustomed to cyclists either compared to other European destinations and some of the overtaking wasn’t the most considered. I’d love to return to the region and explore further afield and without the poor luck of riding with a developing cold. 

With its well surfaced roads, visually arresting vistas and breathtaking descents that aren’t packed with hairpins, Portugal is a tucked-away treasure for road cycling. 

The King Alfred’s Way is a circular route designed by Cycling UK and historian/journalist Guy Kesteven that takes in the sites of the famous King and connects many of the UK’s best paths. It officially starts in Winchester, where King Alfred is buried and passes Salisbury, Stonehenge, the Salisbury Plains up to Avebury where you then join the Ridgeway to Goring before briefly jumping on the Thames Path to Reading, down through Berkshire into Surrey where you pass through Farnham and the Devil’s Punch Bowl before heading into Hampshire and joining the South Down’s Way back to Winchester.

We completed the ride in the middle of September and we were generally very lucky with the weather and trail conditions. We decided to start the route at Reading Station as this isn’t too far away from where we all live on the Berkshire / Buckinghamshire border. We split the route into three days. Day 1 would be from Reading Station to East Meon, where we had booked two rooms in an eco-lodge. Day 2 would take us through Winchester and the Salisbury Plains before diverting off the route slightly to stop in Devizes at a pub. Day 3 would be a shorter ride from Devizes to Avebury and along the Ridgeway back to Reading. 

The Team

It was originally going to be five of us completing the ride – myself, Rob, Charlie, Deane and Nick – all members of an informal off-road group. We tend to ride one weekday evening with a pub stop at the end and then some bigger rides on some weekends. We don’t ride every weekend as we all like our road cycling and we belong to different local clubs in the Maidenhead area. 

It was always Nick’s intention to peel off in Winchester and take the train back as he had plans for the Sunday, so that would leave 4 of us to complete the entirety of the route. Closer to the event, Deane had to drop out and in the final days leading up to the event, Rob experienced a setback where the prospect of riding at all was in jeopardy. Fortunately, he had somewhat recovered, but was not 100% and decided to ride up to Winchester where he would also peel off with Nick, leaving myself and Charlie to finish the route.

The Bike

I used a gravel bike for this trip, specifically a Niner RLT 9 RDO. The route is recommended for gravel or mountain bikes. You would certainly have fun on a mountain bike on some of the more technical trails but gravel bikes are pretty capable and are able to cover long distances more efficiently. You can read my first look on the Niner here, but needless to say, this Coloradan frame with Campagnolo Ekar made for a luxurious steed.

I had only just built the bike up recently after waiting almost a year for some of the Ekar components with the parts shortages so I only managed to get two short rides in on the bike prior to the event. This is not an ideal way to enter a bikepacking ride, as you should always be familiar with your equipment, but the fit of the bike felt familiar on the first two rides, so I took a gamble as my previous bike, a Norco Threshold C, is a much racier cyclocross frame and it lacks all of the mounting points for luggage that the Niner contains and has much closer gear ratios.

All other members of the group also rode gravel bikes for the event, ranging from a second-generation Specialized Diverge, a titanium Reilly and a Mason Bokeh, so a real range of brands and bikes that sit in different areas of the ever-growing gravel spectrum. 

The Equipment

This is my first bikepacking escapade so it was time that I ‘bagged’ up. I’d read many articles, watched some videos and sought advice from friends on what to pack and how to store luggage on the bike. Niner conveniently make their own bag that mounts on the inside of the front triangle and they make a top tube bag, so that was half of the luggage sorted. 

After lots of research, I settled for some Miss Grape bags in front of the bars and behind the seatpost, the Tendril and Cluster respectively. The Cluster is a particularly impressive bag in its construction – easy to fit, it holds securely on the seatpost and you can adjust the tension via some clever velcro straps. The Tendril is also a reasonable bag and is very long so you pack it down to suit. It didn’t play especially nicely with my set up as I run narrow 40cm bars so you have to pack it compactly. The straps adjust around the handlebar onto a hooked loop. On the ride, the straps detached a couple of times, despite being under correct tension. This aspect of the bag needs to be worked on and I think the way to remedy it would be to have some sort of lock and release so that the strap can’t shake free of the clip. 

Preparation

I’ve been on reasonable form this year prior to the event, not my best but not my worst and I have done plenty of single rides of this distance and off-road variants over the years. What I wasn’t prepared for was having to ride these distances off-road consecutively over three days. My training consisted of some longer distance rides, both on and off-road and I had planned for some back-to-back riding on some weekends with another ride on a Friday or Monday to try and simulate the event. I ended up doing 2 of these weekends in the run-up to the event and I would have tried to fit in another block, but I annoyingly had a setback in early August where I had my first cold in a year and a half! These blocks of three big rides really helped and I rode them solo to make it harder, as rides always go quicker when you have company.

One thing I would not recommend is packing new bags the night before the ride, especially when it is not obvious how one of them mounts to the frame! Get to know your bag prior to an event if you are in the same situation and another piece of advice would be to try and carry out some practice rides with the bags fully loaded to try and simulate how it will feel in the event. 

Day 1

It felt surreal that this day had arrived, after weeks of preparation. I set the alarm for 5am and I had a breakfast of pasta as I find that keeps me going through a long ride and rolled out the door. What was immediately apparent was how heavy the bike was with all the bags and how it handled differently. I started to ride over to Maidenhead station and having cycled along the A4 for many years, but the bike felt very alien! Rob joined me part-way on the ride over and we quickly arrived at the station, where Charlie was already waiting and we brought a coffee for the train journey to up the caffeine levels. Nick then met us shortly afterward on the platform. 

We very swiftly arrived in Reading and after some obligatory faffing and a toilet stop, the ‘Play’ button on the Garmin was pressed and the King Alfred’s Way trip had officially begun. Riding on the canals around Reading was quite a welcome change from the bustling major roads, which I tend to avoid on the road bike. This was a very flat start to the ride and before we knew it, we had crossed the A33 and were on some more exciting towpaths heading into the countryside. We passed through Riseley and made our way out of Berkshire to the outskirts of Hampshire and then into Surrey.

As we were travelling on a trail that was by a farm, sealant started spraying out of Charlie’s rear tyre. I hadn’t noticed but apparently, it was also spraying out the front. We stopped to inspect the damage but the sealant seemed to have done its job. Or, as is often the case with these types of mechanicals, so we thought… 

We carried on into the outskirts of Farnham where there was quite a spicy descent which was loose and rocky. It was so bone-shaking that my front bag came off and I had to quickly stop to correct it to avoid it abrading on the frame. Charlie had to slow down for me and he must have hit something as his front tyre had now failed. We stopped for a bite to eat whilst Charlie tried to sort the front tyre but he had to resort to patching it with a bacon strip-like tubeless plug. Tubeless really never is fun when it goes wrong and when you’re covered in sealant trying to fix a problem, you forget the benefits that the system offers that outweigh the negatives!

We shortly arrived into Farnham and found a Sainsbury’s so we stopped to buy a meal deal and the plan was to eat it in Frensham Ponds, a picturesque area with two lakes and a ‘beach’. It is quite a busy crossing on the A31 on the route, and you also have an uphill gradient to contend with as well as avoiding traffic. Frensham was a lot further than envisaged, as there were some trails to negotiate first and two climbs. We had our lunch at the top of a hill rather than by the beach, as we didn’t really fancy another climb on top of what was already a big day in the saddle and knowing that the ‘proper’ hills were about to start. We met 4 other riders riding the King Alfred’s Way at lunch, two determined riders on Mason Bokeh frames, much to Charlie’s delight as they shared his taste, and two more relaxed riders on titanium hardtails.  

Now deep into Surrey, the route is quite undulating and there are some quite technical sections and a fair amount of slippery sand to contend with. One section that passes a golf course was quite memorable as there were Portaloos rather randomly dotted around.

The Garmin then flagged up that we were about to ascend hill number 2 of 6 today and that it was close to 280m elevation. This could only have been the Devil’s Punch Bowl, which I have tackled on the road before and it wasn’t too taxing but this was an off-road variant. Compared to the road, this was an arduous climb and I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like in the wet. The KAW route has you climbing on a sandy off-road section for almost 100m elevation before you then meet the road where you have some respite. This road then turns into a very rocky trail and you then negotiate a cattle grid whilst climbing. The climb is then impossible as sharp rocks that scream ‘puncture’ thrown in with a gulley for good measure. We dismounted and walked for quite some distance and even on foot, the climb was unrelenting. You then pass over another cattle grid and after a short walk, the gradient and surface eases and it is rideable. At the top, you are met with a stunning view of the Devil’s Punch Bowl and it would have been rude not to have stopped to take some photos. This would be an even tougher climb in the wet and is one of the areas where a mountain bike would have better served the terrain but even still, I think you’d have to walk some of it.

Passing through Hindhead, the route then takes you on a cracking descent on the road as you pass under the A3. The route is still quite rolling and we passed the two riders on Mason’s from lunchtime who rode behind us but then turned off randomly. We then descended down a trail to a gate where Charlie’s tyre had now completely failed. He stopped to carry out the unenviable task of removing the tyre full of sealant and fitting an inner tube in it to carry on his ride. We then discovered that we were off-course and that the two Mason riders had taken the right turning but that descent was too fun to resist! We managed to find a route that would take us back on course once Charlie had sorted his tyre which continued to be undulating until you reach the outskirts of Liss, where it is a little flatter as you pass through the village. We stopped in Liss at a Tesco Express for some more welcome supplies, whilst carrying out a bit of people watching.

We begun to head further south in the direction of Rogate, which is famed for its downhill mountain biking park. The route doesn’t take you quite as far as Rogate itself but you ride on the outskirts of the park. Like Surrey, the terrain here was very sandy and having climbed up a ramp, it was now time for an exciting descent. You’ve got to be quite careful on the descent as it’s technical and there was a large branch on the ground, which you can’t bunnyhop. What goes down must go up and the uphill looked tough! Rob wanted to try and outsmart the route by avoiding this climb and on his Hammerhead device, it looked like you could go around it, which we started. Big mistake! The uphill is a combination of a gulley and sand, so about a third of the way up, you have no choice but to get off and walk. It was at this point that one of the team suggested turning back and tackling the prescribed climb but having climbed this far up this annoying climb, we weren’t going to turn back now. Well, we should have done, as you’re forced into a left turn which then takes you back down the other side to where you started! Our funny faux pas cost us a couple of kilometres and we still had to go up the horrible climb! One could say we had an extended tour of Rogate. The climb wasn’t quite as tough as it looked but it was still a walker at the top as there was a gulley that was hard to navigate, but you are then rewarded with an exciting descent to a main road. 

Rob took the descent a little easier and at the bottom whilst we were waiting to regroup, Nick suggested a shorter route on the road to Petersfield and East Meon. We thought as we had come this far, we may as well stick to the route, not knowing what was about to come ahead. Well, what was about to come ahead was the South Downs Way! 

As we passed through the village (rather than region) of Quebec, the elevation kept on coming and before we knew it, the signpost that this was the South Downs Way. We were all pretty tired by this point and relieved that there were only 10 or so miles left to the finish. The South Downs Way was achingly beautiful, despite its unyielding nature. As we descended again, we then passed through a car park and barrier signalling that we were passing through the ‘Queen Elizabeth Country Park’ before another gravel climb that was just about rideable but brutal! There was then a spicy descent down to another car park, with the A3 in view.

What also came into view was Butser Hill, a climb that GCN described in their King Alfred’s Way video as a ‘beast of a climb’. Legs shot, some of the group suggested a road variation of the route but this didn’t really seem to be possible without crossing the busy A3. Butser Hill was as marketed by GCN. It’s always demoralising when you can view what you have to climb throughout. My gamble of having a gel at the top of the previous climb paid off as I found the climb hard but not impossible and there was only one section where it gets a bit rougher just before a gate where I had to get off and walk. When you reach the top, you realise that there is even more climbing to go until you actually reach the top but you get a phenomenal view of the Downs. We regrouped at the top and we were all even more ruined than before!

Another excellent descent towards East Meon, we then took a left at the bottom of the road for our final climb of the day towards Day 1’s accommodation. It was another grovel of a climb and we were thoroughly relieved when the turning for ‘The Sustainability Centre’ came into sight, a centre which offered camping or rooms. Although perhaps camping would be more authentic for this type of epic, but I am not one for turning down a bed and a warm shower! 

Dinner was a 2 mile downhill journey to ‘The Bat and Ball’ in the hamlet of Hambledon, where the combination of beer and cooked food was very welcome compared to energy bars and gels. This was a decent pub that didn’t have an extensive menu but everything they offered was well made. 

After dinner and some beers, we rode back up the climb back up to the accommodation. I could barely sit on the saddle at this point so I spent most of the journey back unseated.

Day 1 was the very definition of an epic but I had totally underestimated its difficulty. This was definitely up there in my top ten toughest rides as the hills are unrelenting after you pass through Farnham, a sentiment shared through the group. The thought of 92 miles on Day 2 was on my mind – the King Alfred’s Way is certainly not a route for the inexperienced and if it was going to be as difficult as today, we had our work cut out for us. Lucky for Rob and Nick, their journey would end 35km into the day but for myself and Charlie, there were two more days to go. 

I am aware of a friend of mine riding to up to Winchester on the KAW route from Reading in one day and a group in my club had ridden the entirety of the route in two days last year. I can’t quite comprehend how as I couldn’t imagine having another batch of climbs added on to today’s route! 

DAY 2

After a relatively good night’s sleep, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the hotel and we were ready to roll out at 9. We had intended to start earlier but the earliest that breakfast was being served was from 8:00. Rob seemed to be back on form as he had a particularly hearty breakfast, which was a far cry from yesterday where he couldn’t eat or drink very much. With yesterday’s efforts firmly being felt in my legs, we started Day 2.

It was a beautiful morning with fog but not too cold to warrant jackets or thermal clothing in the Meon Valley. The route began with a technical gravel descent and we then passed through a farm with a field of cows next to it which was particularly visually arresting with the fog. 4km in and we were then reduced to walking with a particularly technical off-road climb – I hoped this wasn’t going to set a precedent for the day! There was a coffee van at the top of the climb, which seemed to be popular with cyclists but it was too early in the day to stop, especially with another 80 miles plus for Charlie and myself. It was a good job that we had had breakfast as this van didn’t seem to sell any substantial food, so it would have been a long ride for breakfast. I hadn’t really warmed up by this point and this up-down beginning didn’t really play to my strengths. I find I have to ride for about an hour and a half or so before I feel comfortable.

As we continued to ride the uncompromising but stunning South Downs Way, Rob was on particularly fine form as he made light work of the ascents and negotiated the technical descents without fear. There were lots of mountain bikers out this morning and we let some riders pass periodically to avoid holding anyone up who wanted to have their downhill fix. 

It was pretty hilly going into Winchester and the cathedral city began to beckon in the distance. As we got nearer, we crossed under the busy M3 before riding alongside a busy canal path beside the River Itchen. King Alfred’s statue stood resplendent at the bottom of the Broadway in the city centre. Seeing as it was another 25 miles to Salisbury, it made sense to buy provisions for lunch now. 

Greggs and an M&S Simply Food were the options for food and we all shared an early lunch. Rob had been on fine form this morning and contemplated carrying on but made the courageous decision to end the ride here, given how he had been feeling prior to the ride. It was a fairly swift lunch as Charlie and I had a way to go yet and we parted ways, Nick and Rob heading for the train station. 

As we navigated the streets of Winchester, Charlie kept his eyes peeled for a bike shop as he wanted to stock up on inner tubes after his tyre fiasco yesterday but there was nothing obvious. As we were on the outskirts of the city, we were met with a fairly sharp road climb which then diverted into a picturesque off-road descent through a Shire-like setting.

The route to Salisbury was hard work, but possibly not quite as hilly as the South Downs but with the cumulative miles in the legs so far, it was tough! As we neared Salisbury, Charlie started to struggle on the climbs as he couldn’t find any power in his legs but was fine on the flat. He contemplated getting the train back as he didn’t think he could make it to Devizes, which was still some distance away. We passed a sign that signalled there being 1.5 miles to Salisbury. However, Salisbury never arrived as the route actually doesn’t go through it.

There was then quite a twisty climb alongside Old Sarum and the route continued to be unabating, Charlie continuing to find the climbs tough. We passed through several hamlets and villages but there was no shop to be found to stop at to restock, so if you are riding this route and choose not to stop at Winchester, you would be wise to divert into Salisbury to stock up. 

As we had finished climbing a particular brute of a climb, we stopped by the side of the road where there was a sign for Stonehenge. Charlie wanted to road it back to Salisbury but after a bit of coaxing, he had a break and had something to eat. Two road riders passed who courteously stopped to ask if we were ok and we got into conversation with them. They were relatively new to the Salisbury area and were on their way back to the city, but they encouraged Charlie to carry on. 

After our break, we carried on and descended on the road down the hill and we were very quickly into Amesbury, where we found a petrol station to stock up on food and drink. It was 15:00 at this point and as we still had a way to go, I called the hotel for tonight to let them know we were going to be late.

The route then took us on the outskirts of Stonehenge, which you don’t get a particularly good view of from the official route, so if you’d like to visit this landmark in all its glory or want an Instagram image, you’ll need to divert. We then started to ride the Salisbury Plains section, which was markedly flatter than what we had experienced today so far but on a windy day, this section could be hard work as it is quite exposed. We could hear the sounds of MOD vehicles and military machinery and there were signs warning to be weary of unexploded ordinance and suspicious objects. One of the highlights of this section was seeing a MOD towing another MOD, which both Charlie and I hadn’t seen before!

As we crossed the Plains, Charlie’s rear tyre lost air and wanting to avoid having to use a tube in the rear, he used a plug on it and re-inflated it. We carried on along the Plains until we reached Market Lavington at about 18:15.  There are a couple of turns in this Northern section of the Plains that aren’t obvious on a GPS device, so be careful to make sure you are still en-route. Knowing we had about an hour until sunset and another 20 miles or so on the route, we chose to ride to Devizes on the road as we were already knackered and we didn’t particularly fancy missing dinner as the kitchen closed at 21:00. 

The A360 into Devizes was a bit of a rat run but we’d definitely made the sensible decision. Charlie’s tyre kept going down and we stopped to re-inflate it a couple of times to make it to the hotel. We arrived at The Castle Hotel which was quite a grand and quirky old building and had an interesting place to lock the bike as one would expect of an 18th century coaching inn.

After a warm shower, it was dinner and straight to bed for me, as I was knackered and the thought of the Ridegway on Day 3 came into mind, especially with rain forecast for the morning. 

Day 2 wasn’t quite as hard as Day 1 but it’s a big day on the bike. I wouldn’t recommend trying to cover so many miles in one day – I think 70 is the magic number. 

DAY 3

After an even better night’s sleep than the first night, I woke up to find that the weather forecast had changed and there was no more rain forecast for the day. It had clearly rained overnight though as the ground was wet. Prior to breakfast, Charlie had gone to replace the inner tube on his tyre before breakfast. Charlie and I shared a late breakfast and we got ready to ride the final day. As we went to unlock and head out on the bike, Charlie’s tyre was flat again! Charlie was out of tubes and I had been carrying two so I gave him one of mine to use, which was rather narrow for his wider tyres but it was enough to get him riding. We had a quick Google to see if there were any bike shops in Devizes and the answer to that was yes, but nothing open on a Sunday!

Having ridden parts of the Ridgeway in the past, we knew that water was going to be few and far between so we headed to Sainsbury’s to stock up and to buy some lunch. I had a quick gander in there to see if there were any tubes as sometimes, supermarkets sell items like this but no luck. Charlie then had the bright idea to try Wilko which was in town and we next headed there where he struck luck and brought two heavy-duty looking tubes for the journey. Who knew that Wilko stocked them?

10:30 and although late out of the gate, we were now ready to ride. We started to head back to the official route (Devizes was a diversion), which took us briefly along the Kennet Canal before we diverted onto a Kansas-style gravel track, which seemed to be a popular route for the Sunday road club riders that we passed. This brief gravel section transformed into a game of bicycle parkour as we found ourselves in a field and the GPX route through it wasn’t immediately obvious until we found a stile and gate that was the obvious candidate to navigate. If we were to revisit the KAW route again, this would be an area of the route to improve. 

After passing through the sleepy village of All Cannings, we were then met by the first climb of the day, Tan Hill. This was a road climb that then turned into a gravel track at the top that then turns into singletrack as you descend towards the A4 near Avebury. Although climbing on tired legs, this was perhaps the most scenic climb of the entire King Alfred’s Way, a beautiful monolithic climb that felt extra-terrestrial and felt as if you were climbing a stairway to heaven. The vast landscapes at the top were stunning.

The singletrack descent towards the A4 is a rather spicy one and as it’s quite overgrown, your tyres either have to stay in the allocated track or you’re off! There were a few hairy moments on the descent so it is one to take with caution. 

After crossing the A4, the route then takes you through Avebury and right by the historic stones and very shortly after, you then reach another long climb that takes you up to the Ridgeway. This was another tough climb that went on for longer than it should and similar to the Tan Hill descent, some sections of it are quite narrow-going. This was made even harder to negotiate with a group of motorbikers trying to pass us, mixed with some walkers. The sign to turn onto the Ridgeway came shortly after and this marked the start of a significant portion of the rest of the ride. The Ridgeway can be quite tough going as it is undulating and a cacophony of surfaces. Conditions were favourable so far.

After the first handful of climbs and descents, we came across the two riders on Mason frames that we had encountered on Day 1 on a climb. They were on their final stretch of the route and were due to finish at Market Liddington, not too far from Swindon and had about 10 miles to go. You could see the outskirts of Swindon from the top of the Ridgeway for quite some way, so it must have been tougher for them knowing they didn’t have far to go. We pressed on as they took a break. There was an exhilarating grass descent on one section after a prolonged climb with an optimal tailwind and another more rocky descent, made tougher by another group of motorbikers trying to overtake. 

Charlie’s tyre then made the unenviable sound of deflating, although that said the road tube had held up pretty well compared to the correct tubes he had used before! It was time to test the quality of the Wilko tube and it did the job as this was to be Charlie’s final puncture stop for the rest of the ride. The two Mason riders passed us, eagerly heading towards their finish.

Once the tube had been installed, we set off again and although it was around 13:00 and lunchtime, there was still a long way to go and we didn’t want to finish in the dark so whilst we still felt moderately energetic, we chose to try and ride for another hour before stopping for lunch. The route continued to be rolling in profile and on a road crossing, we spotted the two Mason riders one final time as they were waiting for transport and they wished us good luck for the final section of our journey. 

Conveniently around 14:00, we spotted a food van that seemed quite popular so we thought we would stop there to fill up on water and have a proper lunch rather than a meal deal. The menu was rather basic – it was a choice of pork or pork! Charlie had a filling-looking pulled pork wrap but I wanted to avoid a stodgy lunch so opted for the only non-pork item on the menu which was a leek and potato soup. 

As we tucked into our well-needed lunch, a large group of cyclists were also eating pork-related lunches and it transpired they were also riding the King Alfred’s Way, only they had started from Winchester so they had quite a way to go and were due to stop in Reading overnight. The group presented as a real mixed range of ability, with some members seasoned gravel riders and others were beginners.

Unfortunately, about a mile or two after lunch, we encountered the group again and one members derailleur hanger had snapped off and they were converting the bike into a fixed gear to get to Reading, where there are a selection of shops, although that might have been a tad optimistic in hoping they have the specific hanger there. It was also likely to be a long and arduous ride for the poor rider, given that the Ridgeway continued to be undulating!

The rest of the Ridgeway continued to be scenic and it turned out to be a rather warm afternoon for the time of year, contrary to the forecasted rain. There was a nice section towards Wantage that was a wide and loose gravel path with a fun descent (that I had to dodge quite a sizeable pothole on at the last minute!) and some panoramic views of the Oxfordshire landscape. We had a short break about an hour later as Charlie’s feet were uncomfortable so we both took a breather and allowed our feet a chance to air out. 

The final descent of the Ridgeway into Goring was a highlight of the day as it was quite loose with a couple of drops that we managed to achieve some airtime on, the first and only instance of the ride! I was very relieved when we completed the Ridgeway as it was quite a tough 50 up-and-down section and we were very lucky to have ridden it in favourable conditions.

You’d be mistaken in thinking the route into Reading would be flat, given the amount of elevation you achieve on the Ridgeway. The Thames Path into Whitchurch was surprisingly hilly and there was even one section with stairs that required walking up! This was generally the last of the off-road as it was mainly a paved road back to Reading. It’s quite surprising how you suddenly end up in the heart of Reading as the large town isn’t visible from the north. 

Before we knew it, we were in the centre of Reading and we rode through the park and ended up at the train station back where we started. It had been three days of high emotions but memorable and epic riding and as it was quite late, we headed straight for the train which almost telepathically arrived as soon as we set foot on the station, a rare feat for First Great Western! 

KAW Reflection

This bikepacking trip makes for an excellent gateway into this genre of cycling and the route delivers on all fronts from its picturesque settings to historic landmarks. I was especially impressed, seeing as this route is largely on my doorstep and it gave me a newfound appreciation. To those who believe that gravel riding only really exists in the United States, this route proves that the UK more than packs its own punch. It’s impressive how little of the loop is on-road.

I’m very glad that we chose Reading as our start. If you choose to start in Winchester as the route officially suggests, you’ll have the bulk of the climbing in the final day which will be hard work. Make sure you’re well stocked on food and water as there are long isolated sections without a town or city and as with any event, make sure your bike is in prime mechanical condition to avoid the risk of any problems as you will generally be quite far away from assistance. 

This route is harder than the Cycling UK route guide may have you believe, who market the ride as accessible for everyone. Yes, that is true but the route will have you off your bike in sections and walking and certainly if you want to tackle the route in 3-4 days, you will want to have a strong level of fitness. If you’re riding the route on a gravel bike, I’d cap each day at around 70 miles if you’re not camping, as we tried to take on too great a distance in Day 2 and to a certain extent, also in Day 1. 

I’ve got the bikepacking bug and I’ve got it hard after riding the King Alfred’s Way and I’m already planning another adventure!

It’s taken a while but I’ve finally managed, for the first time, to build up a road bike from a bare frameset. This has been one of my bike-related dreams for a while and I feel very proud to have fulfilled it…and I’d happily do it again.

First, a bit of context behind this build. As a Winter bike, I’ve been riding a B’Twin Alur 700 for several years which has mostly been fine and has made for a reliable Winter / university workhorse. It’s fairly light and comfortable and has served me many miles, embarking on many club rides, sportives and the odd TT here and there. However, the rear brake is chainstay-mounted which has caused many problems particularly in the Winter months with all the mud and dirt getting caught into it and odd headset bearings. So I have been looking for a while for something that will do the job a bit better and also who doesn’t always envy a new bike?!

However, I managed to find a Specialized Allez DSW SL frameset, brand new too, for a very reasonable price. If that all sounded completely confusing, the Allez DSW SL is Specialized’s higher-tier aluminium frame featuring their D’Aluisio (named after the designer) Smartweld technology making for a lighter, stiffer and stronger frame.

I bought the frame around Christmas time last year but as I had my B’Twin up at uni, I didn’t get a chance to bring the old bike home until May. I then managed to transfer a lot of the parts over from the B’Twin and changed a couple of other parts in the meantime as to me, it made sense to. I ran into a couple of snags though, for example when I broke a stem bolt and had to wait ages to get a replacement and also holidays and work got in the way. I have only just completed it earlier this month and went out on my first maiden voyage the other day. I’ll do a full review and write up once I get to know the bike more but so far, so good. Here it is:

Here’s a full list of specs for those interested:

Frame and Fork: Specialized Allez DSW SL

Groupset: Shimano 105 5800, 50/34 chainset, 11-32 cassette (I will change this to an 11-28 when it wears out)

Wheelset: Mavic Aksium Race (these are still going strong from my original bike, once these are worn, they’ll be replaced)

Tyres: Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons, 700x25c

Pedals: Shimano 105

Saddle: Fi’zi:k Aliante (this will probably be changed at some point)

Seatpost: Specialized S-Works Carbon

Handlebar: Specialized S-Works Carbon Handlebar, 42cm (I upgraded this from the 3T Ergosum Pro handlebars I originally had as they were the wrong shape for me and I was so impressed with the carbon handlebars on another bike, I thought I might as well bite the bullet now if I have to tape them and mount the shifters / sort out cables etc…)

Stem: Bontrager Race Lite 100mm (this will be changed soon as well. Part of the reason why this post is so late was because I broke a bolt on the original Deda stem I fitted to the bike but I need to see how the bike works size-wise before upgrading.

Headset: Tange Seiki, 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 (these will be upgraded when they wear out)

Bottom Bracket: Unbranded BB30 (this will be upgraded when it wears out)

Handlebar Tape: Specialized S-Wrap Roubaix Wide (Black)

Bottle Cages: Elite Cannibal

I’m not sure on the weight yet but I would imagine it to weigh in the low 8’s region. I’ll update this article when I know.

I would definitely recommend building up your own bike if you get the chance as you get to pick and choose all the components you want and also it means that you haven’t got to buy something you don’t want (ie. if a bike you buy is not specced how you want it and then have to spend money to upgrade). I would definitely do it again and over the years, as I have worked with bikes and know a lot more of how they work, I can upgrade or change sections at a time rather than just buying new bikes. I’ll say it again, building your own bike is an EXTREMELY rewarding process.

 

Despite cycling for three and a half years now, this Summer was the first time I ventured abroad and had the opportunity to ride on foreign roads. Earlier on this month, I went to Sardinia for 2 weeks and managed to rent a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 9.0 (I’ll review it soon) in the middle of the 2 weeks for a week. Now Sardinia may not be as famous for its cycling as say, France or Spain are but looking online beforehand, many cyclists were shouting praise for the cycling on this island for its smooth tarmac and variety of climbs. I have been to Sardinia before about 10 years ago but that was just on a holiday so knew that the country had some beautiful views but was unaware of what the cycling scene was like there.

Cycling in Sardinia is stunning. The main roads are generally much smoother than in the UK but when you go off the beaten path, some of the roads can turn into gravel rather quickly which luckily the Canyon was more than up for! There are plenty of long climbs with an awe-inspiring view at the top but nothing that’s ever too steep – the UK’s hills are a lot shorter but the gradient is much bigger. One particularly impressive climb was the SP3 / 50 out of Siniscola, a town between Olbia and Nuoro which had an elevation of 600 metres followed by the best descent I have ever done into Torpé.

My favourite place to ride in the area that I was staying was a small town called Posada between Siniscola and Olbia which had some great roads circling the old town which was on a hill – I went through here on all of my rides bar one. There is a great café in the main square which is always moderately busy but keenly priced and has a great atmosphere. The old town is also nice but on a bike, all the roads are cobbled which is interesting for an experience but is sketchy when descending back down into the main town.

Italian drivers are notorious for being rather erratic but I actually found them to be nicer to cyclists than they are to cars and they give you plenty of room when overtaking. In terms of other cyclists, I didn’t see that many but most people who passed me would always greet me so the impression I got was that the cyclists are quite friendly. Of course, Italy wouldn’t be Italy without the café’s and the coffee on offer was stunning. My two joint favourite café’s was the one in the main square in Posada and the other one was in Bodoni about 5 miles north of Posada which not only served a range of coffee’s but also ‘cream di café’ which the best way to describe it would be a coffee-flavoured Mr Whippy that was amazing.

I was very downhearted when I had to give the bike back as cycling here is just so wonderful and the atmosphere is great too. I suppose the only negative for cycling here was that I did get chased by two dogs in the space of 6 rides but you can’t have everything! I would definitely recommend cycling here if you can as the views are spectacular and there is a bit of everything for everyone – mountains, coastal views and roads off the beaten tracks thrown in with excellent café’s. I suppose the only negative for cycling here was that I did get chased by two dogs!

So, it’s all over and done with – 500km between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and boy was it hard! The ‘Rapha Festive 500’ challenge has tested cyclists since 2010 and after being caught up at work last year, I thought I would give it a go this year. I knew it was going to be hard but the last couple of rides really did put pay to my legs. It works out at 40 miles a day which in itself is manageable.

As I knew I would have problems to ride 40 miles on Christmas Day and Boxing Day respectively, I decided to make up the mileage and rode 80 miles on Christmas Eve which wasn’t too challenging. I was planning on a short ride on Christmas Day but the weather looked less than appealing and ended up putting it off and rode 25 miles on Boxing Day – already behind! Luckily, I managed to make up the mileage on Sunday with a 55 mile ride in what was originally meant to be another 80 miler, but I just didn’t have it in the legs.

At this point, I was at the half-way mark (250km) but plan-wise, behind due to not riding the 80 miles on Boxing Day. This was going to be tough! From this point onwards, my legs ached on each and every ride and the average speed of each ride plummeted – this was really tough! On Monday, I rode another 25 miler as I didn’t want to push it after putting in a big ride on Sunday. This was followed by a 65 miler on Tuesday which completely wrecked me. At this point, I had 95km left and was a little stumped how to finish this challenge. As my legs were finished, I contemplated finishing in two rides splitting the distance or just doing it in one ride with Wednesday as a recovery day. This was what I ultimately ended up doing although I did plan on riding on Wednesday but the weather was especially foul. So a final 60 miler on New Year’s Eve and challenge completed and boy, do my legs now ache!

I’m glad I’ve completed this challenge as I’ve proved to myself that I’m capable of doing the distance but in all honesty, it took up a lot of my Christmas as I had to dedicate lots of time to it and I don’t think I’d be willing to do it again. But as a challenge in itself, I’m proud that I  completed it.

The lengths us cyclists put ourselves through just for a roundel!