Babbacombe beckons. On Wednesday I begin my three day ride to Torquay so I’ve had to make some mods to my gravel bike so it’s better suited to road touring.
After a clean, off have come my (worn) Conti gravel tyres for nice, wide fat touring tyres. If you know me I like to try things a little off mainstream and these are no exception. At 33.3mm wide, yes you read that right, they are perfect for the roads and paths I’ll be pedalling next week. Called Jack Browns, they are made by Panaracer in Japan. I have had them a while now usually opting for 28mm tyres for this type of activity but I fancied giving these ago again as speed isn’t anything I’ll be achieving, instead I’ll be just enjoying the experience in comfort.
Next up was my rack. My Ortlieb Quick Rack is a revelation. I just needed to fit the rack adapters to my guard mounts and then literally click it on to the bike, which takes seconds. It’s such a great piece of kit I can easily take on and off if I need to carry anything
Route
As always I’ve been fettling with the route too. Day 1 to Dursley remains pretty much the same, just some new roads late on near the end. The rest along the Gloucester canal etc remains unchanged.
However, Day 2 is a different story. I now have three versions. Yes, I can hear you yawning. My original route skirts the eastern side of Bristol and takes me over the Mendips as I’ve done in the past. Then I started looking at the new cycle route between Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare on the Pier to Pier Way and The Strawberry Line too which I thought was great on my recent Mendips and Quantocks Gravel ride. It also has a great cafe at the start of it which is a good spot for a stop on the day too. These are much longer routes but don’t have as much elevation either. I guess I’ll decide on the day based on the weather and how I feel.
Day 3 I now have two options. The long range forecast is looking like there may be a possibilty of bad weather. My original route takes me across the estuary from Exmouth on the Starcross Ferry. If it’s off I can just ride around but I’ve come up with a more direct route via Exeter that avoids the ferry and picks up the path that runs parallel to the river to Dawlish. I vowed I would never ride through Exeter again, it’s carmageddon but I’ve plotted a route riding in from the North West avoiding the A roads and meanders kind of round the back of the city on quieter back streets and traffic free paths to the estuary path.
I can’t wait to get started. Look out for my posts en-route
Adios.
PS This is touring. Not Bikepacking. That’s dismantling your bike and putting it in a box. It’s not another name for touring because you couldn’t afford a rack. One of the most stupid and unnecessary word inventions in cycling. #rant #justsaying
Great rant! 🤣
🤣 I see backpacking as touring but mostly off-road and wildcamping whereas touring is mostly by road with camping at sites and staying in accommodation.
I guess marketing people also see backpacking for young people and touring for older folk. Makes the advertising target easier if you have a demographic.
Anyway, enjoy your trip, I look forward to the updates as usual 🙂