Tim Hall said:Some of the rest of the time, when not riding my bike or earning an
honest crust, I'm an Assistant Scout Leader. We're planning a cycling
weekend in the next month or so - something like x miles along the
South Downs Way, overnight at youth hostel, x miles along the
DownsLink.
Quoted message said:Using the youth hostel will allow us to travel light - no tents
needed, nor food, except packed lunch for the 1st day. What personal
kit the scouts will have (change of clothes, minimal wash kit) will,
unfortunately, be carried in small back packs as not many/any of them
have racks or panniers.
Quoted message said:Anyway, the big question is, how far should we realistically expect
them to cycle on either day? I'm a bit out of touch on the level of
fitness of young people these days, and as a keen cyclist myself,
wouldn't flinch (too much) at what Joe Public might consider a Long
Way. However I have very little off road experience, which will also
be a factor.
Quoted message said:For the SDW section, I'm thinking of 15 - 20 miles. Does that sound
reasonable? For the Downslink (much flatter part) I'm thinking about
the same, maybe more. I think the key will be not to go too fast,
take pleanty of breaks and keep them fed and watered.
Quoted message said:Your thoughts, as ever, are welcome.
When I was 13 and my sister 12 we cycled from Perth to Westgate (near
Margate in kent) using youth hostels. I carried all our gear because I
had 3 gears and she had none. We did 40-60 miles a day, and decided 60
was our reasonable max. We planned on an average speed of 10mph. We
did 90 on the last long day, and it was definitely too much, very
wobbly indeed by the end. I was a skinny kid who was small for my
age. Our bikes had sit up handlebars and lever brakes (no cables). My
sister's bike was a little too small for her, since she had grown a
lot recently.
We planned it quite carefully. What amazes me today, quite apart from
the fact that we did it, is that both we and our parents, friends and
parent's friends, etc., clearly thought that that this was both
do-able and safe. We were a cycling family, i.e. couldn't afford a
car, and all of us cycled everywhere.
We took it for granted that I did the navigation, planning, and
budgeting, and she did the cooking. We usually ate eggs, sausages, and
bread, butter, and marmalade for breakfast. Our lunch was usually a
tin of Ambrosia creamed rice. Our dinner was usually corned beef and
beans, sometimes with potatoes. Bread and cheese filled in the
gaps. Paying for a cooked meal was outside our budget.
--
Chris Malcolm [email hidden] +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]