In autumn this 12 months, I rode 1300 kilometers from the UK’s most southern tip – Penzance – to the northern metropolis of Inverness in Scotland, on a hard and fast gear bike.
For the uninitiated, a fixed-gear bike (or fixie) makes use of a single chainring and single sprocket to offer a single gear. The sprocket has no ratchet system, so the pedals all the time flip with the wheels and there’s no such factor as coasting, or freewheeling. These are the bikes you’ll often see used at observe biking occasions, however they’re additionally nice for commuting and long-distance rides – so long as you get the gear proper – as a result of they want little or no upkeep.
My plan was to try the fabled LEJOG (Land’s Finish to John O’Groats), however the climate didn’t fairly play ball. Nonetheless, I climbed 9200 metres in 80 hours of (nearly) continuous pedalling, which supplied loads of alternative for studying.
In fact, you don’t must make life fairly as tough for your self – you might tackle a shorter distance and permit your self some gears. Should you’re tempted to strive a problem this 12 months, listed below are my suggestions…
I stored it easy with a fixie, a body bag and a backpack
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
You don’t want the newest and biggest carbon-frame gravel bike to do a little bit of journey driving
If I may do it on a Eighties steel-frame observe bike with a entrance brake drilled into the unsuspecting fork crown, you are able to do it on absolutely anything. I ran my 25 mm tyres (the widest that match) a contact softer than regular to provide me extra cushioning (or at the very least that’s what I advised myself). I had simply three punctures and a torn valve over 1300 km of driving, which appears nearly affordable, does not it?
As youngsters we’d bounce on our BMXes and go driving – no padded shorts, no biking gloves, no clip-in footwear – only a bike. And a hard and fast gear returns you to that type of driving: it’s minimal tech and most enjoyable. Because the late web biking tech legend Sheldon Brown as soon as wrote: “Most cyclists coast far an excessive amount of. Using a fixed-gear bike will break this pernicious behavior.” And it did. Till my dicky knee kicked in, however extra about that later.
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You don’t a necessity bikepacking-specific body/saddle bag to journey
I deliberate my journey round staying at lodges, B&Bs and guesthouses, versus tenting, so I discovered I may match all I wanted right into a body bag and backpack.
I made the body bag myself, from an outdated pair of curtains and an Amazon field, and I carried the remainder of my gear in my trusty 22 litre Osprey backpack. The seat baggage I’ve used prior to now sway an excessive amount of they usually don’t maintain lots. A backpack retains you heat and, apparently, affords an aero benefit, although the science on this could possibly be shaky.
The rolling hills and dry-packed stone partitions of Lancashire are indicative of the kind of driving you possibly can anticipate on the lengthy haul to Inverness.
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
A bin bag and cling movie could make something waterproof
On the second day of my journey, I deliberate to keep away from the expected rain by leaving at sparrow’s fart, however the vertical river that assailed me an hour outdoors Holsworthy in Devon soaked me to the pores and skin. The garments in my body bag had been protected inside their bin liner, however my backpack cowl leaked like a sieve. A beautiful housekeeper at The White Hart pub tumble-dried my issues, returning them in one other bin liner that afternoon. That black bag stored the contents of my backpack bone dry for the remainder of the journey; it weighed nothing, price even much less and might be recycled.
Cling movie proved equally magical. Though the advertising copy for my top-tube bag promised waterproofing, the insides had been damp after the primary day’s rain – not excellent contemplating it was residence to my cellphone/GPS. Just a few wraps of cling movie donated by my host on the primary evening solved the issue. I purchased my very own roll the subsequent day.
Your drivetrain picks up a lock of muck from the highway, so I scrubbed it off and lubed it day by day. Using a fixie means you do not have to fret about extra lube messing together with your gear shifts.
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
A nail brush is a surprise software.
I snagged one on the third day to scrub my incessantly mud-caked footwear. After that, I used it every day – to scrub my tyres, my brakes, my pedals, my body bag, my mudguard and all the things else. It’s additionally not unhealthy at protecting your nails tidy.
You don’t must plan your route upfront, and belief your eyes greater than your GPS
I initially adopted Biking Britain’s LEJOG route, however quickly started plotting my very own route every evening based mostly on my legs and the climate. Google Maps’ info on distance, elevation and site visitors makes route selections simpler, however it does generally strive too exhausting to maintain you off principal roads.
Which brings me to my level on generally trusting your eyes greater than the GPS instructions. That is very true when the blue line tries to show you right into a ploughed subject, up a flight of stairs or onto a single observe {that a} mountain goat would take a look at twice. I solely discovered this one after Google Maps took me right into a farmer’s corn fields (first puncture of the journey), within the pouring rain, which had me hoisting my bike over quite a lot of farm gates earlier than discovering correct paths once more.
The eponymous forged iron bridge in Ironbridge, Shropshire – my favorite vacation spot of the journey, even when I stayed there largely accidentally. Inbuilt 1779, the bridge spans the River Severn.
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
You don’t have to e book weeks forward in case you’re staying in paid lodging
I managed to search out respectable, inexpensive lodging on a day-to-day foundation, often whereas tucked in mattress after a heat bathe, which gave me much-needed route flexibility. The one near-failure occurred after I was advised on arrival that my room was not accessible attributable to upkeep, however I discovered another within the subsequent village on the journey web site Reserving.com in 10 minutes.
Deal with your bum
The very best improve I’ve made to my fixie was changing the saddle, however solely after measuring my sit bones. Sit on a chunk of tinfoil on a carpeted stair or related, measure the space between the impressions your sit bones have made, and purchase a saddle accordingly. Belief me. Or, check out this information to selecting the best saddle for you.
The route north passes by means of and by so many farms that you just’re by no means quite a lot of minutes away from the subsequent sheep or cow. These candy beauties watched me as I mashed up one of many many hills to Penrith.
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
Choose your gear ratio for the lengthy haul
Whilst you don’t want to try your journey on a fixie, I wholeheartedly suggest it, even when just for the simplicity of this model of driving. Simply watch out together with your gear choice.
I often journey a 49-tooth chainring with an 18-tooth sprocket, which represents a 73.5” gear. That is advantageous for city or pushing 80 km round my native terrain, the Kent Downs in southern England. However driving the steeper and longer Devon and Cornwall hills on a shorter (750 km) journey final 12 months quickly had me swapping my 42:16 setup (a 70.9” gear) for a 42:18 (a 63” gear), the simpler gear proving extra appropriate for the climbs. For this journey, I made a decision to start out with the 42:18, which had me pedalling comfortably at 12 mph and spinning out on the downhills at 24 mph.
Experience inside your limits
My proper knee began taking part in up at across the 900 km mark, which was seemingly from coaching too little and driving too aggressively. A bodily coach buddy of mine advisable lively relaxation. So, I took a 20-mile ‘relaxation day’ driving to Carlisle, the place I flipped my rear wheel to benefit from the freewheel. Coasting down hills for a number of days rested my knee and allowed me to complete the journey within the fixed-gear setup.
The Greig Avenue Bridge throughout the River Ness in Inverness. If sufficient of you bounce up and down a couple of third of the way in which throughout, you get to really feel the well-known Greig Avenue Bridge sine wave, which is why it is also referred to as the Wobbly Bridge.
(Picture credit score: Pete van der Woude)
Put on a biking cap
The standard cotton biking cap can take up 27 occasions its personal weight, which got here in helpful for each rain and sweat. And it stored the rising/setting solar out of my eyes. They wash simply, dry rapidly and let everybody know that you just’re a critical bike owner, even off the bike.
You don’t want an event
Like consuming an amazing bottle of wine, the journey is the event. So don’t wait round for the proper time or climate. When my spouse’s work contract completed a number of weeks early, I realised that our six-year-old could be in good arms, so I dug out my packing listing, and took the hole. She was a contact stunned since this was at 20:00 the evening earlier than I left, however when alternative knocks, solely the idiot fails to open the door.
