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{"PageID":551,"ThemeCode":null,"BlogInfo":{"Breadcrumbs":[{"Name":"News and Announcements","URL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements"}],"ID":393,"SpaceID":11,"Name":"News and Announcements","Description":null,"Author":{"ID":448,"Name":"James Weedon","CompanyName":null},"CreationTime":"04/07/2023 15:15","Tags":[],"URL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements","IsWatching":false,"CanWatch":false,"CanPostBlogEntry":false},"EntryInfo":{"Breadcrumbs":[{"Name":"News and Announcements","URL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements"},{"Name":"The Old Chalk Way; Chicken Soup for the Soul.","URL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements/The+Old+Chalk+Way+Chicken+Soup+for+the+Soul"}],"ID":551,"Name":"The Old Chalk Way; Chicken Soup for the Soul.","Abstract":"Rich Wallwork reports on an epic adventure tackling a 575km bikepacking route along Britain\u0027s oldest highway.","ImageUrl":"https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Cms/news/2024/ocw1.jpg","ThumbnailImageUrl":"https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Cms/news/2024/ocw5.jpg","Author":{"ID":960,"MembershipNumber":null,"Username":null,"Forename":"Richard","Surname":"Wallwork","Name":"Richard Wallwork","Handle":"Richard","CompanyName":null,"FamilyGroupName":null,"Branch":{"ID":0,"Name":null,"Description":null,"Icon":null,"Colour":null,"Depth":0,"Indent":0,"CanBeSelected":false,"Sections":null,"Label":"","LabelLarge":""},"IsLoggedInUser":false,"ImageUrl":"https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Mugshots/Rich_W.jpg"},"IsDraft":false,"PublicationDate":"Wednesday, 11 December 2024","CreationTime":"11/12/2024 17:46","CommentCount":0,"Tags":[],"URL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements/The+Old+Chalk+Way+Chicken+Soup+for+the+Soul","CanAdmin":false},"Content":"\u003cp\u003eIn May this year, 3 hardy fools thought it would be a good idea to tackle the Old Chalk Way, a route that stitches together several of Britain’s medieval trade routes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Old Chalk Way is a 576 km (approximately 357 miles) bikepacking route that follows Britain’s ancient chalk highways, combining historical significance with scenic cycling. This route starts on the Dorset coast and ends at the Wash in Norfolk. It largely mirrors sections of the Greater Ridgeway but has been adapted for cyclists with gravel bikes, offering smoother flow and avoiding excessively muddy or technical trails. I feel these routes get to the soul of the country and you feel steeped in history for much of the route. The route is mostly quiet and lets you really get away from it all.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe route emphasizes an enjoyable, non-technical bikepacking experience while highlighting Britain’s oldest trade routes. There are plenty of options along the way to restock food and water so little really needs to be carried beyond spare clothing, warm kit and spares\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\u0022https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Cms/news/2024/ocw2.jpg\u0022 data-image=\u0022ocw2.jpg\u0022\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow we cracked it\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eDay 1 - 100.5 miles, 9105ft. Lyme Regis to Amesbury, Wiltshire.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eDay 2 - 77.24 miles, 4515ft. Amesbury to Wallingford.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eDay 3 - 99 miles, 5984ft. Wallingford to Saffron Waldon.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eDay 4 - 98 miles, 4239ft. Saffron Waldon to Hunstanton + a further 20 miles to King’s Lynne station.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving ridden a few gravel routes - this one was every bit as spectacular. Sunken lanes, dark woods, ridgeway paths revealing views to die for, grass, chalk, gravel, puddles (so many puddles), tarmac, towns, villages, hamlets and even the Luton busways (who knew they were a thing?).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe travelled as light as possible - no tents or sleeping bags as we used pubs and Travel Lodges etc. We carried what we thought was enough spares. I was the only one of the three of us to not end up with tubes in both tyres. Carry plenty of spares if attempting these routes and anticipate about everything breaking or going wrong at some point – we had slipping saddle posts, side wall tears, thorns, mud-guards clogging to name but a few.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\u0022https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Cms/news/2024/ocw3.jpg\u0022 data-image=\u0022ocw3.jpg\u0022\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\u0022text-align: center;\u0022\u003eLeft to right:\u0026nbsp;Richard Dillon, Andy Jackson and Rich Wallwork\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn retrospect, 4 days was always going to be an ambitious timeline. We might better have spread out the distance and had time allowed, 5 days is decent amount of time to enjoy the route. Predictably, speeds range from 20+mph on the Norfolk gravel flats and the tarmac of Cambridgeshire, down to 3mph struggling through the Chilterns, regretting that extra set of kit you packed and extra bidon you shoved in the bike bag.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo get there we were dropped in Lyme Regis and at the end we cycled down to King’s Lynne and got the train to Cambridge where were picked up, having enjoyed a few scoops and a curry on the train.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eRide Stats\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e395 miles ridden\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e28,343 feet of ascent\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e31 hours of movement time\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e18,759 calories burnt\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e4 tubes added to tubeless wheels\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e2 stuck 4x4s heckled on byways\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eand one fire alarm at 5am thanks to Travel Lodge.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eOne hell of a ride!\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe UK gravel bike-packing scene is huge and the choice of routes is wide. Give it a go sometime, it really is chicken soup for the soul.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRich\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWant to know more?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://www.oldchalkway.cc/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ehttps://www.oldchalkway.cc/\u003c/a\u003e The official site \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003ciframe width=\u0022500\u0022 height=\u0022281\u0022 src=\u0022//www.youtube.com/embed/7yvIDDVF0MA\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022 allowfullscreen=\u0022\u0022\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e – GCN attempt to do the route as quick as possible\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\u0022https://rdw.dphoto.com/album/3puisu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ehttps://rdw.dphoto.com/album/3...\u003c/a\u003e - More pics of the ride\u003c/p\u003e","HasCommentsThread":true,"SeoTags":{"OpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"og:title","Name":"The Old Chalk Way; Chicken Soup for the Soul."},{"ID":"og:type","Name":"website"},{"ID":"og:url","Name":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements/The+Old+Chalk+Way+Chicken+Soup+for+the+Soul"},{"ID":"og:description","Name":"Rich Wallwork reports on an epic adventure tackling a 575km bikepacking route along Britain\u0027s oldest highway."},{"ID":"og:image","Name":"https://www.teammk.com/Client/Images/Cms/news/2024/ocw1.jpg"}],"NonOpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"description","Name":"Rich Wallwork reports on an epic adventure tackling a 575km bikepacking route along Britain\u0027s oldest highway."}]},"PageURL":"https://www.teammk.com/Cms/Spaces/PB/News+and+Announcements/The+Old+Chalk+Way+Chicken+Soup+for+the+Soul","Comments":[],"UpdatedComments":[],"LastViewTime":null,"CanEdit":false,"CanPublish":false,"CanComment":false,"CanReadComments":true,"CanModerateComments":false}
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