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The
Trans
Pennine
Cycling
Trail |
Trans
Pennine
Routes
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* 205 miles on the first multi-user long
distance cycling trail * |
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A coast to coast route, linking the
ports of Liverpool and Hull with
connections to the seaside resorts of
Southport on the Irish Sea and Hornsea
on the North Sea. It links major towns
and cities across the North including
Leeds, Wakefield, Barnsley, York, Selby,
Manchester, Doncaster, Rotherham,
Sheffield and Chesterfield.
LIVERPOOL TO CLEETHORPES
Riding
from the West coast to the East coast,
covering 205 miles of trail riding. The
first multi-user long distance trail
route in the country. |
For the latest
up-dates
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Trans
Pennine
Trail Info
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"THE FIRST STEPS ARE ALWAYS THE
HARDEST"
Preparing for an epic off/road
adventure such as a Trans Pennine trip which involves a couple of days or
more of riding, or even the South Downs
Way which involves only 2 or 3 days
riding, is a big task which must be
considered carefully before embarking
on. |
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Organising an adventure:
The success
of an epic ride relies on the ability to
organise things both in advance and on the
move, as plans often need to be changed as
problems arise during the ride. Transport is
a vital factor, if you are doing an end to
end route then you need to arrange some form
of transport to get you back to the start,
unless you plan to ride back again!.
(Ho Yerr ... ... right!)
The choice of
route is a very important factor when
planning an epic ride, because you will need
to arrange accommodation around your route
or your route around accommodation and even
sources of food if you are in a particularly
barren area of the county. This is best done
with a full set of OS maps for the area that
you are visiting or a dedicated guide for a
route such as the South Downs Way. When
planning a route you will need to have a
contingency plan in mind just in case the
weather is too bad or you suffer mechanical
or physical problems and cannot ride the
full day.
Organising and booking accommodation is
something, which must be done early on when
planning an epic ride especially if it is
high season in a popular tourist area.
Booking is not always necessary with Youth
Hostels and B & B's but it helps if you know
you have got a place rather than wondering
if you are going to get a bed for the night.
(Ditch sleeping is not recommended)
 What
to take:
Travel light,
that's the ultimate goal of every epic
mountain bike rider, but I know that it
never happens, you always take more than you
need just in case. This approach is good but
not necessarily the best, you may be
prepared for every eventuality but you'll be
so weighed down the ride will take twice as
long! For trails like the West Highland Way
or Wales Coast to Coast use back panniers
for luggage a little cumbersome but they do
the job and go for a good make like
Karrimor. For the Coast to Coast and South
Downs Way use a Rucksacks which are
generally better than panniers for a short
trip like the South Downs Way. Training is
important when doing an epic ride however it
is up to you how much you do. building up
distance and frequency of rides allows you
to prepare for a whole week of riding.
So what do I need to take ?
The essentials are:
First Aid Kit, Inner Tubes, (even if you are
running tubeless) Puncture Repair Kit, Allen
Key / Bike Tool, Lights or Torch, Compass,
Snacks (Bananas, Chocolate, power bars/gels
are good choices), Water/isotonic mix, Map,
Appropriate Clothing......The list goes on
but these are the essentials. Bear all of
this in mind, with a bit of common sense,
you will be well on the way to planning a
potentially great Off-road Adventure.
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