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The Equipment
An important part of the bike ride is of course the bikes themselves. Below are the bikes that we took up and down the roads and hills of the UK:
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Chris rode a Cannondale CAAD4 Team Saeco Replica: CAAD4 Aluminium Frame / Carbon 'slice' Fork and Dura-ace groupset. Mavic Ksyrium Wheelset with FSA Carbon Ergo Bars and Carbon Deda Stem. Look Pedals, Selle Italia Saddle and Continental Gatorskin tyres.
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Phil rode a Ribble Nero Corsa: 12K full carbon monocoque frame with matching 12K carbon forks, designed and developed by Dedacciai of Italy. Shimano Ultegra 10 speed Double groupset. Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset Pimpin' white Selle Italia Flite saddle :)
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Matt rode a Saracen Sestriere: Lightweight Aluminium frame with Saracen Carbon fork.
Shimano Sora Groupset, Rigida Wheelset
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Sam rode a Giant SCR 3:
ALUXX aluminium frame.
Shimano Tiagra 'Flight Deck', Shimano Sora front mech and Alexrims DA22 wheel set.
Not quite so pimpin' Selle Royal Viper seat and Keo clipless pedals
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Equipment List
As we will be doing the ride unsupported, we carried all of our kit for the whole ten days with us. The kit was carried in a variety of methods. Phil and Sam chose to take a single back pack, which seemed to work out fine for them. Chris took a small back pack and a post attached to the seat post that support a specially made bag to carry around 8kg of equipement. This worked well for him as well. Matt took a small pack pack and then a set of panniers. He said after that this was bearable but might consider one of the other methods if he did it again (although that is not very likely)
We each carried a variation on;
2 x cycling shorts
2 x cycling shirts
2 x base layers
Warmer cycle jersey
Arm warmers / Leg Warmers
Rain coat
Hat/head band
Gloves
2 x pairs of socks
Cycling shoes
Helmet
And for the evenings;
1 x Casual shorts
2 x T-shirts
1 x light weight trousers
Pair of lightweight shoes
We also carreied essential toiletries between us, such as;
toothbrush/paste,
shampoo/shower gel
Hand washing powder
Deodorant – Very Important!
Hair wax – Essential for chris!
Razor/shave foam
For the bikes, we carried some spares and shared as many tools as possible, minimising weight. However, as we managed 0 punctures on the entire ride, we did not need a lot of it. It is essential however, that you prepare. We took;
Multi-tool
2 x inner tubes each
puncture kit each
2 x tyre levers each
tie wraps
aerosol oil
insulating tape
2 x bungies
Swiss army knife
2 x Medical kit
Chain splitter
Spare gear and brake cable
2 x Pump
CO2 canisters
Mobile phones and chargers
We should mention that we carried daily suppliers of carb loaded bars and gels, generally on a rule of 3 bars and 6 gels per day per man. We forwarded supplies for days 5-7 and 8-9 to friends and relatives in Preston and Killern, carrying the first 4 days supplies with us down to Lands End