Bikepacking Southern England

Portobello Mushrooms for breakfast and left-hand traffic - Bikepacking in England!
Here are the route recordings on Komoot:
Day 1:
www.komoot.com/tour/814061402...
London - Farnborough, 66 km, 330 hm, road cycling
Day 2:
www.komoot.com/tour/814946097...
Farnborough - Stonehenge, 85 km, 600 hm, gravel cycling
Day 3:
www.komoot.com/tour/816642765...
Stonehenge - Bournemouth, 82 km, 610 hm, gravel cycling
(Watch out - there is a long non-bike-able grassy section, not to recommend)
Day 4:
www.komoot.com/tour/817186598...
Bournemouth - Stonehenge, 47 km, 590 hm, gravel cycling
Day 5:
www.komoot.com/tour/818437429...
Durdle Door - Bath, 116 km, 1200 hm, gravel cycling
#cyclinglondon #cyclingengland #bikepacking

[@greghart6310]

Nice trip! So glad to see that there are safe places to ride as I am moving to the UK next year. Cycling in my present home town of Cape Town South Africa is terrifying! People here have little regard for the rules of the road or the safety of others. They completely ignore the pathetic green stripes painted along the edge of busy roads that are supposed to indicate a bike path and are forever driving straight through red traffic lights at high speed. Commuting is a heart stopping affair every morning. I am so tired of the stress and fear.

[@bicibetta]

Good luck for your move to the UK 🇬🇧

[@Dug_Out]

Thanks for sharing this trip. Glad you enjoyed your English adventure. Just as in most countries cycling can have its highs & lows, but if you stay clear of the main roads (when you can) it can be a very safe & enjoyable journey. Personally speaking, I love the British countryside in the spring & summer months, although not a fan of the colder months. All in all, a very enjoyable watch👍

[@bicibetta]

Thank you! I had a good time biking in south England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 I also thought that the countryside was very nice. A bit more natural/wild than Germany/Austria/Italy.

[@welshbikepackingadventures]

great channel! iv jus subscribed 😁

[@bicibetta]

Thank you so much 😊

[@davidpayne8413]

Happy to know you had an ok trip. If you did a little research you could have found cycle paths all the way from London, better next time!

[@chris53small]

very much enjoyed you video and i never knew people were allowed to climb let alone touch the stones. i have visited Stone Henge and the stones were sectioned off from visitors so maybe its only a special event thing to be able to touch them. Thank you for your post

[@bicibetta]

Thank you 😊 Summer solstice is definitely a special event at Stonehenge. Also, the entry was free that day. Usually it is over 20 pounds entrance fee. Everybody was allowed to touch the stones or step on the lower ones on that day. Tough, the person in the video who climbed a high stone was asked to get down again😃

[@user-hu6oh7nu8m]

Amazing hello everyone 🙏👍👍

[@bicibetta]

Thank you so much 😊

[@dooley-ch]

English church yards and graveyards usually have a tap with potable water.

[@bicibetta]

Good hint! I didn’t know that and also didn’t think of it.

[@Bikes-guitars]

Good documentary thank you, I can strongly recommend the Peak District and Yorkshire dales the next time you visit the UK, although make sure you have some low gears on the bike as the climbs are really steep! Oh and it’s even more likely to rain 🫣

[@bicibetta]

Thank you for the feedback 😊 I would like to try out biking those areas. Thank you for the suggestion and the heads-up about chance of rain 😉

[@ToadallyMemes]

Big time jealous. Hope it was a great time!

[@bicibetta]

It was a good trip!! Especially towards the end of the trip.

[@ToadallyMemes]

@@bicibetta good to hear!

[@Bikepacking]

Sweet bikepacking adventure

[@bicibetta]

It was really enjoyable!!

[@Neilhuny]

I REALLY enjoyed that! I loved seeing and hearing about your experience of cycling in southern England. I would have been very frustrated by some of your earlier routes that were on what were really footpaths - I made much the same mistake in France this past summer by following gravel paths on my road touring bike and neither the bike or I were at all happy! Much like you, I eventually figured out what to look for by my 3rd day. I'd heard crowds could be quite big for the solstice at Stonehenge but that was incredible! Not my idea of fun.

[@bicibetta]

Thank you Neil 😊 Yes, next time we would be better prepared for France or southern England 😅 Admittedly, I could have done more research more beforehand. Then it might have been less trial & error 😂 I couldn’t believe how many people came to see Stonehenge at summer solstice 😳 it was really packed

[@cleftoftherock6797]

No thanks. Britain has all these stone walls or bush walls. It’s not even car friendly and if you make it out without an accident you’re lucky. I admire your energy and spirit to explore. You’ll never forget the places you visited. Especially lifting your Bianchi between those fences (kidding).

[@bicibetta]

😊 it was memorable trip. I didn’t mind the bush walls then. Now that you mention them, I agree, that they can make the ride a bit more dangerous.

[@KunQian-io9qc]

Looks like a grate trip! I am thinking coming to Germany to do a bike packing trip this summer. Where did you leave your bike bags when you were cycling around?

[@bicibetta]

The last two trips (one in Southern England and in Provence, France) I started and ended the tour in the same city and booked the same accommodation for start and end date. Both times, the accommodation let me leave the bicycle suitcase in the storage room without extra charge. The bike suitcase is not a full hard shell, though, and folds together to a fairly small size.

[@andrealouys8345]

Hi I will travel by bike from Dover to Plymouth next summer. Who knows a good way back by bus or train to Dover? Is it possible to take the bike by bus/train?

[@johndoe2448]

Which bottle holder system is that to keep them there? Seems very practical to get the space inside the frame triangle clear

[@bicibetta]

It is called stabilizer and I bought it here: www.fahrrad.de/woho-satteltaschen-stabilisator-M727097.html?vgid=G988055&_cid=21_2_-1_9_4611_988055_73186243811628_pla&ef_id=d2a66394c7991ef0766301ab987a7463:G:s&campaign_detail=shopping I like that the “stabilizer” kept my frame free from bottles so that I can put my frame bag there. Unfortunately the stabilizer damaged my bottle holder because I screwed the holder too tight onto the stabilizer. This squeezed the holder’s plastic under the screw head so much that it was too thin and broke. I would still recommend the stabilizer, but with the use bigger washers under the screw head. Also one needs to be aware of the bottles’ position when getting on and of the bike, or one kicks the bottle out of place.

[@kenwynn3871]

The ridiculousness of british cycle infrastructure 😅 You should try the north, from newcastle (you can get a ferry from NL) you can explore Northumberland and the north pennines, its beautiful and very quiet

[@bicibetta]

Thank you for the suggestion to go to Northumberland. Actually, our original plan for the trip in the video was to go north, maybe as far as Scotland. Only because of the weather forecast we decided to bike south of London 😊

[@nicjones4417]

Thanks for sharing your little adventure, if you want inspiration for another Uk gravel or mountain tour check out Keep Smiling Adventures chanel. 🙏 .... Wales is my favourite but you will definitely need lower gearing! 😁

[@bicibetta]

Thank you for this recommendation 😊 I will definitely check it out!! Let’s see if I make it to Wales one day with lower gears ⚙️ 😀

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

Welcome to England probably one of the worst places to cycle try the Netherlands it’s fantastic 🚴🏽‍♀️👍

[@bicibetta]

The Netherlands are on my bucket list 😄

[@simonr5171]

You need to work on the pronunciations. Born-muth. Farn-bruh. 😂