Whacha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside your trunk....

So I've basically had to scrap the idea of the Wessex Way (in two or three days) because I've procrastinated about, not trained enough, left it too late, and have been tipped off by Wiltshire and West Coun'ry locals that the route is overgrown with nettles and ferns and dragons and such...
With that kind of route forecast, it's really not worth attempting to ride with the aim of 125 (ish) miles per day - it simply won't happen. Meh.

However, I realised that if I were to do a little tour on road then I'm unlikely to encounter much unruly nature en route! Win...

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So..doing a road tour would be perfect for the Tripster ATR (which of course stands for Adventure, Tour, Race!).
I'd had a few ideas of what routes I'd like to tackle - something scenic, with the challenge of about 100+ miles a day to make it 'worthwhile'...
The West County Way is something I'd really like to do - it's about 250 miles so could be bashed out in 2 days. However, the trains were:

1. Really expensive
2. A complete faff

So I crossed that idea off the cards.
Then it dawned on me.. In fact, the idea had been spawned many years ago but I hadn't realised it!

Living on the South Coast I'd often cycled past these signs accompanied by the text "South Coast Cycle Route" and wondered where it started and finished...
It turns out that when finished it will cover over 360miles and is hailed as "A long distance cycle route which, when complete, will link Dover in Kent with St. Austell in Cornwall via the south coast of England."
Sounds perfect!

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So my plan is to ride from Plymouth to Brighton over 3 days...
The basic plan is:

• Plymouth to Exmouth
• Exmouth to Bournemouth
• Bournemouth to Brightonmouth

Seems doable, and if this Indian Summer sticks about will be bootiful..

If you are interested in a pile of 'stuff' becoming a bit more organised, here's a photographic idea of my kitlist for 3 nights and 3 full days of riding.

Here's the 'stuff' pile. Knives, fire making stuff, ti mugs, air bed, ninja spears (that double as pegs), chocolate..

Here's the 'bar bag' stuff - tarp, bivi bag, sleeping bag..

Here's a pile of clothes. I hope they're mine and not Bex's gym pants or something...

Here's a massive bottle. And a slightly smaller bottle. And a cap. The cap makes me look manly and not at all like a French Gay Icon...

And here it is as one big mess on the damp grass in the garden...

...and here we are, ready to strap it to the bike..

You can see Beth from Wildcat Gear has done well out of me this month! Despite my keenness to make my own frame bags and such, having seen Ed's Ocelot (fnar fnar) I could tell they were far, far better than anything I could cobble together (sulk..)
I'm still running with my DIY bar bag system - Maybe I'll ask Ray Perry if I can borrow his - it's a Wildcat too, and I may as well have matching stuff, eh!!! 

So.. I've got the train booked for 1435 this coming Sunday...I'll arrive in Plymouth at 1930ish, then I'll be left to my own devices for shelter, food, and transport...hoping to get home sometime on Wednesday!
I'll keep this site updated with the journey if and when I return!!