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Bikes Of Great British Escapades 2023

1 June, 2023

An intrepid adventure covering the North and South Downs in the sunny South of England. Make sure you take a look at the bikes the riders have chosen to tackle this hilly off-road adventure.

Then, follow along via the tracking .

Andy Topliffe

Name: Andy Topliffe

Age: 52

Location: Chelmsford

Bike: On One Free Ranger

Key items of kit: Restrap top tube bag, KTM saddle bag, oval chain ring, double wrapped bar tape,

Edward F

Name: Edward F

Age: 37

Cap number: 13

Location: Kent, UK

Bike: Mason Bokeh, Hunt x Mason 650b dynamo wheelset and Rene Herse Juniper Ridge 48mm tyres.

Key items of kit: Apidura bags, Alpkit bivvy bag with liner, Alpkit cloudbase mat. All the food!

Rob

Name: Rob

Age: 43

Location: Down south

Bike: Bombtrack HooK

Key items of kit: Tailfin Apidura top tube and frame bag Hunks Bivy and sea2summit SP2 sleeping bag SonDyno Klite lights Wahoo Roam

Jim barrow

Name: Jim barrow

Age: 55

Location: West sussex

Bike: Mason ISO

Key items of kit: Mason ISO, Hunt Search Dynamo wheel set, K lite light / charger, Garmin Edge 1030, various Apidura and Alpkit bags, tailfin seat pack, Alpkit hunka bivvy bag, Alpkit pipedream sleeping bag, Thermarest Neoair X therm mat.

Dale Warren

Name: Dale Warren

Age: 44

Cap number: Adventuresofadale

Location: Crick, Northants

Bike: Sonder Frontier, 27.5" on tubeless Goodyear Escape 2.6", comfort all the way. SRAM Eagle NX 11-50. 32T. SRAM Guide T brakes. Selcof Expedition bars with Ergon GP4s, more comfort.

Key items of kit: Restrap bags on the bike and Alpkit Skytrail with a bladder. Alpkit Hunka XL bivvy and Rig 3.5 tarp. Sea to Summit Spark bag with a Thermorest Neoair Uberlite pad and S2S pillow. Combination of Magicshine Monteer 8000S and Cateye Volt 800 to light the way. Garmin 530 for nav and couple of 20000mAh for power. A tonne of Clif bars and home blended trail mix for snacking.

Pete Critchlow

Name: Pete Critchlow

Age: 43

Location: Hope Valley, Derbyshire

Bike: Trek X-Caliber 9

Key items of kit: Pretty much stock bike, SLX/XT groupset, but switched to Continental Race Kings for the GBE. Restrap 7l Race Saddle Pack for sleep kit. Alpkit 3l Bar Bag for spare/warm clothes. Alpkit Top Tube Bag for electronics. 2 x Apidura 1.2l Food Pouches. Exposure Strada 900 with remote, and smaller Switch upfront, 2 x Moon usb rear lights at the back. SQ-Lab inner bar ends for change of position on roads and longer climbs. 1 x 1l and 1 x 0.8l bottles squeezed in by using adjustable cage mounts.

Dan Ricketts

Name: Dan Ricketts

Age: 39

Location: Essex, UK

Bike: Orbea MX50 Hardtail nicknamed "Rocinante" - I reckon the cheapest bike in the field!

Key items of kit: Moosetreks full frame bag - again super cheap! My Essex and Herts Air Ambulance jersey as I'm raising money for them through the ride The OnOne Geoff Alt bars - lots of hand positions

Jim Warden

Name: Jim Warden

Age: 47

Cap number: @jimdubleyou

Location: Twickenham

Bike: YT Izzo

Key items of kit: Alpkit Koala: sleep kit (bivvy + quilt) and a spare set of riding kit. Alpkit Large stem cell: quick access stuff - first aid, waterproof, chargers. Alpkit small stem cell: mostly empty, food and easy access bits. Restrap canister and top tube: spare gloves, battery pack, food, arm warmers, cable lock. Various small bags - spares and tubes, lots of tubes. Using a Garmin 1040 for navigation, and exposure lights. Will also have a hydration pack.

Tony Marvin

Name: Tony Marvin

Age: 69

Location: Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Bike: Salsa Cutthroat built by Woods Cyclery Lyndhurst.

Key items of kit: Front end, Revelate Designs bags. Top bar and rear, Tailfin bags and rack. In the middle, frame bag from Straight Cut Design.

Nath Manning

Name: Nath Manning

Age: 35

Location: South Wales

Bike: Titus Silk Road

Key items of kit: Zephyros Compact Tent Highlander Superlite Sleeping Bag Trekology UL50 mat

Martin Fabbro

Name: Martin Fabbro

Age: 43

Location: Colchester,

Bike: I'll be riding a Titus Silk Road Titanium. Maxxis 2.4" tires, Ikon at rear and Reckon at the front. Sram GX Eagle 12s. 50T/11-50 cassette. Expedition handlebar with Ergon GP1 grips.

Key items of kit: I'll be running Exposure lights and a combination of Alpik and Podsacs bags. Hydration backpack and 1-2 bottles in the frame. Garmin to get around.

Tony Mumford

Name: Tony Mumford

Location: High Wycombe

Bike: PlanetX Tempest

Key items of kit: GRX 1x with Garbuk cage & 11-48 cassette. Schwalbe G-one Ultrabite TLE Addix. 45mm Various bike bags to fit. Alpkit elan bivvi, lightweight sleeping bag.

Tom Foot

Name: Tom Foot

Age: 37

Cap number: @TFoot

Location: Chichester, West Sussex

Bike: Ridley Kanzo Adventure with custom paint job. Hunt 42 Limitless Gravel Disc Wheels with Vittoria Mezcals in 2.1. 1x Shimano GRX Di2 Groupset with Rotor inspider Power Meter and Shimano XT pedals.

Key items of kit: Tailfin Aero Pack with custom Racewaredirect Light mount and 0.5l Top Tube Bag. Apidura Frame Bag and Rapha Bar Bag. Garmin Edge 1040 Solar Computer. Exposure Toro Front light, Exposure Diabolo Helmet light. Exposure Boost R Rear light. Alpkit Hunka Bivvy, Alpkit Pipedream 200 Sleeping Bag.

Daniele Maestri

Name: Daniele Maestri

Age: 38

Cap number: Don’t know yet

Location: London UK

Bike: Canyon Grizl CF SLX 8 Di2

Key items of kit: Read rack with aero pack from Tailfin. Top tube, frame and handlebar bags from Restrap. Tyres are Pirelli Cinturato gravel 45 with tan wall obviously 😅 setup tubeless. Front and helmet Lights from Exposure. Magnetic water bottle from Fidlock.

Garrick McMullin

Name: Garrick McMullin

Age: 48

Location: Salisbury, UK

Bike: Holdsworth Mystique. SRAM Rival.

Key items of kit: Podsac saddle, frame and handlebar roll. Apidura top tube bag. Evadict hydration vest.

Steve Thurgood

Name: Steve Thurgood

Age: 60

Location: Crediton, Devon

Bike: Sonder Broken Road, with standard factory kit!

Key items of kit: Mixture of Restrap and Podsacs bags.

Plan to sleep in Alpkit Hunka bivvy, with Alpkit Cloud mat and Thermarest Space Cowboy Sleeping bag. Using Wahoo Roam navigation, Cateye lights, Alpkit Insulated jacket , Pocket Rocket waterproof optional!!

Christian Haw

Name: Christian Haw

Age: 50

Cap number: ?

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire

Bike: Enigma Escape, rolling on Mavic Allroad SL wheels with WTB 40mm Nano SG2 tyres - tubeless. With Campagnolo H11 / Record / Chorus groupset and a SRAM 11-36 cassette for a bit of extra range. Thomson finishing kit. Pro PLT carbon ergo bars with Lizard Skins 3.2mm DSP tape. Sella San Marco Shortfit Supercomfort saddle. 20 year old XTR SPD pedals.

Key items of kit: Garmin Edge 1030+ for my old eyes and loooong run times. Exposure Toro with support cell for extra burn time. Cateye and Lezyne rear lights. Restrap frame bag for all my food, Topeak saddle and top tube bags. 2 x 750ml bottles.

Justin Dean

Name: Justin Dean

Age: 55

Cap number: Deano

Location: Whitstable

Bike: Vitus Rapide Carbon Hardtail , Canecreek eesilk 30mm seatpost , 100mm Fork SID World Cup , mezcal 2.25 rear , and Barzo 2.25 front Full XT groupset 12 speed , ergon grips

Key items of kit: Tailfin rear bag , all my sleeping gear , Outdoor Research Bivi , sleeping bag and liner , Custom made Straight Cut frame bag for clothes, mainly merino , and my pump , and wash kit . Apidura bag under down tube for my tube and tools , Apidura Top Tube bag for electrics and Oveja Negra stem bags for food , finally my bottle cages on the forks using Tailfin clips

Phillip Lowry

Name: Phillip Lowry

Age: 42

Location: Warwickshire

Bike: Singular Ti Gryphon

Key items of kit: Straight cut design bags with Apidura seat pack. Bivvy, sea to summit sleep system.

Tom Stocker

Name: Tom Stocker

Age: 34

Location: New Forest

Bike: Trek Procalibre 9.6

Key items of kit: Exposure six pack so that it’s always daytime, a small chainring for the South Downs and SID forks which don’t bounce about when climbing.

Lee Stephenson

Name: Lee Stephenson

Age: 45

Location: East Yorkshire

Bike: Specialized Diverge

Key items of kit: Alpkit soloist tent. Spork Spare bib shorts

Matt Slater

Name: Matt Slater

Age: 48

Cap number: MATT_SLATER

Location: Devon, UK

Bike: Canyon Exceed CF 7

Key items of kit: Alpkit Hunka Bivvy, Mountain Equipment Helium Sleeping Bag, Exposure Toro + Joystick lights, Exposure Support Cell, Wahoo Roam v1

Adam Robbins

Name: Adam Robbins

Age: 43

Cap number: Unknown

Location: Chelmsford , Essex

Bike: Stanton Sherpa gen 2 Rigid surly forks Xt drivetrain with 11-50 cassette 34t oval chainring Raceface ride cranks Wtb i29 wheelset Wtb 2.25 ranger tyres Crankbros mallet DH pedals

Key items of kit: Alp kit deluge frame and seat bag. Moosetreks split level frame bag

Podsacs cockpit bags.

Alp kit soloist tent Alpkit ultra 80 sleeping bag

I'm a special needs teacher teaching boys 11-16 with social emotional and mental health problems.

I also volunteer for Essex sands (stillbirth and neonatal death society) I love to take on challenges and raise money to support others bereaved parents. As a keen mountain biker two marathons is enough so ultra distance off-roading is my new challenge. Escapades being the first.

Darren Blackwell

Name: Darren Blackwell

Age: 50

Cap number: 113

Location: Rutland

Bike: Trek Supercaliber 9.8GX

Key items of kit: Tailfin rack, Straight cut design custom frame bag, Conti race king tires, Exposure lights, Garmin 1030 + power cell, Big Agnes tent,

Phil Stubbins

Name: Phil Stubbins

Age: 51

Location: Cheshire

Bike: Stanton Sherpa with Ohlins fork, Shimano drivetrain & Hope brakes. Bags from Apidura and Alpkit.

Key items of kit: Bar ends from 1990s mtb, flat pedals and 3 litre hydration bladder. I’ll be fuelled by malt loaf, low expectations and misplaced optimism.

Phil Scott

Name: Phil Scott

Age: 55

Location: Redhill

Bike: Titus Silk road

Key items of kit: Wahoo Roam, blackburn frame back, planet x bar bag. apidura 1.5l bladder

Adam Colvin

Name: Adam Colvin

Age: 38

Cap number: N/A

Location: Colchester

Bike: On Free Ranger. (The Rooster) 650b, prime Audax wheels with WTB Sendero 47mm tyres. 1x 38t and 11-44 cassette. Dynamo Hub for power, and tri bars for comfort along with a specialized power saddle at 155mm. Pedals are Nukeproof Horizon fat/clipless.

Key items of kit: Wahoo x2 for Nav. Exposure rear lights and my Amazon special upfront. Bags are a mix of restarap half frame and 7l front, and zefal top tube with 2x feed pods. Spares in a tool pod under the frame. Ear pods for tunes at night and my bamboo trowel for emergencies. Finally a tooth brush to keep the smile white.