Any idea what the title of this blog post means? I had absolutely no idea until about 10 minutes ago, apparently it stands for ‘sub-24-hour-overnights’ or in other words an over night bike camping trip that only lasts one night. There’s a good little article written by Jack Thurston in the Financial Times about doing it within the M25 – read it HERE
I’ve always liked the idea of leaving your desk and heading out on a mini-camping trip like this, escaping the city and doing something genuinely adventurous when everyone else is slumped at home watching endless cr*p celebrity reality TV shows. No one would believe what adventures you’d been on when you returned to your office the next day.
I’m sure there would be lots of yawning at your desk the next day; and as Jack says there has to be an element of stealth about your camping as it’s not technically legal to wild camp in the UK. However it all seems worth it when you can wake to views like this less than an hour from the city:
Back in March myself and a close knit crew of friends attempted an audacious 72 hour attempt of the infamous John O Groats to Lands End ride. Cycling non-stop, day and night, through rain, hail, snow and gale force winds meant we had to have the absolute best kit available to us to have a chance at successfully completing our goal. To ensure this we approached 3 companies to come on board as sponsors of the ride – the first, and arguably the most important, was the online clothing retailer Always Riding – www.alwaysriding.co.uk “We’ve been clothing the rider since 2008 – in other words we’ve been keeping road, trail & commuting cyclists rolling in style and in all weathers with a select collection of the world’s best cycle clothing. From our base in London we despatch bicycle apparel to the world, with customer service so great you’ll feel like drinking a celebratory cup of tea afterwards – that’s just how we roll.”
In our eyes Always Riding were the obvious choice to supply clothing for the two riders – they have a fantastic selection of clothing from some the big names such as Craft, Northwave, Campagnolo, Castelli etc however also stock some of the smaller boutique brands like Muxu, SWRVE and Cafe du Cycliste. They are also small enough themselves to offer a very personal service; whether ordering a pair of socks or speaking to them about sponsorship!
For this specific challenge they recommended ultra high end Spanish brand Etxeondo:
Their clothing doesn’t come cheap but I can honestly say I’ve never worn anything of such high quality before. The Exteondo Press Bib Shorts especially deserve a mention; I basically didn’t take these off for 4 days straight (not a pretty sight by the end!) and didn’t feel a single rub or irritation the whole time.
Huge thanks to Always Riding for the support – we highly recommend you head to their website next time you’re looking for some new cycle clothing.
Perfectly built up with a nice selection of Campagnolo, Nitto and Paul components.
They’re offering this build as a complete bike in store or alternatively can build you up a totally custom spec. if you’d prefer. Get in touch through their website www.bristoldropouts.com if you’re interested.
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