14 minute read
Bikepacking the West Kernow Way
from Epic Rides 2022
by Alpkit
Cycling UK are doing good piecing together new trails. Their latest route inspired Josh Parsons to be one of the first to ride it. A 230km bikepacking loop through the stunning Cornish countryside. Sea views, killer climbs, tin mines, bronze age history and, of course, pasties.
Words & pictures by Keep Smiling Adventures
After returning home from a gruelling but epic bikepacking adventure, the 800-mile off-road Great North Trail, I heard a sound I had not missed. The sound of cars roaring past. I sat looking at my two bikes. One was exhausted and a bit broken from the last 800 miles. And then the other. The Sonder Camino Ti all pristine and ready to go. All I needed was an adventure and, what do you know, Cycling UK release their most recent adventure route. The West Kernow Way. Sometimes you find the adventure and sometimes it just finds you. I started packing the Camino up with everything I would need for a few nights and a leisurely 230km (140 mile) ride around the beautiful, yet hilly, Cornwall. I like to start with how I’m going to sleep on these trips. And, after being in a tent during The Great North Trail, I thought I would treat myself to a bit of luxury. My Alpkit Mora hammock. Hammocks really are the pinnacle of comfort while camping. And this one packs down so small, it’s perfect for keeping the weight and pack size down – which is important in Cornwall, as 20% climbs are normal around there. Next up it’s the sleeping bag: the Pipedream 400. This is my go-to sleeping bag for most of the year in the UK, as it’s plenty warm enough and packs down super small. And of course, if you are going to Cornwall, you will be needing a tarp. I don’t think I have ever been to Cornwall without it raining. Two water bottles, my water filter and a small frame bag for a bit of food. Light, simple and effective is how I like to roll. So, I grabbed my cameras and headed down to where I would start the West Kernow Way… Redruth.
I arrived at Redruth at 3pm ready for my first half day cycling the West Kernow Way. As with everything in Cornwall, it’s a hill. You are either going up a hill or down a hill. There isn’t much in-between. I started with a good little climb, where I did question if I should have put on a slightly easier gear than my 42/42. As I got to the top of the hill, I was greeted with my first bit of Cornish history, the old tin mines. Making my way through some overgrown singletrack, rocky descents and a hike-abike through a long puddle, I made it to St Michael’s Mount. If you are lucky with the tide here, you can cross over and get a closer look, but I had to enjoy the ancient castle from afar. I highly recommend chilling on the beach and taking it all in. It really is spectacular. I continued past Penzance in look out for a couple trees to hang my hammock. I soon realised the hammock probably wasn’t the most optimal choice as the trees were lacking. However, after I kept searching, I found my spot and had the best night’s sleep. Waking up the next day, I was greeted with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. The route takes you around to Land’s End along a little gravel track following the coast, which is beautiful. I’d recommend trying to get to Land’s End quite early so you can see it before it gets busy. You then get to ride probably my favourite part of this whole ride. Along the coastal paths with all the tin mines and perfect blue sea views, the riding is super fun. This is where the gravel bike comes into its own. You head back inland across this vast open landscape towards The Lizard. It’s a great spot for some good old-fashioned Cornish pasties. And a good chance to soak in views sitting by the lighthouse. Well, that was my plan. But alas, the shop had just closed. So, I sat looking out to sea with my strawberry pencil sweets instead. As I continued and the day was coming to an end, I found myself sitting on a beach in a beautiful little cove just enjoying the sun. I set my hammock up that night to the sound of waves.
Waking up on the final day, the sun had been covered up by the clouds. The temperature was a little cooler, which was probably for the best, as this day consisted of lots of steep climbs out of the little coves. As I headed through some of the tiniest and steepest country lanes towards the end of the West Kernow Way, there was one final awesome trail. It’s the old mining trail, a gravel biker’s dream, and probably the flattest section on this whole route. A great way to end this adventure.
There is an adventure in all of us, you just have to find it, or let it find you.
Trail Tip: A second flat and you didn’t bring that old tin of patches!
You’ve used your spare and you get another puncture. You’ll be amazed how well this hack works. Once you have found the puncture, assuming it’s not next to the valve, tie a simple overhand knot to isolate the problem. Keep as much innertube free as possible and the knot as small as possible. Ride home sheepishly.
CONTINENTAL TWIN Road tandem tourer for sharing miles of joy
A good friend from work retired, bought a tandem and now cycles all over the Europe. We see their stories pop up every now again and they bring a smile to our faces. When a bike is your companion, is there room for three in a relationship? Only when it’s a tandem! Smile on a tandem and the world smiles back.
The Continental Twin’s hand-built titanium frame finds the balance of silkysmooth speed, comfort and carrying capacity. Enjoy a day out to explore new roads, load it up for the Wild Atlantic Way or cross a continent together.
3Al/2.5V aeronautical grade hand welded titanium frame • 12mm thru-axles • Full rack & guard mounts • Full external cable routing
Builds
Every Continental Twin is a bespoke build
Raw Ti
Meet Vera Ngosi
From hobbiest to ultra-endurance racer – there’s going to be mud, sweat and tears. One things for sure, Vera’s not afraid of a challenge.
QHey Vera, how’s it going?
I’m good! I’m currently doing my best to survive yet another winter by making lots of adventure plans for the spring and summer to look forward to.
It seems like you’re always smiling when you’re on your bike. How did you get into cycling?
I got into cycling through a funny series of events. Five years ago, I was lured into doing a big charity ride on a tandem because I was told I didn’t have to do much work on the back and could just drink prosecco and enjoy the views. The ride turned into a comedy-fest of endless mechanicals and it turns out I actually had to pedal quite hard as the stoker. But, I fell in love with the adventure and challenge of cycling and the new places it allowed me to see, and the joy I get from riding has only increased since.
What do you think could be done to improve the cycling community?
You got into endurance cycling thanks to the Ultra Distance Scholarship. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
So the endurance cycling thing really happened on a whim. I like to joke that I went from zero to ultra in 6 months! The first Ultra Distance Scholarship came A out at the end of 2020, and someone shared it with me because I had mentioned in passing that it would be cool to do a long distance ride like LEJOG one day. The scholarship was designed to increase representation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people in endurance racing, and they were offering the winner of the scholarship a custom-built bike, entry to an ultra cycling race (the 2000km Pan Celtic Race 2021), a coach to help you get trained for this, and lots of other support. It was targeted at people who were new to this type of cycling, and so after some
encouragement from my partner, I applied not thinking I stood a chance and then a month later found out I had won it! So for six months in 2021, I embarked on this incredible journey building up to this self-supported endurance bike race, learning how to bikepack, bivvy, and cycle day after day on a sore bum. It was the toughest challenge I had ever taken on but it was so transformational, both physically and mentally. I felt really proud to get to the finish line of this race, which in hindsight was the start of many more bikepacking adventures. So much needs to be done to improve the cycling community, but a few thoughts that come to mind are: • Diversifying events, from social club rides, to competitive events. Offering a range of rides and event categories to suit different rider’s abilities and interests would help draw more people into cycling. Some cycling spaces can feel very elitist and send the message that you have to have the lightest bike and latest gear or be focused on speed in order to belong. This can be alienating to a lot of other riders. • Broadening representation. There is a famous quote that says “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Brands, clubs and collectives need to diversify the images that they put out for people to see, but there’s a fine line between representation and tokenism which needs to be carefully managed.
• Finding new avenues to reach underrepresented groups when
advertising opportunities and events. A great example of what some organisers are now beginning to do is they are ring-fencing some tickets for underrepresented groups whom news of the event often reaches much later than the usual crowds, thereby giving them a chance to be able to get tickets before they sell-out to the default crowd.
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Do you feel represented in the cycling community?
&From an ethnicity point of view, I do not feel well represented in the cycling community by virtue of the fact that for most cycling activities I participate in, I end up being the only black person there. In the last 2 years since finding an online community and becoming part of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective, this has started to change. I’ve been able to connect with a group of inspirational black women across the country, and have had opportunities to attend events with some of them, and this has helped to improve that feeling of belonging.
What are your plans for the rest of 2022? We can’t wait to see what you get up to!
2022 for me is a year of gravel and MTB bikepacking adventures. I’m building my skills through finding lots of new trails near me, and also visiting centres such as Forest of Dean and Bike Park Wales to get some lessons. I’m most looking forward to some long weekends cycling some of the famous Cycling UK routes such as King Alfred’s Way, West Kernow Way, South Downs Way etc. I’ve also entered events including Battle on the Beach in Pembrey, Sisters in the Wild gathering in the Lake District, and the Dorset Divide gravel ultra race in the summer. I’m sure there will be plenty of other events as the year goes on!
OUR RIDERS
It’s a heartfelt privilege and joy to work with our select gang of Sonder Riders. As well as being friends, they help us with product design by pushing our bikes, components and cycle clothing to their limit. And they inspire us all with their daring deeds, trail tales and fresh experience of living life outdoors. So here’s to our Sonder Riders and their stories.
Jenny Graham
Welcome to Jenny Graham! We’re so delighted that Jenny has joined us as our latest Sonder Rider. Jenny holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman to circumnavigate the planet by bike. 18,000 miles unsupported in 124 days 11 hours. And she had an absolute blast in the process. Jenny is deeply rooted in her community in the highlands of Scotland, which she says is the best playground in the world. Currently she’s finishing off her first book about travelling around the world so watch out for that coming out later this year as well as stories about Jenny’s gravel traverse of Spain which she’s about to set off on.
Emma Pooley
One of GB’s most respected and successful cyclists. As well as 10 Olympic and Commonwealth medals, Emma held the women’s Everesting record and has actually done a gravel Everest on a brutal 571m gravel climb on her Camino Ti.
Emma now rides purely for fun and the sense of personal challenge in ultra-distance bikepacking events. She also has a huge passion for eating real, tasty food in sport. This year she’s racing the 20k Ultratrail – 1000km across the highest roads in Europe.
Alastair Humphreys
Al is an adventurer, author and great friend who spent over four years cycling around the world before he introduced us to the concept of microadventures. As well as his adventures by bike, Al has walked across Southern India, rowed the Atlantic Ocean, trekked 1,000 miles across the Empty Quarter desert and 120 miles around the M25. It’s no wonder he was voted one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year. This year Al’s plans are to explore more locally than ever before. “I’ve cycled all the way around the world but I haven’t cycled every trail on the tiny map that I live on yet – that seems crazy. So I am on a mission to look for local adventure and to seek as much everyday nature as I can”.
SANTIAGO
Reynolds Steel tourer
I rode round the last cobbled switchback, summit in sight. Glance to the right, that view! Part Belgian berg, part Alpine col the way over Vršič pass, Slovenia’s highest paved road, would lead me down to my campsite in the Soca valley below. No room at the inn? Nice to know everything I need is attached to my bike.
Classic steel smoothness. It’s the closest thing you can get to riding your favourite armchair. In a good way! It’s the bike for long winter rides. It’s the bike for cycle touring. It’s the bike for riding around the world.
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Details
Reynolds 631 100% recycled steel • Touring geometry • Full rack & guard mounts [1] • Cage mounts on forks [2]
Builds
Santiago Apex1 Flat Bar £1,149 Santiago Rival1 Mechanical £1,299 Santiago Rival22 Hydraulic £1,549
