Craig Boyde

What was your reason for wanting to ride the Trafalgar Way?

Wanting to achieve the challenge of riding 200 miles in a single ride.

How would you sum up your ride of the Trafalgar Way to a friend?

A fantastic experience I’d recommend to anyone up for the challenge. Run by a friendly well organised team on a well marked iconic route.

What was your most memorable part of the ride?

It’s hard to say there were so many but 2 stand out for me, the cameradery amongst all the participants and the team that really helped to keep my spirits up through the toughest parts of the ride and arriving in the home counties as dawn broke having ridden through the night for the first time and riding into the heart of London.

What are your top 3 tips for anyone thinking of riding the Trafalgar Way?

Make sure you stay hydrated and fueled properly, it’s a long day/night if you hungry or dehydrated and make sure you have a fully charged power bank. I went prepared with 2 of them with my phone, Garmin and lights that needed power thankfully only my Garmin needed topping up.

What are your top bits of equipment or kit you wouldn’t want to ride the Trafalgar Way without?

My Garmin, a decent set of high power lights for the night time section and a comfy saddle, I fitted my bike with a San Marco Ponza saddle and it was as comfy as a sofa for the whole 200 miles.

What bike (make and model) and chainset / cassette set up did you ride the Trafalgar Way with (if available)?

I rode my Bianchi Oltre xr1. It has a set of Hunt race aero wide rims on to save on extra weight. It has a a semi compact setup of a 52-34 crank and 11-28 cassette. Although the bike is set up for racing rather than endurance riding it’s surprisingly comfortable over long distances and the main reason I chose it for Ride the Trafalgar Way was it’s speed, aero position and light weight. Although tough on some of the steeper climbs it’s super light weight it where it compensates and the high gear ratio gives me that top end speed to cover the distance as fast and as easily as possible.