The Thrill of the Trail – Challenging the South Downs Way fully loaded

Last Updated on 29 November 2025 by Cycloscope

Cycling the South Downs Way on a loaded touring bicycle
Is that crazy?

Reverse cultural shock is the term used to describe our feelings upon arriving in Brighton. After 2 years of traveling in Asia and 18 months of living in China, the impact of Western culture is stunning.

We found ourselves staring at the people like we were old Chinese farmers abroad for the first time… “Look at all those tattoos!”, “That girl has purple hair!” and so on… Besides that, we were quite jet-lagged.

By the way, we are here to start a new bike trip around Europe, we’ll pick up our brand-new Stanforth Kibo and hit the road. As a first test for us (totally out of fit), the bikes, and the new gear, we decided to attempt something most have advised against, riding the South Downs Way fully loaded.

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Brighton

Brighton is a lovely city, just one hour away from London. It is really worth exploring its city center and the beautiful beaches, beware of the giant seagulls though, they are very nasty (and the biggest we’ve ever seen).

A great hike around Brighton is the Seven Sisters Hike. If you have one day to spare, you should definitely do it, with spectacular white sandstone cliffs towering over the blue sea.

The South Downs Way

The South Downs Way is a 160 km (100 miles) trail connecting Eastbourne (a town along the coast, south of London) with Winchester.

It cuts through the steep, gorgeous hills of the South Downs National Park, a protected area of farmland and National Park in southern England. The trail is primarily for hikers and horse riders, but it is also popular with bikers.

When we were looking for a route across England and Wales, heading towards Fishguard to cross into Ireland, we discovered Sustrans, a network of cycling and hiking trails that covers most of Great Britain. It is here that we discovered the South Downs.

Asking around the online bike touring communities, everyone said something similar: “Stunning route, do not even think about it if fully loaded”. So, since we tend to be “Bastian contrary,” we decided to give it a go.

Our attempt at cycling the South Downs

So we leave Brighton and cycle towards the nearest entrance of the trail, Devil’s Dyke; Simon, the designer of our new Stanforth Bikes, rides with us up there. It’s already a steep climb out of Brighton, across a wealthy and cozy neighborhood.

Devil’s Dyke is on a hilltop; from here, the trail starts, offering a scenic view. The white track cuts through the grass-covered hills. And it is immediately bumpy.

We manage to cycle the first three hills, up and down in a steep fashion, but not too rough, maybe the first 2 miles or so, we almost do not get down the bike (nearly).

Then there are a few flat bits which are basically on the grass, the track is buried below, still rideable, but we get the first few heavy hits since the potholes are hidden.

Things get rough

Simon said the first 5 miles are the worst, so we are still optimistic, but after climbing a hill and encountering a peculiar, smelly pig farm, things start to get really nasty.

There isn’t any grassland anymore, just farms and fields all around us, the track gets very narrow and there’s a downhill we can’t help but walk… followed by an equally terrible climb.

The trail crosses the tarmac roads quite a few times and we begin to wonder if we should give up… but we don’t, at least for today, we want to stay on the trail and find a calm and quiet camping spot.

Cissbury Ring

It’s 6 pm, and we are already exhausted. Even though there’s light until about 10 pm (tomorrow will be the Summer Solstice), we can’t go any further. It is also our first fully loaded cycling day in almost 2 years, so we are not exactly super-fit.

After the umpteenth bumpy single-track-downhill, a mirage appears of a sweet and soft hill with a small grove at its top, just perfect. We’ll find out later that it was the Cissbury Ring, an important Neolithic site (we didn’t even notice… too tired).

We pitch our tent and cook pasta. We are seriously worn out but happy. It has been a fantastic day, but we managed only 15km on the trail.

The Second Day

We wake up surrounded by a thick mist, visibility is about 10 meters, and the tent is wet. We start riding and see how it goes. The first mile is doable, but then the hell unleashes: vertical up-and-downs on single tracks, tall grass, big rocks… we push 80% of the time.

After another very bumpy slope, we really felt like we had had enough. We crossed a paved country road and decided to go for it, saying goodbye to the South Down Way. We rode a total of 22km (GPX track will come, stay tuned).

Conclusions

So, is it possible to ride the South Downs on a fully loaded touring bike? Well, if by riding you mean staying on the saddle for at least 50% of the time, then the answer is NO.

Is it worth trying? I think some manageable bits are worth the effort. Overall, we are pretty happy with what we did. One day makes for a good experience!

Is it doable on a bike without suspension? I think it is possible to tackle the whole route on a sturdy touring bike; there are quite a few sections, though, that you’ll want to push, for the well-being of your bike.

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