Half-Term Bikepacking Adventure

It was half term at school, and with no family plans, Tobias said, “Let’s go bikepacking!”

As the planner of the two of us, I already had a few routes in mind — three days, mostly off-road, tent camping, maybe one night in a hotel. It was going to be epic.

But soon, I was turned down by mummy: “No way!”

Alright then — two days, and we’ll stay in a hotel.

The little one said, “Let’s go to Brighton again.”
Okay, start from home, a bit longer way — but we’ll try to go off-road as much as possible.

Route ready, hotel booked — let’s go.

We left home. Getting out of London was a bit boring, but soon we hit some country roads and off-road sections. The mood wasn’t great at first — already tired from the road, and still a long way to go. But that’s how the first day always is: the body’s in shock, the mind wants to stay on the sofa and chill.

It was a bit windy, but okay — the sun came out here and there, so not bad.

We reached the Surrey Hills, and it was lovely. The trails were empty, and we had fun — until we realised it was already 4 p.m. and it would soon be dark, since the clocks had just changed from daylight saving time. I only had one light — a good one, but still, only one. Having had a “no-light-night-ride mishap” recently, I’d made the same mistake again — but at least this time, I brought one.

Once the light disappeared completely, we were in the middle of the forest, going up and down. We had to hike-a-bike some sections, then descend sketchy trails. If I rode first, Tobias couldn’t see the ground because I blocked the light; if he went first, my light just cast his shadow, so he couldn’t see either. It turned into a kind of video game ride — and despite everything, it was fun.

There was a moment when we were pushing the bikes up a steep, barely rideable climb, talking about scary moments, stories — and it was great moment.

The temperature was warm while climbing, but I knew as soon as we hit the descent it would get cold — and it did. The last 3–4 km to the hotel were downhill on the road, chilly but manageable. At least we could ride side by side, and the light was enough to guide us.

We arrived at the hotel only to realise Tobias had a puncture on his back wheel — luckily right at the end of the ride.

A hot shower, a nice meal (a really good one!), a bit of telly, and chill time.

Tomorrow, we go again.