Specifically for UK riders, or foreign, that have cycled the South Downs Way from Winchester -> Eastbourne or vice versa... in 1 day! Who's done it, any tips?

A friend and I want to do it in August this year, the full run winchester/eastbourne, about 100mi, in 1 Day... wanted to know the experiences of those who have done it, preferred direction (seems to be west to east becuase of wind), training, etc

West to east is the way to do it if you have to plan ahead. otherwise wait and see what the wind is doing.
If you do Winchester to Eastbourne, take it easy at the start because the end is hard and don't get lost in Lewes...it's quite easy to do.
It is not too bad to do in a day but you haven't really got time to mess around. If you can get someone to meet you at Steyning with a bowl of Pasta it's pretty helpful.
I've done it a couple of times and with an early start it should be ok, one of the guys in my club is a bit of a nutter and last year did it twice in 24 hours...
Good luck, should be blast.

Have read a few articles about people who have done 24hr SDW doubles... i'll stick to one way for now.

In the majority of what i've read people tend to do it west to east mostly cause of wind direction, some for the view... i'd prefer to go east to west to get the big climbs out of the way while i'm still fresh, climbing is not a strength of mine especially when i'm tired.... plus I live in Winchester so it makes sense to end the ride there and collapse in my local.

Can I ask whay tyres you had on your bike for the ride? I know a lot of the SDW is chalk & flint, normally I use racing ralphs but these really clog when its wet & muddy, specially on chalk... was thinking of nobby nic pacestars

I think i used Maxxis Crossmarks but either of your choices will be fine. The SDW is normally in pretty good condition so if it's dry you could run something pretty lightweight.
If you're in Winchester it'll be loads better to do it west from Eastbourne. Just imagine 3 hours on a train at the end of 100 miles of MTBing...

I've ridden the SDW 4 times - the last a few weeks ago. Winchester to Eastbourne is the most popular due to logisitics - you can get to Winchester easier by train than Eastbourne for an early start. The sting in the tail is definitely the West-East route - 2/3 of the climbing is in the second half, so catches weary legs. In all cases I've ridden it on a CX bike and would recommend tyres that are 35mm plus to avoid pinch flats on some of the flinty descents. I use 38mm WTB semi-slick hybrid tyres - the tougher sidewalls help protect against flints. In summer the chalk is mainly smooth and fast, but after heavy rain it's slippy and sticks to your bike, weighing it down so best avoided. It's all rideable, but there are a couple of steeper, tricky sections where you struggle for grip on the loose.
There are virtually no stops for food on the route (apart from near Eastbourne) - there's a nice tearoom and good shop in Amberley which is bang-on half way, about a mile off-route. There are plenty of water-points along the route.
There are 97 gates to navigate (my mate counted them!). Fastest riding time was sub 9hrs on a singlespeed CX, but that was very hard - I may consider a 2-day-double one day. A 12 hour ride time will still mean an elapsed time of 14-15 hours because of all the gates, stops, punctures etc.
Check whether there are events along the route around midsummer - lots of traffic can hold you up.

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Just ride

Thanks for the tips JamieL and Monthy Dog... i'm going to be riding it on my Whyte 19 Race and probably with Nics (tubeless) just in case it is wet or rains during.

Will be doing this in early August with a friend, respective girlfriends will (kindly) be following us by car and meeting at X points along the way so except for the basics the majority of food, water, spares, spare wheels, etc will be carried for us... direction wise I think it will be east to west wind permitting to get the bulk of the big climbs out of the way first, i'm familiar with the Winchester side of it as I live there so I think its best i'm doing that when tired.

Will re-post once i've done it!