If you are looking for new cycling challenges and different perspectives on our wonderful but familiar countryside then gravel rides could be for you. The 2024 season gets underway on Saturday 9th March and we will have a full programme of local weekly rides and monthly away days running through into the Autumn.
We are starting with routes mixing some of the less well known (and often less well surfaced) lanes with the firmer tracks. As the weather and ground conditions improve we’ll be able to explore a wider range of the byways and bridleways the area has to offer.
Routes are mostly hilly simply because the hills are where most of the good tracks are but we want to make them appeal to the broadest spread of CCCC members that we can. Each ride will have two options similar to the road rides, 30-35 miles and typically around a quarter off road or 40-45 miles with about a third on tracks. The shorter rides will be steady paced, no drop, the longer ones a bit brisker so they make the cafes at a reasonable time.
Start times and locations will vary depending on whether we are meeting at the same cafe as the road rides or not. Details of places and times on the calendar and confirmed in the week before.
If that still sounds a bit daunting we are also running some gravel introduction sessions, shorter rides with more focus on set up and techniques for various surfaces and obstacles. Come and have a go, any bike with low gears, grippy tyres and some mud clearance welcome.