Last Saturday, 21 of us set out from Brockenhurst on the first Cycle New Forest Gravel Ride. A group ride like this had been on the cards for a while and it was great to actually make it happen with help from @Forestcyclist & @cycleX . The idea was to organise a social ride taking in some of the best gravel tracks that the New Forest has to offer along with a proper cake stop at the half way point. Hence Gravel Ride No.1 was born. The cake stop at Hyde was a real highlight and thanks to the efforts of Abbie and @LucyLew79 we had a very decent supply of cakes. That is, by the time we actually got there…
Riding gravel is a real test of tyre quality and we suffered at least 9 punctures, with one rider taking 4 and if that wasn’t enough, then a final one in the car on the way home! We had a good mix of riders too, some on hybrids, cyclocross, gravel bikes, mountain bikes and even a fixed. It was a grand day; the sun was out, gravel was ridden and cake was eaten. A total of 42 miles and 2,500 feet of climbing (yes, it is possible in the New Forest) might not be a huge distance, but the gravel made it feel more like 60 miles. All that cake was very much needed.
The best part though, was meeting new people, and sharing some real gems of the Forest with them.
As Gravel Ride No.1 suggests, the plan is to hold more rides like this in the not too distant future, so do keep a look out and come along.
Allez!
Leave a Reply