We generally ride twice a week. A Wednesday evening spin and a Sunday morning ride.
We plan our Sunday rides that we will stay local for the first 3 weeks of the month and then travel to other areas on the last Sunday of each month. This allows all riders to plan ahead and hopefully increase their fitness in preparation for the next big ride.
As we leave the Winter, darker and colder months we look at building our distance to maximise on the Summer, lighter longer days to enjoy as much gravel riding as we can.
Wednesday Evenings:
We meet at Go Ape in Birches Valley at 6:30pm. As this is an evening ride there is no cafe stop and we generally cover around 10 to 15 miles depending on the weather conditions.
Sunday Mornings (Local)
Meeting at the Mansfiled or Go Ape at 09:00 and heading out on local bridleways, trails and the Chase. These rides always include a cafe stop and are easy paced to suit all the riders. We will adapt the route to suit whoever turns up on the day and will usually ride between 35 and 55 miles depending on the time of year and weather conditions. The goal is to get finished no later than 1:30pm.
Sunday Mornings (Distance)
Meeting at the Mansfield before driving off to a location usually withing two hours of Rugeley. Our start time will change depending on how far away we are going, but we like to start riding by 8:30am. Because we have travelled we want to make the most of the days ride so usuall plan the route to get back to the cars by around 2pm, to travel back to Rugeley getting home around 4pm. So longer days, longer routes but the same pace as our other rides.
Adventure Rides
Spring to Autumn we will put together a few multi-day rides around the UK. In the past these have included:
- The Trans Cambrian Way (english border to Welsh coast)
- The Sarn Helen (Welsh coast to coast)
- The Reivers Route (English coast to coast)
- The John Muir Way (Scottish coast to coast)
Typically riding over 2,3 or 4 days with a mixture of wild camping, hostels or a hotel or two. Sometimes we ride unsupported and others we have had a support vehicle. But all rides are planned out and everything is taken care off all you need to do is turn up and enjoy.