Ooooh, a welcome return. 😀

Cap’n guessing it has to be the Test but that church is looking familiar. Nice pic!

Imber Church will be open Good Friday through to Easter Monday with an Easter egg hunt for the little ones on Easter Sunday. I shall be on volunteering duties, not on Sunday though!

http://www.imberchurch.org.uk/

Not the Test for once! Close, though.

Itchen or Dever?

Dever.

Lower Bullington? nope, scrub that!

Upstream

Stoke Charity.

I’d never ridden near Marwell Zoo and Upham until this morning, lovely countryside feel compared to my usual rides around Bitterne, surprisingly not that much motor traffic.

I must get out there again soon, perhaps on my Felt F5C instead of my skinnified Wazoo… Or maybe on a ~£650 Boardman CX Team (after BC and voucher discount) if this week’s turbo test ride get’s my lower back’s approval! 😯

Allthepies wins!

Is it Stoke Charity? Hangs head in shame.

g0at – it is nice around there. New bike sounds good, perfect for Hampshire lanes and tracks. 🙂

That’s a lovely back road too.

Hooray for a return of this thread!

Stoke Charity, great riding area!

Nice thread resurrection ..

cg how long a walk is it to the Church ? EDIT just seen we can drive !

No photo but had a jolly QECP car park plus spin at the Cotic demo day on Friday, very interesting Solaris (29er) back to back comparison between that and when running 275 Plus wheels (which I thought where great fun). Really have my wishlist option a Escapade CXer as from the door riding here is more that way but tried the Solaris they didn’t have an Escapde

Will be getting out over the coming weeks and will try and do one of those Strava Relive links for the Winchester Hamble ride I am still planning (18 months now ? 😳 )

Booked into to QECP Day/Night Enduro on 13th fyi

Blast on the CXer into the Downs along the bridleways that lead up to a Chidden, then back along the Meon home.

3 ride since October.

Imber might be over the border, but I identify as part Wiltshire! School, and then have lived in three different places there before my parents finally settled just over the border in to Hampshire.

Imber is well worth a visit. Go.

Well I’ve not ridden in over 2 years, but that’s all about to change…. my second wrist op seems to have been a success this time and I (mostly) have my bipolar brain under control. So all I need to do is rebuild the Stanton and get the very unfit legs turning again…. I’m actually, for the first time in ages, looking forward to being out on the trails…. plus I really really need to get fit for the IOM end to end…..

Great news, DV! If you need/want a gentle spin on easy terrain, let me know. Lots of my gnarmac routes would suit as a re-introduction for you.

Thanks CFH, may very well take you up on that, I’m hoping to get it done for this weekend as the lad wants to take the bikes up to Derbyshire… bit of a ladybower circuit….

Imber road works on the A360 between Tilshead and Shrewton, diversion in place. If anyone is coming from Hampshire they’d be better off entering the Plain at Imber Road, Warminster. Be warned, this is the long, scenic route and you’ll pass loads of rusting tanks.

Going to take the gravel bike for an explore around some of the areas I normally road ride tomorrow, Hambledon, Chidden, over towards Petersfield way. No real route planned but I’m just going to head down some bridleways I’ve had my eye on for a while & see where I end up. It’s so nice out there at the moment!

Gulp!!! just spent £200 on new bits to rebuild the stanton… really have to do it now, look out trails here i come (soon ish)

No real route planned but I’m just going to head down some bridleways I’ve had my eye on for a while & see where I end up.

Have said this before, but it bears repeating – riding a gravel bike is a lot like the early days of riding mountain bikes for me. Go out. Explore. Ride. Smile.

Daftvader, keep at it. You know where to find me for a gentle spin/cake/pint.

CFH I’ll keep this thread in the loop!

@daft I seriously doubt you’ll be slower than me ! Not sure where you are based but I will be riding around surrounding Winchester countryside a bit. Still no bike friendly car though.

Jambalaya I’m up in the ‘stoke so not far from you, will give you a shout once I’m up and running….

Hi Folks

Would anyone be willing to share some of their favorite longer routes/gpx. I’m doing regular long’ish (130km+) training rides and keen to borrow the collective local knowledge here to keep things fresh.

Leaning towards back country roads (happy with some fireroad/gravel) rather than ‘proper’ bridle ways, but bike can cope with some rougher stuff.

In the spirit, I’ll share my loop from the weekend, which is approximately the limits of my knowledge:

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1522297018

Anything further east or west of that would be great!

Thanks

i’ve been aware of this thread for a while, but i think this is the first time i’ve ‘engaged’…?

my wife and her brother are from Fareham, we’re all going to F-town for the Easter weekend. They’ve asked if could arrange ‘a nice bike ride’, lasting 2-3 hours (25miles / 40k), cafe stop, road bikes, gravelly short cuts are acceptable…

any ideas?

i understand this is very specific, but if i leave this up to my Brother in Law, we’ll end up on the A32…

ahwiles – check out the Fareham Wheelers website. They have a few routes which might take your fancy.

Jambalaya I’m up in the ‘stoke so not far from you, will give you a shout once I’m up and running….

Daftvader, keep at it. You know where to find me for a gentle spin/cake/pint.

Seems there are a few of us from this neck of the woods – I’m just north of Basing-grad – perhaps we should organise a nice gravel and cake loop for a few of us to poodle round at some point…

How’s mini-White, Si?

🙂

Would anyone be willing to share some of their favorite longer routes/gpx.

this is me. you should be able to order by distance.

‘a nice bike ride’, lasting 2-3 hours (25miles / 40k), cafe stop,

just knocked this together – i’ve ridden most of it – but never from fareham. I don’t know routes in/out of f’ham. cafe at west meon. best to double check it’s open. not guaranteed.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20210237

thomthumb – Thanks! Look forwards to doing some exploring!

@chum3 – that’s a good route and covers a lot of roads I use a lot. It’s easy (and enjoyable) to extend eastward into West Sussex (sacrilege I know). After Hill Brow, instead of turning right for Rogate, just carry straight on, or take Rake Rd towards Fernhurst, make for Redford, up the hill and then down through Woolbeding and across the 272 to Elsted and back via South Harting (I head up the Ditcham climb and then nip along the SDW for a bit too). Or at the top of the Redford hill, I cross the top of Woolbeding common, and do Bexley Hill then back via Graffham, Cocking, Didling etc. All quiet lanes. Will see if I can create any GPX files.

Got to admit I went off piste slightly and have probably rode more in West Sussex than Hampshire today. So far, at any rate.
Out through Stanstead then up to Kingley Vale, North Marden to Harting Down then along SDW before turning off for Compton then via Buriton to QECP & out to Chalton where I am currently sitting enjoying a pint of Olivers Island. Will be heading home via Funtingdon and Rowlands Castle shortly.
34 miles so far with approx 3/4 off road on some really lovely bridleways and byways. Pics later but just imagine that it’s amazing out here & you can’t go far wrong!

One major point to watch if riding in the Lanes in Hampshire is the annual “lets throw gravel/grit’ at it attitude HCC have when resurfacing roads.
Loads of Lanes have been gritted recently, Old WInny Hill is next on the list, Sailors Lane was done last year and has bedded in nicely, the Old White Way (other side of Beacon Hill) has escaped because they resurfaced that properly, the lane form Soberton up to Old Winny Hill (past the brewery) has just been done, DUndridge Lanes next..

Expect punctures.

On a slightly different note – can anyone recommend me a wheel builder?

Top of Kingley Vale

Near Upper Marden

Harting Down

Mmmmm. Beer!

They have started on the surface dressing further East too. Forestside got done today & looks like the road through Finchdean is next…

On a slightly different note – can anyone recommend me a wheel builder?

GA cycles or DC cycles in southampton.

What are you looking for.

thomthumb – you’re being most helpful today!

I have some new road rims arriving imminently that I want built onto my existing hubs. I do fancy giving wheel building a crack myself at some point, but I don’t think this is the right project!

As I will be without my wheels while they are being built (well, not quite right, could buy the 12mm adapters for the rear and put my Crests in), need someone who knows what they are doing to get the job done in good time, and have confidence that they won’t explode when in the back of beyond…