With the changing of the seasons and the shorter days it brings this time of year lends itself perfectly for some All Road adventures…
For me this type of riding has fast become my favorite. It takes you off traffic ladened roads with their consistent surface and emphasis on speed and instead forces you to explore the huge network of local bridleways, dirt roads and quiet gravel lanes. This more natural and varied environment is all about exploration, having a laugh with your mates, country pub lunches and discovering places you never knew existed, right on your doorstep!
The best thing about All Road is that you are not restrained by your bike. You don’t need to get to a trail in order to go ride, like you do with mountain biking. While also not missing out the fun and excitement taking that dirt road provides due to fear of damaging your race bike. You can instead just link up road and trail right from your door, giving you the best of both worlds!
We kicked the season off with a route check ride linking up some of our favourite local gravel, roman roads, ancient yew forests and coffee shops as well as plenty of new climbs in a fun packed 114km loop starting and ending in Southsea.
We had a right mix of bikes including the tried and tested All City Space Horse a single speed Surly Troll setup mtb style and a commuter build Surly LHT disc as well as a full carbon Orbea Terra gravel beast rolling on 40mm rubber.
Check out the route on Strava here. Give it a bash and see what all the hype around mixed terrain riding is all about. If you do, let us know what you think and join our Strava club to be kept up to date with future shop rides of this type.
