The longest day of the year looks set to be the warmest Saturday of the year, so remember the suncream and the refreshments! All routes are a little longer than usual.
The Pink route is also the longest planned route of the year so far and heads out through Stalbridge and down the Piddle Valley to Piddlehinton. It then heads over to Charminster, Muckleford and on to (Kiss me) Hardy’s Monument. It returns around the south side of Dorchester to Puddletown, Cheselbourne, Hazelbury and Sturminster.
The Blue route follows the Pinks as far as Charminster and then heads across towards Puddletown where the routes rejoin.
The White route initially follows the other two routes as far as Pulham and then cuts across to Lyons Gate and onto see the giant at Cerne. The route then heads over to Piddletrenthide, Plush and Mappowder before reaching Sturminster.
Meet at 9.00 am at the Wheels car park, Station Road, Gillingham. Please ensure you download your chosen route to your GPS device, and remember to bring your ride essentials, particularly sufficient liquid refreshement.
The routes all finish at The Old Brewery Cafe in Gillingham where you can stop for coffee, cake or lunch.
There is nothing to stop a group splitting into a ‘light’ and a ‘dark’ group, and a slower group can take on a longer route or a faster group ride a shorter route. All rides are no drop rides but please select a group suited to your ability!
Pink Route: 118.2 kms, 1,239 m elevation – est speed 28 kmh+ / 17.5 mph +
Blue Route: 94.1 kms, 927 m elevation – est speed 24 kmh / 15 mph
White Route: 79.0 kms, 927 m elevation – est speed 20 kmh / 12 mph
For those who have issues downloading their routes, here’s the guide for a Garmin device and here’s the guide for a Wahoo device.
