The day before Star Wars Day should be sunny and dry though not quite as warm as over the past few days. The wind is set to blow from the north east but should be reasonably light.
The White Route heads out along Bay Road on the way to Beacon Hill, Hindon and on towards Dinton. With a couple of short stretches on the A30 and the return is through Sutton Mandeville, Swallowcliffe and Wardour before dropping down from Shaftesbury to the finish.
The Blue and Pink Routes head up to Shaftesbury, over Zig Zag and on to Sixpenny. The Pink route adds in some extras before rejoining the Blue route in Wimborne St Giles. The routes return to Blandford and pass through Child Okeford and Manston on the way back to Gillingham.
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: 101.2 kms, 1,082 m elevation – est speed 28 kmh+ / 17.5 mph +
Blue Route: 87.8 kms, 924 m elevation – est speed 24 kmh / 15 mph
White Route: 63.1 kms, 775 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.
