Glorious Gravel
Thank you to Jeff Hanner for this report. We know another WVCC member also took part as they said, “hello” as they overtook us. Sorry we don’t know who you were but well done too.
On Saturday 20th July a handful of WVCC members embarked upon the Glorious Gravel event at Sherwood Pines, having signed up for the 80km Medium Distance route we met in the car park, collected our number and listened to the pre ride briefing.
Off we went, and in the first half a mile we hit our first problem, the loud crack from Judith’s bike sounded ominous, but it was just the seat hadn’t been tightened up correctly so after some quick spannering from Steve we were off again. Then the fun really started, some great fun on the gravel, some slippery parts through the trees then Anne lost her water bottle on a bumpy descent, it wasn’t to be found but thankfully Steve had a spare which he happily handed over to avoid any hydration issues.
The varied surfaces continued, gravel, tarmac and the odd field track to add to the fun, then the first feed stop and the Belgian Waffles coated in Biscoff sauce, I’d sign up to any ride that had this at the stops, those calories were needed and would soon be burnt off.
The route continued on through the Naturist reserve (thankfully no surprises here) towards Clumber Park and a fast, smooth gravel section through the trees followed by a slightly more technical section to challenge our bike handling skills.
Then it was my turn to have an issue, with only 5 miles left, a puncture with a large shard of glass poking out the tyre, in with the new inner tube (yes, I know I should go tubeless) and into the final push for the finish line.
All in all, a great day out, the route was fantastic, well sign posted and well organised from start to finish and as usual the WVCC members made it even more enjoyable. If you’re new to gravel I recommend this event, not to hilly, not to technical and a great first event to try.
Oh, and the Biscoff coated waffles, they were without doubt my favourite part of the day.
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