It’s a real blessing that we can still get out on our bikes and make the most of the sunshine. Our volunteers Rob, Mildred, Gruff & Joey share their favourite local bike rides.
Rob’s Ride
“My ride isn’t beautiful or exciting, but I like it because I’ve done it more than any other in my life. Some variation on it every day I’ve gone to work since I moved to Bristol in 2008. Over the years I’ve added new loops and optimised it for lack of junctions, traffic lights & traffic. Of course at the moment there’s no rush hour, so I’ve added a visit to Bedminster at the end. So this is Classic Commute: Covid Edition.
The idea is to have a two-hour ride without ever straying far from the city centre, hence the zig-zagging. So if you get a mechanical you can’t fix, you don’t have to walk 15 miles to work. I did once have to walk from Sea Mills. The route goes from the arches at the bottom of Gloucester Road, via suburbs of north Bristol, a bit of countryside around Hallen, the industry and estuary of Avonmouth, back to the city via Portway, then through Bedminster and the centre before getting to BBP. It’s flat and fast, and at the moment you could do it any time of day and even the big roads would be quiet. Maybe you’ll see a bit of Bristol you don’t know?”
Mildred’s ride (link here)
“I love this ride because it includes a lot of my favourite places to cycle: the Festival Way route out of Bristol is traffic-free and skirts farmland and a railway line. Then out through Barrow Gurney which takes you up some short and sharp climbs onto another traffic-free and slightly gravelly path with a view of the reservoirs, before meandering towards Butcombe and catching a glimpse of Blagdon Lake before a fun descent. You climb up to the Mendips via Burrington Combe, which is long but gentle and really beautiful. After a bit of (usually quite windy) traversing the top of the Mendip area, you’ve got a really fun and fast descent of Cheddar Gorge, before joining the Strawberry Line and enjoying a 10-mile traffic-free gravelly path all the way to Yatton. If you’ve had enough by that point you can cut it short and get the train back to Bristol, or ride back via Kenn, Chelvey and Backwell before re-joining the Festival Way and cruising back into town.”
Gruff’s ride (link here)
“I think what I love about this ride is that it’s a bit of a weird one! It loops around on itself, you end up on odd roads you’d never go on otherwise, you have to dismount and climb with your bike, etc etc–it makes a great change from the daily commute!”
Joey’s ride (link here)
“This is one of many favourite local-ish rides. Can easily be altered to avoid Yatton and Clevedon to stay away from potential areas where people might gather. The lanes near Kingston Seymour are lovely!
