Our free to enter Cross Cartel rides are back!  And we've added a new one - the ‘Back Lanes Bash’.  Our existing rides are suitable for gravel bikes and MTBs, but for 2021 we will be adding a route that will also be rideable on road bikes with sensible tyres (think 28mm minimum with decent puncture protection). It’ll be gritty and rough in places, and there may even be a brief hard packed dirt lane thrown in, so it won’t be fast – sticking to true back lanes, it should lend itself nicely to a chilled day out on [...]

The final Cross Cartel ride of 2020 is on Sunday 11th October - the 64Km Autumn Epic, like all of our self-supported rides, is ideally suited to socially distanced riding.  Just sign up on-line, download the route, then 'rock up and ride'.  No fees, no mass starts, no support crew, just a cracking mixed surface route, that lays claim to being our most ridden local gravel route whatever the time of year! All the information you need (including the GPX route file) can be found here: https://thecrosscartel.com/

During my time riding the GBDIVIDE (https://www.gbdivide.net/) I kept a daily diary over on my Instagram. Reading them back, they're more coherent than I feared they might be towards the end of the ride, but they're still missing some parts of the story. I decided to collate them all below, fill in some of the gaps, and include a few pictures of the incredible route. I hope you enjoy my ramblings from the rough stuff. A question I was asked frequently, and honestly had no answer for, is where I was each day. I rarely had any idea of [...]

The first Cross Cartel ride of 2020 is finally with us on Sunday 19th July - the 78Km Mortimer Round, and like all of our self-supported rides it is ideally suited to socially distanced riding.  Just sign up on-line, download the route, then 'rock up and ride'.  No fees, no mass starts, no support crew, just a cracking route through the Marches - and as this one doesn't quite cross into Wales, there's just one set of social distancing guidelines to stay within. All the information you need can be found here: https://thecrosscartel.com/

Please join us in sponsoring ex-pro Molly Weaver in her bonkers cycling challenge on 18th April - riding 1,111 laps (130km) of her garden in 12 hours to raise money for Women's Aid to support victims of domestic violence, which is sadly increasing during the current lockdown period. It's a physical challenge for sure (although Molly has of course done longer rides during her career) but it's mainly going to be a mental one! 1,111 laps...with five slow speed turns per lap... It'll be the thought of the funds raised that keeps her going, so please visit her JustGiving [...]

COVID-19:  Government guidance has changed significantly over the last 24 hours, with a particular emphasis on non-essential travel. As many riders were planning to travel some distance to take part in the Spring Challenge, we have decided to cancel the ride on 29th March as it would not be responsible for us to actively encourage non-essential journeys. There is currently no government advice to avoid riding outdoors as an individual, so we have published the route on Komoot for local riders – if we are able to reschedule the ride for later in the year this is the route [...]