Practice Rides

Our practice rides have been designed in a graduated order of magnitude, so riders who follow the suggested route schedule will achieve a basic fitness level that should enable them to complete the main ride in reasonable comfort. Practice rides are also a good opportunity to brush up on your note reading and map reading skills. We do, however, suggest that the practice rides are only a part of your preparation and that you should be aiming to be riding at least 100 miles a week from the middle of May onwards - events like the Channel to Channel can be a great way of achieving this.

The invitation to take part in these suggested rides is not only open to those who wish to participate in the main ride in July. In fact we are very happy for anyone to join us on any of the rides, as individuals or as family groups, whether they plan to join us in France or not. We have made an effort to keep the mileage to a minimum, and always have a social pub stop so that people can meet with fellow riders, new and old, in the comfort of the pub of the day and chat about the day’s - and other - experiences. We aim to arrive at our pub of the day between 12:00 and 12:30, so even if you can't make the 'official' route you can still join in the social side and do your own thing.

Route notes are written as a guide to the days cycling (start point - normally The Ship Inn at Langstone), so that there is less chance of getting lost. We also try to follow routes that avoid busy traffic. There are no hard and fast rules that say you must follow the notes to the letter, the main aim is to enjoy the rides.

N.B. Please note that we are no longer providing printed route notes for practice rides – if you wish to carry notes, please print off a pdf from this website.