Update 15th June – we have confirmed a booking at the castle for all 30 people who registered and are fully paid up. At this stage we can’t take any more bookings but we have one spare place available (in one of our male dormitories). If you’d like this place or to be put on the waitlist in case any other last minute spaces become available then please email Sheni on leisureride@chippenhamwheelers.org. Saturday night will now be a Medieval Banquet – served in the Banquet Hall. Routes have all been updated and start times added – see the links further below. We have arranged a full weekend of riding over to St.Briavels in the Forest of Dean, to spend a night in an 800 year old castle! This will include a hopefully fun (and not too scary!) night spent in a really unusual setting, including dinner, bed and breakfast. St.Briavel’s Castle is run as a hostel by the YHA. See this link for more information and photos. We will have two rides departing from Chippenham at different times on Saturday 17th June. A choice of long (98 mile) and short (44 mile) routes to get to the castle. The long route goes north to Tewkesbury for views of the Malvern Hills, before heading into the Forest of Dean to get to the castle. The short route goes directly over the Severn Bridge crossing, through Chepstow and then gently upwards to St.Briavels. The aim will be for everyone to arrive at the castle by late afternoon. There is a pub near the castle where you can quench your thirst upon arrival if you wish. Links to the latest outward routes are provided below: Outward Long Route 98 miles departs 8.00am Outward Short Route 44 miles departs 11.00am We will have sole use of our own dormitories in the castle, which typically have bunk beds. Each dorm will be single gender. Bedding is provided by the YHA. You need to bring whatever you want for the overnight stay including towel and toiletries and any change of cycling kit you require for the ride home on Sunday. Towels can also be hired at the castle for £2 if you prefer. Medieval Banquet dinner, bed and breakfast are all included in the price, which is £69 per person. On Sunday morning we will have a choice of long (72 mile) and short (52 mile) routes to get home. We’ll set off together and share the first 10 miles to a coffee stop near Tintern Abbey, before the groups head home our different ways. The longer route takes in some lovely Monmouthshire countryside through Raglan and Usk and a steady climb up from Llangwm before descending to Chepstow for the ride across the Severn Bridge and back home. There are two options for the shorter route home: The A route crosses the Tintern Wireworks bridge and follows the Wye Valley Greenway to Chepstow via the Tidenham Tunnel. This route is a bit rough in places for the first 2 miles but is fine on 25mm road tyres if dry. The tunnel is tarmacked inside and provided with low-level lighting – note you must not use your lights in the tunnel due to the roosting bats! The surface after the tunnel is smooth and easy to ride on. The B route keeps to roads out of Tintern and is recommended if wet, but has more climbing. It follows a gentle quiet road up the lovely Anghidi river valley, followed by a descent to St Arvans and then follows the road past Chepstow racecourse. Links to the latest return routes are provided below: Return Long Route 72 miles departs 9.30am Return Short Route A via Tunnel 52 miles departs 9.45am Return Short Route B via St.Arvans 51 miles departs 9.45am You can ride any combination of the outward and return routes e.g. Outward Long – Return Short, Outward Short – Return Long or both ways Long/Long or Short/Short. Hopefully something for everyone! The route shown below is the overall “Long Both Ways” route, just for illustration purpose. There will be cafe stops on all routes. Transporting your personal belongings – for the full bikepacking experience you could carry your own things on your bike, even in a proper saddlebag! However, we do have one lovely person who has kindly agreed to drive to and from the castle, who will transport a limited number of small bags in their car. We’ve yet to work out how many bags the car will take, but we will allocate bag slots on a first-to-book basis, so book in early if you want to take advantage of this. If anyone else is willing to drive that would of course give us capacity to take more bags. If you book late and we don’t have capacity then you’ll need to carry your own things with you. Note that places on this are for club members only and any immediate family members, who are welcome to join us for what should be a really fun weekend. If you have any questions then please email Sheni through leisureride@chippenhamwheelers.org. A note about Challenge Rides: All riders should be comfortable with the challenge of riding longer distances. It’s intended to ride the routes at a steady pace, so the group can stay together. If some people prefer to ride faster and/or if there are sufficient numbers we’ll split into separate groups. All participants should be competent and completely self-contained, carrying tools, tubes, spares etc, and enough food/drink/money to see them through the day. There is no ride-leader, no back-marker, and no route sheet. Everyone is advised to familiarise themselves with the route in advance and to carry relevant maps and directions (paper or GPS, or both!). Lights are recommended on the longer rides, in case it’s getting dark at the finish.