My Gravelton Events don’t kick off until March with The Spring Fling scheduled on the 7th and now Christmas and New Year are well out of the way I’m getting a bit twitchy about getting out on my bike.
Since Christmas, the weather has been atrocious here. Heavy rain, snow, ice, frosty mornings have all kept me indoors too much so far this year. I just don’t want to risk it if there is any chance of ice because an off could derail everything so, fair weather cyclist or not, I’m playing it safe. Notwithstanding, this time last year I was hobbling around with a walking stick, off the bike, in a lot of back pain. I’ve come a long way, so too much to lose.
Additionally, I want to try my new gravel bike position out after a Bike Fit with Scott at FitMyBike back in December. I ordered narrower bars and a shorter stem over the holiday period and they’ve been fitted and ready to go for a couple of weeks now. I’ve got Part #2 of the fit to write when I’ve managed to try it out on the trails proper.
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As you’re probably aware I have been keeping my fitness ticking over on Zwift. Some spicy, short, sharp races are hopefully keeping the heart and lungs in shape but I just need to get out now to give the rest of me a bit of a workout and clear my head after weeks of pedalling in my paincave.
But I have entered a gravel event in February which will be a nice pre-season gravel warm up. I’ve entered one of the Alpkit Sonder Winter Gravel Series @ Betws-y-Coed on Feb 22. This series of rides are based out of each of their store locations and run through the winter spanning 2025/2026. They’ve been on my radar for a couple of winters now but I’ve never found an excuse to make the trips as they are quite far from me but this year I’ve managed to tie it into a long weekend at my parents up the road in Llandudno.
Betws-y-Coed sits on the River Conwy in Gwydir Forest so the opportunities for a great gravel route up there are vast. I’ve ridden around there a few times but I’ve only kept it local and compact and feel like I haven’t really explored enough. Throw in some local Aplkit knowledge and I’m expecting a decent route to be honest with plenty of elevation, circa 40-50 miles
They seem quite low-key, informal events in the same vein as Gravelton. Entry is only £7 and that goes to their charity. It should be a good day out.
Right, who’s coming with me?
Adios