The Gravelton

Intro

An idea I had in Nov ’22 while bored looking for events to ride the following year. There aren’t many in the Midlands without driving somewhere so I thought I’d make my own challenge up and invite others to take part.

One of my favourite rides ever was a 120 mile scoot around Brum with some mates in 2018 so in a similar vein I took that idea and mapped a 100 mile counter-clockwise offroad route around the city. A ton of gravel or The Gravelton as I’ve called it was born.

For me, a gravel or offroad route needs to be at least 60% offroad to be called as such. After some careful planning I’ve achieved 75 miles of offroad which includes some big long chunks with no roads to break it up.

Read the blog post of my 2023 ride here

The Facebook Page for the ride is here

The Date

Saturday 20th May 2023

The Start & Finish

The Crown Inn, Withybed Lane, Alvechurch B48 7PN. Start at a time to suit you. Early is advisable.

Jump on the canal by the bridge. The pub will not be open at the start and is not part of the event directly but somewhere to have a beer (two beer gardens!) and some food afterwards.

The RIDE

The ride is not an official event, it’s a self-supported group ride on the same route on the same day. You are on your own. Just rock up and ride with your mates and enjoy the day out on your bike then a pint and some pub grub afterwards.

Share your ride with other Graveltonions and join The Gravelton Strava Club

Ride whatever bike you want. Just have fun.

How to Enter

Entry is free, just turn up but I do advise you subscribe to the event’s newsletter to keep in the loop.

The Route

The route starts in Alvechurch and winds it’s way up into and out of Brum City Centre before navigating Pipe Hayes Park, Sutton Park, Chasewater and a decent chunk of Cannock Chase. Then you’ll head home south via The Black Country for a real sting in the tail at the end as you traverse the Clent Hills, Romsley, Waseley Hills and the Lickey Hills one after the other. You are looking at 100+ miles + around 1700m of climbing in total. Epic.

Here are links to the 2023 route and maps.

plotaroute.com

Google Drive

Highlights

FREE to enter
NO Parking
NO Number
NO Feedstations
NO Mechanical Assistance
NO Photographer
NO Medal
NO T-Shirt
100+ mile route
73% offroad with a sting in the tail
Great views
Various surfaces
Finish at a pub
1700m climbing
A MASSIVE Achievement

The Rules

Don’t drive to the event. If you need to drive, find somewhere suitable to park outside the village and ride in please.
Be self-sufficient. There is no backup on the day
Take your litter home
It’s not a race, it’s a day out on the bike.
Be courteous to other trail users. The route is open to the public and it gets narrow in places so be prepared to share your space nicely if you have to. A bell is highly recommended.
Complaints. That’s a you problem. I’m not interested.

Parking

There is NO PARKING available at the event start under any circumstances.

The nearest official car park is Barnt Green Railway Station about 1.5 miles away which, to get to the start, follows the last mile of the route, otherwise riders driving will be expected to find suitable on-street parking away from the start and cycle in.

A GPS file from the station to the start is available here

There is also a public car park in Alvechurch behind The Red Lion pub but space here maybe very limited