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Does anyone know anything about this route? https://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/routes/offas-byke/
It's billed as bike packing lite, and was thinking of a family half term trip, tandem with the 6 yo and eldest 9 yo on her own bike. I know the general area, but just wondering what it's like as a route and what the off-road is like. I've already noticed one section along the A483, which is a bit of a nogo with kids.
Cheers
Blimey that’s an interesting route !
Some of it passes by my house, and I’ve ridden around some of it plus many roads in the surrounding area Welshpool/LLangollen
Beautiful quiet countryside with very very quiet roads. However brutal steep hills, many of these lanes just are not used so potholed or debris (I ride a 25mm tyred road bike with out issue )
I can’t tell if the route has been ridden or it’s just pick minor roads and link Bridleways . There’s a Bridleway out the back of our house and quite frankly i wouldn’t consider riding it or have ever seen anyone ride it
Just plotted the route bit where I live
<15 miles , more than 3,000ft climbing.
Not sure it’s really a kid friendly route.
Some small sections you would be pushing a gravel bike due to the terrain. Others are just plain bloody steep climbs and road decents. Some of the tarmac decents are scary in the damp, they are so greasy it’s almost impossible to stay on the bike
Just looked at the route where it passes my place. I think you would struggle with bits of that on a 160mm enduro rig, let alone a gravel bike (and certainly not on a tandem! I think you could pick and mix and simply ride back lanes to avoid the more tecnical climbs and drops but that would need a fair bit of local knowledge.
I tried planning out a route with exactly this brief a couple of years ago, as I like chunks of country along the way. Got the maps out, bought a couple of books on Marcher castles. Couldn't come up with a logical connecting ride I was happy with - some busy roads, poor linking sections, etc.
Ask on bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk themselves, they're a great knowledgeable bunch and a few will certainly have done it.
They are what's written on the tin
Many thanks everyone. Doesn't sound like the hybrid territory that it's described as!