Rally Rideouts

Assemble in the hotel car park at 10.45am for a short briefing before departure.

Please have a full tank and an empty bladder!

We will be using the second man drop system, there will be no aggressive marshalling on junctions and you will all play a part in this.

The weather forecast on the day will dictate which of the two rideouts we do. The preferred option is Plan A which takes us west into Wales but if it is raining there we will ride east into the Cotswolds instead. Of course if it is raining everywhere we can spend the day in the hotel swimming pool, either way we’ll end up wet!

The rideout will be done at a leisurely pace and although they are fairly long they will not feel like an endurance.

Plan A Wales

Getting out of Gloucester is the tricky part of the ride but once it’s behind us it’s all scenic country roads through forests, valleys and hills until we get back. We will be riding through the Forest of Dean stopping at Symonds Yat for 30 mins before Monmouth and the Welsh countryside to Abergavenny. We will take a 30min break at “The Bus Stop”. For those of you not familiar with Abergavenny bus station it is the biggest bike meeting point in Wales.
After that we ride the Usk valley to Chepstow (fuel stop in Usk) and then the Wye valley where will stop at Tintern Abbey for 30 mins. After that we continue on to Monmouth and ride back through the Forest of Dean to the hotel. In all this is around 170 miles and we should be back at the hotel by 5.30 pm

For those of you wanting to put this in your Sat Navs
Start at Matson Lane, Gloucester.
Take B4073 > A38 (Eastern Avenue) > A417 > A40 > A4136 > Grove Road > Woodlands Road to Symonds Yat > Woodlands Road > B4229 > A40 to Monmouth > B4233 to Abergavenny. After Abergavenny take A40 > B4598 to Usk (fuel stop) > A472 > B4235 to Chepstow > A466 to Monmouth stopping in Tintern en route. Continue on A466 to Monmouth > A4136 >A40 > A417 > A38 > B4073 > Matson Lane.

Plan B Cotswolds

If it is raining in Wales we will be heading east instead. Our first destination will be Bourton on the water where we will stop for an hour. After that we ride through Stow on the Wold and on to our next destination which is Broadway where we will stop for 45 mins. We then ride back to the hotel via Tewkesbury. This is a shorter ride than Wales coming in at 90 miles and we should be back at the Hotel by 5pm.

For those of you wanting to put this in your Sat Navs
Start at Matson Lane, Gloucester.
Take B4073 to Painswick > A46 > A417 > A436 > A40 > A436 to Bourton on the Water > A428 to Stow on the Wold > A424 > A44 to Broadway > A44 > A46 > A438 to
Tewkesbury (fuel stop) > A438 > A38 > A40 > A417 > Corinium Avenue > A38 Eastern Avenue > B4073 > Matson Lane.

Plan C

If we end up doing this then it’s a miserable day! This means it’s raining everywhere within 80 miles of Gloucester but if it dries up in the afternoon we’ll do a short ride anywhere that it’s dry.

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