Name a famous rider from Shropshire? Struggling? Don’t worry, so were we. Shropshire isn’t a cycling heartland, it doesn’t have a broad base of clubs churning out endless talented young riders, a round of the Elite road series, or a storied history from a classic 1970s Star Trophy race. But it does have some fantastic riding.
We were alerted to the UK’s ‘hidden gem’ by Alec Bond of the Mid Shropshire Wheelers, a Shrewsbury-based club who are lucky enough to have this part of the country as their stomping ground.
“The riding round here is extremely good,” he promised us. “You’ve got mountains to the south with the Long Mynd and Stiperstones and if you carry on along those ridgelines you’ve got some great hills all the way to Ludlow. If you went southeast you got rolling terrain with more gentle slopes and if you go north or over to the east you’ve got some nice flat runs.”
Shropshire showcase
It’s 360-degree cycling from Shrewsbury, and whatever direction you go it’s a long way before you come across any big cities and busier roads.
Alec then sent us a route that had a bit of everything the area had to offer; starting and finishing on the flat roads east and south of Shrewsbury with some leg-breaking climbing in between.
The 110km route saw 1,700m of climbing packed into the middle 53km.
Bu hikaye CYCLING WEEKLY dergisinin June 03, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye CYCLING WEEKLY dergisinin June 03, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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