Location: Ride Headquarters in Sherborn, MA
Ride Type: Gravel and mixed terrain
Time & Date: Departs at 12:00pm on select Saturdays - next one: June 22
Distance: ~10-13 miles, equating to approximately 2 hours
Price: Free
Sponsored by Honey Bikes! Demo a Honey Allroads on this ride!
Description: The Gravel Ride takes cyclists all over Sherborn and beyond. The ride takes advantage of local trails, dirt roads, grassy areas, and other places off the beaten path.
The point of this ride is to allow experienced road cyclists an entry into the wonderful world of gravel riding without concern for pace, technical ability, or equipment challenges. This is a “safe” ride to ask questions, learn how to feel confident on dirt and on trails, and meet others who are getting into the awesome world of gravel riding, also!
This ride is led by an experienced gravel cyclist who has been riding gravel and dirt long before “gravel” cycling was a thing. The leader will take it easy, explain how to navigate trails, rocks, roots, and allow everyone to ride at a comfortable pace. The route that the leader chooses will ensure riders return in 2 hours regardless of the pace.
Questions about joining in? Please email us at connect@rideheadquarters.com.
If the ride is canceled or changed in any way, we post by 8am on our Twitter feed.
And read the Rules and be sure to sign the waiver online prior to Sunday!
Ideal Bike for this Ride
The perfect bike for this ride is: Honey Allroads Titanium The highest value gravel bike on the market, the Honey Allroads is lightweight, durable, very responsive, and takes care of the comfort of its rider. Available in-stock for demo or immediate purchase. Comes in 12 sizes and offered with a variety of component packages such as Shimano Ultegra, SRAM Rival 1, and SRAM AXS wireless - hydraulic brakes or cable-actuated. Learn why the Honey Allroads is the best bike to join you on your journey into the wonderfully fun world of gravel riding! |
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Dates: This ride runs when we don’t have an Adventure 500 ride offered or another special event ride.
June 22 - Next date for the ride. RSVPs are required - email connect@rideheadquarters.com
Route: The leader chooses the route for the weather and will alter the route based on attendance. No need to come with the route as this is a no-drop ride.
Ride Notes: Don’t have a bike appropriate for this ride? Demo one of our bikes! Email us in advance so we can get it set up for you.
Pace: On road sections, expect a 15-16mph pace. On trails, we ride so that we stay together and learn while having a great time riding!
Last Minute Information: Watch our Twitter feed for last-minute updates, weather cancellations or other changes.
Estimated time: 2 hours
Contact Information: Email - connect@rideheadquarters.com, Phone - 508-975-4678
Riding Rules, What to Bring, How Our Rides are Different: All riders are required to read and are expected to abide by These Rules.
Waiver: Ride Headquarters requires a signed waiver before your first ride. Please fill it out online prior to your first ride.
Proper Bike for this ride:
A drop-bar bike with 32-40mm knobby tires. If you want to ride a mountain bike with flat bar, just be prepared for the speed on road sections.
Clipless pedals and shoes. These are important elements of bike control. If you ride with platform pedals you’re likely to be over your head in some of the more technical parts of the ride.
A bike that’s in safe working order.
Higher tire pressure. We recommend about 80% to 90% of maximum rated tire pressure on your tires, for two reasons:
First, we want to minimize flats on the ride; waiting for someone to change flats is not why we ride. We typically see zero flats on our rides. One of the primary reasons for this is due to higher than average tire pressure.
We do not recommend fenders since sticks and twigs can get caught in them.
When we ride
When the trails are dry and won’t be impacted by us riding them.
When we have a ride leader as this ride is ride leader dependent.
NOT when it’s raining or when there are hurricane-force winds. Otherwise, weather doesn’t stop us.
Snowing: We ride; it is so much fun to ride during a snow storm.
Snow on the ground: We ride. It doesn’t matter if there’s 1 inch or four feet, we ride. We recommend studded tires or fat bikes for these kinds of conditions. The only exclusion to snow riding is when there is a state of emergency and we’ve been asked to stay off the road.
Icy conditions: We ride. For this you have to have studded tires in order to ride with us.
Cold: It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, we ride.
If you'd like us to do any work on your bike prior to the ride, please email us the day before so we're ready to do the work as soon as you come in; we want you to be ready to roll before the ride!