100km New Forest Gravel Adventure - Free Route Download (Ride It Yourself!)

[@rhoschapp]

Downloaded the route and completed it on Saturday. Great fun and thank you for sharing.

[@CycleXplorer]

Aww nice, glad you enjoyed it!! Probably wouldn't have been quite so fun today...

[@MTTBIKEPACKER]

Here from Facebook bikepacking group, keep going sir, watching from Nairobi Kenya

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. I've subscribed to you to watch some of your adventures and see some new places!

[@MrCakeyshoe]

Awesome, know roundhill area well! Looking forward to riding the route, thanks for the gpx

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you, hopefully the weather will be nicer when you ride it!

[@YewAdventures]

Neat - been looking for a 100km new Forest gravel ride and this’ll do nicely thx

[@CycleXplorer]

Hope you enjoy it, you can start it from lots of different places. I chose Brockenhurst as it had a train station for easy access into the New Forest for those travelling from afar.

[@erolhassan5346]

This is great. Thank you

[@CycleXplorer]

@@erolhassan5346 thank you for watching. Glad you liked it, enjoy the route if you do it!

[@HScutt-xk6ov]

Great route Tom,so beautiful with the autumn colours.Thanks for the video,keep posting as love to watch them.

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. There is lots of lovely gravel cycling in the New Forest! Maybe one for your e-bike

[@GardeningforBeginners]

Saw lots of that area covered in snow today. Some interesting points along the way and will look out for bealeau Airfield on my next visit

[@CycleXplorer]

They do model plane flying in there too. New Forest was looking very festive this morning before returning to slushy muck 😂

[@drewr34skyline18]

Proper good job on this very useful information and I really like your video style. Looking to do this route with my partner over two days in the spring. Hope you get the gravel bike back in action soon. 👍👍👍🚲🚲🚲

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. It'll be a nice route over 2 days with lots of time for pub stops and ice cream. Just need a sunny spring now!

[@drewr34skyline18]

@CycleXplorer she is very keen on ice creams, it's only Polite to have a cold cider and wait whilst she eats it 🤣.

[@BeMoreOutdoors]

Nice video. Looks a beautiful route. Thanks for sharing!

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. New Forest has some great gravel cycling. Have you been before?

[@BeMoreOutdoors]

Driven through but never cycled! Surprising now that I think about it as it’s accessible. On my list for this winter!

[@CycleXplorer]

@@BeMoreOutdoors well if you get there, enjoy your visit

[@GrimmersGrimdog_1]

Awesome video, thank you very much, the route has been downloaded to my Wahoo, and hopefully i shall head out on it soon. Just discovered the channel and i shall now be looking for more of your videos and route ideas. Cheers

[@CycleXplorer]

@@GrimmersGrimdog_1 thank you. Have a nice day out on that New Forest gravel!

[@Laura-dv6cb]

Thanks for sharing this lovely route. Perhaps we will do this with T and A in tow in the bike trailer. When we next stay down or perhaps we could do a camp and bike ride ! X

[@CycleXplorer]

New Forest would be good for Matts gravel bike

[@paulbolton8699]

Champagne gravel....love it. See you out there!

[@CycleXplorer]

Some of the most gravely, gravel we have in the UK. Enjoy the New Forest, albeit this weekend could be confined to the turbo trainer....

[@GuyAldworth]

Nice one Tom. Apparently the Royal Oak is renowned for its cracking ploughman’s!!

[@CycleXplorer]

Is it, no one's ever said! 😂 hope you're enjoying the 'weather'

[@jasonclarke7422]

Apparently they have changed the name to Ploughpersons lunch, as some people got offended 😂

[@surfroo]

Cracking video, down loaded the route and will take the Canyon Grail for a spin!

[@CycleXplorer]

@@surfroo nice bike, will wizz around the New Forest! Have fun

[@richardm9688]

Great cycling route - It was fun to watch!

[@CycleXplorer]

You'll have to give it a go 😉 Thank you, it was fun to cycle it!

[@marckos3718]

Great video and route - have done a couple of gravel routes down there and will definitely do yours. Thanks for sharing

[@CycleXplorer]

No worries. Some great gravel routes in the New Forest so hopefully you enjoy this one too!

[@moneydeanm]

Thank you so much for this - a brilliant video which gives a real flavour of what to expect. I’ve grabbed the route and will be down there at some point over the next few weeks with my 18yr old son and our gravel bikes. The fact that you’re making it so easy for us to do this exact route is really appreciated. Thank you sir, you have a new subscriber!

[@CycleXplorer]

@@moneydeanm thank you very much, that makes the faff of editing it worthwhile. I hope you have fun in the New Forest. If you've got any questions feel free to ask 😊

[@Swanstanley]

Wow , looks fantastic, thanks for sharing 😊

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you, the New Forest is a great place to ride a bike. If you get a chance to do it I can highly recommend it!

[@claytonjones5857]

Fortunate to live near Lyndhurst and agree the routes you rode on are a real pleasure. Never take it for granted. Enjoyed that thank you for posting.

[@CycleXplorer]

Right in the middle of the New Forest then, gravel in every direction. Is a great place to be a cyclist.

[@A_AAA232]

thanks!- good video and that looks like a well nice route to try out for a winter ride and not get too muddy! love riding in the new forest so thanks again for a nice route to try! cheers

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. There are so many nice gravel trails in the New Forest, these ones tend to stay relatively okay. I wouldn't recommend it but they can also be really nice if they're frozen in the winter. Crispy gravel!

[@JmeGarg]

Great ride and thanks for sharing- I’ve done it a couple of times but the reverse way you did it - think I’ll try it your way round next time 👍

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you! Nice one, it's good which ever way you go round. Doing the railway line at the end does save some of the wetter parts for the end. But going the other way round there are some fun descents. Perhaps the New Forest 200km loop both ways next 😂

[@paultushingham6816]

Thanks for that Tom, I've just downloaded it to my Garmin.. that would be ideal for a summer overnight bikepacking trip.. 👍

[@CycleXplorer]

No worries. You could even extend it into other parts of the new forest if you wanted a longer trip. Mmmm summer gravel....

[@DavidMackenzie]

Great video. Very informative. Thanks for sharing.

[@CycleXplorer]

No worries. Enjoy some New Forest Gravel if you decide to do it. Very wet here today tho....

[@DavidMackenzie]

@ I’ll wait till the summer. I’m a fairish weather cyclist 😊 Just watched your 100km road ride round the New Forest. Might try that as well.

[@MarkHoughton-s1x]

Good work. My weekly 20 miler goes along the disused railway line, will aim to add some of your route and build up to the full ride. Thanks!

[@CycleXplorer]

Thanks for watching, it's a nice stretch along there. There is so much in the new forest you can enjoy. I like the little technical bits as well as the wide open gravel through all the trees. Enjoy!

[@Countrystock]

This is perfect, been looking for my first 100k gravel ride in the forest as I'm a ferry trip away. It would be great if you could do some 50k ones and do vlogs on them like this. Thanks again

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you, I was thinking of doing a New Forest Gravel taster. 50km could be a good one too. Then the full 100 miler 😜

[@robrfu7]

another great video. Will def be using this route soon

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. Hope you enjoy the New Forest Gravel!

[@donreed5074]

Thank you so much for sharing

[@CycleXplorer]

@@donreed5074 thank you watching! Do you think you'll give it a go?

[@donreed5074]

Definitely next year

[@CycleXplorer]

@@donreed5074 it'll be even nicer in the summer 🍦

[@chrismoody8777]

Amazing, thanks Tom! I will be stealing this route for sure :)

[@CycleXplorer]

Go for it, it should be okay for most of winter. Maybe not this weekend... happily ride it with you at some point too

[@lizzycampbell3665]

Looking forward trying this route out looks a good one

[@CycleXplorer]

It's my fav bits of gravel in the New Forest (winter edition) that I like to ride a lot. Hopefully you enjoy cycling there too. Don't forget to stop for a cake 🎂

[@nickgalley1626]

Nice route. I did a lap similar on the hottest day of the year in August with an overnighter thrown in. Such a beautiful place to ride. Will give this one a go too in the next few weeks 👍🏼

[@CycleXplorer]

Oh bet that was nice, I think I did the South Downs way at a similar time - was 30 degrees. Bit different to today 😂 enjoy a slightly colder/wetter lap...

[@nickgalley1626]

@ the SDW is on my doorstep and majority of my gravel rides take a stretch in each time. Another top place to ride

[@johnnyloco11]

Thanks Tom. Saving it for the xmas - new years break!

[@CycleXplorer]

5 laps for the Festive 500! Let's hope for some good weather over Christmas 🤞

[@WPKSC]

Route looks great, thanks for sharing Tom, might make the trek over (from Somerset), as wanted to ride some of that area for a while now and could use the MTB rather than my road bike 👍

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. The MTB will be good and will make the little single track bits more fun! Worth a trip over to the New Forest for some trails that are pretty good over winter (well slightly less so this weekend ⛈️ 😂)

[@slowridr]

Great route; I hadn’t thought of connecting some of those stretches and really must tick off the stretch between Frogham and Fritham ASAP!

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you. The Frogham - Fritham ridge is one of my favourite gravel stretches in the New Forest. Great gravel, good views and nice trees! Enjoy.

[@paulmckearney4945]

Thanks for posting that excellent detailed video. I've done a few of the New Forest Audax events on the road before and would love to ride the off-road routes sometime.

[@CycleXplorer]

Thanks for watching. Have you done the New Forest Grid Iron? There is pretty much the same amount of gravel as roads - opened my eyes when I got a gravel bike!

[@paulmckearney4945]

@CycleXplorer I've not done that one. I have cycled the arboretum lane a few times.

[@CycleXplorer]

@@paulmckearney4945 it's got some impressive trees. The GridIron is every October, worth a look for a nice day out.

[@paulmckearney4945]

@CycleXplorer Yes, I have considered doing have the route on my phone. I used to live in Portsmouth but moved back up north a few years ago. I think I will do a tour down there sometime next year, maybe taking in the off-road trails.

[@CycleXplorer]

@ you could make up some monstrous route - South Downs Way, round the New Forest, King Alfred's Way and then North Downs Way 😂

[@Forest_velo]

Nice route! I might try it for my yearly gravel ride 😅

[@CycleXplorer]

You need to get it out and hit the New Forest gravel before (if) you sell it on! Just not this weekend ⛈️

[@Forest_velo]

@@CycleXplorer😅

[@lydiagould3090]

Thanks for this one Tom! An ideal Winter ride that can be done in daylight (unless you get lost!) I'll be interested to know if it is faster on a gravel bike. (Probably is), though I rode the SDW from Winchester to Truleigh Hill YHA on the MTB, then on the cx bike a bit later, and I did almost identical times, around 10 minutes faster on the mtb.

[@CycleXplorer]

I think a gravel bike will be fastest on this one as it's not too hilly or technical. South Downs way is a bit of a different beast, probably found the same as you but the mtb left me much less battered at the end. Hope the winter training is ticking along nicely!

[@lydiagould3090]

@ yes like you, I was wrecked after the cx bike on SDW,😬Winter training mainly on trainer and cx racing. Fancy a longer ride over the Christmas period though 😊

[@CycleXplorer]

@ Festive 500?

[@ianbooth5374]

I've only recently discovered your videos, superb presentation while carrying out these great rides. I'm very envious as I used to do these long rides in my younger days. Due to a knee problem and lack of time to regularly cycle I've moved over to electric for my mountain bike. As much as I thoroughly enjoy it I do still feel like I'm cheating a bit. I miss the grab and go bike though and I keep looking for a Trek Procaliber to do some gravel riding. Can I ask which Trek you use? Where I live near Winchester we do have a lot of Trek stockists. I'm more of a Specialized fan but I like the Trek hardtails.

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank for watching and taking the time to give some feedback. Nothing wrong with an e-bike, they're super fun and if they help people get out even better. The bike I'm riding in the video is a Trek Procaliber. Got it in 2021 and it's been really good, clocking up a fair few miles. Over time I've changed a few parts here and there. There is a new version of the Procaliber out now. I've found it to be comfortable and quick, I have recently got a full suspension epic but not really used it as yet. Saving it for next year and to use on some of the long distance races I do. Trek did have some good deals on the Procaliber recently.

[@MarmiteFerret]

That bar setup for the procal looks interesting. Gravel bike seems mainly appealing to me for hand comfort and your bars might resolve that.

[@CycleXplorer]

It's a standard mtb bar, well a carbon one which is a bit more comfortable than an aluminium one (less buzz). In the middle I've got some inner bar ends. These mean I can ride with my hands in a different position and narrow the width of my arms so they're similar to a road bike. On the end are some Ergon grips, they have wider hand grips to ease pressure and some bar ends built in for a different hand position. These are really for some of the longer/ultra stuff I do. Probably talk about them in one of my other videos - maybe the set up for the Atlas Mountain Race one. Gravel bike drop bars also offer nice comfort, I'm tempted to put a set on my mountain bike at some point to try that out! The wide mtb bars give you good control on technical parts of the trail.

[@MarmiteFerret]

@CycleXplorer yes I am interested in a drop bar conversion on my hardtail, may be a project I do at some point in the future. I can see the appeal.

[@rbsmuffinman]

Hi Tom, thanks for the route! Planning on doing it on 1st May with a few mates and they want to try on gravel bikes - what do you reckon?

[@CycleXplorer]

Sounds like a good time to do it, albeit I can't promise 🌞 gravel bikes are perfect for this route. Mountain bikes will also be fine. There's lots of nice pubs etc about, shout if you need a recommendation

[@dillonwild7016]

Hello, love your videos mate. Very inspiring and looking to do some bikepacking trips soon. Possibly some events. Just wanted to ask you about the ergon grips. Do you recommend them for bikepacking. I like the idea or bar ends for climbing and different hand positions. Thanks.

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you for the feedback! I like the grips for bikepacking and long distance trips. I got them as I had some nerve damage in my hand from the Pan Celtic Race. They spread the load more evenly across your hand. My hands are better now but left them on as I find them much more comfortable than a normal mtb bar grip. Have you got any trips you'd like to do?

[@dillonwild7016]

@CycleXplorer hello. Thanks for the reply. I would of liked to do the great british escapades in May but it clashes with a holiday I've booked. Still thinking about signing up for the southern divide. Not sure yet. I've got a couple of rides I'd like to do early next year. The KAW and southern discomfort 300. There local to me as I live in worthing west sussex. Thanks

[@CycleXplorer]

@ sounds good. There are a couple of other events around that time. Headstock 200/500.

[@dillonwild7016]

@@CycleXplorer ok thanks. I'll look at that one.

[@CycleXplorer]

@ I've not done them but I have heard some good things. South Wales. So probably fairly tough.

[@brianridley1102]

Maybe the routes I did but the gravel in a lot of places was too large in size on my gravel bike with 38mm tyres. Where it had gathered on some downhills it was quite sketchy as it grabbed your wheels

[@CycleXplorer]

Depends where you go, there are some more sketchy (fun?) bits and it can depend on how the weathers been and if there has been any forestry work as that can churn it up. Most of the 'gravel' on this route is in pretty good condition, couple of more technical bits towards the end.

[@timcorso6337]

Any good rides a bit further west, say around Verwood of a similar distance..? Cheers for the suggestion

[@CycleXplorer]

There is some good gravel over that way. I could make another route up over that way, just not 100% sure how some of it hold up over winter. Even in the summer I ended up knee deep in a gravel bog over that way 😂

[@timcorso6337]

@@CycleXplorer knee deep in a bog; makes perfect KZbin content. What are you waiting for.. 😆😆😆 Cheers!

[@CycleXplorer]

@ maybe for the viewer 😂

[@Grandadgreyhair]

Great route used to live at Stubbington a short drive away, want to bring some mates down next year could you share gpx files as I use os maps and Komoot many thanks

[@CycleXplorer]

Thank you, I enjoy the new forest gravel, so hopefully some other people can too! The link in the description should take you to the garmin connect route from which you should be able to download the gpx. If you can't I'll see if I can share it some other way too.

[@Hyfly13]

Thanks Tom, can you suggest a relatively cheap bike computer for a newbie gravel biker please that I could load your route onto? ❤

[@CycleXplorer]

@@Hyfly13 the cheapest thing could be to use your phone, perhaps with a small power bank. I've been using a Garmin 530 for several years now. Before that I had a 520. I'd happily recommend a 530, you can probably pick one up second hand fairly cheap. New they look to be 180, I like them as they have maps but also no touchscreen which can be annoying with gloves/in the wet. I've never used Wahoo but lots of people also like those. When my 530 dies I'll probably get the latest replacement and run that again until it dies.

[@keironross8509]

Hi is there a way of getting this route

[@CycleXplorer]

@@keironross8509 hi. If you look in the description there are some links to ride with GPS and Garmin Connect. You should be able to download it from one of them.

[@tomlowe4585]

I guess you're more comfortable in amongst swarms of others 🙈. Perhaps you could campaign for a Greg's and Costa on Stony Cross airfield, close enough to the A31 so that everyone can hear the traffic 😂. You forgot to advise all the incomers to make sure they keep their blinding flashing lights on ..... even in bright daylight. Apart from that, what a great video 😐

[@CycleXplorer]

@ Thanks, perhaps a Gregs every 10 miles or so on the route?