Great Biking Roads Near Bike Stop
We at Bike Stop pride ourselves on being more than just a motorcycle gear shop, and aim to be more of a biker’s destination. In between our café, events and superb gear selection, a good destination for the avid motorcyclist needs some good riding to go with it, and we’ve got you covered. Let’s check out some of the best roads in our neck of the woods, just in case you’re in the area and want a good blast on two wheels.
Bike Stop is situated in Stevenage, in the south east of England in Hertfordshire. For those who want to get here quickly, we’re just off the A1, aka the Great North Road. Of course, motorways and dual carriageways are not where motorbikes belong, and Hertfordshire has its fair share of excellent riding roads to get lost in. Helpfully, if you’re strapped for time, the A1 can shorten your journey to what is probably the best road in the area.
Hertfordshire's Best Motorcycling Roads
We’ve got three routes to look at, and they all combine into an easy to ride route – ideal to round off a day gawping at bikes and gear.
First off, and starting with the best, the road from Baldock to Buntingford (the A507) is a proper stormer. Taking around 10 to 15 minutes from one end to the other, this is a great route to ride at a decent pace in one direction, noting any issues with the road such as gravel (or speed traps!) then committing a little more when retracing your steps.
Long sweeping bends across open and undulating countryside interspersed with the occasional tighter turn, with a brief jaunt through the village of Cottered and a T-junction in Cumberlow Green keeping you from getting too carried away. Genuinely, it’s like a little slice of the Isle of Man TT circuit dropped into Hertfordshire and well worth making a trip for.
Moving onto sleeper hits of Hertfordshire and we’ve got the B656/B1000, in parts known as the Codicote and Hertford Roads respectively, running from Hitchin to the west of Stevenage and swinging round southwards in an arc anti-clockwise to Hertford. Great for some easy riding with long sweepers to help you calm and collect yourself if you’ve just had a speedy run along the A507!
Moving eastward from Hertford onto the A10, taking in the Lea Valley from its crossing well above the valley floor, before coming off the dual carriageway to enjoy the ‘old’ A10, sometimes referred to as the Old North Road. It’s a little straight, and you’ll need to rejoin the dual carriageway to get to Buntingford, from there you can then take in the A507 or head off further north if that’s home for you.
As a bonus, sitting west of Hitchin, so close to the where the A507 meets Baldock, as well as the B656, this is another delight of a road that rewards a ride one-way and back. A combination of sweeping bends, and some tighter ones that can be taken a quite a clip safely if ridden well this makes a good little detour from the loop that’s been outlined above.
We routinely hold monthly ride outs on the first Sunday of every month (that’s the 10th of July, just around the corner, making a comeback after Covid wrote a lot of things off!), and these take in the great roads we have in the area. The ride outs welcome riders of all abilities, and it’s all about just having a good time rather than testing your bike (or your own!) limits. The safety brief is at 1030 to ensure everyone is on the same page before setting off at 1100. Having a coffee and a cake afterwards from our café is recommended to recharge those batteries!
If you need some expert advice, then you can have a chat online with us via web chat on our website. Our shop is open, with our café opening at the weekends. If you’re a bit far from Stevenage, our online shop is alive and well, and taking orders for delivery. You can also check out our full range on our website with free delivery for any order over £50 on the UK mainland, and delivery possible to almost anywhere else. Not only that but our ‘No Quibble’ returns policy allows for returns within a 365-day period – see our returns page for more details.
