Moving to Portsmouth - Hi

[idbrian]

Hi,

Will be moving to Portsmouth at the end of September. Look forward to hitting Ft Rock, Mt Aggie and Harold Parker (i will be working in Andover). Was just wondering what the Portsmouth riding scene is like. Is there a decent amount of riders in town. How are the shops and are there any groups that meet up? Is anyone here from mouth? Do you guys go out for some drinks after ride in that area?

I like beer, riding, and doing other stuff.

Hi.

[joshG]

There are a decent amount of riders in Portsmouth, not ton of riding right from town but you mentioned the great riding nearby. There are a lot of other types of cyclists too (road, around town, commuters, etc). Pappa Wheelies is an ok shop , they do some group rides right from there and other places. Bicylce bob's was always pretty helpful for me too.

Wheel Power and Exeter Cycles are both very good. Both do group rides(EC is more road), I'd stop in and get involved you'll be happy you did. I miss those rides a lot after moving.

Get a bike for riding around town and dump the car, you'll move faster, never deal with parking and get everything done you need by bike.

[idbrian]

I read OK reviews of the two Portsmouth shops. And had visited both Wheel Power and Exeter Cycles. I liked the guys at Wheel Power and thought that worse comes to worse i'll drive the 20 minutes to make them my LBS. Even though i have hundreds of shops closer where i currently live, i drive an hour to get to a shop i trust.

I converted my starter bike (Giant Iguana) into a singlespeed with slicks to be my around town commuter.

[joshG]

Wheel Power is probably the best shop I've ever used.

Front racks from Cetma rule for cargo...
http://cetmacargo.com/

[PutAwayWet]

+1 on Wheel Power. I drive 30 min to go there. Josh & Darrell are the the best on the Seacoast.

I know of two groups that ride Mt. A regularly, and there's a pretty good group of regulars that ride Ft. Rock out of both Wheel Power and Exeter Cycles. I've always found the best way to meet people is out on the trails themselves. I'm always up for a ride if you need someone to show you around either place.

[randy]

I ride with Wheel Power every Tuesday night. We meet at the shop @6:00PM. Great group to ride with and a great shop!! They will keep this ride up till it snows.