by Rob
Sun Apr 22, 2018 5:37 pm
Dirty Riever 200. AndyG, Steen and self joined 997 other riders chucking disposable income at another sub-genre of our pass-time. The web site told us it was a "Gravel Grinder." Whatever you call it, it was some adventure!
195km of which, probably, 180k were off tarmac. 3400m of climbing.
Under-wheel it was a lot like a trail centre blue route (the "loose" end of the spectrum), there were some sections significantly rougher but nothing a mountain biker would call "technical".
There was nothing back breakingly steep, but the climbs where long and arduous
Kielder Forest is vast, a true wilderness. The vistas are truly stunning. Still some distant patches of snow.
Eclectic mix of steeds, but the most common was drop bar/38mm rubber/disc brakes.
Was going to don club colours, but a look around in the campsite on the morning, led to me switching to faded Rapha so as to fit in. Too late to grow a beard though.
It was classic Sportif - electronic timing, feed stations, obligatory t-shirt. We were told emphatically that this wasn't a race, but we had numbers, we were timed and there was a neutralised start...!
0730 start. Our tactic was "let's not go mad" and to "try to keep moving" - "hopefully we'll be back in daylight."
We were given a little printout at the finish telling us we'd got round in 11 hours and 1 second. That apparently puts us in the "Brigand" category. There were riders more than 3.5 hours ahead of us, they were "Highwaymen". That's what I love about sport, no matter how hard you try, there're always performances to look up to.
Conditions were absolutely perfect. It would be a different kettle of fish in more typical April weather.
"We'll struggle to do a better ride all year" said Steen at the end. Indeed, but we do say that quite often...
195km of which, probably, 180k were off tarmac. 3400m of climbing.
Under-wheel it was a lot like a trail centre blue route (the "loose" end of the spectrum), there were some sections significantly rougher but nothing a mountain biker would call "technical".
There was nothing back breakingly steep, but the climbs where long and arduous
Kielder Forest is vast, a true wilderness. The vistas are truly stunning. Still some distant patches of snow.
Eclectic mix of steeds, but the most common was drop bar/38mm rubber/disc brakes.
Was going to don club colours, but a look around in the campsite on the morning, led to me switching to faded Rapha so as to fit in. Too late to grow a beard though.
It was classic Sportif - electronic timing, feed stations, obligatory t-shirt. We were told emphatically that this wasn't a race, but we had numbers, we were timed and there was a neutralised start...!
0730 start. Our tactic was "let's not go mad" and to "try to keep moving" - "hopefully we'll be back in daylight."
We were given a little printout at the finish telling us we'd got round in 11 hours and 1 second. That apparently puts us in the "Brigand" category. There were riders more than 3.5 hours ahead of us, they were "Highwaymen". That's what I love about sport, no matter how hard you try, there're always performances to look up to.
Conditions were absolutely perfect. It would be a different kettle of fish in more typical April weather.
"We'll struggle to do a better ride all year" said Steen at the end. Indeed, but we do say that quite often...