Signed up for a gravel event here in April. Never been to the area before. Event has 3500m of climbing but over what sort of hills – are they S. Wales valley type steep as here at home or more undulating – trying to get the mounting ‘fears’ into some sort of perspective!

Much more gentle hills, more like the dales.

The Northumberland countryside is largely defined by far more rolling hills than anything sharp. As such, it was ‘interesting’ to navigate around before GPS. The lack of easily identifiable features meant map and compass skills were ninja.

Thanks for the replies – if I lived a bit closer I’d go for a recce myself.

The Dirty Reiver? Thinking about that myself.

Thread here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-dirty-reiver-200k-graaaaaavel-ride-april16

And yes, what others have said – rolling rather than steep. It’s all fire roads, and fire roads need to provide access for forestry machines and so can’t be too steep a grade.

I did the Kielder 101 last year and I’d say the hills are much easier than most in the Dales.

Dirty Reiver is sold out, but Paul is opening up another 100 entries in Feb.

Much more gentle hills, more like the dales

But bigger, bleaker and more remote. Fireroads vary from smooth and gentle to steep, rough and overgrown.

I was up there on saturday, conditions (and trails) will be a bit different for the Reiver, but the views are the same (on a good day)
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhQGhLZIwDA[/video]

As per my thread above, I did a reccie for that event (I’m in, Yay!) over Xmas and found that the gravel roads I went along were longer shallower gradients than the steep stuff in the Dales, but the surface ranged from pretty rough to nice and smooth, but littered with sharp boulders. Also the surface ranged from small metaled type tight pack to loose shale type, and also lots of gullies and rivulets where the rain water comes off the tops.
The foresty bits were wet and muddy and loose in the main, but covered in pine needles and branches and in the sections where forestry is taking place (a lot of it) theres large branches and off cuts on the gravel.
The views are spectacular though 😀

When I did the Kielder 100 a few years back I was amazed at how much the total ascent was (c3750m) as there were very few noticeable climbs, just gently undulating terrain, but it all adds up.

You should avoid the midges in April, but I’d still take plenty of repellent just in case

Ir bandido – I’m loving the way that, at about three minutes into that video (just below the Wirchet?), the animal tracks (fox?) follow the trail perfectly as if the bugger has been running down it, utilising the berms and everything.

I wonder what route they have picked, with that much mileage to play with you could take in a spectacular loop going down into Spadeadam to see some really unusual secret stuff 😉

How far can you get towards Spadeadam. I’ve always assumed you wouldn’t be able to get access to large parts of the forest as it is an RAF base.

I regularly go there (from the A69 in a car) with work to visit DNV/GL and have noticed that there are a lot of forest tracks around.

I was thinking that you could do it with permission for an event (MOD have a fairly good stance on events, and have car rallies etc. That use the area, so it should be achievable for a bike event)

It’s pretty spectacular ‘inside’ having been there (with permission)

I don’t believe that there are actually any byelaws on the base, so it’s nothing more than ‘cheeky’ and there are definitley several routes in via forest roads (think stonehaugh and churnsike)

Thanks for the video – proper excited now. Just need to keep building up the milage between now and then – up to 110k hilly S.Wales so far last Sunday.