Dirty Reiver 2023

I think they need to pay the Forestry for various things. When we looked at organising something Kielder was prohibitive.

£75 seems reasonable to me. If they wanted to make money they’d up the price. It sells out in less than 24h so on a value based price structure they could charge more.

I had no trouble at the feed stations but I guess I was in the front 100 or so. Had a drop bag so ate that but next year might go for the minimum and use feed stations as insurance/top up.

We’re already talking about next year. Operation 8hours 😂. Would need better conditions for me but I’d go back with a plan to be fast, not just get round.

Well done @slowpuncheur great stuff 👍🏻

It’s tricky isn’t it. If people have paid a high entry fee then… they kind of are ‘entitled’ aren’t they 🤷🏻‍♂️

Obviously there’s a balance between costs and facilities- 20 luxury portaloos with bidets and butler service would not be “reasonable”. Likewise one portaloo at aid 2 to cater for 1000+ people is probably “unreasonable”.

I’ll poop anywhere and obviously peeing is easy for blokes but for women wearing bibs it doesn’t feel very inclusive that they have to choose between a full strip in the forest or a 20min queue.

“Come to our forest and inject half a million quid into the local economy but ya ain’t gonna get ‘owt back like pet”

Oooo sounds exciting @Jonba! Maybe I’ll start a 2024 thread just to keep the training mojo going 🤣

Having done the aid station thing and the non-stop thing I’ll join you in the middle. With three bottles and a splash and dash I can get round in optimum time I reckon. If this year is finally the one I lose weight I may even trouble 9hrs 🤣

It was fairly filthy in the first 100km, wet, gritty and cold. We almost bailed to do the 130km but we were fortunate to have the route go past our lodge just before the 2nd feed station so we were able to change and get a hot coffee and DRY Gloves. As you all know the weather cheered up and so we decided to finish the 200. After that the riders thinned out and it became an altogether more pleasant experience. I decided on rigid MTB in the end and was pleased with choice.

That beastly 4 mile climb made me light headed despite the 110g CHO per hour but the coffee at the final feed station picked me up big time. Bloody shame they had no red bull at the last station! I thought that was quite poor.

Once back at the lake I felt great and ramped up big time my speed. I was told I did not push myself enough, with an ave HR of 125 against a max of 185, and ended up at Z3 on climbs, Z2 on flats and full aero on descents. so need to get used to riding at tempo for long periods for the Gralloch. Managed 10:05 official, 9:23 moving time. Annoyed with myself I did not think I was close to the 10 hour mark until too late and didn’t make it despite riding the last 12 miles at threshold.

Nice chatting to random folks including a chap on a 2013 rigid Dirty Harry, and towards the end a fellow on a Open Up who did a lot of riding in the Dolomites.

Enjoyed the event. I learned the term “Type 2” fun.

Just finished the bike clean up and i’m actually quite surprised how much brake pad I have left considering all the talk of grinding paste before hand, then again I was thinking about that on every descent and tried to limit as much braking as possible which was actually fairly easy seeing as every descent was followed by an ascent😂. Chain wear has definitely been accelerated though, the conditions on the day seem to have been ideal for stripping a chain of all lubrication, I’ve never seen my chain so dry, with hindsight I should have reapplied some lube at Feed 3, but by that time the trails were dry and dusty again and I figured (perhaps without clarity of thought) that any lube would attract dirt and would be just as abrasive as no lube, still my drivetrain remained quiet throughout which is more than could be said about some of the riders that I passed!

With regards to feedback on the event and after reading all the posts from others, I think everyone makes some valid points and I have no complaints about the organisation or the timing, for me it is just about facilities, there clearly isn’t enough accommodation available locally for the number of participants as I couldn’t get anything so overflow it was, which was fine except for the lack of washing facilities, full on mobile shower blocks would have been messy I suspect but something to allow a post ride wash would have been very welcome, and @crosshair states the lack of toilets really affects female participants more than men and isn’t at all inclusive.

I stayed at the Boe Rigg campsite and think I met a few of you over the weekend who were staying there.

Ended up doing the 130 (after doing the 65 in 2019) and was really pleased with that given the conditions. Loved the new route and enjoyed the woody sections as I managed to stay upright.

The event village seemed to feel a little bit lack luster this year – we went for a pedal around the lake on the Friday after registering and most stuff had run out (it wasn’t even 6pm).

Same for the first two feed stops – felt a bit basic given the feel of them in 2019 – second feed stop the Weldlite team had gone (I thought we were supposed to get offered a chain lube station – seems to be present for earlier riders)

I was a little disappointed to come over the finish line and just get a sticker…

However, the actual riding (the important bit!) was great – was nice not to do the same sections as previously.

After a bit of time to let everything sink in, I suppose the true test is would I do it again and I think the answer is yes.

Travel issues on the way up meant I didn’t arrive until about 7 so by the time I got my tent up and registered it was an almost lights out. Similarly, on Saturday I leaving about 8 and because of my pace this meant I literally rolled over the finish line back to the campsite and packed m tent and left. I think due to this I missed some of the “event”

@crosshair Re the bike choice, I got round in close to my predicted time, had no punctures, mechanicals or even close calls so from that point there is nothing to say negative but I do think I would be faster in my cross bike. The guy doing the route on a 50 year old road bike with 25mm tyres will testify that you can ride it on anything!

Given the weather, the mtb was probably the right call but I would choose a different bike with skinier tyres in future. Then again, I might just be slower than I like to admit!

With work and family commitments my longest ride in the last year have been about 100km and after about 4 or 5 hours my back really started to hurt which caused no end of issues. I think accepting 1 hour sessions on the trainer and a few hours on the weekend isn’t going to prepare my body for 10+ hours is sensible…..

That being said, I am a glutton for punishment and come June have a 300+km ride across from Whitley Bay to Ayr non stop which will take me back through Kielder. So next big choice is Cross bike with 30mm tyres for all day comfort of 8Kg carbon road bike with 23/25mm tyres…. think it deserves and thread???

Yes there’s a thread there for sure 😃

In other years I’ve had to get back for work so I usually sleep in my car Friday and drive back the second I finish on Saturday. I can’t say staying until Sunday added much for me- but that may have been because my mate didn’t want to do a Sunday morning lap of the reservoir with me (which seemed like the only good reason to stay).

I’m a big Dylan Johnson fan and I know he is adamant on the tyre thing and is always raving about his drop-barred hardtail Factor XC bike. I reckon that right there is the ultimate Kielder slayer 🤔

Well done on getting round! Glad you had a good time. Definitely type 2 fun but it’s pretty addictive up there- must be all the oxygen from the trees 😃

I rode the 65 with a team of disabled hand cyclists. We had a great time, despite a couple of battery issues meaning we needed to tow riders up the big climb!

Awesome @riklegge that’s brilliant! I saw some out on course and was very impressed 💪🏻

Wish I’d looked on here before the event, my main take away is that I need to train harder.

Fwiw I thought the course was brilliant and there were several occasions when I came across another big yellow arrow in the middle of nowhere that I thought that £70 was a bargain for 200km (more when you factor in the other courses) of really well marked out route and gpx file in a such a remote area. We really benefited from the local knowledge and planning of the organisers. Everything else was a bonus for me. Many thanks to all the organisers and volunteers.

That’s not to say I was entirely happy with the event but that’s down to the failings of my body and its inability to make me go as fast as I would have liked.

My one complaint is that it would have been nice to have had a cup of tea with the finishing meal. I skipped the tea at feed 3 just grabbing drink and gel in a failed attempt to keep my time under 10 hours and spent the rest of the ride craving a cuppa.

I’m with you there @dodgyrog. Hot sweet tea can’t be that hard to organise. I suppose the Insta-tubers prefer a Kombucha though!

I really enjoyed the day and thought the £75 was pretty good value considering how much goes into safely running an event of that size in that location.
I spent a lot of my youth hiking and camping in those hills and it was great to get back there. I should have remembered just how challenging the weather can be at times!
Didn’t experience any waiting at the feed stops, probably because most people were already through by the time I got there 😂
We were supposed to do the 200, but it was very quickly apparent that there was no chance of making the cut off and me and my riding buddy happily dropped down to 130. Pretty sure I could make the 200 with a little more training and better weather. Maybe next year.
The bike worked well and I was pretty chuffed to feel in pretty good nick after my longest gravel ride ever. Was expecting to feel a lot more beaten up.
All the talk on here of brake pad apocalypse meant I braked as little as possible and easily achieved a new PB top speed on gravel descents. Which was interesting…
All in all a great event that I would “happily” do again. Many thanks to the marshals – all were superb.

Just to add some balance to the negative reviews of the finish line curry, I really enjoyed it 😋 I could have eaten 3 or 4 portions of it!

There was plenty more in the bin you could have had 🤣

I ended up in the Anglers with a grab bag of Quavers with a bag of beef Mcoys and a bag of scampi fries tipped in on top to make a crisp-medley 🤣🤣

🤣 I do have some standards, they are low, but not that low.

First session back on the turbo last night…. That took some will power to see it through!

Lol! I know how you feel 😀 2024 training starts here though right 😉

Insurance isn’t just through BC for the event I’m organising the cancellation insurance is about 10% of the budget.

Mrs 100th ride the reiver and stopped to ask if folk stranded with mechanicals were ok. Most were easy fixes, first was someone with a puncture but no pump or CO2. Next was a broken chain, they were trying to phone for a pal to come help.

Mrs100th isn’t most mechanically minded but I’ve shown her how to change pads, fix broken chains simple trail maintenance, she also had the tools. But I’ve said not to lend them not to fix others bikes. If you ride you should have what is on the kit list.

Good on her and that’s a great idea about not lending stuff on the kit list 🤣

Thinking about it, I only ever saw people broken down in pairs or more and when I had my puncture, Rich was with me so nobody asked us if we were okay 🤣

I was pleased with the cheapo Amazon bacon strips- much better than Dynaplugs.

It may seem a bit dickish but if she lends a tube then punctures shes go no tube.

Yeah makes total sense! On a club run is one thing but out there in those conditions- too right 👌🏻

That is the last of images and all that can be tagged done and up on Roots and Rain.

https://www.rootsandrain.com/event11795/2023-apr-22-dirty-reiver-dirty-reiver-kielder-forest/photos/filters/photogs2589/