I’m loving the developlment of “gravel racing” in the US. The bikes look ace, I love the idea of going flat out on back-of-beyond dirt roads for miles and miles.
I guess the similarity in Europe is audax riding, which I’m veering towards at the moment, but thats still a bit more tarmac based (isn’t it?)

Are there any races in the UK taking on long dirt roads? Only places I can really think of it working south of Scotland would be some if the long tracks across the NY moors.

Are there any races in the UK taking on long dirt roads?

http://www.spambiking.co.uk/events.asp 🙂

A lot of the old lead mining tracks in Swaledale are ridable on a CX bike, so something up there might work? There’s an abandoned road between Bowes and Tan Hill that I’ve ridden on 28c.

The more off-road Sustrans routes would be a ready-made course, but for time-trials rather than races. Something like a C2C double would be similar to a US gravel race: Sunderland-Whitehaven-Sunderland.

I have a route in my head that will take me from home to the Black Sheep brewery at Masham (for a pint), then up for Tan Hill inn (for a pint) and then home (Darlington) again. That would be quite gravel-ish.

Mike, I like your thinking.

I was supposed to be doing the Darlo audax this weekend, but can’t in the end (shame, with this lovely weather). Could be up for your route sometime later in the year if you fancy trying it out and sharing the knowledge.

Ouch – a C2C single was enough for me!!

Rachel

Quite fancy this as summer use for the CX, there’s days worth of forestry tracks out the back of Afan, pretty dull on the mtb but great for hooning around on the CX at speed.

Guy who works for us in NZ regularly does 100mile+ rides on dirt roads without retracing his route. The git.

Seems ideal seeing as we don’t get closed road races, and we’ve masses of fire roads that could comparatively easily be closed.

Custom Calfee gravel racer in RBA a few months back, CX carbon tubeset, with road (ish) geometry and bigger tyre clerance.

Have we? That you could link together into a meaningful ride? Thetford certainly has lots, and Swinley quite a few, but I’m not sure you could organise a successful 100 mile + race on them.

Mike, I like your thinking.

I was supposed to be doing the Darlo audax this weekend, but can’t in the end (shame, with this lovely weather). Could be up for your route sometime later in the year if you fancy trying it out and sharing the knowledge.

I’m getting a cx bike on C2W soon, so will be hitting some longer rides this year. I’ll stick details up if/when I do them. Hoping the geared cx makes 100 mile road/dirt rides slightly quicker than the SS MTB I’ve been using 🙂

Also thinking of Darlington to Whitby along the Sustrans W2W, for fish and chips for lunch on the pier, then riding back. And nipping to Dales Bike Centre for a morning coffee will hopefully become a staple ride 🙂

Have we? That you could link together into a meaningful ride? Thetford certainly has lots, and Swinley quite a few, but I’m not sure you could organise a successful 100 mile + race on them.

But could you link them both on back roads and bridleways? I don’t think gravel races should be lots loops around forests, they should be more like a dirty Audax – big loops or point-to-point. In fact, that’s what we should call them: Dirty Audax.

lots of stuff in wales & the new forest, (some of it not legal), there are drovers roads/ byways across the ridgeway & salisbury plain. military routes in scotland.

what i don’t think we have is the network that the US has – you can link bits of the above with roads but can you really do 30/ 60 / 100 mile loops in the areas – solely on gravel – i’d doubt it for most of them tbh.

Have we? That you could link together into a meaningful ride? Thetford certainly has lots, and Swinley quite a few, but I’m not sure you could organise a successful 100 mile + race on them.

Kielder 100 is mostly fire road?

Pennine Way is mostly sustrans style path?

South Downs Way is 100miles and mostly gravel road.

Doesn’t need to be 100miles, most road races are laps of a 6-10mile loop or crit’s, my thinking was they’d be easier to organise one in places like Swinely than on the roads.

As far as I’m aware you can’t currently ‘race‘ on Public Rights of Way (eg byways and bridleways) in England & Wales so you’d probably be limited to large areas of forestry eg Kielder.

“Dirty Audax” FTW.

And if its an Audax, its not a race, so can use public RoW.

I guess Southlakes of this forum would no some good routes too as thats sort of the style of riding they do

Do you mean Pennine Bridleway thisinotaspoon?

Do you mean Pennine Bridleway thisinotaspoon?

probably

The Pennine bridleway around Barnoldswick wouldn’t meet my description of gravel!

gravel racing?

you mean

http://www.cicleclassic.co.uk/

you can link bits of the above with roads but can you really do 30/ 60 / 100 mile loops in the areas – solely on gravel – i’d doubt it for most of them tbh.

Aye, that was my point.

you mean

http://www.cicleclassic.co.uk/

Yes! Just like that. I thought something similar must exist. Although the Californian image with the sunshine and dusty roads kind of appeals more

or

and which comes with the better sense of achievement?

Mrmo +1

Uk’s only uci one day race and everything.

I was just going suggest the very same. Never done the gravel around there but the roads around Rutland are great for road riding just right amount of hills And twisty bits always thought adding in the gravel sectors would be good.

big loops or point-to-point. In fact, that’s what we should call them: Dirty Audax.

I like that.

There’s just that taking place on Sunday at Duncton.

Home

I’ve done one before and it was a great crack.The Spam challenge thingy also appeals – I also recall one on Dartmoor last year that’s on my wish list.
I would prefer to ride my bike off road ,but happy to take in some quiet lanes to join it all up. My Cx bike has been ace for that.
Make that into a longer distance off road event and it’s alot more attractive to me than riding/sprinting round a field for an hour.

Eddie – fancy some fire-road hooning around Keilder sometime?

Off-road-lite? If you can link up enough of the right tracks it’s great. The Ridgeway in the dry is a good ride, long enough and has a varied but fairly continual feel. Loads of dirt tracks branching off it in the Goring-Ovington section that I want to explore. May be a bit of a handful / uncomfortable on a CX / ‘gravel’ bike but ideal for a light rigid 29er / monster-x. A 100 miler off-road that was just dirt roads that were smooth enough for 32c and a road bike may be tricky to find but worth piecing together. Or worth a holiday to Tuscany for the Strada Bianca.

Fell for this kind of riding a Camino path in Spain last year, mainly dirt and gravel roads, some fun trails and a bit of proper MTB stuff all mixed in.

Kinda like the CX sportive series. Big mixed terrain loops using back roads, forest and farm tracks and bits of singletrack. They’re really good events but would benefit from being in the summer.

That Duncton one was great last year.

Last weekend this year would have been perfect, this weekend looking less good 🙁

this weekend looking less good

ha, yes, 3 0r 4 degrees with 15mph windchill.
Can’t wait. 😉

being peeing down all day today too so the chalky bits that were entertaining on a cross bike last year will be a bit squeaky bum this time.

Just read about this on http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/gravel-racing-stuff-238-c.asp and a search for Gravel racing brought this thread up.

Is it happening at all in the UK ?
Sounds like my kind of riding, not too technical, plenty of fast off road miles.
I can’t think of anywhere in the midlands where it would work, other than Cannock Chase.
Maybe multiple laps of the family routes in the Wyre Forest. 😛
There’s some big blocks of forestry in mid Wales with miles of gravel roads through them.

We did Cut Gate on cross bikes a couple of weeks ago, I guess that’s a gravel road too then? Or maybe ‘aggressive gravel’?

To be honest, if gravel road racing is like the Kielder 100 I’d rather stick my head under a steam hammer… 😉

this is my hants/ wilts 100. mostly byway type tracks none of it too tech. rode it 35c slicks in the heat of july.

plenty of other stuff in southampton/ newforest/ winchester area too.

Very doable through the Sandling Forests of Dunwich, Tunstall and Rendlesham. Now all you need is someone (sane) willing to give up three months of their year organising it, getting little thanks and no reward.

Bellingham blast is short at 60 miles but the right type of thing.

I have a route to newcastleton from Newcastle that has a good amount of gravel and broken road.

There are huge amounts of dirt road and old railway in the northeast. One of the reasons I love my CX bike so much. Having an entirely off road route would be a challenge unless people are prepared to push.

Don’t know if it’s really comparable, but there’s the Glencalvie Challenge and the Corrieyarack Challenge.