Gravel Rocks weekend - (photograph Rod MacFadyen)
Entries for one of the Dirty Reiver 2018, one of the best events on the UK’s fledging gravel and adventure scene, have now opened and they are selling fast. Don’t worry, there’s still time to secure your place in one of the must-ride events and start preparing your bike and body for the weekend of April 20-21st.
For its third year, the Dirty Reiver will once again take to Kielder Forest with a choice of 130 and 200km routes around the stunning wilderness that is England’s largest man-made woodland.
There are few places as expansive and remote as Kielder Forest, and it’s the ideal venue for a long distance gravel event. Miles of logging tracks provide challenging terrain to ride, with bike and tyre choice key to long-distance comfort and necessary durability to get to the finish.
- Dirty Reiver 200 – A lesson in hurt
We’re told this will be the last time the course will be run in its current form, so if you’ve not yet taken the plunge, now is the time to do it. And as an incentive for any returning rider, there are 10 prizes from Lezyne for the most improved rider times. That’s a good motivation to up your training over the winter in readiness.
The organisers are pulling together a whole range of cool bike brands to make more of a weekend festival vibe with an expo taking place on Friday. So if you get there early there will be plenty of cool brands to check out, including Ass Savers, Abloc Beer, Brooks Saddles, Charlie’s Bum Butter, Chimpanzee Nutrition, Endura, Orange Seal, Ortlieb and Panaracer on hand with their newest products.
- What bike for the Dirty Reiver 200km race?
Lauf will be demoing its unique suspension fork and running a giveaway during registration to give five sets away. Bombtrack are the new Highwayman and will have bikes on display to check out over the weekend.
- 6 tips for riding the Dirty Reiver, and other gravel races too
So, who's going then?
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.