1 year later the bike that was finalised soon after 2017 Dirty Reiver took myself and former colleague Rory back up north.
Our annual pilgrimage to Keilder forest wasn’t to sample its bog grass or chronic lack of 4G, no. It was the call of the wild, wild and untamed gravel.
Packing up my Tripster AT laden with Lauf, Lezyne and lavish accessories north we went.
Dirty Reiver starts as it always does in cold conditions but luckily my thin and packable Gore Shakedry jacket was on top of my summer kit. We rolled out of the grounds of Keilder castle with grins on our faces into sunny conditions.
I set an alert on my Lezyne GPS for every 20 mins to remind me to eat as we rode up and out onto windswept gravel. The sun soon burned bright and the conditions warmed, the gravel pinged pleasingly off my downtube. Fast, far and free to ride.
With little distance training in my legs I was not relishing the prospect of 200km so I started steady, but as I found out later this was to pay off.
I rode relaxed and took in the views, chatted and enjoyed the flowing roads as the lauf fork took up the strain, coupled with 40mm tyres I rode smoothly into the first feed station.
I snacked on assorted sweet and salty snacks and back I went into the cold.
I’ve been at this event since its inception and this year more than ever it was apparent that gravel has really grown, there wasn’t many MTB’s or cross bikes. It was pretty much exclusively proper Gravel bikes like the Tripster AT.
The miles slipped away as made my way around the route, topping up the tan as I went. I even at one point felt hot, in Scotland in April. Those who like me completed the first Reiver would scarcely believe it.
I stopped for more delish food at the feed station at 90km but I was feeling pretty cooked at this point and decided to opt for the more convivial 130km route after the previous two years of crawling round the last 20 km of the 200km route.
Approaching the reservoir with relatively fresh legs after 120km meant I could really enjoy the last few km’s in the glory of sweeping trails by the lakeside. We rolled in nice and early with smiles on our faces as we quaffed a lovely pint of local ale and waited for others to finish.
Some advice from my 3 times riding Reiver;
• Ride the 200km for the experience
• Ride the 130km to truly enjoy gravel
• Fit a lauf to stop hand related issues.
• Fit a Lezyne GPS to ensure you don’t run out of battery.
• Fit a side loading Lezyne bottle cage so you can easily access the bottle (no excuses for poor hydration)
• Ride 40mm tyres
• Take a packable do it all layer like the Gore Shakedry c7 jacket
• Eat a Clif bar on the hour every hour
• Fit a perch you know and trust like a fabric Scoop (I like the shallow fit)
• Ride a bike you know, trust and enjoy like the Tripster AT... It just works.
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