Trying to follow a former elite-level enduro rider down one of his local descents was always going to be a big ask. Rich Norgate either knew this trail inside out, or he was significantly better at ‘reading’ what was coming up than I was. Or probably both. He was doing the enduro rider “thing” of popping effortlessly off obstacles in the trail, kicking up little puffs of dirt by flicking his back wheel sideways whenever he felt like it and generally being about 30% fasterer (yes, that is a proper word) than I could manage. Considering that we were riding gravel bikes not MTBs, the speed he was finding from nowhere was impressive. And it made him very difficult (and very fun) to try and keep up with.

Rich, who’s the Head of Design at Magic Rock Brewery, had been waxing lyrical to me about how great the gravel riding was in the hills near their brewery in Huddersfield and the opportunity to go for a ride and to have a tour of the brewery was too good to turn down. The small world of the cycling industry in the UK meant that Rich and I had quite a few friends in common and one of them recommended that I brought along my climbing legs and packed a good dollop of fitness, as Rich was well known for being both fast and skilled.

We hatched a plan to meet up and decided to use it as an opportunity to test a route that he and local route-planning maestro Ed Wolstenholme had put together for a gravel event they’re running in April. Ed was also using the ride as a shake down ride for his kit set-up for the Atlas Mountain Race which he was heading out to take part in soon after we had ridden together.  

We met up on quite a dull, grey day in late January, but started it off properly with a mug of steaming coffee and a guided tour around Magic Rock’s brewery and on-site taproom (basically their own fully licenced pub). I was shown around by the incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic Scott Calverley, Magic Rock’s Senior Production Manager, who seemed entirely unfazed by my regular requests to stop and take arty photographs and constant stream of questions about how things worked.  

Magic Rock was set-up in 2011 and the inspiration for the name comes from co-founder Rich Burhouse’s family business which was importing and wholesaling crystals, minerals and semi-precious stones. Apparently when the Magic Rock team laid the concrete floor for the current brewery site in 2015, they added in some crystals to the mix to remind them of their origins. Magic Rock brews 15,500hl (or 2.7million pints/1,534,305 litres) a year and produce a mix of cask and keg beer (used in pubs and bars around the world) and cans for domestic consumption. The canning line is quite mesmerising to witness up close and packages 300 cans per minute.

Tour of the brewery and immaculately tidy on-site distribution centre over, we decided it was time to hit the trails, but not before we shovelled in a speedy pre-ride sandwich from a nearby café. Ed arrived, looking ready for the AMR, complete with aero bars fitted to his gravel bike and carrying a rucksack full of what I assumed were bricks being used as resistance training for him.

The brewery is located right in the heart of Huddersfield and as with any post-industrial town in the UK, the initial part of our route wasn't the most scenic, but was mainly traffic-free thanks to the legacy of the industrial revolution. The canal tow-paths and former railway lines which crisscross the region have in many places been converted into shared-use trails and one of them started practically outside the back gate of the brewery.

After a very short-and-speedy run through the outskirts of Huddersfield, we were spat out into the countryside and started on the saw-tooth profiled route that Ed had been finessing over the winter. Anyone who has ever ridden the bergs of Flanders in Belgium, or the short-but-steep hills of the German Eiffel region would feel at home in the lumpy hills of West Yorkshire. There was nothing too brutally steep or soul-suckingly long, but the punchiness of the climbs, as well as the brilliantly flowy nature of the route Ed had pieced together, gave it a real feel of mainland northern Europe.

What was really interesting about Ed’s choice of trails, apart from how commendably dry they were in the main part, was the lack of interruption caused by gates. Anyone who has ridden in Northumberland (the region to the north/west of where the Gravel Union’s UK office is located) will know that many of the trails there are regularly interrupted by gates. The rural nature of Northumberland’s landscape and the high proportion of sheep and cattle farms means that gates are a necessity, but a total nuisance as they suck any semblance of flow out of your ride. 

Although there were gates on Ed’s route, the vast majority of the route seemed to blend seamlessly together with only very occasional interruptions. Tiny, low trafficked backroads led onto smooth-and-fast farm tracks, flowed into sandy woodland singletrack, blended into ancient stone-pitched lanes. The few occasions where we did have to stop were actually quite welcome, as we had been pushing the pace and the combination of short-sharp climbs and then chase-the-locals descents meant our average speed was very healthy. Luckily my photographer’s trick of asking the boys to “just do that one more time” helped me keep my heart rate down at least some of the time.

“We’re heading to Pie Village next” said Rich “and there’s a super-fun cobbled descent to get to it, so you might want to go ahead and get some shots”. By now I had a good handle on what the riding was like, but in my mind I pictured a vehicle-width cobbled road, more like those found slightly to the northwest in Calderdale. When we got there though, the trail was ancient and barely wider than singletrack and was the perfect buttock-clenching combination of steep, fast and greasy. Rich and Ed flew past my photo spot giggling like a pair of small children, but once I had got my shots and followed in their tyre prints, I was definitely riding more in the 'tentative' than ‘tanking-it’ camp in terms of speed and grace. It made me appreciate even more how skilled they were and also made me mentally start thinking that I should move house and come and live here, rather than my current home in Newcastle upon Tyne. 

Still buzzing from the descent, we climbed gently into Denby Dale, world famous for its pies. Awarded the Guinness Book of Records prize for the world’s biggest meat and potato pie back in 1988, Denby Dale should be on every self-respecting gravel rider’s ‘must-see’ list and we stopped outside one of Rich’s favourites for some mid-ride refuelling.  The bakery stop marked (almost) the most southerly point of our loop, but also meant we had quite a bit more riding to do and the light was starting to fade – one of the deep joys of riding in January in the northern hemisphere. 

Luckily, as we set off up the (mandatory?) post-café climb, the weather gods started to smile and from seemingly nowhere, the gloomy skies disappeared and perfect beams of late afternoon joy pierced their way onto the trails and floodlit the surrounding countryside. If there’s one thing guaranteed to make café legs disappear rapidly, then the enthusiasm generated in a photographer by the arrival of some golden light is it. We flew up the climb as I was keen to get some sunset shots on the ridgeline before we descended back into the valley. 

Despite how wet the trail was, the light was stunning and I shot more photos in the next ten minutes than I had in the whole rest of the ride. Cheesy silhouettes, contraluce and side-lit shots were snapped with abandon, most of them done one handed while trying to avoid swampy-looking puddles – not recommended by your local health&safety advisor. 

As the sun started to dip towards the horizon, we plummeted off the ridge towards the gathering gloom on the valley floor. A short section of three-up time trialling along a flat-but-headwindy valley road (thanks for the tow, Ed) saw us head back onto one of the canal tow paths that we had taken on the way out.

As the last of the afternoon light bounced wonderfully off the Victorian brickwork, we retraced our route back to the brewery and into the bright lights and welcoming atmosphere of the Magic Rock tap room. With a three hour drive home on the cards for me that evening, sampling the extensive range of beers available wasn’t an option, but luckily Magic Rock make an absolutely fantastic alcohol free IPA. For anyone who has tried (and probably spat out in disgust) alcohol-free beers in the past, Magic Rock’s Freeride is a real eye opener – it has all of the archetypal citrussy IPA taste that you would hope for, but with the ability to legally and safely drive home afterwards. 

With tired legs, but still buzzing from a great winter ride in the hills, my drive home was enhanced by thoughts of coming back to explore more of the fantastic around Magic Rock later in the year.

Magic Rock have offered Gravel Union members a 15% discount off orders placed through their webshop - Just enter the code GRAVELROCK15 at checkout.

For anyone who fancies going to ride MagicRock's gravel trails, at the end of April they are going to be holding their very own gravel event…..

Welcome to our First Magic Gravel Escape

Having supported North London Dirt for the last three years, we've been inspired to host our own event that raises money for a vital Huddersfield organisation - The Welcome Centre.

MGE is a 44-mile self-supported gravel ride starting and finishing at our Taproom in Huddersfield. The route has been built with fun in mind with a few ups, but what comes with that is also some zipping fun descents. We've tried to avoid as much tarmac as possible and put in a request for sunshine (no guarantees)!

Our local area and community are incredibly important to us, and the chance to give a little bit back whilst having a little fun along the way is the key aim of this event. The Welcome Centre is a critical food bank in Huddersfield, but also a lot more than that! A vital hub for residents that need help, support, and advice on various social issues.

Ticket Price - £15

As mentioned previously, this ride aims to raise funds for The Welcome Centre. As a result, 100% of the ticket price will be going directly to support this vital hub. However, we know it's always good to get something in return, so we've pulled together the following rider pack (given out at registration) with the support of our awesome sponsors.

• 1x Custom MGE X Paria Musette
• 1x OTE Anytime Bar
• 1x Custom MGE X Restrap embroidered patch
• 1x MGE X Darkwood 100g special event ground beans
• 1x MGE Reflective bike sticker
• 1x Hope technology water bottle

In addition to this, Dark Woods will be on hand with freshly brewed coffee at rider registration, and we will also be offering a free post-ride drink of Saucery - Magic Lager - Freeride (Alc Free Citra Pale Ale) - or a soft drink.

You can find out all the details and sign up for the event here