Header Image courtesy of @sportograf 

Raiders Gravel is a three-day stage race held in the Dumfries and Galloway area of Scotland. Except the words ‘stage race’ are misleading, because the beauty of this event, as Shimano Gravel Alliance rider Dalila Lecky just discovered, is that you can opt in or out of the racing group at the start of each day, meaning it's only a race if you want it to be. 

Image courtesy of @sportograf 

Having visited the area twice before and quickly passed through due to time constraints, this time around, I planned on enjoying the Raiders Gravel to the fullest by taking it easy and appreciating the scenery.

In an attempt to minimise the amount of holiday time required for this three-day event, I took a late afternoon train up to Carlisle and then swapped to a service to Dumfries. I figured that when I got to Dumfries, I'd simply ring a local taxi firm to deliver me and my bike the last 50 km to Gatehouse of Fleet, the hub of the Raiders Gravel event. But when I got to Dumfries I couldn't get a taxi to come pick me up for love nor money.

So, there was no choice - I rode for three hours on the quietest roads I've ever experienced to get to my accommodation, arriving at about 1 a.m. The only major downsides to the journey were the 15kg of rucksack contents on my back and my empty bidons - unprepared doesn't feel like an adequate description.

Fortunately, the first stage of the event wouldn't commence until mid-afternoon, so I had a little lie-in then a leisurely breakfast where I chatted at length with some of the event organisers about the state of the UK road racing scene and what could be done to rescue it. Next, I headed over to the event village to present myself at registration where I picked up my numbers for my frame and jersey as well as a timing transponder.

After a little cycling tour of the town, it was back to the hotel to get my bike and kit ready and have a nap. Much sooner than expected, my alarm went off and it was time to ride the short distance back to the event village.

There was a quick briefing for everyone before “the racers” set off (they would have an 11 km neutralised zone behind a lead car to make sure everyone stayed safe on the open roads). Fifteen minutes later, those of us in the “ride” classification were allowed to set off, minus the neutralised start for us as we weren't expected to be racing at any point, so the rules of the road applied as normal.

After 11 km of shallow uphill gradients, we turned off the incredibly smooth and quiet roads and the gravelly fun began. The route passed through various parts of Galloway Forest Park and offered up a variety of well-drained gravel trails. With the exception of a tiny stretch of tarmac after 48 km of total riding, it was 50 km of pure uninterrupted gravel. The climbs, though they came frequently, were generally short and never so steep to warrant climbing out of the saddle and the descents were wide and flowy. At the end of the gravel sector, a timing strip and sign indicated the end of the timed section that the racers had been competing over. Following on from this was a 13 km easy-going roll back to the event village.

Dinner of beef chilli with nachos, washed down with a chilled beer from the Stohk stall was the perfect fuel for watching a bicycle limbo competition unfolding in front of the main stage. This was followed by sitting and listening to discussions by an adventure-riding interview panel hosted by Marcus Stitz.

Image courtesy of @sportograf 

Day 2 was a much earlier start but included the same initial tarmac roll-out and first few kilometres of gravel tracks. Fortunately, I remembered the super loose, chunky, deep gravel left-hand turn well and called out a warning to the riders descending at speed behind me. The second day's gravel riding was more broken up than the first day, featuring three long gravel sectors separated by a few kilometres of fast-rolling tarmac. For the racing group, this meant that the day's racing would work more like a series of time trials so that the raced sections could be kept off the open roads.

During the morning briefing, we’d been given a surprise announcement that a bull had escaped its field and was loose on the road in the neutralised zone. “It is being dealt with, so there will be no disruption to proceedings,” was the official word, but video footage later showed that there had been a slight disruption to the front.

Bovine drama aside, the biggest difference from the previous day was the length of the climbs - longer and ridden under the heat of the sun. The first big ascent of the day came near the start of the second gravel sector and traversed around Black Loch. This climb included a couple of switchbacks and went on for just over 6 km. The second big climb was 4 km long during the last sector of the day and averaged approximately 4%. By this time, the late summer sun had burst through the clouds and I was regretting my choice of bibshorts with a built-in base layer.

We passed along the Raiders Road, after which the event is named, and came around the stunning Clatteringshaws Loch. There were a few familiar sections of gravel from the previous day, generally ridden in the opposite direction, but certainly a wholly different feel overall.

Once back to the event village, I headed to my hotel for a shower and tried unsuccessfully to have a little nap before riding back for that evening's entertainment. On the schedule was a trackstand competition hosted by Canyon and live music by local band The Dogz.

Day 3 started much the same as the previous two, with a quick briefing before the racers set off first behind the lead car. Fifteen minutes later, the rest of us were out on the roads too.

I quickly realised that the initial road climb to the start of the day's single 55 km long gravel sector was the same descent I had flown down the previous afternoon. It was noticeably steeper than the roll-out of the previous two days and our 'riders' group did not stay together anywhere near as well.

After 7 km of tarmac, we turned left onto a track composed mainly of sharp, lumpy gravel that had clearly claimed a few inner tubes amongst the race group. Picture the scene - riders were dotted along the side of the path, resignedly trying to put air back into their tyres. A quick chat revealed that some of them had been tubeless, but that still hadn't been enough to save their race.

There's a lot to be said for having the right tyre set-up in these kinds of events, but some of it is also down to luck and your ability to avoid the stones that look like they'll do the most damage. I had opted for Schwalbe G-One RS tyres, knowing from my previous visits to the area that there simply weren't going to be any muddy sections and in the event that I changed my mind and joined the racing bunch, speed would be the priority.

The day was full of gorgeous scenery contrasted by a brutal headwind up several of the climbs and even down some of the descents! I was so glad when after about 60 km of riding I spotted the big Water of Fleet Viaduct and the board signifying the end of the timed stage for the racers. This would mean that the gravel sections were finished and that my aching muscles would finally be able to commence the recovery process.

Once I got back to the event village, recovery took the form of a nice cool beer whilst we awaited the podium presentations from the racing bunch. There were so many categories, but the organisers were ready with Scottish gin and winner’s jerseys for all of them.

And then it was all over. Almost as soon as the prizes and jerseys had been presented, the process of packing up and returning the park to its natural state began. Eventually, they even came to take the bench I was sitting on, so I decided perhaps it was also a good time to head back to my hotel room for a very long rest. I had wanted to check out the hotel's pool and jacuzzi, but I couldn't find the energy to leave my room until it was time to head out for dinner.

Image courtesy of @sportograf 

After dinner, about 15 minutes of phone calls revealed that booking a taxi to bring me back to Dumfries in time for my train the next morning wasn't going to happen. The event does run out of a rather remote town in Dumfries and Galloway, after all. Fortunately, the Canyon team, who were sponsoring the event, came to my rescue with the kind offer of a lift, so I wouldn't have to start my day with yet another 50 km ride, lovely though the roads were.

Entries for this 2024 Raiders Gravel event open Thursday 14^th September at 10am BST. You can register your interest here

All images courtesy of @Dalila Lecky except where credited