Gravel riding means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Endless miles of wide fast rolling champagne gravel roads are the dream for some, whilst others prefer something a little more rough and ready to test their technical skills. If you fall into the latter category, the recent Tor Divide might be just up your street gravel track. Claire Frecknall headed along with partner Jo Burt on camera duty and she sent in this fantastic write up.

I’ve often heard it said that “UK gravel riding is just 90’s mountain biking” and that isn’t too far from the truth. The terrain we are now happy to ride with drop bars and a rigid frame isn’t dissimilar, but the ever-increasing tyre sizes and slacker angles appearing on gravel bikes show however that we are looking to push the boundaries of what is possible. Many of us now ride gravel bikes on trails we previously happily rode our mountain bikes on. I’m from the south of England where there’s very little of what you’d actually call gravel, but instead there is a whole load of varied off road riding, with slippery wet chalk and sticky thick mud for at least 6 months of the year, so I’ve grown accustomed to riding in more technical conditions. This is lucky for me as I decided to take my Mason Bokeh gravel bike with its chunky tyres and expansive gear range to ride the Tor Divide.

"The Tor Divide was planned with the goal of creating an affordable, friendly and safe environment for riders to dip their toes into the world of bikepacking."

The Tor Divide is a new two-day mixed terrain bikepacking event for 2024, billed as a light introduction the world of bikepacking, with a nod to its American namesake and most famous bikepacking route in the world - The Tour Divide which covers over 3000 miles between Canada and Mexico. The Tor Divide was planned by Valerio Stuart with the goal of creating an affordable, friendly and safe environment for riders to dip their toes into the world of bikepacking.  However, whilst the distances on offer were achievable by most over the weekend the terrain meant it was not for total beginners. He warned that the route was challenging in places and recommended riding either a mountain bike or a gravel bike with the biggest tyres you could possibly fit.

Starting in Edale, a small village in the Peak District National Park, the figure of eight loop offered two distances, the Divide - a 242km, 5500m+ option that covered the full length of the National Park, or the Millstone at 163km and 3500m+ which was a more beginner friendly version that cut out the most Northern and Southern parts whilst sticking to the same route as the Divide for the start and end of both loops. This provided a really good chance for all entrants to ride together for a bit and to share the experience. The figure of eight design meant that the basic farmer’s field campsite at Edale was perfectly located for those wanting to break the route into two and not have to carry camping kit with them - a good option for those new to bikepacking who hadn’t yet spent hundreds of pounds on lightweight sleeping kit and bags, or for those who just want to enjoy the already challenging climbs without the extra weight holding them back. There were also numerous accommodation options along the route if you preferred to book a comfortable bed and a hot shower. 

"We had averaged a mere 10 kmh for the first 35 km."

Our plan was to ride the full Tor Divide loop in pure bikepacking mode by carrying sleeping kit in the form of a bivi bag, quilt and silk liner plus extra clothing and supplies. We were hoping to complete the full 242km with just a few hours sleep out on the moors somewhere. We hadn’t however made allowances for the difficulty of the terrain on the northern loop and the lengthy hiking sections dragging our average speed down to pitiful levels. The steep road climb up Mam Tor was a rude awakening less than 1km from the start line! By the time we arrived at our first refuelling stop of the day, we had averaged a mere 10kmh for the first 35km, including a hike before Ladybower Reservoir and very slow trudge up and over Cut Gate. Shortly after this the route split, I imagine some people may have changed their plans and opted for the shorter version after this slow start, but we cracked on northwards towards Marsden. Although tough, the terrain here was largely ridable, some quiet road sections, fun descents and beautiful viewpoints made the leg-burning climbs worthwhile.

"Sometimes, even with wide 650b rims and 2.1” tyres, I still wished I was riding an actual mountain bike."

The route’s beaten-up bridleways, grassy hillsides and stretches of loose rocky singletrack were all challenging enough to be fun on my Mason Bokeh, but sometimes, even with wide 650b rims and 2.1” tyres, I still wished I was riding an actual mountain bike. In Valerio’s defence he never claimed this to be a gravel route and was clear in the event manual that there would be technical sections and hiking involved. He rightly stated that mountain bikers would prefer the Northern Dark Peak loop and the Southern loop would favour gravel bikers with its smoother-rolling paths, so like most bikepacking events there was no perfect bike for the job.

I was impressed by the peace and remoteness of what is a fairly well-visited area of National Park. Nestled between Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, the Peak District is very popular with day trippers. Pockets of it can get busy with walkers and road traffic on a sunny weekend like the one we had been blessed with. The town of Glossop was the one section where we found ourselves briefly back in traffic. Luckily, the town acted as a convenient train station bail out point for some riders who had had their fill of the tough northern loop of the route. Perhaps those same people knew what was waiting for them at Jacob’s Ladder?

"By the time we reached the summit, the sun was setting, with the sky turning beautiful shades of pink and orange"

This was the final climb before Edale, I’d heard of Jacob’s Ladder but never ridden it, although I still can’t really say that I have. A long drag up towards the top was ridable to a point, but then turned to large bouldery rocks and by the time we reached the summit on foot the sun was setting, with the sky turning beautiful shades of pink and orange. Moments like these melted away the previous 30 minutes of hardship and I was excited about the ride down the other side. I shouldn’t have been, as the descent was badly eroded, steep and rocky, so we tentatively rode sections of it between ungainly tip-toeing and sliding with our bikes alongside us, brakes locked on to prevent us getting dragged down the hill. There was still a glimmer of light in the sky as we reached Edale, so we could have pedalled on, but the call of the pub and a comfortable night sleeping in our van was too great. We would take on the second of three ascents of Mam Tor at sunrise.

Our alarm was set for 4am and after a scramble up the grassy western side of the hill we reached the summit to witness a stunning pre-dawn sky. We took the famous Mam Nick broken road descent down through Castleton and onwards, climbing back up the other side past the cement works and onto to a bridleway that skirted the hillside high above the Hope Valley. Progress was much swifter today and we arrived at Hathersage ten minutes before the petrol station shop opened for our standard forecourt bikepacking breakfast… yogurt, pastries, bananas and vending machine coffee.

Fuelled for the next climb, we made good progress on the road up out of Hathersage and onto the swooping bridleway down past Burbage Rocks and were soon rolling past the grand Longshaw Estate on our way to the bridleway along the top of Curbar Edge. The section from Burbage to Curbar was my favourite part of the route with fast-rolling sandy ground which was all ridable, but with enough challenging sections to keep things interesting. 

"Those riders on the full suspension mountain bikes with chunky tyres that flourished on yesterday’s technical singletrack would no doubt have found today’s ride much more of a slog."

After a loose descent we hit the road and from here onwards the route mostly followed the purpose-built cycle paths of the Heritage Railway, Cromford Canal path and up the long climb to the High Peak and Tissington Trails, meaning the miles towards the finish line quickly glided by on our bikes. Those riders on the full suspension mountain bikes with chunky tyres that flourished on yesterday’s technical singletrack would no doubt have found today’s ride much more of a slog and my thoughts went out to Steve, the man on a low geared singlespeed who we had shared breakfast with earlier that day and his poor ever-spinning legs.

With 20km to go, just as you thought you’re nearly home, the route left the cycle path to drop down a steep descent only to hit you with a steep hike straight back up the other side. Some more rolling hills and one last ascent of Mam Tor stood between us and a cold beer and freshly cooked pizza back at Edale Village hall. Rolling back into the carpark we were greeted by cheers from already finished riders gathered around.

"Valerio welcomed everyone home with a huge smile."

Whether you had completed the long or short loop, a combination of the two or even just part of the route, it didn’t matter, as we all had stories to tell and experiences gained. Valerio welcomed everyone home with a huge smile and I expect, an element of relief as organising an event of this scale for the first time was a huge amount of work. I know from speaking to him before the event all about the unseen time, effort and stress that went into the planning stages. Valerio’s aim was to create an event where people could come and try a bikepacking race and whilst the terrain and elevation in the Peaks weren’t exactly beginner friendly, there was sufficient infrastructure, transport and refuelling options that anyone with the spirit of adventure and a resolute sense of humour could have a go at pushing themselves a little outside of their comfort zone. There was a comprehensive event manual sent out before the event to help answer any questions people may have had and the halfway campsite provided a basecamp or safe bailout point for those who had pushed themselves (both literally and mentally) enough.

Although the event wasn’t meant to be competitive, the fastest rider completed the long route in an incredible 13 hours on a full suspension XC mountain bike, whilst the fastest gravel bike finisher (on 40mm tyres) was just under 18 hours. But perhaps the most impressive of all were the mother and her 13 year old daughter who unperturbed by the challenges of the first day on their heavily laden bikes, camped before Jacob’s Ladder on Saturday night and continued on past Edale and onto the southern loop to complete their ride in around 36 hours. 

"If you sign up next year, make sure you pack your comfortable walking shoes and a sense of adventure - you won’t regret it."

So, whether you wanted to push your limits by smashing round a technically challenging ride in one hit or take it slowly by splitting the shorter route over two days, there were options for all. Either way, if you sign up next year, make sure you pack your comfortable walking shoes and a sense of adventure - you won’t regret it.

Images courtesy of @Jo Burt