Ride Report: Riding the Ridgeway with Hotchillee
Posted By Gravel Union
On 23 July 2021
Riding the Ridgeway from end to end in a single-day is a big day out on the bike in anyone’s book as it packs in a chunky 135km with 1885m of ascent. Nik Cook reports from a recent Hotchillee organised ride along the length of the UK Ridgeway.
My parents live just 25km from the start of the Ridgeway and, because of Covid19, I hadn’t seen them for 18 months, so I decided to stay with them, ride to the start, join the Chillees to Goring and then to retrace my tyre tracks for some quality parental catching up. The rest of the riders met the Hotchillee Event Team at the ride’s end at the Musette Café in Tring at 0630, dumped their cars and then were transferred to Overton Hill by bus.
My own ride started at 0730 from my parents’ house and, despite a horrendous forecast being given a week ago, it’d steadily improved all week and it was a glorious morning. It was a wonderful way to start the day and, as I rode alongside the gallops on the Marlborough Downs, I was treated to race horses running parallel to me.
I arrived at Overton Hill at about 0820 and soon after the rest of the riders arrived and we rolled out at about 0830. The first 6km or so up to above the Hackpen White Horse are probably the toughest of the first half of the ride. If it’s been wet, they can be a rutty slippery nightmare and, even in dry conditions, it sorted us into two definite groups. Ride Captains were deployed to each group and these pretty much stuck for the rest of the ride.
Once that opening section is out of the way, as long as it has been dry, the trail is pretty fast rolling and un-technical - definite gravel bike terrain. The ruts can catch you out on some of the descents but there’s nothing too tricky. If it had been wet though, it would have been a nightmare as the chalk turns to ice. A few patches of damp caught a couple of riders out and, to be honest, I’d give the Ridgeway a miss if it was genuinely wet.
We had our first feed and water stop with about 25km ridden on the road crossing near Ashbury. A quick bottle refill, a handful of Haribos and off we rolled. There are a couple of reasonably length road sections and, with a headwind, being in a good working group was a godsend.
We were clipping along at a great pace, averaging just over 20kph and loving the spectacular views afforded by the ridge-top trail. Either side of road crossings there tend to be a fair few walkers but, even on a sunny Saturday, it was never a problem.
With great chat and brilliant trails, in what seemed like no time at all, we crested another climb and were onto the 7km descent into Goring-on-Thames, our lunch spot and my turnaround point. We took it steady on here as there were lots of walkers coming up and a few big speed bumps that are obscured due to overhanging trees.
After a coffee and a baguette, I said my farewells to the Chillees and, with definite café legs, winched my way back up the descent I’d just come down. Once I’d crested it though, the headwind we’d been punching into became a really agreeable tailwind and it was like being on an e-Bike. I flew along, dropped off the Ridgeway just after Letcombe Castle and back to my parents with 134km/1448m ridden in just under six hours. Meanwhile……
…. Hotchillee’s Sven Thiele takes up the story…
The climb out of Goring-on-Thames for us wasn’t that bad and we were soon into the Chilterns and very different trails to the first half of the ride. We were suddenly off exposed upland and into woods riding through what felt like a tunnel of foliage. The trail surface changed too with chalk giving way to clay and the second half was definitely damper under tyre. There were less spectacular vistas but it was more atmospheric and there was definitely more fun singletrack.
You get to ride right past the British Prime Minister’s back garden and, in terms of more technical, fun and rooty trails, the final 30km is definitely the best. My legs might have been stringing by this point but, the trails and especially the half-pipe gully descent into Wendover put a massive smile on my face.
There were a couple of brutal climbs near the end and one did have me off and walking but obviously that was down to my tyre slipping out on a damp patch and not my failing legs!
I’ve done big gravel days in South Africa and the Atlas Mountains and, in terms of physicality and the exhausted warm afterglow, the Ridgeway was well up there. I really felt I’d earned my post-ride curry and beer at Musette and, in terms of difficulty, I’d put it on a par with a tough 200+km on the road.
Fancy some more gravel riding with Hotchillee? Then check out their website