One of the highlights for many UK-based gravel riders in 2019 was the Dukes Weekender event. The organisers managed to find the goldilocks ratio of gravel riding, location, atmosphere and fun.
The good news, is that after a hiatus in 2020, they’re back for 2021. The event will take place over the weekend of 11th & 12th September in Aberfoyle, Scotland. The even better news for anyone who read our recent piece on gravel handbike riding is that there will be an adaptive/handbike category in this year’s event too. For the pint-sized gravellers amongst us, there will also be a children’s event too.
With last year’s event being postponed and many riders carrying their entries over to this year, the event is already nearly at capacity, but the organisers have confirmed they are going to be releasing a few extra places on August 11th September on their website: www.dukesweekender.com. We suspect that demand will outstrip supply, so get there early and stake out your place in the digital queue if you’d like to get an entry for the event.
We asked Stu Thompson, event organiser and über gravel riding fan what makes the event so special and he told us “The Dukes Weekender was established with the aim of bringing people to the village and showcasing the gravel riding on offer in the area and it’s been incredible to see the resulting explosion of Aberfoyle as a cycling hub. It’s absolutely fantastic to be able to bring the event back to the community after such a challenging last 18 months”
The organisers are really keen to promote the local community and do everything from only using local caterers for the event, to providing cycling equipment to local primary schools to working in partnership with local agencies on the Gravelfoyle project.
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