On a rare dry weekend in September, a mix of roadies and dirtbags headed to the Scottish borders. Based at Whithaugh Park in Newcastleton, the weekend got off to a good start with a cracking meal at the local pub, The Grapes.
Day 1
Half the party took on the Ken Laidlaw sportive route, a 78 mile route with 5,000ft of elevation. By all accounts the route was a keeper, with the riders encountering more wild goats than cars. The remainder of the group made a cross-border raid into England, climbing up (and up) from Newcastleton before dropping into England for a lunch stop at Kielder. The route was of mixed terrain with some technical sections, which did result in the occasional unscheduled dismount. No serious damage done other than Dan’s rear mech (again) and a hefty dent left in the Haribo supplies.
Day 2
After much discussion the night before about whether the reservoir should be on the left or the right, the gravellers did a circuit Kielder (we kept the reservoir on our right, for anyone who is interested!). Not to be underestimated, the route manages to fit in over 2,000 ft of elevation in its 26 miles but affords some stunning scenery. A hard-core contingent of roadies headed to Annan (again, after much deliberation the night before). After battling with heavy teapots at the café stop, the hardy trio battled the heavy headwind back to Newcastleton.
A top weekend with a fantastic bunch of folk.
This was the last of the club-subsidised weekends for 2024. Get your thinking caps on for what you’d like to see on the calendar for 2025 – we have an annual budget for subsided rides and would love to hear your ideas.
