Event

Ride Summary

All three event distances are on well surfaced hard packed gravel access roads.

The 200km event is one continuous loop with three feed stations at approx 52km, 103km and 154km approx. There is 3100m of ascent with cut-offs at 34km and 136km – more info in the relevant section.

With all three course being nearly 100% off-road, riders should expect a challenging but rewarding day in the saddle.

The 130km event follows a similar route to the 200km with 2100m of ascent, feeds at 52km and 103km and a cut-off at 34km.

The 65km event has 1000m of ascent with a feed at 48km.

All routes may be subject to change depending on weather and forestry work.

The course is suitable for any off-road bike with 33c or larger tyres – preferable with an off-road tread. While the course is designed to favour gravel bikes, a hardtail MTB or similar will be fine.

Entries

Entry for the 200km is £85 (plus card fee)

Entry for the 130km distances is £85 (plus card fee)

Entry for the 65km distance is £70 (plus card fee)

Entry includes:

• Free finishers hot food and drink. Vegetarian and gluten free options available
• On-site showers
• Fully waymarked course
• Professional event timing
• GPX route, available 2-3 weeks in advance
• Nutrition support at feed stations
• Free drop bag transport for 130/200km riders
• Full medical team back up
• Car parking for registration on Friday and the event on Saturday – overnight stays see accommodation page
• Free Fenwicks bike wash

In addition to the standard entry fee, riders can also access:

• SRAM/Unior technical support at the event village
• Unior neutral mechanical support available at the event centre
• Unior neutral mechanical support available at feed stations
• Panaracer ‘on course’ inner tube swap – old (punctured) for new
• Lube stations on course and at the start
• Fully stocked bar for post event drinks
• Barista coffee
• Food vendors

Please note for certain mechanical/technical services there may be a charge for parts/labour.

Any queries on entries please contact us via the contact form or [email protected]

Accommodation

The Dirty Reiver has partnered with the Kielder Campsite to offer riders a convenient place to stay. Please book your camping through the Kielder Campsite Event Page.

Alternative accommodation options in the area:

Northern Star Tepees – Glamping option near the castle in our Teepee Village.

Rock UK- a range of accommodation from bunkhouse style to lodges – 013873 75394

Stonehaugh Campsite – various offers for riders

There will also be some basic camping available next to Kielder Castle operated by Forestry England. It will be on a first-come basis on the day, but there will be plenty of options. More details in the event newsletters.

Campervans – self-contained units can now park at Forestry England car parks in the area. The charge is £12 per night. We are planning to open a larger area for vans. Full details to follow.

Calvert Trust Kielder
Kielder Waterside Lodges
Falstone Barns
The Pheasant Inn

Clear Sky Lodge Park – ravenshillcaravansite@gmail.com

Tarset Tor Bunkhouse 

Newcastleton Bunkhouse 3 rooms/pods sleeping up to 14. On suite with drying room and secure bike storage

Paddaburn Holidays – Nestled in the heart of Wark Forest, Kielder, Paddaburn offers a unique off-grid venue to prepare for and unwind after any race. Rustic and comfortable shepherd huts and gypsy caravans, complete with log burners, provide the opportunity to truly relax within the natural environment. Enjoy a pint at the Watering Hole, and cook your own meal over a campfire or enjoy one of their home-cooked meals or Pizza’s. For larger parties you can also rent the BBQ hut and make a real celebration!

Bellingham Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Demesne Farm Bunkhouse
Boe Rigg Camspite and Bunkhouse
Brown Rigg Lodges 

Forest View Byrness

Please ensure you check travelling times from your accommodation to the start to ensure you are there in plenty of time to get ready!

Parking

Parking in and around Kielder Village is always a challenge. Please help us manage the area sensitively for local residents by following marshals’ instructions and only parking in designated areas.

Due to limited space, please try to travel with someone else to minimise the number of cars and reduce single journeys.

With space in the area at a premium, some parking locations may be a few kilometres from the site. Please bear with us and follow any instructions. We have allowed extra time in 2025 for riders to get parked, get ready to ride and make your way down to the start.

We ask that campervans be on-site and parked by the Friday so that you are there before event day on the Saturday. Forestry England will be providing a number of sites within 10 minutes easy pedal of the event village. Parking large vehicles on the morning of the event will be subject to space.

Rider Information

The Final Rider Briefing will be available here three weeks prior to the event. Please take the time to read it thoroughly before the event as it contains important pre-event information.

Final Rider Notifications will be clearly displayed at sign-on.

GPX Files for 2025 will be available here three weeks prior to the event.

Please note that some mapping software tries to re-plot to ‘known’ trails. This can alter the route! Riders should check the gpx file they use against the original course.

We also have our Dirty Reiver Ride Guide here. Full of tips and insights from brands about the world of gravel, plus some pre-ride information.

Please be aware that Kielder is a working forest and Forestry England may have trail closures in place on trails which are later used by the event. Any riders pre-riding must obey all trail diversions for safety.

Feed Stations

There will be 3 feed stations available along the course. Each feed station will aim to provide:

• Water
• Some Clif nutrition
• Snack foods such as bananas, wrapped cake bars, flapjack, etc.
• The feed stations will also allow access to limited mechanical support
• Drop bags and hot drinks are at Feed 2

The food provided by these feed stations should not be a rider’s only form of support and each rider should aim to carry enough food/spares to complete the full event.

Drop Bags

A drop bag may be submitted for those doing the 130/200 distances and will be available for you at Feed Station 2 (103km) . We recommend all riders on the longer distances use this to supplement the rest of their ride. A bag will provided for you at sign-on which will be clearly marked with your rider number.

Please do not include additional water bottles or fluids in this bag.

The organisers accept no responsibility for safe return of drop bags so please do not include anything valuable. We aim to return drop bags to the Event Centre after the event has finished.

Timing

The event, though non-competitive, is timed. Intermediate split times will be taken at various points on the course as an important safety measure. All riders will be provided with their finishing time upon return to the event village.

Timing chips are embedded into rider number boards and, as a result, the boards should not be trimmed or bent around head tubes/handlebars.

All riders must report to the finish event timing area if retiring and let the crew know. This ensures that we do not put safety measures in place to look for you out on the course.

Cut-offs

There will be 2-3 cut-off points on the 130/200km courses. Riders who do not make these cut-offs will be re-directed to a shorter route for event safety.

Cut-off 1: 1130hrs at 34km (for 130/200km riders) after this all riders will be on the 65km route

Cut-off 2: 1730hrs at 137km (for 200km riders) to return to the castle

Cut-off 3: this is an optional cut-off at 181km for any rider unlikely to make the course closure at 2130

Required Kit

The required kit is applicable to all distances. All riders must carry these items at all times:

• Emergency whistle
• Survival blanket -simple foil ones pack down small and cost very little
• Waterproof jacket (unless you are wearing it) – as a minimum this must have taped or welded seams
• Spare warm hat or buff type head covering
• Spare thermal top
• Spare inner tube and tyre levers
• Pump – even if you are running tubeless!
• Multitool
• Front light, at least 200 lumens or suitable for navigation and riding in the dark with at least a 2hr burn time (not applicable to 65km distance)
• Rear light with a flashing mode
• Mobile phone
• Food for the duration of the event
• Ability to carry at least 1.5 litres of water

Carrying this minimal amount of kit helps to ensure that you can keep warm in the event of having to stop or have spare kit if the weather changes.

Recommended Kit

• Bike with 33c or larger tyres. The course is designed to favour gravel bikes, but any off-road capable bike in good working order can be used
• GPS navigation unit and spare batteries if required
• Spare disc pads
• Chain link
• Spare rear mech hanger
• Chain lubrication
• Basic first aid kit
• Make sure that you carry essential spares and have the ability to undertake rudimentary repairs of your bike – parts of the route are remote.

Provisional Programme

Friday 25th April 2025

All to be confirmed**

10:00-21:00 – Gravel Expo. All supporting brands will be displaying their products and chatting about all things gravel – please collect goody bags from them! Info in the Dirty Reiver Ride Guide

We also have a select group of brands joining us alongside the main event sponsors – see the Dirty Reiver Expo Guide

10:00-22:00 – Sign-on opens

10:00-19:00 – Various brand and ambassador activations – rides, talks, etc.

12:00-22:00 – Full catering and bar (vegetarian and gluten free options available)

22:00 – registration and event site closes

Saturday 26th April 2025

The rider briefing can be downloaded and viewed prior to arriving at the event. There will be no formal briefing at the start line –  any last minute changes will be on the order notice board

06:30-08:00 – Sign-on open

09:00 – Rolling start for riders. Please note that the first 3km is neutralised

(*Please refer to the course cut-offs when planning your start time)

22:00 – Finish line closes

**The organisers retain the right to amend the programme/timings should issues arise. Any change will be communicated to riders at the earliest opportunity.

International Travellers

For those travelling from further afield, the nearest airports are Newcastle (NCL) and Glasgow (GLA). Both are served by flights from most major cities.

Kielder is unique in its remoteness, and as such there is no direct public transport. We recommend looking to share car hire with someone else making the trip – the Dirty Reiver Facebook page is a good place to connect.

The nearest train service runs to Hexham (HEX) which is then a 35 mile pedal/drive to Kielder Castle. There may be options to book a taxi/hire a vehicle in Hexham. At this time we are not aware of any bus service operating this route.

National Cycle Network 10 runs through Kielder from the east at Bellingham and the west from Newcastleton.

Terms and Conditions

The Terms and Conditions detailed below apply to all entrants participating in the Dirty Reiver – all distances (see below for additional notes on the Dirt-E-Reiver).

Completion of an entry form or purchase of an entry by every participant acknowledges their acceptance of these Terms and Conditions by the participant.

Entries to The Dirty Reiver, Dirty One Thirty, Dirty Sixty Fiver and Dirt-E-Reiver are non transferable.

REFUND RATES:

60+ days from the event – 70% refund voucher*

30-59 days from the event – 50% refund voucher*

0-29 days from the event – No refund possible voucher*

* Vouchers are redeemable against any Focal Event within 12 months of issue

Focal Events recommend that participants take out individual insurance to cover being unable to attend due to unforeseen personal circumstances.

Riders are required to attend a start line briefing, read the briefing notes and sign to confirm that they agree to abide by the instructions given.

All riders must be self-supported.The event organisers and staff are not responsible for your preparedness while riding the course.

You should ensure that both yourself and your bike are in a serviceable state to complete a 200 km gravel road ride. A standard road bike is NOT suitable for this event.

Each participant, upon signing the registration form, agrees that they are physically and mentally capable of riding the distance they have chosen. If, during the event they decide to change their route and distance, then all consequences of this action are the participator’s. If the situation arises that you are in an accident and are not capable of making the decision to call the emergency services, the rider agrees that a member of the organisation or a member of the public/other rider may call for them.

At any time pre, during, and post event, riders must conduct themselves in a manner that does not discredit themselves or the event organisers. Riders must be considerate to other users of bridleways, tracks, byways and public ways when riding on and off road.

Riders are expected to respect the countryside that the event travels through. It should be remembered that this is both a working landscape and home to many communities. Riders stopping for a comfort break are asked to do so discretely and appropriately and not to cause any offence to local residents or other riders.

There may be sections of public road included within the course. You must obey all Highway Code rules.

The organisers reserve the right to postpone or cancel the event. This will be considered should access to the event or sufficient portions of the course be deemed too dangerous due to severe adverse weather conditions or due to any other scenario that makes the event not viable.

The participant accepts that the event they are entering is not a race in any format.

Riders entering the Dirty Reiver self-select their category at the point of entry. The event is non-competitive with no podium or prizes. Finishers will be displayed alphabetically by age category and the gender that they have chosen.

As this is not a race we are unable to check category selection but we do have a range of options to ensure that the event remains inclusive:

Male

Female

Open – for anyone who does not identify with the former

Riders whilst participating in the event must do so wearing a helmet complying with latest EN1078, ANSI Z90/4 or SNELL standards. Any rider not conforming with this term will not be allowed to start or will be removed from the event if started.
Riders must carry the minimum required equipment for the full duration of the course. Spot checks may be used to ensure rider safety.

The Event Registration Form must be completed by a person aged 18 years or over. This event is not open to riders under 16.

All riders are covered by third party insurance for the duration of the event. The cost of this is included in your entry fee. In addition, Focal Events are covered by public liability insurance.

Organisers cannot take responsibility for loss or damage of personal possessions during the event.

During the event there will be warning signs at appropriate points on the trails or roads used for this event. Absence of these signs does not signal there are no dangers approaching and it is the individual rider’s responsibility to make a decision regarding whether to ride a section or not. The marking of the route does not necessarily indicate that the trail or road is rideable and the participant is deemed to make their own decision about whether to proceed on bike, foot or not at all.

Riders must not to drop or leave any litter on any part of the route and to dispose of it responsibly at an appropriate place or bin. Any rider found littering will be disqualified from the event.

Each participant will be fully responsible for any fees or costs incurred or arising from an accident either involving or caused by the rider. This includes, but is not exclusive to, fees from Police, Air Ambulance, Fire and Rescue and the Ambulance service.

Each participant hereby grants to Focal Events an exclusive, absolute and irrevocable worldwide assignment in perpetuity in the photographs/film/video/electronic representations and/or sound recordings of the participant obtained at the event and grants to Focal Events the right to use and publish such content in any and all media. The participant hereby releases Focal Events from any and all liability from such use and promotion. The participant hereby authorises the reproduction, sale, copyright, exhibit, broadcast, electronic storage and/or distribution of said photographs/film/video tapes/electronic representations and/or sound recordings without limitation at the discretion of Focal Events. The participant specifically waives any right to any compensation they may have for appearing in any of the photographs/film/video/electronic representations and/or sound recordings of the participant at a Focal Events event.

In the event that a participant fails to complete the course for any reason they agree to return to or call the event centre before the close of the event and report to a member of staff. Not doing so will mean that a search may be organised and the subsequent cost will be billed to the rider.

An acceptable charge for any loss or damage caused by a rider to timing equipment will be made.

E-Bikes must meet the current EAPC (electric assisted pedal cycle) requirements, as outlined on the government website, and must not be modified in anyway.

E-Bikes who do not meet these requirements will not be allowed to start.

E-Bike riders should note that this 65km course does not offer a recharge point on the course and they will not be allowed to ride the longer distances.

Riders could carry a spare battery if needed.

E-Bike riders should ensure that they have checked that their battery will last the distance and make sure that it is fully charged before travel to the event.