Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

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Hyppy
Posts: 486
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2023 8:09 am

Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Hyppy »

I'm not entirely sure how this is gonna play out, but I'm arranging some kind of free-to-ride self-supported Mint Gravel event on 15th June, and you're all invited!

Mint Gravel is a 160km ↔︎ 3900m ↕︎ mixed-terrain loop around South Lakeland. It's roughly half road and half 'northern gravel', so good for a hardtail MTB, gravel, or even CX bike. I put it together as a challenging long day out, but it'd also work split over a couple of days with some decent wild-camping spots round and about the half-way point.

As for the event, there'll be a 'group start' at 6am on Saturday 15th June from Gooseholme Bridge in Kendal with the intention of meeting up back there again that evening, but beyond that the ride is open to interpretation. Smash it out; slow and steady till you're done; do as much as you can in X hours then bail; bivvy out … whatever. My hope is just that we have folk doing the same route at the same time so as to have some shared experience of riding what may be somewhere new or a bit different to many.

As an idea of what to expect, the current FKT for the loop is 12½ hours. It's taken me ~16 hours and by way of comparison last year's BB200 took me 21 hours.

I've a handful of non-Boners up for it already and the more the merrier! So, who's in?
mint gravel grab.jpg
mint gravel grab.jpg (160.86 KiB) Viewed 6283 times
Last edited by Hyppy on Fri May 03, 2024 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lazarus
Posts: 3906
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:49 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Lazarus »

Its on my to do list but i have the rtts double the weekend after . Mm is that the perfect taper ride.....

Not sure but I will do the route this year.
Hyppy
Posts: 486
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2023 8:09 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Hyppy »

Lazarus wrote: Fri May 03, 2024 1:01 pm Mm is that the perfect taper ride..
But of course it is! :lol:

It's a busy time of year, innit? We left it rather too late to 'own' any date, but looked to pick a weekend that didn't clash with anything else too similar which proved tricky. Even locally, it's the same weekend as the Sam Houghton but hopefully they each appeal to different riders.
Valerio
Posts: 315
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:03 pm

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Valerio »

Im itching for another trip to the Lakes, my one and only visit on the bike was a bit of a debacle.

Timing is a bit tricky for me and there's actually an ultra in Manchester on the same date organised by a brand that shall not/cannot be named on the forum :lol: although this one looks more manageable with less distance and less climbing...but if I have learnt one thing is that miles in the Lake District are longer than regular miles.

How does one enter?
Not a fluffy gravel rider.
See you at Tor Divide
https://tordivide.co.uk
Hyppy
Posts: 486
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2023 8:09 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Hyppy »

Valerio wrote: Fri May 03, 2024 10:31 pm Im itching for another trip to the Lakes, my one and only visit on the bike was a bit of a debacle.
Sounds like an itch that needs scratching then!
Valerio wrote: Fri May 03, 2024 10:31 pm if I have learnt one thing is that miles in the Lake District are longer than regular miles.
They can be! We've a good mix of terrain on the route so there are sections you'll make good progress over and others that may take somewhat longer, but it's genuinely all ridable. I'll concede to never managing to clear one climb (Sadgill) myself, but technically all rideable.
Valerio wrote: Fri May 03, 2024 10:31 pm How does one enter?
You can just rock up on the day, Valerio. I'm intentionally keeping things very self-supported—think little more than a bunch of people happening to be riding the same route—but I'll post more details here as I work them out. I've currently got some racing whippets (my co-conspirator in all this is actually a current UCI World Champ), others similar pace to me, and a few just going to see how they get on signed up to ride so far. It'll be good to see you.
Hyppy
Posts: 486
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2023 8:09 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Hyppy »

An open invite still stands for a Mint Gravel 'self-supported group start' from Gooseholme Bridge, Kendal at 6am on Saturday: Just turn up and you can expect other people to be riding and then meeting up post-ride at The Barrel House, Castle Mills (LA9 7DE) a few hundred meters from the start/finish point from I'm guessing 6pm onwards.
  • Ready to roll 6am Saturday 15th June, Gooseholme Bridge, Kendal
  • Change to final 10km of route as a result of Underbarrow Road bridge being closed
  • Bring food and drink
  • Aim to be self-sufficient, but do keep an eye on each other too
  • Post-ride catch up at The Barrel House, Kendal from ~6pm onwards. All welcome!
Lazarus
Posts: 3906
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:49 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Lazarus »

Its 100% on my to do list but just the wrong weekend for me :cry:
Hope it all goes well and will be in touch as i will do it within the next few months.
Hyppy
Posts: 486
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2023 8:09 am

Re: Mint Gravel - South Lakeland 160km - 15th June

Post by Hyppy »

… and a fun day out was had by all. Kinda.

After a few last-minute drop outs, 7 hardy and/or foolish souls left Kendal at 6am yesterday (including BB forum lurker Jonnie 👋), occasionally joined along the way by a few folk that couldn't commit to a full day's ride. The weather was pretty grim all morning, and properly grim all afternoon, but 160km and 11½ hours later 2 riders made it back, with everyone else calling time on it midway through.

I'd somehow done ~150km trying to cross paths with the fast kids en route, despite cutting out long sections of the route and am feeling absolutely done in today. Feck all evidence of the day too as it was impossible to get my already knackered hands out of and back into wet gloves to take photos: it literally took me 15 minutes when I tried!

Anyway, the weather can't be that bad twice, so I'll invite you all again next time round.

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