Rough Ride

From one half of the team behind the original Rough Ride cross-country MTB event comes our most popular ride, the Rough Ride ‘Reborn’.

It has now morphed into a big country gravel ride on a new route suited to both gravel bikes and cross country MTBs. Starts and finishes in Kington, Herefordshire, and is as gravelly as it gets. We are really looking forward to showing this one off again, as the route is one of the best and most varied we have ridden in the UK. A proper challenging day ride that is just stunning. The route has been switched around quite a bit for 2023 and now features a stunning traverse of Black Mixen.

The final route for the 2023 Rough Ride is above.

Sunday 23rd July 2023

  • Distance:  66Km
  • Off Road/Paved Split: 72%/28%
  • Total Climbing: 1680m
  • Max Gradient (up): 19%
  • Max Gradient (down): 30+% (off road for 50m – care needed – walk if not sure)
  • Suitable for: Gravel Bike (40mm+ tyres) or Cross Country MTB (optimal)
  • Registration: Open – see below
  • Route: GPX download is available here (right click and ‘save link as’)

How to Register

Registering is a pretty simple process:

  1. Set up a free Strava account (if you don’t have one already)
  2. Join the Cross Cartel group (called a club in Strava)
  3. Scroll down to the Rough Ride event, and click on “I’m In” (you won’t be able to see the event in Strava until you join the Cross Cartel group)

Right on the Welsh Border the route is 90% in Wales, and features just a couple of extremely short linking stretches on roads with any level of traffic.  The route is over 70% off road, with a full mix of grassy downland, gravel/forest roads, some brief rocky sections (including one very steep descent of around 50m, which is ride-able for experienced riders, but if unsure please just walk down!), singletrack and farm tracks (which can get quite muddy and rutted following wet weather).  The vast majority of paved/tarmac sections are extremely quiet back lanes. We have only test ridden the Rough Ride on gravel bikes, and while they are probably the ideal bike overall for most riders there are a few stretches where a cross country MTB would have been optimal.

Please note that the route passes through no villages that have a shop or other source of food/water.  It passes through mostly pretty empty countryside, but does cross a few roads and through a handful of villages.  There are a fair few gates on the route, so please take care to close them after you, as there are a lot of sheep!

Important

You will need to be fully self sufficient – Cross Cartel rides are all self-supported on routes that are open to the general public, with no emergency back up or mechanical support of any kind. You need to take spares and supplies with you. There will be no rescue vehicle to collect you if you have a mechanical, so please make sure you take a mobile phone for any emergencies. You will need to call a friend to collect you or the emergency services in the event of a medical incident. And it is sensible to be insured – you don’t need race insurance, as our rides aren’t races, but public liability insurance is highly recommended.

The Cross Cartel has no responsibility for any incidents that occur during or as a result of your ride – you are solely responsible for your own actions and safety while riding our routes, whatever day you choose to ride them. The Cross Cartel do not provide ride support or event venues (with the exception of the Blaenau 600). Our routes are on public trails, tracks and paved roads. 

Please follow the Highway Code at all times when on the roads, and the Countryside Code when off road – and PLEASE close all gates and take litter home with you.  We are huge supporters of #leavenotrace.

About Cross Cartel Rides

Cross Cartel rides neither races nor traditional organised leisure rides. They are are similar to what were traditionally called “reliability trials”, where the objective or challenge is to complete a pre-determined route on a particular date within a time limit – but in our case the limit is all day and we have no set start time. The challenge is simply to ride a mapped route on a given day, at a time of your choosing. Go as fast or as slow as you feel comfortable with!

What kind of bike do I need?

We have tested all of the tracks, trails and lanes ourselves on gravel bikes using 40mm tyres, but they would also be equally suitable for hard tail/cross country MTBs which would offer more comfort on the rougher terrain but be a little slower over the faster stuff.

Our rides are not suitable for road bikes, and bigger travel full suspension bikes might prove to be a bit of drag over much of the terrain.

How fit or skilled do I need to be?

We have planned all of our rides to be achievable for any rider with a reasonable level of fitness and who is comfortable riding off road – a challenge yes, but extreme no.  You don’t need to be an expert cyclocrosser or MTB cross country racer, but you will need to be comfortable riding off road on mixed surfaces for several hours.  In places you may even need to “hike a bike” if the weather is very wet on the day – but these sections will be short.  Each ride description will include an approximate break down of surface type (paved vs off road).

How do I sign up for a ride?

There are no entry fees and no registration forms.  All you need to do is sign up for a free Strava account if you haven’t got one; join The Cross Cartel Strava group (Strava calls them “clubs”), and click “I’m in” next to the ride.  It only takes a few minutes, and once you have joined the group you can enter any future rides just with the “I’m in” click.  Full step-by-step instructions will be included alongside each ride overview, once we are ready for sign-up.

When do rides start and what is the time limit?

On the day of the ride you can start at any time you like, with the cut-off for finishing being midnight. As we don’t require riders to sign on or be scanned through a start line, we don’t need to be rigid about start times – feel free to choose a time that’s convenient for you. Most of our rides benefit from riders being spread out in the early stages, as there are narrow tracks near to the ride start, so we would suggest setting out as soon as you are ready, with optimal “bunches” being no more than 10 or so. You would soon be well spaced out anyway, due to the nature of the rides!

What other equipment will I need?

Apart from a suitably equipped bike, the only mandatory equipment would be a helmet and a GPS device of some sort, as there are no route signs.  Most of us use a Garmin type GPS unit, but we have also used a phone with Komoot or similar mapping app loaded up.  In fact, our advice would be take both if you have them, as the phone maps are much more detailed than dedicated GPS units, so are handy if you need to navigate back on course etc.  It’s also wise to have a backup.

Otherwise, please be sensible and take exactly what you would pack or wear for any lengthy ride on your own in remote areas, as there won’t be any support out on the route – such as warm enough clothing, waterproofs, sunscreen, spare inner tubes, chain link, multi-tool, pump, food, plenty of water, phone etc.

How do I record my ride completion?

Just upload your ride file to Strava from your GPS device or smartphone app before 9am on the day following the ride. But remember there are no “winners” and no prizes – this is a challenge ride where the prize is the satisfaction of completing a fine day out on your bike.  Don’t worry if you get carried away during the ride and miss a turn, or pick the wrong trail momentarily; if this happens just back-track and pick up the trail where you left off.

Your GPS unit will soon alert you if you have gone off course, and will record that you have followed the full route – just with a little addition.