Sonder Winter Gravel Series: Alpkit Hathersage

When Alpkit got in touch to ask me to add their Sonder Winter Gravel Series to the UK 2020 Gravel Calendar, I didn’t think I’d get the chance to go and ride one of them. Nor did they expect 150 riders to sign up for a drizzly start from the Hathersage store on a grey Sunday morning in February.

In case you were in any doubt, it would appear that the desire to ride these off-road trails – often deemed too tame by mountain bikers and too rough by road cyclists – is really here to stay. The gathering crowd nattering over cups of tea and custard creams in the shop was a collection of riders from near and far, from locals to those travelling from as far afield as Durham, Nottingham, Staffordshire, the Lakes and Lincoln.

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Despite some early drizzle, the forecast was set to improve, and that it certainly did; great beams of golden sunlight even more delicious in the early spring after months of greyish darkness.

The 46 kilometre (28.5 mile) route was the perfect opportunity for Alpkit to display their in-house brand of bikes; Sonder Bikes, and more specifically for some lucky riders to test ride the Camino. My friend Grace was saddled up on a minty fresh Camino AL, and another riding buddy Mark was trying out the top spec Camino Ti for the day.

If you were going to design the ideal test circuit for a gravel bike, you wouldn’t be far off the route that Rich Seipp from Alpkit had put together for us. Rich is a seasoned endurance cyclist and bikepacker, having completed the Highland Trail 550 and Tour Divide with his young son, Tom. I thought back to Rich as I scrambled up the rocky and impossibly steep singletrack of Hagg Farm: to many this tough hike-a-bike wouldn’t be strictly classed as ‘gravel riding’, but framed as adventure cycling it’s all part of the fun!

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After a short road section to Bamford, we picked up the Thornhill Trail towards Ladybower Reservoir, the mucky, muddy track punctuated by gates before passing the feed station for the first time. I was passed a tasty Outdoor Provisions bar without even stopping, which I snaffled away into my coat pocket. Little did I know then that it would turn out to be such a life saver later on!

Having ridden a similar route earlier in the week while recording with Pannier.cc for Unpaved Podcast, I thought I was in for a lovely gentle bimble around the Reservoir again, with a bit more of a challenge at the end this time up onto Derwent Edge. I was wrong.

A slight left hander off of the main light gravel road took us straight up a sharp and rocky bridleway, the kind where you just have to pedal and hope that you’ll clear the angular rocks, looking back at the sprawl of riders reaching the end of their momentum behind you or hopping out of the way of the successful few that could clear it. Of course this led to a cracking MTB-esque rocky road descent, with the added challenge of steamed up/mucky glasses for extra fear-factor.

Any local hiker or mountain biker will know what came next; Hagg Farm climb. The boulders and great slabs of angled rock across the trail, combined with the sheer steepness of it proved too much for most of us; we marched bike in hand or over the shoulder up the incline for what felt like a very long time indeed. Looking back, these things are (almost) always worth it. The rapid gravel fire road switchbacks down to the reservoir made me feel like I was back in the mid summer of the Cambrian mountains once again.

Tracing the edge of the reservoir on the paved road and gravel roads to slippery stones, we were back on easy territory once more, joining a string of trail runners along ‘Cold Side’ on the golden rocky surface of the east side.

Things were about the get spicy again. Regrouping with some other riders at the gate before the flagstone climb up onto Derwent Edge, we watched with some trepidation as the first rider wiped out completely on the slippery edge of the wet stone slab. These slabs pave the way up the climb, gentle at first, then cornering around the grassy hillside to ramp straight up the terrifying gradient, ultimately to a gate next to a little stone shelter with a bench inside. I should think you’d need that for a lie down if you’d made it the whole way up.

The bridleway across Derwent Edge is a tricky one on gravel bikes – again testing the limits of confidence, courage and most importantly, grip. Riders with flat pedals were definitely laughing their way up here as clipless riders were toppling left, right and centre (myself included). It’s all fun and games until you hit the inevitable rocky trailside (yep, that hurt) but the very best one had to be Darren flying OTB face first into a peaty bog. Absolute corker!

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After climbing up to the gusty Whinstone Lee Tor viewpoint and sliding/scooting/sending it down to the Manchester Road, it was plain sailing back down to the reservoir, across the dam and back along the Thornhill Trail to Bamford before finishing back at the shop in Hathersage. Warming soup, some Singletrack Mag beer and the use of a hose were all very much appreciated!

If you’re gutted you missed the ride (honestly, you should be) you can find the route here and go enjoy for yourself. There are plenty of route diversions if you’d rather cut out the tough hike-a-bike and stick to more mellow gravel roads. Why not ask the friendly gals and guys in store, and consider a donation to the Alpkit Foundation while you’re at it.

With huge thanks to the Alpkit//Sonder crew and Hathersage store for putting on this ride and the Winter Gravel Series, Rich for the route, Mark Stacey for the photos, Outdoor Provisions for the excellent fuel and my fellow riders for their heckles/encouragement/good vibes.