If I had to describe this gravel bike route in a word it would be punchy. Whilst it is quite short it more than makes up for this with some lung busting climbs.

The route starts in Matlock next to the railway station and heads down the White Peak Link which is a former railway line. This is just a warm up0 before the climbing begins ! If you fancy extending the route you could combine it with our Amber Gambler route to make a proper big day out of it.

This is a lovely little gravel bike route for if you are short on time or for the winter months. It’s one of my faves because it goes close to where I live and has some cracking views of the western side of the Peak District.

The Hope Valley Round is a bit of a classic in my eyes. It combines punishing climbs and decent bike handling skills with some epic views and corking trails.

It’s probably best done in drier weather as there are a few bits that can turn into a mudfest in Winter months and it’s definitely a big day out so pack your sandwiches !

The route starts and finishes in Baslow before heading up and over the moors.

Summertime is well and truly here in our corner of Derbyshire and I hope you are making the most of the dry spell. We’re about as far from the seaside as you can get so, last weekend, we though a trip to the seaside was in order.

The result is a new route that I published earlier in the week called the South North Divide. The route starts at Sheffield Train station and makes it’s way up through South and West Yorkshire before heading across to York. From here the route continues across North Yorkshire to finish in Scarborough. I did the route over a couple of days because I’m old and unfit but I reckon it could be done in a single day if you are feeling enthusiastic.

Fresh Goods

Summer Break

Vélotastic will be closed from July 4th to July 21st for our Summer Holidays. All orders placed will be shipped when we return. So if you have a trip yourself lined up and are after something, please order from us sooner rather than later.

I always joke that the Peak District has two seasons – winter and July. For the past month it seems that July has come early as we enjoy an extended dry spell. We’ve got some great ideas below for if you fancy a longer journey on your bike over a few days.

The weather has meant that I’ve been busy at Vélotastic HQ fulfilling orders and looking at what to stock. It’s also been an interesting time for us watching the American president having a toddler tantrum and introducing tariffs and us wondering if our government was going to reciprocate. This is not the first time he’s done this. Back in 2018 there was a spat between Boeing and Airbus and it meant that, including duty and tariff we were paying 28% on some of the products Vélotastic were importing with VAT on top of that !

We’ve sent out all the patches and route information to everyone that’s entered our last virtual event – the Stoops and Stones. We’ve got a few extra patches for sale if you missed the pre-order. It’s a lovely couple of routes in the Peak District if we say so ourselves !

Weekenders

With the longer daylight hours and more settled weather it’s a great time to go for a weekend away with your bike. Whether you are a bikepacking newbie or a hardcore veteran we’ve a route for you.

City Breaks

A good introduction to bikepacking is to do a longer linear dayride on your bike, spend the night out (maybe with a cheeky recovery beer) and catch the train back the following day. Our routes from Chesterfield to Lincoln or York are great for that and with the Lincoln route you can always continue to the seaside for a bag of chips the following day.

Split the Distance

If you fancy something a bit more challenging, you could always split one of our longer day rides into two. The Imperial is a fantastic route around the Peak District. If you fancy something a bit flatter the Superfondo is a good option.

Go large.

Our classic bikepacking routes include the Park Patrol, Transpennine Express and Trans Peak Trail which are all gravel friendly. If you fancy something more at the MTB end of the spectrum the White Peak Wander and Velotastic 300 might be more for you.

Whatever you chose – leave no trace and enjoy yourself.

100 miles is the cyclist’s marathon. It’s something than most riders have on their bucket list. Once completed there’s a sense of achievement that you’ve pushed your adventures by bicycle to another level.

There is as usual, a bit of a caveat about how and where you popped your century cherry. A 100 miles on the flat on a light road bike is going to be a lot easier than a 100 off road on an MTB in the Highlands.

Somewhere in the middle is gravel biking territory. You’ve usually got a mix of surfaces. Gravel bikes are lighter than MTB’s but heavier than some road bikes. Tyres are in the middle normally unless you are riding a monster cross style bike.

A century is also a good distance for a long day in the saddle without the need for taking bikepacking gear and having to put an overnight stop in. Provisions can be carried on the bike. The only issue is water, but if you scout around there’s normally somewhere to fill up.

I thought I’d design a route in the Peak with these factors in mind. Its a mix of the White Peak’s ‘rail trails’ and a venture into the Dark Peak. It’s around 50% off road with the resat on quiet lanes that are more gnarmac than tarmac.

Enjoy. If you like what you see a virtual coffee would not go a miss.

As the daylight hours are getting longer and the weather is getting a tad better I thought it was time to add another route to the collection. Introducing the Superfondo – the sweet spot distance wise between a regular Fondo and a Century.

This gravel friendly route starts and finishes at Chesterfield Station and is a mash up of our popular GravelFondo route and personal fave – Duke it Out route with a few extra bits on the side. Roughly three quarters of the route is off road – a mix of former railways, bridleways and a blue MTB route thrown in for good measure. It’s a lot less lumpy than some of our Peak District adventures and I recce’d it on my single speed gravel bike.

Fresh Goods

As things are picking up after the winter months I’m starting to re-stock our inventory. I’ve had a re-stock from Voilé of their ever so popular straps. Below’s a little video about how they came about.

And finally

A huge thanks to everyone that entered our Stoops and Stones virtual non-event. You should have received a copy of the routes and hopefully your patches will be on the way to you at the back end of next month. If you a little late to the party, don’t worry as we have ordered a few extra patches and you can still join in here.