The Dirty Reiver is no ordinary bike race, it’s a true test of endurance, grit, and gravel grinding across the remote and rugged landscape of Kielder Forest. Inspired by the gravel racing scene in the United States, the Dirty Reiver was first held in 2016 and has since grown into the UK’s premier gravel event, attracting hundreds of riders from around the world. With route options typically ranging from 65km to 200km, the race challenges participants with fast-rolling fire roads, technical descents, and relentless climbs, all while immersing them in some of the UK’s most expansive wilderness.
In this report, Louisa takes us inside her experience of the 2025 edition of the Dirty Reiver, the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
What inspired you to take on the Dirty Reiver this year?
Dirty Reiver has been on my radar for a couple of years but due to work I haven’t been able to attend. As I have taken 5 months off work to race my bike and explore along the way, it was the perfect opportunity to finally do the event and use it as a bit of a test run for the upcoming season
How did you prepare for the event, both physically and mentally?
I have spent the winter clocking up the miles and working on my fitness in preparation for this summer, however mentally I find the more time I spend on the bike the more resilient I get.
In the days leading up to any event, I make sure I find time to read a book, watch a bit of a series or in fact do anything not bike related. It helps keep my brain quiet and stops the over thinking that I can easily slip into.
Did you follow any particular training plan or routines in the lead-up?
The week before the race, I backed off on the hours in the saddle and let my body recover having spent the last 3 weeks climbing hills on the bike in the Lake District, north Pennines and North Yorkshire moors. Being an individual who thrives off routine, I try to keep the lead up to any event as similar as I can to my normal day to day routine, with the exception of adding in a few more carbs!
How did VOOM Nutrition play a part in your preparation and fuelling strategy?
Keeping on top of nutrition whilst training has allowed me to push harder and recover quicker. I tend to gravitate towards the POWR bars when training as it’s always nice to have something substantial to chew on!
What was going through your mind on the start line?
I find the start lines quite overwhelming. There’s always a lot of people, loud music and energy. I try not to think about anything race or bike related as I find this will lead to more nerves. I always try and remember that making it to the start line is an achievement, the work is done and to go and enjoy myself.
Can you describe the course and conditions on the day?
The course was a continuous series of rolling hills, it did not let up! However as a majority of them sat around 4-6% it meant that there wasn’t anything too daunting. Apart from one short and wet single track section, the course was wide forest access roads that were dry and dusty. There was nothing super technical which allowed it to roll fast.
What were the high and low points of the race?
Having to stop to tighten up one of my bottle cages that had rattled itself loose was annoying, however rather than seeing it as a low, it was more of a valuable lesson learnt to threadlock them before my next race!
The highlight for me was getting to the end, knowing I was happy with how I had ridden and that I had kept on top of fuelling without stopping at the feed zones on the course.
How did your pacing and fuelling strategy hold up during the event?
My pacing strategy was to push on the ups, recover on the downs and have the flats available to either push or recover as needed whilst keeping it at around 70% effort. Fortunately I was able to push on the flats too! My fuelling strategy was to take on some food every 20minutes or so, luckily my wahoo reminds me to do this as I am sure I would forget otherwise! I averaged just under 80g per hour.
What VOOM products did you use on the day and how did they help?
I had two sachets of the fusion fuel carb mix in my hydro pack, a bottle of the hydrate smart lemon and lime electrolytes and a whole top tube bag of the raspberry electro energy bars.
I had broken up the energy bars into their individual squares before the start, this made them easy to grab on the go from my top tube bag, helping me stay on top of feeding on the move.
I can confidently say VOOM is the reason I was still in good spirits when I crossed the finish line!
How did it feel to finish 3rd overall?
I will be honest, I did not realise I had done as well as I had initially! I knew that I had ridden to the best of my ability on the day, and for me that’s always my measure of success. However to have a good result on paper for my first race of the season is the perfect confidence boost going into my next races.
What advice would you give to someone considering Dirty Reiver for the first time?
Go for it, you won’t regret it! Everyone is so friendly and it is superbly organised. There are three distances to choose from (65km, 130km and 200km) so there really is something for everybody. Just make sure you are getting some rides in before hand on rolling terrain in order to get a feel for the hills you will find at the event.
What’s next for you, any future races or goals?
Next stop for me is The Gralloch in Scotland towards the end of May. After this I'm heading over to Europe to race a number of the UCI gravel races this summer.
