Yorkshire Divide: My First 730km / 10,000m Gravel MTB Epic

I did my very first bikepacking event – and what an event to start with. The Yorkshire Divide “Source to Sea” route covers some of the most beautiful, brutal, and unforgettable landscapes in the UK. The 730km loop circumnavigates the Yorshire Dales and Moors with over 10,000m of elevation. This video documents the literal highs, the lows, and everything in between.

From steep hike-a-bike climbs and moody moors to friendly locals and much-needed petrol station stops, this wasn’t just a test of legs, but a journey into what bikepacking is really all about.

If you’ve ever been curious about multi-day gravel or MTB rides, or are thinking of taking on your first bikepacking event, this one’s for you. Hopefully I will inspire you to throw caution to the wind and just enter.

Big thanks to Trek Bicycles for supplying me with the Trek Checkpoint, and to Tailfin for the last-minute support supplying me with bags!

Don’t forget to like if you enjoyed the footage, as this was lovingly captured by my partner, Steve, who had never used my camera before. I think he did great! ❤️

#Bikepacking #YorkshireDivide #GravelAdventure #SourceToSea #AnnaOnTheBike

Morning. You can’t keep giggling behind the camera like my dad’s filming this. That’s true. Yeah. Dad cam. It’s my partner’s first time using my camera. And it’s my first time using these bags if you hadn’t noticed. Actually, it’s my first time entering a bike packing event full stop. And I haven’t exactly started with an easy one. The organizer says the route is 50/50 gravel to mountain biking, and the bikes that have showed up are about a 50/50 split, too. Now, I’m usually a mountain biker, but for that reason, I’m not worried about the tech. So, I’ve brought the Trek checkpoint to give me a boost where I’m the weakest. Woo! The Yorkshire Divide source to sea route was inspired by a map of the UK’s waterways drawing a 730 km circle around the Humber Basin. And with 10,000 m of elevation, you know, we really are seeking out those watery origins in the hills. First up, let’s get out of Myithoid. There’s definitely a nick in the Yorkshire air. Well, here we go. It’s only been an hour, but it’s absolutely beautiful already. Look at this. I’ve overtaken a few people, fixing their bags, fixing punctures. One guy is on a mountain bike, has had two punctures, and as he was telling me, his tire was going down. Another two victims behind me. One of them’s broke an actual panty rack. Had to be done, didn’t it? Yeah. Holy crap. What? Rivers run dry. Dust spreads in the air. Two dark days. Do you have a fear to spare? Make a proise. The world awaits. It’s heavy just breathing through. Start. Come on. Start a riot. When they know it’s fame, fake or even hate. Don’t be scared if the way paralyzes you at the gate. No, it’s a lot to take in. Don’t know. Don’t wait. Don’t be scared when paralyzed as you stay at the gate. Day one. Day one. Scared me. 130k. 130k. 2,800ish meters of climbing. Wow. It’s easily my biggest day in the bike, I think. I think so. Yeah. The first 90 was lovely and then the rest was a bit downhill from then on. Or uphill in this case. Everything hurts now and I just want to eat some food now, but I’m too tired to eat the food. Okay. I know you showed me your affection. It’s at times like this that you kind of hate the course organizer cuz you go here and you know because you’re looking at the Garmin that that is your route up and over there. Yep. I hate it when I’m right. Why? I’m just going to chill for a bit, have some food, try and remember I am actually doing this for fun. of the day this time. Wow, the landscape’s just all of a sudden changed. It’s just beautiful. Hello. You’re doing this basically, are you as well? Yes. It’s the famous rock crusher of Yorkshire. You are not just a flavor of the day. I have had a busy morning. I’ve seen two waterfalls. I’ve gone over a really big hill. I’ve seen an iron works. And it’s morning games. You are not just a flavor of the day. It’s okay. You can at least sit there. All right. Good buddy. So, I was watching a documentary on La Wilcox doing the tour divide and she said that Mike, famous Mike, who was a great loss to the bike packing community, um told her, “You’ve got to crave miles.” And I thought, “Oh, that’s very competitive, that.” And now I’m here. I kind of get it. Like I I’m not saying I want to tick off the miles all quick, but I do get sort of excited about seeing those numbers creep up, seeing the mileage that I’ve done, because every time I tick off 5 kilometers, I see somewhere new and I just sort of feel a sense of achievement. So yeah, it’s kind of not trying to do it quick, just trying to stop less and crave those miles. And uh yeah, I didn’t think that would be me. But I think it’s actually quite addictive. Quite enjoying it actually. How weird. Didn’t think I’d like it this much. Wait. It’s very busy around here. It’s very disorienting coming out of the countryside and into a castle and a church and a market. Well, this is ye old England at its finest, I think. This morning’s been lovely. I’ve been on my own for so much of it. Maybe like 80k, I don’t know. Um, but it’s been really scenic and nice. I met two of the other guys. I caught them up. Probably the last 20k. We’ve just been chain ganging. So, yeah. It’s been good. Stopped to open a gate which was particularly pesky. Lean my bike up against there. It’s now there. And also the force has snapped off these plastic bolts that went through this uh Apura. I mean it’s a great bag, but these are obviously pretty lightweight and just the force of my bike dropping has broken them. So uh yeah, that is why Reliability is sometimes faster than a fast light thing, if that makes sense. That is a rather worrying color in the sky up ahead. Yep, it’s here. My goodness, it’s hailing. I think it’s time to break out the trousers and gloves. has actually stopped raining, but I don’t trust it. And it’s really cold still, so really windy. We fell into the ocean again. This time against the wind. Oh, so after you saw me on the moors, it absolutely hooned it down with rain um and hail actually and it was devastating. I got absolutely soaked. And it’s moments like that that make me glad that I booked accommodation tonight. Um and hopefully this is a good message for any beginner bike packers out there who thinks you need to rough it in a tent in the middle of the moors getting absolutely soaking wet. You don’t have to. You can stay in hotels if you want to. And for me, this was a big enough challenge that I didn’t need to make it any extra hard. Change is constant learning to flow. All the unknown. Lemon’s throne. We look different from what you dreamed. Colors and contrast making it. What if happy can be built? Turning into all that’s good. Lucky I learned what lemon can do. Lucky they let me here with you. Lucky. I know you feel alone. How long can this thing live on? Walking around. Walking around looking down on the ground. I’m covered in bugs. Um, it’s been I’m 75k in to a 200k ride. It’s been road the whole way so far, which I’d usually hate, but actually it’s been nice to tick off the miles. But, um, looking forward to going over the bridge, actually. Walking around. Walking around. Hey, bud. Hey, how you doing? I got to do it. Right. She’s right behind you. Walking around. broken. I’m at the bridge. Uh, it’s probably not as exciting as I thought it was going to be, but I’m still really happy to be here. 130k in, another 70k to go. I’m absolutely covered in green flies, which is great for Yorkshire ecosystem, but not great for my teeth. But, um, anyway, short stop. Let’s get on with it. We are steady trapped in a countless hours without sleep. Unaware. Baby, we’re just like she So I walk away from everything cuz I don’t care just how it is. Adios. Five days. We’ve just done the longest ride of my life. Three days after the hilliest ride of my life. I need a wagon mas. One more day. Right. My body is throwing out all the uh stop signs now. Massive nose bleed just for no reason. Just bike packing is just ridiculous. I’ve got digestive issues, nose bleeds. My knees feel like they’re going to pop out. However hard you think this is going to be is way harder. People certainly move out your way quickly on the cycle path when you’ve got a blooded tissue stuck up your nose. Second nose bleed of the day. I look like something out of a horror film. It’s been a while. My anxious mind, my new best friend. A bitter taste that lingers on my tongue. Now it’s too late. We drift away through space and time. I was too dumb to fight it. I can’t reach you now. I’m having the worst 10 minutes. I just pranked my tire on a log. Luckily didn’t punch her, but then I rolled through a dog poo and then the battery ran out on my electric derailer. Luckily, I anticipated this. This is it. I think this is the final street. Nice. The government’s singing. Yay. Oh my god. That’s That’s crazy. What a nuts event. That’s the most brutal and yet probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Can I go eat a burger now? You think you’re going so many time’s running out. Tell everyone, “Haven’t you come to break the law?” So, I just rode 730 km and all I got was this badge. But actually, I’m really proud of this badge. This is literally a bad jabana. I’m so proud of myself. I did my hilliest day ever, my longest ride ever, and I got up feeling absolutely awful almost every day, and still managed to put in the miles. I recommend doing bike packing if you’ve never done this before. It forces you to do things um more than you usually do. So, big thanks to Track for supporting me and thanks for Tail fin for offering me these bags um to use for this event. And of course, shout out to Adrian who organized this event and put on this crazy course which I recommend you doing. It is brutal but beautiful. And also shout out to all the riders that I saw along the way. Uh it’s just been great riding with you. I’m going to have to do a tech deep dive into what I carried and what I had with myself, what worked, what didn’t. So next week on Monday, I’ll do a tech deep dive if you’re nosy. But for now, give me a big thumbs up if you appreciated that cameraman getting all the drone footage. Thanks. Bye.