Frontier 300 2023

We rode it this year. Absolutely stunning scenery and nothingness, especially coming from the south. Had a monster tailwind for a lot of it and it still took 19.5hrs, but organisation was great and the 3 or 4 feed stations along the way were excellent, especially the sandwiches and soup at Kielder. Also plenty of options as you pass through towns and villages.

Logistics were a ballache though, made even worse by a Sunday train service the next day. Probably worth looking at the coach shuttle service, if you don't mind boxing your bike up.

There's a mandatory kit list that includes space blanket, waterproof, spare layers etc. Navigation was fine using a Garmin Edge, just make sure you have a powerbank to recharge it.

Jo wrote a thing for Gravel Union about our ride Linky

Thanks @john_l thats a great write up thanks for the link. I'm guessing you're not too fat from me, East Sussex.

I have booked a place on the shuttle bus, seems the easiest solution as I may end up travelling alone, though if i do i'll have a spare spectator ticket, but i;m hoping to bribe my wife to be waiting for me at the finish.

Navigation wise I was hoping to upload the gpx file to Komoot and use my phone with a plentiful supply of power banks.

More questions likely to follow.

I'll be there in some capacity, I was the sweep van driver for it this year 🙂

I did it.

If you're happy using the shuttle bus, logistics are pretty easy, so long as you can get to Druridge Bay with your stuff. We got slightly confused by the transfer requirements (not helped by our spam filters eating a vital email) and packed all our camping gear into the bike boxes, which then meant we had to get a box back to the start which caused some confusion. Bike in the box. Everything else in a holdall!

The riding, bar the length, was pretty easy - way less technical than my usual "gravel" rides. The (mostly) tailwind was a godsend, but has kind of ruined me doing it again, because we'll never be that lucky twice! The route is a work of evil genius. So many false crests; so many inviting descents you start down, then almost immediately turn off up another hill, so many wrinkles hidden in a Komoot elevation profile. And the last bit when you can see the bloody sea, but ride about 10 miles south parallel to the coast then 10 miles back north again to get the mileage up was just sadistic. I didn't think the hikeabike was too bad (your view may differ), but some of the promised views didn't live up to expectation - mainly commercial forest plantation; storm damaged commercial forest plantation; or clearfelled commercial forest plantation! Best bit views wise was Langholm to Newcastleton.

Nav was easy enough with a Garmin and a battery pack to top it up.

Foodstations were pretty good (hot, fresh, real coffee at FS 2 was amazeballs, as was the soup at Kielder).

Good vibe at the end (something the organisers Focal Events do well - always people to welcome you back in), the beer was good; the burger van "got it" (and did a damn fine breakfast burrito). The only dampener (boom-tish) was that the showers were rubbish. There was supposed to be a block of showers that wasn't actually available, then just the 2 in the visitors center toilets that got absolutely raped. I was pretty early back (14.5 hrs) and they were filthy and no hot water by then.

Kit wise - you know what works for you clothing wise, plus the list of stuff you HAVE to take. Make good use of the drop bag at feed 3. One thing that occurred to me is to take a small front light (eg Joystick for most of the ride, but have a bigger light in the drop bag if it looks like you're going to be riding late). I lugged my Toro all the way round, which was a bit unnecessary.

Oh - should also add - first time doing that kind of distance - I did a couple of 180-200km gravel rides before hand that had 75%+ of the climbing in, but that was basically it.

Best bit views wise was Langholm to Newcastleton.

Agreed. I had a little cry of joy on that section.

Also meant to add that it was also my first time doing that sort of distance, but did a few 12hr multi surface rides leading up to it. The distance was no problem as long as you kept eating and didn't batter yourself.

I did it last year. 16h total, 15h moving. I did a bit extra as I forgot my water bottles after refilling at the 3rd stop and had to go back…6 extra miles😢. Don’t do that is my first bit of advice!

Signed up again this year. It was a great event. For logistics, my dad took me to start and I camped, and I met my wife and kids at the end. So, I had it easy. I’m based in Glasgow so wasn’t too far. Hoping to do similar this year.

I did DR as a warm up, which was a good idea. I was just post covid when I did it though, so didn’t go quite as planned. Made it round but heart rate was off the charts. Probably unwise!

Really preferred the Frontier to the DR - nice to do a point to point through varied terrain rather than big loops around forestry. Such a great journey.

I’d take as little stuff as possible really. There’s a lot of climbing. The hike-a-bike was a bit steeper and tougher than expected, so take shoes you’re happy to walk up steep hills with.

We had such a useful tailwind for most of it. Would be seriously tough with a headwind.

That's me signed up solo. Just trying to get my head around the logistics from Edinburgh. It might involve multiple cars and favours.

I've done DR before, and my longest road ride is >300km (albeit a few years ago!). The main thing for me to manage over such a long distance will be hot-foot.

I'm signed up for it, along with 10-15 of us from the gravel club.
Did the Dirty Reiver last year and enjoyed it and heard good things about the F300 from a club mate.
Gonna plan on upping the distance and getting in base miles over winter with some long efforts in the spring. Will look to do the Cantii and Rebellion Way as training rides.
Zwift too for when it's really rubbish outside!

Been swithering about this event for some time and looks like me and a couple of mates are going to enter. Done DR a couple of times which I struggled with but my fitness was nowhere near what it should've or could've been.

Pack light, stop as little as possible and eat something every 15-30 minutes would be my advice. The riding itself was pretty easy but the hike-a-bike was grim.

Hope the food at the end is better than last year. I finished in 17hrs and got the last can of drink and hotdog from the burger van. God knows what people who finished later got to eat.

Great event, did it last year eithoug enough long long rides and really suffered after feed4 with a tendon issue behind knee. Otherwise as folk have said above, great journey, garmin edge 500 was fine. Do it a good event

Having entered, we're now looking at the logistics. The likely plan is to drive down to Druridge Bay on the Friday and get the bus to the start, stay at Druridge Bay once we finish the ride then drive back up to Scotland the following day.

Anybody have experience of using the bus to get their bike and gear to the start and if so, is it best to box the bike up as advised by the organisers?

That's me now booked accom for the night before in Dalbeattie.

Just looking at the mandatory kit list, which is at odds with all the advice to pack light.

Am I right in saying that we need a waterproof, plus a baselayer, plus a warmer baselayer, all in addition to what we're wearing? Also full tights. It seems overkill.

Arm-warmers, knee warmers, a buff and a waterproof (if chance of rain) or gilet (if no chance of rain) is what I'd pack if I had the choice.

I'm rubbish at reading between the lines and always take things too literally, so advice appreciated.

Well nobody's checking your kit, but it's pretty remote in places and likelihood is that you're riding well into the night.

Think I carried (and used) knee/arm warmers, insulated gilet and a Shakedry. Also had a spare long sleeved base layer, which I'd have been glad of if we'd got caught in that torrential downpour instead of sheltering under the co-op canopy, and an emergency blanket.

I do like the idea of an insulated gilet.

Did you ram your kit in your pockets, or take luggage?

The kit list suggested spot checks which I thought sounded very tedious.

Didn’t see any spot checks last time, but they may have happened. I don’t remember being too heavily burdened. Think I complied with the kit list and had knee warmers, waterproof and an extra top layer. I had a saddle bag and a wee alpkit half frame bag. Took far too much food around with me. Could have got away with pockets and the frame bag. It is very remote in places so worth being sensible.

Apidura half frame bag and a small bar bag. Food at the stops was excellent and lots of it, but I still think I ate everything I carried.

Hi-jacking a little, but I too have some Frontier questions.

Gearing. Currently have a smallest gear of 40 x 40 on a bike I use for winter road. Will this be low enough? Half tempted to stick a 36 chainring on as I don't often spin out the other end anyway.

Tyres. I've got a Sonder Camino, so plenty clearance, but really only use on the road just now with 32c slick tyres. Thinking about a G-One or other file tread pattern in 40-45c. Any thoughts or recommendations? Also considered Terreno Dry.

Can anyone point me to the 2023 GPX? I'm going round in circles on the website, I can see the Final Rider Briefing but not the route.

@vww I've not done the Frontier, but 40x40 sounds perfectly fine, it's easier than my 34 ring x 32 sprocket. In terms of tyres, they recommend 38mm or over. I'll be on 40mm measured (38mm badged) Panaracer GK SK. That sounds about right for 150km road and 150km light-ish gravel.

It doesn't look as though the website has been updated in ages, I'm still waiting for the GPX file to become available as well, I was hoping that i'd get an e mail in a similar way to the Dirty Reiver. Considering this is another Focal events organised ride the e mail updates have been much lacking compared to the DR.

@vww
I had 47mm x650 Gravelking SKs on last year - normal front, semislick rear, which was absolutley fine. Arguably over that distance, there's a benefit from the extra comfort vs the speed of narrower tyres. However none of the route is in any way rough (I'd have liked a bit of semi-tech singletrack to be honest!)

Gearing wise - 40/42 for me - again on slightly smaller wheels. The top of the climb from Newcastleton over to Kielder was a bitch, and there were one or 2 punchy bits on the final section - I remember cursing on the (road) haul up to Winter's Gibbet. It was all fine, but it was definitely a bit of a grunt. (equally I think I racked up 48mph without trying too hard on the road descent to Newcastleton - one of the best bits of the ride - so don't undergear!)

It doesn’t look as though the website has been updated in ages, I’m still waiting for the GPX file to become available as well, I was hoping that i’d get an e mail in a similar way to the Dirty Reiver.

I emailed them the other day to check I was on their email distribution list as I'd heard nothing since signing up. They said the final info email should be going out around June 7

Thanks @gary I just e mailed them as well before checking in here.

And the long awaited e mail has arrived 😃
Less than two weeks now until my lack of training is laid bare for all to witness 😬

What lights are people taking? I have a Joystick which meets requirements and is lightweight but is a very focussed beam. Or I have a Strada which is ace for night road riding but heavier, and possibly not worthwhile if we're starting off at dawn and then have 17.5 hours until sunset.

@crimsondynamo I've got the same setup as you.
I'm taking the joystick on my bike and leaving the Strada in my bag for the bag drop.

I'll have a Hope R2 with small battery (and big one in my drop bag) mainly because that's what I have. Hoping I won't really need it very much.

Am currently yo-yo-ing between feeling confident and anxious about this. Have done a few decent rides this year in training, and a few events like the Fred and the Gralloch, and generally felt good. But 300km is around 120km more than I've ever ridden before, so quite a lot of unknown.

Despite the 50/50 terrain, I'll be on Hutchinson Tundras. They've been ace on the forest roads where I live, don't seem super draggy on the roads, and I can't quite stomach paying for a slicker set just for this (and the faff of swapping them over).

Anyone else staying at Castle Point campsite on the Friday night?

@vww yes i'll be at Castle point for the Friday night, though i suspect i'll be getting an early night to get up at around 0230 so that I can start fuelling.

Yes, definitely an early night for an early start. Will have to plan a good feed on Friday night!

Just read through the final rider brief, apparently there will be a Woodfired pizza van in attendance at registration, that's me sorted 😋

Has anyone had trouble getting the route onto their GPS? My Garmin 830 says "calculating" for ages and then gives up and suggests loading via points.

I don't even know what loading the route via points means.

Seems to be working ok for me. Got it on my Garmin and it loaded up with maybe 45 secs of 'calculating'. Though not being anywhere near the start, that's as far as I can get.

Seems to be working ok for me

Thanks It must be me then.

The pizza van is excellent!

The pizza van is excellent!

It's so good, last year I had two!

Last year the route was bone dry and I used Gravel King 43mm Semi Slicks and they were perfect if that helps any decision making!

Its a brilliant day out and the route gets easier in the second half.

Enjoy!

Me and the wife travelled up north from Sussex today and are overnighting in Morpeth tonight, off to Druridge bay in the morning for the shuttle bus to the start, my wife is buggering off to explore Scotland and will come and meet me at the finish for late Saturday/early Sunday.

For anyone who's camping at Castle point on Friday night, feel free to come and day hello, I'll be the nervous looking bloke with a hooped bivi bag (didn't seem worth bringing a tent for 4 hours sleep!)

Well that was one hell of a day out, finished in just under 16 hours, 14 hours actual riding time, much faster than I had imagined I'd be able to manage so very happy with that.

A big thanks to the organisers, I thought the whole event was excellent, feed stations well stocked and all the event staff really helpful, from a riders perspective the whole operation seemed slick and effortless.

The wind direction definitely sucked though this year, not super strong but definitely felt the headwind a few times.

Nice one Bazz. I finished just behind you at 16 hours 20 minutes. I agree, very well organised. Loved the route and very glad it wasn't too warm!

Well done guys, good effort. Had a great day out, but did find it quite hard. Flatted in Ae which didn't help matters - too exuberant on the downs and straight into some particularly lumpy stuff. Really struggled through Newcastleton to Kielder. Spent about 45 mins at Kielder recovering, which was worth it as I did feel a lot better for the rest.

Great course overall, and organisation was pretty good. Would definitely recommend. Already my thoughts are turning to "what's next"?

Echo the above. Fantastic day, organised by some true heroes who were always smiling and keeping spirits up.

We camped in the field opposite registration which made for relative ease of logistics.

I had a dip in the middle and felt pretty rough but the Spar in Newcastleton gave me a chance to buy some savoury food and I picked up after that. Finished in just over 14hr riding time, 17hrs total time.

Really pleased as it's my longest ride ever and I was hoping to finish within 20 hours.

That Spar shop must have made a killing that day, I had to stop there for a sandwich too as I could barely manage to eat another bar/gel/sweet based food product. Lesson learned for the next silly distance adventure I sign up for, pack more savoury options!

Home made veggie sausage rolls for the win! Just don't keep them in your back pocket unless you like them sweaty.

Yeah I flatted too, on the chunky stuff just after the hike-a-bike. I think I may have had a puncture earlier which sealant dealt with, but the resulting loss of pressure meant next big hit whammed the tyre into the rim and rapid blow out. Are gravel rim inserts a good idea or was I just unlucky? It only cost me a couple of mins to stick in a tube and thankfully the terrain was all pretty benign after that.

@bazz I think I may have rode with you briefly, were you on the John Player Special styled black and gold bike?

Also my Garmin gave up the ghost so I had to trade domestique lead-out services in return for directions!

My prediction earlier in this thread about hot foot came to pass. I had to stop a couple of times to take shoes off and wriggle my toes.

A great day out which really pushed me to my limits. Cameraderie amongst the riders, most of whom seemed to be solo, showed the best in human nature.

It was a great event. Great weather, great team running it, great food at the finish! Slightly annoying headwind but I’ll take that for dry and dusty conditions. This was my second time. Just under 15h. Very happy with that. Getting to Keilder was a huge relief - that bit seemed to go on for ever. Massive thanks to Nathan who dragged me to the finish as I just managed to hold his wheel for a ridiculous 5 mile time trial effort. Biggest thanks go to my big bro for the massive effort driving and supporting. I wonder if we’ll be seeing a write up from STW’s very own Amanda, who was in attendance?

Must agree, it was a fantastic event. Was anxious beforehand regarding the distance, given that I’ve struggled with the Dirty Reiver (200km) and always terrible from the last feed stop. When the same distance was approaching yesterday I was fearing the worst but it didn’t materialise thankfully, however, there were a few dark moments though. We stopped at the Anglers Arms at Kielder and despite coming through a bad patch, I was feeling good by then, I felt terrible when I started pedalling afterwards though but just focussed on turning the pedals and came through it eventually. The burger and fries which were washed doing by a bottle of tepid lager certainly hit the spot.

@crimsondynamo yes that was me, I think that part when we were swapping turns in the wind just before feed 4 was one of the fastest sections of the ride for me, it was a giggle to 😄