A midweek bikepacking micro adventure at Curbar Edge

Statistics 
Day 1
Distance: 21 miles
Elevation: 1500ft

Day 2 
Distance: 36 miles
Elevation: 5000ft


Samuel and I set off at 5 pm towards Curbar edge in the Peak District for our first bivvy outing of the year. It was lovely to explore an endless number of bridleways and byways that was close to home. A micro adventure is cheap, exhilarating, allows you to get back to basics and switch off from the busy lifestyles.

Day 1

The ride was relatively straight forward following the Derwent valley alongside the Cromford and Rowsley trails. We then cycled over the off-road, grassy section traversing Chatsworth house to Baslow. It was refreshing to cycle in the evening with Sam as most of our rides have been back and forth; commuting along the busy a6 to the University of Derby (Sam had finished his first year of
university, and I had nearly finished my second year!).

The only challenging section of the ride was the long off-road byway from Baslow up to Curbar edge where we wild camped. It was lovely to watch the sunset, to talk without becoming engrossed into our technological devices and to switch off and take in the beautiful unspoilt natural landscape.  The simplicity of sleeping in a bag, on top of a sheer drop edge in the Peak District, was lovely to celebrate the beginning of summer and the adventures we have planned.

Our free campsite for the night; bivvying on Curbar Edge

Day 2

Breakfast in Bakewell

We woke at 5 am and set off just before 6 am for our bike packing adventure back home. This was a tough ride with many challenging climbs, off-road sections and a few significantly overgrown bridleways which led to some unavoidable hike-a-bike moments. I hadn’t had much mountain bike miles in my legs, and I instantly noticed the extra weight and cumbersome cycling compared to my gravel bike, but the off-road descents were incredible fun with 100mm of suspension and wide tyres. We went through Froggatt edge, Great Longhshaw estate and Eyam with very few miles on the roads!

We then called into Bakewell at 8 am, got some breakfast from the spa shop (my burner ran out of gas) and continued with the tough off-road adventure. The weather was stunning, and the route constantly challenges and amazed us with remote off-road sections that required us to grit our teeth and grind up the endless hills (35 miles and 5000ft of climbing in total which were mainly all off-road).


Equipment
Myself:
A XC mountain bike with a 17 litre Alpkit saddle bag (contained: sleeping bag, inflatable mat, bivvy bag, coat, toothbrush, titanium mug, water filter, insulated jacket and burner) and a rucksack carrying an additional 3 litres of water for cooking and hydration for the next day, buff, hat, gloves and a few snacks)

Sam: 
A Gravel bike carrying an Ortleib 17litre saddle bag and frame bag with similar kit to myself but only with 750ml of water and no gas burner