Last summer, our demo guy Sam took a few days off from the demo tour and headed north for his first bikepacking adventure onboard the Cotic SolarisMAX. As the demo tour is currently grounded, he's put pen to paper to tell us the story. Over to Sam:

Full of breakfast and a bit chilly, we stood on the banks of the river Tweed staring up at a sign reading 'Hexham 120 miles'. A fairly unceremonious start to three solid days of riding through one of the most sparsely populated areas of England. The Sandstone Way winds it's way through rural Northumberland from Berwick Upon Tweed in the very top corner of the country, to the market town of Hexham in the Tyne Valley. Aimed at mountain bikes, and probably achievable on something with curly bars and knobbly tyres if you wanted to suffer, it takes a scenic and indirect route linking as many off road trails as possible. I've never done anything like this before, usually preferring to seek out steep and technical trails to fall down for a couple of hours, the idea of riding all day, on 'easy' trails with bags all over my bike seemed pretty alien. I love riding bikes, but would this be too much?

My partners in crime for this adventure were family, it was my dad who got me into cycling, and my brother has developed quite a passion for riding over the past few years, despite his fair share of bike related mishaps as a child! So this was part trendy bikepacking adventure, part family holiday. Mum didn't fancy it.

The first day saw us rolling out of a grey and damp Berwick under the threat of thunderstorms and heavy showers, over the bridge and down the promenade, before quickly turning to pretty coast path along the tops of cliffs and past deserted beaches with glassy, thigh high waves rolling in. Suddenly, we were battered by a sudden attack of pleasantness, as the sun came out, jackets came off and a tail wind helped us along. Smiles all round, but there was a looming sense that we'd be paying for it later on.

We were soon level with Lindisfarne, which was cut off by the high tide, and we turned inland towards the hills, where the climbing began. The route isn't a technical one, bar a couple of sections, but it certainly is varied. A mixture of quiet lanes, fields, farm tracks and even the odd stretch of singletrack all within the first half of the first day. Northumberland is the least populated county in England, and it quickly became apparent that very few people used most of the paths we were taking. This, coupled with the recent spell of rain and warm weather, made a lot of these trails pretty overgrown. 'Good job it's dry' I thought as long grass brushed our arms and legs for several hundred yards along an old double track path. Not one to tempt fate, I didn't vocalise this thought.

I soon noticed the extra weight on my bike, and it quickly became obvious that climbing would be a slow and steady affair. After a beautiful forest and some striking crags, we took a short diversion off the main route into Belford in search of lunch and caffeine, and found a cozy little sun trap in the garden of a small cafe. Refuelled, we rode more overgrown bridleway and a long, steady climb through lanes and fields, before plummeting down into Wooler for our first night. We'd opted for B+Bs rather than wild camping, it was a holiday after all! Showered, beer-ed and pizza-ed we slept like logs, rest we definitely needed for the next day.

Day 2.

As we rolled into Wooler at the end of our first day we noticed Doddingtons Diary, a local ice cream producer, ran a small cafe on the edge of the town. A perfect breakfast opportunity for what would be probably the biggest day I've ever had on a bike. On the morning of our second day, knowing we had a full day of riding with some big climbs ahead of us, I dove straight into a full English, and an affogato. Yep, ice cream for breakfast. No regrets, it was amazing.

Starting with a fairly gentle tarmac section to wake the legs up, the weather was looking somewhat gloomy ahead. We rolled towards hills shrouded in damp looking clouds, before winching through fields. Rough dirt and energy sapping grass did their best to keep us quiet, and our breakfasts churning. Jackets went on as the rain began to fall, but spirits remained undamped and we rolled towards the Breamish Valley. Over the footbridge, up another climb and we were at the top of one of only a couple of more technical descents on the route. It would have felt easy on my RocketMAX, but on the SolarisMAX loaded with bags and unable to lower the dropper post, it was quite exciting! The bike took it in it's stride though, and we stopped for a brew in Ingram village, as the clouds began to part.

Still a bit early for lunch, the good folk at the Ingram Cafe did us some take-away butties and we cracked on. The climb out of Ingram was a biggie, but the clouds had begun to lift and the views were opening up. Biggest cog engaged, the only thing to do was winch. We were well rewarded though, big Northumbrian views of hills, sheep and not a soul in sight. The descent off this hill was a cracker; loose and rocky, fast in places with enough to keep us on our toes with our loaded up bikes. A section of quiet lanes lead us to Clennell Hall, a country house now operating as a hotel, dating back to the 13th Century. All very picturesque, but it was the teapot shaped sign that distracted us, halting progress for a while. After a huge pot of tea, we continued on down farm tracks and trails through fields.

A nice section of singletrack and a short road spin in the sunshine lead us to a footbridge over the river Coquet and through a hard going section of fields, uneven and full of long grass and tussocks, the pace slowed down and output increased. This was just a warm up though, the steepest climb of the ride was ahead. A fairly short section of trail through a woodland but boy it was steep. Loose dry ground didn't help, it was punchy; but I managed to ride up it, much to my own surprise. One thing I haven't mentioned so far, is the number of gates on the route. Obviously a lot of Northumberland is farmland, so it's not surprising, but there are a lot of them. As there were three of us it wasn't too much of a problem, but if you were riding the Sandstone Way solo I imagine it would quickly get pretty frustrating. The section after this punchy climb did get a little soul destroying. Long, straight double track with a gate every few hundred yards. We were glad to leave the farmland and start climbing on fireroad above Rothbury, even if it was getting pretty hot out of the tree cover.

Skirting around the face of the hill above the market town of Rothbury, it became clear we had a lot of height to loose in a short distance. The only real technical descent awaited, rooty woodland singletrack ducking and weaving down the hill; dodging tree stumps and wishing I didn't have a tail bag on so I could drop my seat post! That being said, the SolarisMAX soaked it all up full loaded. We rolled into town straight to a cafe for much needed caffeine and cake. Inspecting the map over a brew, it was clear we still had some miles to munch, and it was already 5pm. Looking up to Simonside Crags, it was clearer still that they wouldn't all be easy miles.

I used to walk around Simonside a bit when I lived in Newcastle, so I new how steep the road out of Rothbury was going to be. Somehow it seemed even steeper than I remembered, but thankfully levelled out a bit on some nice grassy singletrack, before a steady fireroad climb through gorgeous forest and out onto the open hillside beneath the crags. We finally topped out, with all of the Cheviot hills stetching out as far as we could see in the hazy, early evening sun. Well worth it.

It was getting late though, and we still had a few miles to cover before our second overnight stop in the village of Elsdon. A lengthy forest road section through Harwood Forest, with a mixture of climing and descending, we stopped for an energy bar then managed to carry a good pace, my dad tucking into my slipstream on his 2009 26 inch Orange Five, taking full advantage of the pace my 29er wheels were carrying on the last, long, section to the edge of the woods. A short road stretch took us to the top of the next valley, where we kicked right and dropped sharply into Elsdon. Side by side with my brother at 60kph was a great end to a huge day.

Our bed for the night was the Bird in Bush pub, in the centre of the village. We had the warmest welcome. Despite not usually serving food midweek, as we'd booked ahead and told them we were on a long ride, they had cooked a big vat of vegetable curry for us which was delicious and much needed! Helpfully though, the pub is home to the First & Last Brewery, brewing top class ales in the garage behind the pub. We had look round the compact brewery and sampled all they had before sleeping like logs. Huge thanks to Stephen for his hospitality, I can strongly recommend you stay here if you're planning on riding the Sandstone Way.

Day 3.

We knew from the flat out finish at the end of day 2, that we'd be in for a stinger of a climb to wake us up at the start of our final day. Full of delicious cooked breakfasts from the Bird in Bush pub, we winched out of Elsdon and onward, heading towards Bellingham. More rarely trodden paths through rolling farmland and meadows lead to country lanes and eventually a brew stop in a cozy cafe. It was still a bit early for lunch, so we grabbed more take out butties and kept moving. The climb out of this pretty market town was a stiff one up onto the moors, our legs were definitely feeling the last couple of days by this point, but shortly after we topped out we hit the 100th mile. Big views over the Tyne Valley began to open up and we had the sense that most of the hard work was behind us. A few tricky navigational sections followed, as the path became vague through some fields filled with cows who weren't used to seeing cyclists bimbling through their patch.

A couple of river crossings and undulating track lead us to the picture postcard village of Simonburn, sandwiches on the village green in the sunshine was very civilised. Not too much further from on we crossed the famous Hadrian's Wall and the finish line felt like it was in sight. The weather on the other hand, wasn't quite done with us yet. As we began to drop into the valley the heavens opened, proper summer downpour style. Jackets hastily thrown on, we plugged away along the road getting soaked, before one last climb to the top of the final drop towards Hexham.

A lovely stretch of singletrack along the edge of an old woodland lead into fields, yet more gates and finally along the edge of the River Tyne. We skirted the edge of the gold course and suddenly a large stone with a green sign on it marked the official end of the ride. We'd made it.

Obligatory group selfies taken by the finish line stone, we rolling to Hexham train station where my dad had left the car. We may have been quite damp, but spirits were high. At the start of the ride I had no clue how tired I'd feel, I didn't know if I'd be exhausted and unable to stand or not. Thankfully I wasn't, but the sense of achievement and adventure was great. Each mile is new and different on a point to point ride like this one, something I'd not really experienced before, at least not on this scale. I can thoroughly recommend it. Riding through a rugged and ancient landscape, dipping in and out of civilisation from small hamlets to larger towns gave a real sense of the history of the area.

I hopped on the train into Newcastle, and had enough time for a post ride beer, and just enough energy in the legs to roll round to The Box Social tap room, a cosy railway arch bar run by an old friend from the Newcastle brewing scene. A couple of pale and hoppy pints did not touch the sides. I full intend to do more of this sort of thing when the opportunity presents itself, it was a refreshing change to my usual riding and a very rewarding thing to do.

Big thanks to Richard Baybutt for the loan of his Garmin device. The lack of map stops meant the whole ride went really smooth, I strongly recommend getting some sort of navigation device to load the GPX file onto if you're doing the ride. Still worth getting hold of the map though, there are a few key junctions that are easy to miss. Also, the GPX file isn't 100% accurate, we'd have drowed in the River Tweed fairly quickly if we'd followed it to the letter!

Also, thanks to Chay 'Straightline' Granby for the loan of the bike bags. I probably carried more than I needed but it was great not having anything on my back.

I borrowed the demo small SolarisMAX for this ride, and it was perfect. Super comfortable, smooth and stable when the trail turned technical. Bags off and dropper down, the thing absolutely hauls too. It thinks it's a full suspension bike. I have since bought my own SolarisMAX frame in the gorgeous Hubble Purple colour, which I'll be building up soon for more adventures and local woodland razzing.

My brother did the ride on his BFe, with everything in a rucksack. Proving this bike can do pretty much anything. He has since upgraded to the latest BFe, a size bigger in the classy grey finish.

Completing the set of wheel sizes, my dad did the ride on his 2009 Orange Five. It got round fine, but he has since bought himself a shiny new RocketMAX, and after 6 months of riding it, still can't believe how good it is.

26, 27.5 and 29, they all did the 120 miles and 12,000ft of climbing with zero problems.

I'm open to suggestions for similar routes, so please get in touch if you have any recommendations. Stay safe, this Covid mess will end. Plan some adventures to look forward to and look out for each other. See you at a demo soon.