← All eventsLancashire Gravel Epic
Accessible fully-signed gravel sportive in the Forest of Bowland from Gisburn — 103/68km of forest fire road + exposed fell tracks, feed stations, no cut-offs. Climbing estimated. Date approximate.
A fully signed gravel sportive with feed stations, no cut-offs, and a medal and beer at the finish. 103km through the Forest of Bowland, an upland AONB, out and back from Gisburn on an early-July Saturday.
The gravel mixes friendly Gisburn Forest fire road with open, exposed fell tracks and moorland bridleway. Rolling-to-lumpy, roughly 1,900m of climbing, not a smooth flat grind.
No cut-offs means no clock pressure, and a shorter 68km route makes it a realistic first big gravel day. But the 103km is a real five-to-seven-hour endurance ride: pace it and fuel it.
Is Lancashire Gravel Epic for you?
- First-timers stepping up to a big gravel day. With no cut-offs and a fully signed route, a long day feels achievable rather than daunting.
- Steady endurance riders who pace and fuel. The 103km rewards riders who ration the effort over five-plus hours instead of blasting the early forest.
- Gravel riders comfortable off smooth ground. The open fell tracks are rougher than fire road, though this is a gravel-bike day, not technical MTB.
- Anyone who wants wild upland scenery without traffic. Fire road, fell and moorland, with feed stations to break up the distance.
Training plan for Lancashire Gravel Epic
A training plan for Lancashire Gravel Epic isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Rolling forest fire road punctuated by sharper climbs onto the open fells
- Mixed surface: friendly fire road giving way to rougher fell tracks and boggy moorland
- Exposure on the open fells, where wind and changeable Bowland weather bite
- Five to seven hours on the 103km, so fuelling matters more than raw power
- Progressive Long Ride: build from 2hr to 5hr on lumpy gravel, mostly Z2
- Event-Pace Long: 4-5hr at target IF over lumpy terrain with full fuelling
- Fell-Climb Efforts: 3-4x 5-12min at 82-90% FTP on gravel climbs
- Tempo-in-Long: 3-4hr with 2-3x 15-25min tempo plus a fell climb
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
