The Dartmoor 130 Loop
130 miles | 8/10 difficulty | 3–5 days
About this route
- Total Ascent: 6617ft / 2017m
- Total Descent: 7298ft / 2224m
The Dartmoor 130 Loop circumvents the infamous Dartmoor National Park, known for wild open moorlands and deep river valleys, with a rich and infamous history and rare wildlife. And whilst it may not be mountainous, the unpredictable weather and harsh landscape create a challenging route even for experienced gravel and mountain bikers.
There are some decent sections of hike-a-bike but for every push, there’s a reward at the end of it, so enjoy the moment as it will be worth it. I have rated it 8/10 not because of the level of technical riding but due to the distance as it is at least 90% rideable. The full detail, day by day, cafe by cafe, bivi by bivi can be found on the Dartmoor 130 Loop site here: https://medium.com/the-dartmoor-130-loop
I did this full ride for the first time when we came out of lockdown in July 2020. The weather was glorious and the release euphoric, so my memories are probably enhanced due to these additional factors! But I plan to do it again very soon in 2021. Start point
As this route is such a big loop, there are so many places you can start from but Lyford is my favourite for both convenience but also spooky reasons. You can read all about the route on the Dartmoor 130 Loop site.
Route grading
I would consider the route 90–95% rideable, 5% technical and 5% walking.
I rate this route as 8/10 for difficulty because of the distance and time in the saddle.
- Rideable: tarmac, gravel or hard short grass.
- Technical: easy on an MTB with suspension forks, hard on a gravel bike.
- Walking: steepness, grip or gnarly but rideable on an MTB.
NOTE: I’m an average MTB rider so my version of “gravel” may be slightly more aggressive than other views of gravel. But, I have ridden the entire route on my gravel bike so do not expect any major issues for anyone on a gravel bike.
Navigation
As with any multi-day route navigation errors will always be made but using the GPX file, and assuming you don’t run out of GPS power, there are few if any obvious navigational challenges. Unless the Dartmoor mist descends!
GPX file
This is available on the main 130 site but also below via a Google Drive link.
April 2021
