The Grindleford Goat

The Grindleford Goat

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This is our ninth Grindleford Goat, now a four-ride Sportive which started in 2013 initially as a fundraiser for our then very new community shop.  Now that the shop is self supporting the Goat has become a charity supporting wider causes in the local area.

Alongside the Cycle Sportive, we have co-hosted the Sir William Hill Climb. In 2015, to celebrate the Tour of Britain coming through the village, we put on a hill climb up the infamous Sir William Hill. It was such a success that it became an annual addition to the weekend, and an event in its own right, raising vital revenue for the Grindleford & Eyam Playgroup.

In 2020, due to the pandemic, the village decided we still wanted to organise a unique month-long virtual cycling event, the ‘Untethered Goat’. In lieu of a single day Sportive, riders were encouraged to complete any or all  of the routes in their own time, alone or with others, and to post up their rides, pictures and stories. We had an incredibly positive response, with most starting and finishing at the shop with a coffee and a goody bag. We raised more than enough to cover our costs and created a Strava club of over 130 local riders.

The event is now back to running normally.

Timetable of events

  • from 9 am: breakfasts, coffee and registration
  • 10 am: in a ‘staggered’ start, the Billy (108 km) sets off from the Pavilion followed immediately by the  Nanny (54 km)
  • 10.30 am: nobbly aficionados tackle the new Gruff Gravel ride (65km), mostly off-road, unsigned ‘reliability’ ride
  • 11.00 am: the local Kid family ride (15.2km) with mixed terrain or tarmac options (NOTE! this is the new more interesting but longer route)

The Goat

This event is very popular; the Billy, Nanny and Kid rides attract over 400 riders of all ages each year.

There are opportunities for all abilities and ages. The two big rides are fully supported road routes, whilst the Gruff Gravel route for off road riders who like being independent and finding their own way round. The challenging family MTB ride goes through local villages and finishes in private farmland, kindly opened just for this event. All the events start and finish in Grindleford.

The most challenging is the 108km Billy, featuring some of the most demanding climbs and exciting descents in this part of the Peak District. The mid-route, all signed and on mostly quiet roads, the Nanny is a 54km tour, suitable for reasonably fit adults and takes in some of our most stunning scenery and natural beauty as well as a killer climb!  The third, the Kid, will be a family route of about 15.2 km that will take place on quiet roads and rough tracks including a beautiful 2km section on private tracks linking Bank Top and Mag Clough farms. Last but definitely not least, the popular Gruff Gravel, making its third appearance this year, will extend your knowledge of green lanes, quarry tracks and take you down drove roads you never knew existed.

Food.  The Goat is called the Goat because the riders climb steep hills and eat a lot! All the routes will provide opportunities for refreshments and other interesting diversions. We will provide a feed station in Monyash on the two longer rides and some retail encouragement along the way for the Kid and the Gruff!

The rolling ‘staggered’ start will be preceded by

  • quality espresso coffee
  • local, dry-cured bacon on ciabatta rolls or brie and mushrooms on Derbyshire oatcakes (you can pre-order these when you register for the ride).

Then

  • quality home-made cakes will be available on the 2 main routes (the Billy has an additional Snack Stop at Mam Nick)
  • an optional pasta meal and beer will be available at the finish. This is bookable in advance online. (You will definitely have deserved this by then!)
  • Coffee and cakes will be available through the day at the event centre.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR VILLAGE!