Deadwater 100 Postponed

It’s sad that we had to postpone the Deadwater 100. In 2020 it was set to be the National Champs as well as the usual sufferfest for those people who are not part of the champs. The inaugural running of the event included such features as “The Jungle” as well as a host of made made trail centre stuff, natural soul destroying sections and a bucket load of climbing. This clearly caught the attention of British Cycling and the opportunity to show people what Kielder is all about was on the cards. Oh well, this will now just have to wait until 2021.  A provisional date has been set for 7th August 2021 but this is subject to change by BC or Forestry England.

On the plus side we now have some clarity about the staging of the Deadwater 100. Prior to the announcement we had a feeling it would be postponed but with BC only cancelling events up until June there was no clear direction. Now all national level events up to September have gone it’s a matter of moving it to later in the year or shifting to next year. An event on this scale needs plenty of lead up time so we pressed to move it until next year. The good news is that the announcement is full of caveats and a clear indication that things can change quickly. They are allowing local events to get things moving again and that is a very hopeful move for any event organiser out there.

Kielder as a trail centre has just opened up again and is taking tentative steps to get moving. People like Alex Maclennan are working hard to make sure things open up in a suitable manner. The area is essential for providing quality recreation to responsible users. It’s still some way off being able to provide for tourism and there is a feeling that every day that goes by it’s harder for these businesses to survive. I’m sure the likes of Leaplish have large backing and reserves to cope. It’s the smaller businesses that are feeling the strain and events such as the RAC Rally, Kielder Marathon, Dirty Reiver, The Chiller and the Deadwater 100 provide a much needed boost for the local economy. It’s great to see that The Bike Place has just started to open 2 days a week and I’m sure Ian and his team will be as popular as ever.

Speaking of Ian Bell he told me a tale of a long lost trail that he swears is still there and he has used frequently. He said I really should look to include it in the Deadwater 100. Off I went yesterday with a friend to have a look where he suggested and ended up in knee deep tussocks that you couldn’t push a bike through never mind ride it. Ha, I thought it was just me who did that to people!

We had put some thought into social distancing methods for the Deadwater 100 should it have gone ahead. Registration could be handled with minimal interaction and starting would change to a more time trial type arrangement with queues being formed and then set off a short intervals. The clock would start when a rider crosses the line and stop when they get back so everyone gets an accurate reading. Yeah it would have been different but so is the world in which we are currently living. Anyway, no point in talking about what would have been as it makes me sad it’s not happening.

Have no fear the Deadwater 100 will be back with a bang in 2021 with all the same craziness as the original. We can’t wait to see everyone for a good catch up and see what’s been happening in their lives. We hope everyone has stayed safe and continues to be kind to one another. It won’t be long before we can all race again.

Statement for Participants

Hello there!

As you know British Cycling have cancelled all events up to the end of September. This includes the Deadwater 100 with the National MTB Champs that sits with it. Although it’s sad that it won’t go ahead it at least gives some clarity on an uncertain situation. Rather than try to move to later in the year we’ve decided to move the entire event into 2021. It’s such a shame as we were really looking forward to showing you what the vast open spaces of Kielder have to offer. We’re still hopeful that the Hammers 8 and Kielder Chiller 24 will take place in October.

We have given a preferred date of 7th August 2021 but we need approval from BC before confirming. The person who decides in BC is still on furlough until mid June but we’ll announce it as soon as we know.

So with the event cancelled until 2021 you have 2 options.

1. Move your entry to the 2021 event. This is the default if we don’t hear from you.

2. Get a refund. Just get in touch via email and we’ll sort it as soon as possible. barry@coldbrew.events

Thanks for taking the time to enter and we were really looking forward to making you suffer – in a good way. Hopefully we’ll see you all in 2021 for some hard riding.

Thanks

Barry

Cold Brew Events