Voices from Tor Divide: Hazel’s Story

4 Aug

This is the second in our series of stories from Tor Divide riders, written to shine a light on the women who show up, take on the challenge, and make this event what it is. We hope their voices inspire you.

I first came across Hazel through an email. Not long after signing up for the Tor Divide, she got in touch to say how excited she was. Not just about the event itself, but about the whole journey to the start line: the training, the gear testing, the hours poring over the route. Signing up had lit a fire, and you could feel it through the screen. She was coming back to bikepacking after a long hiatus, as life had gotten in the way, and this was her way of doing something hard again, under her own steam. That email told me everything I needed to know about how her ride would go.

Because Hazel's story is a reminder that for so many riders, the hardest climb isn't on the route at all. It's the one between signing up and believing you belong on the start line. Her bikepacking experience goes back years, but in between came a baby, an MSc, a house renovation and more.

I won't spoil what happens next, but I will say this: her story captures something we bang on about all the time, which is that there's no single right way to ride the Tor Divide. Smash it out solo through the night, potter along with mates and a pint, wildcamp alone under the stars. Make it your own, ignore the "shoulds". It's just a bike ride after all, and all that matters is having fun and making it back in time for pizza.

And if you need one more reason to read to the end: there's a six-year-old at the finish line who steals the show.

So here is Hazel's story. I hope it inspires you to give bikepacking a go.

Valerio

"A few weeks out of the Tor Divide gravel route and there have been a few things that keep coming back to me.

I could say signing up was the hardest part, but I'd probably be lying. The hardest part was believing I could do it. I have a fair bit of experience bikepacking, which I barely want to admit to because the obvious response is, 'well of course you can do it!'. What I had never done before the Tor Divide was to sign up to an event with a distance and time cut-off, and this sent me into a few spirals of worrying I wouldn't be able to do it. Most of my bike packing experience is 8+ years ago, and since then there's been a baby, an MSc, and a house renovation, and I'm now nearly 40 not only just 30! Until about 9 months before the Tor Divide the only bike I'd been riding was my electric commuter bike.

The reason for signing up was to get me doing something hard again, being back on my bike, under my own steam. And it definitely did that. The amount of worry I experienced in the training process, made me question whether it was worth me doing it at all, and I think people around me may have had similar questions! After various setbacks, particularly knee issues, I eventually started to feel quietly confident that I could do it, or accepting that if my knees gave up, I'd done everything I could. I booked some last minute physio and a bike fit with Peak Bikefitting which ended up being money well spent, as pretty sure that combo saved my knees.

On the night before the event there was a talk by Expedition Psychology that I almost skipped, thinking 'I'm not serious enough for that', but I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure this was exactly the messaging – but I took away from it to make the ride my own, and that's the one piece of advice I'd pass on – make it your own, ignore the 'shoulds'.

At the beginning of the ride, I accidentally set off in a pack of people way faster than me, which got me a bit flustered and into negative thoughts. Once I let them all swish by, I managed to settle into my own rhythm, chatting to people going at a similar pace. The 'making it my own' mindset ended up with me having the best of both worlds. The first 120km were sociable, full of adrenaline and camaraderie. I'd taken all my gear for a solo wildcamp and planned to get to about 120km and crash. At about the 100km mark I was flagging and came across the first woman I'd seen for a while on a long stretch of the Tissington Trail. We rode together, both hitting a wall at the same time, sometimes chatting, sometimes in silence; big shout out to Caro! We were aiming for the same pub and ended up there with a group we'd met earlier on. There were lots of riders camping at the pub, settling in for a reasonably comfortable night and a pint. Caro was planning to ride through the night and finish in the early hours; I was in awe of how many people were doing this, as well as feeling like I 'should' be as well. The pub was a great reassurance for seeing how people do it differently; from solo riders smashing it out, to groups of friends just chilling and taking their time. The pub stop and the company inspired me to keep pushing a few more hours. As I rode on with Caro I was tempted to keep going as well, then remembered that I'd been really looking forward to a solo wildcamp which I hadn't done for years, and seeing a likely spot, decided to stop. After a wildcamp that involved very little sleeping, I set off again before dawn. On day two I saw barely anyone, and was reminded that riding alone at dawn is one of my favourite things to do. I was glad to have the best of both worlds, and the ride felt authentically mine; a sociable day and a day of solo adventuring.

I'm lucky enough to live locally and at the end of the ride my six-year-old daughter was there to welcome me; I'd be lying if I said I was doing it for her (I was definitely doing it for me), but it was a special moment. We spoke about how she hadn't seen many women riding and thought they must all be 'pretty cool'. This is the six-year-old who recently told me I'd be rubbish at Gladiators and can't run very fast, so I hope she's seen another side to me!

I'll definitely be back next year, probably to try the Divide route, as it turns out I still like doing hard things."

Hazel

Enter Tor Divide

Hazel's story captures something we see every year at Tor Divide: the real battle is rarely the climbs, the weather, or the distance. It's the voice that says you're not ready, not fast enough, not "serious" enough. Hazel answered that voice by riding her own ride - a sociable day, a solo wildcamp, a dawn start with the trails to herself - and crossing the line to the best welcome committee a rider could ask for.

And if a six-year-old now thinks women on loaded bikes are "pretty cool", that alone made the whole weekend worth it.

If Hazel's story has sparked something in you, we'd love to see you at the start line. Whatever bike you're on. Whatever experience you bring. And whatever the voice in your head says: it turns out you still like doing hard things too.

See you at Tor Divide in 2027.

Valerio

PS: Hazel is officially the first woman to ride the Tour Divide and Tor Divide routes. How about that?!

Thanks Tailfin for providing one of their Top Tube bags to celebrate this accomplishment. We can’t wait to see where Hazel takes it next!