22/10/2026
DARK SKIES RALLY
KIELDER FOREST
17 / 18th OCTOBER 2026
Our Chrissie, who you’ll all know from the service desk, took on the ride of her life: nearly 600 km over two days around Kielder Forest, on her Tenere 700, Here’s her story…
“I was a bit apprehensive getting to the start line, we were set off in pairs with a 10 second gap between riders, and approx 190 riders heading out, I was in the middle of the pack setting off.
The first 5km was a road section then straight on to the tracks through Kielder Forest.
Day riding and navigating was trickier as you have way too much to look at. The night riding was actaully much easier than you’d think as there’s less distraction and you’re more focused, the cold was the worst part of the night ride. It was -1 when I finished.
The whole challege was mixed - men and women competing side by side. And I would 100% do it again.
Some tips I picked up for anyone thinking of doing it, and for my next attempt are… keep hydrated, have oats for breakfast and a light snack for lunch. A mars bar to help boost you when energy dips, and I then filled up with a spaghetti carbonara and a pie for tea!!
DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOU
DON’T LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE SAYING YOU CAN’T BECAUSE YOU CAN!!”
She finished in position 37—a fantastic achievement! WELL DONE, CHRISSIE, AND WHAT AN AMAZING EFFORT ON YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT.
distance / time
Saturday day : 221km started at 10am finished at 4pm
Saturday night: 145km started at 6pm finished at 10pm
Sunday day: 189km started at 9am finished at 2.30pm
PHOTOS BY GUY (CHRISSIES PARTNER ) & pro photos by Owen_photographer_pembs (instagram)
