SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKENDER

The Dukes Pass: an iconic climb on the Scottish amateur racing scene

There was a time in the dim and distant past when I’d have pitched up at the Dukes Weekender licking my lips at the prospect of its hill climb. A searing 1.7km up the Dukes Pass, an iconic climb on the Scottish amateur racing scene in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It would have ticked all of the boxes for the 10-and-a-halfstone flyweight who relished the simplicity of going uphill for short periods as fast as possible while balancing the side effect of keeping his lungs in situ. The 2019 vintage, however, who carries a bit more around his middle, a mismatch for gravity but with more curiosity for differing forms of two-wheeled fun, was here for the Weekender’s 70km gravel enduro.

The Dukes Weekender was in its second year last September. Capitalising on the burgeoning appetite in Britain for gravel riding – and to bring an