Peak District Ride Guide – Le Col

Peak district landscape, stone wall lined roads with two cyclists riding away

PEAK DISTRICT RIDE GUIDE WITH MONICA DEW

With a racing career shaped by a family deeply rooted in cycling and a childhood spent exploring the hills of the Peak District, Monica Dew found a passion for cycling recreationally in her early years. It wasn’t long before she was competing at the pro level of British cycling, racing for Storey Racing, the elite women’s team led by Dame Sarah Storey. She lined up at UCI races across the UK, including the iconic Prudential RideLondon, where she went head-to-head with WorldTour pros. Immersed in a performance-driven environment, Monica honed her race craft, tactical awareness, and resilience needed to perform at the sharp end of the sport.

From those early rides to national-level competition, Monica built a foundation of grit and consistency. Now retired from racing, she’s returned to her roots, riding for the love of it, leading women’s rides, and building cycling communities across the north of England. We spoke to Monica about her years in the peloton, the power of progression, and what keeps her coming back to the Peak District’s wild landscapes.

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Three image collage, bike selfie, landscape shot and race day group photo

Hey Monica, can you start off by telling us a bit about your background in cycling and what it was like growing up in the Peak District?

Hey, I’m Monica Dew, I have grown up around bikes my whole life, my family have always been incredibly outdoorsy and myself and my older brother got into bike riding recreationally from a young age. My brother’s passion was Downhill Mountain Biking and my path led me down the Track and Road cycling path. I spent a lot of school holidays bundled into the camper following his European Downhill season which was pretty cool. Watching him race and the excitement and buzz that came with it is what inspired me to give it a go.

As a child, living with the Peak District as our playground, with miles and miles of green space and quiet lanes to explore meant a weekend was never wasted. I would always be on my bike. Oh, and there’s no hiding, there are some decent climbs to make you strong haha!

Tell us a bit more about how you got into the racing scene?

I feel so incredibly lucky to have rubbed shoulders with some of the most inspirational and world class cyclists the sport has seen but one in particular was Dame Sarah Storey. I was a part of her race teams from an early stage when she started supporting riders through Boot Out Breast Cancer CC which acted as a pathway of learning and opportunity before progressing into the ‘elite set up’ which was Storey Racing. The level of support and opportunity Sarah and Barney her husband gave young girls was nothing shy of incredible. It allowed young girls like me to ‘believe’ and have fun along the way and this led me to be a part of Storey Racing from then on.

Through Storey Racing I had some of my most memorable races, there are many special moments but one I remember in particular was the UCI Prudential Women's Ride London. This race was so iconic. It was a bucket list race for me and a goal I wanted to work hard towards. Being one of the youngest riders in the team selection was daunting but also a blessing because there was no expectation, this allowed me to go into the race with minimal pressure. I was told to embrace the crowd, move around the bunch, follow world tour riders, learn from them and do whatever feels right, in racing that's quite rare to have such freedom. Because of this I ended up having one of the best races I've ever experienced. Thundering down the mall facing Buckingham Palace with thousands of people lining the streets of London, say no more, it was a pinch me race and I will forever be grateful for having had that experience as an 18 year old.

Monica in a cafe clinking coffee cups with a friend

How would you describe your life as a cyclist today?

Although I’ve stopped racing, my life still involves bikes. A lot of riders fall out of love with the sport after racing as it’s such an intense period of time that all you crave afterwards is a full reset and a new chapter. However I always felt like I wanted to give something back to a sport I’d taken so much from over the years. This led me down a path of wanting to spend time in my local community helping riders get the same enjoyment out of cycling as I do.

I currently partner with a few brands; one being Pinarello, I have worked with them closely to build a women's cycling community from their Wilmslow store. This has been a passion of mine since stopping racing and I love every minute leading my women's rides on Saturdays, once a fortnight!

The world of gravel has also opened my eyes to a whole new side to cycling, for me it's where I can leave the business and cars behind, I can escape the noise and ride to the top of the forest and enjoy the view.

What does progression mean to you in cycling?

Gosh, progression in sport isn’t a phrase I can quickly summarise. Something I’ve learnt through my working life now is the power of 1% improvements daily. I appreciate this might not be the rate that is possible within sport but I believe if we try and make 1% improvements consistently then we will be in a better place faster.

We have seen so much progression in women's cycling in particular in the last few years, more equality, riders having voices, higher respect. There is an incredible amount of work yet to be done but we are better than we were before.

Seeing riders such as Demi Vollering sharing her raw emotions and feelings, the good and bad days through social media allows the audience to gain a realistic view of what life looks like. This is progression in my opinion, we’ve allowed room for truth, realistic point of view and space for open conversations. I’m inspired that the sport has these strong voices to charge us forward. I hope we keep making 1% improvements and we one day see bigger and better changes!

Four image collage, cyclist group photo, coffee bags on shop self and two riding in peaks landscape shots

Back to the Peaks, how would you sum up what the Peaks has to offer for cyclists?

Riding in the peaks isn’t for the faint hearted, you require… GRIT!

It’s incredible, in my opinion it’s one of the best places to ride a bike. Its landscape and beauty draws you in. One of the most special things about the Peak District is the range of what it has to offer. We have long hills, short hills, steep hills, steady hills, 360 degree views, you name it, it’s got it. I think this is why we have seen such a spike in riders in the Peaks now. The Variety accommodates a lot of different riding styles. Our gravel isn’t amazing, I’d say we’re more suited to mountain biking, but if you’re up for a bit of tarmac in the ride you can easily access some beautiful gravel not too far into your journey.

The biggest challenge is the weather, you’ve got to have some tough northern grit to stick it out in the Peaks on a bleak winters day! However if you can get the layering right you’ve got a recipe for a lovely day out. The weather also makes every ride unique, a blue sky day compared to a cold windy one the route can look totally different! I think that's pretty special.

The Peaks sounds remote, is there anywhere to find a good flat white?

I work for Kickback Coffee now so i’m a little bias however we have some absolute gem’s in cheshire and the Peak District, they range from speciality coffee shops, cycling cafes to tiny, stone built, family run cafes that you stumble across mid ride when you least expect to find a cafe haha!

I used to use caffeine as fuel when I was racing, however coffee now is getting more love for the social aspect of riding, spending time with mates, a pause on a ride, people tending to stop for longer to enjoy the ride.

My favourite has to be Kickback Coffee, the Roastery based on the Brickworks in Pott Shrigley does an incredible range of speciality coffee, with fresh bakes from Flour Water Salt in Macclesfield. It’s the perfect pit stop before heading into the hills!

Two cyclists riding away uphill on a stone wall lined road

What does a typical day in the training plan look like?

I don’t tend to have a training plan as such anymore, I tend to ride on feel and more for enjoyment now! But a typical ride I like to do after work on a nice evening is a lap of Macclesfield Forest on the gravel bike, it’s so quite and peaceful, some hills so it gets the legs burning and heart rate up but a beautiful gap in the trees at the top where there’s views across the cheshire plane and Manchester to the left and the Peak District to the right! There is a real sense of achievement when you’re munching a flapjack at the top haha.

Where would you head for a 3/4+ hour ride?

There are so many routes but one of my favourite routes to do on a sunny day is into the hills via Goyt Valley.

In summary; Brickworks, Goyt Valley, the one way road out of Goyt up to the Cat and Fiddle, over the moors to Flash and Longnor. Through Longnor to what me and my dad call ‘lovely valley’ which takes you over to Buxton where you can drop down and head back over Long Hill into whaley bridge and then climb back over the hill to Bollington, if needed a quick pit stop in Kickback on your way down Brickworks for a coffee and peanut butter blondie! Job done!