Torque’s Grand Tour: Birches Valley, The Horns and Wildwood

Some bike rides are about chasing personal bests. Others are about disappearing into the countryside, joining together a few favourite places and letting the day unfold at its own pace. This ride was very firmly in the second category.

On Friday 31 July 2026, Torque and I set off on a Cannock Chase loop taking in Birches Valley, The Horns at Slitting Mill and the Wildwood before returning home. The result was a 16.59-mile e-MTB adventure with around 1,240 feet of climbing, nearly an hour and a half of actual riding and considerably longer spent carrying out vital social research.

The headline figures

The complete outing lasted 5 hours 39 minutes, from 10:43 in the morning until 4:23 in the afternoon. The route covered 16.59 miles, or 26.70 kilometres, with an estimated moving time of about 1 hour 27 minutes.

My moving average was approximately 11.43 mph, while the estimated total ascent was around 1,240 feet. Elevation ranged from roughly 263 feet to 721 feet, confirming that this was not merely a flat trundle between refreshment stops. Cannock Chase made sure Torque and I earned them.

Climbing out towards the Chase

The opening section covered about 2.31 miles in twelve minutes of movement. The route climbed steadily from around 81 metres to 144 metres, yet the average remained close to 11.4 mph. For a 95 kg rider heading uphill on an e-MTB, that is a healthy opening pace rather than a frantic dash.

The quickest sustained section

The next 3.09 miles were the fastest substantial section of the day, completed at an estimated 12.4 mph while the route was still gaining height. That suggests the Bosch assistance was doing exactly what it should: supporting the ride without turning it into a motorbike journey.

Birches Valley supplied the essential mid-ride ingredient: a proper coffee in the great outdoors. Torque waited in the background while I carried out the sort of refuelling that does not appear on a Bosch battery display.

Birches Valley to The Horns

The link from Birches Valley to The Horns was short, at approximately 0.85 miles, and took about five minutes. I arrived near The Horns at around 11:58, after which the GPS recorded a pause of roughly 43 minutes—enough time for a comfortable drink, a good conversation and the customary inspection of Torque by anybody standing within ten yards.

The main event: eight miles across the Chase

The fourth leg was the real body of the ride: about 8.20 miles in approximately 44 minutes of moving time, averaging 11.2 mph. This single section accounted for almost half the total distance and included both the highest ground and some of the biggest descents.

The most pleasing part was the consistency. After the stop at The Horns, my pace did not collapse. Torque continued to deliver its assistance smoothly, and I remained close to the overall moving average throughout the longest and most demanding part of the route.

The Wildwood interval

I reached the Wildwood area at approximately 1:28 in the afternoon and remained there until about 4:11. That is a stop of roughly 2 hours 43 minutes.

The overall average speed was not ruined by poor cycling. It was ruined by highly committed pub attendance.

The final run home

The last 2.14 miles took around eleven minutes of movement, averaging approximately 11.7 mph. After nearly six hours away, there was no sign of a late-ride collapse. A useful e-MTB should leave its rider capable of enjoying the whole day, not merely surviving the final miles.

Speed, climbing and battery

The fastest reliable sustained GPS reading was approximately 29.1 mph. Only about five per cent of the moving samples were above 17.2 mph, suggesting that most of the ride was spent cruising sensibly between roughly 9 and 16 mph, with quicker bursts on the descents.

The estimated 1,240 feet of ascent works out at about 75 feet of climbing per mile. The files did not provide a trustworthy battery start and finish percentage, but based on the distance, climbing, rider weight and terrain, this was likely a moderate rather than severe demand on Torque’s 600 Wh battery.

The final verdict

In pure cycling terms, this was a solid medium-length, hilly ride. In Nix terms, it was close to perfection: home, Cannock Chase, Birches Valley, The Horns, Wildwood and home again, with an electric mountain bike joining the whole adventure together.

The strongest feature was not outright speed but consistency. Torque removed the punishing part of the climbing without removing the sense of having completed a proper ride.

Sixteen and a half miles, 1,240 feet of climbing, three excellent stops and one very capable bike. That is exactly what Torque was bought for.