![Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/fullsizeoutput_38e4.jpeg?fit=300%2C169)
Our usual Wednesday visit to Croft will incorporate some skills practice this week.
After a warm up lap, we will do a development lap. This will involve doing a lap of the trail stopping at certain obstacles to practice our skills: rock gardens, cornering & small jumps. There is also an option to practice drops if anyone fancies that too.
After that we will finish with a quick lap to blend all the practice together.
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm
You will need a helmet, but not lights.
![Family Ride: Picnic and Pedals @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/IMG_0078.jpg?fit=300%2C228)
We are basing ourselves at Croft for this family ride, riding lots of different parts of the trail.
It will be a very relaxed and enjoyable afternoon, where you can arrive at anytime after 11am. There will be numerous rides going on throughout the afternoon and you can join in with as many or as few as you like! We will cover a variety of abilities and for all age groups, starting at short rides around the paths of the trail for those that are just starting out, to sectioning areas of the blue trail and for those children that are ‘pros in the making’ we will be heading out on both the blue and red trails.
In between these rides there is chance to come and join us for a picnic lunch and I will bring some fun outdoor games for the children to play whilst they are waiting to ride as well. So why not come along with the family, bring a picnic and have some off-road biking fun!
Please note that you will be responsible for your child/children at all times and will be required to accompany them on all of the rides
![SMTBE Family Ride - Swinley Saturday @ Swinley Bike Hub | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/32972138_1613418075422765_3644629511317749760_n.jpg?fit=300%2C169)
Sorry for the short notice, but we have a new opportunity to do a family ride at the weekend at Swinley Forest.
Swinley is a great place for all levels of cyclist, with fire roads, a great Green trail and the Blue trail, which builds up nicely.
We will start with the Green trail as an introduction, before heading out on to Blue. How much of Blue we do will depend on the ability of the group – there are some nice flatter sections, as well as nice descents, but always a fire road option as well.
There will be 2 ride leaders to guide you, but all children MUST be accompanied by an adult and remain your responsibility for the whole ride.
Children and adults must wear helmets
Need something to keep the kids entertained this half term? Then come along and join us on our family half term ride!
Starting at Waitrose, we will go along the Southern flyer and up a bit of the old railway line, before descending to Wichelstowe, where there is a playground to take break. From there we will head out to Croft, to do the final section of the trail (which is fairly flat), before heading back to Wichelstowe. We will go along the canal, round the lake and back up to Waitrose (& a cafe stop if desired).
Total route is 5.5 miles, or if 3.5 miles if you want to skip the Croft trip and stay at the playground. A great route combining cycle paths and off road riding.
The ride will be lead by our Welfare officer, Davinia, who is also a British Cycling qualified ride leader and Breeze champion.
Whilst on the ride your children must be accompanied and are your responsibility at all times.
Children and adults must wear helmets.
Meet outside the front of Waitrose at 10.30am
![Wednesday After Work End of Summer Special @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thursday-Croft.jpg?fit=300%2C225)
We’ve been off on hols for a few weeks, so before things get back to normal, we’re going to make this one a bit of a bash!
We are going to be begin with a family ride, doing laps of the trail. So bring your kids (who remain your responsibility at all times) and we will be going round from 4.30 for about an hour.
After that we move on to the regular style session, Â starting with a lap of the Blue trail to warm up, then sees what people want to do next.
And as it’s the end of summer, we’ll thrown on some snacks and drinks to celebrate too, so come and join us!
This a very relaxed ride, at an easy pace, with lots of opportunities to develop and practice skills. Everyone is welcome and this is a great introductory ride if you’re just starting or coming back to mountain biking.
You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights 😊
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent!
Meet in the Croft car park at 4.30pm for the family laps, 5.30pm onwards for adults.
![Wednesdays at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fullsizeoutput_4b98.jpeg?fit=300%2C225)
This a very relaxed ride, at an easy pace, with lots of opportunities to develop and practice skills. Everyone is welcome and this is a great introductory ride if you’re just starting or coming back to mountain biking.
This week we’re going to do some skills demonstrations and practice, using the features of the trail. We’ll cover the basics you’ll need for tackling technical terrain – front wheel lifts, unweighting the back well, climbing and descending safely.
You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights, yet.
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent!
Meet in the Croft car park at 5.30pm for a 5.45pm start
![Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trails | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_0202.jpg?fit=300%2C200)
![Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IMG_2379.jpg?fit=300%2C225)
![Get (Back) Into Mountain Biking Part 1 - Ashton Court @ Ashton Court](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/53215273_10161665924565596_6281550293586935808_o.jpg?fit=300%2C225)
Ashton Court is home to the Nova Trail, a purpose built blue-graded trail that winds it’s way around the estate. At only 4 miles long and with only short sections of climbing it’s the perfect place to try a proper mountain bike trail. It’s recently undergone renovation and everything on the blue is rollable, there are some sections of red graded and more technical trail for those wanting to improve their skills but for those new to mountain biking or a bit nervous about getting out on the trails this an excellent place to begin.
We’ll meet by the cafe/toilets for a 10:30am start and we’ll spend the morning on the Nova Trail. We’ll stop and session bits if people want to and Adrian will be on hand to offer coaching.
After a break for lunch we can either pop over to the 2 mile long blue graded Yer Tiz trail just over the road in Leigh Woods (which also has a progressive skills loop) or head back on to the Nova Trail to perfect our skills.
There is more than one car park at Ashton Court, please make sure you head for the car park at Pedal Progression BS8 3PX, it’s through the stone archway just after the Clifton Suspension bridge. Parking costs £1.20 for the day.
Bike hire is also available at Pedal Progression – booking in advance is essential though.
![MTB Wellness GetintoMTB Weekend starter @ Croft Cycle Trail car park](https://i0.wp.com/swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0086-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200)