Calendar

Jul
16
Sun
SMTBE First Family Fun Ride @ Three Trees Cafe
Jul 16 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
SMTBE First Family Fun Ride @ Three Trees Cafe | United Kingdom

This is our first family fun ride for parents and children to ride together. The ride is suitable for bike trailers and tag alongs as well as children who can ride the distance themselves.

We will start at the Three Trees Cafe in Chiseldon and take the cycle path to Ogbourne St George. We will stop here at the playground for a break and chance for the children to have a play before heading back to the Three Trees Cafe for a drink and well deserved cake for the kids!

The ride is around 3.2 miles and is mostly flat.

We look forward to seeing you and your family on this fun Sunday ride!

Sep
9
Sat
Family Ride: Picnic and Pedals @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 9 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Family Ride: Picnic and Pedals @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

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

May
26
Sat
SMTBE Family Ride – Swinley Saturday @ Swinley Bike Hub
May 26 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
SMTBE Family Ride - Swinley Saturday @ Swinley Bike Hub | England | United Kingdom

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

May
31
Thu
SMTBE Family Half Term Ride @ Waitrose
May 31 @ 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

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

Sep
26
Wed
Wednesdays at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 26 @ 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesdays at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

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

Oct
10
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trails
Oct 10 @ 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trails | England | United Kingdom
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.
 
We will 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 wheel, climbing and descending safely.
We may also venture up Ladder Lane for a bit of root and faster descending practice.
 
You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights, just yet.
 
Meet in the Croft car park for a 5.45pm start.
Nov
14
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Nov 14 @ 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
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 – just bear in mind at this time of year the whole ride is in the dark though.
 
We will do some skills demonstrations and practice, using the features of the trail. We may also venture up Ladder Lane for a bit of root and faster descending practice, or over to the pump track at Wroughton if it’s a muddy one.
 
You must bring a helmet and lights too.
 
Meet in the Croft car park for a 5.45pm start.
Apr
13
Sat
Get (Back) Into Mountain Biking Part 1 – Ashton Court @ Ashton Court
Apr 13 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
Get (Back) Into Mountain Biking Part 1 - Ashton Court @ Ashton Court
This the first stop on Mandy’s “Get (Back) Into Mountain Biking” series, going to Ashton Court in Bristol.

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.

Remember you will need a helmet, but there is a cafe for lunch.
Bike hire is also available at Pedal Progression – booking in advance is essential though.
Jan
19
Sun
MTB Wellness GetintoMTB Weekend starter @ Croft Cycle Trail car park
Jan 19 @ 10:30 am – 2:00 pm
MTB Wellness GetintoMTB Weekend starter @ Croft Cycle Trail car park
We’re holding a ride and advice session to get you on your bike in 2020. The aim is to get you going with mountain biking, offering advice, answering questions and leading you on an introductory ride.
 
We will meet in the car park for the Croft trail opposite Nationwide HQ, which will be our base.
To start we will do a bike check with everyone – show you how to check your own bike and be on hand to sort any mechanical issues (where possible!).
Then we will have a quick session on your bike setup – basically help you to be as comfortable as possible on your bike. The more comfortable you are, the more you will enjoy it!
After that we will go for a ride. We have a nice local loop using towpaths, cycling paths (both dirt and tarmac) with gentle inclines, no longer than 10km, which will take in some great views and local parks – showcasing what’s on offer on our doorsteps.
When we return to Croft we will show you what ride leaders carry in their riding packs and there will be a chance to ask questions – what’s good wet weather gear, lights etc.
After all that, if anyone is still keen, we can show you Croft trail you 🙂
 
We will have at least 2 fully qualified ride leaders on hand at all times.
 
You MUST bring a helmet to ride in, but otherwise just bring yourself and a bike (the route is suitable for any MTB and even a hybrid with offload tyres).
 
Meet in Croft car park for 10.30am.