Calendar

Feb
5
Wed
MTB Wellness Wednesday @ The Bayberry
Feb 5 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
MTB Wellness Wednesday @ The Bayberry

Wednesdays have always been a relaxed beginners ride and we’re continuing that in 2020, but specifically aiming at getting you going.
So this is the perfect ride if you are just starting, coming back to riding after a break or just want to go for a pedal to lift your spirits.

The ride theme is Wellness. There are main reasons to ride – fitness, physical and mental health – but they’re all about making yourself feel better and having fun 🙂
We will been doing a gentle pace and there will be lots of opportunities for having a chat and asking about anything MTB related. I am a MIAS Level 3 Ride Leader and skills coach and am always happy to answer any questions – if I don’t know the answer, I’ll know who to ask 🙂

Rides will be about 10km and fairly flat. Nothing technical, mainly using cycle paths (especially in the winter weather!). Perfect for all abilities.

All you need is a helmet and bike (and at this time of year, lights as well).

Meet in the Bayberry car park for 6pm start.

Feb
12
Wed
MTB Wellness Wednesday @ The Bayberry
Feb 12 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
MTB Wellness Wednesday @ The Bayberry

Wednesdays have always been a relaxed beginners ride and we’re continuing that in 2020, but specifically aiming at getting you going.
So this is the perfect ride if you are just starting, coming back to riding after a break or just want to go for a pedal to lift your spirits.

The ride theme is Wellness. There are main reasons to ride – fitness, physical and mental health – but they’re all about making yourself feel better and having fun 🙂
We will been doing a gentle pace and there will be lots of opportunities for having a chat and asking about anything MTB related. I am a MIAS Level 3 Ride Leader and skills coach and am always happy to answer any questions – if I don’t know the answer, I’ll know who to ask 🙂

Rides will be about 10km and fairly flat. Nothing technical, mainly using cycle paths (especially in the winter weather!). Perfect for all abilities.

All you need is a helmet and bike (and at this time of year, lights as well).

Meet in the Bayberry car park for 6pm start.

Feb
16
Sun
CANCELLED – MTB Wellness Ridgeway starter ride @ Three Trees Cafe
Feb 16 @ 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
CANCELLED - MTB Wellness Ridgeway starter ride @ Three Trees Cafe

CANCELLED – apologies, but due to the storm, we are having to postpone this ride till next month. Please see the new event (Saturday 14th March) for full details.

 

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The second weekend MTB Wellness ride is a gentle introduction to the Ridgeway.

Starting at the Three Trees Cafe, we will head along a flat section of the Ridgeway to the Barbury shooting club. From there we have a fun (gentle) descent to Draycott, a short stretch of road and a byway through to the old railway line, which will take us back to the Three Trees for refreshments.

12km and less than 100m of elevation, this is a perfect “get out in the countryside” ride for all abilities.

You just need a helmet, a bike and yourself. 🙂

Meet in the Three Trees cafe car park for 10.30am start

Mar
11
Wed
MTB Wellness Wednesdays @ The Bayberry
Mar 11 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
MTB Wellness Wednesdays @ The Bayberry

This is the perfect ride if you are just starting, coming back to riding after a break or just want to go for a pedal to lift your spirits.

The ride theme is Wellness. There are main reasons to ride – fitness, physical and mental health – but they’re all about making yourself feel better and having fun 🙂
We will been doing a gentle pace and there will be lots of opportunities for having a chat and asking about anything MTB related. I am a MIAS Level 3 Ride Leader and skills coach and am always happy to answer any questions – if I don’t know the answer, I’ll know who to ask 🙂

Ride will be about 10km and fairly flat. Nothing technical, mainly using cycle paths (especially in the winter weather!). Perfect for all abilities.

All you need is a helmet and bike (and at this time of year, lights as well).

Meet in the Bayberry car park for 6pm start.

Mar
14
Sat
MTB Wellness Ridgeway Starter Ride @ Three Trees Cafe
Mar 14 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
MTB Wellness Ridgeway Starter Ride @ Three Trees Cafe

The second weekend MTB Wellness ride is a gentle introduction to the Ridgeway.

Starting at the Three Trees Cafe, we will head along a flat section of the Ridgeway to the Barbury shooting club. From there we have a fun (gentle) descent to Draycott, a short stretch of road and a byway through to the old railway line, which will take us back to the Three Trees for refreshments.

12km and less than 100m of elevation, this is a perfect “get out in the countryside” ride for all abilities.

You just need a helmet, a bike and yourself. 🙂

Meet in the Three Trees cafe car park for 10.30am start

May
23
Sat
May Weekender 2020 – Exmoor @ Porlock
May 23 @ 10:00 am – May 25 @ 2:00 pm
May Weekender 2020 - Exmoor @ Porlock
Our annual May Bank holiday trip will be to the fabulous Exmoor in 2020.
We have 3 days riding planned and you can do all or just some of them.
 
Day 1 – the big day out. Starting from Porlock we will do a 28km loop of some of the best hills and scenery Exmoor has to offer, including Wootton Courtenay, Ranscombe and Horner. There will be amazing views of the hills, sea and Wales, epic descents and glorious woodland. There will be options on the route as well, including a cut off near the end to remove 300m of climbing, to enable more people to have a go at the route. For the “adventurous” there will also be a chance to take in one of the tracks from the Southern Enduro champs along the way (that is optional and the alternative is still a great descent, just firewood instead).
 
Day 2 – lazy Sunday. Well sort of! We will start with a considerably shorter ride (9km) to the top of Bossington Hill, for the epic view, on our way to Horner. After a lunch at the excellent tea rooms we will then do 3 uplifted descents. First we will take in a long run from the top of Dunkery Beacon, followed by an epic singletrack run from the top of Porlock Hill. Finally we will return to Porlock Hill and take a super fast fireroad route down to Porlock Weir for a pint by the sea. Up to you if you do all 3 descents or 2 or 1, but the final one is suitable for all and takes us home, so if you’re only going to do 1, it should be that 1!
 
Day 3 – Big trees. To finish off on Monday we will decamp to the outskirts of Minehead (about 15 minute drive) to Dunster Castle. Here we will ride a nice woodland route out to England’s tallest tree and back.
 
Accommodation is DIY, but I would strongly recommend Sparkhayes campsite (which I will be at). It has excellent facilities, and lovely relaxed atmosphere and great views of the hills and sea. It’s also on a few minutes walk from the pubs and shops.
There are many B&Bs in the town if you would prefer a solid roof though.
 
Outside of your accommodation and food, the only cost will be the uplift, which will be around £10 per person in total. Exact price will be confirmed nearer the time.
 
All routes will be led by qualified ride leaders, who are also first aid trained.
Apr
11
Sun
MTB Wellness Wanborough to Aldbourne loop @ New Calley Arms
Apr 11 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
Welcome back to group riding!
I’m going to start with the last ride I did – a scenic route from Wanborough to Aldbourne, going out on one ridge and returning via a parallel one.
It’s 23km in total, with just under 300m of climbing, but we take a nice break at Aldbourne to break it up. We had a great time last time and it’s a great starter ride to 2021 🙂 
We will meet outside the New Calley Arms in Upper Wanborough at 10.30am. Please don’t use the pub car park, but there is plenty of free parking along Church Road.
May
9
Sun
MTB Wellness Rockley Ride @ Three Trees Cafe
May 9 @ 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
MTB Wellness Rockley Ride @ Three Trees Cafe

The May MTB Wellness Ride is great scenic and fun route out past Barbury, through the Vale of Rockley and back via the old railway line.

A similar distance to the April ride, the loop is 27km and 270m of climbing.
We start at the Three Trees Cafe and ride out on the Ridgeway, up the side of Barbury Castle and continue along the Ridgeway to the top of Hackpen Hill.
With the bulk of the climbing out of the way, we will descend through the Vale of Rockley, which has a great entry descent and normally lots of Red Kites overhead in the sheltered valley. There’s an option to pop up into the woods of Rockley for the small drops, or just to take 5 and enjoy the scenery.
From Rockley we start the climb at the beginning of Four Mile Clump, but quickly turn right for a long fireroad descent to Ogbourne Maizey, before picking up the old railway line back to the Three Trees for post ride cake!

As always the ride is based around taking in the great views and having a good time.

There is a free car park next to the Three Trees, as well as the cafe car park.

We will ride out from the Three Trees car park at 10.30am

I will be there before that if you’ve got any questions about your bike, riding or the ride – I am a MIAS Level 3 leader and coach and cytech technician too.

Jul
4
Sun
Exmoor Big Day Out @ Doverhay Car Park, Porlock
Jul 4 @ 10:30 am – 4:30 pm
Exmoor Big Day Out @ Doverhay Car Park, Porlock

We were going to an Exmoor weekend last year, but given everything that’s still going on, we’re going to do a big day out instead.
This is a great route showcasing some of the great riding in the Porlock and Minehead area – spectacular views, epic descents and a beach 🙂
We start at Porlock and head out up towards Selworth Beacon for our first view of the sea, before dropping down and then up to the top of Wootton Common, where the Southern Enduro champs have been held for several years. After a choice of technical or loose descents, we will have a rest at the bottom in Wootton Courtenay.
From there we’re off to the fun steep tracks of Horner Woods, before returning to the top to descent the last fun hill back into Porlock.

This isn’t the longest ride (26km), but there is over 800m of climbing and the terrain is generally loose rock. All the hills are steep – up and down – but pushing up hill is welcome (and occasionally necessary). On the descents most of the tracks are covered in loose rocks and some are fairly steep. It’s a reasonably technical ride with steep climbs. We’ll be taking a leisurely pace, but it’s a tough ride.

Meet in the Doverhay car park, opposite the Spar on the High Street in Porlock for a 10.30am start.

Jul
2
Sun
3 Trees, Rockley and more @ Three Trees Farm shop & Cafe
Jul 2 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
My first weekend ride of the year 😊 (which ironically is the same as I did 2 years ago!)
This is an old classic which takes in parts of the recent Castles ride routes.
From the 3 Trees we will head out on the Ridgeway out to the bottom of Barbury Castle. This is further out on the Ridgeway from where we will drop down into the beautiful Vale of Rockley. A short sharp climb takes us to the top of a byway down to Ogbourne Maisey and then home along the old railway line cycle route.
Meet in the 3 Trees Car park at 10am.
Please note the 3 Trees have recently introduced charges for their car park. However there is a small public car park next to it and some in road parking too.