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!

Aug
13
Sun
Family Fun Ride – Wichelstowe Wander @ Waitrose, Wichelstowe
Aug 13 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Family Fun Ride - Wichelstowe Wander @ Waitrose, Wichelstowe | Wichelstowe | England | United Kingdom
For our second family ride, we’re going to Wichelstowe.
 
Starting at Waitrose, we 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 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.
 
Meet outside the front of Waitrose at 10am.
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

Nov
4
Sat
FoD Family Ride @ Beechenhurst, Forest of Dean
Nov 4 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
FoD Family Ride @ Beechenhurst, Forest of Dean | England | United Kingdom
We’re going to do something a bit different for the next family ride – an away day of sorts.
 
Just down the road from Pedalabikeaway in the Forest of Dean, is Beechenhurst, the activity & picnic centre with a child’s playground and sculpture trail amongst other things.
 
So we will park/start at Beechenhurst and pick up the Green family trail (which is on former railyway lines, so nice & flat), out to the Cannop ponds, looping back to Pedalabikeaway for a go on the family skills loop and pump track (& visit to the cafe), before returning to Beechenhurst.
 
Total route is 5 miles, but with the option for as many loops of the pump track as desired – it always seems to be the kids’ favourite!
 
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.
 
Meet out the front of the Beechenhurst lodge at 11am.
Aug
16
Thu
The Family Shred @ Flyup 417 Bike Park
Aug 16 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

This is a bringing your kids somewhere fun trip!

The 417 Project is only half an hour from Swindon and has some great trails and features for developing skills for all ages, although you need to be confident riding off stabilisers and over small obstacles.

There is a small outdoor trail aimed specifically at kids, with bermed corners and small ramps to go over, which is a great place to start.

That is right next to the bottom section of the Blue trail, which is great for progressing further – the more you progress, the further up the hill you go basically.

Inside one of the barns is a Velosolutions pump track too, which is great for everyone in all weathers.

Above that is also a Leisure Lakes bike shop, which does an excellent range of kids specific clothing and protection.
Oh and the cafe does amazing food, coffee and milkshakes!

Children are welcome on this event, but you will be responsible for your own children at all times, including making sure they are capable of riding whichever trail they decide to tackle.

It costs £8 entry for adults, or £5 for under 12s. You can book in advance online at https://417bikepark.co.uk

Helmets are compulsory at the bike park – they will not let you ride without one.

We will meet at 10am in the car park.

Sep
1
Sat
SMTBE gives you Hope (MTB Marathon) @ Hope Valley College
Sep 1 @ 10:00 am – Sep 2 @ 5:00 pm
SMTBE gives you Hope (MTB Marathon) @ Hope Valley College | Hope | England | United Kingdom
The final MTB Marathon event of 2018 is in the fabulous Peak District, centred around the Hope Valley.
These are excellent events for all, with 3 distances available – 25km, 50km and 70km, with a shared start, so we can all ride out together, before splitting off if people want to do different distances.
There is free camping at the Hope Valley College, so lets make a weekend of it.
The marathon is on the Sunday, but there are 2 events on the Saturday too: a Hopetech Women’s social ride in the morning (normally 15km at a gentle pace) and a night Marathon event in the evening, with 2 distances: 20km or 40km.
We will be camping the whole weekend and are happy to take people off for a play at Lady Canning’s or somewhere else near by on the saturday for a warm up, if the other events don’t take your fancy.
 
You can get more information and sign up for the marathon here at: www.mtb-marathon.co.uk 
May
24
Fri
The Peaks Weekender @ The Peak District
May 24 @ 8:00 pm – May 27 @ 12:00 pm
The Peaks Weekender @ The Peak District | England | United Kingdom

The Peak District is simple awesome for mountain biking – stunning scenery and brilliant riding.
I’ve done lots of riding up there and am putting together some of the best in one long weekend.

We will be based in the Hope Valley, which has a great selection of campsites, B&B accommodation, cafes and bike shops. Personally I’ll be camping and will make a recommendation for a campsite after sampling a few, but there are plenty of great B&Bs for anyone that doesn’t like camping.

For the riding, we have 3 days:
A scenic starter, along the Monsal Trail. Starting at Bakewell Station up to Blackwell Mill and back. This is a former railway line that has been converted into a bridleway, using all the old features, including a number of viaducts and 4 tunnels through the Peaks. This gives us the chance to soak in the gorgeous scenery along the route, as well as a stop to enjoy them with a drink.

Day 2 is an epic XC ride starting in Hope and heading over Mam Tor out towards Derwent Water and back. The views on this route are even more stunning than the previous day, but the riding will be amazing too, with some epic descents – this one isn’t flat! 😉 We will be doing 25-30km with 1200-1500ft of climbing (depending on the weather), but the pace will be relaxed.

The final day will be a trip to the brilliant (but short) Lady Cannings trails, which we will use to end a 10km loop of the local Blacca Moor, which is another Peaks “must do”. That should see us finish at lunchtime, on the Bank Holiday Monday.

If you are planning on coming, please register either on the Facebook group event or by sending an email to adrian@swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk – just so we know to keep an eye out for you before setting off anywhere.