Calendar

May
14
Sun
Swinley Girls Who Ride – Bubbles at the Hub @ Swinley Bike Hub
May 14 @ 10:00 am – 1:30 pm

Whilst Adrian is doing his ‘Best Bits’ at Swinley, I’ll be joining the lovely Swinley ladies ride!

These are very well organised and friendly rides, with groups for all abilities at a great trail centre.

It’s friendly and fun and the best bit of our ride is we get a glass of prosseco after!! 🍾

The rides start from the Swinley Bike Hub at 10am – you’ll need to be there a little earlier to register.

Jul
9
Sun
Cwmcarn if you can @ PS Cycles, Cwmcarn
Jul 9 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cwmcarn if you can @ PS Cycles, Cwmcarn  | Wales | United Kingdom

Time for another visit to Cwmcarn.

This is a great Welsh trail centre, with 2 XC trails and some downhill tracks, with uplift available.

The main ride is 10am on Sunday, but we’ll be there the whole weekend if you want to join in on Saturday too.

Plan is to camp over Saturday nigh, ready to do the main day ride on the Sunday.

We will meet at 10am at PS Cycles on the Sunday for the main ride.

Aug
8
Tue
Bike Park Wales PAYG @ Bike Park Wales
Aug 8 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Bike Park Wales PAYG @ Bike Park Wales | Abercanaid | United Kingdom

Bike Park Wales sells out 3 months in advance, but you can do pay as you go – pay £8 entry and then £4 an uplift. It’s a good way of getting a day there at short notice, especially early in the week when it’s quieter, so we’re going to do that as a club trip.

We’ve chosen Tuesday 8th August – just turn up at Bike Park Wales at 10am and we’ll spend the day doing pay as you go runs, or cycling up is an option too.

If you’ve never been to Bike Park Wales, you should! There are trails for everyone, from beginners to hardened downhillers and it has a fantasticly professional setup, with everything you could need on site. You can also check out our guide to Bike Park Wales here.

We will have mixed and ladies groups and some coaching on offer too.

Sep
7
Thu
Swinley Enduro Practice Thursday @ Swinley Bike Hub
Sep 7 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Swinley Enduro Practice Thursday @ Swinley Bike Hub | United Kingdom

Swinley Enduro is nearly upon us!! So I’m getting another sneaky practise in while the kids are at school!! We will be following as much of last year’s route as we have time for.

If you fancy joining me, then let me know as I can lift a couple of people.

Remember to bring pads and a helmet.

We will meet outside the Swinley Bike Hub for a 10am set off.

Feb
4
Sun
Getintomtb – Try a trail @ Croft Cycle Trail
Feb 4 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Getintomtb - Try a trail @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

This is our first #getintomtb event of 2018 and is aimed anyone starting off mountain biking, or coming back to it after a break.

We will being laps of the Croft Trail in Swindon, which is a great trail for starting and progressing on a mountain bikes. There will be 2 ride leaders with mixed and ladies only groups.

Club coach (and maintenance instructor) Gaz will be there to run through the M check, so you can check your bike is ready for the trail before setting off. We will then take you round the trail and point out some of the features along the way. Don’t worry, everything is optional, but we will be there to encourage you 🙂

Please bring a helmet and suitable clothing (if it’s raining you will need waterproofs).

We will also be holding a “Questions Amnesty” where you can ask anything you always wanted to know about mountain biking, but were afraid to ask, anonymously. Ask your questions here.

Mar
18
Sun
Race: Fox Head Female Swinduro @ Swinley Bike Hub
Mar 18 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Race: Fox Head Female Swinduro @ Swinley Bike Hub | United Kingdom

We’re super excited to see Swinduro back early, with a ladies only event! See all the info from the Bike Hub below – you don’t want to miss this! Tickets launch 0900 Wednesday 17th January.

The infamous “swinduro” is back earlier in 2018 to hold a womens only event at Swinley Forest. Swinley Forest  holds some of the finest all weather mountain biking trails in the South East of England.

The Swinduro spirit is for every rider to have a great day of riding, set in an amazing location and enjoying the MTB Basecamp. Basecamp will have a BBQ, a prosecco bar providing some post event hydration, coffee stalls all wrapped up and supported by our mainline sponsor Fox Head Clothing who will be onsite with female specific Mountain Bike Clothing, lifestyle clothing and loads of goodies!

To make this an extra special event, as part of the event entry fee riders will get:

  • A 20km event taking in the best Swinley has to offer with 8 special timed stages
  • A special female only coaching day to prepare for the enduro to be held in February
  • A Fox Head Inspired goody bag at event registration
  • Parking within the Forest for free!
  • 50% off focused swinleyfit PT packages online to prepare for The Fox Head Female Swinduro
  • Total Cost for Coaching Session & Race Entry £42.50

The swinduro women event has a course designed that will allow first timers to the pinners to come, ride and enjoy the day out. The course will be challenging for all levels of skill and experience. If you are looking for an event to try riding with others, to kickstart the year ahead all mixed in with a laid back vibe – then join us at the swinduro women enduro, hang out with friends, make new ones and enjoy the atmosphere!

During the event we will also be hosting the inaugural “Mini Shredders” Championships – this is a 5km, 3 stages only enduro style event for riders up to the age of 12 – we want to see as many shredders as possible on the day! The Mini Shredders Champs will take place close to base camp, and allow for spectators to watch the event at close quarters.

Race Entry Categories

The Fox Head Female Swinduro will have the following categories:

    • PRO age 18+
    • Senior age 18-29
    • Master age 30-39
    • Veteran age 40+
    • Supers Veteran age 50+
    • FUN age 18+ (Sport / Fun Category for new comers and those that prefer not to race in age category)
    • U18s age 12-17 (12-14 to be accompanied by an adult)
    • “Mini Shredders Enduro” U12’s (3 stages only – 5km in length – to be accompanied by an adult)
Mar
31
Sat
GetintoMTB – Try A Trail @ Croft Cycle Trail
Mar 31 @ 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
GetintoMTB - Try A Trail @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

We’ve got another weekend session at Croft coming up.

This is a perfect opportunity to try a mountain bike trail if you haven’t before, or just to reintroduce yourself if it’s been a while (it’s been a pretty grotty winter!).

We will have at least 2 ride leaders there, doing ladies only and mixed groups of all abilities.

We will meet in the Croft Car Park at 10.30am

Please bring a helmet

Jul
19
Fri
Ladies Exmoor Adventure @ Porlock
Jul 19 @ 7:00 pm – Jul 21 @ 4:00 pm
Ladies Exmoor Adventure @ Porlock
This year’s ladies away trip sees us heading to Exmoor for a fun weekend of fantastic views, great riding and bags of fun!
We will be based in the town of Porlock, near Minehead and we will head down there after work on the Friday, where most of us will be setting up camp at Sparkhayes campsite (details further down). For those that don’t wish to camp, there are a variety of B&Bs and pubs to stay in – comment below if you want that option and I can suggest some places for you.
 
Friday night we will be getting settled in and have a few welcome drinks in one of the excellent local pubs.
 
Saturday is the big ride – our Seaside big one! Don’t worry, it’s not huge, 28km in fact, but with a fair bit of climbing that will gives us some amazing views of the sea and surrounding hills. We head out up Bossington Hill, which you can see from the campsite, before taking the ridge to Bratton. The return takes us via Selworth Combe, after which there will be an opportunity to visit the fantastic tea rooms at Horner and we will finish at Porlock Weir for a drink by the seaside.
 
Sunday we have two shorter rides on offer. The first is our Dunkery Dabble. Just under 10km, it does have a couple of steep bits in it, but we will take these at a gentle pace. The rewards though are some amazing views back towards the sea and some really fun descents in an idillic setting, complete with optional water crossings!
After this ride we will stop at the Horner tea rooms for a spot of lunch. If anyone needs to head back early, they can at this point, or stay on for the afternoon ride. This will be a quick 15km route from Horner out to the woods of Wootton Common and back. The way out and back are relatively flat, with the bulk of the climb at Wootton Common itself – a great way to finish a great weekend of riding.
 
All of these rides will be rides will be led by myself, supported by other ride leaders from the club, who are also first aid trained.
 
For more information about accommodation or anything else on the weekend, send an email to admin@swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk .
 
Sparkhayes campsite costs £9 a night per person and has good facilities (real showers and toilets, even a fridge).
Please email if you want to camp at Sparkhayes, as I will be doing a group booking with all the tents together.
Let me know if you don’t have a tent and want to camp, as a few of us have big tents with spare rooms in them.
 
There are plenty of food options in the town and we will probably eat out both nights, but it’s entirely up to you.
 
It will be a fun weekend and can’t wait to see you all.
Jul
28
Sun
Ladies Lakeside Ride @ Cricklade Leisure Centre
Jul 28 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Ladies Lakeside Ride @ Cricklade Leisure Centre

Debbie will be leading a gentle novice friendly ride around the Cotswold Lakes.

This is non technical and will be at the pace of the slowest rider. It is designed to suit ladies new to mountain biking and those who want a steady ride.

There will be a cafe stop 3/4 of the way round, but feel free to bring any snacks and water.

Helmets compulsory and this is not suitable for hybrid bikes, due to the possibility of mud on the tracks.

Meet in the car park to the Cricklade Leisure Centre for a 10am start.

Feb
2
Sun
MTB Wellness Ladies Ride @ Mouldon Hill Country Park
Feb 2 @ 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
MTB Wellness Ladies Ride @ Mouldon Hill Country Park

This is a Ladies Only ride, led by Davinia.

We meet at Mouldon Hill in the car park and then follow route 45 South past Shaw Forest and pick up the West Swindon Round to Lydiard Park. We will stop at Lydiard for a drink and maybe a cake! Then back continuing on the West Swindon round and back up the old railway line to Mouldon Hill.

This is a very gentle ride, and is no more than 9 miles.
It is aimed at beginners and upwards and is for every ability.
It’s a chance to get back on the bike, have a chat and feel happy!

You will need a helmet, bike and yourself!

This ride is suitable for all mountain bikes or hybrid bikes with off road tyres.