We will head out through Clouts Wood, west of the airfield and up onto Barbury.

Then Smithies and across to Earthline. A ridge ride and descent by the flying club before Chiseldon to coate and back to the Bayberry.

The route will be adjusted to suit a riders and weather conditions.

Estimate 30k distance and 400m ascent.

You will need lights and a helmet.

Leaving the Bayberry we will head up through Coate and Chisie via the flying club to sample the delights of the Sugar Hill climb. Back around Liddington Castle and home via the Old ridgeway and Ladder lane.

There are 2 tough climbs on this ride. Pushing up is of course permitted. 33km distance and 400m of climbing on the route, so a reasonable level of fitness is required. The route may be altered (made easier, not harder!) to suit the riders and weather conditions.

LIGHTS are now a must and as always a helmet.

Dave returns from holidays with some calories to burn off.

The ride will be about 30km going out from the Bayberry up to the Ridgeway – final route to be decided once the weather forecast has settled (fingers crossed though, it looks ok at the moment!)

You will need a helmet and lights.

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.

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

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)

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

Next week’s Tuesday Short Ride is a special short ride and we will be leading a ride that will include parents and children under 18. This ride will be about an hour and a half and children must be capable of riding 20-25k and be confident riding up hills and off road. We will be going up onto the Ridgeway, so this is a great chance for those that have been to Croft to go for a longer ride up into the hills.

This has been a long time in the pipeline and we thank you for your patience whilst we have been trying to arrange evening rides to include kids.

The All inclusive Tuesday ride will hopefully take place every 6 weeks, so keep an eye out for the next one.
Please note: children under 16 MUST be accompanied by a parent, children aged 16/17 can be unaccompanied, but written permission and contact details must be e-mailed to :
welfare@swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk

As with all rides, helmets are compulsory and lights and suitable clothing are also required.

We will start and end the ride at Croft, however I will be parking at the Bayberry pub and will ride over at 6.45pm. If any others who don’t have kids with them want to join me, I will then be riding back with a slightly detoured route from Croft to the Bayberry for an after-ride beverage.

Everyone is welcome on this ride and you don’t need to borrow a child to attend!! This is the short ride for this week and it is designed to include everyone, as it has been very much requested.

Myself and Adrian will be leading the ride and we are both DBS checked and hold outdoor first aid certificates. I am also a primary school teacher and Adrian is a MIAS Level 3 Ride Leader.

Following on from the success of the previous Get Into Mountain Biking events we’re heading to Afan in Wales!

This will still be aimed at improvers/intermediate riders but will be a progression from the previous trail centres we’ve visited.

Meeting at Afan Lodge at 11am we will take a short ride to the start of the trails and begin our day on the blue-graded Blue Scar. At the top of the Blue Scar climb we can then decide whether to climb a bit more and do the first part of the red-graded trail Penhydd or continue straight to the Blue Scar descent. There is a fair amount of climbing at Afan but most of it is on fire roads and there will be plenty of opportunity to stop and admire the stunning views.

After lunch those with the energy can climb back up and do more of Penhydd or Blue Scar again, and there is also a small skills area and lovely scenic route with short section of blue-graded trail along the valley.

Those that are really feeling energetic and brave may be tempted to give the red-graded trail Y-Wal a go, but be warned, Wales trail gradings are harder than English ones.

Afan is roughly two hours drive away from Swindon so we will meet at Afan Lodge at 11am. Afan Lodge is further up the road past Afan trail centre, you’ll see the trail centre on your right and Afan Lodge is on the left. There is plenty of free parking here and a lovely cafe, and an old railway line cycle path links the two.

Since we’ll be in Wales it would seem rude not to stay a bit longer and go to Bike Park Wales on the Sunday! This won’t be an official club trip as such but there is a bike-friendly Premier Inn 5 minutes away from BPW which I may well find myself in that night 😀