Calendar

Jan
9
Tue
Tuesday Night Ride – Wet n Windy again @ The Bayberry
Jan 9 @ 7:00 pm – 9:45 pm
Tuesday Night Ride - Wet n Windy again @ The Bayberry | United Kingdom

The usual Tuesday night ride onto the Ridgeway. The weather forecast looks wet and windy yet again, so we will be riding harder pack trails and a bit of urban – all subject to change according what weather actually transpires.

You must wear a helmet, bring lights (strong enough for the dark of the Ridgeway) and appropriate clothing (warm waterproofs at the moment).

If you have not been on a club ride before and are not a club member, you are welcome to join us to see what it is like before joining. Details on the benefits of membership and how to join can be found by clicking here.

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
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

Jun
9
Sat
Exmoor Explore – Lets go to the sea @ Porlock Weir
Jun 9 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Exmoor Explore - Lets go to the sea @ Porlock Weir | Porlock Weir | England | United Kingdom
This is a warm up for those coming for the weekend, and will have a choice of gentle or mental!
 
We will be starting from our base at the Sparkhayes Campsite in the centre of Porlock and making our way to Porlock Weir, the port to the west, where there is an excellent pub, refreshments and the sea!
 
The choice will be:
A gentle pootle out, relatively flat, just taking in the scenery to the pub essentially.
Or the mental option – making our way part way up Porlock Hill (which has the steepest A road in the country!) and making our way down through the technical bridleways in the woods to the weir.
 
The choice is yours 🙂
Mar
26
Tue
Tuesday Night Ride @ The Bayberry
Mar 26 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Tuesday Night Ride @ The Bayberry
It’s official its spring so the weather will be crap, but let’s not let that stop us! We will be running two rides out from The Bayberry up onto the byways and bridleways of the Ridgeway.
 
We will run a short and a long ride with the short ride led Adrian and the long ride by Dave.
 
– The short ride will be a distance of approximately 25km / 15 miles and a moderate amount of climb of 200-300m. This is a blue/blue ride.
 
– The long ride will be a distance of approximately 35km / 20 miles and a larger amount of climb of 400-500m. This is a red/red ride.
 
 
Nights are getting lighter, but weather and temperature can still be testing so bring good lights, weather-appropriate clothing and a jacket. Helmets are compulsory.
Jul
14
Sun
Lydiard Park Family Picnic @ Lydiard Park
Jul 14 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Lydiard Park Family Picnic @ Lydiard Park

We would like to invite everyone and their families to celebrate the start of the summer.

We will meet at the children’s play area at 11am, find a good picnic spot nearby and enjoy some family time, playing games such as rounders, football, frisbee and anything else we can find in the shed!!!! We will be close to the play area, cafe, toilets and most importantly the ice cream parlour!!!

Bringing bikes is optional. We will be there to take small groups around the outside of the park, if required.

Most importantly we want everyone to come together to have some family fun.
Don’t forget to bring a picnic and a picnic blanket and/or chairs to sit on.

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.

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.