Calendar

Dec
14
Wed
Christmas Lap and a Snack @ Croft Cycle Trail and the Baybury
Dec 14 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

We’ll be back at Croft this Wednesday after work for a few laps and then seeing as it’s close to Christmas, we’re going to the pub!

We’ve met some great people since we started doing this in the spring, so if anyone wants to join us for a Christmas drink / bite to eat, we will be heading to the Baybury in Wichelstowe for 7pm. Everyone is most welcome – for the ride or just coming to the pub.
Don’t worry if you’ve not been before – it’s a great opportunity to come and talk to us about the club and what we do too.

Meet at Croft Trail Car Park at 6pm for riding and the Baybury in Wichelstowe for food and drink at 7pm.

Jun
6
Tue
Tuesday Evening Ride – Castles 20 miler @ The Bayberry
Jun 6 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

The regular Tuesday night ride will recreate the 20 mile route from this weekend’s Castles event (roughly, might not be totally exact!).

Dave Bates will be leading this 20 mile ride – lights and helmet will be needed.

Meet at The Bayberry in Wichelstowe for 7pm start.

Jun
9
Sat
Exmoor Explore – the accommodation @ Sparkhayes Campsite
Jun 9 – Jun 10 all-day

We’re going to be camping down at the excellent Sparkhayes campsite in Porlock – just round the corner from both the town and from the beach.

The campsite has electric hook ups, a shower/toilet block with washing up facilities, a kettle and small microwave. There is also a communal fridge and freezer.

The cost is £9 per person per night, with an additional £4 a night for the electric hook up.

Let us know if you want to stay and we’ll do a group booking – we will be there from the Friday night to set up as well, but people are welcome to join on the Friday night or Saturday morning.

Don’t forget the Saturday and Sunday rides that are part of the weekend.

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 🙂
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
5
Wed
Wednesdays After Work @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 5 @ 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesdays After Work @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

We will start with a lap of the Blue trail to warm up, then sees what people want to do next. The options will be to head over the motorway to Wroughton for a couple of laps of the new pump track there, do a practice trip up and then down Ladder Lane, or just more laps of Croft.

This a very relaxed ride, at an easy pace, with lots of opportunities to develop and practice skills. Everyone is welcome and this is a great introductory ride if you’re just starting or coming back to mountain biking.

You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights yet 😊
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent!

Meet in the Croft car park at 5.45pm

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.