Calendar

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 🙂
Jun
10
Sun
Race: 2018 Transition Bikes Southern Enduro Series Rd2 – Pippingford Park @ Pippingford Park
Jun 10 @ 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Race: 2018 Transition Bikes Southern Enduro Series Rd2 – Pippingford Park @ Pippingford Park | Nutley | England | United Kingdom

Rd2 – Sun 10th June – Pippingford Park, East Sussex

Price: for all 4 Rounds £160 on sale from 2nd of December for (Only 150 available) all remaining tickets £42.50 to go on sale two months before each round (Only 100 available).

Tickets available here: HERE.

Timing:

Professionally Timed by Action Sports Timing

More info: http://www.actionsportstiming.co.uk/

Stages: There will be 4 timed stages, which will be added together for an aggregate time to decide the winner in each category.

2 stages in the bikepark and 2 stages in Blanford Forest.

All stages will be over a mile long and around 100m to 150m in elevation/drop. Estimated stage times are about 2 minutes to 4 minutes long.

250 online entries available, no entries on the day.

  • Fantastic prizes for the top 3 riders in all categories. Plus some spot pizes
  • Free parking for all riders, spectators, friends and family. (Please car share where possible)
  • Free Camping
  • Race village
  • Full mechanical support for all riders.
  • Full medical support.
  • Food and drink on site.

Categories:

  • Male Elite age 18+
  • Male Senior age 18-29
  • Male Master age 30-39
  • Male Veteran age 40+
  • Male Supers Veteran age 50+
  • Male FUN age 18+
  • Male U16s age 14-15
  • Male U18s age 16-17
  • Female Elite age 18+
  • Female Senior age 18-29
  • Female Master age 30-39
  • Female Veteran age 40+
  • Female Supers Veteran age 50+
  • Female FUN age 18+
  • Female U16s age 14-15
  • Female U18s age 16-17
  • Hardtails age 18+

Elite: Riders that are sponsored or in PRO, Expert and Elite in other races or Top finisher in age categories in previous Enduro’s

Senior, Master, Veteran, Grand Veteran: Riders that are not sponsored and with medium skill level or Top finisher in Fun in previous Enduro’s

FUN: Riders 18 and over that are new to racing or new to the sport

U18: Riders under the age 18

WOMEN: Riders that are female

HARDTAILS: Riders 18 and that are racing on a Hardtail

Timings:

Saturday

No Practice, Track walk from 16:00

Sunday
Marshals briefing 9.00
Riders briefing 9.15

Start of race 9.20
Start of race  11.30
Prize giving 16.30

Jul
14
Sat
2018 Identiti Bikes Southern Enduro Champs – Minehead @ Minehead
Jul 14 @ 8:00 am – Jul 15 @ 5:00 pm
2018 Identiti Bikes Southern Enduro Champs – Minehead @ Minehead | Minehead | England | United Kingdom

2018 Identiti Bikes Southern Enduro Champs – Minehead, Exmoor – 14th & 15th July 2017

Tickets available here: HERE.

 

Timing:

Professionally Timed by Action Sports Timing

More info: http://www.actionsportstiming.co.uk/

 

Price: £60 Early Bird price until 20th Jan (£65 after)

 

Venue: Minehead, Exmoor

400 online entries available, no entries on the day.

  • Fantastic prizes for the top 3 riders in all categories. Plus some spot pizes
  • Identiti AKA frame for the faster Male and Female
  • Free parking for all riders, spectators, friends and family. (Please car share where possible)
  • Large race village with On site shop.
  • Full mechanical support for all riders.
  • Full medical support.
  • Food and drink on site.
  • Free Camping
  • Beer tent & Band TBC

Stages: There will be 7 timed stages, which will be added together for an aggregate time to decide the winner in each category.

On Saturday afternoon you will race one of the stages (Seeding stage)*
Your result on that stage will reflect where you start on Sunday. On Sunday you will be set off in categories in seeded order.
There will be start times for each stage.

*Seeding stage counts to your overall time.

All stages will be over a mile long and around 100m to 150m in elevation/drop. Estimated stage times are about 2 minutes to 4 minutes long.

Categories:

  • Male Elite age 18+
  • Male Senior age 18-29
  • Male Master age 30-39
  • Male Veteran age 40+
  • Male Supers Veteran age 50+
  • Male FUN age 18+
  • Male U16s age 14-15
  • Male U18s age 16-17
  • Female Elite age 18+
  • Female Senior age 18-29
  • Female Master age 30-39
  • Female Veteran age 40+
  • Female Supers Veteran age 50+
  • Female FUN age 18+
  • Female U16s age 14-15
  • Female U18s age 16-17
  • Hardtails age 18+

Elite: Riders that are sponsored or in PRO, Expert and Elite in other races or Top finisher in age categories in previous Enduro’s

Senior, Master, Veteran, Grand Veteran: Riders that are not sponsored and with medium skill level or Top finisher in Fun in previous Enduro’s

FUN: Riders 18 and over that are new to racing or new to the sport

U18: Riders under the age 18

WOMEN: Riders that are female

HARDTAILS: Riders 18 and that are racing on a Hardtail

Timings:

Saturday
Marshals briefing 9.30
Riders briefing 9.45
Practice 10.00 to 15:00

Seeding 15:00 to 18:00


Sunday
Marshals briefing 9.30
Riders briefing 9.45
Start of race (first rider) 10.00
Prize giving 16.30

Sep
19
Wed
Wednesday After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 19 @ 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesday After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
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.
 
This week we’re going to do some skills demonstrations and practice, using the features of the trail. We’ll cover the basics you’ll need for tackling technical terrain – front wheel lifts, unweighting the back well, climbing and descending safely.
 
You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights, yet.
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent!
 
Meet in the Croft car park at 5.30pm for a 5.45pm start.
Oct
3
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Oct 3 @ 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
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.
 
This week we’re going to do some skills demonstrations and practice, using the features of the trail. We’ll cover the basics you’ll need for tackling technical terrain – front wheel lifts, unweighting the back wheel, climbing and descending safely.
We may also venture up Ladder Lane for a bit of root and faster descending practice.
 
You must bring a helmet, but you don’t need lights, just yet.
 
Meet in the Croft car park at 5.30pm for a 5.45pm start
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.

Aug
27
Tue
All Inclusive Tuesday Short Ride @ Croft Cycle Trail
Aug 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
All Inclusive Tuesday Short Ride @ Croft Cycle Trail

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.

Sep
4
Wed
Wednesday GetintoMTB @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Wednesday GetintoMTB @ Croft Cycle Trail

Wednesdays are one of our #getintoMTB events, designed to help people get started, get back into MTB or anyone wanting a shorter, flatter ride. But there’s plenty of fun for all abilities.

The evening will be split into two parts:

6-7pm will be a Croft trail ride, laps of the trail (sessioning some of the features along the way)

7pm-8pm will be a local, fairly flat route, less than 10km in total.
PLEASE LET US KNOW BY POSTING BELOW IF YOU INTEND ONLY ATTENDING THE 7PM RIDE, so that we know to wait for you, as we leave promptly.

Under 18’s are allowed on this ride unaccompanied, as long as you have been out with us before. If you haven’t and wish to come, please drop an email to welfare@swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk so we can let you know the process for signing up to these rides.

As with all our rides, Helmets are compulsory.

Meet in the Croft Trail car park for both rides

Oct
12
Sat
GetintoMTB Goes to Wales @ Afan Lodge
Oct 12 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
GetintoMTB Goes to Wales @ Afan Lodge

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 😀

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.