Calendar

May
14
Sun
Swinley’s Best Bits @ Swinley Forest
May 14 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Swinley's Best Bits @ Swinley Forest | United Kingdom

This a re-runaid our popular “Swinley’s Best Bits” ride. This is an action packed 10 miles & it really does pack in lots. Starting on the Blue trail we follow that till the point it gets dull, then go off piste on a section of the Enduro course, before picking up the best of Red to the downhill trails. Our highlight there is the old full Labrynth, but scope to do a few of the other DH trails in that corner too.
The we hit Red 25 on the way to back via the Tank Traps and the final ace descent of Blue.

If you want a bit more info on the route, check out our report
here, otherwise come and see for yourself 🙂

Meet at the entrance to the trails at Swinley for a 10am  start.

Jul
5
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Jul 5 @ 5:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
We’re back at Croft as usual and it looks like it’s going to be a glorious sunny evening.
 
So come and join us for a few laps of the trail and perhaps some sessioning of trail features – any one fancy conquering Pete’s steps this week that hasn’t before?
 
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm.
You’ll need a helmet, but not lights.
Aug
9
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Aug 9 @ 5:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
We will be at Croft on Wednesday as usual, doing some laps of the trail and practice on the features along the way.
 
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm
 
You will need a helmet, but not lights.
Aug
16
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Aug 16 @ 5:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
We will be at Croft on Wednesday as usual, doing some laps of the trail and practice on the features along the way.
 
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm
 
You will need a helmet, but not lights.
Aug
23
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Aug 23 @ 5:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
We will be at Croft on Wednesday as usual, doing some laps of the trail and practice on the features along the way.
This week we will have another feature on corners – hopefully how to go round them quicker!
 
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm
 
You will need a helmet, but not lights.
Sep
6
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 6 @ 5:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom
We will be at Croft on Wednesday as usual, doing some laps of the trail and practice on the features along the way.
This week we will have another feature on corners – hopefully how to go round them quicker!
 
Meet in the car park at 5.45pm
 
You will need a helmet, but not lights (not this week anyway, but not sure about next week unfortunately!) 
Sep
26
Wed
Wednesdays at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Sep 26 @ 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesdays 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
10
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trails
Oct 10 @ 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trails | 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.
 
We will 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 for a 5.45pm start.
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.

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.