We will be at Croft as usual this Wednesday evening.
With out wanting to curse it, the weather looks a bit better than previous weeks, so fingers crossed!

We will be doing a few laps, stopping to session some of the skills stuff along the way. Inevitably that inlcudes some jumps and the rock garden, but if anyone want’s to improve their cornering or have a go at conquering Pete’s steps, we can do that too.

Davinia will be there too leading any ladies that want to join her.

Meet in the car park at 5.45pm – you’ll need a helmet, but not lights 🙂

Whilst Adrian is doing his ‘Best Bits’ at Swinley, I’ll be joining the lovely Swinley ladies ride!

These are very well organised and friendly rides, with groups for all abilities at a great trail centre.

It’s friendly and fun and the best bit of our ride is we get a glass of prosseco after!! 🍾

The rides start from the Swinley Bike Hub at 10am – you’ll need to be there a little earlier to register.

Time for another visit to Cwmcarn.

This is a great Welsh trail centre, with 2 XC trails and some downhill tracks, with uplift available.

The main ride is 10am on Sunday, but we’ll be there the whole weekend if you want to join in on Saturday too.

Plan is to camp over Saturday nigh, ready to do the main day ride on the Sunday.

We will meet at 10am at PS Cycles on the Sunday for the main ride.

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.

Bike Park Wales sells out 3 months in advance, but you can do pay as you go – pay £8 entry and then £4 an uplift. It’s a good way of getting a day there at short notice, especially early in the week when it’s quieter, so we’re going to do that as a club trip.

We’ve chosen Tuesday 8th August – just turn up at Bike Park Wales at 10am and we’ll spend the day doing pay as you go runs, or cycling up is an option too.

If you’ve never been to Bike Park Wales, you should! There are trails for everyone, from beginners to hardened downhillers and it has a fantasticly professional setup, with everything you could need on site. You can also check out our guide to Bike Park Wales here.

We will have mixed and ladies groups and some coaching on offer too.

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.

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.

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)