Sorry for the short notice, but we have a new opportunity to do a family ride at the weekend at Swinley Forest.
Swinley is a great place for all levels of cyclist, with fire roads, a great Green trail and the Blue trail, which builds up nicely.
We will start with the Green trail as an introduction, before heading out on to Blue. How much of Blue we do will depend on the ability of the group – there are some nice flatter sections, as well as nice descents, but always a fire road option as well.
There will be 2 ride leaders to guide you, but all children MUST be accompanied by an adult and remain your responsibility for the whole ride.
Children and adults must wear helmets
Need something to keep the kids entertained this half term? Then come along and join us on our family half term ride!
Starting at Waitrose, we will go along the Southern flyer and up a bit of the old railway line, before descending to Wichelstowe, where there is a playground to take break. From there we will head out to Croft, to do the final section of the trail (which is fairly flat), before heading back to Wichelstowe. We will go along the canal, round the lake and back up to Waitrose (& a cafe stop if desired).
Total route is 5.5 miles, or if 3.5 miles if you want to skip the Croft trip and stay at the playground. A great route combining cycle paths and off road riding.
The ride will be lead by our Welfare officer, Davinia, who is also a British Cycling qualified ride leader and Breeze champion.
Whilst on the ride your children must be accompanied and are your responsibility at all times.
Children and adults must wear helmets.
Meet outside the front of Waitrose at 10.30am
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.
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
We’re back at Croft on Wednesday for more laps of the trail.
This a very relaxed ride, going round the trail, stopping to practice features on the way of wanted.
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 no longer need lights 😊
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent – the midges are back!
Meet in the Croft car park at 5.45pm
Come and join us for a gentle ride along the Ridgeway, followed by coffee and cake!
This will a perfect introduction to off-road riding in this beautiful area, as the terrain is off-road but largely non-technical in nature, and we will be riding at a leisurely pace.
We will meet in the car park of the Three Trees cafe in Chiseldon at 10am and ride to Barbury Castle, before descending to Ogbourne St George and returning to the cafe along the old railway path. The route will contain a couple of road sections, but we will all ride together as a group.
The route is 11 miles and we expect to be back in the cafe by approx. 12pm. There are toilets in the cafe at the start/finish and at Barbury Castle at the halfway point.
Helmets and a serviceable bike are essential.
Club membership is encouraged but not required.
Continuing the series of ‘Get Into MTB’ rides that we have been doing at the Croft Trail, we’re going on tour to Swinley Forest!
We will start by riding around some of the fire roads (wide tracks for vehicles), followed by the short Green trail. After this we will move onto selected sections of the Blue trail as everyone progresses in confidence.
This ride is aimed at people who are competent cyclists but are new to mountain biking, those who would like to increase their confidence on trails, and anyone who fancies joining us to explore some of what Swinley Forest has to offer! The ride will be at a very leisurely pace.
Please note that this will not be a coaching session, but is instead a guided ride around sections of the forest trails.
The Swinley Bike Hub team run an excellent series of ‘Bubbles’ rides for women every month, including one a week after this ride on Sunday 12th August. These are very welcoming and highly recommended, and would be a fantastic way to discover more of the forest trails with a very friendly group of ladies. Check out the ‘Swinley Women’ Facebook page for more info.
Helmets and a serviceable mountain bike are ESSENTIAL.
Club membership is encouraged but not required.
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.
We’ve been off on hols for a few weeks, so before things get back to normal, we’re going to make this one a bit of a bash!
We are going to be begin with a family ride, doing laps of the trail. So bring your kids (who remain your responsibility at all times) and we will be going round from 4.30 for about an hour.
After that we move on to the regular style session, starting with a lap of the Blue trail to warm up, then sees what people want to do next.
And as it’s the end of summer, we’ll thrown on some snacks and drinks to celebrate too, so come and join us!
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 😊
Also thoroughly recommend insect repellent!
Meet in the Croft car park at 4.30pm for the family laps, 5.30pm onwards for adults.