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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 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

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.