Calendar

Jun
9
Sat
Exmoor Explore – the accommodation @ Sparkhayes Campsite
Jun 9 – Jun 10 all-day

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.

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

Exmoor Explore – Horner Sunday @ Porlock
Jun 10 @ 10:30 am – 4:00 pm
Exmoor Explore - Horner Sunday @ Porlock | Porlock | England | United Kingdom
Quite a few members from the club are doing the Southern Enduro Championship (& Championship Lite) on Exmoor in July, so this is an acclimatisation ride in the general area.
 
Exmoor is pretty challenging, with the steepest A road hills in the country, technical rocky tails, epic singletrack through the woods and stunning views.
 
This is the main ride – the one for people coming down for just the day, as well as those staying the weekend. Have a look at the weekend event for full details of camping etc. 
The starting point is Horner Wood car park (post code TA24 8HY), which is £3 for the day or free for National Trust members (don’t forget your card) and has toilets and an excellent tea room. It’s also the base of Exmoor Uplifts (more on that in a sec).
 
We will start with the main loop of the surrounding hills. This starts with a fairly savage climb (walking your bike up is perfectly acceptable & fairly compulsory in places!) to near the top of Dunkery, with the first of several fantastic views.
We then have a rocky and steep downhill. Ride it at your own pace & keep an eye on your pace – it keeps steeper the further down you go 🙂 
 
Then we have another savage uphill (they all are I’m afraid!), but rewarded with amazing views of the hills and sea. A ridge run makes the most of these views, before an epic long downhill, again steepening as it goes down.
 
Finally there will be a choice of another peak and epic down, or a shorter uphill and stream ride back to the team rooms for lunch.
 
In the afternoon there will be a choice of another loop, or we can arrange uplift to the top of Dunkery to make the most of the downhills!
 
This is approaching the upper bounds of Red in both technicality and climbing. But these are hills that will test all and there will be plenty of encouragement and no-one left behind.
 
You definitely need a helmet, I would definitely recommend at least knee pads too, probably elbow pads too. Full suspension bike recommended if you have one as well. It can be done on a hardtail, but it is rocky terrain. 
Jun
20
Wed
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail
Jun 20 @ 5:45 pm – 7:30 pm
Wednesdays After Work at Croft @ Croft Cycle Trail | England | United Kingdom

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

Jun
24
Sun
BikePark Wales – dreaming of summer @ Bikepark Wales
Jun 24 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
BikePark Wales - dreaming of summer @ Bikepark Wales | Abercanaid | Wales | United Kingdom
The weather has been a pretty dire this winter, so lets dream of summer and the announcement that BikePark Wales have a bunch of new trails opening this June sounds a perfect thing to look forward to.
 
We seem to have an unexpected Sunday free in June now, so what better thing to look forward to than BPW, new trails in the summer!
 
There are full day uplift tickets available at the moment (they sell quick though!) and you can also do Pay As You Go uplift if you don’t want to commit now. Details on both are at www.bikeparkwales.com
 
You will need a helmet (you cannot ride there without one) and pads are advised. A full face is advised if you have one – it’s not essential, so don’t worry if you haven’t got one, but it’s a good idea if you can.
 
We will meet at 10am in front of the cafe.
Jun
30
Sat
Getintomtb – novice Ridgeway Ride @ Three Trees Cafe
Jun 30 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Getintomtb - novice Ridgeway Ride @ Three Trees Cafe | United Kingdom

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.

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

Aug
5
Sun
Get Into MTB Goes On Tour To Swinley
Aug 5 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Get Into MTB Goes On Tour To Swinley

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.

Aug
16
Thu
The Family Shred @ Flyup 417 Bike Park
Aug 16 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

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.