Category Archives: CommercialEvents

CommercialEvents, Events, Novice Friendly

Bristol Bikefest

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Bristol Bikefest is an event that MB Swindon has attended and enjoyed several times in the past. The event didn’t happen last year, but now it’s back… and we’re going again!

What is Bikefest? It’s a six hour cross country (sort of) race! If you’re super competitive you can charge around the course for the whole time… but we’re hoping to have lots of MB Swindoners riding in pairs or teams to spread the load!

You can race seriously or treat it as a social event – it really is open to all abilities. And don’t worry if you don’t have anyone to form a team with. We’ll help put you together with other like-minded riders.

We’ve pre-booked some tickets, so get in touch with us first and we’ll let you know whether we still have any available.

Find full details at http://bike-fest.com

CommercialEvents, Events, MBSwindon Event, Multiday

Lakes Trip 2017

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We had such a great time in Lake District last year with Tom Hutton as our guide that we are doing it again.

9-11 June  2016

This promises to be another special weekend, with 2 days guiding from one of the country’s most sought-after guides (who also happens to have written a Lakes guidebook!), and some top-notch cuisine provided by a leading Liverpool chef.

What’s included?

  • 2 full day’s guided riding (optional MB Swindon special: Friday afternoon guided warm-up for those that travel Friday lunch time)
  • Dinner Friday and Saturday (hopefully a barbeque saturday), breakfast Saturday and Sunday and packed lunches
  • 2 night’s accommodation in a clean and comfortable private hostel
  • Mini-bus and trailer transport for Sunday’s mountain ride.

*the only thing not included is bedding and towels. Please bring sleeping bag and/or duvet, pillows and a towel.

Riding

The riding can be tailored a little to suit the group but won’t be suitable for beginners really. Anybody who’s really comfortable on a trail centre Red will cope admirably – though there will be the odd Black section for sure.

Fitness-wise, we’ll be be looking at biggish days – at least 5-6 hours – with plenty of ups and downs.

Loose plan

Two big days in the saddle on Saturday and Sunday.  Exact route will be weather and conditions dependent.

Cost

All-in price £230 per person

We only have eight places on this trip available.  To reserve your place please pay £20 to MBSwindon via bank transfer to MBSwindon’s bank account with the reference ‘Lakes June 2017’ to help us monitor payments.  Bank account details can be found on our members page.

Places will be allocated in the order that deposits are received.  Any deposits that are received after the trip has been filled will be refunded in full.

To wet your appetite here are some pictures from last years trip.

CommercialEvents, Events, MBSwindon Event

Bikepark Wales 2017

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It’s been a while since we had an MB Swindon day at Bikepark Wales, so we are heading back there on Saturday 15th April with Phil Allum.

BikePark Wales is the UK’s first full scale mountain bike park in the heart of the South Wales valleys, built by riders for riders. If you have not heard of the place then head over to  the BikePark Wales website to find out what is on offer. Want to know how a previous club day there went? You can read all about it in the ride report: Bike Park Wales. It is well worth a read as it gives a good indication of what to expect.

Uplift tickets are priced at £36 per person and will need to be booked and paid for directly at the Bikepark Wales booking page. Tickets are on sale now!

If you have the legs then you can always pedal yourself up and save your uplift money. If this is your intention then you do not need to book anything and just turn up on the day. But if you want to be on the uplift then you may want to book now, as last time the demand was so high, all tickets were snapped up within a few days. You have been warned!

Any questions please ask, see you all there!

CommercialEvents, Events, Multiday, Novice Friendly

MTB-Marathon series – Round 1 Builth Wells

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The MTB Marathon series 2017 kicks off in Builth Wells on the weekend of the 8th & 9th of April.

It is a one loop ride on the Sunday with distances from 25km to 65km to choose from. The area is great for riding, a good mixture of classic trails, double track bridleways and singletrack, all in the rolling hills of Mid Wales.

It features an event village full of caterers, trade stands, demo bikes, hot showers, proper toilets, live entertainment and a bar (Oh yes!) amongst other things. Entry includes camping, finisher’s t-shirt and the pasta party on the Saturday night, so why not make a weekend of it?

We will be setting up the MB Swindon pit area with the club’s gazebos so we’ll all have somewhere to hang out when not riding.

As well as the main event on the Sunday, there is also the option of the Exposure Lights big night out on the Saturday night, if you fancy a bit of night riding.

Please see the organisers’ website for all the details and for online entry: 8th-9th April 2017 Builth Wells, Mid Wales

Hope to see you there!

CommercialEvents, Events, Local Event

Swindon Bike Jumble

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Roger Osborn has organised a Swindon Bike Jumble, where people will be able to buy and sell complete bikes and bicycle related items.

The doors will be open from 09:30 – 12:30 and it’s a chance to grab a bargain or finally get round to clearing out your spare parts bin.

Tables are £5 each and there will be a £1 entrance fee for Buyers.

For more details please contact rogerosborn67@gmail.com

CommercialEvents, Events, MBSwindon Event

Happy Birthday 417

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It’s been a year (give or take a day or two) since the 417 Bike Park opened it’s doors to the public so we’re going to help them celebrate by repeatedly chucking ourselves down the hill on bikes.

If you haven’t been to the 417 for a while then this is a chance to check out the improvements and additional lines that have been put in. If you’ve never been then it’s a good opportunity to check out your nearest purpose built bike park. A days uplift pass, which also now gives you access to the indoor pump track and dirt jumps barn, costs £33 and can be purchased here. There’s also the option of paying for admission only and either pushing up or buying ‘pay as you go’ uplift tickets.

You can read our original review from our first visit this time last year here.

Our event starts at 10am which is when the uplift starts, probably a good idea to get there a bit early for signing in and faffing.

See y’all down there.

CommercialEvents, Events

CANCELLED – Oktoberfest

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**** 22 Sept 2016 updated ****
Bristol Bikefest have cancelled this event due to high costs and low uptake – full details in their news item.
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The Club is targeting a few commercial events during the year, and would like to get as big a group of riders as possible to attend. We’ll take along the Club gazebos and make each event a big ‘Club day out’.

These events are open to riders of all abilities – race in your age category or just pootle along as a ‘Fun’ category racer. This is probably the event that MB Swindon has the biggest presence at every year.

The event features an 8 hour event and, mixed in with that, two 4 hour events. This should give everybody lots of options to bring the season to a fun-packed end. It is also just a one-day event so that we can all concentrate on the riding followed by a well-deserved finishing party.

All events can be ridden as solo entries, pairs or teams of 3 – 4 riders.

Find out what last year’s event was like:

Ride Report: Oktoberfest 2014

Oktoberfest
Ashton Court, Bristol
8th October 2016
CommercialEvents, Events, MBSwindon Event, Multiday, Novice Friendly

South Wales Weekender

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Come and join us for a weekend of south- and mid-Wales trail centre riding.

Our accommodation for the weekend will be at the Gilfach Wen Bunkhouse, which we’ll be sharing with the MB Swindon ladies who’ll be running a separate event at the same time. You can read about our last club visit.

The plan is to gather at the bunkhouse on the Friday evening for a few drinks/social and possibly a visit to the local pub for a meal. On Saturday morning we’ll head over to Nant Yr Arian to ride whatever trail takes our fancy before returning to the bunkhouse for the traditional MB Swindon Saturday night BBQ. On Sunday we’ll head to Brechfa to ride some of the trails there before heading home. There’ll also be an opportunity to visit Cwm Rhaeadr for a lap or two of the small but perfectly formed trail there, either on the way to the bunkhouse on Friday or the way home on Sunday.

At the moment, accommodation for this event is restricted to 10 although more beds may be available if the ladies event doesn’t take its full allocation.

Cost will be approximately £45.00 for the 2 nights dependant on numbers. Please contact races@mbswindon.co.uk info@mbswindon.co.uk to register your interest in this trip.

CommercialEvents, Events, Ladies Only, MBSwindon Event, Multiday, Novice Friendly

MB Swindon ‘Ladies Do Brechfa’ Weekend

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16th-18th September

We’re going back!! The previous two ladies’ riding weekends to Wales were a great success, but they were some time ago now, so it’s time to ‘hit the trails’ again!!

The plan is to ride the trails at Brechfa over Saturday and Sunday. There is the ‘red’ graded Gorlech trail (graded red because of the climb involved, the distance and some of the technical features), the extremely popular ‘green/blue’ Derwen trail which is ridden for fun by all abilities and will have you swooping and whooping back to the car park, and the ‘black’ graded Raven trail if desired for any experienced riders. There is something here to suit everyone.

Ladies at Brechfa

There is also a short, cheeky but fun ‘red’ graded trail nearby if you fancy a ‘quick one’ on the way or on the way back. And there is always the opportunity to call in at another trail centre, such as Afan, on the way back home if you haven’t had your fill.

We will stay at a bunkhouse that caters specifically for large groups and provides great, clean and modern facilities. It is also close to a pub and the trails. To keep costs down the club is hiring this facility and we will share it with another group from MBSwindon who are planning to do their own riding. So it should be a great social weekend and a chance to meet other club members who you might otherwise not meet.

Numbers are limited to 10 for our Ladies’ group and costs are approximately £45 each depending on how many come. Food costs are additional and meal arrangements will be made nearer the time.

A reasonable level of fitness is required as there is a good amount of climbing involved on a mixture of fire roads and trail. However, we can walk bits and we will take our time and enjoy the experience of this beautiful trail centre set in a stunning location. There will be plenty of opportunity to regroup, catch our breath, picnic, eat cake… and, above all, enjoy ourselves.

Ladies at Brechfa

If this is your first experience of a trail centre then we recommend you visit Ashton Court and/or Forest of Dean beforehand to improve your confidence and we will be arranging ladies’ rides to those venues over the coming months. We also highly recommend attending a ‘Trail Skills’ course provided by the club to gain basic skills if you don’t already have them.

So what’s stopping you?! Come and have a great weekend doing a little of what you fancy and having fun with your riding buddies. If you are interested in coming or would like more information please can you email races@mbswindon.co.uk info@mbswindon.co.uk. Places will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and you will be asked to pay a deposit to secure your place.

Links:

Trails at Brechfa: http://www.mbwales.com/agents/brechfa/

Bunkbarn: http://www.brechfa-bunkhouse.com/

Ladies XC weekend at Brechfa 2012: http://www.mbswindon.co.uk/ladies-trip-mudtrek-sept-2012/

MB Swindon Trail Skills Course (no dates set for 2016 yet): http://www.mbswindon.co.uk/training/trail-skills/

CommercialEvents, Events, Multiday

TwentyFour12

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The Club is targeting a few commercial events during the year, and would like to get as big a group of riders as possible to attend. We’ll take along the Club gazebos and make each event a big ‘Club day out’.

These events are open to riders of all abilities – race in your age category or just pootle along as a ‘Fun’ category racer. There are solo, pairs and teams of 4 categories. If you fancy it, sign up, let us know, and we’ll help you find others to ride with.

Twentyfour12 is an endurance Mountain Bike Race around a course of approximately 12-14km, entirely off road. As the name suggests there are multiple races taking place at the same time on the same course a 24hour race, a 12hour one starting at midday and another 12 hour one at Midnight- the Torchbearer12.

The idea is quite simple, you race as many laps as you can in the time allowed and as long as you have started a lap before the finish time you will be able to complete it. There are lots of different categories in each race and there should be something that appeals to all levels and ability of rider from novices through to very experienced and all levels of equipment and lighting.

Twentyfour12
Down in Devon
23rd and 24th July 2016