Hello again Malvern Hills! A small turn out again with the distance and the weather forecast, but Jez kindly organised and led another club members ride to the Malvern Hills. If you have not been before do keep an eye peeled for our next Malvern's adventure as there are some cracking views, amazing trails and good cake to be found...
Our Members were spoilt with superb weather and amazing trail conditions in Cannock Chase (Staffordshire) on another cracking ride kindly organised and led by Club Member Steve Attwood!
Club Member SteveA kindly took to the trails again and led three other Club Members around a sticky winter-esque Chiltern Hills route starting and finishing in Watlington. More Club Members rides being added to the calendar all the time, please keep an eye out for our next upcoming rides!
A BucksMTB Club ride first, with a cheeky January trip out to the Surrey Hills. The ride was kindly organised and led by Club member, Steve Attwood. A top singletrack route around the Surrey Hills enjoyed by all.
Our last XC Open Group Ride was held in and around Ivinghoe, taking in a picturesque snow covered Chiltern Hills. We had seven people out on the ride; we were surprised on such a good turn out as the weather was very bad as it snowed all the way round. An Open Ride wouldn't be an Open Ride had a few mechanicals along the way the temperature dropped further so there was a lot of very cold riders so we stopped for a break at the Bluebell Cafe to warm up. Further along we had to split the group up to assist one of the riders as he was struggling a bit. Minus some pretty snow covered views it wasn’t the best day to go riding but we were surprised how many turned up, we were really glad our contingency plans worked. Thank you to everyone who came along and we hope to see you all again soon.
The last of our three rides on Sunday 12th November was our Club Members ride at Watlington. After a few last minute cancellations four riders braved the chill and mud but enjoyed a fantastic Chiltern Hills loop in the sunshine. A club ride isn't complete without a cafe visit which was of course completed! A big thank you to club member SteveA for organising and leading the ride.
The first of our two club member only rides on Sunday 12th November was a "Sunday Swinley" ride at Swinley Forest near Bracknell. Just two of us turned up for this super short notice organised ride (it was only confirmed late the day before). An early start was cold, but the sun was out. The trails were running fast but there were some large areas of standing water and some nice sloppy sections and lethal roots thrown in too. The carrot cake went down a treat mind.
What a great day in the calendar, three rides in one day (12/11/2017)! Our first ride was our Open XC Group Ride at Invinghoe, open to both non-member visitor riders (to try out the club!) and existing club members too. Six riders took part in this ride, including a mix of new and returning faces. A sunny but muddy 15 mile (ish) Chiltern Hills loop enjoyed by all. A big thank you to ride leaders Darren and Mark for planning and leading the ride.
Our last Club Members ride took place this weekend just gone (28th October). Five club members took to the trails on a Chiltern Hills 'Chequers Loop'. Trail conditions were pretty good considering the time of year. The photo taken at our 'secret club office'. Thank you to club member Steve Attwood for planning and leading the ride. More club members rides to be published in the diary very soon.
After some changes at work and some short notice holiday being approved it was decided for a cheeky three day mountain bike weekend. After looking into the lack of short notice flights to the Alp and the poor weather forecast for Scotland I decided to head to North Wales. As it was far too short notice to make it a proper club trip I decided at least to open it up to members to come along; Chris, Adam and James all appeared for a various combination of days.
Read more: Club Members in North Wales; Llandegla, Coed y Brenin & Penmachno Report