Off Road/Dirt Road Riding
Comments from our new Bath CC have Off road captain- Matt Turner:
Aa the new Captain, the aim is to provide more dirt based rides into the club’s current group rides offerings. Bath and the local surrounding countryside is blessed with an extensive network of trails and bridleways, with a number of really nice loops all around the city. The surfaces are generally a mixed terrain, some technical, some not so and others highly seasonal. The MTB riding around Bath is great fun and varied.
Bath CC currently has a lot of interest in off road riding with a number of members participating in the Western Cyclocross League and currently hosts a monthly all terrain/gravel ride. These new rides will replace the all terrain rides and will be a cross country mountain bike group ride on a the third Sunday of each month. The first of these will be on the 30th January (due to other commitments the week before).The riders would require a mountain bike ideally with at least front suspension as we will be covering a range of terrains including trails, rocky bridleways and lanes around Bath. The routes can however relatively easily be ridden on Gravel Bikes so don’t be put off, the descents will just be a bit more ‘fun’.
The rides will be between 40-50km in length with a coffee stop if required, in the summer there will be longer rides such as a 100km epic around the Mendips. The rides will all start and finish in Bath and routes and sign up instructions will be published in the usual way.
If the Sunday group rides are successful and popular, we hope to introduce additional midweek night rides and possible trips to trail centres, both local and further afield (e.g. Windhill Bike Park in Longleat, and Bike Park Wales, Cwmcarn, Afan ). Also, when Bath Bike Park is successfully completed the club could make really good use of that facility too.
In addition some Bath CC members are intending to race BMX at some of the regional events this year representing Bath BMX Club. If anyone is interested in taking part in this really fun and skillful sport Bath BMX Club are really well run, the coach Matt Eaton runs some excellent and inclusive training sessions. BMX is a really great way to improve bike handling skills and is great fun for all ages, so if any children or adults are interested in giving it a go please get in touch with the offroad captain Mat Turner. Some more information can be found in the links below:
https://www.facebook.com/Cycle-Coaching-from-Matt-Eaton-339031220211331/
And finally, the mtbepicsuk Cotswolds 200 ride is being run later this year and it looks like a belter, 4 days of off road riding from Bath up to Weston-sub-edge and back again and only £135 fully supported. Its organised by a friend of David Stoyle, so it must be good. Some riders have already shown interest and it would be ace to get a team of Bath CC MTB’ers entered its certainly something to train for:
https://www.mtbepicsuk.co.uk/cotswolds-200/
See you on the trails!
Matthew Turner
