Friday 9 January 2009

Chieveley MTB Ride Preview

We've just finished the mountain bike course ready for tomorrow, all that's left is for Dean and Jon to do a lap of the night route in the dark this evening to check the reflective marking is clearly visible.

For those that are riding tomorrow here's a summary of the routes.

There's a large network of bridleways and byways to the north of Chieveley which means we've been able to avoid the need for much riding on the roads. From the start at Chieveley the route heads towards Peasemore before winding it's way over to East Isley which is where the short route riders turn and head back to the finish passing via Beedon.

From East Isley the the Medium and Long route riders do a short section on The Ridgeway before heading towards East Hendred Down. Here the long riders leave the main route to search out the self navigation check points after which they rejoin back at the same point. From East Hendred Down the main route heads towards Chilton and Upton before turning back towards East Isley and through Beedon towards the finish.

The ground has stayed pretty much frozen all day today so unless we get a sudden heat wave it seems like it will be quite a quick course as there's no real muddy setions to slow you down.

The three course distances are Short (15 miles), Medium (26 miles) and Long (33 miles). Night riders will complete the 15 mile short route.

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