On Sunday June 20th the village of Upton played host to a mountain bike challenge in order to raise funds for their village hall. Riders had the choice of 3 routes; 5 mile (family), 25 mile (leisure), and 45 mile (endurance) options taking in the North Wessex Downs and part of the Ridgeway. The event was sponsored by Mountain Mania Cycles, who have shops in nearby Didcot and, more locally to Bucks MTB, in Tring.

Arriving a with just enough time to register and tie our number boards on our bikes we joined the group of riders on the start line fighting for places at the back of the pack. The back of the pack had a really relaxed atmosphere with a well mixed range of abilities (and bikes!). A thorough briefing precluded the van-escorted crossing of the main road which left us at the bottom of a short steep hill that quickly sorted the group into those with their race-heads on and those out for a gentle ride.

The trails ranged from wide farm tracks with few features to some really tight and swoopy singletrack descents. Generally the overtaking duties were easiest to complete on the farm tracks and minor roads with little room to squeeze past once the trees closed in (which led to one frustrating descent stuck behind a <ahem> overly-cautious rider, making the previous climb seem even more painful!). On the whole the trails were really good with the minimum of tarmac and loads of variety.

Those alongside us also seemed to be taking the more relaxed approach with regards to finishing times and were more than happy to stop to offer help when the inevitable mechanicals slowed us down. Offers to help with our lunch and snacks were kindly refused!

Support during the ride was really well organised with many water stops (run by air cadets) and a couple oif St John's Ambulance Bikes taking care of those in need of any help. Marshalls along the course helped with any road crossings and the signage was excellent throughout. A few mileage markers would have been lovely but only to provide a bit of needed encouragement towards the end.

We managed to finish the 25 mile route within 3.5 hours including snacks, lunch, fixing a few bits and bobs and allowing me to play with my new camera! A BBQ and cake shop met us at the finish line and we managed to watch the family ride head off at a storming pace! Sadly for us the village's first beer festival didn't quite have the beer festival atmosphere we had expected so we scooted off to find a quiet beer garden to rest our legs.

In general this was a really well organised event and one I would happily recommend although the £18.00 on-the-day entry fee would have felt a bit steep if it were not for our Bucks MTB discounts (Thanks!)

More information on the event: www.uptonvillage.co.uk/uptonogood
 

Best Regards
Mike
The Bucksmtb Team