What are the Southern Trail Rides?

Southern Trail Rides are designed to take the hassle out of a great days riding. If you're new to the sport and don't know where to ride, or a more experienced biker looking to find new areas, or if your lifestyle just leaves you too busy to plan your weekends riding, the Trail Rides are ideal for you.

Just choose from one of three waymarked off-road mountain bike rides, laid out to suit a range of riders. The rides are held in locations across the south, selected for the quality of their off road riding. Event bases are chosen for their good parking and general facilities.

The different ride lengths are:

SHORT RIDE
A great ride for novice and leisure riders riders and a perfect opportunity for the family to enjoy a ride together. Covers 12-15 miles of well marked trails over enjoyable off road terrain. Routes will cover climbs, descents and road sections but avoid the harder trails where possible. We leave minimum age down to you as some kids are bigger than others and you probably know your own kids abilities best.

MEDIUM RIDE
The medium ride is more of a challenge and incorporates up to 22-27 miles of excellent off road terrain. A good test of fitness and a great way to explore a new area. Much of this ride will take in the experts route and will include the best descents in the area.. and of course the biggest climbs!

LONG RIDE
The tougher long route extends the sports ride to between 30 and 40 miles. Routes may include tough hill climbs, fast descents and an element of navigation. Riding up to 40 miles at pace off road is a serious work out, but we always include the best trails around so you get plenty of reward for your hard work.

TIME BANDS (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Although the rides are non competitive, a lot of people still often like to know how well they've done, so we record your start and finish times. When you complete your ride your time will be calculated and clip card displayed in either the bronze, silver or gold categories, depending on your average speed. Of course, some riders aren't bothered about all this and have other plans for their day out on the bike - so for them, we've created a fourth 'pub' category...