Nice report from the #MTBMeetup folk…
Floods, freezing temperatures and weather warnings didn’t stop over 40 riders coming together from all over the UK on Saturday for the inaugural, Twitter coordinated, #MTBMeetup. Tempted by sponsored tea and coffee, copious amounts of home-made cake and raffle prizes donated by leading bike brands, the event was the brainchild of Simon Bradley (@_Si_Bradley). Anyone who follows Si will know that for the last six weeks his timeline has been full of posts about the event in which he planned to get riders together for a social ‘blast’ of his favourite Welsh trails.
Recently, Twitter has become a powerful platform for cyclists to connect, chat and share riding experiences and we’ve seen many an attempt to get people together but rarely do they pull it off with the success that Si achieved. Riders from Somerset, Brighton, Portsmouth, the Midlands, the Peak District, Yorkshire, and the Lakes assembled at the Coed-y-Brenin mountain bike centre at 9am on Saturday morning, prepared and ready to go.
After the customary meet and greet, and attempts to put faces to Twitter avatars, coffee and bacon sandwiches were duly dispatched, and two groups set off to ride the classic Beast and MBR trails. Despite the best attempts of the weather to put a dampener on the day, the Coed-y-Brenin trails held up fantastically well as was evidenced by the tired legs and muddy, smiling faces at the end of the day.
Huge thanks go to the kind folk who helped arrange the day and the generous sponsors who donated raffle prizes which helped raise nearly £300 for the Cyclists v Cancer Charity (cyclistsfightingcancer.org.uk).
Si and some of the attendees are planning further Twitter coordinated meet-up events at various UK locations throughout the year, so follow the #MTBMeetup hashtag to get involved.
In keeping with the social media theme you can join the discussion and see the full gallery of pictures from the day by tuning in to #MTBMonday with @PureMountains and @Cmjdavies on Twitter at 8pm tonight (Monday 3rd February).
All images thanks to Chris Davies, chrisdaviesphotography.com
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excellent work @_si_bradley!
What he said. Fantastic day! Top man for organising it.
Few more (less good) images at http://on.fb.me/1dlQg6i :o)
More pics here of the day – http://goo.gl/fflEvu
We were talking to Si post ride in the changing rooms at Coed Y Brenin. Great effort, might tag along on the next ride.