It may only be the first week of 2017, but already our calendars for the summer season are starting to fill up! If you’re still yet to put pencil to your diary, get ready for another event to add to the potential list – the Land’s End To Bristol MTB Adventure.
No prizes for guessing what this one’s about – it’s a 6-day event that will take riders from Land’s End at the start, to Bristol about 290 miles away. About half of it will be off-road, with much of the course taking in bridleways, byways, singletrack, woodland, moorland, trail centre’s, urban and more. If you love the idea of bikepacking, but you’d like to do it in a semi-supported fashion that involves camping along the way, then this is your ticket to multi-day saddle time bliss!
Event
The event will follow a route from Land’s End to Bristol which is the south-western leg of a brand new off-road version of the iconic ‘Land’s End/John o’ Groats’ currently being created by us at Mtb Epics UK.
Riding through Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, the many highlights will include some of the best mountain biking areas in England – Dartmoor, Exmoor, The Quantocks and The Mendips. Other lesser-known highlights include Cornish moorlands, The Poldice Valley, Blanchdown woods and The Brendon Hills.
Event registration/luggage and bike handover takes place at ‘The Mud Dock’ – The well-known bike shop/cafe in central Bristol on Saturday 20th May.The event itself, starting the following day from Land’s End, will be split into 6 riding days and will include 6 nights camping. Entrants luggage will be transferred daily to the next overnight stop/finish line. The 6 camping stopovers will include phone/gadget charging facilities, access to workstands/tools/cleaning equipment and a buffet breakfast.
Route
The route is 290 miles long (466km), and with around half of it being off-road along with the 25,000 feet (7,620m) of elevation gain means this event is aimed at experienced and fit riders. Detailed OS mapping will be provided and GPX files will be emailed to entrants prior to the event. The route itself will consist of bridleways, byways, singletrack, quiet lanes, woodland, moorland and urban, all with a huge variety of trail surfaces including rocks, roots and river crossings. Feed and water stops will be situated en-route on each day.
Daily Ride Info
Land’s End to Truro
44miles (71km) – 2,820ft (860m) elevation gain
Rocky moorland bridleways – St Michaels Mt. – Mineral Tramway Trails (World Heritage Site)
Truro to Tavistock
63miles (101km) – 5,150ft (1570m)
Woodland trails – Bodmin Moor – Tamar Valley Industrial Heritage Trails
Tavistock to Moretonhampstead
34miles (55km) – 4100ft (1250m)
Dartmoor – Big climbs – Rocks – Roots – River crossings
Moretonhampstead to Exford
56miles (90km) – 5,000ft (1524m)
Moor to Moor – Steep rocky descents – Moorland singletrack
Exford to Bridgwater
48miles (77km) – 4100ft (1250m)
Dunkery Beacon – Moorland trails – Fantastic views – Long descents – Classic Quantocks
Bridgwater to Bristol
46miles (74km) – 3,600ft (1097m)
Somerset Levels – Classic Mendips – Woodland trails – Avon Gorge
Entry
Online entry is now open and will close on 10th May 2017 (10 days before the event). Entry cost is £225, which gets you;
– 6 days fully supported riding
– 6 nights camping
– Luggage transfers
– Pre-event BBQ
– 6 buffet breakfasts
– Fully detailed OS maps
– GPX files
– Water and feed stops
– Phone/gadget charging facilities
– Bike wash facilities
– Use of workstands and tools
– Public liability insurance
– Event T-shirt
For more information, head to MTB Epics UK for all you need to know!
Comments (9)
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Errr, doesn’t it start in Cornwall Wil – only registration and the finish is in Bristol….
Course it does. Wil’s title is referring to the ride back to your car after the event 🙂
Spot on @Rubber_Buccaneer 😉
That actually looks like a proper good do! Shame I got married, had kids, ruined my life and therefore can’t do it.
which part of this is the bikepacking part ?
None of it Steveo;
“If you love the idea of bikepacking, but you’d like to do it in a semi-supported fashion that involves camping along the way, then this is your ticket to multi-day saddle time bliss!”
Sounds like it would be a good event for those who are bikepacking-curious, but perhaps don’t currently own any specialist gear or are a little intimidated by the idea of fully self-supported riding.
I think it sounds like a ripper event!
It doesn’t sound in any way relevant to bikepacking. Your luggage is carried for you and there’s a buffet breakfast. How does that relate to bike packing?
Thought the course would make an ace long weekend bikepacking – seems rather short days for me though
No mention of a free beer at the end I am out 🙂