News

Bedgebury Harvesting Operation

2012-01-12T19:25:00.003Z

As Bedgebury is a working forest it is necessary for the Forest Commission to carry out Harvesting operations. The harvesting is due to begin from Monday 16th January for a period of 10 weeks.

How will this effect the trails??.

There are likely to be some trail diversion's put in place, if you come across these please adhere to them as they are there for the safety of all.

Boars On Bikes Newsletter 20th September

2011-09-20T09:48:00.002+01:00

Sorry there has been no news for a few weeks but I’ve been on holiday - a week of riding bikes down in the South West.
Fellow boars Paul and John joined me for a couple of days and we explored the Quantock hills.
There is some excellent riding down there so we’ll arrange a weekend outride as some point, probably next spring.

So what’s happening closer to home then?

Insomnia!

So many people to thank here for a fantastic event so here goes:
Andy Bocking for organising the event alongside the BHF.
Paul Stevens, Gary Scott and Geoff Hodgson for grooming, repairing, painting and marking out the course.
Terry, Robin, Tally, Nigel, Paul, Geoff, Alan, Jake, Faith, Malky, Martin, Tim, John, James and Harry for being absolutely brilliant marshals and staying up all night to support the riders and making my job easy.
All the club members who rode the event. Thank you all so much guys you really did the club proud!

First Aid

Andy from Emergency Life Support Team still has a few places left on the Wilderness first aid course running 24th to 25th September.
The course is brilliant, the teacher is inspiring and with the knowledge gained you could save a life.
Don’t forget as an added bonus you get 10% off for being a club member.
Go to http://elst.co.uk/wilderness-first-aid now to book your place.

Club Shirts

The long awaited club shirts have finally landed.
I’ll be selling them this Saturday (24th) from 9.30 for quarter of an hour and from 12.00 for quarter of an hour.
If you want me to post one to you, please just let me know.
I have road shirts, mountain shirts and free ride shirt in a variety of sizes, as well as shirts for juniors.

Junior Club

Not many sessions left this year now so make the most of it.
The next one is on 24th September, gathering from 9.30 to ride at 10.00.

Coaching

The next advanced adult training course is on 9th October 2011 and there are still a few places left.
The course runs from 10am to approx 3pm.Cost is just £50 per day.
The day will focus specifically on all the individual core techniques that collectively make up the skill you wish to improve your knowledge and competence in. Initially training & assessment will be within the dedicated training area so that we can offer controlled individual coaching.
Where appropriate we will ride out into the Forest to test you new skills on Bedgebury’s’ single track.
This course is aimed at competent off-road riders with a good grounding knowledge in bike handling skills, but is looking to improve their skills or indeed tackle some of the advance skills for the first time.
Speed of development will be group/rider driven and it may take more than one session to achieve your own personal goals.
To book or for more information please contact Gary Scott on Gscot1@aol.com or call him on 0789 641 2223.

See you out soon

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Newsletter 23rd Feb

2011-02-24T16:02:00.001Z

Yay! The forest sell off has been dumped (for now), so well done and thank you to everyone who signed petitions, wrote to their MP’s and generally made their feelings known. There is one downside though; I had a cracking April fool planned for this newsletter involving the new owners of Bedgebury (an Arabian Sheik), a billion tones of sand, a huge parasol, and a herd of camels to assist with trail building. Oh well, back to the drawing board…

Membership Renewals
You should all by now have received your renewal forms for the coming year. Happily the price has stayed the same as have the benefits, so you still get free showers, bike wash and 10% discount at Quench cycles as well as free parking (if you go for that option). This really does represent excellent value and can deliver big savings for regular visitors. Please send your forms back as soon as you can, so Carol and Geoff can get the new car park passes out to you before the end of next month. With over 250 members they really don’t want to be trying to process them all in the last week!

Nightrides
Nightrides should be a bit more regular now thanks to Ollie Ireland and Chris “Barkie” Barker, offering to help lead the rides. Many thanks chaps!

Trail Build
Thanks to those who rolled up their sleeves and helped with the trail build. We resurfaced the black run and it should be open again soon.

Coaching
Details of this years coaching courses including Junior club will be on the website any day now, so keep your eyes peeled for the opportunities for develop your skills whatever your age or riding abilities.

Outrides
This Sunday 27th sees the first outride of the year at Swinley forest near Bracknell. The postcode for satnav users is RG12 7QW. The meeting point will be at the Pagoda just outside the Look Out Discovery Centre at 10am. You will need to pick up your day permit to ride the forest which costs a couple of quid from the centre or you can save time on the day and buy in advance from https://sslrelay.com/www.mbsawebsite.com/sess/utn154d64f80c27cd1/shopdata/index.shopscript

Bedgebury Demo Day
This Saturday 26th February sees Specialized, Giant and Trek come to our forest with some of their great bikes for us to get all muddy for them. Details at http://www.thedemoseries.co.uk/

Best wishes,

Boris

AGM Minutes Available

2011-02-06T17:40:00.000Z

To view AGM Minutes, Chairman's and Officers Reports Click Here

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club January 2011 Newsletter

2011-02-06T17:29:00.003Z

Hello, and a belated Happy New Year to all of you

Diving straight in this week without too much preamble or exclamations about the weather.

Ladies Ride

Ali is hosting another session of the Bedgebury ladies talking club during which she will invite you to occasionally l pedal to another scenic view point.
You may correctly deduce that these rides are more social than speedy and Ali would love to see all you ladies there at the bike wash at 10am this Saturday 30th January. Judging by the grins on their faces when they returned last time, these rides are really good fun, so why not join the party!

AGM

We had the AGM as planned for the second time at the beginning of this month. Many thanks to the club members who attended (both of you…). The good news is there were just enough people present to elect a committee. The bad news is I am still press officer so you have to put up with my deranged scribbling for another year. In all seriousness, when there are over 250 club members, it’s a little disappointing when less than 20 turn out. I know it was cold and dark etc but the whole club is being run by the same dozen or so people and we’re getting a bit stretched!

Night rides

On a similar subject, many apologies for the frequent cancellations of the Wednesday night rides recently. In simple terms, we don’t have enough people who will volunteer to lead it and can be sure to be there at the right time. So if the ride leader gets detained at work or in traffic, we don’t have any back-up to let the ride go ahead. Sorry. We are also stopping the Thursday night rides for a while as well. We'll review night rides when the evenings get lighter.

Trail Build

On a brighter note, thanks to those who turned out to build trails a couple of weeks ago. A few sections were patched up and a new easier climb has been cut going up the hill at the end of section 4. Nice work guys.
The club is working with the FC to repair the section known as Gloomy Wood – the section with the berms and no trees. Work should start shortly.

Coaching

Following a coaches meeting last week, we will soon be announcing coaching dates for this year. The Saturday Junior club will run again in an improved form and there will be many more informal adult skills sessions as well as more formal courses. Details as soon as we have finalised the dates.

Out rides

We will also be publishing a full programme of out rides for this year as well including such locations as Swinley Forest, Leith Hill and Cannock Chase.

Holiday rides!

If you look on the forum you will see details of a trip to Afan in South Wales on the weekend of the Royal Wedding. There is also a trip to South Scotland to rides some of the 7 Stanes trails. If you have any interest in either of these trips, please let me know or post on the forum.

And finally

You have doubtless seen in the news the government proposal to sell the Forestry Commission Forests. It’s certainly not my place to tell you what to think about this, but today a public consultation has opened. You can make your views known here:

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/england-pfeconsultation

There is also an online petition here:

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests

However the best way to make your voice heard is to write to your MP and local councillor. Details of how to contact them are here:

http://www.writetothem.com/

When you write, information to include would be:
What access to the forest means to you
What impact reduced forest access would have on your family’s life
What you think the social effect would be of depriving families the opportunity to exercise in the forest and interact with nature
The economic and environmental effects from maybe having to travel further to exercise in a traffic free environment
The effect of the loss of coaching facilities in a traffic free environment
Your feelings on the potential loss of community spirit which the club offers.
Any other benefits which you are concerned you may lose.

Best wishes,

Boris

Ladies Club Ride 30th Jan

2011-01-08T17:16:00.002Z

Join Alice Jarvis, BFCC Ladies Representative, for an introductory leisure ride around the Forest on both the singletrack and family trail Sunday 30th January 2011.

This is a social ride to allow like-minded bike riding ladies the chance to get together in a relaxed pressure-free environment and go out and ride some trails you might already have ridden and maybe explore a few more that you haven't tried yet.

For more information please visit the club website and keep up to date with updates that will appear on the Forums.

Meet at 10am by the bike wash!

For Further Info contact Alice on 07811779340

Bedgebury Festival of Cycling 17th -18th July

2010-07-08T16:38:00.004+01:00

Bedgebury Forest Cycling Club will be offering a variety of events over this weekend.
For details on how to book on courses visit our stand where you can also find out more about the BFCC and if you’re not a member you can join on the day.

Saturday Morning

09:30 – 12:00 Go Ride and Interclub Race Meeting for Juniors. Please check out our racing page for further details.

Saturday Afternoon

13:30 – 16:30 Junior Introduction to Mountain Biking Course Part 1. Booking form is on our courses web page or you can book Saturday morning at our stand.

14:00 – 17:00 Learn a new riding skill with our Cycling Coaches these will be run on the hour last one starts at 16:00.

Sunday Morning

10:00 – 13:00 Junior Introduction to Mountain Biking Course Part 2. Booking form is on our courses web page or you can book Saturday morning only at our tent.

11:00 – 13:00 A Led ride around the forest. Discover Bedgebury Forest single track and areas you may not have ridden before. Lead by our experienced club members.

Sunday Afternoon

Taster sessions and Introduction to an advanced riding skill with our Cycling Coaches. Full advance courses will be available in the Autumn, so checkout your skills today before committing your soul to 'the Undertaker'...:

14.00 - Drop Off’s
15.00 - Bunny Hops
16.00 - Table Tops

NOTE: Flat pedals must be fitted to your bike. All taster sessions can be booked at the BFCC stand on Saturday or Sunday morning. Places are limited to just 8, so please ensure you book early to avoid disappointment.

Bedgebury to host Festival of Cycling

2010-06-28T19:07:00.005+01:00

Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th July

Over the past four years Bedgebury Forest has become South East England's premier off-road cycling venue. To celebrate this success and highlight the health and fitness as well as the leisure benefits of cycling, Bedgebury is hosting a Festival of Cycling over the weekend of Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th July.

The event will run from 10am till 4pm each day (Bedgebury will be open as usual from 8am - 8pm) and will involve free coaching sessions, Enduro races and Skill Development Activities (learn a new trick) organised by British Cycling and the Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club, with the assistance of Bedgebury Cycle Coach Ollie Ireland.

Kent Air Ambulance will also be organising a fund-raising treasure hunt round the Family Cycle Trail on Sunday.

Quench Cycles will be offering return vouchers and bike maintenance demonstrations. Marin will be showcasing their range of bikes.

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club will be offering a variety of events for all the family

Introduction to Mountain Biking course Click here for further details.

Take part in a Mountain Bike Race Click here for further details.

Led rides around the single track

"This is a wonderful chance for cyclists of all ages and abilities to hone their skills on the cycle tracks round beautiful Bedgebury Forest." Says Philip Barnes, Bedgebury's Business Manager. "Recent research shows that an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day helps maintain good health, emotional well being, improved self-esteem, increased confidence and better social skills."

Apart from the usual car parking fee of £8, the event is free of charge.

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Newsletter 1st June

2010-06-01T18:00:00.001+01:00

Hi Folks,

Just a quickie this week with a few updates and changes:

Committee Meeting

There is a committee meeting on Wednesday 2nd June in the Old Pantry (in the old walled car park about 500m closer to Goudhurst than the main Bedgebury entrance). It starts at 6.30, and there is some quite significant stuff to discuss this week. Open to all members.

Night Ride

As there is a committee meeting on Wednesday, the nightride this week is on Thursday. Starting at 7.30pm outside Quench cycles. We finish at around 9pm, so at this time of year lights are not really needed if it’s a sunny evening.

Trail Building

This month the trail build has been moved to THIS WEEKEND. That’s Saturday 5th June. We are working on a quite exciting new section, so if a few people turn up we should all have something new and fun to ride! Meeting at 10am at the bike shop, bring a bike to get to the working area and a packed lunch. We work until around 3.30pm, although you can of course leave whenever you like.

Busy, busy, busy, so that’s all for now.

Happy Trails,

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Newsletter 27th April

2010-04-30T17:49:00.003+01:00

Good Evening Boars, Sows and Piglets and welcome to another edition of the fortnightly computer virus I like to call the club newsletter.

This newsletter has been virus checked, spell checked, grammar checked and punctuation checked. Unfortunately my brain has not been error checked so all mistakes remain, as ever my own…

Stolen – Reward Offered!

I start this week with news of a very serious theft from Bedgebury. It appears that over the past couple of weeks some devious thieves have been systematically stealing the very thing which makes Bedgebury special. The Mud! Now I don’t know who has been doing it, but I would certainly like to offer a reward. How great is it to ride there for the day and come back with a bike which is just “a bit dusty”? So take off your mud tyres, throw the mudguards in the back of the shed and enjoy the dust! Summer is here!

And now I’ve just seen the weather forecast for this weekend and I feel a bit silly having said all that. Nevermind, at least the rain is warm now…

Trail Build

Thank you to all who turned out for the trail build on the 17th. It was nice to see a couple of new faces there. We did a lot of work on the new Black section which hopefully will soon be opened. The next trail build will be on the 15th of May – please try to come along if you can. It really is very satisfying and we really appreciate your assistance.

This weekend…

This is a very busy weekend for the club with something for everyone.

On Saturday the second of our Junior Saturday Clubs meeting at 9.30 for a 10am start. This week Michael is due to lead with me assisting. Be afraid!
The usual club ride will also take place on Saturday starting at 10am at the bike shop. All are welcome.

On Sunday the first of our ladies specific rides will start from the Bike shop at 10am. Join Ali for a friendly ride around the forest using some singletrack, some of the family trail and some bits you may never have seen before.

Night rides

Wednesday nightrides are now starting from 7pm.
When it is our monthly committee on the first Wednesday of the month, then the nightride will be on following Thursday starting at 7.30pm. Confused? Well on Wednesday 5th May there won’t be a ride, but there will be one on Thursday May 6th starting at 7.30. We will finish at around 9pm, so you will still have time to vote on your way home!

Coaching

The coaching year is in full swing. We have already run successful courses for adults covering drop-offs and cornering and Junior courses introducing Mountain Biking. Coaching runs through until the Autumn, please see our coaching courses at http://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/courses.html . If you would like something covered which is not in our diary, please contact Gary our head coach on Gscot1@aol.com or call him on 0789 641 2223 as we may be able to add to our diary if there is sufficient demand.

Committee Meeting

The committee meeting in May is on May 5th starting at 6.30pm in the old pantry in the walled car park. All are welcome to attend; this is your chance to influence how the club is run.

And Finally

This is your newsletter for your club. If you have anything cycling related to say which you would like to share with your fellow club members please drop me a line and I’ll include it. Racing news, coaching feedback, cycling events may well be of interest to all of us so send your plans and reports to me. Thanks!

Enjoy your riding.

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 1st April

2010-04-04T11:19:00.001+01:00

Hello!

First of all a very warm welcome to those new members who have joined us at the beginning of our new membership year. Take off your sensible trousers and put a silly hat on. It’s great here – you’re gonna love it!

New Assets

It is very exciting to report the imminent arrival of some new assets to the club. The Forestry Commission quite rightly do not allow us to use power tools or motorized vehicles in the forest due to the potential dangers to the users and others in the vicinity. However this causes us a lot of very hard work when it comes to cutting the grass around the training area and racetrack, and in transporting tools and materials when trail building. So in order to reduce the labour and increase the time we spend actually building trails we have purchased three new assets. Molly and Dolly are a pair of New Romney Black faced ewes who will be responsible for keeping the grass cut and providing something soft to fall on to when we have novices practicing in the training area. We are also hoping to use them to boost club funds by offering a range of Ewes Milk dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and eggs. Fleecy saddle covers with the club logo on will hopefully be available by mid summer.

The third member of the team is an Dutch Heavy Horse called Dwaas. He is eight years old and is 15 hands tall but only has four feet. He will be used to transport materials and tools to trail build days, dramatically speeding up the opening of the new sections of singletrack. We are hoping he will be available to us for the next trail build on April 10th as long as he can complete a training day on singletrack cornering and drop-offs with Gary our head coach beforehand.

If you are near the training area, please feel free to go and see our newest members and maybe take them a carrot or two!

Trail Build

Our last trail build was a great success with nearly 20 volunteers! We were able to work on three sections of trail including Wanda and Starvegoose which are now running much better. Thank You very much for all involved and hopefully we will see even more of you on the next trail build day on April 10th.

Coaching

The new coaching season is almost upon us. We start on April 10th (busy day for the club!) with an introduction to Mountain Biking course, then on 17th April the Junior members Saturday club starts. For more information and bookings please seehttp://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/courses.html

Demo Day Thanks

Dave Cole would like to Thank all those who helped out at the Demo day last Sunday. Feedback has been very good, and your help is very much appreciated.

Night Rides

There have been several requests to run night rides later to allow those with lives to get to them. We are delighted to announce that from next week the rides will be as follows: First Wednesday in the month is a committee meeting so no night ride. The Thursday after the committee meeting will be a “late” night ride starting at 7.30 and finishing no later than 9.00. I will be leading it so there is nothing at all to fear… Every other Wednesday in the month will be the usual night ride starting at 6.30. In both cases make sure you are on time as we lock the car park gates to keep our cars safe.

So hopefully I will see a few of you next Thursday at 7.30. Please let me know if you wish to borrow lights.

Ladies ride

Apologies to Ali, the Ladies ride is actually in the 2nd May not the 3rd as I reported in the last newsletter. Come along and meet Ali for a relaxed and friendly Ladies only ride. And Ladies if you want to bring your male partners along I’m sure there will be a few of us gents so we might as well do an informal separate male ride as well so we don’t feel left out!

Racing

We are still hoping to run some races this year and will have details shortly, but in the meantime please use these links to see details of other races organised by local clubs:

http://www.vcjubilee.co.uk/events_2010.html
http://www.southeastcycling.co.uk/racingcalendar.htm

Committee Meeting

And finally, we are holding our monthly committee meeting next Wednesday 6th April at the old pantry on the walled garden. Starting at 6.30, all are welcome.

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 5th March

2010-03-08T18:30:00.010Z

G'day!

Lots to report this week due to the committee meeting last Wednesday, but first a major irritation to share with you. It started as soon as the meeting was opened. It distracted, it annoyed, it infuriated. Several of us tried unsuccessfully to eradicate it. I very nearly had it at one point but missed by millimeters. Then at eight minutes past seven, our junior rep Alex flashed out his arm, flicked his glove, and finally it was all over. The fly was dead. Alex we salute you!

Membership Renewals

You should all by now have received your forms to renew your membership. It's worth just pointing out what you get for your money. FREE parking worth £7.50 per visit. FREE bike wash worth £1.50 per wash. FREE showers worth £1 per shower. FREE 10% discount at Quench cycles. FREE fortnightly newsletter. So if a couple come along once a week to ride and wash their bikes and have a shower, then over the course of a year they will save £648!!! That's in addition to all the events, night rides, escorted rides, training and coaching opportunities, race program and trail building. Blimey, even I might join this year It's also worth pointing out that the parking portion of your membership is ring fenced for spending on trail development and the club pays no salaries to it's officers. Everything you pay stays within the club to improve it.

ICE Cards

When you renew your membership you will receive an ICE (In Case of Emergency) card. This is to be given to the ride leader on all club rides so he has a note of everyone attending and emergency contact details. At the end of the ride, the card will be returned to you. If when everyone has gone home, the ride leader still has some cards left, he knows he has left someone in the forest. Not that this has ever happened. Probably.

Your club needs YOU!

After several years of service our race organiser and Treasurer have decided to step down. The club would like to thank Ray and Christine for their hard work and valuable contribution over the years.

However we do now need to fill these positions. If you or anyone you know would be interested in finding out more about what these roles involve and if you could fill them, please contact our chairman David Cole at Quench cycles 01580 879694

Bike Demo Day

On the 28th March (my birthday in case anyone wants to send me a card) there is going to be a big demo day at Bedgebury. Bikes available to try include Scott, Lapierre, Saracen, Norco, Ghost, Ragley, Tomac, Rose and Red Bull. To book a test ride go to http://demodays.bikeradar.com/event.php?id=18 We also need marshals on the day to make sure riders don't get lost in the forest. If you are able to volunteer for a few hours, please contact Dave Cole at Quench cycles 01580 879694. Dave assures me all marshals will get a new Lapierre bike as a reward.*

Freeride Area Update

A provisional plan has been drawn up for the freeride area. It consists of an extension to the dirt jump area to turn it in to a dual cross track, a mini downhill course and a pump track. The mini north shore will be kept. The plans are currently on hold pending the necessary finance being raised.

Trail Build Day

Weather permitting (AGAIN!) we will have a major build day on 13th March. We meet at 9.45 at Quench Cycles and tools are provided. Bring a bike to get to the build area and stay as long as you like. This month we are concentrating on repairing some of the damage caused to the trails by the weather.

Ladies Ride

Ali, our Ladies rep has organised a Ladies ride for Ladies only on Sunday 3rd May. On this ride you can meet with other Ladies and do Ladies things. Actually, not being a Lady, I have no idea what they will be doing, but I'm sure it will be fun. If you are a Lady.

Junior Saturday Club

From Easter until September a Saturday Junior club will run. This is a FREE training course run every fortnight from 17th April. There are only two conditions: 1. You must have a Junior membership of BFCC, Bring your membership card as this will confirm parental consent given, 2. Parents must read & comply with our unaccompanied children guidance within the BFCC Policy for Lead Riders.
You do not need to book, just come along on the day for approx. 9.30am as we will depart promptly at 10am. Meeting point will be Quench Cycle Shop near the bike wash.

Advanced Adult Skill Courses

Limited to just 8 riders, so book fast!
Following on from last year's successful series and by popular demand our Head Coach will be commencing another series of short 3 hour advance skill courses. As always we pay particular attention to feedback on the clubs Forum which has helped format these three sessions:

DROP-Off's Saturday 20th March 8am to approx. 11.00am
CORNERING Sunday 18th April 8am to approx. 11.00am
BUNNY HOPS/TABLE-TOP JUMPS Sunday 16th May 8am to 11.00am
More details on all our courses at http://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/courses.html

Saturday and Wednesday Club rides

These rides are still happening at 10am and 18.30pm respectively Keep an eye on the forum though in case of last minute problems, generally of a weather related nature. Come on in and join us the water is lovely!

Happy Trails

Boris

*To look at for a few minutes. Seriously, what did you expect?

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 18th Feb

2010-02-22T18:18:00.004Z

This week the newsletter has been delayed by a bad case of weather forecast writer's block. How can I write something amusing about the weather when it changes every twenty blinking minutes? I see the sun shining and feel the gentle heat of the early spring sun. So I get my riding kit on (3/4 length shorts, long sleeve jersey and a gille), then I go in to the garage to get the bike out and when I come out it's snowing! So I start writing the newsletter with a moan about the snow, and before I get to send it, it's torrential rain outside. And that's just in Maidstone. In Tunbridge Wells, there is probably a typhoon. Or a plague of locusts. Or something.

The funny thing is that when I actually get to ride, I always seem to be suitably dressed whatever the weather. Maybe I'm just happy and comfortable on a bike. Well why wouldn't I be! And remember, every cold, wet ride you do this time of the year entitles you to a warm, dry, dusty ride in the summer. Mmmm, dust...

First of all

A big thank you to all those who turned out for the Club ride on Feb 6th. Oli and Luke can now regard themselves as officially welcomed to their new roles!

Membership Renewals

It's that time again folks. Watch out for your renewal forms coming through your letterbox any day now.

South Downs Way

The club outride to do the South Downs way has been confirmed for the 10th and 11th July. Starting in Winchester on the Friday night we will ride the length of the South Downs Way (100 miles) over the weekend. Rumours of trying to beat the non-stop there-and-back record (200 miles) of 17 hours were confirmed to be untrue after the critical word "hours" was apparently originally read as "days"...

Training Sessions 2010

This year the training sessions start on the 20th March for adults and Easter Weekend for juniors. There will be regular "Saturday Club" sessions for juniors running every fortnight until the middle of September. Adult training will include cornering, drop-offs, bunny hops and jumps. Ladies specific sessions are also on the programme. More details will be released shortly so keep an eye on the website for information.

Website Forum

Don't forget the forum is there for all to use. If you have any question about bikes, kit, riding, training, or you have something for sale, or you just want to meet up with other cyclists in the real or virtual world, then the club forum is where you need to be.

Saturday and Wednesday Club rides

These rides are still happening at 10am and 18.30pm respectively - and boy was it cold last Saturday! Keep an eye on the forum though in case of last minute problems, generally of a weather related nature.

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 4th Feb

2010-02-04T20:32:00.002Z

The Boy Scouts have a motto which is "Be Prepared". As I was a good boy scout in my younger days, before I rode from Maidstone to Bedgebury last night for the committee meeting, I was very well prepared. Lights charged, spare batteries for rear lights, tyres pumped, spare clothes, hi vis clothing, high energy food, usual tool kit. What could possibly go wrong? Well riding to Bedgebury was fairly uneventful apart from very nearly being wiped out by our esteemed web master - thanks Paul...

The journey home though took a little longer than expected. Within a few hundred meters of leaving Bedgebury my left hand crank came loose. This was despite me fitting the crank bolt with loctite. So I stopped and tightened it. It came loose again, so I stopped again, and again, and again, and again. Having limped to within 8km of home I got a puncture. And then the heavens opened. I may just have said a rude word. Next time the Boy Scouts can take their motto, and I'll take the car. To sum up, I'm in a bad mood!

Anyway, to this week's news:

Club Ride Saturday 6th Feb 10am

Don't forget this Saturday's ride is the big one to welcome Oli and Luke to the forest. It would be great to see a big turn out on the day, so if you fancy meeting two really nice guys and have a great mornings ride with fellow members then please come along. The ride suits all abilities, and we occasional split large groups by ability to ensure everyone has fun.
The ride meets at Quench Cycle shop at Bedgebury and leaves promptly at 10am.

Trails to avoid

The recent weather has taken its toll on some of the trails in the forest. Worst hit are the bermed section of the singletrack in the cleared area previously known as Gloomy Wood, and the unmarked "racetrack" to the right of the initial fire road climb. We would very much appreciate it if riders could stay off these paths as continued use in these conditions will make repairs much harder when it starts to dry out.

BFCC Beanie Hats

The hats have arrived now and look fantastic, Thanks Malky! They cost £ 8.50 if you collect from Malky or £ 9.50 if you want him to post it to you. Contact Malky through Personal Message on the forum user name is gingerbloke. Any problems, please mail me and I will pass on the details. Supplied are limited, so get in fast!

Races

This year the club race series will run on 15th May, 5th June, 26th June and 17th July. So put the dates in your diary now whether you want to race or to assist as a marshal/time keeper.

Celebrate Cycling at Bedgebury

Advance notice of a cycling celebration day to be held at Bedgebury at a date to be confirmed this summer. Stay tuned for details...

Outrides

The regular monthly outrides will start again next month. If you have knowledge of a ride away from Bedgebury which you would be happy to navigate round (not necessarily "leading" the ride), then lets hear about it. Outrides a little further away from home this year will include a trip to Afan in south Wales, and a weekend ride along the South Downs Way complete with support vehicle.

BikeRadar Live

This year the BikeRadar Live festival will take place at Brands Hatch on 10th - 11th July. Plans are afoot to ride there offroad from Bedgebury, but meantime if you want tickets, you can get a 20% discount if you book before the end of February if you use the code CL30 in the discount box. http://live2010.bikeradar.com/

RoadID

As many of us ride on the road as well as off road, the question of identification in the event of an accident is always worth a thought. The American Company www.RoadID.com makes a variety of products to assist emergency services. As an incentive, the first 20 people to use the code ThanksSimon616123 in the next 30 days will get a small discount off their order.

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Newsletter 20th January 2010

2010-01-20T14:26:00.009Z

Apparently there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. Well I'd like to see the Lycra shorts which would have enabled me to ride through that half metre snow drift in a blizzard last week!

The club events calendar has come to resemble the departure board at Gatwick during an air traffic controllers strike with all the cancellations. But we plough on regardless, and here are this weeks opportunities to get off the sofa and on to your bike.

Monthly Committee meeting

OK, this one will not get you on to your bike, but it does get you off the sofa to talk about bikes. The February meeting will take place on Wednesday 3rd February in the old Pantry. This is in the walled garden, about 500 meters past the usual Bedgebury entrance in the direction of Goudhurst. It starts at 18:30 and all club members are welcome.

Club Ride Saturday 6th Feb 10am

BFCC is pleased to welcome two new visitors on our forthcoming Club ride. Luke Anderson is the newly appointed Regional Go-Ride Coach for British Cycling and Oli Ireland is Bedgebury's newly appointed Cycle Development Coach.
Both Luke and Oli have asked to join our Club ride on Saturday 6th Feb in order to introduce themselves and meet members of the Club adults and juniors. This is an opportunity to maintain the excellent relationships the Club has with British Cycling and the Forestry Commission.
It would be wonderful to have a excellent turn out on the day, so if you fancy meeting two really nice guys and have a great mornings ride with fellow members then please come along.
The ride is paced at all abilities, albeit we occasional split large groups by ability to ensure everyone has fun.
The ride meets at Quench Cycle shop at Bedgebury and leaves promptly at 10am.

Ride your bike and raise some money

Right To Play is an athlete driven international humanitarian organisation that uses sport and play as a tool for development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Their Events Manager Leo Matlock has contacted us with details of a fundraising bike ride to take place this year.

I am arranging a charity cycle ride for 300 people from Brussels to London this July 4th-7th and I wondered if this might interest your club members? It will be a brilliant event over some beautiful scenery, and undoubtedly a great challenge. Details are available Here but what makes this ride unique is that all riders will be able to watch the finale of the second stage of the Tour de France and get the opportunity to meet Team HTC Columbia afterwards. Furthermore one rider will win Mark Cavendish's signed Scott bike that he rode on the 2009 Tour de France. Pricewise we ask for a £150 registration and a sponsorship pledge of £1000, this includes the Eurostar to Brussels, all food and drink, accommodation, vehicle support, and most importantly includes a significant donation to the children who benefit from our programmes in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Discounts are available for groups of 5 or more.

Night Ride

Tonight's night ride will give you the chance to see me in my "anti-snowdrift" lycra shorts! Come along to the car park at 18.15 for a lovely ride through the forest. Lights are available to borrow if you require.

That's all for now.

Boris

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 5th January 2010

2010-01-06T11:10:00.004Z

Happy New Year!

Right, so where were we before I got stuck in a holly bush and had to be pulled out by a fat bloke dressed in a red suit who seemed to have a Reindeer obsession?

Oh yes, Pedalos and the singletrack trails.

Well the good news is that a pedalo is no longer needed. The bad news is that you now need a snowmobile. Or skis. Or a bobsleigh.

OK then, back to realit

Monthly Committee meeting

The January meeting will take place on Wednesday 6th January in the old Pantry. This is in the walled garden, about 500 meters past the usual Bedgebury entrance in the direction of Goudhurst. It starts at 18.30 and club members are welcome . If you want to get involved and influence what your club does, then this is your chance.

Bedgebury Closure

Unfortunately the arctic weather has led to some of the club rides being cancelled in the last few weeks. If you are planning on coming to a club ride then please check on the website forum at http://www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/forum.html for up to date information. The closures dosent just affect club rides of course, so if you are travelling any distance it may be worth checking with the Forestry Commission before you travel.

Night Rides

The Christmas nightride was well attended with 12 Elves riding around the forest on bikes which sported various festive decorations. At the halfway point Santa (Andy) opened his sack to reveal some hot mulled wine and a feast of mince pies and stollen cake. Amazingly no-one got frostbite despite the light covering of snow! Photos of the ride are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/42788966@N06/? The nightrides are continuing throughout the winter, but there is no ride this Wednesday due to the committee meeting.

Saturday Rides

This is the perfect chance to uphold your new years resolution to ride more and burn off the Christmas calories. Meet us at the bike wash at 10am for a friendly ride in the forest. No one is left behind and everyone can ride at their own pace. We generally finish between 12.00 and 13.00 for tea and medals in the cafe.

Trail Building

Saturday 16th January is a club trail build day. If you want to get involved with improving the trails and see what some of the club members look like under their helmets then this is the day for you. Trail building is immensely satisfying particularly when you ride down a great new bit of trail thinking I helped build this. Tools are provided, but if you have a spade or mattock and want to bring it along, then that will be great as we sometimes have more people than tools. We use bikes to get to the work area, and we advise bringing a packed lunch. Meeting point is at the bike shop at 10 am, and we work until around 3 pm although you can of course leave at any time. Ian Smith is our trail chief.

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Newsletter 8th December 2009

2009-12-08T17:36:00.002Z

OK, so even I have to admit that it has gone beyond "sticky dust" out there now. In fact it is so wet that last week I rode around the singletrack on a pedalo! However the good news is that Dave Cole, our esteemed chairman is never one to miss a money making opportunity. He now has a demo fleet of Lapierre pedalos available to hire from Quench Cycles at reduced rates for club members. The pedalos feature Shimano Single Speed paddles, Avid hydraulic anchors and Fox Floats to give a smooth ride over the choppiest of trails.*

Night Rides

Trust me; it's lovely out there at night. With the moon lighting up the forest and the rabbits scampering around in the beam from your lights, you can almost forget about the sogginess of the trails. Join us in the car park by the bike wash at 18.15 on a Wednesday evening and experience the magic for yourself. Lights are available to borrow – just reply to this email to reserve yours.

Christmas night ride

The special Christmas nightride will be on Wednesday December 16th. Cover your bike in tinsel and fairly lights and join us in a winter wonderland. Led by Andy, we now need to know how many people are coming so we know how much (non alcoholic) mulled wine and hot mince pies to bring along. Please reply to the post on www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/forum.html or reply to this email.
Please note that we cannot accept unaccompanied juniors or inexperienced seniors on nightrides. Please contact the club before you come out if you have any doubts.

Saturday Rides

These are continuing all over the winter with some exceptions for trail building and Boxing Day. These rides are the best way to get to know club members and ride around the forest with others if you are not too confident going around the singletrack by yourself. Please see the events calendar at www.boarsonbikes.co.uk/calendar.html for full details.

Trail Build

Saturday 12th December is a club trail build day. If you want to get involved with improving the trails and see what some of the club members look like under their helmets then this is the day for you. Trail building is immensely satisfying particularly when you ride down a great new bit of trail thinking "I helped build this". Tools are provided, but if you have a spade or mattock and want to bring it along, then that will be great as we sometimes have more people than tools. We use bikes to get to the work area, and we advise bringing a packed lunch. Meeting point is at the bike shop at 10am, and we work until around 3pm although you can of course leave at any time. Ian Smith is our trail chief.

Coaching

2010 should see the coaching activities of the club expand significantly. The Forestry Commission has recently appointed Ollie Ireland as its first Cycling Development Coach for Bedgebury. Along with this, the coaching team is being increased with three more coaches being trained to British Cycling standard. With Ollie strengthening the links between the club and the community, next year looks like being a very exciting one for the coaching “department”. Welcome to the forest Ollie!

Bike Park

The bike park consists of the dirt jump course and the "North Shore" wooden structures. Significant changes are planned in this area for the near future. Firstly the big tabletop jump at the bottom of the jump course has been the scene of several serious accidents – one of which necessitated calling out the Air Ambulance. Because of these accidents, the jump will be reduced in height and reshaped over the next few days.

The high level North Shore is reaching the end of its design life and will have to be removed in the next year. The Forestry Commission is keen to involve the club with replacement facilities so if anyone has any opinions as to what they would like to see in its place, please contact the club, the Forestry Commission, or come along to the club committee meetings.

Club Merchandise

The Beanies are on their way… A limited number of Beanie hats will be with us in the next week or so. Made and embroidered in the UK, they are bottle green with the club logo on them in black and white. A large number of these have been pre-sold so get your order in now for Christmas. Price is less than £10. If you are interested, reply to this email and I will pass your details on to Malky our in house graphic designer.

Bike Shop

Quench Cycles and the attached bike wash will be open all through the Christmas period with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

* Some of this paragraph may not be entirely true…

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 24th November 2009

2009-11-24T15:44:00.004Z

Welcome to the third and by far the soggiest of your regular club newsletters.

The big news this week is rain. Dont look up at the sky and see if it has stopped yet, chances are that you will sink in to the mud and drown as soon as you stop moving

Saturday Rides

The weather has played havoc with the Saturday rides with concerns over the forest having to shut in severe weather conditions. If the weather is looking particularly wet or windy then please check the forum on the www.boarsonbikes.co.uk website before you set off. If the wind gets over a certain speed then the F.C. shuts the forest to reduce the chances of accidents from trees falling on people. Saturday rides should continue as normal throughout the winter starting at 10am by the bike wash. If you are under 18 and not accompanied by a parent/guardian then please contact the ride leader before you come.

Night Rides

The night rides are still proving popular despite the stickier dust we have at this time of year. All are welcome, but if you haven't ridden for a while please contact the ride leader before you come - night riding, especially in winter does require different skills and we need to keep everyone safe. Again, if you are under 18 and not accompanied by a parent/guardian then please contact the ride leader before you come. NOTE, next week the night ride is on THURSDAY 3rd December due to the club committee meeting on the Wednesday.

Trail Building

Last weekends trail building was a washout it's very difficult to build trails with liquid mud! The next trail building day is on December 12th when hopefully conditions will be a little kinder.

Club Outride

The club outride this weekend is to Swinley Forest near Bracknell. For those of you who have not been before the forest consists of miles of singletrack some of which is natural. It's great fun and has some good technical runs. We meet at the Lookout Discovery Centre RG12 7QW at 10.00 where you will need to get a permit to ride which costs two pounds for the day and there is free parking.

Bedgebury Forest Harvesting Operations

The Forestry Commission are to begin tree harvesting To ensure the safety of the public, small sections of the forest where work is taking place will close. Please pay attention to warning signs and to instructions from Forest Workers. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the works some rides and tracks may become rutted and muddy during the harvesting; however this damage will be repaired at the end of the operation.

We will keep you posted once we know what areas are affected.

Christmas Nightride

A further reminder about the special Christmas nightride on Wednesday December 16th. Cover your bike in tinsel and fairly lights and join us in a winter wonderland. Led by Andy, we will need to know nearer the time how many people are coming so we know how much (non alcoholic) mulled wine and hot mince pies to bring along.

New Bikes for Boars Update

2009-11-16T17:04:00.004Z

As you may have previously read under our news section, Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club has been working in partnership with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and successfully obtain grant funding from Sport England to purchase new bikes and equipment for the Club. The grant was based on the Club delivering after-school coaching sessions to local school pupils and to hopefully encourage greater participation in cycling as a sport. For more information see the recent Courier press coverage.

2009-11-11T10:55:00.008Z

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club newsletter 11th November 2009
Welcome to the second in our long running series of newsletters. Note that I know have a proper "Boarsonbikes" email address (Thanks Paul), and your email addresses are now hidden (sorry!)

Saturday Rides
Saturday rides continue to be well supported and are suitable for anyone who can ride a bike without stabilisers! The weather doesn't seem to have put anyone off yet and remember it is still dusty out there; it's just that the dust is sticky now! Meeting at the bike shop at 10am, the leader this weekend is Boris (Me!)

Night Rides
The darker the night, the more fun we have, so don't be shy come and join us on a Wednesday night. We have several sets of lights within the club for you to borrow, and if you get the bug and want to buy your own, an excellent helmet light and bar light can be bought for around £60 ask Boris for details. We meet in the car park at 6.15. Don't be late as we lock the gates at 6.30 to keep your car safe. This week's leader is Dave Coppins.

Trail Build
Saturday 21st November is a club trail build day. If you want to get involved with improving the trails and see what some of the club members look like under their helmets then this is the day for you. Trail building is immensely satisfying particularly when you ride down a great new bit of trail thinking "I helped build this". Tools are provided, but if you have a spade or mattock and want to bring it along, then that will be great as we sometimes have more people than tools. We use bikes to get to the work area, and we advise bringing a packed lunch. Meeting point is at the bike shop at 10am, and we work until around 3pm although you can of course leave at any time. Ian Smith is our trail chief.

Club Merchandise
Due to popular demand there will soon be a new design club shirt made by a well known, quality manufacturer of bike wear. There will also be other club merchandise available soon such as Beanies and Buffs. More details as soon as we have them, or keep an eye on our website.

Christmas Nightride
There will be a special Christmas nightride on Wednesday December 16th. Cover your bike in tinsel and fairly lights and join us in a winter wonderland. Led by Andy, we will need to know nearer the time how many people are coming so we know how much (non alcoholic) mulled wine and hot mince pies to bring along.

Coaching
Now we are in the months of shorter days and stickier dust, coaching has ended for the year. In the last few months Gary and his team of Tim, Carl and Michael have run more coaching sessions than ever before and have trained all ages from primary school children to those in their second or third childhood. Details of next year's courses will be announced in the new year, but in the meantime the club would like to thank the coaching team for their hard work over the past twelve months.

Racing
Five club members competed in the inaugural Insomnia night race - the Boars on Bikes team made up of Paul Stevens, John Rivett and Tim Bizley placed fourth in the threes category, John Kelly placed seventh in the solo event and Ian Smith rode as part of a non-BFCC team which placed second in the threes category.
This has inspired eight club members to enter for the Muc-Off 8 hour enduro to be held on April 2010 at Pippingford Park. First to enter were the Bedgebury Belles, a team of three ladies, followed by a mens team and two solo riders (John Kelly and Ian Smith).

Pippingford Park has a great reputation for challenging single track riding and the enduro course also features a timed downhill section. It would be great to make this a really big event for Bedgebury, so the more teams and solo riders the better, and supporters are extremely welcome. Entries are open to solo riders, pairs and teams of 3 or 4, with categories for male, female and mixed teams. The cost is £40 per rider and entries are open at Muc Off

BEDGEBURY WINS TOURISM AWARDS!
At the Tourism South East Awards, Bedgebury received the Tourism Excellence Award for Sports Tourism. On the same day Bedgebury won the Medium-sized Tourism and Leisure Award at the West Kent Business Awards. Bedgebury Director, bike club member and all round good guy Dave Hiscock said "This is down in no small amount to the bike club! Please pass on my thanks to all. I hope to be out riding again soon!" Thank YOU Dave, hopefully we will see you out soon

Head Coach nominated for 'Outstanding Service to Sport' award

2009-11-10T20:20:00.002Z

Our very own Head Coach, Gary Scott has been nominated for 'Outstanding Service to Sport' award at the prestigious Tunbridge Wells Junior Sports Achievement Awards, which is taking place on Thursday 19th November 2009 at the Royal Victoria Hall, Southborough.

The awards, which recognise those people who have contributed to sport in some way, either through their own sporting success or through their work assisting others involved in sport.

Gary has played a huge part in the success of the club's coaching program for both youngsters and adults, he has inspired many of us to try new challenges on the singletrack. We wish him the very best and of course he should get the award!!!.

Press release: New bikes for the Boars!

2009-06-14T09:17:00.002+01:00

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club has taken delivery of a fleet of new training bikes for youngsters.

Bedgebury Forest Cycling Club (BFCC) - which operates in the Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest near Tunbridge Wells - has been up and running for nearly three years but this is its first fleet of bikes sponsored by the Sport Unlimited programme, a funding scheme from Sport England that aims to give every young person (5-19 year olds) the chance to take part in sport outside of school hours. This money was secured following a bid by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the Kent Sport, Leisure and Olympic Service.

Since receiving the funding for the bikes, BFCC chose a selection of 'Marin hardtail' bikes which will be used for coaching young members from the Club and local schools to ride around the forest and improve their cycling skills.

Gary Scott is a British Cycling approved Coach at the Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club (BFCC). He said: "This fleet will give us the chance to get youngsters from local schools on our courses and teach them the skills needed to ride on the trails. Once they get bitten by the cycling bug it is something that will stay with them their whole lives – as many of our members will attest!"

Ross Patterson from Hastings-based bike specialists Marin UK commented: "We distribute high end mountain bikes all over the UK but BFCC is our local club and we wanted to support what they are doing."

The BFCC classes begin next month with a local schools initiative. This will be followed by courses for all abilities and the new fleet will offer riders an opportunity to ride a quality bike and be introduced to the sport of cycling.

You can find out how to join the club and take advantage of the new equipment on the club pages.

Adult Skills Courses - photos now online

2009-01-22T14:44:00.001Z

Thanks to Alice for sending in a few photos of the recent Adult Skills Courses earlier in January 2009. You can view these in the mini-gallery here.

Stanmer Park CX results now available...

2008-11-21T18:12:00.003Z

Please visit the racing pages for full results of this event held on the 16 November 2008. Well done to all those who took part!

Latest committee meeting minutes

2008-11-16T09:54:00.003Z

Download the minutes from the most recent committee meeting held on the 5 November 2008 from the committee section of the club page.

AGM Minutes now available

2008-11-08T14:06:00.001Z

Download the minutes from the Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club Annual General Meeting, held on the 1 October 2008 from the committee section of the club page.

New gallery available

2008-11-07T18:44:00.000Z

Small but perfectly formed... A sneak preview gallery of some work in progress to link together sections 4 and 5 and miss out some unnecessary fire road. Next trail build day is 8 November, why not come along and help out? More details on the site nearer the time!

Trail building in full flow

2008-11-07T18:43:00.003Z

A crack team of trail builders spent much of Saturday 18 October at Bedgebury working on your favourite singletrack. Why not come down soon and try out their handiwork? Even better, come along next time and volunteer your services - all are welcome! Click on the image for a bigger version...

New website

2008-11-07T18:40:00.001Z

It was time for a make-over, so what do you think of the new website? Is it easy to use? Can you find out what you want to know? What DO you want to know when you visit the site? Let us know at newsite@boarsonbikes.co.uk. And thanks for looking!!

Bedgebury in the press

2008-11-07T18:38:00.001Z

Your favourite mountain bike centre was featured (albeit briefly) in the November 2008 issue of MBR Magazine. Not got your copy yet? Read the article in the trails section of this site.