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The Cheesy Riders Summer Newsletter 2008

What a start to the year!

Bike Fest

From where we are now it's hard to imagine that we only started out last October. Yet the fact that we rode as a group pretty much every weekend throughout the winter and that we survived the Facebook 'refugee' period quite brilliantly - it should have been obvious how fantastic this group was going to turn out!

The forum was the first part of our website to go live back in January. The migration over from Facebook went smoothly and at last we had a home. And boy did we not waste any time settling in! The number of rides being organised increased and as word got around our numbers have followed suit.

In the time we've been up and running we've managed to:

  • Enter 16 riders in four teams for the Bristol Bike Fest (and won a category!)
  • Rebuild a 100m stretch of 50-Acre Wood's most damaged trail (as well as numerous sections of the Timberland Trail)
  • Organise a week long MTB holiday in North Wales
  • Arrange Cheesy Rider discounts in pretty much every Bike Shop in Bristol
  • Offer free monthly mechanics lessons courtesy of the lovely Carl of Pembury Cycles
  • Have our first group t-shirt printed along with an 8ft vinyl banner!

And recently we blasted through a monumental 16,000 posts on the forum and we now have 90 members and rising!

To think, the 2008 season has only just got going - nice work everyone!

Monday Night Cheesy and Fruity Rides are go!

Cheesy/Fruity Rides are go

Where would the Cheesy Riders have been without Mark's original Monday night Cheesy Ride? The original concept lives on and the Cheesy Ride is a social ride for any ability (and it always ends at a pub!).

The 2008 season started on Monday 31st of March. Rides are now running every Monday night from the Ashton Court tea hut (6:30pm) unless you hear otherwise - details will be posted on the forum and the Facebook group. If you haven't been on one yet don't be afraid to join in - the pace is slow and aimed at all abilities, including beginners!

Or, if you're after more of a challenge, why not come along on a new Fruity Ride? Usually organised by either Brendan or myself, this is not limited to the pros, but is a faster paced ride with the aim of helping riders push, progress and find their limits. The Fruity Ride takes place on Monday nights at the same time and place as the Cheesy Rides.

The Bristol Bike Fest

Bike Fest

Our first official outing as a group was the Bristol Bike Fest 2008. With sixteen riders making up four teams, we hit Bristol's ever-growing bike festival with a bang!

We certainly made a splash and it was pretty hard to miss our presence there. We easily had the largest pitch at the event with two gazebos, one 9-man, two 6-man, plus a good 5 or more other tents. And the fact that we were a stone's throw from the start-line and event village certainly helped get us noticed!

With a dedicated chef (thanks Tom), mechanic (thanks Mark) and masseur (thanks Nic), along with exemplary trail manners from all our riders - the feedback we received was that we were the most lively, fun, organised and professional team there!

The results were good too. Each of our men's teams completed 18 laps and was placed in the midfield. All had their crashes and/or mechanical dramas - if each had run a problem free day, top 30 places would have been achievable!

But the big score of the day was our beloved Babybels, our entry in the women's fun team event. They held the lead by the tiniest of margins all morning and through the afternoon, and by 5pm the competition had started to wilt under the pressure of their relentless, error-free and persistent riding. Victory was theirs in the end by a staggering four whole laps!

One of the most special moments of the day was Karin's heroic last lap that saw her come in with literally minutes to spare with the entire squad cheering her over the finish line.

Talk of next years bike fest is already underway, not surprising considering how much fun was had. It would be great if we could double the number of teams next year!

The Cheesy Holiday 2008

This August a group of us will be trekking up to Snowdonia for our first ever road trip. We'll be staying in a beautiful and bike-friendly cottage 15 miles from the legendary Coed-y-Brenin and taking in a tour of North and Mid-Wales' blinding selection of Trail Centres - it will be a week of pure singletrack heaven.

In addition to ripping it up at Coed-y-Brenin, the one that started the trail centre phenomenon - we'll also be taking in the delights of the super-smooth and natural Nant-yr-Arian as well as the more recently established Coed Llandegla.

Expect a full report of how we got on in the Autumn Newsletter.

The Bristol Bike Jumble

Bike Jumble

For those not in the know, the Bristol Bike Jumble is pretty self-explanatory. It's a public, free-to-trade, bike jumble sale which takes place on the first Saturday of every month outside Mud Dock (next one 5 July 2008).

Under Mark's initiative the Cheesy Riders are the driving force behind this unique event which has grown from strength to strength. With the co-operation and support of Mud Dock, it has expanded from just two guys selling items on blankets on the floor, to a huge huddle of bikers crowded around several tables piled high with bargains - only last month one lucky punter walked off with an immaculate Cotic Soul frame for just £200!

Free Mechanics Workshop Nights

Courtesy of Pembury Cycles, we are currently offering free mechanics lessons to our members. Carl and Sam are running these lessons on the last Wednesday of every month with classes of five people.

They're currently covering the very basics required to become a home mechanic before making the lessons more specialised and technical in coming weeks.

Closing thoughts...

We've laid some great foundations for an outlet for our two-wheeled urges and I can only see things getting better. Enjoy the summer and I look forward to seeing you out on the trails!

Gary

Trail Conditions:

highly agreeable