Ruthin event 19-20th September 2009
Back to the roots - after a short stint in the earlier part of the marathon series the formally final round has returned to its September date and will be once more the final round of the Merida Bike MTB Marathon Series. The 5th and final round of the series will take place on of the 19-20th September 2009 and will be held once again in Ruthin in North Wales with the event being based at the Rugby Club. The Rugby Club will be signposted from Friday afternoon onwards.
 As in the last three years we will be working again with the LPFRA (Llanferres Playing Field and Recreation Association) who did a fantastic job by providing 65 marshals and making all the tweaks to the Ruthin course work. For 2009 the LPFRA are intending to improve the courses still further with polishing off certain sections. They are all well experienced mountain bikers with extensive local knowledge who work in partnership with North Wales Mountain Bike Association (www.nwmba.org.uk/), so it will be once more a great day in Ruthin.
The Ruthin round will offer 4 different courses. Starting with the approx. 25km Mini Marathon which is more aimed at the younger and less experienced rider, followed by the approx. 50km Half Marathon. The Half Marathon is more demanding from a technical riding point of view as well as from a physical point of view. On top of that we will have the approx. 75km Middle Marathon and the Full Marathon with an approx. distance of 100km. The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon will take place on the Sunday (20th September ‘09). You can find details on registration and start times below.
GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportives
Following the launch of the Gore Bike Wear Road Sportives in 2008 we ill have again three rounds on offer for the 2009 season.
• 1st round: Llanwrtyd Wells 4th July 2009
• 2nd round: Selkirk 1st August 2009
• 3rd round: Ruthin 19th September 2009
The Gore Bike Wear Sportive will take place on Saturday of the event weekend. The series has now its own website www.gorebikewearsportives.com where you can find all the details on the three 2009 events and where you can enter the events. You will also find lots of tips and a long list of hopefully helpful FAQs.
 Course Profile Download:
Download - Further course details (including profiles) CLICK HERE - PDF File: 120 KB
Camping, registration and start time:
Camping will be available (included in the entry fee) from Friday night through to Monday morning at the Rugby Club in Ruthin. This location is only a few hundred yards away from the town centre in Ruthin which has lots of restaurants, pubs and shops and is generally a nice place to go for a stroll. So maybe make a proper weekend break out of it and if you have the time you could go to the trails in Coed Llandegla Forest (www.coedllandegla.com) for a spin before you dive into the marathon bustle.
Start times:
- The Merida Bikes MTB Marathon ride will start at the slightly earlier time of 9.30am (due to shorter day light hours) on Sunday the 20th September '09 at the Ruthin Rugby Club in Ruthin.
- The GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive will start 8am onwards (open start till 9am) on Saturday the 19th September '09 at the Ruthin Rugby Club in Ruthin.
Registration opening times:
Friday from 6 – 9pm
Saturday from 6 - 8pm (Please note: from 6 - 9am on Saturday only road sportive riders can register)
Sunday from 7 - 9am
Entry fees:
- The entry fee for the approx. 50, 75 and 100km Merida Bikes MTB Marathon ride is £30 per rider and £25 per rider for the approx. 25km Mini Marathon. If you are in between 12-15 years old and are taking part in the Mini Marathon then your entry fee is only £20 rather than £25.
- The entry fee for the approx. 50 and 100mile GORE BIKE WEAR Road sportive is £25 per rider.
- Discount: If you enter both event at the same weekend we will give you a £10 discount on your over all entry fee.
Your entry fee for the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon includes:
- Ride entry
- Free pasta party (held on the Saturday night before the ride on Sunday)
- Free usage of service stations
- Free usage of facilities
- Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Saturday)
- Finishing T-shirt
- Free camping and parking
Your entry fee for the GORE BIKE WEAR Road Sportive includes:
- Ride entry
- Free post event food
- Free usage of service stations
- Free usage of facilities
- Free skills and riding tuitions (run on Saturday)
- Finishing present
- Free camping and parking
Please check www.gorebikewearsportives.com for further details on the Gore Bike Wear Road Sportives 2009.
 Helping Hands
Keep yourself fit to ride with a little help
MTB Works offers first class maintenance, and pre- and post race treatments to athletes. They provide advice on injuries, self care, stretching and maintenance routines, using a wide range of techniques from orthopaedic massage and facilitated stretching to electro-acupuncture and cryotherapy. In addition to hands-on work they also supply sports supports, taping, medicated anti-inflammatory plasters, anti-contusion liniments and advice on sports nutrition. These services will be available throughout the series – see www.mtbworks.com for more.
CycleActive Skills Arena
New for 2009 will be the Skills Arena, brought to you by the UK’s leading mountain bike instructors at CycleActive. This will be the place to come to on Saturday to learn to hop, drop, manual, corner faster, brake harder and control your bike in testing situations.
It’s a new format for this season – instead of taking groups off-site we’ll be running focused, intensive 1 hour sessions in a custom built skills arena. We’re building the woodwork this winter, so be prepared for some timber trails and exciting riding,” said CycleActive boss Chris Ford.
We’ll bring you more on this as the season progresses. Skills sessions will have restricted numbers but you’ll be able to sign up online closer to each event. All the sessions are free as well, so take advantage of this chance to learn from the best in the business, and push your skills up a level before the Sunday event.
Skills on Sundays
The Sunday sessions provided by CycleActive have been incredibly popular with younger riders, but also many adults who are not riding the event. This year there will be a split of sessions on Sunday, with those for youngsters alternating with adult sessions. “We’ll use the same course as Saturday, with a few modifications, so youngsters and adults of all abilities can come along and learn something, and have a lot of fun too,” explained Chris.
Teaching great technique to young riders makes a huge difference. This programme of CycleActive junior training is something we’ve seen at Merida events for 3 years now, and many of the youngsters who started with CycleActive back then are now blasting round the 25 or even 50 courses with real confidence. Again, it’s completely free and you don’t need to sign up for the Sunday sessions – just check times on the board when you arrive.
 Location and our man on the ground:
The Ruthin Rugby Club s the location for the GORE BIKEWEAR Road Sportive (19th September) and the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon event (20th September). The event will be signposted from any directions from Friday lunchtime onwards.
Besides looking after the course of the two Builth Wells event John Lloyd is also sorting things out in Ruthin. John is the main man behind the series and has developed into an expert over the last few years when it comes to the roads and trails around Ruthin. Give him a ring on 01982 552923 if you have any more specific questions.
We will add any course news and last minute updates to our regular newsletter. If you have not subscribed yet please go onto the home page and click the newsletter button on the right hand side.
RUTHIN
Ruthin lies at the end of the Vale of Clwyd in Denbighshire, North Wales. Ruthin is an attractive market town with a population of about five thousand. It has good examples of Elizabethan, Georgian and Queen Anne styles of architecture, typical of North Wales. There are also Celtic and Roman remains to be found.
Since 1993 Ruthin has been twinned with Canton of Briec in Brittany. The Welsh spelling of Ruthin is Rhuthun, 'Rhudd' means red and 'din' means a city. This reflects the large amount of red sandstone that Ruthin is built upon.
From wherever you park in Ruthin, if you head uphill you find yourself in St. Peter's Square. This hilltop town centre is unique in its rich architectural mix and lofty views of the surrounding countryside.
See http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Towns_in_Wales/Ruthin_Town.htm for more details on Ruthin, its history and what you can do while you are there.
Local Information
For information about local services and accommodation please get in touch with the local Tourist Information Centres and check out the local web sites.
RUTHIN
Tel: 01824 703992
Fax: 01824 703992
Email: ruthin@nwtic.com
Address:
Ruthin Craft Centre
Park Road
Ruthin
Denbighshire
LL15 1BB
Web: www.ruthin-wales.co.uk
For information regarding accommodation, cycle facilities and the area for the Ruthin round of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series, visit www.ridetheclwyds.com. This website was launched at our first Ruthin event and now offers a wealth of information on mountain biking in the Clwydian Range area, some of the 3D flythroughs on the routes pages will also provide you with an insight into the kind of terrain you will be letting yourself in for.
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