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2007   > REVIEW   2006   > REVIEW   > ELBNO - SM   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2005   > REVIEW   > ELBNO - SM   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2004   > REVIEW   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > BAD GOISERN   > SELKIRK   > RUTHIN   2003   > REVIEW   > RHAYADER   > BUILTH WELLS   > RUTHIN   NEWS...   16.05.08 NEWS before the Ruthin Round HERE>>   25.04.08 Latest News from the first round.HERE>>   17.04.08 Report from the first round HERE>>   10.04.08 Latest News before the first event of 2008.HERE>>   29.03.08 Website updated - New Season is HERE>>   31.01.08 Online Entry now OPEN. MORE>>   28.12.07 Website updated - Entry facilities coming soon.   19.09.07 7 down, NONE to go….at least not this year. MORE>>   Foot-And-Mouth - Please clean your gear: MORE>>   04.09.07 Ruthin News. MORE>>   Merida on holiday 2008 – win a mountain bike trip in Austria MORE>>   12.08.07 6 down, ONLY 1 to go. MORE>>   20.07.07 Selkirk here we come MORE>>   12.07.07 4 down, 2 to go (3 including the Austria round) MORE>>   06.07.07 Latest Builth Wells Summer Marathon update MORE>>   27.06.07 Latest News... MORE>>   16.06.07 MERIDA OUTSIDER UPDATES WITH COURSE PROFILES. MORE>>   07.06.07 Latest News... MORE>>   17.05.07 …2 down 5 to go. After last year’s rather muddy May event in Rhayader the first dip into English marathon territory was another one to remember. MORE>>   08.05.07 It is only a few days now before the 1st ever English round MORE>>   01.05.07 It feels that the season is truly here MORE>>   17.04.07 ELBNO and SPRING MARATHON MORE>>   10.04.07 ELBNO / Spring Marathon – LAST UPDATE MORE>>   23.03.07 ELBNO . MORE>>   23.03.07 Chain Reaction Cycles voucher - make sure you enter early! MORE>>   23.03.07 Aviemore round – the Outsider. MORE>>   23.03.07 Penrith round – Cumbria Bikefest MORE>>   23.03.07 Salzkammergut Trophy 2007. MORE>>   13.03.07 The Outsider event and line-up ... MORE>>   22.02.07 Latest NEWS. MORE>>   19.12.06 NEWS 2007 Entry form available to download….... MORE>>   'CycleActive price draw - winner revealed!.... MORE>>   23.10.06 NEWS The Outsider - New Event….... MORE>>   The 2006 mountain bike season is heading towards its deserved winter break which inevitably means that the 2007 season is creeping up on us. .... MORE>>   26.09.06 We have just got back from our 2007 planning excursion to Scotland . .... MORE>>   14.09.06 NEWS Update: Merida Ruthin…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>   25.08.06 Well done everybody who took part in the first ever Merida TransWales ’06. What a week! I am sure it will take us all a while to recover from this adventure. .... MORE>>   09.08.06 NEWS Update:Merida TransWales ’06…only a couple of days to go….... MORE>>   02.08.06 NEWS Four down one to go! We have just returned from the event in Selkirk and we can only agree with the all comments we have had that it has once again been a superb event for everybody.... MORE>>   26.07.06 NEWS Update: It’s the last week before the Scottish round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon in Selkirk opens its doors.... MORE>>   11.07.06 NEWS Update:…was it hot or what? This year seams to be the year of extremes... MORE>>   22.06.06 NEWS Update: The last weekend before this year’s summer marathon in Builth Wells is upon us.... MORE>>   News update 15.06.06 Less than three weeks to go before we will welcome everybody at the ‘summer’ event of the Merida 100 Series... MORE>>   01.06.06 2nd Round Rhayader Event... MORE>>   1st Round of the Merida 100 MTB Marathon Series 2006 in Builth Wells 8-9th April... MORE>>   20 Reasons why you... should ride a Mreida 100 1 No faffing with maps: just point and play... MORE>>   Vertebrate Graphics, MTB Guidebooks...MORE>>   MTB-Marathon Jersey NOW IN STOCK..MORE>>	2006           2006 Review: ELBNO/Builth Wells Spring Marathon Springing Into Being Night-time marathon riding on first-rate terrain rubs shoulders with four-seasons-in-one-day weather as the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series blazes its way into 2006 Three years on from the birth of the original Exposure Lights Big Night Out (ELBNO) and six years after the first ever MTB-Marathon – then the Schwinn 100 – broke into being at Builth Wells, the 2006 season opened with a volley of double-header night and spring marathon action at its spiritual home. For the second year running, Exposure Lights brought the UK’s only night time marathon to the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon masses on the evening of Saturday 8th April 2006; born originally as the brainchild of long-time mountain bike personality and Exposure Light and USE’s main man, Rory Hitchens, the format was resolutely simple: take a blanket of darkness, mix in with 50km of heady and epic trails that include the cream of the National Points Series XC course and its carving singletrack, open moor land, lung bursting climbs, and the best that Builth Wells has to offer without once going over the Summer Marathon’s course; add 200 willing and grinning night time marathoners, and unleash onto the hills with as much wattage, lumens and candle power you can cram into an Exposure Light and other HID, S-LED and halogen systems; then simmer as folk’s get their nocturnal kicks with a dash of tea and cake. With hundreds of riders hitting the black top east of Builth Wells to warm their legs up after the final briefing and the prize draw for a Merida Matts Sport 100 bike, the trail then kicked up and onto the 2005 NPS XC course, taking in the sustained climb that curved along the contours grabbing skywards before throwing the riders atop of the moor land at around 400m, and eventually down the sinuous forested singletrack descents employed by the 2000 National Downhill Championships. It was 50km of riding that, despite the low temperatures, kept riders cockles warm, helped not insignificantly by the ELBNO’s trademark tea and cake checkpoints that also kept both riders and their morale fuelled. “The event was wicked,” said Rory afterwards. “Great numbers of riders again and confirmation that night riding really is a sport and not just a hobby now: the spirit is alive and kicking in the night event scene. Races like the Strathpuffer mean there is no ‘end of season’ any more and the Exposure Lights Big Night Out marathon is a great way to welcome the springtime spirit. Speaking of which,” he continued, “if the ELBNO adventurous spirit was akin to a sherry in 2005 then it was a hearty port in 2006. I predict that in 2007 it will be nothing short of a fine Malt Whisky.” But the opening gambit of the 2006 Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series was not just spent in a volley of nighttime crank turning, the Sunday morning saw the Spring Marathon emerge from its year-long slumber too. For 2006 the Spring Marathon was the first event of the 2006 series to see the all-new ‘for all the family’ 25km Mini-Marathon distance unveiled to 100 keen riders, alongside the long established 50km and the ‘step up’ 75km distances; all of which saw brand new, never before used for the Merida Bikes MTB Marathons courses. Due to many riders doing both the ELBNO and the Spring Marathon, the full 100km distance kept its tracksuit on until the second round at Rhayader. Just under a thousand riders – almost double that of the first Spring Marathon back in 2005 – signed up and lined up at 10.30am, following a well-earned lie in for the hardy few doing both the ELBNO and the Spring Marathons. The riders shook the tiredness out of their legs and out and over the hills that are so intimately known by Builth Wells local, course maestro and co-organiser of the series John Lloyd to tackle the all-new courses, and to usher in the Merida Bikes MTB-Marathon Series in fine, indomitable style. But the schizophrenic weather added a little spice and extra adventure to the mix by producing four seasons in one day with a strange blend of warm sunshine, hail, snow, rain, and wind. Yet despite its best efforts, it failed to unseat the good-time attitude of many of the Merida Bikes MTB Marathon riders. “The 50km course was tough,” said one of the finishers afterwards, “and the headwind and driving snow after the last feed station made it feel a real epic but added to the sense of achievement in finishing.” And even first time marathoners were stoked on the experience: “Thank you for an amazing weekend – it was my first mountain biking event and I wasn't sure what to expect,” said Claire Sutcliffe. “The organisation was just brilliant and all the team were really friendly: a big thank you to the CycleActive guy who took me out on the 1pm ride on Saturday as his advice made getting up those hills a breeze – well, not quite but it was easier! It also boosted my confidence for the following day! My first Merida100 experience was just fantastic!” And the good news is that the night-time action and springtime singletracking will be back for the 2007 season, unadulterated, un-diluted and unequalled. Go to http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/exposure.php and http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/builth_wells_spring.php for the inside line on the ELBNO/Spring Marathon for 2007. And don’t forget your hip flask… “The schizophrenic weather added a little spice and extra adventure to the mix by producing four seasons in one day with a strange blend of warm sunshine, hail, snow, rain, and wind.”   2006		Merida Bikes TransWales '08 The 7 day MTB stage challenge. Check the full story and the results on www.mtbtransuk.co.uk Join our Mailing List: Enter your email address:   Confirm your email address: Privacy Statement Request the 2008 season Merida Marathon Guide Book (available early Spring): Please Email us your FULL POSTAL ADDRESS and POSTCODE. CLICK HERE Merida Bikes MTB Marathon Series will go abroad: Read MORE>>
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